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Attention:
Premier David Eby
premier@gov.bc.ca
david.eby@leg.bc.ca
Minister Ravi Parmar FOR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
ravi.parmar@leg.bc.ca
Deputy Minister of Forests Makenzie.Leine@gov.bc.ca
WLRS Minister Randene Neil WLRS.Minister@gov.bc.ca
EMCR Minister Kelly Greene EMCR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
ENV Minister Tamara Davidson ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
MLA Macklin MacCall macklin.mccall@conservativebc.ca
Westbank First Nation officeofchiefandcouncil@wfn.ca
Chief Robert Louie
rlouie@wfn.ca
Penticton Indian Band communications@pib.ca
District of Peachland corporateservices@peachland.ca
DoP Fire Chief icummings@peachland.ca
DoP Fire Department fireclerk@peachland.ca
Mayor Patrick van Minsel MayorVanMinsel@peachland.ca
Mayor of Summerland dholmes@summerland.ca
District of Summerland council@summerland.ca
Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance peachlandwpa@gmail.com
Okanagan Basin Water Board Melissa.Tesche@obwb.ca
Okanagan Basin Water Board James.Littley@obwb.ca
Regional District Central Okanagan
info@rdco.com
RDCO Board regionalboard@rdco.com
RDCO Director wayne.carson@rdco.com
District Manager, Ok. Shuswap Ray.Crampton@gov.bc.ca
Chief Forester, Shane Berg shane.berg@gov.bc.ca
Deputy Minister BC Wildfire Service Rob.Schweitzer@gov.bc.ca
Kamloops Fire Centre jeffery.dunne@gov.bc.ca
Letter Contents
March 31-2026
To: BC Timber Sales
Attention :
Colin Johnston, RPF General Manager, Okanagan-Columbia Colin.Johnston@gov.bc.ca
Leanne Jennings RPF Planning Forester, BCTS Leanne.Jennings@gov.bc.ca
Premier David Eby premier@gov.bc.ca david.eby@leg.bc.ca
Minister Ravi Parmar FOR.Minister@gov.bc.ca ravi.parmar@leg.bc.ca
Dear Sirs/Mesdames
Re: Peachland Community Watershed
Watershed Stakeholder Input to Preliminary Harvest Plans, Glen Lake, GL-007,008,009, file#
18046-30/BCTS FSP 771
Absence of Harvest Planning to the Climate Change Realities of this past decade: Wild Fire/ Drought and the Peachland Lived Reality
I am a stakeholder in the District of Peachland Community Watershed and am offering my input to the preliminary harvest plan communicated by BCTS to the Peachland Watershed. I am one of the persons who holds a legal interest in the Peachland Watershed, and whose interests may be adversely affected by logging or other development in the watershed.
As with all other stakeholders in the Community Watershed, I am solely reliant upon my domestic water from this watershed and assert that the health and productivity of this watershed is at risk from any logging or other development. Accordingly, my welfare and my legal interest stand to be adversely affected by the BCTS plans, identified in the chart. below:
Development Summary Table- Number of Blocks: 3 Total Area: 80.2 ha
| Field Team | Operating Area | Licence ID | Block ID | Gross Area | Associated Roads |
| Okanagan South Zone | Glen Lake | !Planning South | GL-007 | 7.6 | |
| Okanagan South Zone | Glen Lake | !Planning South | GL-008 | 34.3 | S GL-008.01 |
| Okanagan South Zone | Glen Lake | !Planning South | GL-009 | 38.3 | S GL-009.ECE1, S GL-009.ECE2 |
As natural resource stewardship professionals who are also public servants employed by the Province of British Columbia to serve the public, you are no doubt aware of the Climate Change impacts we have experienced in the Okanagan Valley, including heat domes, wildfires, flood events and droughts. The province and various Ministries have worked extensively on the matter of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship and Climate Change Readiness. The Ministry of Forests administers the BC Wildfire Service who similarly is on top of the science and the data around wildfire intensity, frequency and risk factors.
The Province of British Columbia (and therefore all public servants connected to water, land and resource stewardship) is fully aware of Climate Change impacts and the amplification of those risks to the proximate public by reason of logging.
In connection to the functionality of Peachland as a community in a water scarce and fire prone part of BC, and what it requires to be resilient in the face of these ongoing risks, the Province of British Columbia (and therefore all public servants connected to water, land and resource stewardship) is also fully aware that the removal of forest cover and loss of trees and other vegetation of the understory to wildfire both negatively impact on the health of watersheds, including the amount of water available and the quality of that water (sedimentation and the introduction of nitrates). In connection to Peachland, the Province of British Columbia is well aware of the drought history (drought alert since 2015), record temperatures (46C 2021,), and wildfire history (8 wildfires of note in the past 8 years, and at least 12 lesser wild fires) of these past several years.
The Province and Ministry of Forests are specifically aware that a key variable to the intensity of wildfires is the forest humidity levels and that is why such an effort is made to track those humidity levels — all of which tie directly to precipitation patterns, snow melt patterns and the nature of the vegetation (or lack thereof). The health of the forest ties directly to the resilience of the community of Peachland — the science on this is indisputable. The Province of British Columbia is well aware that Peachland has suffered numerous wildfires within the watershed, and has suffered through water scarcity, particularly from 2015 forward, and major flood events, 2017, 2018 two mudslides, one of which closed our water treatment plant and precipitated a 5-month boil water advisory.
Any attempt to decouple the fire, drought and flood risks from the extent and nature of logging and road development in the watershed is erroneous. Feigning ignorance of the risks of logging to the needs and interests of the residents of Peachland is folly.
To be clear: Peachland residents’ prime concern is our wish to avoid adverse impacts on the quantity and quality of water, especially any loss of the availability of potable water for domestic and fire-fighting purposes during water scarcity period (droughts).
In addition to these recommendations for preserving the old growth trees and primary forest biodiversity in this area, I believe the extreme wildfire of 2023 has recently removed 1,100 hectares of forest canopy and understory putting even greater strain on wildlife and biodiversity in an already heavily commercially logged and previous burned (this is the 8th fire of note in the watershed since 2017) environment and the Peachland Watershed has already permanently lost 40-60%+ of its old, primary, original forests – removed for commercial purposes. And approximately 10% temporarily burned by fires that need decades to recover.
These are my objections with any continued industrial logging in some of the most at risk and irreplaceable old forests in the province.
In sum, the facts indicate that logging in the Community Watershed poses an unacceptable risk to both the volume and quality of the waters available to our community during this time of Climate Change and the disruption of historical weather patterns and precipitation ( the amount of precipitation, the form and timing of precipitation, and the rapidity of its movement into the reservoir and creeks).
The community of Peachland, and all watershed stakeholders to the legally designated Community Watershed expect the highest level of stewardship of this watershed to the highest level of professional due diligence tailored to the realities of Climate Change adverse impacts and the science connected to the amplification of Climate Change risks by the logging of Old, Remnant and Mature Forests of the Okanagan. We note that the Forest Stewardship Plan terms have not been amended since 2018 and are in no way reflective of the drought and fire history of the years 2018 – 2025, and are therefore outdated and out of touch with the reality of our lives in Peachland.
We elect our government to do the greatest good for the benefit of the most, keeping this old growth areas of Peachland watershed benefits the many, removing it is only short-term gains for the few.
As a stakeholder in the Peachland Community Watershed, reliant on the waters collected in the Glen Lake Reservoir, please ensure that I am provided with notice of any further plans on harvesting within the watershed within which I hold a legal interest.
In due course, I shall provide “public input” on the other public interests that are put at risk, beyond the risk to the Watershed values.
Yours Truly,
Name: _____________________________-
Address : _____________________________
Email: _____________________________
Cc:
| Deputy Minister of Forests | Makenzie.Leine@gov.bc.ca |
| Okanagan Basin Water Board | James.Littley@obwb.ca |
| Regional District Central Okanagan | info@rdco.com |
| RDCO Board | regionalboard@rdco.com |
| RDCO Director | wayne.carson@rdco.com |
| District Manager, Ok. Shuswap | Ray.Crampton@gov.bc.ca |
| Chief Forester, | shane.berg@gov.bc.ca |
| Deputy Minister BC Wildfire Service | Rob.Schweitzer@gov.bc.ca |
| Kamloops Fire Centre | jeffery.dunne@gov.bc.ca |
| Asst Deputy Forest Minister S Okanagan | Jamie.Jeffreys@gov.bc.ca |
| ENV Minister Tamara Davidson | ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca |
| MLA Macklin MacCall | macklin.mccall@conservativebc.ca |
| Westbank First Nation | officeofchiefandcouncil@wfn.ca |
| Chief Robert Louie | rlouie@wfn.ca |
| Penticton Indian Band | communications@pib.ca |
| District of Peachland | corporateservices@peachland.ca |
| DoP Fire Chief | icummings@peachland.ca |
| DoP Fire Department | fireclerk@peachland.ca |
| Mayor Patrick van Minsel | MayorVanMinsel@peachland.ca |
| Mayor of Summerland | dholmes@summerland.ca |
| District of Summerland | council@summerland.ca |
| Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance | peachlandwpa@gmail.com |
| Okanagan Basin Water Board | Melissa.Tesche@obwb.ca |
| Chief Greg Gabriel | chief.ggabriel@pib.ca |