An urgent update on BCTS’s planned sale on Mount Elphinstone, why it puts Aquifer 560 at risk, and how a Water Sustainability Plan can fix the system.
Status update (as of Sept 4, 2025)
BC Timber Sales (BCTS) has signalled plans to auction cutblock TA0159 on Mount Elphinstone’s southeast slopes, in the recharge area for Aquifer 560. Local governments and community groups have raised formal concerns and requested a deferral. BCTS’ FY2026 Q2 sales schedule lists TA0519 as Planned for auction between July 1 and September 30, 2025. TA0159 could be posted to BC Bid any day.
Key facts:
- Size & location: TA0159 is ~38.4 ha in the heart of the Aquifer 560 recharge area.
- Downstream risk: The block lies directly upland of the 2020 Whittaker/Smales Creek washout, which triggered evacuations and damaged infrastructure.
- Experimental logging plan: BCTS has floated an experimental partial-harvest approach without a monitoring plan for windthrow, groundwater, soils, or runoff—an untested approach in this terrain.
- Acceleration context: Timing was brought forward by two years to July 2025, heightening the urgency to stop this block.
Immediate Call to Action
Please email the Ministers of Forests and Water and urge them to stop the auction of TA0159 and defer all logging proposals in West Howe Sound recharge areas pending a Water Sustainability Plan (WSP).
Email: FOR.Minister@gov.bc.ca, WLRS.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Subject line suggestion: “Stop the auction of TA0159 — Protect Our Drinking Water!
Copy: premier@gov.bc.ca
Key points :
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- TA0159 sits within a sensitive headwater recharge zone that feeds Aquifer 560.
- Aquifer 560 is a primary drinking water source for Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast.
- Logging in the recharge area risks heightening flood, landslide, and turbidity and reducing late‑season baseflows.
- The Province has existing legal tools (Forest Act Part 13; Environment and Land Use Act s.7) to pause approvals, and a long‑term tool (Water Sustainability Act s.65) to establish plans with enforceable, place‑based rules.
- NGOs, local governments and experts have already done the research and analysis – we know what to do.
- The BC Ministry of WLRS already has a mandate for watershed security.
- BCTS has already committed to working with us on a Water Sustainability Plan, pending Ministerial direction.
- We need the Ministers to issue an immediate directive to BCTS to defer the sale of this block
The Bigger Picture
Sunshine Coast Water Security
The creeks and mountain slopes of West Howe Sound function as natural waterworks. Rain and snowmelt seep into the ground up the mountain, replenishing deep artesian Aquifers 560 and 552, below. Forests in the headwaters and on the slopes capture and slow the release of this fresh, clean water, allowing it to percolate through the earth instead of running off.
The removal of trees on this slope significantly accelerates water runoff down the hill. This raises the risk of soil erosion and can make the slope unstable, leading to landslides and flooding. It also disrupts the natural process of recharging underground water supplies.
Aquifer 560 (formerly known as Gibsons Aquifer) supplies all of Gibsons’ drinking water and supports regional water security. Disturbing recharge areas with logging roads and cutblocks will alter infiltration pathways, increase sediment and turbidity, and reduce the late‑season flows that fish rely on.
Risking our drinking water sources is not acceptable
Sunshine Coast Drought & Restrictions Timeline
- 2012 – Stage 3 and Stage 4 (Sept–Oct)
- 2014 – Stage 3
- 2015 – Stage 3 and Stage 4 (Aug–Sept, ~22 days)
- 2016 – Stage 3 (Sept), eased after rain
- 2017 – Stage 3 and Stage 4 (Oct, ~25 days)
- 2018 – Stage 3 and Stage 4 (Aug–Sept, ~14 days)
- 2019 – Stage 3 (July)
- 2021 – Stage 3 and Stage 4 (Aug–Sep, ~41 days)
- 2022 – Stage 3 and Stage 4 (Aug–Dec, ~3.5 months).
- State of Local Emergency due to Drought declared by District of Sechelt, Town of Gibsons, shíshálh Nation, and SCRD (Oct–Dec)
- 2023 – Stage 3 (Aug) and Stage 4 (Sept, ~19 days)
- 2025 – Stage 3 (Eastbourne system only, Aug). The Chapman system remained at Stage 2
What we have already done to stop TA0159
The SCCA usually doesn’t intervene in logging once forests are auctioned. We’ve been monitoring the planning of this block (initially planned for logging in 2027) as its size, shape, and location have changed. Then in the spring of 2025, BCTS accelerated its timeline, planning to sell a 38.4-hectare block in the Aquifer 560 recharge area by the end of September.
Since 2023, the SCCA and community groups have sent multiple letters to ministers and the premier calling for deferrals in Aquifer 560/552 recharge areas, a moratorium on approvals there, and a Water Sustainability Plan (WSP) to set enforceable, place‑based rules for management.
Our April 2025 letter identifies TA0159 (38.4 ha) as directly above the 2021 washout of Whitaker Creek and flags the experimental partial-harvest plan – without monitoring. It asks the Province to defer this block suspension of timber sales, including TA0519, pending a WSP.
The Town of Gibsons has repeatedly highlighted dependence on Aquifer 560 and hydrologic/hydrogeologic gaps in BCTS assessments. The SCRD has called on the province to defer this block.
An independent expert review of the Mt. Elphinstone South hydrology report clearly identifies shortcomings around groundwater, cumulative effects, and risk framing. The SCCA is now working with UBC’s Dr. Younes Alila to advance research to assess the impacts of logging on groundwater and adapt forestry guidelines to protect aquifers.
What we’re asking the Province to do
- Direct BCTS to remove TA0159 from the sales schedule.
- Direct BCTS to pause any road‑building in West Howe Sound recharge areas.
- Once the government resumes this fall, issue a formal interim deferral on approvals in mapped recharge areas using Forest Act Part 13 or ELUA s.7 while a water plan is developed.
- Convene a meeting of stakeholders to initiate a Water Sustainability Plan (WSA s.65) for West Howe Sound to
- Create a co‑governance table with First Nations, local governments, and community partners;
- Define Source‑Water Protection Zones for Aquifers 560/552 recharge areas;
- Set flow/temperature objectives, drought triggers, and turbidity thresholds tied to enforceable actions;
- Establish research, monitoring, and cumulative-effects accounting criteria (roads, harvest, landslides, sediment, peak flows, baseflows, and water quality) before any further approvals.
- Align the WSP with ongoing government-to-government land‑use planning processes and reconciliation commitments.
Existing legal tools the Province can use
- Ministerial Directive: The Minister of WLRS and the Minister of Forests can issue a directive to BCTS to remove TA0159 from its current sales schedule
- Forest Act — Part 13 (ss.169–171): Cabinet may issue a Designated Area order to temporarily defer timber harvesting/road authorizations in areas with high hydrologic value (e.g., recharge zones).
- Environment and Land Use Act — s.7: Cabinet may make land‑use orders in the public interest to protect source‑water recharge.
- Water Sustainability Act — s.65 (WSP): Establishes a binding, place‑based plan that can designate recharge protection zones, integrate land & water rules, and require First Nations and community participation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: If TA0159 is “planned,” why act now?
A: BCTS’s operating plan indicates intent. Once a sale is posted to BC Bid, the window to influence outcomes narrows dramatically. A pre‑emptive deferral is the safest course for drinking water and fish.
Q: Doesn’t SFI certification ensure sustainability?
A: Certifications set process standards; they do not impose place‑specific limits for aquifer recharge, peak flows, or turbidity. Only a WSP can tailor enforceable rules to this watershed.
Q: What about mitigation and monitoring?
A: Standard practices help, but they can’t eliminate the structural risks of road density, slope instability, and altered hydrology. Prevention—avoiding harvest in the most sensitive headwaters—is the most reliable safeguard.
Help protect the Aquifer and ecosystem NOW
- Email the Minister of Forests at FOR.Minister@gov.bc.ca (copy WLRS.Minister@gov.bc.ca, premier@gov.bc.ca). Ask for an immediate deferral of TA0159 and a WSP for West Howe Sound.
- Share local knowledge (well logs, low‑water photos, turbidity events). Community evidence strengthens the case.
- Join our mailing list for updates on comment deadlines and opportunities to take action.
- Donate or become a member to support science‑based advocacy.
Mini email template (copy‑paste)
Where to send To: FOR.Minister@gov.bc.ca Cc: WLRS.Minister@gov.bc.ca; premier@gov.bc.ca;
Subject Stop the auction of TA0159 — protect Aquifer 560/552
Body Dear Minister Parmar and Minister Neill
I am writing as a [resident/title] of [community] to urge you to stop the planned auction of BCTS cutblock TA0159 on Mount Elphinstone and to defer all logging proposals in West Howe Sound recharge areas pending a Water Sustainability Plan.
Three reasons:
- Drinking water risk — TA0159 overlaps sensitive headwater recharge zones that feed Aquifers 560/552, which supply our homes and community systems. Roads and harvest increase turbidity and landslide risk and reduce late‑season baseflows.
- Salmon and habitat — cool, clear baseflows and intact riparian canopy are essential for salmon and forage‑fish nursery habitats.
- Science and governance — peer‑reviewed hydrology shows logging increases the magnitude and frequency of peak flows. A Water Sustainability Plan (WSA s.65) can set enforceable, place‑based rules. In the interim, please use Forest Act Part 13 or ELUA s.7 to pause approvals in mapped recharge areas.
Requested actions:
- Direct BCTS to withdraw TA0159 from sale and suspend approvals in Aquifer 560/552 recharge areas.
- Launch a West Howe Sound Water Sustainability Plan with First Nations, WLRS, local governments, and community partners.
- Require research, monitoring and cumulative‑effects accounting (roads, harvest, landslides, sediment, peak flows, baseflows, water quality) before any further proposals advance.
Optional personal note (1–2 sentences):
Share a brief lived example: flooding, run off, well drawdown, turbidity at your tap, low‑flow observations, or fish habitat concerns.
Thank you for safeguarding drinking water and salmon for present and future generations.
Sincerely, [Name] [Town] [Email/phone]
Ultra‑short version
Subject: Withdraw TA0159 — protect Aquifer 560
Dear Minister Parmar,
Please direct BCTS to withdraw block TA0159 from its sales schedule and pause logging approvals in the Aquifer 560 and 552 watersheds in West Howe Sound on the Sunshine Coast. Logging in these watersheds impacts aquifer recharge, increases turbidity/landslide risk and reduces summer baseflows.
Please support a Water Sustainability Plan for this critical drinking water source area.
Thank you, [Name], [Area]