Police clear protesters from Vancouver Island logging blockade

Police say they have arrested four people during enforcement of a court injunction prohibiting anyone from blocking or interfering with forestry activities in the Carmanah Valley of southwestern Vancouver Island.

A statement from the RCMP on Tuesday says a blockade of people, vehicles and wooden items had been established along the Walbran Forest Service Road for several months.

The unnamed protesters had issued a statement on Aug. 25, saying they had put up large wooden sculpture of a cougar as part of their effort to block logging trucks, and calling for the permanent protection of ancient forests across British Columbia.

The clearing of the protest camp by police follows a B.C. Supreme Court ruling in September that granted the injunction to Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership, which is co-owned by Western Forest Products and Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

RCMP say officers informed the 15 to 20 protesters of their plan to enforce the injunction on Tuesday and most left peacefully, though three were arrested for breaching the injunction and one man was arrested for criminal mischief.

The Pacheedaht First Nation had previously issued a statement denouncing the blockade on its territory, saying it was obstructing approved forestry activities.

In a statement issued a few days before the injunction was granted, Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership says it recognizes the area is "a place of high ecological and cultural significance" and its approach reflects that understanding while following the Pacheedaht and B.C. government goal to prioritize ecological integrity while allowing for "limited, carefully managed forest harvesting."

The four people arrested Tuesday have since been released with conditions and court appearances scheduled for January, the Mounties say.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck