In the Valley, shock and anger are brewing. The Six Mountain Forest, our rare, endangered coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem, home to 526 imperilled species, is again critically at risk. And not by the threat of climate change but by our own council. Recently, the newly configured council voted four to three to make logging our community forests a priority in the 2026 strategic plan.
This would mean throwing out our recent, rigorous and expensive, four year public consultation, including an on-line survey with 76 per cent of the public supporting conservation vs logging our forest reserve, and a statistically valid phone survey with 67 per cent support.
Furthermore, they are contravening the spirit of consultation, on-going, with the Quw’utsun.
And to top it all off there is no Forest Advisory Committee to advise. Council has tasked North Cowichan staff, already short staffed, with the challenge of reinventing a plan to log our backyards, our watersheds, our fire block (mature fire-resistant trees), our home. Any logging will mean roads built through our recreational areas on Stoney Hill, Mount Tzouhalem, Prevost, Maple Mountain, Richards, and Sicker.
The only glimmer of good news is that Ted Swabey, our chief administrative officer, says to resume logging would take time and probably wouldn’t happen before the 2026 election.
WE CAN STOP THE LOGGING. We can share our arsenal of facts — why it makes no sense to log our world-renowned Six Mountain Forest, the envy of communities around us who have raised millions of dollars to buy forests a fraction the size of ours.
We, as a community, have a great gift and responsibility. We legally own the right to protect our home with our neighbours the Quw’utsun. We have power — more power to protect our forests than any community on the continent. We don’t need to chain ourselves to trees. We are not up against the forestry industry and the Crown. We can advocate through a legitimate, local electoral process. We can vote.
Recently one of the councillors, who supports logging our Six Mountains, said, if the public doesn’t want logging, vote me out. OK, all we need to do is share the facts. We did this for four years ago and won. We can do it again.
But let us be clear, anger will not win the battle. Though anger is a call to action, it is not what wins the war. Only love that takes action can do this — love for our forests, for nature, for future generations, for life.
Since the public voted for conservation, we have been sleeping lions, respectful of the consultation with the Quw’utsun.
Now we rise to prepare for the election that will decide the fate of our community forests. With every reason to take action — ecological, recreational, financial, including property values, and fire protection — the next battle begins.
Before the municipal staff delivers its report, and before the October 2026 election, we must educate ourselves. To this end, we will be writing to the Citizen with facts about our Six Mountain Forest. Please share.
We have twelve months and counting.
Icel Dobell
Where Do We Stand
