![\"Signage](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/mosaic-gates.jpg\")
Mosaic manages most of the private forest land on Vancouver Island and can close off access to hikers using entry gates, which it says is necessary at times to manage safety hazards and wildfire risks. (Claire Palmer\/CBC)<\/p>\nA survey by a private forest management company on Vancouver Island shows thousands of outdoor enthusiasts want better access to forest land \u2014 but an alliance of wilderness advocates is\u00a0also raising concerns about environmental accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mosaic Forest Management, which oversees roughly\u00a0550,000 hectares of privately owned forest land\u00a0between Victoria, Sooke and Campbell River, reports that the survey received over 7,600 responses and the feedback was clear: open the gates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mosaic manages most of the private forest land on Vancouver Island and can close off access to hikers using entry gates, which it says is necessary at times to manage safety hazards and wildfire risks. (Claire Palmer\/CBC)<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Mosaic’s website, the company has over 20 gates on the Island that it can open and close to control recreational use \u2014\u00a0including those controlling access to\u00a0popular hikes like Century Sam in Comox and Mount Arrowsmith near Port Alberni, and front-country camping sites like Nanaimo Lakes.<\/p>\n
Access to the areas is often\u00a0limited to weekends between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
Steve Mjaaland, Mosaic’s manager of forest protection, says the company would like to enhance recreational access, but gate closures are often\u00a0necessary for safety and to prevent wildfires.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s a working forest. There are\u00a0a lot of high-risk hazards, especially hauling on the roads, which would probably be the biggest risk with traffic,” he said.<\/p>\n
Among those calling for\u00a0better access:\u00a0Jenn Holland, who currently chairs an alliance of almost 30 grassroots groups on the Island called the Vancouver Island Private Managed Forest Land Action Alliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There’s gates everywhere and people can’t get to beloved waterfalls or lakes or camping sites that they used to be able to access,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holland says the issue goes beyond recreation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We can’t get in there, and we can’t see what they’re doing back there. We can’t see if there’s been a landslide. We can’t see if a water course has been logged. We can’t see that they’ve logged an entire watershed,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s not just access for recreation, but it’s access for accountability that’s missing.”<\/p>\n
WATCH | Hikers call for greater access to the Island’s backcountry:\u00a0<\/strong> Hikers call out Mosaic Forestry for restricting access to Island’s backcountry<\/p>\n Passionate hikers are calling out Mosaic Forestry, the company responsible for managing much of the Island\u2019s backcountry areas, for restricting access to forest lands. The company says it’s looking for ways to improve accessibility. Holland says that while hiking access is something that the public can easily grasp, she’s focused on bigger issues, like conservation, private forest landowners and the province,\u00a0that go\u00a0beyond Mosaic’s control of the gates.<\/p>\n Dave Weaver, a retired forestry worker who now volunteers with the Beaufort Watershed Stewards, one of the groups that make up the Vancouver\u00a0Island Private Managed Forest Land Action Alliance, says\u00a0he takes issue with the Private Managed Forest Land Program, which was established in 2003 under the Private Managed Forest Land Act.<\/a><\/p>\n According to the province’s website, the program\u00a0works by setting out management objectives\u00a0for forest landowners, who in turn\u00a0develop management strategies most appropriate for their land.\u00a0<\/p>\n Weaver says the act sets a low bar for forestry practices, especially in comparison to regulations for public forest lands, which have more restrictions on harvesting and clearcuts, and greater requirements for public accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We need to have these difficult conversations very soon, with all the parties involved \u2014\u00a0with the provincial government, with the landowners,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n WATCH: Vancouver Island groups call for forestry reform on private land:\u00a0<\/strong> Vancouver Island groups call for forestry reform on private land<\/p>\n Wilderness advocates on Vancouver Island are calling on the province to reform forest practices on private land. They say conservation is taking a back seat to industrial uses in these areas. As Claire Palmer reports, some say it poses risks to nearby communities.<\/p>\n In 2019, the province undertook a review of the Private Managed Forest Land Act, where Weaver says extensive feedback was collected from the public, local government and First Nations.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753007473_446_default.jpg\")
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\nIssue\u00a0goes\u00a0beyond the gates, say conservationists<\/p>\n![\"Mount](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/mount-arrowsmith.jpg\")
Mount Arrowsmith, a landmark in Port Alberni, is shown with a visible clearcut at the base of the mountain. Wilderness advocates say they’re concerned about forestry regulations on privately owned land, as well as limited access for hikers. (Claire Palmer\/CBC )<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753007474_723_default.jpg\")
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