Move by Liberals to amend Forest Act draws criticism

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The provincial government has introduced legislation to allow woodlot owners the right to remove their lands from forest management requirements and sell them while retaining their tenure on Crown lands, similar to a controversial move four years ago that allowed large forest companies the same right on Vancouver Island.

The Liberals introduced the change Tuesday as an amendment to the Forest Act, stating in a news release that woodlot owners will be able to remove private land from their woodlots, at the discretion of the minister, to provide them “flexibility in managing their assets in changing economic times and to plan for retirement.”

Critics of the woodlot licence amendment say it is a one-sided change of a public-private contract that provides benefits to private land owners. The only difference between the amendment and the 2007 removal of 28,000 hectares of private forest land from tree farm licences on Vancouver Island controlled by Western Forest Products, is the scale, said Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance. The Victoria-based conservation group mounted public opposition to the 2007 removal of Western’s southern Vancouver Island forestlands adjacent to the Juan De Fuca Marine Trail.

The government’s handling of that removal drew an admonishment from the auditor-general and ignited widespread community protest that has yet to die down.

“This sounds like a mini-version of the tree farm licence removal controversy,” Wu said in an interview. As was the case with the larger tree farm licences, private forest lands cannot be developed as long as they are in a woodlot. There is no development restriction once the lands are taken out.

There are 875 woodlot licences in B.C. operating on 505,000 hectares of forest land but only 91,000 hectares, or 18 per cent of the land, is private. The rest is Crown land, often obtained in return for keeping the private portion of the land within the woodlot licence.

“In many cases people were granted woodlot licences on Crown land by agreeing to include their private forest lands within the woodlot licence,” said Wu. “It’s similar to the situation with many coastal tree farm licences but on a smaller scale. The removal of those private lands from the woodlot licence essentially frees them up for development while allowing them to keep the Crown woodlot licence, and that’s not in the public interest.”

According to the website of the Federation of British Columbia Woodlot Associations, the woodlot licences are “a form of area-based tenure which is unique to British Columbia. In effect, they are partnerships between the licence holder and the Province of British Columbia to manage public and private forest lands.”

Brian McNaughton, executive director of the association, said in an interview that the estate planning is the prime reason woodlot owners want the right to take their private lands out of the woodlot.

“We have an aging demographic,” he said.

He said not all woodlot owners, himself included, will want to take private lands out. Some might want to take a portion out, and others might want to take all out but continue to manage the public portion.

He said the association expects there will be some controversy and wants to be transparent in what it is proposing. Before any land could be taken out of the woodlot licence, it would be advertised locally and the public be invited to comment. An accommodation could then be reached, he said, which might include the woodlot owner taking steps to ensure that public values are maintained. The decision to allow forest companies to withdraw their private lands motivated woodlot owners to seek the same right, but he said there is a difference in scale.

“We are talking about woodlots, which are small parcels, we are not talking about large tracks of timber, like perhaps was done with the corporations,” he said.

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Steve Thomson defended the decision at a media scrum at the legislature Wednesday, saying woodlot owners would have to meet certain conditions before they could withdraw private land from their woodlot.

“This will be limited. This is dealing with an aging demographic in the woodlot industry. This means that they can continue woodlot operations without having to surrender the whole woodlot in terms of their planning,” he said.

NDP forestry critic Norm McDonald said he understands that woodlot owners require some flexibility but allowing them to remove their private lands while continuing to harvest timber on the public lands portion of their licence is not the answer.

Woodlot owners, he said, originally received the benefit of tenure on public lands by putting up their private lands to manage as forestlands. As long as their private lands are in woodlots, the owners receive favourable taxation and other benefits, McDonald said.

“We have a high degree of discomfort with this,” he said in an interview

Link to the Vancouver Sun article:  https://www.vancouversun.com/business/Move+Liberals+amend+Forest+draws+criticism/5521376/story.html

 

This label will be coming to a liquor store near you next month

Forest brews, mighty tasty

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More good news for our friends at the Ancient Forest Alliance, who just won Phillips Beer’s “Benefit Brew” competition.

The vote — which was decided entirely online by beer fans alike — overwhelmingly declared the AFA winner, with “Ancient Brown Ale” microbrew beer to be released next month into select private liquor stores. Full proceeds (about $10,000) go to the AFA.

“This is huge for us, as we run on a budget of about $40,000 a year,” says AFA’s Ken Wu, who adds he is a beer fan. As for his fav Phillips until now? “I buy the mix-packs, and drink them all,” he says.

Link to the Monday Magazine article: https://www.mondaymag.com/articles/entry/the-week-oct-6

 

Ancient Forest Alliance

CTV News – Ancient Forest Alliance wins Benefit Brew contest

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Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlcNBveGt74

CTV News video clip of the Ancient Forest Alliance’s win in the Phillips Beer “Benefit Brew” contest. The AFA will receive the sales proceeds from a custom, microbrewed beer called the “Ancient Brown Ale”. Proceeds could be upwards of $10,000 for our organization which is is huge for us – about 1/4 of our annual budget this year!

This label will be coming to a liquor store near you next month

And the benefit brew winner is: Ancient Forest Alliance

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The Ancient Forest Alliance has tapped a keg worth $9,000 after the environmental movement was named the winner of Phillips Brewing Company’s annual benefit brew competition.

The alliance, a two yearold Victoria-based non-profit organization that works to protect old-growth forest in the province, was the clear winner of the competition that over a two-week period had the public vote for their charity of choice online at www.phillipsbeer.com.

“They took an early lead and it was interesting to watch it grow from day to day,” said Phillips owner Matt Phillips. “They were very organized.”

More than 9,100 people voted in the online contest that will see the winner reap all of the proceeds from the sales of a batch of specially brewed beer – in this case Ancient Brown Ale.

Phillips said the contest, now in its third year, has meant a cash boost of anywhere between $7,000 and $9,000 for local charities.

“It all depends on how much beer we can squeeze out of this [batch],” said Phillips. “They are doing great work but I understand they have a really small operating budget so this is very significant help for them which makes it even better for us.”

Last year, the Alliance’s operating budget was $60,000. “We are grateful for the great amount of support we’ve received from the small business community of Victoria and Vancouver Island. Phillips Beer’s Benefit Brew will be a major infusion of support that will help us build a stellar ancient forest campaign this fall,” said Ken Wu, Alliance co-founder.

Phillips started brewing the beer Monday and labels have been sent to the printers. Phillips hopes to see a final product ready by the end of this month and in stores by mid-November.

This label will be coming to a liquor store near you next month

Ancient Forest Alliance wins Benefit Brew competition of Phillips Beer

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For Immediate Release
October 1, 2011

Ancient Forest Alliance wins “Benefit Brew” competition of Phillips Beer

The Ancient Forest Alliance is the winner of an online voting competition to become the recipient of a new benefit microbrew beer made by local Victoria company, Phillips Beer. “Ancient Brown Ale” will be the new microbrew beer to be released next month into select private liquor stores, with full sales proceeds going to the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“We’re very pleased to win the Benefit Brew competition. $10,000 is huge for us, equivalent to about 25% of our funding this year. We’re a new organization with very limited funds, but we’ve been working extremely hard to save ancient forests – and we promise proceeds from the Benefit Brew will go far with us,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner. “I’m also sure that among the Ancient Forest Alliance’s beer drinking supporters there are a lot of Phillips Beer fans, which is a local company that is renowned for its tastiness and quality.”

The Benefit Brew competition was narrowed down to 10 applicant charities and non-profit organizations on September 9, followed by a two-week online vote on Phillips Beer’s website which ended on September 23. It’s expected the sales proceeds will total up to $10,000 for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is a Victoria-based, registered charitable environmental organization founded in 2010, working to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. The organization organizes hikes, slideshows, rallies, and public education campaigns, calling on the BC government to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry. The organization’s campaign to protect the Avatar Grove near the town of Port Renfrew has had a particularly high profile with the public and in the media. See the organization’s spectacular photo and video gallery here.

Phillips Beer was founded by Victoria brewer, Matthew Phillips, over a decade ago. From the company’s humble beginnings, originally financed on Phillip’s multiple credit cards with deliveries made from his 1985 Subaru station wagon, Phillips Beer has become recognized as one of the foremost brewing companies in Canada, winning numerous provincial and national awards for their diverse, quality microbrews.

“The Ancient Forest Alliance is grateful for the great amount of support we’ve received from the small business community of Victoria and Vancouver Island. Phillips Beer’s Benefit Brew will be a major infusion of support that will help us build a stellar ancient forest campaign this fall,” stated Ken Wu, co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Not only will the funds be extremely helpful, but the beautiful and informative labels on the bottles themselves will help to raise awareness about the need to protect old-growth forests! We want to thank thousands of our supporters for voting for us and Phillips Beer for supporting the non-profit and charitable community of BC.”