On Saturday June 30th, close to 100 people gathered in Cherryville to mark their opposition to the Ministry of Forests' plan to spray 20,000 litres of pesticides at the headwaters of the Shuswap and to tell the Province they want “Health restoration Programs” not further degradation programs.
“The Upper Shuswap River watershed includes protected areas, the interior rainforest, the Monashee Provincial Park, all of which will be affected by spraying against the Looper moth” said Carla Vierke as she welcomed people from as far as Ashton Creek to Saturday's rally. “The Ministry of Forest tells us that this spray program has been planned since 2008, showing how pesticides have become an integral part of the Province's arsenal to manage forests for the logging industry. Healthy forests that have plant diversity that provide balanced habitat for a variety of species have no need to spray” continued Vierke.
Aline Piche, who spoke on behalf of the Cherryville Water Stewards whose motto is “Protect the Source” was followed by Don Elzer who published extensively in MyValleySun.com and said that he worried about the conflicting information coming out of the Province regarding the caribou. “Who is looking after the impacts of what is happening in the forests? BC Parks tell us that spraying is necessary to protect critical cedar-hemlock habitat for Caribou while the provincial government tells us the Caribou herd's low numbers cannot be sustained, so they are allowing it to become extinct. Naturalists argue that numbers are higher than claimed and that abandoning the herd would open the area up to more logging and heli-skiing in what is sensitive Caribou range. What are we to believe?”
Of further concern to Bee SAFE is the fact that contrary to the claims made by the Ministry, Foray 48B is no inoffensive to other species and is not a solution to restoring forest health. Huguette Allen: “Working with nature is the solution, not against it. The Journal of Pesticide Reform of McGill University says that large applications of B.t (the active ingredient in Foray 48B) can have far reaching ecological impacts, dramatically reducing numbers and variety of moths and butterfly species, further impacting birds and mammals that feed on caterpillars. And Foray 48B affects mammals including humans, causing corrosive damage to eyes, skin, digestive systems, provoking cancers, allergies, asthma. We don't need the surfactants, sulphuric acid, and other contaminants used as inert ingredients in our watershed. Bee SAFE's letter to the Ministry made it clear that we're concerned that spraying is motivated by economic factors instead of ecological factors.”
As the rain started pelting down on everyone, Priscilla Judd sang a song she'd written expressly for the rally linking clearcut mountainsides, to recent mud slides, and pesticides. As people stood under umbrellas and rain coats, holding up their signs for all to see, Carla Vierke reminded everyone that this rally was only the beginning, hat although 100 people could not immediately stop the helicopters, their perseverance would win out as long as they remained determined to take back the forest.
**********************************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment