LOCAL WEEKLY: Taking a Stand
A colourful protest on the side of Hwy. 101 in Roberts Creek on Jan. 24 drew attention to the imminent logging of the so-called Clack Creek Forest on Mount Elphinstone. About 125 people waved printed heart signs saying they “stand with Clack Creek”. The heart theme is based on the fact that protesters back in October attached a thousand felt hearts to the trees, which loggers began cutting on Jan. 12. The loggers were interrupted by forest campaigners from Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) and blockaded on the following couple of days. Black Mount Logging, of Squamish, then applied for a court injunction, which was expected this week. ELF said in a statement: “It would take a miracle to prevent the logging now, but given the gravity of what we are losing…we don’t think this forest should fall silently.” To that end, ELF was organizing a march for 7am Jan. 30, with parking at an old gravel pit on the Roberts-Flume forest service road and a 30-minute walk to the blockade site. Roberts Creek sculptor Robert Studer, one of the organizers of the Jan. 24 demonstration, said in a media statement: “Clack Creek Forest is nearly the size of Stanley Park but located in our community on the Sunshine Coast. Imagine that many trees being clear cut in your community.”