Local Damage by Deforestation

About 10 or 12 years ago a small shingle mill was erected on Mosquito Creek and logging on a small scale commenced on the slopes of Grouse Mountain above the creek. There were a few small Summer cottages on the opposite side and a rustic log bridge spanned the creek at that point; many of you remember it. Some of you were present and will remember a prophecy I made about ten years ago at one of our excursions to Grouse Mountain; at that time I predicted the erosion of the mountain-side near Mosquito Creek. Within two years a large scar made its appearance, trees, gravel, and rocks were washed down; at least one of the houses smashed by falling trees; debris temporarily dammed the creek, washed out the bridge and its supports of rock, and deposited sand, gravel, rocks and trees all along the lower part of the valley. Spring freshets are now an annual menace, the erosion continues, the end is not yet. The scar can now be seen from Vancouver and is increasing year by year. Other scars are beginning, and will soon be in evidence from this side; the “writing on the wall.”

A few years ago a company started a mill on Hollyburn Ridge, part of which drains into Cypress Creek. Ask the residents of Cypress Park what the result was. The Spring freshets turned the otherwise beautiful creek into a roaring, rushing, turbulent torrent, breaking its banks, washing out roads and paths and depositing a deep layer of sand and gravel over the lawns and gardens of residents who had spent much time and money in beautifying their homes.

Then a logging firm started in on Capilano – the thin edge of the wedge – they deforested the valley just below the intake, then around Sisters' Creek, then the slopes of Crown Mountain, and where next. They want to go higher and higher up the watershed; Vancouver’s water supply is of no interest to them, it’s the timber they are after, and they mean to get it whether Vancouver survives or not. It looks as if British Columbia’s forest resources were almost depleted if it is found necessary to attack the watershed of the largest city in the Province; this must be the last resort.