Help Our Watersheds

We are a small group of citizens concerned with a proposed forest harvest above the Duteau Creek Community Watershed reservoir near Lumby.

In 2016 we were notified by Tolko of two proposed cutblocks, LV1243 on the west and LV1244 on the East side of Duteau Creek, directly above the Harvey Lake reservoir that supplies the Greater Vernon Water Utility’s Whitevale Water Treatment facility with water for distribution to the region. Since 2016, HOW has had many meetings with Tolko, RDNO, OKIB, MLAs, UBCO and, after two years of lobbying and two letters from our legal counsel, we were invited to present our objections to the Duteau Community Watershed Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in April of 2019. The TAC members include RDNO, Tolko, MFLNRO, local Native American groups, and other ’stakeholders’.

After that meeting, the RDNO became more opposed to the cutblocks, and Tolko put the LV1243 on temporary hold. LV1244, on the back of Bluenose Mountain, is on temporary hold due to Tolko not being granted access across private property.

On Friday, April 21, 2021, HOW became aware of Tolko’s plan to commence building roads into LV1243 and proceed to harvest the cutblock in May of 2021. The RDNO has ‘adamantly objected’, as is evident from their recent press releases. HOW continues to engage with all stakeholders of the Duteau Creek Community Watershed and is working diligently to protect this environmentally sensitive area.

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