Logging in the Castle Crown Wilderness

I've campaigned against logging in the Castle for several years now.  The case seems obvious, but, recently a column appeared in the local paper making a compelling case.  With the author's permission, I reproduce it here:

Chaos courts the Castle

David McIntyre, Crowsnest Pass

Society was recently stunned when told the Castle River valley would be logged because of the Alberta government’s need to, “… balance environment and economic development.”
The statement defies logic. Why? There is no balance because logging in southwestern Alberta produces no economic benefit to society as a whole. What appears obvious is that it costs the government more to manage these cold, high elevation forests for timber production than the resultant timber is worth.
In other words, managing this treasured headwaters landscape to generate timber revenue results in a net economic loss. Having the government report that this logging strikes a “balance” makes it sound as if a thoughtful review had led to a logical conclusion. But there is no logic. Instead, the government chose to embrace welfare logging over economic and environmental options and, as a result, authored a course of action that’s guaranteed to cost taxpayers dearly.
Phrased another way, the government’s decision implies that nothing—absolutely nothing—is so rare, or valuable, that it won’t be sacrificed in order to support commercial clear-cut logging of the forest … even if society forfeits buckets of cash in the process, even if the logging kills endangered species and degrades essential watershed values.
But don’t worry. Everything’s fine. All the paperwork’s in order. And it shows that the government didn’t find a single grizzly den in the area. And why not? It didn’t have time to look; it was too busy approving logging permits.
Why does the government choose to act in a direct affront to science, economics and overwhelming public sentiment? Why does the government wish to flaunt its ability to degrade, needlessly, an iconic, world-class landscape, even if nothing is to be gained, even if the degradation enrages the populace?
Here in Alberta, purported economics tend to trump the environment in every case. But in the case of the Castle, the economic argument supports a no-logging decision. What the government touts as a “balance” of environment and economics is, in reality, the blatant disregard of each of these values, followed by the illogical, incongruous rationalization of an inexplicable and ill-founded outcome: clear-cut logging of a revered, internationally marketed Crown of the Continent landscape.
The Castle’s billion-dollar landscape constitutes a strikingly unusual, viable, high-end ecotourism and geotourism product, a product that Travel Alberta is marketing around the world with a multimillion-dollar promotional campaign. This is vintage Alberta, and the marketed product relies on an intact landscape with aesthetic and ecological appeal. The Castle, as it exists today, is the foundation for a catch-and-release form of self-sustaining tourism.
Recent promotional efforts by Travel Alberta, coupled with cries of concern from troubled geotourism operators, have profiled the need for sustainable tourism, a product that’s currently in a state of perpetual degradation. The Castle’s dramatic Crown of the Continent landscape is showcased by Travel Alberta, and its managing director, speaking of the promotional images, says they are “powerful expressions” of what makes Alberta attractive to visitors. “We needed to peel back the layers and capture the authenticity of Alberta.”
Logging the Castle’s headwaters kills the land’s intrinsic, geotourism worth. Clear-cut logging of a revered heritage landscape is not an authentic and powerful marketing tool. It’s a lethal stab into the heart of the international tourist. It’s the death knell for tourism dollars. It’s AB-SRD.
Sustainable Resource Development and, apparently, the entire Alberta government, have lost touch with society’s pulse and its wishes. The government no longer hears the voice, nor the pleas, of the people.
How ironic that the government, with a cheering populace lauding it, could save the Castle in a heartbeat, but appears committed to throw away this vote-winning outcome in favor of degrading the province and kicking society in the teeth. Why? (This is the question that leaves people shaking their heads.)

Lorne Fitch has also had published compelling analyses of why it's very bad to log the Castle Wilderness:
Honk for Water, Wilderness and Reason

. . . 

This protest has been building; several things help frame the actions of people on the picket line and elsewhere in Alberta. Among the things that puzzle people is the blatant disregard for existing policy, planning and process. In addition, neither the science, economics or public opinion support industrial scale, clearcut logging.

The overarching intent for the Castle is entrenched in Eastern Slopes Policy. Not surprisingly, to the many downstream communities dependant on water, the prime directive is watershed protection. Alberta Environment has questioned whether AFS has the necessary data, requisite skills and confidence in water quantity modeling to ensure logging doesn’t impact water supply. AFS response is along the lines of “don’t worry”. Many do worry since there is no evidence from any actual monitoring to substantiate this claim.    [Go to Lorne's full column for more: http://stopcastlelogging.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/honk-for-water-wilderness-and-reason/ )