(Editor's Note: Canfor has shut down road and bridge building crews until they get clarification from the Government of Alberta. The Crowsnest Pass Herald article has more details:
http://passherald.ca/archives/150121/index4.htm).
The view looks south into the headwaters of Giardi Creek, and toward the flanks of the Flathead Range.
Here are a couple of links to the latest controversy in the Oldman Watershed — the logging operation currently being conducted this winter in the Star Creek watershed. The actual logging area is small (see below) but it takes place in an important and endangered fish habitat area.
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/controversial-logging-project-near-crowsnest-goes-ahead
http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/local-news/2015/01/14/logging-project-raises-concerns/
AERSD has assured the public that all the requirements applying to timber harvesting are and will be respected and all the safeguards to protect fish and wildlife under the Species at Risk Act will be observed.
A breach in the Star Creek haul road's meager berm allows muddy water to flow down into Giardi Creek, about 20 meters distant.
However, the Lethbridge Herald article refers to reports that some transgressions have already occurred. Can anybody with first-hand knowledge of what is actually going on?
Furthermore, for the next full week, January 19 - January 23, 2015, the forecast is calling for above freezing temperatures in the Crowsnest. Timber harvesting regulations call for activities to be suspended if the ground is soft and vulnerable to damage from forestry equipment. Does anybody know if there are plans to halt logging operations this coming week?
Elspeth Nickle
Lethbridge
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