Dear editor,
I read the letter to the editor submitted by Jay Van Oostdam on Oct. 26 (Sounding the alarm about clearcutting old-growth forests in the Comox Valley) regarding the ongoing logging taking place along Mount Washington Road with great dismay. According to eBird, western screech and Vancouver Island pygmy owls reside along that road. These birds, once common in the Valley, are now seldom seen or heard and are considered to be threatened because their populations are expected to further decline. Preventing the continual fragmentation of the forest landscape and logging of the snags and large-diameter trees required for their nests is the only way to prevent their extinction. Has the deputy minister responsible for the administration of the Wildlife Act accessed whether nesting habitat is present and/or provided a means for its protection? We should demand action before it is too late.
Dr. Royann Petrell,
Royston