Dear Editor,
I myself as a Haida citizen, need people to understand the ramifications of the logging industry on Haida Gwaii
As I write this post, I can think of 42 families on this island who are directly affiliated with the logging industry, whether they are directly involved as workers, or supporting their family or are subsidized by the logging industry
I agree there are still changes to be made, but from my years working as a forester, I can attest that the logging industry on Haida Gwaii is among the most highly regulated in the world. I worked for many years as a junior forestry technician doing cultural identification surveys with other Haida citizens and have seen firsthand the steps that are taken to ensure that culturally important plants are protected, as well as culturally important areas involving CMT’s and sensitive watersheds that are imperative for our salmon runs
Now, I am an apprentice electrician working my way towards my Red Seal certification, so I can serve the citizens of Haida Gwaii and their construction needs. It has always been my goal to better the lives of my people on this island and I cannot do that if there is no economy.
If logging were to cease to exist, the Island’s economy would fall, the majority of the people I know in my life are directly involved in the logging industry, Haida citizen or not, there are many families who have been here for generations and their voices are unable to be heard because of this, and their families would be directly affected as well.
There have been negative impacts of early logging on this island. I know this and I do not want to see our island’s forests decimated to a point where we as Haida people cannot perform our cultural duties to keep our culture alive. I am a proud Haida Citizen, and that will never change, but in today’s world, I know for a fact that we do need to have an economy, and here on this island, the logging industry is at the heart of it.
Damon Fladmark
