The Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF) will begin a wildfire fuel thinning project along the Wedge FSR on the south and east sides of Wedgewoods Estates. Lil’wat Forestry Ventures will carry out the work funded by Forest Enhancement Society BC. Access to the site will be along the Wedge FSR. The crew estimates 4-6 weeks of work with debris burning at the end, and will resume in the spring if snow comes earlier.

Wedgewoods Fuel Thinning Project Area

The site is mainly a pine forest that was hard hit by pine beetles in the last decade leaving many standing and fallen dead trees. It is a high priority treatment area due to the proximity of Wedgewoods. Removing the dead trees and reducing the fuel load reduce the risk to the neighbourhood and create a defensible area to the north of Whistler where crews could take action in the case of a wildfire.

Some mountain bike trails are in or near the work site. The lower section of High Hopes goes through it while Out There and Comfortably Numb/North Secret exit onto the Wedge FSR. Some trails will be closed for public safety. This is an active logging site. Obey all signs and instructions from the crew. If you are on other trails in the area or on the Wedge FSR, be very careful around road traffic as there will be logging trucks and other equipment using it. Any trail impacts will be fixed afterward.

Contact the CCF at info@cheakamuscommunityforest.com if you have questions or concerns.

The CCF shared its proposed 5 year harvesting plans with the community in May and asked for feedback. Boy, did you give us feedback! Thank you. Concerns were largely focused on a few sites that contain mountain biking trails in Cheakamus, near Jane Lakes and above Function.

So what did we do about it? We met with WORCA soon after to have an overall discussion then went on site in Cheakamus to walk the main trails and area in question. Heather Beresford, CCF Executive Director also attended a Toonie apres in June at Whistler Connection with the plans and maps and spoke to as many people as possible about their concerns.

We agreed to keep sharing information and to formalize a planning process so that the steps are clear, consistent and will be repeated every year.

Our commitment is to modify the Cheakamus blocks to minimize impacts on trails, and to finalize and sign off on a planning process that we follow annually so that we don’t have any surprises in the future. WORCA and the CCF meet next in late September and we’ll keep you posted.

We know you’ve been waiting for this! The 2022 Cheakamus Community Forest Indicators Report is complete and posted on the Annual Reports page. Last year was a slow one for the CCF with not much harvesting so the numbers are small. But we’re deep in the permit approval process so expect to be more active in 2023.

Feel free to contact us for more information.

The Cheakamus Community Forest hosted a virtual open house on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. The Forest Manager presented the 2022 and 2023 harvesting plans and other priorities which was followed by questions and discussion.

October 26, 2022 Open House Presentation

Did you miss the open house?

View the recording here.

Want to say more about the CCF’s plans? 

Please fill out the survey here. It will be open until November 2, 2022.

The Cheakamus Community Forest held a virtual public open house on Monday, February 28 from 4 – 6 p.m.

A copy of the presentation is available:

CCF_OpenHouse_presentation_Feb28_2022