A History of CRMC

In 2009… on March 2, CRMC accepted an offer for a Community Forest Agreement from the British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range to manage the Cherryville Community Forest: one part on Cherry Ridge and another on Heckman Ridge. Discussions with the Ministry had begun in 2005, with the intention to develop a long term strategy to remedy confrontations between passionate citizens and licensees. It is a credit to the effort of Cherryville’s volunteers that this agreement was achieved.

In 1996… on November 29, Cherry Ridge Management Committee (CRMC) was officially incorporated as a non-profit society. This marked a shift in local environmental activism from early protest movements to a more structures attempt to change the system. The reference to Cherry Ridge in the Society’s name was a tribute to the earlier focus of attention on that ridge, but CRMC’s mandate covers the entire Cherryville area, not just one mountain. According to the by-laws, the purpose of the Cherry Ridge Management Committee is to preserve and maintain the environment of the Cherryville area and its watershed, to preserve, maintain, and promote mule deer winter range in the Cherryville area, and also to to monitor and report on local environmental issues and activities that may impact community interests.

In 1995… on October 3, The Cherryville Community Club formed a committee to investigate the forest health concerns on Cherry Ridge and to recommend appropriate action. Years of protest against clear-cutting plan for Cherry Ridge and negotiations with the Ministry sent a clear message that “Cherryvillians” wanted to actively participate in the management of its local forest. Local volunteers were able to selectively log the area.

In the 1990’s…a committee of the Cherryville Community Club was established called Informed Cherryville Area Residents for the Environment(ICARE!). For the inaugural meeting held at the Cherryville Community Hall, 80 individuals participated. This group created a platform for many community debates and a space for residents to voice their concerns. Topics included clear-cut logging on Potato Ridge, the Half Mile Creek vote (June, 1992), small business vs multi-national, the “Z” road, selective logging vs clear cutting and water issues. The group lobbied government and continued to learn more about B.C. forestry policy and practice. The group was successful in inspiring changes to the forestry management of Half Mile Creek area. Specifically, some cut clocks were eliminated and some reduced in size. Another success was a recycling initiative that was eventually taken over by NORD. Out of this group the Cherry Ridge Management Committee was born.

In 1974…Cherryville residents took a stand to assert their environmental values in contrast to the prescribed forestry policy. A 600 acre piece of crown-land on Cherry Ridge was slated to be logged. Residents were concerned that logging the ridge would effect the water table, making many of the shallow wells (providing essential residential water) go dry. Growing scientific data and personal experiences on private land validated their concerns. Some had been in dialogue with the Provincial government for over a year with no results. When forestry contractors moved their equipment onto the ridge to harvest a 200 acre area, concerned residents assembled to blockade the road. The protest did not come to a climax however, as forestry workers postponed their operations to avoid confrontation with the group. The group then called itself The Cherryville Water Resource Committee.

A subsequent community meeting voiced concerns from both sides. The Lavington Mill reported one day of closure, as they had planned for the Cherry Ridge timber, and 9 individuals contracted to log went uncompensated for their lost time. If families had lost their drinking water, how would that have compared? No final resolution was achieved. As A. McPherson, assistant forest office at the time, responded “We work the policy, we don’t set it.”