About HPWPS
As early as 1976, community members were expressing concern about the fate of the forest above Harrop and Procter. Extensively burned by a massive forest fire in 1901 but mostly untouched by industrial logging, the watersheds represented a range of values such as old growth, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem diversity.
The streams and creeks within the 11,300-hectare area remain the primary source of drinking water for many residents and the minimally harvested slopes continue to provide visual integrity for residents of the Outlet communities on the north side of Kootenay Lake (Balfour, Longbeach). The need to play a prominent role in the management of the area was seen as critical by many community members, particularly given the relative uniqueness of the forest within the South Columbia region.
A series of provincial land use planning initiatives in the early 1990’s – the Commission on Resources and the Environment (CORE) and the Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) - culminated in the Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan (KBLUP) in March 1995. It preserved Lasca Creek (the drainage to the immediate west of the community forest) as part of the newly created West Arm Wilderness Park. The designation came about directly through vociferous opposition to timber harvesting there, including road blockades and arrests. There was a strong desire in the communities of Harrop and Procter to see the adjacent watersheds included as protected areas also, but these were excluded. While a partial victory, it still left the forests above Harrop and Procter vulnerable to industrial harvesting.
The Harrop-Procter Watershed Protection Society (HPWPS) was formed in 1996 and nearly 300 residents joined to support the intention to seek protection of water resources and, at a minimum, control over how harvesting might occur—years of effort - research, planning, and bureaucratic interaction - resulted in the Society compiling a detailed 300-page application for a community forest license in early 1999. The license, one of the first in the province was granted a year later.
The society currently conducts a water monitoring program on the four major creeks within the community forest. It also provides oversight and guidance regarding forest operations planning and execution and supports internal and external research and educational initiatives.
The streams and creeks within the 11,300-hectare area remain the primary source of drinking water for many residents and the minimally harvested slopes continue to provide visual integrity for residents of the Outlet communities on the north side of Kootenay Lake (Balfour, Longbeach). The need to play a prominent role in the management of the area was seen as critical by many community members, particularly given the relative uniqueness of the forest within the South Columbia region.
A series of provincial land use planning initiatives in the early 1990’s – the Commission on Resources and the Environment (CORE) and the Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) - culminated in the Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan (KBLUP) in March 1995. It preserved Lasca Creek (the drainage to the immediate west of the community forest) as part of the newly created West Arm Wilderness Park. The designation came about directly through vociferous opposition to timber harvesting there, including road blockades and arrests. There was a strong desire in the communities of Harrop and Procter to see the adjacent watersheds included as protected areas also, but these were excluded. While a partial victory, it still left the forests above Harrop and Procter vulnerable to industrial harvesting.
The Harrop-Procter Watershed Protection Society (HPWPS) was formed in 1996 and nearly 300 residents joined to support the intention to seek protection of water resources and, at a minimum, control over how harvesting might occur—years of effort - research, planning, and bureaucratic interaction - resulted in the Society compiling a detailed 300-page application for a community forest license in early 1999. The license, one of the first in the province was granted a year later.
The society currently conducts a water monitoring program on the four major creeks within the community forest. It also provides oversight and guidance regarding forest operations planning and execution and supports internal and external research and educational initiatives.