GROW’s Take: What We Need to Ask at The May 2025 West Fraser Open House
How this all came together:
Four GROW team members. One shared Google Doc. A couple of beers. And a mission to protect our trails.
That’s how this all came together.
In the days leading up to the May 2025 Open House with West Fraser Timber and Alberta Government reps, we sat down and asked ourselves: What do we need to say to stop this?
Two of us joined remotely, diving into research, reports, and old forestry plans while the rest of us hashed out the logic—and what is at stake—in person at Brewsters.
The result? A handout that doesn’t pull punches.
But we know not everyone operates on headlines and hotlines. Some of you want everything—every question, every stat, every frustrating contradiction spelled out. This blog post is for you.
TL;DR? We've Got You
(Trust us, it slaps. And it’s designed to be read out loud in front of anyone wearing a name tag.)
Open House Event Details:
Heads up!
This open house is using a different format than the previous one.
- There are two sessions (to handle the larger than normal traffic expected to come)
- The room has been sectioned off:
- Moose Mountain on one side
- Bragg Creek on the other
- Various Government officials at the back
- Please see our handout and the rest of the write up here for those in attendance.
The event information for those attending can be found below.
Logging Open House Event Information:
⏰ Session Times: 10 AM–1 PM & 3 PM–7 PM
Location:📍Cochrane RancheHouse
101 Ranchehouse Rd, Cochrane - Hall of Vision Room and Chinook Rooms
Buckle Up. Here's GROW's Deep Cut:
If you’re still with us, you’re one of the real ones. Below is the cleaned-up, fully formatted deep-dive into the issues at hand. This includes:
Our full list of consultation questions
Fire science vs. political smokescreens
Tourism economics, habitat loss, and what we should be doing
A breakdown of what mitigation could look like if the harvest proceeds
We’ve corrected typos, organized the content, and added headers so it’s easier to digest. But we’ve kept the passion intact.
Let’s go…
Questions to Ask Alberta Government Officials
Fish & Wildlife
Do West Fraser have to follow all the same environmental protocols as trail societies? (e.g., Bull Trout protections, Migratory Bird Restricted Activity Periods, federal DFO watercourse permits)
If yes, are they allowed to use internal resources, or must they hire independent third-party reviewers?
Are there more sustainable methods of logging than clear-cutting when it comes to protecting wildlife?
Which animals are most negatively affected by clear-cutting? Do any species actually benefit?
Planning & Land Use
Why is Alberta Parks investing heavily in PRAs and access infrastructure while allowing industry to degrade those same assets?
Why are cutblocks placed so close to PRAs? Doesn’t that undermine the outdoor experience?
If public feedback shows dissatisfaction, can the consultation period be extended?
- What standards exist for reporting and ensuring that there is satisfaction from concerned citizens?
- What channels or options do we have if we feel they haven’t met the publics perceived standards of consultation?
What is the contractual minimum volume West Fraser must harvest from Moose and West Bragg to fulfill contractual or government obligations?
- Side note: Why does their word track on the matter seem to differ from the sentiment that they “just have to produce?”
- West Fraser seems to think they have to hit a minimum threshold. Is this for their own viability operationally, or are they just passing the blame to save face?
Stewardship & Certification
How can logging be allowed in areas covered by the Kananaskis Conservation Pass that also contributes upwards of $10M per year to the provinces GDP?
Is your department aware that this undermines public trust in conservation funding?
- Can we get something in writing or a statement showing that Alberta’s tourism leaders acknowledge the impact and losses to our tourism economy that we will face as a result of this harvest?
Engagement & Consultation
Have First Nations been fully consulted and their had feedback documented?
- Can we see proof of this to ensure they’ve been consulted in a satisfactory way?
- Can we see proof of this to ensure they’ve been consulted in a satisfactory way?
Have all recreational stakeholders (hikers, bikers, equestrians, skiers, allotment holders) been properly consulted?
- What standards or measuring stick is used to ensure that they have?
Questions to Ask West Fraser Timber Company
What percentage of West Fraser’s total FMA does this harvest represent? How big is the total size of this FMA?
What is the expected revenue from this one-time cut? Would it offset the lost revenue to our tourism GDP from trail closures, alterations, and the loss of appeal to the area?
- What percentage of West Fraser’s B12 management area has been harvested more than once? If this Is a small percentage, why haven’t other, less recreated areas been logged again first?
Why are 5 out of 7 cutblocks located directly on top of trails, when the 2012/2014 harvest avoided them?
Will this harvest be done under FireSmart protocols? Will slash and stumps be removed to reduce fire fuel?
Have third-party reviewers verified your FireSmart practices? If not, are you willing to have a neutral third party with expertise in FireSmart practices review them as due diligence?
Why are trails near the edges of cutblocks not getting the same protections?
What is your stand retention commitment? If it is lower than a suggested threshold, will you commit to a minimum of 10%?
Will regrowth be diverse (e.g., grass, shrubs, aspen, fir, spruce, pine), or monoculture pine? Or will it be a species that grows quickly with a higher likelihood of burning in the future?
Are you creating a future fire hazard and economic void for Bragg Creek by aging out entire stands?
Why are you not respecting the 20-year green-up period between adjacent harvests as outlined in Section 5.9.5 of Alberta’s Forest Management Plan?
Would you be willing to delay harvest in Moose Mountain until West Bragg recovers?
- What is the largest cut block in the proposed harvest? How many hectares is it? How many soccer fields (= h.a x 1.4)?
Will you commit in writing that these areas won’t be resequenced again for future cutting?
Compensation & Reinvestment
Will you reimburse the $2M+ in public donations, volunteer hours, and infrastructure costs lost due to this harvest?
CHFR (Community Hazardous Fuels Reduction) Questions
Why does CHFR propose a 5km buffer when firebreaks like Canmore’s were 1.1km and designed by Alberta’s top wildfire expert?
What happens in 5–15 years when the new growth is younger, more flammable, and economically less valuable?
Isn’t this just a convenient rebranding of industrial logging under the guise of wildfire prevention?
CHFR Map (For Reference)
Age of Trees vs. The Likelihood of Fire Risk
- As you can see here, the younger trees could cause an issue for Bragg Creek in as little as 5-10 years time when a re-cut will not be profitable. Are we truly using FireSmart Protocols here?
- At the AWA discussion, West Fraser indicated that they use glyphosate (Roundup) in some Alberta harvests. What effect would chemical applications have on visitors and plantlife regrowth, and fire hazard?
- Can we find a better substitute for the use of this chemical to ensure that environmental, health, and general safety standards are upheld?
- Will the operation be restricted to frozen ground to minimize surface/road/trail damage?
Suggested Mitigations (If Logging Proceeds)
50m clear buffer + 50m feathered/selective buffer on the windward side
Cutblocks placed between trails, not on top of them
Smaller harvest footprint (not 556ha = 779 soccer fields)
Selective harvesting model (like Spray Lake Sawmills near Chain Lakes)
Enforce 20-year minimum (2034) between adjacent harvests
Remove all stumps and slash post-harvest
Minimum 10% stand retention
West Fraser to provide financial and infrastructure compensation to trail societies
Supporting Data & Context
Alberta’s Crown Land Outdoor Recreation Economy report values West Bragg & McLean Creek Trail Networks at ~$82M/year
A more conservative 2011 study still pegs trail network value at $10M/year based on 1,000 daily users
CHFR, if left unchecked, could see most of these trails logged within 15 years
Past fire mitigation in 2013–2014 already included a FireSmart Harvest – why are we doing this again?
Wildfire Behavior Charts show Bragg Creek as Mod/High risk—but nowhere near justifying 5km buffers. Embers are shown to travel up to 2km maximum within this forest type
Canmore’s fire break was based on wind and terrain at 1100m wide—not a fixed distance circle.
Should we not use the same logic here?
Final Thought
We want to be clear: GROW isn’t against wildfire mitigation. We are against lazy shortcuts, bad science, and the clear-cutting of an irreplaceable recreation economy.
If West Fraser wants volume, let’s find it somewhere else. If the government wants fire protection, let’s do it right.
Let’s keep Kananaskis wild, accessible, and worth visiting.
-The GROW Kananaskis Team
