The great lumber and pulp mill on the Gold River is close to the Mowachaht Nootka Reserve, which supplies most of the mill's employees. The mill produces cut lumber of every imaginable shape and size, as well as wood pulp, the mush substance basic to paper production. Most of the products are shipped out of the area. The thick smoke is indicative of the fact that environmental protection is not a serious concern. Air pollution and the clear-cutting of vast evergreen forests, with little attempt at reforestation, has led to protests by environmentalists. A precedence-setting case involves Meares Island, near Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. An intense controversy has raged for several years over the preservation of that island's forests. The provincial government wants to turn the island over to large timber companies for clear-cutting, while environmentalists and the Clayoquot Nootka oppose such a move and want the island turned into a «Tribal Park».
