West Fraser Timber reduces logging plans for West Bragg Creek, but opponents still want project cancelled

A map shows the areas planned for logging in the Moose Mountain and West Bragg Creek areas by West Fraser Timber. (CTV News)

Canada's largest lumber manufacturer announced a revised plan to reduce clear cutting in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas, but opponents are still not impressed with the possibility of losing some of the popular recreation trails.

West Fraser Timber (formerly Spray Lake Sawmills) had originally planned to clearcut 468 hectares near West Bragg Creek and another 412 hectares in the Moose Mountain Trail Networks.

The total harvest planned for both areas west of Calgary, slated to start in October 2026, is now set for 556 hectares, marking a 37 per cent reduction.

The West Bragg Trail is planned for a harvest of 268 hectares, while the Moose Mountain area is planned for logging of 288 hectares.

News of the reduction came following a report released from West Fraser this week, entitled “What We Heard,” summarizing public feedback from an open house in Cochrane last May regarding what sort of adjustments should be made for logging plans in the area.

While the reduced clearcut is welcome news, a local group advocating for the protection of wildlife is still fighting for the project to be shut down entirely.

“This needs to become a protected area,” said Lucy Curtis, vice president of Bragg Creek Wild.

“This is a beautifully maintained area, and having it designated as a park would only increase the beauty and also keep it for future generations."

Curtis notes that the land is presently classified as unprotected multi-use land, but adopting a biodiversity and environmental sustainability plan is essential for the greater safety of the area.

“The report fails to address key issues like safeguarding the Elbow River watershed, which supports half of Calgary’s population and nearby communities, and overlooks crucial wildlife habitats and migration corridors,” Bragg Creek Wild said in a news release.

“It also lacks data on animal migration, sensitive areas, watershed boundaries, water accumulation, terrain types, existing open areas, wind impacts, and diversity of tree species and soil types.”

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's (CPAWS) Southern Alberta Chapter agrees that there are several species at risk.

“When there’s an impact to water availability and supply, we can have a lot of species at risk, like grizzly bears, bull trout, west slope cutthroat trout,” said Joshua Kileen, CPAWS Southern Alberta conservation science and programs manager.

“So, we’re really pushing really hard to have changes made in that area and we’re worried that West Fraser might just move their harvest into other areas or accelerate their harvest into other areas of the Forest Management Agreement.”

Seeking more feedback

In an emailed statement, Richard Briand, West Fraser Timber’s chief forester for the Alberta region, said it is engaging with affected groups to lessen the effects of their operations, where possible.

“We are actively working with trail user groups to understand the interaction of the trail system and our harvest plan under development to reduce and mitigate impact where possible, such as building buffers and exploring opportunities to enhance the forest health of the region,” Briand said.

“Five of the 26 current and planned trails in the area will fall within harvest areas. In terms of overall, trail impact, one per cent of trail length will fall within the harvest area while 17 per cent of the trail length will be within 50 metres of harvest areas.”

Briand went on to say his team will be continuing its feedback and engagement sessions with stakeholder groups through the fall and winter as it works to revise a planned harvest area for its next public engagement session in May 2025.

“The final plan will be submitted to government in spring 2026 prior to harvest operations, which are currently scheduled to begin in October 2026," he said.

“In speaking with government since the open house, we have also heard concerns about the increasing occurrence and severity of wildfires, particularly since the tragic fire in Jasper this summer. The area is described as having high to extreme wildfire behaviour potential which government expects us to help manage through implementation of the Forest Management Plan.”

Critics like Shaun Peter, who promotes tourism with the Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation group, also say these plans should be thrown out entirely or drastically changed.

Peter pointed to a recent study on Alberta’s Crownland outdoor recreation which found it contributed $2.8 billion in GDP each year, as well as $376 million being spent on outdoor equipment and accessories.

The study also stated $551 million in tax revenue was generated through outdoor recreation at the time.

“We're just in the discovery phase of Bragg Creek and all the media that you see is about how this area is going to be destroyed, not how great it is,” said Peter.

“The 556 hectares that are proposed to be harvested represents 0.007 per cent of West Fraser’s allotted land that they can harvest in western Canada. They have 8.2 million hectares of land. So to remove this small area, it'll have zero effect on West Fraser.”