VANCOUVER — The Pacheedaht First Nation on Vancouver Island says a blockade opposed to old-growth logging on its traditional territory in the Walbran Valley near Port Renfrew, B.C., is undermining its authority and should disband.

The First Nation says in a statement that forestry is a “cornerstone” of its economy, and is calling for the blockaders to “stand down and leave.”

It comes after Tsawak-qin Forestry Inc., a firm co-owned by the Huu-ay-aht First Nations and Western Forest Products Inc., says in a lawsuit filed last week in B.C. Supreme Court that “a group of largely unknown individuals” began the blockade of a road on Aug. 25.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to halt the blockade, alleging it’s wrongfully preventing Tsawak-qin and its contractors from “engaging in lawful forestr

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