Out of site out of mind
Water Woman Eloise, Tommy Tree Hugger and Mountain Man Mick have for 30 years plus worked successfully together on a number of occasions to stop gross violations of BC Forestry laws and Sanity in the massive remote wilderness Duncan Lake drainage north of Kaslo BC.
In 2020 Mick was informed of an apparently abandoned burnt out feller buncher machine leaking oil and grease on a new industrial logging road near Bear Trap Creek. A large drainage 50 kms up on the east side of Duncan Lake.
We were told that the good folks from Valhalla Wilderness Society had three times reported this gross violation of Common Sense and BC’s pollution laws to “Report Polluter and Poacher” RAPP., however the machine was not dealt with by the local timber baron that had left the machine dripping oil and grease directly onto the ground. No effort to contain the leaking poisons.
They are omnipotent in this remote valley. Out of site out of mind.
Mick and Tommy decided they wanted to have the machine removed from this wilderness valley.
We went in the summer of 2021 with a film crew to the remote location and found and filmed the machine actively dripping poisons 100 plus yard away from the pristine Waters of Bear Trap Creek.
We took samples of the dripping oil and went with samples to G. Wiggles Ministry of Forestry office in Nelson.
We told Mr Wiggle who had been ignoring the RAPP reports that we wanted the machine moved out of the wilderness creek drainage.
He knew he could not ignore us. In 1999 we had successfully blockaded Mr Wiggle and other employees of BC Ministry of Force from spraying poisonous chemical brushing agents on clear cuts in the Westfall River drainage just north of Bear Trap.
Over a 3 decade period there had also been a number of other peaceful direct action blockade spearheaded by our team that gave the very well paid Ministry of Force big wig pause to listen and act to our reasonable request.
The leaking machine was moved within a month of our efforts.
During our time up Bear Trap we saw that the local timber barons were breaking the law regarding clear cutting in sensitive wetlands with healthy ancient Red Cedar trees knocked to the ground and left in a wetland swamp that should have been left with a major buffer zone of shade trees to prevent the wet area from drying out.
They don’t care and the Ministry of Force (M.o.F) employees that are paid good wages to regulate the timber harvesting and prevent the timber barons from riding rough shod over common sense and the laws in place to protect these vital wetlands. Appear to be taking orders from the Fox.
