Karst destroyed with approval of karst consultant.
The protection of BC karst landscapes falls into a sort of legal limbo. There is only weak protection afforded through regulation, and only in some contexts. If a cave can be shown to have archaeological deposits, it can be afforded very strong protection under the Heritage Conservation Act. In theory, the HCA can also protect the cave if it has spiritual values to First Nations. Nonetheless, the practice of karst assessment is controlled by a small cabal of self-appointed experts. These folks make a living by doing impact assessments, mainly for forestry companies. The picture at the left shows the results, a magnificent karst bluff destroyed after the karst consultant wrote the area off – from an office 500 miles distant, based on notes provided by a forest company employee. In the report, archaeological values are dismissed from afar, doubly ridiculous since the karst consultant is notably ignorant about archaeology. Continue reading
Northwest Coast Archaeology 