Hundreds of hectares of Sunshine Coast forests – some located above your drinking water – are about to be auctioned for logging.
BC Timber Sales (BCTS) operations span the Sunshine Coast Natural Resource District. Logging is proposed annually across key environmental zones, including aquifer recharge areas, mature second-growth forests, buffer zones near parks, and essential salmon habitat.
BCTS has released its new Forest Operations Map (FOM 2190), outlining proposed logging and road-building plans across the Sunshine Coast from April 2025 to March 2027. The public can comment on these plans online until May 16, 2025. We’ve provided some instruction below on how to do that.
Forest Operations Maps (FOM) outline where and when BCTS plans to log or build roads over the next two years.
On the Sunshine Coast, FOM 2190 includes plans to log approximately 803 hectares of forest across 54 cut blocks and create dozens of kilometers of new roads.
An Urgent Concern
Right now, one of our most urgent concerns is the proposal to log Cut Block 38671 BB4NV, a 38.4-hectare block in the critical recharge area for Aquifer 560, which supplies drinking water to Gibsons and the SCRD. Logging here threatens water security, biodiversity, slope stability, and downstream infrastructure.
This block has been in BCTS’s plans since 2020 and has been moved and amended several times. It was initially scheduled for 2027. It is now slated for auction in July 2025. The management plan for logging in this complex terrain involves an experimental partial harvest with no monitoring plan for impacts on aquifer recharge.
The SCCA is calling on the BC Government to:
- Cancel proposed logging in the drinking water aquifer recharge zones.
- Develop a Water Sustainability Plan for the recharge areas of aquifers 560 and 552 under the Water Sustainability Act.
- Incorporate cumulative effects, climate risk, and biodiversity values into all forest planning.
Quick Guide: Comment in 3 Minutes
We encourage Sunshine Coast residents to let BCTS know that logging cut block 38671 BB4NV (which is in the critical recharge area for Aquifer 560) is not acceptable to the public. Here’s how to do that:
- Copy the Sample Comment that we’ve provided on this page (just below these instructions) onto the clipboard of your computer.
- Open the Forest Operations Map for our area. The page will look like the image below.
- Click the blue button labelled Submit a Comment.
- In the popup, tick I agree and then click Next.
- Enter in your personal information (it is not necessary to enter a phone number) and click Next.
- Left-click once where it says Overall FOM and then use the down arrow on your keyboard to move down through the popup list until you see Cut Block 38671 BB4NV. (It’s near the top of the options.) Left-click once on that drop-down option.
- Paste the sample comment that you had put on your clipboard in step 1 of these instructions into the box labelled Your Comment. Edit the comment as you see fit.
- Click the Submit button. You’re done! Thank you for taking action to protect our water supply!
Sample Comment
I oppose logging cut block 38671 BB4NV in the Mt. Elphinstone aquifer recharge zone. This forest filters and stores drinking water for Gibsons and the SCRD. Logging here presents unacceptable risks to public health, infrastructure, and biodiversity.
I call on the Province to:
- Cancel all logging in aquifer recharge zones and salmon-bearing watersheds
- Develop a Water Sustainability Plan with First Nations, local governments, and community groups.
No timber sales should proceed until a comprehensive, science-based plan is in place with community consent.
Comment on FOM 2190 Now
More Ways to Get Involved
- Spread the word: Share this page with your neighbours, friends, and networks.
- Contact your MLA: Urge them to support deferrals and water protection.
- Support the SCCA: Your donations help us defend our forests, water, and wildlife.