Read Island residents rally to save woodlot from clearcutting
Credit to Author: Denise Ryan| Date: Sun, 02 Feb 2020 23:30:08 +0000
When Lot 302 went up for sale on Read Island, a small island shaped like a shoe and tucked in between Quadra and Cortes Islands, two local logging companies immediately showed interest. So residents — only 84 people live year round on the windswept island — jumped into action to purchase it, and save it from being clearcut.
The sellers agreed to a price significantly below market value if the islanders could raise the funds. Lannie and Ralph Keller, longtime locals who run a kayaking business, Coast Mountain Expeditions, were first to wade in.
“They are the soul of the island,” said local resident Rosie Steeves, 62.
The Kellers put up a $50,000 down payment, and the community has done the rest: So far their GoFundMe campaign has raised $102,000 of the $115,000 needed to cinch the deal.
Donations have come in from the outer islands, and as far away as Germany, Steeves said.
“This has changed the feeling among people here, it has changed the conversation. There was a feeling of being victims, of being helpless in the face of all the logging that was happening on the island.”
Steeves says Read Island has several woodlots and logging companies are clearcutting whatever they can. “It’s horrible. It’s been unbelievably logged.”
Residents hope to preserve one of the island’s most important salmon streams and nature trails, and use the land for educational opportunities while preserving its rare old growth low-elevation rainforest.
“We plan to put covenants on the land so no one can change their minds down the road,” said Steeves.
Rosie and Bob Steeves in front of the old homestead they purchased on Read Island two years ago.
Two years ago, Steeves and her husband bought a rundown homestead on the island they are now rebuilding. The couple, who raised two daughters in North Vancouver, weren’t planning to stay but now they hope to never leave.
“We love it,” said Rose. “We’re off the grid, we are warm, comfortable, we have solar panels, but we have to do everything ourselves. The neighbours always pitch in, it’s a real community.”
The island has Wi-Fi coverage from nearby Cortes Island and gets a monthly food delivery from Save-On foods. If you want to attend the island’s biggest social event, the monthly book club, you have to go by boat. “We get there no matter how high the winds are,” said Steeves.
For couples like the Steeves, who want to live off-grid, it’s paradise — and if they can continue to buy the island’s woodlots, they’ve got a good chance of ensuring it stays that way.