Dear Friends
Welcome to summer and thanks for supporting our quest!
So who currently owns our precious Stillwater Bluffs that have served as our de facto park for swimming, hiking, rock climbing, nature watching, stress management and spiritual wonderment for the past several thousand years?
Island Timberlands, of international parent company Brookfield Asset Management, purchased the land holdings including our Bluffs from US-Based forestry and real estate giant Weyerhaeuser in 2004. Mosaic Forest Management Corp. is a privately held company owned by three of Canada’s largest public-sector pension funds and is the management arm for both Island Timberlands and Timberwest, who came together under the Mosaic umbrella in 2018.
Mosaic’s landholdings are a legacy of 19th-century land grants, through which the government of the day gave property to private entrepreneurs in exchange for building a railway. Through sales, mergers and corporate evolutions, Island Timberlands and Timberwest together wound up owning nearly 600,000 hectares of land in B.C.
These lands are called PRIVATELY MANAGED FOREST LANDS (PMFL) and have a unique taxation status. As these lands are managed for the purpose of long-term timber production and harvesting, the company pays a pittance in the way of land taxes. Lot 3040 (Stillwater Bluffs) taxes are a mere $1,850 per year. A landowner (such as Mosaic) can exit the PMFL scheme at their discretion and pay a small penalty (equivalent to or less than the tax break they have received) on a sliding scale based on how many years their land has been designated as PMFL. Beyond the small penalty, there is nothing stopping a landowner from exiting the PMFL scheme, clearcutting, and then selling the land off to developers. Further, because these are “private lands” no stumpage is paid.
Mosaic’s real estate arm is Couverdon and if you visit their site you will see many such parcels for sale. https://couverdon.com/land-for-sale/
Considering the above, saving our Bluffs will be an uphill battle. Where we see nature with all her beauty and her gifts, others see an asset that only has value when liquidated. Our purpose is to find a way to save and protect this tiny 48-hectare postage stamp of land, a mere .008% of Mosaic’s provincial holdings.
Through our monthly bulletins we will keep you informed. You will hear about the Bluffs from many different angles in the hopes that being well informed you can lend your support when the time comes for action. Please keep reminding those busy friends and family about FOSBA. They can join (only $10) and/or donate here at https://www.fosba.org. Thus far we have 310 signed members. Our goal for 2024 is 500.
Happy Trails
Lauritz
Pres.
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