Dear all, on Monday night, September 11, 7-? PM, the Lantzville Council will debate the following motion at the District office (7192 Lantzville Road):
“That the District of Lantzville send a letter to the Honourable Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, stating the District of Lantzville Council(DOL) supports the Proposal for the Creation of the Knarston Creek Forest Corridor in Woodlot 1475 as authored by Ted Gullison, Derek Riley, Glen Dunsworth and Niels Schwarz;
And that the District of Lantzville Council will consider a level of compensation, in partnership with other funders including but not limited to the Province of British Columbia, to the current licensee of Woodlot 1475 for the reduction in timber harvest to establish the ‘Knarston Creek Forest Corridor’ as outlined in the Proposal for the Creation of the Knarston Creek Forest Corridor.”
The basis of the proposal is for the forest to remain as a working woodlot, but to increase the amount of forest protected from logging by another c. 60 ha. This would create a wider recreational corridor along Knarston Creek (the heart of the woodlot), and increase the protection of some stands of the most endangered types of Coastal Douglas Fir. While this proposal falls short of complete protection of the woodlot, we feel that it represents the greatest amount of reduction in logging that will be acceptable to the provincial government.
It is important to show council that Lantzville residents strongly support greater protection of Copley Ridge. We have a once in a lifetime chance to protect mature globally endangered forest right on our doorsteps. Once logged, the forest that regrows will be like a plantation, composed of single species even-aged young stands, rather than the diverse old forest that supports many threatened species and that still occupies much of the woodlot. This forest is worth much more to society in terms of its cultural, recreational, and biodiversity values than it is turned into pulp and lumber. Help us try to conserve as much as we can.
The proposal is attached below. Please feel free to contact N
iels Schwarz (250) 616-6275, Ted Gullison (250) 618-0754, or Derek Riley (250) 741-4844 if you have any questions. We hope to see you Monday night. If you cannot make this meeting, please send an email of support to the Mayor and councillors. Their contact info is available at:
http://www.lantzville.ca/cms.asp?wpID=465MLA Michelle Stilwell has volunteered to raise the proposal with the new Minister of Forests later this month. Support from our DOL will help her make a good case for enhancing protection.
Please feel free to forward this email and attachments to others. A good turn out and show of support would go a long way!
save lantzville forest 
Dear Niels I would love to attend the meeting on Monday night but an eye operation keeps me in Calgary until beginning of October. I will send an email to the mentioned people. My thoughts are in Lantzville on Monday and I love to wish all success. Thank you so much for fighting for the outstanding Forrest.
All the Best!!!!
Cordially
Ursula Scheur with my 4legged best friend Baloo who is missing his walks through the Forrest.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
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Thanks Ursula! Wish you the best
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I’ll be sure to stop in to support, thanks for letting us know.
Mischa Oak
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Thank you. Please rally your friends and neighbors who would like more protected woodlands!
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I would just add the following; once the area is designated as park land the RDN would become prime for administration, so it is important to get them on board. They also have an ongoing funding program to which Lantzville contributes through taxation. It was specifically established to facilitate these initiatives.
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Thanks Jack. We shall see if the protected area within the lot actually becomes parkland. I sure hope so. Hope to see you at the meeting and look forward to any help you can lend us in making this happen. Your experience counts for a lot.
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