Castle logging challenge due in court Nov. 8
A legal challenge into logging in southwestern Alberta’s Castle wilderness will be heard Nov. 8 — despite the second two phases of the plan being put on hold by the province.
Last year, five people who were involved in anti-logging protests in the area and the Castle Crown Wilderness Coalition launched the court proceedings.
Clint Docken, the lawyer representing the group, said they will ask for a judicial review of the government’s approval of the logging plan.
They will argue the region should have been protected by the province because it serves as a watershed for downstream communities and is core grizzly bear habitat. They also suggests that, if the government wanted to allow logging, the public should have been consulted.
Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development had approved a three-part deal for Spray Lake Sawmills to cut 120 hectares of forest. The second two phases of the plan, however, were put on hold until a regional plan is completed.