Jared Qwustenuxun Williams
Well-known Cowichan Tribes member expresses concern re: logging in the Six Mountains
Jared Qwustenuxun Williams urges public to write council on his 43rd birthday
(UPDATE: on Aug. 26, 2025, Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels released the following statement:
"From the Cowichan Tribes' perspective as a member of the Quw'utsun Nation, I want to emphasize that we pursued the development of a co-management framework and plan with the Municipality of North Cowichan to ensure we are at the decision-making table when it comes to the Municipal Forest Reserve. We have a responsibility to protect culturally significant sites and a right to be consulted when it comes to resource development in our territory. Seeking to move ahead with logging in the Municipal Forest Reserve before the co-management framework and plan are complete undermines the collaborative nature of this work to date.")
A well-known member of Cowichan Tribes on Monday urged people to write North Cowichan council to protest any move to renew logging of our “six sacred mountains” — the 5,000-hectare Municipal Forest Reserve.
Jared Qwustenuxun Williams says in a Facebook post on his 43rd birthday that council’s actions are in “contradiction to their public consultation where the vast majority of locals and first nations wanted to pause or halt logging.”
Revenues from logging must be weighed against “our rivers, our forests, our sacred sites, and the food and water for future generations,” Williams says.
“Our nations, our kids, and our watershed deserves better.
“So if you want to get me anything for my birthday you can email the North Cowichan council at council@northcowichan.ca and let them know what you think about this.”
On August 20, North Cowichan council voted 4-3 to make a resumption of logging in the Municipal Forest Reserve a strategic priority in 2026.
Councillors Bruce Findlay, Tek Manhas, Becky Hogg and Mike Caljouw voted in favour of the motion, while Mayor Rob Douglas and councillors Christopher Justice and Chris Istace voted against.
(Clockwise from top left: Bruce Findlay, Tek Manhas, Mike Caljouw, Becky Hogg.)
That decision flies in the face of an extensive public consultation that showed 76-per-cent support for conservation management of the forest reserve. Dozens of concerned citizens either wrote council or appeared in person August 20 — but to no effect.
Staff have warned that a resumption of logging while a parallel consultation continues with Quw’utsun Nation on the forest reserve could damage Indigenous relations.
The next step is for staff to deliver a report with details and options, including the cost of starting up logging, where logging might occur, and its impacts on issues such as trails and the environment.
Chief Administrative Officer Ted Swabey noted that even if council formally decides at that time to renew logging, it might not be possible before the October 2026 election.
Williams is an authority on traditional foods, an educator, writer, and consultant. He’s won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for best multicultural story and has been featured on CBC radio several times.
Read more: https://www.sixmountains.ca/article/9b0f8444-c91d-4f34-8f71-480e0b9173f5
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— Larry Pynn, Aug. 25, 2025
