MEDIA RELEASE—For Immediate Release—May 9, 2008

Logging project to permanently damage Grass River Provincial Park and threatened woodland caribou habitat

Wilderness Committee demands government action to stop development in woodland caribou habitat, begin public process to legislate an end to industrial logging in provincial parks.

Winnipeg, Manitoba—Tolko, a private logging corporation, has applied to build a permanent road and bridge that will bisect Grass River Provincial Park in northwestern Manitoba. The proposed road and bridge will damage protected areas of woodland caribou habitat in a provincial park, and is only being built to make more money for a private company, Tolko.

Since 2006, the Wilderness Committee has repeatedly asked government for an explanation of how Tolko’s clearcut logging operations are affecting the threatened herd of woodland caribou in the area, but have received no information from them.

“On the east side of the province, the government authorized Tembec to build roads and log provincial parks and caribou habitat. On the west side the government is allowing the same thing to be done by Tolko.” stated Eric Reder, Manitoba Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee. “More than 10,000 Manitobans have said they want their parks protected from industrial development, yet the current government is discarding Manitoba’s natural heritage so large corporations can make more money. The government is shirking their duty to stand up for the wishes of Manitobans instead of corporations from outside the province.”

The Wilderness Committee is calling on the government to initiate a process of public consultations to devise a timeline to end, once and for all, the antiquated act of logging provincial parks. The Wilderness Committee is also calling for a moratorium on development in all woodland caribou habitat until peer-reviewed species management plans are implemented.

An online email form has been set up to allow Manitobans to quickly let their opinions on this issue be known to government. It can be found on the Wilderness Committee website at:
http://www.wildernesscommittee.mb.ca/forms/grass-river.htm

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