Nahmint Valley, Port Alberni - Huge Tree Logging

Hupacasath First Nation calls on BC Government to Halt Logging of Old-Growth Forest in Nahmint Valley on Vancouver Island

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Efforts to halt the logging of some of Canada’s largest old-growth trees in the Nahmint Valley, approved by the BC NDP government’s own logging agency, BC Timber Sales (BCTS), have taken a leap forward with the Hupacasath band council in Port Alberni releasing an open letter calling on the BC government to “pull” the old-growth cutblocks and to work collaboratively with the band to ensure the protection of the area’s old-growth forests, biggest trees, and monumental cedars.

The logging of over 300 hectares of ancient forest in the Nahmint Valley has resulted in overwhelming criticism of the BC NDP government for planning and auctioning off the old-growth forest cublocks through BC Timber Sales.

In an open letter from Band Council Chief Steven Tatoosh received by the AFA last week, the Hupacasath Nation expressed concerns about the recent, “unnecessary” harvesting of old-growth in their traditional territory, which, as Tatoosh stated, contradicts the NDP’s 2017 election platform and undermines government to government consultation with the Hupacasath Nation.

The letter, addressed to the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, calls on the BC government to immediately extinguish all approved cutblocks in the Nahmint Valley and to collaborate with the Hupacasath First Nation to review existing licenses and establish “best management practices for coastal legacy, monumental, and old-growth trees” in Hupacasath traditional territory, which have “immense cultural, spiritual and emotional value” to the Hupacasath Nation.

Hupacasath band member, Brenda Sayers, has spearheaded a group of band members working on developing solutions for protecting old-growth forests in their territory. Sayers was recently featured in a video documentary clip by the Ancient Forest Alliance which can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw4BToE48Ew&t=2s

“We support the Hupacasath First Nation band in their request to the BC government to halt BC Timber Sales’ plans for logging of some of Canada’s largest and oldest trees,” stated Andrea Inness, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner. “We also encourage the provincial government to move forward on its commitment to modernize land use planning in partnership with First Nations, and we urge the government to pair that process with funding for the sustainable economic development and diversification of First Nations communities in lieu of old-growth logging.”

Old-growth logging in the Nahmint Valley has continued through much of the summer, despite the major public outcry, including major media coverage and viral social media attention, after the Ancient Forest Alliance and local Port Alberni conservationists uncovered the logging of some of Earth’s grandest ancient forests and near record-sized trees – including the felling of what was the ninth widest Douglas-fir tree in Canada – in the Nahmint Valley in May (see AFA press releases here and here).

Maps obtained from BCTS show planned future logging throughout the valley, including in two large areas within an intact section of forest on the west side of Nahmint Lake; the slope below the west side of Gracie Lake, adjacent to an Ungulate Winter Range forest reserve; a low slope west of Nahmint Mountain; and on the northern slope at the upper end of the valley.

“British Columbians are outraged by the logging of endangered ancient forest ecosystems that’s taking place in the Nahmint Valley – and throughout many regions of BC – and are speaking out strongly in favour of old-growth protection,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt. “Thousands of concerned people have sent messages to the BC government, asking them to implement science-based policies to protect old-growth while ensuring a sustainable, second-growth forest industry. Unfortunately, so far it seems the NDP government would prefer to stick its head in the sand, engage in PR-spin, and carry on with business as usual.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is encouraging BC residents to continue to express their views to the BC government on old-growth logging, including in the Nahmint Valley, and on the need for interim protections for intact areas while science-based solutions and old land use plans are modernized to include First Nations land use plans.

“The Ministry of Forests says it intends to hold a public comment period on the new logging plans for the Nahmint Valley sometime soon,” stated Inness. “It will be a good opportunity for British Columbians to speak up to BC Timber Sales, forests minister Doug Donaldson, and Premier Horgan, calling on the NDP government to direct BCTS to stop issuing cutting permits in old-growth forests and to start supporting old-growth conservation solutions instead.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance, along with Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee, are calling on the BC government to enact a series of policy changes, including a science-based plan to protect old-growth forests, the use of regulations and incentives to ensure a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry, and financial support for the sustainable economic diversification of First Nations communities linked to their development of land use plans that protect old-growth forests.

Background Information

Old-growth forests are vital to sustaining unique endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. On BC’s southern coast, satellite photos show that at least 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Old-growth forests, with trees that can be 2000 years old, are a non-renewable resource under BC’s system of forestry, where second-growth forests are re-logged every 50 to 100 years, never to become old-growth again.

The Nahmint Valley is considered a “hotspot” of high-conservation value old-growth forest by conservation groups, with some of the largest tracts of remaining old-growth forests on Vancouver Island outside of Clayoquot Sound, and is home to Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, cougars, wolves, and black bears, as well as old-growth associated species like the marbled murrelet and northern goshawk. The area also supports significant salmon and steelhead spawning runs. The Nahmint is considered by many people to be one of the most scenic areas in BC, with its ancient forests, rugged peaks, gorgeous turquoise canyons and swimming holes, and large and small lakes, and is heavily used by hikers, campers, anglers, and hunters.The Nahmint Valley is located in the territories of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations.

The BC government has often stated that “over 55% of Crown old-growth forests on B.C.’s coast are protected,” but fails to mention that the vast majority of coastal old-growth forests are protected in the Great Bear Rainforest, not on Vancouver Island where old-growth logging occurs at a scale of about 11,000 hectares a year (in 2016). The government also claims that, “on Vancouver Island, over 40% of Crown forests are considered old growth, with 520,000 hectares that will never be logged;” however,these figures leave out the approximately 800,000 hectares of heavily logged-over private forest lands on Vancouver Island (which are still managed under provincial authority). The 520,000 hectares they reference also includes about 360,000 hectares of low-productivity forest (i.e. stunted, marginal forests that grow in bogs, on steep rocky mountainsides, and in the high sub-alpine zones where the trees are smaller and generally of low to no commercial value). Finally, the BC government fails to mention the context of how much old-growth has previously been logged: almost 80%, or about 16 million hectares of the original 20 million hectares, of productive old-growth forest on Vancouver Island and over 90% of the low elevation, high-productivity stands (i.e. the very rare “classic” monumental stands of giants being logged in the Nahmint right now).

BC Timber Sales (BCTS), a division of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, is the BC government’s logging agency that plans and directly issues logging permits for about 20 per cent of the province’s merchantable timber on Crown lands, which fall outside of forestry tenures. The BC government retains full control over which cut blocks are auctioned each year through BCTS and can therefore use this control to quickly phase out issuing timber sales in old-growth forests in these areas.

“The forests minister assures us that sufficient old-growth is protected in the Nahmint Valley, but it’s a question of quality, not just quantity,” stated Andrea Inness, AFA campaigner. “Most of the valley’s monumental groves, growing at lower elevations on the richer sites, have long since been logged and much of the remaining old-growth forests outside of current approved and planned cutblocks are comprised of smaller trees growing on low and medium productivity sites, including most of the forests protected in forest reserves. The BC government is skewing the numbers to hide the fact they’re auctioning off the grandest forests with the biggest trees while protecting forests of much lower commercial value that often lack the biodiversity of the richer, grander stands.”

“Fortunately, it’s not too late for the Nahmint Valley,” stated TJ Watt, AFA campaigner. “There are still significant tracts of old-growth forest left in the area and very high environmental and recreational values that are worth protecting. The BC government has an opportunity right now to turn things around and do the right thing, for which they will certainly gain public approval.”

VIDEO: Old-Growth Protection and Sustainable Economic Opportunities

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The argument against old-growth forest protection is typically based on the assumption that ‘locking up’ forests is bad for business. Nothing could be further from the truth.

BC’s old-growth forests play an important role in the province’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world every year.

Ancient forests such as those of Clayoquot Sound, Avatar Grove, and Cathedral Grove, and record-sized big trees like Big Lonely Doug and the Red Creek Fir, provide nearby communities like Port Renfrew, Sooke, Tofino, Ucluelet and Port Alberni with increased sustainable business and employment opportunities.

At the same time while protecting old-growth forests, the BC government must foster a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forestry sector by creating incentives and regulations and curbing raw log exports to keep more logs – and more forestry jobs – here in BC.

Video by filmmaker Darryl Augustine, with interviews by AFA campaigner Andrea Inness, Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce president Dan Hager, Tla-o-qui-aht tourism operator Tsimka Martin, AFA campaigner TJ Watt, forest campaigner Vicky Husband, and Public and Private Workers of Canada president Arnie Bercov.

Click here to watch the video on AFA’s YouTube channel.

Environmentalists want old growth on west coast of Island protected

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Forest company says it has delayed plans a year to listen to local concerns

Environmentalists are hoping to halt proposed logging of old-growth forest slated for the northwest coast of Vancouver Island.

Recently, the Ancient Forest Alliance enlisted the support of the local council from Tahsis in efforts to protect the McKelvie Valley.

The valley extends from Tahsis to the base of Mount McKelvie. According to the news release from the Ancient Forest Alliance, the area features endangered ancient forest, rich wildlife habitat and McKelvie Creek, which serves as a salmon spawning ground and source of drinking water for the community.

“The McKelvie is an exceptionally significant ancient forest given that it is an entire intact valley in a region where virtually all valleys have now been fragmented and tattered by logging” Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness said in the release.

“As such, its value for wildlife, water, fisheries, tourism, recreation, and the climate are exceptional. Most controversies over old-growth logging today involve significant patches and groves of ancient forest, but we’re talking about an entire intact watershed here.”

The McKelvie Creek watershed lies within Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 19, the licence for which was acquired by Western Forest Products’ (WFP) predecessor in December 1997. According to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, the TFL covers 170,713 hectares, with 138,350 hectares considered productive forest and 75,958, or about 55 per cent, available for timber harvesting. In addition, the ministry says more than 23,000 hectares are designated as old growth management areas or wildlife habitat areas.

The Ancient Forest Alliance says the McKelvie watershed, which is 2,170 hectares, is the last regional stronghold for the threatened marbled murrelet sea bird population, while McKelvie Creek provides a habitat for fish such as chum and coho salmon, cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden. They are concerned proposed road-building and logging in TFL 19 will increase runoff and increase the severity of debris slides and flooding, which could affect species’ habitat as well as water quality. In response, the Tahsis Village Council passed a resolution in June opposing all forms of resource extraction, including logging.

In response, WFP says it relies on industry-leading forest management standards and employs professional foresters and other qualified professionals, such as biologists, hydrologists and geoscientists, to develop and implement plans that meet or exceed the B.C. government standards.

“Our professionals develop forest stewardship plans that show how we are meeting the objectives set by the government for old growth preservation, soils, timber, wildlife, water, fish, biodiversity, visual landscapes and First Nations cultural heritage resources,” WFP Senior Communications Director Babita Khunkhun told the Mirror in an email.

The company also says it voluntarily submits to having all of its forest tenures independently certified to internationally recognized standards for sustainable forest management.

As far as why WFP is harvesting old growth, Khunkhun continued, saying, “Wood is a renewable resource and the most sustainable building material on the planet. Vast areas of forests are retained, including old growth management areas and other types of reserves. In addition, Western has policies in place, including a big tree protection policy, to ensure we maintain unique features across the land base.”

The company said it has consulted with the Tahsis council this past year and will continue to engage with them on this issue, adding it has delayed plans for at least a year to provide more time to better understand local concerns and consider these as part of forest management in the McKelvie Valley.

Read the original article here.

VIDEO: Clayoquot Tribal Parks and First Nations Old-Growth Protection

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Check out this most important video clip about the inspiring, cutting-edge First Nations-led efforts of the Tla-o-qui-aht, Ahousaht, and Hupacasath people to protect Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests! 25 years ago, on August 9, 1993, over 300 people were arrested trying to protect the old-growth forests in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island, out of almost 900 people who would be arrested that summer. The Tla-o-qui-aht have declared most of their territory as Tribal Parks and the Ahousaht have developed a Land Use Vision that protects 82% of their territory from industrial logging, while the Hupacasath are speaking up for the protection of ancient forests in the Nahmint Valley. The BC government has yet to officially recognize and support these initiatives, and has not committed to undertaking conservation financing for these communities or elsewhere across most of BC at this time, while still supporting old-growth logging in the Nahmint Valley and in large regions of the province. However, there is hope – with your support for these First Nations conservation initiatives!

See the original video by filmmaker Darryl Augustine here.

An aerial view of the intact McKelvie Valley near Tahsis

Old-Growth Logging in the McKelvie Valley Opposed by Tahsis Village Council and Community Members

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Village of Tahsis

TAHSIS – Tahsis Village Council and members of the Tahsis community are joining forces with conservationists to oppose planned logging by Western Forest Products in the McKelvie Watershed, the last unlogged watershed in the Tahsis region, located in Nuu-chah-nulth territory.

The McKelvie Valley, which extends from the village of Tahsis on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island to the base of Mount McKelvie, features endangered ancient forest, rich wildlife habitat, and McKelvie Creek, a salmon spawning ground and the community’s source of drinking water.

“The McKelvie is an exceptionally significant ancient forest given that it is an entire intact valley in a region where virtually all valleys have now been fragmented and tattered by logging” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness. “As such, its value for wildlife, water, fisheries, tourism, recreation, and the climate are exceptional. Most controversies over old-growth logging today involve significant patches and groves of ancient forest, but we’re talking about an entire intact watershed here. The McKelvie also feeds into Tahsis’ drinking aquifer and the watershed itself is the town’s back-up drinking water supply. As such, it is a first-rate conservation priority and an old-growth ‘hotspot’ area that needs an immediate government moratorium on any logging plans”

The McKelvie Creek watershed falls within Western Forest Products’ (WFP) Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 19, which encompasses 190,000 hectares in the vicinity of Nootka Sound, in the territory of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation. The company plans to begin road-building into the McKelvie valley next year with the aim to commence logging operations in 2020. Western Forest Products also plans to log some of the remaining ancient groves nearby Tahsis and Leiner river valleys over the next 15 years.

Since WFP revealed its plans publicly last year, locals have grown increasingly concerned about the impacts of the proposed logging on Tahsis’ burgeoning tourism industry, increased flood risks, possible sediment run-off into McKelvie Creek, and the loss of rare, intact old-growth forests.

In response, Tahsis Village Council unanimously passed a resolution in June opposing all forms of resource extraction and development in the McKelvie watershed, including all logging activity.

“The Council’s resolution called on Minister Donaldson to remove the McKelvie Creek community watershed from TFL 19 in order to preserve one of the few remaining intact old-growth valleys on Vancouver Island,” stated Randy Taylor, Acting Mayor of the Village of Tahsis.

Concerned Tahsis residents also formed the “McKelvie Matters” advocacy group earlier this year to oppose logging in the watershed. Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC, and Wilderness Committee are working to support both groups to help ensure their pleas are heard by the BC NDP government.

“The plan by Western Forest Products to log our drinking watershed and the steep, unstable hillside above Tahsis puts the health and safety of the people of Tahsis at risk,” stated Martin Davis, biologist, bat caver, and co-founder of the McKelvie Matters advocacy group. “It will destroy groves of huge Douglas-fir, remove much of our remaining regional Marbled Murrelet habitat, damage our premiere hiking trail, and will leave scars directly over town that will take generations to heal.”

“Residents of this community are passionate about protecting their community watershed. Not only is McKelvie Creek the source of our drinking water, it’s also important habitat for bear, elk, deer, cougars, and many bird species,” stated Acting Mayor Taylor.

“Logging the old-growth in the McKelvie Creek watershed is environmentally short-sighted, threatens our community’s drinking water supply, and undermines our economic recovery, which is based on eco- tourism.”

Since Western Forest Products closed the town’s sawmill in 2001, the village of Tahsis has been working to transition to a tourism-based economy by capitalizing on its stunning coastal scenery. Today, the area is renowned for sport fishing, kayaking, diving, hiking, caving, trail bike riding, and wildlife viewing tours.

The town is also adjacent to Nootka Island, home of the 35-kilometre-long Nootka trail, one of BC’s most spectacular trails, featuring old-growth temperate rainforest and a rich history as the site of the first contact between Europeans and First Nations people on Canada’s west coast. The village of Tahsis itself, located in Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations territory, holds historical and cultural importance as the winter home of Chief Maquinna and as a former gateway to a trade route spanning the entire width of Vancouver Island.

The area’s unique natural and cultural heritage is what led Tahsis resident and former New Brunswick NDP MLA and MP candidate, Shawna Gagné, to begin lobbying the BC government earlier this year to protect the McKelvie watershed as a heritage site.

“Heritage is something worth keeping, preserving, and protecting,” stated Gagné. “If heritage buildings, ruins, and pyramids are important to protect, why not our remaining endangered old-growth forests? Once they are logged, they’re gone forever. If we allow this area to be degraded by logging, we not only risk ecological damage, but also the area’s tourism appeal, the historic trails once used by Indigenous peoples, and the over 177 archeological sites already identified in this region.”

This time last year, conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club of BC, and Wilderness Committee presented the BC Forests Minister with a suite of recommendations to protect endangered ancient forests while ensuring a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry. The recommendations included a halt on logging in old-growth forest ‘hotspots’ (endangered, intact valleys like the McKelvie watershed with high conservation and recreational value) and a science-based plan to protect old-growth forests across the province. Despite promising in their 2017 election platform to use the science-based, ecosystem-based management approach of the Great Bear Rainforest as a model for sustainably managing old-growth forests, the NDP government has yet to take any meaningful steps to prevent endangered forest ecosystems from being logged in BC.

“The BC government needs to break from the destructive and unsustainable status quo of old-growth forest liquidation, mill closures, and raw log exports, and start moving towards sustainable solutions,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “This starts by putting an immediate halt on logging in large, intact old-growth areas like the McKelvie Valley and in other old-growth forest hotspots in order to start negotiating solutions while there are still significant tracts remaining. So far, the BC government has not been following through on its promise to sustainably manage old-growth forests based on the Ecosystem-Based Management model used in the Great Bear Rainforest agreement, where most of the forests were protected based on science. It’s time for this government to be a sustainable, progressive, and forward-thinking government in terms of forestry.”