Right now until 5:00 pm, Friday, June 26th, the BC government is seeking input from British Columbians on their priorities for the 2021 provincial budget. This is a critical opportunity for us to request funding for old-growth forest protection!
Budget 2021 will set the tone for a post-COVID-19 BC. With $1.5 billion in stimulus spending, overwhelming public support, and a promise to “build back better” after COVID, the BC government needs to prioritize spending for environmental conservation, an area which typically receives decreased funding and attention following an economic downturn.
Protecting ancient forests while supporting First Nations communities is critical for ensuring a healthy, just, and resilient British Columbia. And, although regulatory measures such as science-based protection targets are desperately needed for ancient forests on Crown lands, BC also needs to allocate funding in Budget 2021 to protect endangered old-growth forests and other ecosystems on private lands and support the long-term economic and social well-being of First Nations communities that want to protect ancient forests in their territories.
Please join us in calling on the BC government to commit funding in Budget 2021 for:
A provincial Natural Lands Acquisition Fund for the purchase and protection of endangered ecosystems on private lands to sustain wildlife, clean water, recreation and tourism;
Conservation financing for the sustainable economic development of First Nations economies in lieu of old-growth logging;
Indigenous-led land use planning and protected areas to maintain the significant cultural values of ancient forests while supporting First Nations’ communities and wellbeing.
To submit your feedback, visit the Budget 2021 consultation website, where you can either make a written, audio, or video submission (see our suggested wording for a written submission below) or complete the online survey (see our handy survey guide below).
To the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services,
BC’s coastal and temperate old-growth forests are vital for sustaining unique and endangered species, BC’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry, many First Nations cultures, a stable climate, and clean water for communities and wild salmon.
Recent independent research shows that only a tiny fraction (less than 3%) of BC’s highly productive old-growth forests (those capable of growing big trees) remain standing today. Studies have also shown that keeping old-growth forests standing can provide a greater overall economic benefit than cutting them down when factoring in the values listed above.
I therefore recommend the BC government prioritize the conservation of endangered old-growth forests in its 2021 provincial budget by:
1) Establishing a dedicated $40 million per year BC Natural Lands Acquisition Fund to purchase private lands of high conservation, scenic, cultural, and recreational value from willing sellers to add to BC’s parks and protected areas system. This $40 million annual fund should increase by $10 million/year until the fund reaches $100 million/year.
2) Contributing funding toward the sustainable development and economic diversification of Vancouver Island First Nations communities in lieu of old-growth logging, similar to the $120 million (including $30 million in provincial funds) provided to First Nations in the Great Bear Rainforest in support of ecosystem-based management in that region.
3) Allocate dedicated funding toward the planning, implementation, and management of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) in BC. IPCAs are increasingly being recognized as innovative and effective mechanisms for conserving lands and waters while also supporting the languages, cultures, health, wellbeing, jobs, and economies of Indigenous communities and must be supported and funded in Budget 2021.
In addition to your own views, please include one or both of the following points.
Note: To edit the text below, copy and paste it into a Word document or a similar program, edit, then copy/paste into the survey.
1. To create a resilient and truly sustainable economy, we must protect the natural ecosystems on which we all depend for our health and survival. Many of BC’s most endangered ecosystems are found on privately-owned lands and support large concentrations of endangered species, wild salmon habitat, drinking watersheds, the climate, important First Nations cultural sites, and outstanding tourism and recreational opportunities. The BC government must allocate funding to the creation of a provincial Natural Lands Acquisition Fund to systematically purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on BC’s private lands for the benefit of communities and species alike.
2. Recent research shows that only a tiny fraction of BC’s productive old-growth forests remain standing today. In order to protect endangered old-growth forests on a large scale while also supporting the long-term economic and social wellbeing of Indigenous communities, the BC government must increase funding for Indigenous-led land-use planning, allocate dedicated funding to the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and financially support the sustainable economic development and diversification of First Nations communities.
Complete as you see fit. In the “other” category, you may choose to add the following:
Invest in an expedited transition to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry while also protecting old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems on private and Crown lands.
Please help us spread the word by sharing this page with your network. We need thousands of British Columbians to request funding for old-growth protection in Budget 2021!
Questions about the Budget 2021 consultation process? Visit the Budget 2021 website for more information.[Original article no longer available]
http://15.157.244.121/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Cameron-Firebreak-Douglas-Fir-Tree.jpg10001500TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2020-06-17 23:45:342024-10-10 10:39:06ACTION ALERT: Speak up for ancient forests. Submit your feedback on Budget 2021 by June 26th!
1 of 3 | A freshcut portion of an old-growth cutblock on the Upper Walbran on Vancouver Island in 2002. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)
Most of British Columbia’s old-growth forests of big trees live only on maps, and what’s left on the ground is fast disappearing, a team of independent scientists has found.
A recent report revealed the amount of old-growth forest still standing in the province has been overestimated by more than 20% and most of the last of what’s left is at risk of being logged within the next 12 years.
In the report, the scientists revealed most of the forest counted as old growth by the province is actually small alpine or boggy forest. It’s old — but the trees are not the giants most people think of when they are referring to old growth.
Less than 1% of the forest left in the province is composed of the productive ground growing massive old trees, some more than 1,000 years old, including coastal temperate rainforests on Vancouver Island and a fast-vanishing inland old-growth temperate rainforest on the west slopes of the Rockies, unique in the world.
While the authors agree with B.C.’s official tally that 23% of the forest in the province is old growth, “that is incredibly misleading,” said Rachel Holt, an ecologist based in Nelson, B.C., and an author of the report.
“They are mixing in bog forests where the trees are no taller than me, and I am 5 feet tall, and they are mixing in high-elevation tiny trees. They are old and valuable but they are not what you, or I, or anyone else thinks of when they think of old growth.”
Most of that forest is unprotected, and unless something changes in B.C. policy, three-quarters of it will be logged within 12 years, the scientists found.
The scientists did the analysis and issued the report in part to inform a panel that has been taking public testimony about the value of old growth from First Nations conservationists and others across the province. The results of the panel’s work are intended to inform a path forward for the management of old growth.
Meanwhile, the losses are continuing and what’s really needed now is a moratorium on further cutting, the scientists stated in the report.
Change is in the works, but won’t be immediate, Doug Donaldson, minister of Forests, Land, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development said in an email to The Seattle Times.
“We are taking seriously the challenge of managing our vital old forests […] in B.C. That’s why we launched a review and engagement process by two independent experts to examine the issue and provide recommendations,” Donaldson wrote.
“Addressing the issue of managing old growth forests while supporting workers and communities has been a challenge for more than 30 years … This is a problem many years in the making and it won’t be solved immediately. We need a science-based approach … that respects and understands the benefits of old growth to biodiversity in our forests …
“We agree that more work needs to be done… to resolve this.”
At stake are more than big trees. Orca whales also rub on beaches downstream and adjacent to some of the forests being cut. Salmon, primarily chinook, are the primary food source for the northern and southern resident populations of orca whales. Salmon depend on cool, clean water in the streams where they spawn and rear, streams that wind through forests ultimately to saltwater where hungry orcas hunt.
“Salmon connect the land to the sea,” said Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus. “All of us are hoping that there is going to be enough fish to feed the southern residents and northern residents.
“How we treat and take care of our forests ultimately determines the fate of our salmon populations. This isn’t just about controlling fishing, it is about controlling what we do on the land.”
Old-growth forests also shelter a vast suite of terrestrial life. Insects that live nowhere else thrive in the worlds within worlds of old-growth canopies. Bears den in the cavities of massive gnarly old trees, and birds, including pileated woodpeckers, nest and feed in their branches. Inland rainforests host lichen that are a primary food of mountain caribou, now pushed to the brink of extinction by loss of the forests they depend on.
The Grey Ghost herd in the south Selkirks, the only mountain caribou in the Lower 48, is already functionally extinct.
Cutting and replanting the old-growth forests that supported caribou and other wildlife will produce fiber, but not the ecological web of life that was lost, said Karen Price, another author on the report.“They are not forests, they are plantations.”
More than 25 years ago, after the so-called War in the Woods over logging in the old growth at Clayoquot Sound, some B.C. old growth remains protected. But all over the province, the losses still continue, Price said. There is no one forest, no one place at risk and most of the valley bottom old growth is already gone.
For years she taught forest ecology at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre on the west side of Vancouver Island, and could take her students to see valley bottom old-growth stands minutes from the classroom, Price said. Before long the students had to take a two-hour bus ride to see old growth because so much had been cut. “We could stand our whole class on one of the stumps, 24 students.”
Old-growth forest and forests in general are under assault around the globe as climate change cranks up both the assaults on big trees, and the need to preserve them.
Bugs, wind, drought and fire are taking out big old trees disproportionately as the climate warms. Yet one of the best defenses against a roasting climate is forests and especially big old trees. Big trees hold 50% of the above ground biomass in a forest and their ability to store carbon is without equal. To moderate the effects of climate change, foresters need to retain the largest trees, and recruit more by letting forests grow, scientists have found.
Price said the team put the report out to alert the public to just how little old growth is left, and the reality that cut blocks are still being drawn by B.C. Timber Sales on what’s left for logging.
“It wasn’t a surprise to any of us,” Price said. “But we were frustrated that nobody knew this.”
http://15.157.244.121/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-22-at-11.41.08-AM.png527889TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2020-06-16 18:36:062023-04-06 19:06:52Most of B.C.’s massive old trees are ghosts, existing only on paper
An independent report by a trio of scientists warns that the tiny amount of old-growth forest remaining in B.C. is in peril if the province doesn’t implement sweeping policies to protect it.
The report, released last month by Karen Price, Rachel Holt and Dave Daust, was done to aide the province’s Old Growth Strategic Review, a two-person expert panel expected to provide its own report soon. The scientists volunteered their time to inform the panel and submitted their own findings over the past six months.
The scientists found that the province’s count of 13.2 million hectares of old forest — about 23 per cent of forested areas in the province — is accurate but does not tell the whole story.
“We believe that (number) to be a misleading and unhelpful piece of information, so we looked at that in more detail,” said Holt, who owns Veridian Ecological Consulting and has been a contractor for First Nations, industry and the province over the past two decades.
Of the 13.2 million hectares of old-growth forest in B.C., about 80 per cent is home to small trees and only three per cent supports the large trees British Columbians picture when they are thinking about old-growth, the scientists found.
“We need to have representation of all these different ecosystem types — including the ones that have big trees — and we don’t have that in our protection,” Holt said.
The scientists said they found that more than 85 per cent of productive forest sites have less than 30 per cent of the amount of old-growth that would be expected naturally. Of those, half have less than one per cent of expected old-growth.
“This current status puts biodiversity, ecological integrity and resilience at high risk today,” they said in their report.
The scientists recommend three key actions, starting with government immediately stopping the harvesting of the “rarest of the rare” trees.
This would mean retaining all old forest in any ecosystem that has less than 10 per cent of old trees remaining, focusing on retaining higher-productivity sites and the irreplaceable older and ancient forests, and retaining productive, mature stands — smaller management units of trees used for forestry — where there is little or no old-growth left.
They recommend government develop and implement “ecologically defensible” targets for the protection of old forest, protecting at least 30 per cent of each naturally occurring ecosystem.
And they recommend government improves how it implements policy, such as closing loopholes used by the forest industry, to ensure old-forest retention protects the last remaining productive old forest, and provides functional forests for years to come.
“Without immediate action, we will lose these globally priceless values — and still have to deal with a volume-based industry that has not planned ahead for transition,” the scientists wrote.
“The provincial government must provide funding, commitment and management authority to ensure that staff can implement effective forest conservation. Little human effort is tasked with protecting old-forest values, while much is focused on harvesting.”
Minister Doug Donaldson said in an email that his ministry is aware of the report.
“Building a consensus on managing old-growth forests has been a challenge for more than 30 years, this includes trying to get all parties to agree on what is and is not old-growth and how old-growth areas are measured,” said Donaldson, who is minister of forests, lands, natural resource operations and rural development.
He said the problem is “many years in the making” and won’t be solved immediately, which his why his ministry launched a review and engagement process. Donaldson said the solution will require more work with environmental organizations, First Nations, industry and other groups.
“We’re all excited by the buzz this is creating inside and outside government,” said the independent report’s lead author, Karen Price. “We hope that our work will support the minister in his attempts to build policy focused on resilience.”
Old growth cedar is pictured in Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island. (Chris Corday/CBC)
Self-published report concludes most old growth areas counted by province are small alpine or boggy forests
A team of independent researchers claim in a new report that the province’s accounting of old growth trees is vastly larger than the actual number of trees most people would consider old growth, namely coniferous giants.
“They don’t distinguish between all the different types of old growth,” said Rachel Holt, co-author and registered professional biologist.
The B.C. government reports that of the province’s 57.2 million hectares of forest, 23 per cent is old growth or 13.2 million hectares.
“Only about one per cent of that total forest is old growth in the way that you or I, or pretty much anybody would think of as being old forest,” said Holt.
The precise number in Holt’s report is 400,000 hectares, or 0.8 per cent of the forested area in B.C.
“We don’t get a second chance at maintaining these, and there is really such a tiny proportion that remains,” she said.
At risk of logging
The report warns that, in addition to the issue of overestimating old growth forest, many of the large stands of trees that would be considered old growth are at risk of being logged — as much as 75 per cent.
“We know that if it’s not protected, then the plan is to log it, that’s why we can do that math,” Holt said of the system of forest management used in the province.
An aerial photograph of the Nahmint Valley outside Port Alberni, B.C., shows protected old growth groves along the water and replanted hillsides that were previously logged. ((Chris Corday/CBC))
She said the main problem appears to be management of old growth areas.
“Lack of reporting and poor implementation of policy has left us with a big gap, and we’re just not doing a good job of protecting these, the legacy forest,” she said. “They’re not coming back.”
Holt says she and co-authors Karen Price and Dave Daust have years of experience working for the B.C. government on forestry issues.
They used publicly available data and sifted through it to compile what they believe is a more accurate picture of the remaining old growth forest.
Holt said they plan to submit their work to a scientific journal, but felt there was urgency behind making it public as soon as possible.
“I’m very concerned about the ongoing, kind of whittling down, the dwindling numbers of those stands,” said Holt.
Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, said he wasn’t surprised to see the numbers presented in the new report — a draft was submitted to the independent Old Growth Strategic Review Panel that was launched in July 2019.
“That is exactly one of the reasons we commissioned … the panel,” Donaldson said of the debate over old growth forests in the province. “We’re taking this issue very seriously.”
“I respect the authors of the report,” he said, adding that the panel has received about 400 published papers and reports, as well as paying visits to 45 communities.
Donaldson said the panel has wrapped up its work and the findings will now be shared with First Nations for government-to-government discussions before the panel’s work is circulated to other groups and the public.
“We want to make sure that [old growth] is being managed properly, and we recognize the importance old forests have for biodiversity in the province,” he said. “We also recognize the importance that it provides for communities and workers who depend on harvesting.”
http://15.157.244.121/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-05-at-2.47.55-PM.png410715TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2020-06-04 21:46:062024-07-30 17:01:26B.C. vastly overestimates size of its old-growth forest, independent researchers say
Government touts 13 million hectares of province’s forests are old growth, but ecologists found only 35,000 hectares support the largest trees
The Narwhal June 4th, 2020
The majority of British Columbia’s productive old-growth forests are gone, and the majority of the old growth remaining is slated to be logged, says an independent study released Thursday by B.C. ecologists who previously worked for the provincial government.
The findings of the report shed new light on provincial claims that, despite intensive logging, B.C. is still home to significant amounts of old growth.
According to the B.C. government, 23 per cent of forest in the province is old growth, about 13 million hectares.
Yet the new study found only three per cent of B.C. is capable of supporting large trees and within that small portion of the province, the ecologists found only 2.7 per cent of the trees are actually old as “old forests on these sites have dwindled considerably due to intense harvest.”
The research found most of the area the province considers old growth can’t support big trees, which store high amounts of carbon, support biodiversity and make forests resilient to wildfires. Instead, most of it is low-productivity forest, such as small trees at high elevations.
The study concludes there are only about 35,000 hectares of forest with the largest, most productive old-growth trees remaining in B.C., meaning areas where trees are expected to grow over 25 metres tall in 50 years.
A total of 415,000 hectares of forest contain trees that are expected to grow over 20 metres tall in 50 years.
Provincial framing of old-growth data ‘very misleading’
The province regularly publishes total old-growth data. But when the researchers analyzed that data according to ecosystem type, they found it painted a very different picture than what they were seeing in government disclosures.
“There’s very, very little of the stuff that you and I and everybody think of when they think of old growth,” said Holt. She called the government’s framing of the data “very misleading.”
Karen Price, lead author of the study, said, because government policy doesn’t differentiate between productive and non-productive old-growth forests, companies can harvest big trees and leave small, unproductive trees and still meet their old-growth retention targets.
The researchers — Price, Holt and Dave Daust — are calling on the province to implement an immediate moratorium on harvesting old and mature forest in ecosystems with less than 10 per cent of old forest remaining, even if they fall within existing cutblock permits. They are also asking the government to increase old-growth retention targets and improve old-growth management areas to “include larger areas rather than fragmented patches.”
In an emailed response, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said it could not comment on the researchers’ findings until it reviews a report from the old-growth strategic review panel, which was submitted in May.
In January two members of the government-appointed old-growth review panel told The Narwhal they found a surprising level of consensus among British Columbians when it comes to the importance of protecting the province’s intact ancient forests.
Scientists break silence, push for more transparent data
Holt, Price and Daust have all worked with the province before. Price said she was tired of doing reports on climate change for the government and never seeing the recommendations made public. She wants to increase awareness around old growth.
“I’m tired of speaking carefully,” she said.
The researchers presented their report to the old-growth strategic review panel in March. The province appointed the independent panel to engage with the public on old growth and report back with recommendations to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
The panel began public engagement in 2019 and submitted its report in early May. But, to the dismay of Holt and Price, the province may not make the report public for six months.
“The government needs to review the [old-growth strategic review panel’s report] thoroughly before commenting on it or speculating on how the report’s findings may affect British Columbia’s old growth strategy,” a ministry spokesperson said via email.
Price said she wants to see more government transparency, which is part of the reason they are publishing their findings now.
“This is the time to be brave,” she said. “If we want to have resilient human populations, we need to have resilient ecosystems. And right now, our policy is trashing resilience.”
Forest ecologist Michelle Connolly surveys old-growth cedars in B.C.’s unique inland rainforest to estimate the amount of carbon the area holds. It is unusual for a rainforest like this to be scattered in moist valley bottoms stretching from the Cariboo Mountains east of Prince George to the Rocky Mountains close to the Alberta border. Much of the area, despite being important caribou habitat, is slated for clearcut logging. Photo: Taylor Roades / The Narwhal
Old forests are ‘irreplaceable’
Holt said old-growth forests are integral to adapting to climate change and maintaining biodiversity.
Large old-growth trees sequester and store carbon, acting as carbon sinks. But carbon is released when old-growth trees are cut down and left to rot or burned in slash piles.
But old-growth forests are also valuable timber. BC Timber Sales generated $221 million net revenue in the 2018-19 fiscal year despite financial losses due to intense wildfires in 2018. According to Sierra Club BC, old growth is cut down across the province at the rate of more than 500 soccer fields per day.
Jim Pojar, a seasoned ecologist who used to work for the province, said new forests are unlikely to grow back in the same way due to the impacts of climate change.
He said it takes at least 250 years for “true old growth” to develop, but the climate will have changed so drastically in 200 years that forests will “inevitably” be made up of different plant species and soils.
“The answer is not simple, but pretending that the problem doesn’t exist is not the answer.”
“It will not return to the primary condition, even given several centuries,” Pojar told The Narwhal.
“I consider these really big, productive old-growth forests to be an irreplaceable, essentially non-renewable resource.”
Pojar said experts have known for a long time that the province’s data doesn’t reflect the extent of logging productive trees, but this recent report shows in new detail just how little old-growth forest is left.
“It alarms me, but it doesn’t surprise me,” he said.
Pojar said overlogging is largely rooted in industry deregulation under Gordon Campbell’s Liberal government, which was in power from 2001 to 2011, and other threats to forests include the mountain pine beetle and increasing wildfires. He said the current NDP government has not taken substantive measures to transition the industry to more sustainable practices. Instead, he said, the administration has left things unchanged because it is “desperate for ways to keep people working.”
Holt agrees the government is torn between the “short-term” need for jobs and “long-term” environmental sustainability but said chasing a limited amount of old growth doesn’t support either goal.
“The answer is not simple, but pretending that the problem doesn’t exist is not the answer,” said Holt. “We do not have a sustainable industry from a jobs or an environment perspective.”
Update June 4, 2020 at 5:35 p.m. PST: A previous version of this story described a study as saying that only 35,000 hectares of forest with large old-growth trees are remaining in B.C. In fact, the study concluded that there are 415,000 hectares of forest that are home to large trees, but only 35,000 hectares with the largest, most productive old-growth trees.
Government touts 13 million hectares of province’s forests are old growth, but ecologists found only 35,000 hectares support the largest trees
The Narwhal June 4th, 2020
The majority of British Columbia’s productive old-growth forests are gone, and the majority of the old growth remaining is slated to be logged, says an independent study released Thursday by B.C. ecologists who previously worked for the provincial government.
The findings of the report shed new light on provincial claims that, despite intensive logging, B.C. is still home to significant amounts of old growth.
According to the B.C. government, 23 per cent of forest in the province is old growth, about 13 million hectares.
Yet the new study found only three per cent of B.C. is capable of supporting large trees and within that small portion of the province, the ecologists found only 2.7 per cent of the trees are actually old as “old forests on these sites have dwindled considerably due to intense harvest.”
The research found most of the area the province considers old growth can’t support big trees, which store high amounts of carbon, support biodiversity and make forests resilient to wildfires. Instead, most of it is low-productivity forest, such as small trees at high elevations.
The study concludes there are only about 35,000 hectares of forest with the largest, most productive old-growth trees remaining in B.C., meaning areas where trees are expected to grow over 25 metres tall in 50 years.
A total of 415,000 hectares of forest contain trees that are expected to grow over 20 metres tall in 50 years.
Provincial framing of old-growth data ‘very misleading’
The province regularly publishes total old-growth data. But when the researchers analyzed that data according to ecosystem type, they found it painted a very different picture than what they were seeing in government disclosures.
“There’s very, very little of the stuff that you and I and everybody think of when they think of old growth,” said Holt. She called the government’s framing of the data “very misleading.”
Karen Price, lead author of the study, said, because government policy doesn’t differentiate between productive and non-productive old-growth forests, companies can harvest big trees and leave small, unproductive trees and still meet their old-growth retention targets.
The researchers — Price, Holt and Dave Daust — are calling on the province to implement an immediate moratorium on harvesting old and mature forest in ecosystems with less than 10 per cent of old forest remaining, even if they fall within existing cutblock permits. They are also asking the government to increase old-growth retention targets and improve old-growth management areas to “include larger areas rather than fragmented patches.”
In an emailed response, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said it could not comment on the researchers’ findings until it reviews a report from the old-growth strategic review panel, which was submitted in May.
In January two members of the government-appointed old-growth review panel told The Narwhal they found a surprising level of consensus among British Columbians when it comes to the importance of protecting the province’s intact ancient forests.
Scientists break silence, push for more transparent data
Holt, Price and Daust have all worked with the province before. Price said she was tired of doing reports on climate change for the government and never seeing the recommendations made public. She wants to increase awareness around old growth.
“I’m tired of speaking carefully,” she said.
The researchers presented their report to the old-growth strategic review panel in March. The province appointed the independent panel to engage with the public on old growth and report back with recommendations to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
The panel began public engagement in 2019 and submitted its report in early May. But, to the dismay of Holt and Price, the province may not make the report public for six months.
“The government needs to review the [old-growth strategic review panel’s report] thoroughly before commenting on it or speculating on how the report’s findings may affect British Columbia’s old growth strategy,” a ministry spokesperson said via email.
Price said she wants to see more government transparency, which is part of the reason they are publishing their findings now.
“This is the time to be brave,” she said. “If we want to have resilient human populations, we need to have resilient ecosystems. And right now, our policy is trashing resilience.”
Forest ecologist Michelle Connolly surveys old-growth cedars in B.C.’s unique inland rainforest to estimate the amount of carbon the area holds. It is unusual for a rainforest like this to be scattered in moist valley bottoms stretching from the Cariboo Mountains east of Prince George to the Rocky Mountains close to the Alberta border. Much of the area, despite being important caribou habitat, is slated for clearcut logging. Photo: Taylor Roades / The Narwhal
Old forests are ‘irreplaceable’
Holt said old-growth forests are integral to adapting to climate change and maintaining biodiversity.
Large old-growth trees sequester and store carbon, acting as carbon sinks. But carbon is released when old-growth trees are cut down and left to rot or burned in slash piles.
But old-growth forests are also valuable timber. BC Timber Sales generated $221 million net revenue in the 2018-19 fiscal year despite financial losses due to intense wildfires in 2018. According to Sierra Club BC, old growth is cut down across the province at the rate of more than 500 soccer fields per day.
Jim Pojar, a seasoned ecologist who used to work for the province, said new forests are unlikely to grow back in the same way due to the impacts of climate change.
He said it takes at least 250 years for “true old growth” to develop, but the climate will have changed so drastically in 200 years that forests will “inevitably” be made up of different plant species and soils.
“The answer is not simple, but pretending that the problem doesn’t exist is not the answer.”
“It will not return to the primary condition, even given several centuries,” Pojar told The Narwhal.
“I consider these really big, productive old-growth forests to be an irreplaceable, essentially non-renewable resource.”
Pojar said experts have known for a long time that the province’s data doesn’t reflect the extent of logging productive trees, but this recent report shows in new detail just how little old-growth forest is left.
“It alarms me, but it doesn’t surprise me,” he said.
Pojar said overlogging is largely rooted in industry deregulation under Gordon Campbell’s Liberal government, which was in power from 2001 to 2011, and other threats to forests include the mountain pine beetle and increasing wildfires. He said the current NDP government has not taken substantive measures to transition the industry to more sustainable practices. Instead, he said, the administration has left things unchanged because it is “desperate for ways to keep people working.”
Holt agrees the government is torn between the “short-term” need for jobs and “long-term” environmental sustainability but said chasing a limited amount of old growth doesn’t support either goal.
“The answer is not simple, but pretending that the problem doesn’t exist is not the answer,” said Holt. “We do not have a sustainable industry from a jobs or an environment perspective.”
Update June 4, 2020 at 5:35 p.m. PST: A previous version of this story described a study as saying that only 35,000 hectares of forest with large old-growth trees are remaining in B.C. In fact, the study concluded that there are 415,000 hectares of forest that are home to large trees, but only 35,000 hectares with the largest, most productive old-growth trees.
http://15.157.244.121/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/nahmint-valley-port-alberni-huge-tree-logging.jpg10001500TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2020-06-04 21:33:502023-04-06 19:07:14B.C. old-growth data ‘misleading’ public on remaining ancient forest: independent report
Victoria, BC – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are renewing their calls for the BC government to immediately halt logging in endangered old-growth forest ecosystems and intact ‘hotspots’ in the wake of an alarming new report depicting the critical state of BC’s ancient temperate forests.
The report, entitled BC’s Old Growth Forest: A Last Stand for Biodiversity, was prepared by a group of independent scientists for the BC government’s Old Growth Strategic Review panel in order to counter the NDP government’s highly misleading claim that there are 13.2 million hectares of old-growth in BC, comprising about 23% of forested areas.
By analyzing provincial forestry data, the authors found the vast majority (80 percent) of BC’s remaining 13.2 million hectares of old-growth consists of small trees, including bog and subalpine forests, while only about 3 percent (about 400,000 hectares) are comprised of forests capable of growing the big trees that, in most people’s minds, typify old-growth forests. The research also reveals that these remaining, higher productivity forests have been reduced to such an extent from their natural amount that most now face high risks to biodiversity and ecological integrity, yet the majority of them are still slated for logging.
Haddon Creek – Vancouver Island. TFL 46 – Teal-Jones
In light of these significant findings, the researchers, Ancient Forest Alliance, and other conservation groups are calling on the BC provincial government to enact immediate logging moratoria in all endangered forest types with less than 10 percent old-growth remaining; all high productivity old and mature forests; landscape units (i.e. clusters of watersheds) with less than 10 percent old-growth remaining; very old, irreplaceable forests; and remaining intact areas or old-growth ‘hotspots’ and to develop a legislated, science-based plan for the permanent protection for all endangered ancient forests.
“This research echoes what we have been witnessing first-hand here on Vancouver Island and the southern mainland for many years: that high productivity old-growth forests are critically endangered and that the BC government’s old-growth protection levels are grossly inadequate,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt.
“It also contradicts the Province’s highly misleading PR spin that old-growth forests are plentiful, that sufficient amounts are protected, and that it’s therefore ‘sustainable’ to continue logging them.”
“The BC government’s old-growth accounting system is problematic for several reasons,” stated Watt. “They fail to distinguish dissimilar geographic regions (e.g. the Great Bear Rainforest vs. the South Coast); they lump all forest types and productivity levels together, meaning small, stunted old-growth trees and grouped in with ancient giants; they exclude vast areas of largely cut-over private lands; and they fail to account for how much old-growth forest has already been logged since European colonization. For example, on Vancouver Island, almost 80% of original productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the low elevation, high-productivity stands where the largest trees grow.”
“At best, the government’s stats are unhelpful. At worst, they’re a deliberate attempt to mislead British Columbians in order to justify the continued liquidation of remaining, endangered ancient forests.”
BC’s productive old-growth forests are highly complex ecosystems that have evolved over centuries and millennia. They are integral for ensuring the protection of endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. They have unique characteristics that are not replicated by the second-growth forests they’re replaced with and are a non-renewable resource under BC’s forest system, where forests are logged every 50-80 years, never to become old-growth again.
“It’s well past time decision-makers faced the facts: old-growth forests are in crisis. Unless things change immediately, entire ecosystems and the species they support are at risk of being lost forever,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness.
“The BC government must acknowledge and accept these research findings and make bold commitments to address the escalating ecological and climate crises we’re facing in BC by protecting endangered old-growth.”
“While the Province works to develop its proposed Old Growth Strategy, it must immediately halt logging in the rarest ancient forest ecosystems as well as old-growth ‘hotspots’ of particularly high conservation and recreational value like the Central Walbran Valley near Lake Cowichan, the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni, and Nootka Island near Tahsis.”
“It’s then critical that the BC government use its Old Growth Strategy to develop and implement new, science-based protection targets for old-growth forests to protect biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, and climate resiliency now and well into the future.”
“The BC government must also finance First Nations’ sustainable economic development as an alternative to old-growth logging and formally recognize and support Indigenous-led land use plans and protected areas to maintain the significant cultural values of ancient forests while supporting First Nations’ communities and wellbeing.”
http://15.157.244.121/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Edinburgh-2.jpg8001200TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2020-06-04 19:53:482024-10-10 11:42:31Conservationists demand immediate logging moratoria in light of new research detailing dire state of BC’s old-growth forests
The AFA is pleased to announce Celina Starnes has been appointed as the new Chair of the AFA Board of Directors.
After joining the board in 2019, Celina assumed the role of Chair in April, taking over from AFA co-founder and former executive director, Ken Wu, who will remain as a board member at large as he dedicates more time to his new organization, the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance.
With a life-long dedication to protecting diverse ecosystems, a passion for coaching and capacity building, and her experience as Special Events Coordinator at Metro Vancouver and previously as Public Education & Manager at the Stanley Park Ecology Society, Celina brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to the board.
We’re hugely grateful to Celina for her dedication to protecting ancient forests and are looking forward to working with her in her new role as Chair!
http://15.157.244.121/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Profile-picture-SMALL-2.jpg278280TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2020-06-02 19:32:452023-04-06 19:07:14Announcing Celina Starnes as AFA’s New Board Chair
