A Productive Conversation With Mosaic
I had a very interesting meeting with Francis from Mosaic this week. He was open, friendly and willing to answer several questions about big issues that matter to Area E and the Cowichan Valley!
Because of the E&N land grant, a huge part of the forest land on Vancouver Island is privately owned. Mosaic manages a large portion of it, including 63 percent of the Koksilah watershed!
That means the decisions they make have huge effects on our water, recreational access, wildfire risk and forestry jobs.
A big part of our conversation was the Koksilah watershed. Francis outlined Mosaic’s plans to reduce harvest volumes, allow forests to grow longer, reduce road impacts and improve protection around streams and wetlands.
Those are big commitments. Forestry supports local families, businesses and communities, and watershed health affects everyone who lives here. We need both a healthy watershed and a strong local forestry sector. The next step will be seeing clear numbers, timelines and results.
We also spent time discussing recreational access! Mosaic acknowledges the frustration around the gates and confusing access rules. They are now working on better maps, clearer gate hours, improved signage and more predictable access. We also talked about an app that could potentially unlock gates for registered subscribers!!!
That matters to me personally. I love our local trails and honestly believe we have some of the most beautiful forests in the world. Reliable access is important to residents and also has real value for tourism and our local economy.
That does not mean every gate will be opened… but better communication and more reliable access would be a massive improvement!
We also discussed Mosaic’s wildfire monitoring, fuel management and response capacity, along with how changing conditions affect access in the summer.
There are some really strong opinions about Mosaic and one meeting doesn’t answer every concern. But I think it is important to have these conversations directly and understand how we’re approaching these issues.
The important part now is making sure these plans are followed by clear results and transparent reporting.
What should I ask Mosaic the next time we speak?
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These are good commitments from Mosaic: "Mosaic’s plans to reduce harvest volumes, allow forests to grow longer, reduce road impacts", BUT not what we see happening in Glenora: the roads are heavily travelled by logging trucks resulting in pretty bad road conditions; we see truckloads of spindly raw logs leaving the area, for China???, so not growing longer or larger for our future...... Very glad you are having these conversations, and look forward to some commitments from Mosaic once you are our Area E rep!