We received the following letter from Gary Diers, of Mt. Willet Wilderness Forever, requesting support to help save The Argenta Face, within the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park.
Dear Argenta Face Supporters,
It is not every day that one sees a White Grizzly in their backyard. Yet, I had the great fortune last fall to observe the magnificent White Grizzly pictured above as I camped near Mt. Willet on the Argenta Face –my backyard. This was an abundant huckleberry year and the White Grizzly was scouring the mountainside for alpine huckleberries. What a sight to see and what an intact wilderness we still have here!
This was also a year of wildfires. A large fire swept through the forests at the north end of the Argenta Face above my community. While thankfully no homes burned, much of the forest did. The forest certainly looks different now with patches of mixed severity burned areas, but fire is a natural occurrence in this ecosystem which had not burned for 115 years. In fact, the wildfire has added biodiversity to the Argenta Face. I have never seen so many woodpeckers here and we await the emergence of huckleberries to feed ourselves and wildlife, including the White Grizzly.
All would be well here except that the Argenta Face is still not protected within the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park, despite our best efforts. Industry is initially planning to punch in a new permanent road, riddle the face with skid roads and haul out 1000 truckloads of forest. They
call this “salvage” logging but fires have become a very profitable excuse to log as they can take up to 60% living trees in their cut and pay the province only $10/truckload. This could happen as early as this spring.
The Argenta Face is in a crisis with extensive logging risking domestic watersheds, terrain stability, wildlife habitat (including the well known Grizzly Bear corridor) and the most scenic landscape on Kootenay Lake.
With few people living in the Purcell Mountains we need help from friends like you to convince the government to finally include the Argenta Face within the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park. Please write today!
For more information and a template letter, see:
www.willetwildernessforever.ca
Please consider a handwritten letter for the greatest impact.
For the Wild,
Gary Diers
Mt. Willet Wilderness Forever
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