BC Timber Sales License TA2381 with clear-cut 41 hectares of old growth forest on steep slopes above Nahmint Lake west of Port Alberni. BCTS is planning on auctioning this forest in the third quarter of fiscal year 25 meaning that it will likely be up for auction in early 2025. This massive cut block targets a forest identified as suitable Marbled Murrelet by the BC government's 2018 Marbled Murrelet habitat suitability map. It would clear-cut forest directly above wildlife habitat area 1-729. This area is one of the most intact forests on Southern Vancouver Island, the steap hillside is blanketed in old growth forest from the top of the mountain to the shores of Nahmint Lake, and the sale area includes a small tributary to Nahmint Lake which is entirely intact and has never seen logging. This timber sale would also require the expansion of the Riverside Main logging road to sneak around steep cliffs on a slope that is currently roadless, and allow for the destruction of several small wetlands. This cut block contains 8.1 million board feet of timber (19,000 m³) which, given the amount of roadbuilding involved in this timber sale will probably sell for several million dollars at most. It's insane that BCTS is continuing to target old-growth forest despite repeated commitments from the NDP that they are "protecting" old growth.
