The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is applauding the Province today as they announced a beloved park region outside of Hope has been saved from commercial logging.
Silverdaisy Valley is located in the upper reaches of the Skagit River Valley, surrounded by Manning and Skagit Valley Provincial Parks. The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRO) said it was those who opposed planned logging in the area who should be credited with protecting the area.
“Effective immediately, BC Timber Sales will no longer award timber licences in the Silverdaisy area, ensuring no additional commercial forest harvesting occurs in that area,” said Doug Donaldson, FLNRO minister. “We’ve heard loud and clear from individuals and groups on both sides of the border that logging should stop in the Silverdaisy, and we’re making sure that commercial timber harvesting in that area does not continue.”
The Silverdaisy management area – commonly known as the “Donut Hole” – is about 5,800 hectares. It consists of lands removed from the original Skagit Valley Recreation Area in 1995, and Skagit Provincial Forest and lands removed from E. C. Manning Park in 1968.
A timber sale licence was awarded for the Silverdaisy area in 2015, according to a press release from the Province, and that allowed commercial forest harvesting to occur in the area. That timber harvesting has now ended and no future licences will be awarded by BC Timber Sales, they added.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates tremendous leadership from the BC government to work towards nature protection in critical parts of the province,” said Tori Ball, Terrestrial Campaigner for CPAWS-BC. “We congratulate everyone involved for their persistent and collaborative efforts to find a resolution to the threat of logging in the rich and intact Silverdaisy Valley.”
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