News & Articles of Interest

ATTN:  Logging Activity for 2026

Sunshine Coast Community Forest

For anyone interested in where harvesting may occur next year, I’d encourage your members to visit www.sccf.ca/forest-operations

This page hosts our current five-year Operating Plan, which outlines where forestry activities may take place and how those activities are designed and carried out.

For the upcoming year, the areas shown as “current year” in the plan are HM-64 and HM-661A in the Halfmoon Bay area, near the Beaver Pond Trail and Skullduggery. Further down the page, readers can more detailed descriptions of these areas, including how recreation use, biodiversity, water protection, and wildfire resilience were considered in planning. The plan reflects our ongoing shift away from clearcuts toward variable-retention approaches that intentionally leave trees and forest structure standing to support long-term forest health and trail experiences.

We would also really appreciate help spreading the word about our Operating Plan survey, which is open until the end of January. The survey is short, requires no technical background, and gives community members a chance to share their priorities around conservation, recreation, wildfire risk, and forest stewardship. For every completed survey, the Sunshine Coast Community Forest will donate $20 to a local non-profit.

BC Timber Sales 

2026 is looking to be a somewhat quiet year for BCTS on the lower Sunshine Coast (though, as always, this is subject to change). We have two projects likely to be active, and another that is less certain.

1. BCTS anticipates there will be active harvesting in TA0519 (Elphinstone Highlands 49.432338, -123.556339), which is a sold Timber Sale Licence held by Oceanview Forest Products, located at approximately 2.5km on Sechelt Roberts FSR 7575 Branch 03. Operations commenced in the fall of 2025 and are likely to resume in the spring of 2026. TA0519 is an Intermediate Cut system, which is a type of partial
   harvest/thinning, that will see over 65% retention across the harvest area.
   
   

2. BCTS is working on a multi-year engineering project on the lower Sunshine Coast, with a goal of improving safety and flow of industrial traffic in the Mount Elphinstone area. The general location of the planned project starts at approximately 6km on the Sechelt Roberts FSR 7575 Branch 02, and ends near Port Mellon. There will likely be road building and maintenance activities in 2026 associated with this project; however, the contract is still in the earlier stages of development, and we do not have confirmed details of activity at this time.
   
   

3. TA0545 is located in the Halfmoon Bay area, near the junction of the Homesite Creek FSR 8909 Branch 04 and Branch 02. TA0545 may be auctioned 2026, however BCTS is still working through the final stages of planning and consultation, and there is no confirmed auction date at this time. At this time, there is no certainty that active harvest or road building would occur in 2026.

Please note that all planned operations are subject to change due to variables such as weather, market conditions, and contractor availability. BCTS maintains a publicly available sales schedule, here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/bc-timber-sales/tsl.