Am I being cynical or just realistic? In the almost two years since the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel report was released, little action has been taken, but we all know of the many, many old trees that have been taken. They say that where there’s a will, there’s a way. The BC government didn’t…

Let’s imagine you are sitting in your favourite chair, reading a fantastic book one cold and rainy day, when you hear water dripping onto the floor beside you. You rush to get a bucket, set it under the leak and call the roofer. You are so relieved when a truck pulls up and you hear…

Climate Chaos is barreling down on us. We need immediate action and leadership by all levels of government for a rapid and JUST TRANSITION away from fossil fuels. Join us outside MP Alistair MacGregor’s office March 12 at 1pm to imagine forward into that just transition and celebrate the opportunities and jobs that come with…

84 logging trucks passed through Youbou in one day. That’s a heck of a lot of trees that won’t be around to store carbon as the climate emergency deepens. They won’t be here to cool the local environment in the next heat dome. Nor will they capture and slowly release the incredible amounts of rain…

I’ve got good news and bad news: The Cowichan Valley Regional District is now accepting applications for a Coordinator of the region’s Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Program in the Environmental Services Division: “By taking a watercentric view of policy, planning and operational decision making going forward, we can adapt to the realities of a…

One of our directors heard the sounds of saws and trees falling when she was walking her dogs at Spring Beach. I reached out to Pam Jorgenson at Mosaic and here’s what she said: “I was recently advised that the Crown woodlot licensee (between our property and the Youbou Road) was commencing some work. Your…

For those of you who don’t belong to the Youbou Community Association, this message from Mosaic Forestry was in the YCA newsletter. Sorry if some information is missing, I captured what I could: MOSAIC 2022 UPDATE By Pam Jorgenson, RPF, Land Use Forester Pam.Jorgenson@MosaicForests.com Mosaic wishes to address some climate change concerns and to provide…

Mosaic Forest Management, in its literature, says “Mosaic manages the forest planning, operations and product sales for TimberWest and Island Timberlands, two proud companies operating on Vancouver Island for over 100 years.” TimberWest was founded in 1997 and Island Timberlands in 2005. I’m not a math whiz, but the numbers don’t seem to add up.…

We know we’re not alone in this critical campaign to save watersheds from logging that begins with logging roads and continues all the way to the ocean. Rod Burns from Quadra Island shared this letter his group wrote to Domenico Iannindinardo at Mosaic (TimberWest): Attention: Domenico Iannidinardo, Vice President, Forest & Logistics and Chief Forester…

After seeing the mouth of Cottonwood Creek, with knee-high silt deposits that are so harmful to fish, and a huge debris pile that has altered the creek, I again wonder why destructive forestry practices are permitted to continue. I’d like someone to point me to an independent, objective scientific study that indicates there is no…

After the devastating rains that caused flooding and loss throughout BC, the overwhelming feelings of grief will be compounded by the urgent need to clean-up, restore and replace what the flood waters took away. It took less than two days to bring a virtual halt to the infrastructure we rely on to bring goods and…

I’ve been thinking a lot about trust lately. It was something that Molly Hudson, from TimberWest/Mosaic, said at the end of our tour of two of the cut blocks that are going forward on Mts. Holmes and Good, above our community. She said, “We want to gain your trust.” When someone wants to “gain your…

Aquifer 190 (shown in the picture in orange) runs from the westernmost part of our community to the end of the North Arm of Cowichan Lake. It is the source of our drinking water and plays an important role in the health of Cowichan Lake. The four 10 football field size cut blocks that will…

Erik Piikkila is in the first video Save Our Holmes created, It and the others can be found on Save Our Holmes’ Youtube channel. This article highlights one of our major concerns; clear cut logging harms the forest’s ability to capture, filter, store and slowly release water into the environment. Reform of forestry practices will…

If you missed Youbou “SAVE Our Holmes” community meeting in August, here is a modestly shot video of the event. It was wonderful to see and hear from Alistair McGregor, who on day 1 of the election campaign chose to hang with the Youbou community to talk about logging our slopes. If you missed Youbou…