November 30th, 2009
Background:
· Plutonic received government approval to build run-of-river projects and attending rights-of-way from Saltery Bay to Toba Valley. The pole lines were located through the Powell River backcountry and used existing roads and infrastructure. Now after two years of intense building activities the projects are nearing completion by 2010, and roads and bridges that are no longer needed by Plutonic are being deactivated. This means the public that had used them for decades will no longer be able to use them, losing access to their favourite playgrounds.
· Since Friday, November 27, upon learning of Plutonic’s untenable deactivation plans in a newspaper ad, a large number of community members have made phone calls and sent emails to Plutonic expressing their concerns.
· True consultations have not taken place. In early November 2009 Plutonic had gathered information from a variety of parties and user groups that they met with, but did not go beyond this initial step to engage in a give-and-take conversation with the stakeholders.
· According to Western Forest Products, Plutonic did not invite Western to meet with them during these stakeholder meetings that Plutonic had hosted.
· The appearance is that Plutonic was only interested in giving folks an opportunity to talk/vent during the group meetings early in November, and then they proceeded with their agenda as it stood without any further engagement.
· When Plutonic held a public meeting at the Town Centre Hotel nearly four yeas ago (January 16, 2006) Plutonic made the promise that access would remain into the alpine areas after they had completed the power lines.
· Elisha McCallum, Plutonic’s public relations officer, reaffirmed this promise during a phone call with Eagle Walz on Saturday, November 27, 2009. She said Plutonic will ensure that there will be access where access had existed before.
Squirrel Creek Bridge Removal:
· A notification of a Plutonic deactivation ad to be published in the Peak on Friday, November 27, 2009 was emailed out to the interview participants only the previous afternoon.
· This ad stated Plutonic/Kiewit was taking out Squirrel Creek Bridge on the Monday immediately after the weekend, providing little opportunity, not even one full working day, for any dialogue before the bridge deactivation was slated to begin.
· On the Friday the Plutonic ad appeared in the Peak newspaper, the Plutonic office was shut down with blinds drawn, and phone calls were not returned during this time of the rising crisis.
· Plutonic initially had stated they were taking the bridge out because Western was telling them they had to, as did the regulations.
· Western said Goat Main beyond Squirrel is not under their road permit, they never had a road permit, and it was just an old road in no man’s land, built at a time by previous tree farm license holders when there were no legal obligations to deactivate. They said they would be using this road beyond the bridge to access harvesting opportunities or silvi-culture prescriptions at some time in the future.
· On Saturday 28th Ms McCallum stated that the Squirrel Bridge was always going to be removed and re-used at Toba (near Power House). She said she only heard from Kiewit Wednesday 25th last week that they needed the bridge on Monday and that she thought it would be best to place an ad in the paper so people wouldn’t be riding up there and finding that the bridge was gone.
· This situation is either the result of very poor planning, or a disregard for the people of Powell River.
· Ms McCallum stated that when Plutonic/Kiewit put this bridge there at the time of building the transmission line there had been no bridge there. Therefore they did not feel obligated to retain this access post-pullout. (Note: There had been temporary bridges there over the years when licensees harvested the far reaches of Goat Main.)
· Ms McCallum also said that where there had been recreation/tourism access before they will provide access again after they are finished using the area. We would like to see a significant performance bond attached to a legally binding commitment to keep access open to Powell River’s Alpine Backcountry.
· ATV riders have apparently used this section of Goat Main beyond Squirrel frequently. They now feel betrayed by the impending bridge and access removal. Observations from other users of the area on their experiences relative to deactivations have yet to be documented and included.
· Last week Plutonic did finally meet with Western. WFP stated they’d rather have the Squirrel Creek Bridge stay intact.
· We think it's wasteful to take out this bridge that would again be used by Western FP to log on far side of bridge.
· How is Plutonic planning to do maintenance and brushing in the future if you remove access? (Plutonic has committed it would not spray!)
· Wasteful to deactivate the road beyond the removed Squirrel bridge and any others beyond it, if Western will go in the coming years to do more harvesting.
· Wouldn’t it be preferable not to have a repeat of the logging fiasco of a couple of years ago with timber left to rot after the inevitable ambrosia beetle arrival, and it was only dealt with after much of the value was gone out of the wood and it became a huge issue of waste.
Meeting Required:
· Need to sit down together to work this out in the presence of other stakeholders as well. We need to all get on the same page. MOF needs to be there to dispel regulatory misinformation and to help find a way that will work for all. There maybe a need for a facilitator.
· On Saturday 28th, during the previously mentioned phone call with E. Walz, Ms. McCallum indicated she would be willing to attend a meeting with the Outdoor Recreation User Groups and other interested parties during the week of December 14th.
· The ORUG Access Committee is holding a first meeting Monday night, November 30th. We are hoping this access committee group will make things easier for Plutonic because we expect to be involved at the front end in decisions being made regarding our access.
Top Powell River Tourism and Recreation Resource
· The Powell River backcountry and alpine areas are an important recreational resource for Powell River folks. For many it’s their Palm Springs, their weekend getaway, and their escape they can afford.
· The huge tourism potential for the Powell Divide (from Mount Alfred Glacier, to Centre Lakes, Emma Lake, Triple Peaks, and Skwim Mountain) has not been taken into account. Alfred Glacier for instance has five satellite peaks which can be reached and bagged in five day trips made from base camp at the end of D-Branch.
· The Powell Divide allows for weeklong ridge treks where you never have to go below 4000 feet. Whistler would be salivating at alpine recreational opportunities like this.
· We must safeguard Powell River’s ability to recreate and to develop this nascent tourism resource to further diversify our economy.
· Apparently S-Branch behind Freda Lake was already deactivated last week. Ms. McCallum said Plutonic gave the order to deactivate it seasonally but also to leave in the bridges. Need to ascertain whether this happened in the field. Member of the public (Mark Forsyth) was up in his emergency shelter at the end of S-Branch, when a crew showed up with equipment and told him to move out as they were going to deactivate the road. There had been no ad in the paper that this deactivation was going to occur.
· These deactivation actions, proposed or actual, are Plutonic’s statement to our community. S-Branch is virtually inaccessible, even to ATVs. Squirrel Bridge is about to be dismantled, and Goat Lake Main north of it pulled back. This process will be essentially finished by December 2 to 4. Access to Alfred Glacier and Centre Lakes is on the chopping block as advertised. Goat 2 to Triple Peaks will be next.
· Ms McCallum promises to hold meaningful consultations when she comes up to Powell River during the week of December 14th.
Higher Level Planning and Actions Required
· In the absence of a Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP). Plutonic must do more to engage this community and take its needs into consideration. It did not gauge its aspirations accurately.
· Had an LRMP, or some other higher-level strategic plan been in place we would not now be at the eleventh hour with this issue. It would have been resolved long before it became an issue.
· Land and Resource Management Plans cover most of the province. Why was the LRMP process terminated for our region?
· Stakeholder talks need to occur. Establish a round table that includes the major stakeholders, local and provincial governments, industries and community groups.
· Trust must be rebuilt.
· Let’s start thinking outside the box and see where and how legislation might allow us to come up with a creative solution.
· There may be an opportunity to set up a trust fund that would pay for the additional liability and maintenance costs incurred for keeping the alpine access open. Plutonic realized significant savings by using existing roads and infrastructures. Many of these had been made usable and were maintained by volunteers that travel through these valleys and mountains.
· Ms McCallum mentioned she heard from a BCFS employee that the regional district of the lower Sunshine Coast did find a way to expand their liability insurance to include coverage for some of their recreational access and infrastructure. She said she would contact Sechelt on Monday, November 30th, and learn how they accomplished this, and then broach the concept with the Powell River Regional District.
· Other ideas will appear as we sit down and have a conversation around the table looking for a win/win resolution.
Eagle Walz
President
Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (1992)
November 30, 2009
NOTE: As more information becomes available the above summary will be adjusted.
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NOTE: The links below lead to two Peak article by Paul Galinski. One includes a map of the Squirrel Creek Bridge and Goat Lake Main, as well as comments by the public and by Elisha McCallum, Plutonic director of communications. Click on to the links for further information:
www.prpeak.com/articles/2009/12/02/news/doc4b15cf5ee4660019400260.txt
www.prpeak.com/articles/2009/11/18/news/doc4b0356531ea6a595451350.txt
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Alpine Access Post-Plutonic Activities
Below is an article that appeared in the Peak, followed underneath the asterisks by a reader's response to the subject.
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Woodland access under discussion
TICKET TO WONDERLAND: Access to alpine areas is a topic of discussion among Plutonic Power Corporation, recreation users and road permit holders.
Recreational users have concerns about backcountry corridors
by Paul Galinski | reporter@prpeak.com
Published: Friday, November 20, 2009 11:27 AM CST
Backcountry and alpine recreational users are concerned deactivation of roads and infrastructure will restrict wilderness access.
Plutonic Power Corporation is in the process of decommissioning some of the transportation infrastructure it has used to construct power line corridors in Powell River’s backcountry. A series of meetings between Plutonic and various user groups is ongoing to see if a compromise can be reached.
Elisha McCallum, Plutonic director of communications, said Plutonic wants people to know the company doesn’t want to get in the way of access or tourism opportunities. She said the company has certain obligations and needed to have conversations with the road permit holders to ensure it was following the right protocols.
“We are going to be here for the long term,” McCallum said. “We don’t want to get into a situation where we are causing any upset but we also have to meet any obligations we have from a legal and liability perspective.”
McCallum said Plutonic plans on continuing meetings with the road permit holders, such as Western Forest Products (WFP) and the BC Forest Service. “We are going to make a commitment to get back to folks when we have an idea what the next steps are going to be. We did let folks know we weren’t in a position to make decisions...right now.”
Eagle Walz, president of Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS), said what recreational users want is improved access, not terminated access. “It’s basically a matter of money,” he said.
Walz added he understands it’s between WFP and Plutonic to work out matters such as maintenance costs and liability. “It would be an excellent opportunity for both companies to come out looking like they support the development of tourism in this community that has suffered a major downturn as a result of the forest industry,” he said.
“My understanding is the first discussions last week were positive and they are meeting again this week. Elisha said they are hopeful they can reach some kind of an accommodation.”
Walz said PRPAWS is supportive of the efforts to reach accommodations that will benefit the community and create more jobs rather than fewer.
Randy Mitchell, from the Knuckleheads winter recreation group, said Plutonic tells recreational users they have to take on the liability of the bridge, or someone has to, and this is the contention being worked out right now. “The thing that bothers me is they came in and created the problem,” he said. “If they weren’t here, we wouldn’t have the problem. They just came in and started a hornet’s nest.
“We are all hoping that maybe they would help us get more access and there would be some benefit,” he said. “When people use Crown lands to generate wealth, there should be some spinoff, not just to the provincial government.
“They are basically dismantling the public’s access out there. It’s been slowly going on for years. The public doesn’t have any rights or say.”
Mitchell said as long as those power lines are out there “messing things up,” Plutonic should be taking care of things and allowing some good corporate citizenship.
Dave Hodgins, president of the Powell River ATV Club, said his group has been involved in numerous issues with access. “It does not just involve Plutonic,” he said. “It has involved the Powell River Community Forest, BC Timber Sales/BC Forest Service.
“There are solutions,” he said. “We as a community of recreational users have to come up with compromises. We might not like them. Are we as a community, willing to accept a portion of the liability to maintain access?”
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from online readers. In no way do they represent the views of Peak Publishing Ltd. To suggest removal of comments that violate the terms of use, please e-mail webmaster@prpeak.com.
rvalentine wrote on Nov 18, 2009 12:27 PM:
" I absolutely believe that the companies that use our back country road system for profits should be required to leave road access in place. As a kid we used to go up to the lakes and the roads were in great shape. We loved camping and swimming at the many different lakes in the area, it is one of the great things about this area. As years went on and the size of the logging operations decreased, the roads were in a terrible state of barely being maintained. Lots of branch roads deactivated (ditched, blocked, washed out). A lot of lakes access required use of a modified four wheel drive to get to. So I feel it should be these companies, as well as the various levels of government to keep these roads open so everyone can enjoy the things we have right on our doorstep. The recent road upgrades to freda lake main are amazing. I was able recently to take my 83 year grandfather up to freda lake, and to the k branch lookout and he had never been there before, born and raised here. The state of the road before I would not have been able to take him along as it was a terribly rough road. It was hard on the body and took hours to get there. And I shouldn't have to chew the crap out of a road to take my son to a fishing spot. We have many untapped resources here still, opportunities for people here and for tourism expansion. "
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Woodland access under discussion
TICKET TO WONDERLAND: Access to alpine areas is a topic of discussion among Plutonic Power Corporation, recreation users and road permit holders.
Recreational users have concerns about backcountry corridors
by Paul Galinski | reporter@prpeak.com
Published: Friday, November 20, 2009 11:27 AM CST
Backcountry and alpine recreational users are concerned deactivation of roads and infrastructure will restrict wilderness access.
Plutonic Power Corporation is in the process of decommissioning some of the transportation infrastructure it has used to construct power line corridors in Powell River’s backcountry. A series of meetings between Plutonic and various user groups is ongoing to see if a compromise can be reached.
Elisha McCallum, Plutonic director of communications, said Plutonic wants people to know the company doesn’t want to get in the way of access or tourism opportunities. She said the company has certain obligations and needed to have conversations with the road permit holders to ensure it was following the right protocols.
“We are going to be here for the long term,” McCallum said. “We don’t want to get into a situation where we are causing any upset but we also have to meet any obligations we have from a legal and liability perspective.”
McCallum said Plutonic plans on continuing meetings with the road permit holders, such as Western Forest Products (WFP) and the BC Forest Service. “We are going to make a commitment to get back to folks when we have an idea what the next steps are going to be. We did let folks know we weren’t in a position to make decisions...right now.”
Eagle Walz, president of Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS), said what recreational users want is improved access, not terminated access. “It’s basically a matter of money,” he said.
Walz added he understands it’s between WFP and Plutonic to work out matters such as maintenance costs and liability. “It would be an excellent opportunity for both companies to come out looking like they support the development of tourism in this community that has suffered a major downturn as a result of the forest industry,” he said.
“My understanding is the first discussions last week were positive and they are meeting again this week. Elisha said they are hopeful they can reach some kind of an accommodation.”
Walz said PRPAWS is supportive of the efforts to reach accommodations that will benefit the community and create more jobs rather than fewer.
Randy Mitchell, from the Knuckleheads winter recreation group, said Plutonic tells recreational users they have to take on the liability of the bridge, or someone has to, and this is the contention being worked out right now. “The thing that bothers me is they came in and created the problem,” he said. “If they weren’t here, we wouldn’t have the problem. They just came in and started a hornet’s nest.
“We are all hoping that maybe they would help us get more access and there would be some benefit,” he said. “When people use Crown lands to generate wealth, there should be some spinoff, not just to the provincial government.
“They are basically dismantling the public’s access out there. It’s been slowly going on for years. The public doesn’t have any rights or say.”
Mitchell said as long as those power lines are out there “messing things up,” Plutonic should be taking care of things and allowing some good corporate citizenship.
Dave Hodgins, president of the Powell River ATV Club, said his group has been involved in numerous issues with access. “It does not just involve Plutonic,” he said. “It has involved the Powell River Community Forest, BC Timber Sales/BC Forest Service.
“There are solutions,” he said. “We as a community of recreational users have to come up with compromises. We might not like them. Are we as a community, willing to accept a portion of the liability to maintain access?”
*********************************************************************************
Reader Comments
The following are comments from online readers. In no way do they represent the views of Peak Publishing Ltd. To suggest removal of comments that violate the terms of use, please e-mail webmaster@prpeak.com.
rvalentine wrote on Nov 18, 2009 12:27 PM:
" I absolutely believe that the companies that use our back country road system for profits should be required to leave road access in place. As a kid we used to go up to the lakes and the roads were in great shape. We loved camping and swimming at the many different lakes in the area, it is one of the great things about this area. As years went on and the size of the logging operations decreased, the roads were in a terrible state of barely being maintained. Lots of branch roads deactivated (ditched, blocked, washed out). A lot of lakes access required use of a modified four wheel drive to get to. So I feel it should be these companies, as well as the various levels of government to keep these roads open so everyone can enjoy the things we have right on our doorstep. The recent road upgrades to freda lake main are amazing. I was able recently to take my 83 year grandfather up to freda lake, and to the k branch lookout and he had never been there before, born and raised here. The state of the road before I would not have been able to take him along as it was a terribly rough road. It was hard on the body and took hours to get there. And I shouldn't have to chew the crap out of a road to take my son to a fishing spot. We have many untapped resources here still, opportunities for people here and for tourism expansion. "
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