Major Old-Growth Logging Deferrals on Mosaic’s Private Lands on Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii

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The largest private landowner in British Columbia, Mosaic Forest Management, is moving to defer 40,000 hectares (400 square kilometers) of old-growth and older second-growth stands from logging on their private lands for the next 25 years, via a carbon credit program. The lands are mainly located on southeastern Vancouver Island, with a few scattered stands on other parts of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii.

These lands include dozens of hard-fought, contentious old-growth and mature forests on Vancouver Island and elsewhere that conservationists have been working to protect, including: the McLaughlin Ridge, Cameron Valley Firebreak, Cathedral Grove Canyon, lands adjacent to MacMillan Provincial Park (Cathedral Grove) and Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park near Port Alberni; key ancient spruce stands in the Lower Gordon Valley and San Juan Valleys near Port Renfrew; the slope above the town of Youbou by Cowichan Lake, including Mount Holmes; old-growth along the Sooke River; and hundreds of other stands.

The company’s BigCoast Carbon Credits program will set aside the stands via a carbon credits program which will be certified under the Verified Carbon Standard. The company is expecting several hundred million dollars in carbon offsets funding over the next 25 years that will be equivalent to or exceed what their logging revenues would’ve been from logging these stands.

Currently, First Nations in the Great Bear Rainforest on BC’s Central and North Coasts and in Haida Gwaii groups are using carbon credits to fund important local jobs for their members in stewardship and conservation and to fund sustainable economic development initiatives, while ensuring the highest levels of forest conservation in Canada. Across BC, First Nations in British Columbia are increasingly looking at carbon offsets as a means to fund old-growth logging deferrals, in order to provide key financial support that would enable them to forgo their old-growth logging rights on their unceded territories.

Carbon offsets have been criticized over various loopholes, including “saving” forests that were already off-limits to logging through environmental regulations or de facto restrictions (ie. forests that were not going to be logged anyway), and for replacing native forests with fast-growing non-native tree plantations (neither of these criticisms applies to the stated approach of Mosaic’s BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative, which is retaining forests that could normally be logged).

Mosaic Forest Management manages the private lands of logging giants TimberWest and Island Timberlands – almost 600,000 hectares across Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Sunshine Coast. The Vancouver Island lands, for the most part, were a part of the original E&N Land Grant in 1905 when the BC government gave away about 25% of Vancouver Island’s land area in the unceded territories of the Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-Nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, which subsequently was sold over the ensuing century to various timber companies and private landowners.

Old-growth forests have unique characteristics not found in the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with, and which are re-logged every 50 to 60 years on BC’s coast – never to become old-growth again. Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, the multi-billion dollar tourism industry, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and First Nations cultures. Well over 90% of the high productivity old-growth forests with the biggest trees and over 80% of the medium productivity old-growth forests have been logged.

The BC government has opened the door to a major policy overhaul in old-growth forest management, hiring a science team to identify 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk old-growth forests for potential logging deferrals, pending First Nations consent. The province has put forward $185 million over the next three years to help finance this transition, of which perhaps half would go to First Nations – about one-third of the $300 million that the province must provide – to match the roughly $300 million that the federal government is making available to expand protected areas in BC (including old-growth forests). The BC government has not provided any dedicated funds for private land acquisition, which is needed to buy old-growth forests for new protected areas on private lands such as these Mosaic lands. In addition, the BC government has not yet embraced Canada’s national protected areas targets of 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 of the land and marine areas in the country.

Quotes:

“Mosaic has taken an innovative approach to keep some of the rarest and most significant old-growth forests standing for the next 25 years. I’ve hiked, mapped and identified most of these areas for the BC government for their wildlife values for decades, and after decades of seeing one area after another fall, I am feeling positive about this announcement. However, we still need more info through their 30-day consultation process, and I would encourage the company to include additional areas of older forests with high recreational values, like Cold Creek watershed and Candy Store, into their deferral areas via their carbon credits program,” stated Mike Stini, a wildlife specialist in Port Alberni.

“I have a huge sigh of relief for many of my favourite old-growth forests and hiking areas. These are some of the most beautiful places on Earth that so many people in Port Alberni have fought to protect for years, including parts of the China Creek watershed where we get our drinking water from, critical deer and elk wintering range, and habitat for endangered species like the Northern Goshawk. Mosaic’s plan includes many, but not all, of the areas of importance. It is a big step forward,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance.

“We’ve fought hard for decades to keep dozens of these old-growth forests on Mosaic lands from being logged. Now, these long-term deferrals via their carbon credits program will buy vital time – 25 years to be precise – to keep these old forests standing until they can hopefully be purchased and permanently protected in legislation. It appears that Mosaic is taking an important step forward to keep some of the very rarest and most endangered old-growth forest types standing, whose last remnants are heavily concentrated on eastern Vancouver Island, and they should be commended for this if it pans out. However, private carbon offset agreements between companies are not a conservation substitute for public protected areas, like Indigenous Protected Areas/ provincial conservancies, parks and ecological reserves, in terms of their protection and management standards, their permanency, and public access. But this arrangement will provide significant breathing room so that funds can be procured by conservation groups and/or levels of government, including First Nations, whose unceded territories these privatized lands are and who may want to protect these lands as Indigenous Protected Areas,” stated Ken Wu, Executive Director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance.

“I’ve hiked, photographed, and filmed dozens of these exceptionally rare and beautiful old-growth forests – the giant Douglas-firs at the Cameron Firebreak, Cathedral Grove Canyon, McLaughlin Ridge, and Horne Mountain, the ancient Sitka spruce in the San Juan Valley and the Lower Gordon River Valley, and many other areas when they were on the verge of being logged or were being logged. We’ve lost a lot of important old-growth on Mosaic lands over the years but this new initiative brings a vital pause for the remaining stands while we continue to secure a permanent legislated solution via potential Indigenous Protected Areas and other initiatives. For now, the 25-year deferral period lets us and many others breathe a huge sigh of relief that these incredible forests won’t be cut,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder and photographer.

“Old-growth forests are ecologically important for a whole host of reasons, and recent inventories suggest that BC’s remaining old-growth forests are critically imperilled. Mosaic’s BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative represents a progressive new approach to forest management on private lands in BC. It’s an excellent example of how innovative thinking can lead to new strategies that will yield multiple benefits (social, economic and environmental) from not logging our forests,” said Andy MacKinnon, forest ecologist and Endangered Ecosystems Alliance science advisor.

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International Day of Forests

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Happy International Day of Forests! 

Today – and every day – is a fantastic time to celebrate the magnificent forest ecosystems in BC. These forests are home to some of the oldest, tallest, and widest trees known on Earth.

“Champion Trees” are the largest known examples of their species. This is calculated by the combination of a tree’s trunk diameter, height, and the size of its crown. For example, the Cheewhat Cedar is BC’s ultimate Champion Tree. It’s the largest tree in Canada and the largest red-cedar known on Earth.

To see a list of more Champion Trees and maybe even nominate one yourself, check out the BC BigTree Registry. 

We’ve compiled a few of the most famous giants found in BC, along with some more recent finds. The quest for even larger trees is always ongoing and AFA’s big-tree seekers are sure there are even bigger ones still out there waiting to be found! 

 

 

CBC News coverage on 18-month old-growth report card

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Read the CBC News article highlighting our report card with Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee that evaluates the BC government’s progress on promised implementation of the Old Growth Strategic Review panel’s recommendations.

We note significant improvements in funding and transparency but emphasize that the provincial government is still moving far too slowly. Essential funding for old-growth conservation still falls short of the estimated $300 million needed from the province to support First Nations communities alone.

Of special note, the province has now stated they are in talks with the federal government to partner on the expansion of protected areas in BC, and will soon have an update on the status of old-growth deferrals. 

These encouraging statements will need to be backed by concrete actions in order for the province to score better on its next report card in September.

18-month report card on the government’s progress implementing the Old-Growth Strategic Review panel’s 14 recommendations.

Thank you to our generous business supporters!

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We would like to give a big shout out to the following businesses and individuals for supporting the AFA’s ancient forest campaign:

Chris Sterry for including the AFA among their top organizations to receive 50% of proceeds from painting sales & for signing a resolution in solidarity of protecting endangered old-growth forests in BC: https://www.chrissterryart.com/

Rooted Candles for generously donating a portion of proceeds from their Tree Collection candle: https://rootedcandles.ca/

My Health Coach Lauren, for including the AFA as one of their top organizations to support: https://www.myhealthcoachlauren.com/general-6

We sincerely appreciate everyone’s generosity!

If you or your business would like to organize a fundraiser to support the AFA, please contact us at info@16.52.162.165 to learn more.

Recreational Canoeing Association of BC Signs Resolution in Support of Old-Growth Protection

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We’re pleased to announce the Recreational Canoeing Association of BC (RCABC), representing 400 members, has signed a resolution in support of old-growth forest protection!

By signing this resolution, RCABC is calling on the BC government to support First Nations to protect at-risk old-growth forests while ensuring sustainable economic development and enabling the shift to a second-growth forest industry.

Old-growth forests offer an unparalleled outdoor recreation experience and are an important part of BC’s appeal as a unique tourist destination. As long as ancient forests remain unprotected and vulnerable to logging, communities, tourists, and British Columbians stand to lose these incredible ecosystems and a sustainable way to enjoy them. If you or someone you know is a part of an outdoor recreation group, or another organization that benefits from the protection of old-growth forests, please join our network of non-traditional allies to call on the BC government to take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of old-growth forests while supporting First Nations and forestry-dependent communities.

Learn more ⬇️

https://16.52.162.165/our-work/building-alliances/

Three-quarters of at-risk old-growth forests in BC still without logging deferrals

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Environmental groups and First Nations give provincial government poor grades as old-growth logging continues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

March 10, 20212

VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) — In the 18 months since the BC government promised to implement the recommendations of the Old-Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) panel, only 24 percent of the most at-risk old-growth forests have been deferred from logging.

The findings are part of an assessment by the Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC, and Wilderness Committee, who today issued a report card grading the BC government’s progress on implementing the recommendations of the OGSR panel. This is the third report card issued since the panel’s recommendations were released on September 11, 2020, and falls at the halfway point of the three-year framework the panel laid out.

The OGSR panel’s recommendations included taking immediate action to protect at-risk old-growth forests and a paradigm shift away from a focus on timber value and towards safeguarding biodiversity and the ecological integrity of all forests in B.C.

See the full version of the report card here.

“The BC government has taken some small, slow actions, but has not delivered the fundamental change it promised in the wake of the old-growth panel’s report and in the last provincial election,” said Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee. “Premier John Horgan has set some nice intentions for old-growth forests, but done very little to actually limit logging of the most endangered stands – this is more talk-and-log, not the beginning of a paradigm shift.”

Using the limited publicly available data around confirmed old-growth deferrals and logging, the three organizations have calculated that in the 18 months since the BC government committed to these recommendations, approximately 624,000 hectares or 24 percent of the 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk old-growth has been confirmed for deferral or a pause on logging.

The past year has seen the establishment of a Technical Advisory Panel to provide expert guidance around old-growth deferrals and the announcement of the government’s intention to defer logging in 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk old-growth in November 2021. For the first time, the government has adopted a scientific assessment of the state of old-growth forests in BC, with a priority on protecting the biggest and oldest trees. But the various announcements and new processes haven’t resulted in substantial on-the-ground protection for threatened forests.

The government’s approach has been criticized by environmentalists and Indigenous leaders as putting unfair pressure on First Nations without providing adequate resources and support.

“The BC NDP government has neglected its responsibility to take swift action and despite all the words and promises, chainsaws continue to roar and threatened old-growth forests across BC remain without protection,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. “Premier John Horgan promised permanent protection of old-growth forests, but without providing a clear plan and adequate resources his government has put First Nations in an impossible position – moving slowly is no longer an option if we’re serious about leaving old-growth for our children and grandchildren.”

Last year, the province made some funding commitments to help First Nations review deferral options and support forestry workers impacted by deferrals. Budget 2022 included $185 million to help workers and communities and enable deferrals. This funding commitment is a significant step but not enough to enable both short-term deferrals and lasting Indigenous-led conservation solutions. The federal government has pledged $2.3 billion to achieve the protection of 30 percent of Canada’s landmass by 2030 but the BC government has yet to embrace this target and use this opportunity to secure a significant portion of these federal funds to support old-growth protection.

“The BC government has taken a step in the right direction in funding for old-growth,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “However, they’ve fallen short on the amount needed to relieve the economic pressure faced by First Nations so that logging deferrals can become an economically viable option. This funding shortfall makes enacting the full suite of old-growth logging deferrals virtually impossible to achieve. BC also has a golden opportunity to obtain hundreds of millions in federal funding to support the creation of new Indigenous Protected Areas. It’s high time they embraced this.”

Of the 2.6 million hectares recommended for deferral in November 2021, the province hasn’t provided consistent updates on how much has been deferred to date.

“We are halfway through the timeline laid out in the old-growth recommendations Premier John Horgan promised to implement, but only a small amount of the most at-risk forest in BC is temporarily off the chopping block and there is still no path to permanent protection,” said Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner with Sierra Club BC. “With every day of delay, irreplaceable ancient forests, the web of life that depends on them and our last defense against the climate crisis are clearcut. We must stop the bleeding now.“

Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC, and Wilderness Committee are calling on the BC government to: immediately defer logging in all at-risk old-growth forests while compensating for any lost revenue for First Nations, increase funding to support deferrals, economic transition, and permanent protection to at least $300 million, implement legislation to protect biodiversity across BC, establish a plan with milestones consistent with the OGSR framework and regularly publish accurate and detailed progress updates on the deferral process.

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Download a PDF of the full report card here

Download a JPEG version of the full report card here

TJ Watt featured in A Photo Editor

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AFA’s TJ Watt recently sat down for a chat with Creative Director Heidi Volpe at A Photo Editor. 

Read on to find out about how he got into conservation photography, the founding of AFA, the affection he has for Big Lonely Doug, and the impact his photos have on shaping the way people view forests and logging in British Columbia.