Plant Communities at Risk from Logging

VICTORIA – A Forest Practices Board investigation of a complaint about logging near Mt. Elphinstone Park has found that BC Timber Sales met all of its obligations in developing the cutblocks, but concludes that some at-risk plant communities are not adequately protected by current legislation or policy. The complaint was submitted by Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF), an environmental group located in Roberts Creek, BC. The group was concerned that logging would remove forest stands containing at-risk plant communities and threaten the representation of those plant communities in the area. The investigation confirmed that representative examples of the western hemlock – flat moss plant community and the western red cedar – sword fern plant community were present in the two cutblocks that were logged.