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Environmental group concerned about potential logging in Yellow Point

Yellow Point Community Forest Society formed to try to protect area from logging
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Jain Alcock-White and the Yellow Point Community Forest Society are concerned about the fate of 24 hectares of forested area south of Nanaimo. (KARL YU/The News Bulletin)

A grassroots group is expressing concern about the fate of 24 hectares of forested land in the Cedar and Yellow Point roads area.

A subsidary company of Coastland Wood Industries purchased the property and the recently formed Yellow Point Community Forest Society is worried it could be logged. The society said of of its associates has made an offer to the company to purchase the land above asking price, but Coastland has asked for more time to explore other options.

Jain Alcock-White, society spokeswoman, said its main concern is uncertainty.

“They are aware it’s a community concern. It’s an environmental issue,” said Alcock-White. “To log this piece of property would have serious consequences. The property drains directly into the ecological reserve and into Yellow Point Park on one side. It drains down into Giovando Lake and into Quennell Lake on the other side.”

Clint Parcher, Coastland Wood Industries’ vice-president of fibre supply, said the company purchased the property because it saw it as a good purchase of a piece of property listed under market value. He said the company doesn’t have any plans for it immediately.

He said the company has met with the society on two occasions, adding he thought there was good discussion.

“They actually talked to us about purchasing it from us, and I’m just not ready to make a commitment to anybody at this point on it because we just picked it up,” Parcher said. “They admitted that they would even have to log and clear a portion of it to develop it into a couple of lots in order to justify paying for it.

“I think anybody that looks at it, there might possibly be a tree cut down.”

Alcock-White said an ecological survey found rare plants such as the Nuttall’s quillwort. She said coastal douglas fir and dull Oregon grape forest ecosystems exist on the property.

“It’s coming close to rehabilitating itself from when it was last logged 80 or so years ago,” Alcock-White said.

Parcher said he estimated that he would get back to the society in May.

“The exact statement that I made to them was within a month or two, I should be able to commit to them,” said Parcher. “Either we could negotiate more on the property or if we’d have a direction in mind.”



Karl Yu

About the Author: Karl Yu

After interning at Vancouver Metro free daily newspaper, I joined Black Press in 2010.
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