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Logging exacerbates flooding

An end to clearcut logging in favour of a selective process
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(A copy of a letter to North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring):

I have read that you are looking for a strategy to deal with incidents of flooding of the Chemainus and other rivers in the area.

You are probably aware of the log jamming that occurred around where the river flows under Highway 1 during the recent flooding and also in January 2020. Those logs are trees which would have been helping to slow the flow of water if they had been left standing.

Perhaps a significant piece of the strategy should be incorporated into the Municipal Forest Reserve management plan now under review. It would mean an end to clearcut logging in favour of a selective process to ensure retention of adequate forest cover.

It’s not a contradiction that in recent years the Cowichan Valley is also experiencing increasing drought. Without good forest cover rainwater rushes away, leaving the land without enough water to last through the dry summer. The cost of loss from flood and drought is high.

John Carver,

Duncan