A rural Prince George family is raising alarm bells after coming across flagging suggesting an adjacent woodlot is about to be sprayed with a controversial herbicide.
Rob and April Block, who live on property in the 13800 block of Buckhorn Lake Road, worry that both their health and a form of protection against wildfires will be put at risk after they noticed ribbons with the wording "pest management zone" recently sprouting up along the site's borders.
Forest companies have been known to spray herbicide to stop the growth of deciduous trees such as aspen and willow in order to give room to grow to seedlings from conifers like spruce and pine that are the basis of lumber production in the region.
Glyphosate, a chemical found to cause cancer, is a key ingredient in the sprays companies deploy and the Blocks, the parents of two young children, say its use will put to and end their days of walking through the area picking berries.
They also say the loss of the deciduous trees will eliminate a natural firebreak and expose them to fire-prone conifers.
With the help of Rob's brother, Dale, they have taken a step toward forming a blockade by parking vehicles on the site.
James Steidle, who has long campaigned against the use of glyphosate through the advocacy group Stop the Spray, has posted a video of the Block's outlining their concerns in an effort to attract additional public support.
Steidle initially claimed Canfor is behind the operation but now says it appears to be a private woodlot and blames the confusion on a lack of publicly-available information.
Earlier this week, about 50 people gathered for a rally at the Ministry of Forest offices in Prince George to demand release of maps showing areas to be sprayed.
"Once again this could have been avoided if the maps were public," Steidle said Thursday.
Canfor spokesperson Michelle Ward, meanwhile, said the company has stopped spraying leading stands of deciduous trees in favour of manual brushing while also continuing to work to meet legislated reforestation standards.
"This change in practice is employing hundreds of workers annually, including many First Nations companies, to enable us to achieve legal free-growing rules in our reforestation efforts. We continue to investigate ways to further reduce use of herbicides going forward,” Ward said.
Any spraying by Canfor is "done in strict accordance with Health Canada requirements," Ward added.
Steidle said the woodlot appears to be owned by Gregg Creek Forest Enterprises. However, the business's posted phone number is out of service.
