Logging of Twin Islands draws floating protestBy QUENTIN DODD
Courier-lslander Reporter Feb.5, 1998
The standoff between Cortes lslanders and the owner of Twin Islands took a new turn this week.
About 60 people from four islands - Denman, Cortes, Read and Quadra - took to boats to create a floating demonstration against the logging on the southern of the linked islands, just south of Cortes.
A day later, owner Mike Jenks issued a statement accusing islanders of furthering their cause by putting out "mis-statements" and telling "utter lies" about himand what has been going on.
The islands were previously owned by a member of the Germany aristocracy and the large lodge on the south island was the site of retreats by the Queen and Prince Philip in 1971 and again in 1994.
The furore began after Jenks made a private approach to Margraf Maximillian von Baden late last year, bought the 650-acre islands for some $4 million. and almost immediately moved in a logging crew.
Barge loads of logs have been going out every few days in the past week or so, and Cortes Islanders, who had already staged one on-land protest to block loggers from going to work, resumed their action again Tuesday.
There was no direct confrontation with loggers, and islanders acknowledge there seems to be little they can do to slow the rate of logging and nothing to halt it, since the islands are private property.
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