Project Staff

February 16, 2023

Dave Younger, the operator of Woodlot 2032, replied to David Broadland's letter with the following letter to the editor in the February 3, 2023 edition of the Discovery Islander:

I WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND to David Broadland’s letter regarding his accusation that my company, Younger Bros. Holdings Inc., is performing ethically questionable practices. We have tried to talk to Mr. Broadland about this issue and have invited him to come out to the Woodlot Licence, but he has chosen not to do that. I have found that the best way to deal with a problem is to discuss it with the people who have the objections. Unfortunately, that has not happened so I will state my case here. I have a degree in Forestry and have been working in the forest industry for the last 45 years, so I have some experience in this area.

Mr. Broadland states that I “built logging roads through two areas of old forest the company had mapped in its 2011 Woodlot Plan”. In my 2011 Woodlot Licence Plan (WLP) it clearly states that “trees in wildlife retention areas may be removed if there is a need to remove the trees to provide access to adjacent stands”. To be very clear, all old growth trees are protected at Woodlot Licence W2032, and no Old Growth trees were removed during this road development. This road was constructed because access to this woodlot is very difficult, and this was the only route. I spent a long time looking at this route and it has allowed me to get down to Logger’s Bay with the least adverse grades.

Mr. Broadland states that we have changed the designation of reserves of old forest such that those areas are now included in the operable landbase of the Woodlot Licence. This is in the area of Manzanita Mountain (or Darkwater Mountain). There is a legal requirement for all Woodlot Licences that a minimum of 8% of the Licence area is designated as long-term reserve (Wildlife Tree Patches). For the initial WLP, we identified 122 ha or 16% of the Woodlot Licence potential reserve areas with a clear commitment to review those areas within the first 10 years and to update the retention strategy on the updated WLP. The understanding was that “over the initial 10-year term of Woodlot License 2032, additional commitments will arise in response to government and public feedback as well as on-the- ground experience in the Woodlot Licence area and longterm objectives” which will require changes. What we found in this 10-year period was that the lower areas have had skid trails and various forms of logging in what was called “old growth forest” and that is why we removed them. Another reason was a comment found on his website in the Sierra Club’s critique of my Management Plan 2010 where they stated that “Woodlot 1969 established wildlife tree retention reserves located along the boundary with this woodlot (WL 2032) should be mapped. Future reserves within WL2032 should be considered adjacent to these reserves to add to their size” To reiterate, we have not changed our commitment not to log old growth forest and all old growth trees are reserved from harvest at Woodlot Licence W2032.

Mr. Broadland goes on to state that the Manzanita Mountain old forest replacement has been logged and is younger and sparser than the previous one. This is simply untrue. The replacement forest has less disturbance and more old growth than the stand that it replaced. His statement that part of an old logging road was named “Manzanita Trail” is only partially correct. The trail follows the old road and then goes up through the old growth retention area to the top of Manzanita Mountain, to a patch of Manzanita (arctostaphylos columbiana) which is probably close to its northern-most limit of distribution. This is a very unique ecosystem and appropriately is now included in the retention strategy for Woodlot Licence W2032.

I consider the self-named ‘Manzanita Mountain Recreation Area’ a jewel of this Woodlot Licence and I have diligently worked on providing access to this unique area over the last 10 years. This includes road access, parking, and trail location. Although difficult to get to and steep, this area provides for a beautiful day hike to an area of unique ecology. I hope that this area can be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.

If anyone would like to discuss any of these issues or to have a tour of Woodlot Licence W2032, please contact me at any at 250-202-1553.

Dave Younger

February 16, 2023

Regarding renewal of woodlot 2032.

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