On March 22, Lake Cowichan town council passed an amendment to the official community plan and a zoning amendment bylaw allowing the Lake Cowichan First Nation to harvest lumber for commercial purposes from forested tracts along much of Lakeview Park Road.
During the public hearing on the subject, Dalton Smith, manager of the Cowichan Lake Education Centre, which neighbours the land in question, expressed some concerns about the proposal.
“The visual impact will be really, really significant. And we all believe in logging in this area, that’s why we’re here, but it would be a heck of a scar [on the land] and I don’t think it’s going to help our lake very much,” he said.
In an email to the Gazette, Aaron Hamilton, operations manager for the Lake Cowichan First Nation, said he is waiting until other approvals related to the project have been confirmed before commenting on it. “At that time I will definitely look at discussing this exciting initiative,” he said.