So, what

business are
they in, anyway?

At the same time major forest
companies ask us to help them
maintain the working forest
on crown lands, they are
about to make fortunes by
selling off their private forest

lands for real estate
developments

re major forest companies in British

Columbia going to take their privately

managed forest lands and develop

them as would real estate developers?

Are the majors going to become

wheeler dealers with some of our very
best forest lands at the same time they ask for the
union’s help in fighting to preserve their working
forests on public lands?

These are some very serious questions that are
being asked in union and community circles as it
appears that there is a trend by major forest compa-
ny’s such as MacMillan Bloedel and Weldwood
Canada Ltd., to parcel off their private forest lands
for purposes other than growing trees.

It’s now happening, albeit to a small degree on
the eastern portion of Vancouver Island. And, as
populations pressures grow, it could be just the tip
of the iceberg.

On Vancouver Island alone there are-over 650,000
hectares of private lands owned mostly by four
major forest corporations (see table page fourteen).
To say that these corporations; MacMillan Bloedel,
Fletcher Challenge, Canadian Pacific Forest Prod-
ucts, and Weldwood Canada have a lot of influence
on the private lands usage patterns would be an
understatement. They are the powerful multination-
al corporations, descendent from B.C.’s early lum-
ber barons.

The four corporations basically own and control
forestry operations from Campbell River to Victo-
ria, on the eastern half of Vancouver Island. The
lion’s share of that private land originates from the
old Esquimalt and Nanoose (E & N) Railway land
grants doled to the Dunsmuir family in the late
1800’s. The land was granted to the Dunsmuir’s in
exchange for the commitment that a railway would
be built from Esquimalt (near Victoria) to Campbell
River.

The railway, built by the Dunsmuir’s only made it
as far as Courtenay. A portion of it was eventually
sold to the Comox Valley Logging Railway. Since
the first give away of the E & N land grant, many
fortunes have been made off the forested lands of
east Vancouver Island.

Now it appears that there could be more fortunes
made - this time in the real estate market. If that
happens, then forest lands managed under Managed
Forest Land Status, will disappear from the working
forest forever. Once they are gone they won't ever

° Near the forest dependent community of Youbou on Vancouver Island, MB

has staked out housing development lots in second growth forest stands.

grow trees for the industry again.

That thought in itself has some IWA officials up in
protest. At the union’s National Convention in Octo-
ber 1992, the union passed a resolution calling for
regulation of activities on private forest lands. Very
rarely before, other than over the issue of raw log
exports from private lands, has the IWA spoken so
loudly about activity in private forests.

Usually the union has been caught up in battles
over defending the working forest on public lands,
against attacks by “preservationist” groups who
want to put a halt to forestry activities.

Now it’s time to also be concerned about big for-
est corporations who may be looking to flip chunks
of working forest for short term profit over long-
term sustainable forestry.

Of the four corpora-
tions mentioned above,
MacMillan Bloedel and
Weldwood Canada are
actively taking on or
seeking to take lands out
of Managed Forest Land
Status.

“Managed Forest Land”
is simply a classification
term used for taxation
purposes by the B.C.
Assessment Authority
(BCAA), a provincial gov-
ernment agency which
classifies and values land
for assessment purposes.
The BCAA basically puts
information together for
the provincial and local
governments for tax pur-
poses.

Now MacMillan Bloe-
del and Weldwood are
getting into the real
estate and land redevel-
opment business. MacMil-
lan Bloedel’s doing it by
lake shores near Youbou
and near the community
of Parksville while Weld-
wood is doing it at Union
Bay, 12 kilometres south
of Courtenay.

J EaN

| LAND GRANT

e Above map shows coloured area of old E & N land grant where most land
on east coast is held by forest companies.

MB has taken about 100 acres out near Youbow
and is taking almost 900 acres out near Parksville,
while Weldwood has taken 690 hectares out of man-
aged forest lands production at Union Bay.

Near Youbou MB is into the complete develop
ment mode. They are working with while a real
estate developer to sell expensive homes. Near —
Parksville they are telling the community that it's”
time for expansion.

Weldwood has planned a commercial, residential —
development near Union Bay with an 18 hole golf
course and the whole nine yards.

Both forest companies aren’t interested in —
forestry at these areas — they are interested in —
making money.

Bill Routley, president of IWA-CANADA, Local

PRIVATE
FOREST LANDS ON
VANCOUVER
ISLAND

@/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1993