December 31, 2006

PRPAWS Activities during 2006 include the following:

· Early in the year we rebuilt and cleared the Eagle River South and the Lois Lakeshore trail sections of the SCT. Then we held a grand re-opening at Easter by inviting the public to come out to the First Annual Easter Egg Hunt on the SCT from Lois dam to Branch 41 campsite. Dozens of participants attended the event, which was memorable for the appearance of a handful of greedy little and big grinches. Apart from the unforeseen lack of décor of a few, we noticed generosity and sharing of the remaining goodies by large and small folk. We hope to avoid a repeat of this glitch during the Second SCT Easter Egg Hunt, come Easter 07, highlighting another easy and accessible section of the Sunshine Coast Trail.

· PAWS promoted Community Values persistently at the table of the Stillwater advisory group, a position maintained since the inception of the original Community Advisory Group (CAG) in 2000. This past April, in advance of completing the sale of Cascadia to Western, a number of members who had continued to advocate for the retention of the Stillwater community values were suddenly no longer members of the advisory group. Cascadia unilaterally changed the heretofore autonomous advisory group, and appointed a smaller, more focused and agreeable group, less demanding of a world-class working forest with its array of community values.

· Produced a widely-distributed colour flyer on the Stillwater Pilot Forest Stewardship Plan and advocated continuation of the following major community values (Stillwater Pilot stewardship zones: old growth, habitat, recreation/tourism and timber zones; lake and trail buffers; variable retention; assured timber supply to local value-added companies 20,000 m3; and an independent advisory group etc.) 8000 copies were distributed through inclusion in the newspaper, and at meetings, and raised the profile of what the community had, and was about to lose.

· Currently in the era of the new Forest and Range Practices Act the balance of competing interests is severely compromised by the crops of FSPs that are coming into being in the next few months. We advocate for and promote forward-looking policies and initiatives, rather than a return to the “good, old days” when the forest industry had minimal restraints to contend with. FRPA needs to change and become more progressive and accountable.

· Met with new owners Western Forest Products and restated our continued desire to have the agreed to community values fully protected. No written guarantees have been made so far, other than a general statement that Western will consider community values outside the legal framework of an FSP through CSA certification measurements. This is not binding and subject to change. We carry on lobbying for written, measurable commitments that will provide certainty for community values.

· Together with the Powell River chapter of the Sierra Club (Malaspina Group) we accessed funding from West Coast Environmental Law to investigate the possibility of challenging the proposed Western Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) over its lack of measurable specifics, and gutted community values. It seems at this point that the Government’s new Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) is the culprit in that it allows companies to write FSPs that have only minimal environmental protections. We continue to explore avenues that might mitigate or reverse this unfortunate step back into the sixties.

· Built a few more benches along the length of the Sunshine Coast Trail (SCT), and installed more metal markers and wooden signs, which are vandalized on occasion. With Robert Kitchen now unable to make more signs we are looking for someone to make new ones. Jim Stutt has agreed to take on this task and produce new signs as needed.

· At the beginning of May we hosted the 13^th Annual Marathon Shuffle on the SCT from Malaspina Road to the Shinglemill (29 km). Very successful event with 47 participants, and a new record being set for the competitive crew: 4 hrs and 8 minutes – joint record by Ean Jackson (of Club Fatass, North Vancouver, and Dennis Morgan, Kelowna). Get ready for the 14^th Annual Marathon Shuffle on Saturday, April 28, 2007. Awards at Shinglemill.

· We strengthened our liaison with the Sunshine Coast Conservancy Association (SCCA), becoming members. We have received valuable advise along the way, and are working together with the lower Sunshine Coast on getting a Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) for the Sunshine Coast Forest District (1.5 million hectares of crown land) that stretches from Howe Sound all the way up to Bute Inlet and the mountains in behind. All of the Sunshine Coast is changing rapidly, including Powell River, and we need to look ahead to provide opportunities for all sectors now, and for future generations.

· We participated in forming the ad-hoc (Land and Resource Management Plan) LRMP Roundtable, and were instrumental in assembling a balanced panel for the successful LRMP Information Meeting in November. 82 members of the public attended the meeting and overwhelmingly endorsed asking government to initiate an LRMP for the Sunshine Coast Forest District.

· With representatives of the Powell River Hiking Club, the BOMB Squad, and Malaspina Group (Sierra Club) on the PRPAWS Executive Board we worked on supporting each other’s efforts in the field of recreation and conservation in the Powell River area.

· Lobbied Ministry of Tourism, Sports and the Arts (MoTSA) to locate a new Recreation Officer for South Island and the Sunshine Coast here in Powell River. Frank Ullmann, a very experienced official in the recreation field, has been hired and works out of the Powell River Forestry Office. He is aware of the SCT and has already been helpful in attracting FIA funding for clearing parts of the Troubridge section by a contractor.

· We continued to attend many meetings in the hope of preserving/ establishing more recreation facilities and wilderness in the region.

· Continued to work toward the creation of Millennium Park, a proposed waterfront park with salmon streams in the center of the city. Some further progress has been made now that City Council has committed to set aside parkland along Willingdon Beach Trail and the McFall Creek Corridor up to the pole line through its participation in the Joint Venture now called Powell River Sliammon Catalyst (PRSC) Ltd. Next on the agenda is negotiations with Island Timberlands, the current owners of the trees of the park, for keeping as many trees as possible. We anticipate this to be a major focus for us in the new year that likely will involve the whole community.

· Provided input to Sliammon re their Little Sliammon Lake Woodlot. We asked for retention of the small stand of large old growth Douglas fir. We are unsure as yet what consideration our request will be given. The trail will also have to be rerouted, with more of it going alongside the south shore of the lake and perhaps with a picnic site and a swimming dock near the old Shangri-La site.

· We are also participating in the public process of the new Sliammon Community Forest. We support the creation of that community forest provided that our community values are assured consideration. As elsewhere along it length, we are looking for a legally recognized Sunshine Coast Trail buffer where it winds through crown land that will eventually become Sliammon treaty settlement lands, and their community forest. Old growth retention, establishing of parkland and truly sustainable logging practices are paramount on our list of requests.

· Held numerous work parties on Tinhat East section of the SCT throughout the year with a reroute around Cranberry and Sofia ponds, and a roughed in section up from Lac Godeau onto the ridge and up to Tinhat Summit. In mid-August we had the first Lewis Lake trail building campout and Shiraz Night and put in a few good days finalizing and clearing the best route on the east ridge of Tinhat. Some fabulous views along the way will make this a popular alternative to get up the mountain once the trail is completed, likely in mid-August.

· We are preparing to celebrate PRPAWS 15^th anniversary on August 9^th to 13^th. You can anticipate canoeing, swimming, wine tasting, fishing and trail building, and more – all part of our anniversary celebrations at Lewis Lake. We are planning to have some of us working on the trail building while others might prefer to swim, or hike, or otherwise entertain themselves in the area. Friday evening, August 10^th, will be wine-tasting qualification rounds. Finals later that weekend. Contact Scott Glaspey 5-9463 for rules of participation.

· We roughed in the proposed Tees Kwat Trail on the Catalyst’s private lands, which runs from near the top of the Wildwood Switchback Trail, down toward the mouth of Powell River and from there north along the water. Hiking this stretch of trail makes it possible to see what the Official Community Plan (OCP) map notation looks like on the ground. In due time we may be able to achieve a public access walking/biking route from Churchman’s Corner near Marine and Penticton generally along the water where possible all the way to the end of city limits at Gibson’s Beach and Sliammon. With the new proposals being advanced by the joint venture PRSC we don’t know what that will look like in the end, but we are ever hopeful that something that would set this community apart from others (a 10 km oceanside greenways trail fronting the city) may actually be achievable. It would further enhance Powell River’s image of the pearl on the Sunshine Coast.

· Along with other groups in the area, we promoted more sensitive logging plans in and around the Rasmussen Forest north of Lund. BC Timber Sales has made some adjustments that take into consideration some of the community values around old growth and recreation near Thulin Passage.

· Partnering with the Friends of Eagle River, we lobbied Island Timberlands (private lands, formerly part of Weyerhaeuser) to scale back on their logging plans and maintain a greenways corridor along Eagle River up from the estuary to the highway bridge and the swimming holes, and from there on to the Lois Lake dam. So far discussions have brought some buffering near the mouth, and near the bridge. Early indications mention leaving a buffer along the river below the dam, an area through which the Sunshine Coast Trail happens to run, and an area, which is very steep and has unstable soils, and a history of landslides. Despite the many years of flushing the river is still alive with salmon and other fish and wildlife. We continue to express our support for a riparian greenway. There are numerous incredibly beautiful stretches along the river.

· We contributed financially to the BOMB Squad to help defray some of the costs incurred by this group when building the wonderful wooden bridges, or doing trail maintenance and building.

· We made a presentation to the new Powell River Community Forest Board, requesting consideration for conditions that would ensure pristine waters and healthy soils, retention of old growth, maintenance of recreation/tourism facilities, and adherence to logging practices that would bring about a world-class working forest.

· We reconfirmed our decade-old position of wanting to have the Penticton Heronry (the wooded area between Marine and Joyce) maintained as green space and established as a Wildlife Habitat by the province. There are other places in Powell River where houses can be built; the heronry is unique. These birds are a species at risk and are blue-listed and deserve to keep their home, their key to successful survival in the midst of the city.

· We are working with BC Timber Sales to ensure the protection of old growth for Marbled Murrelet habitat on Mount Troubridge. Government has apparently given the green light for a study of that rare environment and that rare bird.

· We purchased new Husqvarna chainsaw, loppers, and adzes for trail building and maintenance.

· Throughout the year we had dozens of work parties doing the necessary maintenance on the 180 km long coastal hiking trail (SCT).

· Through talks the Sunshine Coast Trail became a part of the Canada wide National Hiking Trail, bringing coast-to-coast recognition.

BREAKING NEWS: We cleared Appleton Canyon Trail, Gwendoline Hills Trail from Malaspina Road to Manzanita Bluffs, and the Yew/Mud Lake Loop to Squirrel Crossing during the Christmas Holidays. Enjoy.

Please renew your membership or make a donation to help us carry on with advocating for the establishment of a healthy and prosperous world-class working forest, and steer clear of a return to clear-cut logging. Donations are tax-deductible and we will send you a receipt. Thank you for your generosity, and your continued support.

Happy New Year,

From your Powell River Parks and Wilderness Executive Committee:

Lita, Jim, Hilary, Scott, Lars, Wes, Monty, Richie, and Eagle