A Christina Lake school principal and two others are being sued after a tree was cut down in a nature conservancy area southeast of Grand Forks.
Shawn Lockhart and two other individuals identified only as John Doe and Jane Doe are named in the lawsuit filed Nov. 15 by the Southern Interior Land Trust Society.
The society alleges the three entered the 50-acre Edwards Pond nature conservancy area on Manly Meadows Road in March 2022 and cut down a large fir tree for firewood.
The land is roughly six kilometers southeast of Grand Forks on the south shore of the Kettle River.
The Lockhart family is said to own the neighbouring property to the north of the Edwards Pond property, known as the Manly Meadows Property in the statement of claim.
The statement of claim also alleges the incident – using chainsaws, an ATV and a Jeep both with trailers attached – happened during the nesting period for protected birds such as the Great Blue Heron and Bald Eagle.
The society is seeking a restraining order against Lockhart and the two others as well as unspecified damages for property restoration, loss of amenities, environmental loss “which include the commercial value of the tree plus a premium for its environmental and aesthetic value” as well as legal costs.
In a response filed Thursday, the defendants deny the allegations.
The Southern Interior Land Trust Society is a non-profit organization with a mission to “create a legacy of protected, important habitats for all living things by acquiring and conserving in perpetuity, ecologically significant gems of wildlife habitat in BC’s southern interior.”