Proposal for UN World Heritage Site for the Giant Cedars in BC’s Inland Rainforest Gains Momentum

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Proposal for UN World Heritage Site for the Giant Cedars in BC’s Inland Rainforest Gains Momentum
Cooperation between conservationists across BC is ramping up a public awareness campaign to protect BC’s globally rare Inland Temperate Rainforest and to have one of its finest natural areas, highlighted by giant redcedars, designated as a UN World Heritage Site east of Prince George.

Conservationists in BC’s interior will join coastal activists to expand the awareness-raising campaign, including a presentation this Thursday, May 2 in Victoria (7-9 pm, Ambrosia Centre, 638 Fisgard St.) by Dr. Darwyn Coxson, Ecosystem Science & Management professor at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), and Ancient Forest Alliance campaigners Ken Wu and TJ Watt of Victoria.

The “Ancient Forest Trail,” readily accessible from Highway 16, is located in B.C.’s Inland Temperate Rainforest, about 130 kilometers east of Prince George. It features massive western red cedars, some estimated to be over 1000 years old, and an internationally significant lichen flora. The area, known for generations to First Nations and other local communities, was flagged for harvesting in 2006 but subsequently declared off-limits to logging through an Old-Growth Management Area after a major public outcry. Surrounding and nearby old-growth and mature forests remain unprotected.

New research led by the University of Northern British Columbia shows that these old-growth cedar stands have been reduced to less than 4% of the 130,000 hectare forest type in which they are found (the “Interior Cedar Hemlock slim very wet cool” bioegeoclimatic zone or ICHvk2) – while only 96 hectares, or less than 0.1%, are currently protected in BC’s provincial parks. To help secure better representation of such forests, the report recommends the BC government extend the boundary of nearby Slim Creek Provincial Park to include the area surrounding the Ancient Forest Trail in the region around Dome Creek.

In effect this step is seen as preparatory to a bid for World Heritage Site status under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
See: [Original UNBC.ca article no longer available]

“Becoming a Provincial Park or Conservancy and then a World Heritage Site will ensure the long-term protection of the ancient cedar stands, which to date, have been cared for by local community groups,” says the article’s lead author, UNBC Ecosystem Science and Management Professor Darwyn Coxson, who co-wrote the study with UNBC Environmental Planning professor David Connell, and Trevor Goward of the University of British Columbia. The study, which was published in the BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management, went through extensive peer review. It emphasizes that protected designation for this area would help to diversify the regional economy by building upon a regional tourist attraction, which has already developed at the area.
See the report at: https://jem.forrex.org/index.php/jem/article/view/206

B.C.’s temperate rainforests are best known on the coast, in such places as Clayoquot Sound, the Walbran and Carmanah Valleys, Avatar Grove, and the Great Bear Rainforest. However, another major tract of temperate rainforest, the Inland Temperate Rainforest, occurs in southeastern B.C ., stretching roughly from the Revelstoke area north to near Prince George. About 800,000 hectares of rainforest ecosystem exists in B.C.’s Interior within the wettest portions of the Interior Cedar Hemlock zone, with huge redcedars and diverse wildlife including grizzlies, wolverine, and the endangered mountain caribou. The ecosystem is also well known for for its exceptional lichen diversity, specifically linked to old-growth forests. Unfortunately, a quarter century of logging has eliminated the vast majority of old-growth stands within this ecosystem.

“While BC has many incredibly diverse forest types, there’s no doubt that one of the most charismatic – and heavily hit by the logging industry – has been the old-growth Inland Temperate Rainforests with its thousand year old cedars. These are among Earth’s most spectacular forests, and the BC government needs to protect them for wildlife, tourism, the climate, and First Nations cultures,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “Not only do specific areas like the 16,000 hectares around the Ancient Forest Trail need strong legislated protection, but we also need a more comprehensive Provincial Old-Growth Plan to protect endangered old-growth forests across BC, including our remaining old-growth Inland Temperate Rainforests.”

“Temperate rainforests are limited to about a half dozen widely scattered regions in both hemispheres. Of these the inland temperate rainforest formation occurs in only two: western Canada and southern Europe. B.C. has the only such tracts on the planet that can in any sense be called pristine. This must be seen as a globally-significant conservation priority,” stated lichenologist Trevor Goward, co-author of the report and contributor to the award-winning book, Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World, published in 2011.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to establish a comprehensive, science-based Provincial Old-Growth Plan. The plan would entail protection targets and timelines to ban or quickly phase-out old-growth logging in regions where scientific assessments deem it necessary to sustain ecosystem integrity, while at the same time the government is encouraged to ensure a value-added second-growth forest industry with a reduced, sustainable rate of cut.

Authorized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act
Ancient Forest, Alliance, Victoria Main PO, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC, V8W 3S1 Canada

Old-growth redar stump - Klanawa Valley

NDP Full Platform Released Today – Old-Growth Protection Mentioned and $1 million/year Allocated to Protect Endangered Species and Habitat

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NDP Full Platform Released Today – Old-Growth Protection Mentioned and $1 million/year allocated to Protect Endangered Species and Habitat

Today BC NDP leader Adrian Dix announced the party’s full platform – see: www.bcndp.ca/files/BCNDP-Platform-2013-Web.pdf

The platform includes a brief mention of protecting old-growth forests, and allocating $1 million/year to protect endangered species habitats.

“On old-growth forests, the NDP may be starting to move forward, but their position is still mysterious like the Ogopogo. There appears to be a head popping above the surface, and there could be something huge and substantive underneath – or it could be a fleeting illusion. We encourage the party to make it substantive and not ‘more of the same’. The crucial details are how much, where, and when they’ll protect old-growth forests – and if it’s above and beyond the unsustainable status quo. There’s a large scale ecological crisis underway in BC’s old-growth forests as we lose biodiversity and as ecosystems collapse, and continuing the status quo is simply untenable. We encourage the NDP to come forward with a detailed, stronger commitment on protecting old-growth forests,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance’s executive director.

“The $1 million/year for endangered species habitat for three years is better than nothing, but it’s small. We need a much more comprehensive land acquisition fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands on a much larger scale before they’re gobbled up by development,” Wu continued.

The Environment Platform (page 42) states the party will “Protect significant ecological areas like wetlands, estuaries and valuable old-growth forests.” The recognition of the importance of protecting old-growth forests is a step forward for the party, which made no mention of old-growth or the environment in their previously released Forestry Platform, to the chagrin of conservationists. However, the critical details of “how much”, “where”, and “when” are not mentioned in today’s platform.

Tracts of old-growth forests are regularly protected in BC each year through the implementation of regional land use plans that designate new Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s), often in marginal old-growth stands with stunted trees – while at the same time larger areas of ancient forests are logged. The crucial question on old-growth policy is if the NDP’s old-growth plan will exceed the inadequate protection levels of the status quo under the BC Liberals and restrict or end the logging of endangered old-growth forests in any region of the province.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling for BC’s politicians to commit to the protection of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, to ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry, and to end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills. Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures. About 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged on BC’s southern coast, including 90% of the valley bottoms with the largest trees and richest biodiversity.

In the party’s Fiscal Plan (page 54), under the “Protecting our Environment” budget, the party allocates $1 million/year to “protect endangered species and habitats”. This may be similar to limited version of a BC park acquisition fund that the Ancient Forest Alliance has been calling on the NDP to reinstate. The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling for a $40 million/year BC park acquisition fund – equivalent to about 1/1000th of the provincial budget – in a provincial fund similar to the park acquisition funds of many Regional Districts like the Capital Regional District around Victoria. The fund would be used to help purchase significant tracts of endangered private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreation value to add to BC’s protected areas system. Private lands constitute about 5% of BC’s land base, or about 4 million hectares, and include some of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems in the province, including the drier Douglas-fir dominated old-growth forests, Garry Oak meadows, wetlands, deciduous riparian forests, sage-filled grasslands, and the semi-arid “pocket desert” in the South Okanagan. The BC Liberals nixed the province’s park acquisition fund after the 2008 budget.

“Studies have shown that for every $1 spent by the BC government on our protected areas system, another $9 in tourism revenues is generated in the provincial economy,” stated TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the AFA. “What better investment can we make than to spend a modest sum each year to protect Beautiful British Columbia?”

The BC Green Party has committed to a science-based plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests. See: [Original article no longer available]

The BC Liberals still hold their unscientific, anti-environmental stance that “old-growth forests are not disappearing” and that they’ve managed them well, and are leaving a legacy of old-growth forest liquidation and environmental deregulation across most of BC. Over 30,000 BC forestry jobs lost were lost under their reign, while tens of millions of raw logs were exported.

NDP Leader Adrian Dix, during his 2011 campaign to become party leader, promised to: “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans.” (see point #4 in “Ecosystem Management” [Original article no longer available]. While several NDP MLA’s have championed protecting specific old-growth forests while in Opposition, which the Ancient Forest Alliance has given kudos for, at this time Dix and the NDP party as a whole have not followed up by developing any comprehensive plan with specifics on old-growth protection.

See spectacular photos of our old-growth forests at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/ (NOTE: Media are free to reprint any photos, credit to “TJ Watt” if possible. Let us know if you need higher res shots too)

See a recent ancient forest campaign video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YTizBF-jE

Authorized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act
Ancient Forest, Alliance, Victoria Main PO, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC, V8W 3S1 Canada
“The NDP’s environment platform is like a blurry moving sasquatch video in regards to potential old-growth forest protections and park creation – you can’t discern if it’s real and significant

NDP Environmental Platform is like a "Blurry Sasquatch Video” on Old-Growth Forest Protection and Park Creation – Details Needed

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For Immediate Release
April 22, 2013
NDP Environmental Platform is like a “Blurry Sasquatch Video” on Old-Growth Forest Protection and Park Creation – Details Needed
Today on Earth Day BC NDP leader Adrian Dix announced the party’s environment platform, stating that an NDP government would “reinvest in BC’s parks” and “protect  endangered species and habitats”. A version of the media release (not posted online) also stated the party would work to “acquire” “wetlands” and “old-growth forests”. See the main media release at:  www.bcndp.ca/newsroom/dix-invests-green-projects-ends-carbon-credit-fund-and-reaffirms-opposition-enbridge
“The NDP’s environment platform is like a blurry moving sasquatch video in regards to potential old-growth forest protections and park creation – you can’t discern if it’s real and significant, or if it’s just Dix in a fake gorilla costume running to get attention,” stated Ken Wu, the Ancient Forest Alliance’s executive director. “We need the NDP to commit to a science-based plan to fully protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests on Crown lands, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, and to commit to a BC park acquisition fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands. We can’t discern any of these things with their vague and ambiguous statements with almost no details. We’re hoping a stronger and more detailed plan is yet to come…we’re waiting. At least it looks like they may be starting to move forward on forest protection commitments.”
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling for a BC park acquisition fund, a provincial fund similar to the park acquisition funds of many Regional Districts like the Capital Regional District around Victoria.  The fund would be used to help purchase significant tracts of endangered private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreation value to add to BC’s protected areas system. Private lands constitute about 5% of BC’s land base, or about 4 million hectares, and include some of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems in the province, including the drier Douglas-fir dominated old-growth forests, Garry Oak meadows, wetlands, deciduous riparian forests, sage-filled grasslands, and the semi-arid “pocket desert” in the South Okanagan. The BC Liberals nixed the province’s park acquisition fund after the 2008 budget.
“Studies have shown that for every $1 spent by the BC government on our protected areas system, another $9 in tourism revenues is generated in the provincial economy,” stated TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the AFA. “What better investment can we make than to spend a modest sum each year to protect Beautiful British Columbia?”
The AFA is also calling for a sustainable forestry overhaul. This includes protecting BC’s endangered old-growth forests where already 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged on BC’s southern coast, including over 90% in the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow.
Most of BC’s remaining old-growth forests are found on Crown lands, which constitute over 90% of the province, and any old-growth plan in BC must fundamentally focus on protection measures on Crown lands.
Old-growth forests are vital for supporting endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water and salmon, and many First Nations cultures.
Last Monday, the NDP released their forestry platform that made no mention of protecting old-growth forests, sustainable forestry, or the environment. It essentially continues the unsustainable status quo of old-growth forest liquidation and overcutting at the expense of ecosystems and communities. See last week’s media release:  ancientforestalliance.org/ndp-full-platform-released-today-old-growth-protection-mentioned-and-1-million-year-allocated-to-protect-endangered-species-and-habitat/
The BC Green Party has committed to a science-based plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests. See: www.andrewjweaver.ca/bc_green_party_forestry_action_plan
The BC Liberals still hold their unscientific stance that “old-growth forests are not disappearing” and that they’ve managed them well, and are leaving a largely anti-environmental policy legacy of old-growth forest liquidation and environmental deregulation in most of BC, with over 30,000 forestry jobs lost as tens of millions of raw logs were exported.
NDP Leader Adrian Dix, during his 2011 campaign to become party leader, promised to: “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans.” (see point #4 in “Ecosystem Management”) [Original article no longer available]
While several NDP MLA’s have championed protecting specific old-growth forests while in Opposition, which the Ancient Forest Alliance has given kudos for, at this time Dix and the NDP party as a whole have not followed up, developed any specifics, or officially adopted Dix’s earlier leadership promise for a province-wide old-growth plan.
“We’ve heard that the NDP might still come forward with a stronger, specific, more detailed commitment to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests.  We sure hope they do, and if so we’ll be sure to give the NDP credit. Until then, their position on old-growth forests and sustainable forestry at this time is not distinguishable from the BC Liberals’ policies of short-sighted resource depletion and ecosystem-destruction,” stated Wu.
See spectacular photos of our old-growth forests at:  https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/  (NOTE: Media are free to reprint any photos, credit to “TJ Watt” if possible. Let us know if you need higher res shots too)
See a recent ancient forest campaign video at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YTizBF-jE
Authorized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act
Ancient Forest, Alliance, Victoria Main PO, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC, V8W 3S1 Canada
Mountain Caribou are Canada's largest old-growth dependent animal.

Conservationists Launch Petition for BC’s Endangered Mountain Caribou, Call on BC’s Politicians to Protect Ecologically Vital Forests

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Conservationists have launched an on-line petition calling on BC’s politicians to commit to protecting critical lowland forests that buffer the province’s gravely endangered Mountain Caribou against predators. Clearcuts adjacent to Mountain Caribou habitat support increased moose and deer, and so bolster predator populations that also prey on caribou. See the petition at: www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/help-save-canada-s-mtn-caribou

Mountain Caribou are the world’s most southerly reindeer and Canada’s largest old-growth dependent animal. Resident almost exclusively in British Columbia, their population has declined precipitously in recent decades, from 2500 animals in 1995, to 1900 animals by 2007, to 1500 animals by 2013 (i.e., a 40% decline since the 1990s). Since 2002, they have been formally designated as Threatened in Canada. See: www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/speciesconservation/mc/

The petition comes in response to pending plans by Canfor to undertake major logging in the Clearwater Valley adjacent to the southern boundary of Wells Gray Provincial Park. It calls for an immediate moratorium on logging in the valley through a provincial Land Use Order. It also urges the B.C. government to establish low-elevation “Caribou Matrix Management Zones” throughout the range of the Mountain Caribou. Such management zones are needed adjacent to high-elevation winter habitat, which already receives protection. Link here for maps and further details: www.wellsgrayworldheritage.ca

The petition has the backing of the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org), a provincial conservation group working to protect BC’s endangered forests, and is being spearheaded by Trevor Goward, a well-known lichenologist and naturalist who makes his home in the Clearwater Valley.

“Surely it ‘s unthinkable that the BC government would endorse logging plans guaranteed to enhance wolf and cougar populations adjacent to Wells Gray, home of one of the largest remaining mountain caribou herds anywhere,” stated Goward. “Wells Gray’s southern herd has declined by about one-third in the past decade. If we can’t maintain a viable population of Mountain Caribou in a vast wilderness park like Wells Gray, then what hope is there of doing so elsewhere? This makes a mockery of B.C.’s Mountain Caribou Recovery Strategy.”

“BC’s politicians have a moral obligation to save one of BC’s most endangered and iconic large mammals by establishing a moratorium on industrial logging in the Clearwater Valley by Wells Gray Park, and to restrict logging in the lowland matrix habitat across the Mountain Caribou’s range,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “We’ve seen old-growth dependent species decline, including the Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet, and now the Mountain Caribou, under successive BC Liberal and NDP governments who’ve lacked the will to do what it takes to halt their slide towards extinction. Now is the time, before the upcoming election, for BC’s politicians to commit to make it right.”

On paper the BC Liberal government’s 2008 Mountain Caribou Plan looks good, promising to rebuild BC’s Mountain Caribou population from 1,700 in 2008 to 2,500 animals by 2027. This will be achieved, it claims, through a three-pronged approach comprising: first, 2.2 million hectares of mostly high-elevation forests set aside as winter habitat; second, intense predator control targeted at wolves and cougars; and third, management of mechanized backcountry winter recreation.

Actually, one government caribou recovery team argued for inclusion of a fourth prong, what they called ‘matrix habitat’: low to mid-elevation forest not necessarily occupied by mountain caribou but capable, when logged, of supporting moose and deer and hence their predators in substantial numbers. “What the recovery team was urging,” notes Goward “was a commitment by government to refrain from creating ever more clearcuts in matrix habitat. Unfortunately, this did not happen. As a consequence, the government’s plan has largely entrusted the Mountain Caribou’s future to a costly regime of predator control: a war on wolves.”

“The very idea that a workable recovery strategy could be founded on a war against predator populations largely of its own creation seems incredible. It is like hoping to raise chickens without building a chicken coop. You can blast away at predators as long as you like, but the problem never disappears. Sooner or later you lose your chickens,” Goward notes.

Wells Gray Provincial Park supports the world’s second largest populations of Mountain Caribou. However, since 2002 the park’s southern herd has declined from 325 animals to only 200 animals a few years ago. By creating more habitat for deer and moose, and hence for predators, the pending logging proposal by Canfor would further stress a herd already in serious decline.

Goward would like to see an extension to the park’s boundaries southward to help make Wells Gray ecologically self-sustaining. This has been done twice in the past: once in the mid- ‘50s, and again in the mid- ‘90s. The habitat needs of Mountain Caribou played a major role in both decisions. Protecting a small area adjacent to the park would be a significant step towards the recovery of the Wells Gray herd.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is running a campaign calling on the province to protect old-growth and endangered forests, to ensure sustainable, value-added forestry jobs, to implement a sustainable rate of cut, and to end the export of raw, unprocessed logs from BC to foreign mills.

Authorized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act
Ancient Forest, Alliance, Victoria Main PO, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC, V8W 3S1 Canada

NDP Leader Adrian Dix

NDP Forestry Platform Fails Ecologically and Continues the Unsustainable Status Quo of Old-Growth Depletion and Overcutting

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For Immediate Release
April 15, 2013
NDP Forestry Platform Fails Ecologically and Continues the Unsustainable Status Quo of Old-Growth Depletion and Overcutting
This morning the BC NDP released their forestry platform that fails to bring in any environmental measures and essentially continues the unsustainable status quo of old-growth forest liquidation and overcutting at the expense of ecosystems and communities.
 “This is a disappointing flop of a forestry platform, ecologically-speaking. It continues the unsustainable status quo of resource depletion in this province that is causing the collapse of species, ecosystems, and human communities. Nowhere does it mention the need to protect endangered old-growth forests and to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, the central forestry land-use conflicts.  All it says is to plant more trees. Tree farms do not replicate ancient forests for supporting endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, or wild salmon,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director.
The NDP’s forestry platform  includes such items as investing in more tree-planting, expanding global markets for BC wood products, reducing raw log exports (with no details how besides “work with stakeholders”), creating a jobs commissioner, training more workers, and better inventorying forestry resources. See: www.bcndp.ca/files/BG-BCNDP-130415_-_Forestry.pdf
A legislative proposal released last Thursday for an “Old Growth Protection Act” by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre (ELC) would incorporate science-based targets and timelines to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests. See:  www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=624 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb09Z0-4rmE
The BC Green Party committed last Friday to the key parts of the Old-Growth Protection Act. See: [Original article no longer available]
The BC Liberals’ have not indicated any change from their unscientific stance that old-growth forests are not endangered, and that they’ve managed them well. They leave a largely anti-environmental legacy of supporting old-growth liquidation across most of the province, large-scale environmental deregulation, grossly unsustainable expanded harvest levels, massive raw log exports, and the loss of over 30,000 forestry jobs while tens of millions of raw logs have been exported.
“The NDP’s forestry platform fundamentally fails forestry-dependent communities, as the main driver in the loss of forestry jobs over the past 20 years is unsustainable resource depletion. Continuing the status quo of high-grading the biggest and best old-growth trees in the lower elevations, and overcutting  in general has resulted in diminishing returns as the trees get smaller, more expensive to reach, and lower in value. As our second-growth forests mature, we’ve been shipping them off as raw logs to foreign mills,” stated Wu. “We need to protect our endangered old-growth forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and to have clearly defined policies that will end the export of raw, unprocessed logs out of the country. The NDP’s forestry platform does none of that.”
NDP Leader Adrian Dix, during his 2011 campaign to become party leader, promised to: “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans.” (see point #4 in “Ecosystem Management”)  [Original article no longer available]
While several NDP MLA’s have championed protecting specific old-growth forests while in Opposition, which the Ancient Forest Alliance has given kudos for, at this time Dix and the NDP party as a whole have not followed up, developed any specifics, re-mentioned, or even officially adopted Dix’s earlier leadership promise for a province-wide old-growth plan.
On Saturday, comments by the NDP’s Environment Critic Rob Fleming in the Times Colonist suggests the party supports scientific conservation assessments of our old-growth forests as proposed by the “Old-Growth Protection Act”. See: www.timescolonist.com/news/world/ancient-forest-alliance-calls-for-science-based-forest-plan-1.109973  This is a recent step forward. However, the party has not committed yet to the plan’s actual protection scheme that would end old-growth logging in endangered regions –  the crux of the plan.
 “The NDP seem to have a short memory and have forgotten about the ‘War in the Woods’ during their reign in the 1990’s, and we need to push them to remember,” stated Wu.  “We’ll give credit where credit is due, and we want to give the NDP credit. They can still move forward with additional policy commitments before the election, such as a provincial old-growth plan based on science and timelines – if they don’t, then clearly Adrian Dix has broken his promise. That’s no way to head into an election.”
On Vancouver Island, about 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Most productive forests on Vancouver Island and in BC are now second-growth which should be managed sustainably. See:  www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php
See spectacular photos of our old-growth forests at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/  (NOTE: Media are free to reprint any photos, credit to “TJ Watt” if possible. Let us know if you need higher res shots too)
See a recent ancient forest campaign video at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YTizBF-jE
Authorized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act
Ancient Forest, Alliance, Victoria Main PO, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC, V8W 3S1 Canada
Upper Walbran Valley - Giant redcedar stump. Vancouver Island

“Old Growth Protection Act” needed to preserve BC’s Natural Heritage

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A legislative proposal for an “Old Growth Protection Act” by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre (ELC) would ensure better protection for BC’s ancient forest heritage if adopted by the provincial government. The science-based plan would incorporate timelines to immediately end old-growth logging in “critically endangered” forests, and quickly phase out old-growth logging where there is a “high risk” to biological diversity and ecosystem integrity.

Specifically, the Old Growth Protection Act would require:

  • Appointment of a Science Panel to carry out inventories and assessments that identify the degree of ecological risk associated with varying levels of remaining old-growth forests.
  • Partitioning of the Allowable Annual Cut (AAC), the allowable harvest levels for tree farm licences and timber supply areas, to legally differentiate between old-growth and second-growth logging, so different rates of harvest may be applied.
  • Phasing-out the old-growth cut in areas where forests are endangered, through scientifically-informed timelines ranging from immediate bans to phase-outs over time to allow the forest industry to retool for second-growth, depending on the scarcity of old-growth forests in each region.
  • Improving the legal protection for old-growth reserves, so that they are mapped, legally designated and consistent rules are applied across resource extraction industries.

“The Forest Practices Board has pointed out some of these problems in the past,” stated Calvin Sandborn, legal director of the UVic Environmental Law Centre. “The Ancient Forest Alliance asked us what could be done to address known deficiencies in old-growth protection laws. While some legal mechanisms are available today under various statutes, we feel there is a need for new legislation and planning that is based on science, governed by timelines, and plugs existing loopholes or inconsistencies.”

Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director stated: “Considering that the timber industry has logged the vast majority of the biggest, best old-growth stands in the lowlands, driving several species towards extinction in this province, it’s time for a new science-based plan that protects our endangered old-growth forests as the timber industry continues its second-growth transition. A complete transition to a second-growth forest industry is inevitable when the last of the unprotected old-growth stands are logged. We simply want the BC government to ensure the transition is completed sooner, while these ancient forests still stand, instead of after they’re all logged outside the limited and often tenuous protections that exist.”

The ELC Report may be viewed at this link: https://elc.uvic.ca/2013-oldgrowthprotectionact/

Ancient Forest Alliance Media Backgrounder

The proposed Old Growth Protection Act would resolve the inadequacies of BC’s current old-growth management system, which include:

– Insufficient protection levels, as is evident from the decline of old-growth dependent species like the spotted owl (only 10 individuals left in BC’s wilds), mountain caribou (40% decline since the 1990’s, from 2500 animals in 1995 to 1500 today), and marbled murrelet (considered to be declining by the BC Conservation Data Center).

– An insufficient scientific basis in establishing old-growth protection target levels and site selection, currently skewed towards minimizing timber supply impacts in the richest stands.

– A failure to distinguish between marginal versus productive old-growth stands, thus allowing non-commercial stands of stunted, small old-growth trees to be substituted in the place of protecting the stands with large trees and greatest biodiversity.

– A failure to distinguish between old-growth and second-growth harvest levels in the Allowable Annual Cut, thus allowing companies to “chase value” by high-grading the highest value old-growth stands first.

– Insufficient firmness in protection standards due to loopholes that allow theoretically protected old-growth forests to be destroyed. These loopholes include an ability to move old-growth protections away from higher value stands into lower value stands, to log under the guise of maintaining forest health, and a lack of protection against mining, oil and gas development, and hydro projects that also destroy forests.

The plan would exclude the Central and North Coast (ie. the Great Bear Rainforest) and Haida Gwaii, where comprehensive old-growth protections and more advanced, science-based land use planning processes are already underway and have partly been implemented.

In areas where the remaining old-growth forests are below targeted protection levels,  second-growth forests must also be allowed to age to become old-growth forests again. The establishment of “recruitment reserves” for this purpose as well as the reduction of the second-growth AAC (allowable second-growth cut) will be necessary in endangered regions.

BC’s old-growth forests sustain endangered species, the climate, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.

Most old-growth forests have been logged in southern BC, ranging from 65% to 99% logged in various regions. Valley bottoms and low elevation ecosystems where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity lives have been particularly hard hit. BC government statistics regularly inflate the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including vast tracts of low productivity “bonsai” forests of small, stunted trees growing at high elevations, on steep rocky mountainsides and in bogs of little to no commercial timber value and that are generally lower conservation priorities, while failing to providing a context on how much productive old-growth forests once stood.

See photos of BC’s old-growth forests at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/

See a new YouTube campaign video of BC’s old-growth forests at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YTizBF-jE

Authorized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act
Ancient Forest, Alliance, Victoria Main PO, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC, V8W 3S1 Canada

Calvin Sandborn

Old Growth Protection Proposal by the Environmental Law Centre of the University of Victoria

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The UVic Environmental Law Centre is proposing a science-based Old Growth Protection Act for British Columbia with timelines to immediately protect critically endangered old-growth forests and to quickly phase out old-growth logging in highly endangered forests.

See the details of the report.

Here’s a link to the Environmental Law Centre’s website.

MLA Scott Fraser Receives “Forest Sustainability Award” For Years of Outspoken Public Service to Protect Endangered Old-Growth Forests, Halt Forestry Deregulation, and Support BC Forestry Jobs

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For Immediate Release
March 25, 2013
 
Today NDP MLA Scott Fraser (riding of Alberni-Pacific Rim) received a “Forest Sustainability Award” from conservationists and forestry workers for his years of exceptional public service as an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in British Columbia to protect endangered old-growth forests, to counter the deregulation of forest lands on Vancouver Island, and to restrict the export of BC raw logs to foreign mills.
  
The award was presented by Ken Wu and TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a non-profit environmental group working to protect old-growth forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry. The award is jointly sponsored by the Youbou TimberLess Society (YTS), former employees of the now-defunct Youbou sawmill who continue to advocate sustainable forest policies.
  
The brief ceremony took place in Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, Canada’s most famous old-growth forest that is currently under threat with a planned cutblock by Island Timberlands on the above mountainside on Mount Horne (see:  https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/old-growth-near-cathedral-grove-set-for-imminent-logging-activists-1.90194)

 
Joining the award ceremony to show their support for Fraser’s good work were Arnold Bercov (Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada – President of Local 8), Jane Morden and Mike Stini (Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance), and Annette Tanner (Mid-Island Chapter of the Wilderness Committee).
 
“I’m grateful to receive this wonderful recognition for my work. Our old-growth forests are a vitally important part of this province’s identity, and a sustainable forest industry will benefit everyone. I will champion endangered old-growth protection and sustainable forestry leading up to the election and subsequent to the election whether as part of a new government or in the opposition,” stated Fraser.
 
“Scott Fraser has been an exceptional MLA for his energy and outspokenness to protect endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. He’s one of the rare politicians who has a real connection to BC’s majestic old-growth forests –  a politician who actually hikes and gets muddy in these special places. It’s clear that his advocacy has not been lip service or simply a means to score political points, but because Fraser has a genuine passion – you can feel it when he’s talking – for our old-growth forests and for a sustainable forest industry that could support future generations of forest workers in this province,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “It's important to give credit where credit is due, and Fraser certainly deserves credit for making forest sustainability central to his role as an elected public servant in his time.”
 
“This past decade has been an atrocity for BC’s forestry workers – over 70 mills have closed and 30,000 forestry jobs have been lost. Fraser has repeatedly gone to bat against the deregulation of BC’s forest industry and the massive export of raw logs that is killing current and future manufacturing jobs in this province,” stated Ken James, president of the Youbou TimberLess Society. “We need MLA’s like Fraser in government to champion a forest industry that will sustain both ecosystems and human communities.”
 
Since Fraser was elected in 2005 as an MLA for the New Democratic Party opposition member, he has repeatedly worked for sustainable forestry on such issues as:
 
– Tree Farm Licence (TFL) deregulation, where the BC Liberal government removed 88,000 hectares of Weyerhaeuser’s (now Island Timberlands) corporate forest lands from their Tree Farm Licences in 2004, removing regulations and policies designed to protect old-growth and wildlife, as well as restrictions on raw log exports, prohibitions against real estate development for non-forestry uses, and controls on the rate of cut. This large scale deregulation of forest lands on central Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast was one of the most destructive, anti-environmental acts of the BC Liberal government during its reign of power. Fraser has repeatedly sought to ensure that a follow-up agreement to protect the old-growth ungulate winter range between the company and the government is pursued, to no avail so far.
 
– Cathedral Grove, speaking up against adjacent logging plans several times, including recently where a surveyed Island Timberlands cutblock threatens an old-growth Douglas fir and hemlock forest in an area formerly intended for protection as an Ungulate Winter Range on Mount Horne above the park. The cutblock would also annihilate part of the Mount Horne loop trail.
 
– McLaughlin Ridge, the prime old-growth winter range for deer that was formerly intended for protection as an Ungulate Winter Range until the BC Liberal government removed existing protections and failed to implement other planned protections for the area in 2004 as part of their TFL deregulation scheme. Island Timberlands has already logged part of its ancient forests and plans to log more in the future.  Fraser has worked hard for this area’s protection.
 
– Cameron Valley Firebreak, a rare valley-bottom to mountain-top ancient Douglas fir, cedar and hemlock forest that was formerly planned to become an Ungulate Winter Range for Roosevelt elk and black-tailed deer until the BC Liberal government deregulated the land in 2004. Island Timberlands has now logged perhaps half of the area now.
 
– Raw log exports. Since the BC Liberals came to power in 2001, a mass exodus of raw logs have left the province, currently about 6 million cubic meters of logs each year, costing thousands of existing and potential forestry jobs in BC’s mills and wood manufacturing facilities.
 
– Private Managed Forest Lands Act, the too-weak regulations on private managed forest lands that do little to protect riparian ecosystems, endangered species, old-growth forests, and the ecological integrity of the vast private forest lands on Vancouver Island and elsewhere. Large swaths of these lands were formerly regulated up to stronger public lands standards until the BC Liberal government deregulated them.
 
– Spearheading the introduction of petitions into the Legislative Assembly to protect endangered old-growth forests, ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, and to end raw log exports, on behalf of the Ancient Forest Alliance recently (22,000 signatures) and the Wilderness Committee in 2009 (30,000 signatures).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Jobs at the Victoria Legislature March 16

Diverse Crowd of 500 Environmentalists, First Nations, Forestry Workers and Business Owners call for Political Leadership to Protect Old-Growth Forests and Ensure Sustainable Forestry Jobs

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For Immediate Release
March 16, 2013

About 500 people in a diverse crowd of conservationists, forestry workers, First Nations, business owners, and union members showed up today in the heavy rain in Victoria for a rally organized by the Ancient Forest Alliance. Despite the morning downpour, spirits were high, and the clouds parted as the protesters marched their way towards the BC Legislative buildings from Centennial Square.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government and the NDP opposition commit to a Provincial Old-Growth Plan that will protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and ensure sustainable, value-added second-growth forestry jobs – and finally bring an end to BC’s “War in the Woods”.

Over 3700 people have sent messages so far to the BC Liberal government and NDP Opposition to protect old-growth forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry through the organization’s website: www.BCForestMovement.com

“With an election coming up, now is the time for BC’s politicians to commit to protecting our endangered old-growth forests, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, to end the export of raw logs to foreign mills, and to implement First Nations land use plans,” stated Ken Wu, the AFA’s executive director. “The status quo of liquidating the biggest, best old-growth stands and exporting massive amounts of raw logs abroad is destroying ecosystems, jobs, and communities. Now, of all times, BC’s politicians must develop some wisdom, foresight, and a backbone for a sustainable forestry overhaul in this province. No politician or party will escape scrutiny on their forestry agenda this electoral season, we’ll see to that.”

Speakers included:

· Robert Morales – Chief Treaty Negotiator, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group

· Joe Martin – Tla-o-qui-aht canoe carver, Band Councillor, original Meares Island protest organizer

· Gisele Martin – Tla-o-qui-aht business operator and cultural educator

· Jon Cash – Vice-President, Chamber of Commerce of Port Renfrew

· Arnold Bercov – President, Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC) union – Local 8

· Eric Hamilton-Smith – Campaigns Officer, BC Government Employees Union (BCGEU)

· Ken James – President, Youbou TimberLess Society

· Valerie Langer –BC Forest Campaign Director, ForestEthics

· Jens Wieting – Coastal Forest Campaigner, Sierra Club of BC

· Vicky Husband – BC Conservationist, Order of BC and Canada recipient

· TJ Watt – Forest Campaigner, Ancient Forest Alliance

· Ken Wu – Executive Director, Ancient Forest Alliance

The continued support of the BC governments for the status quo of unsustainable resource depletion and raw log exports has caused the increasing collapse of native ecosystems and rural communities. On Vancouver Island, 75% its original ancient forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. BC’s old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on BC’s politicians to commit to:

– A provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will protect the province’s endangered old-growth forests.
– Ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which now constitute most of BC’s productive forest lands.
– End the export of raw logs to foreign mills.
– Support the retooling of coastal old-growth mills and the development of value-added wood processing facilities to handle second-growth logs.

BC’s old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures. On Vancouver Island, satellite photos show that about 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley-bottom ancient forests where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity resides. Only about 10% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s). See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

So far the BC Liberal government has been defending continued, large-scale old-growth logging and raw log exports in the province, often citing highly misleading statistics to convey the false message that old-growth forests are not endangered.

The NDP opposition has so far stayed silent on a previous commitment by leader Adrian Dix in 2011 during his bid to become NDP leader that if elected he would, “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the Province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans” if elected. See:[Original article no longer available]

See spectacular old-growth forest photos at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/
and videos at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/videos/
and maps at: https:// https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

22,000-Strong Petition Calls on BC Government to Protect BC’s Old-Growth Forests, Ensure Sustainable Second-Growth Logging, and to End Raw Log Exports

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The groundswell of citizens’ support for new, sustainable forest policies in BC, only two months before a BC election, will be evident today with the introduction of the “Petition to Protect British Columbia’s Endangered Old-Growth Forests and Forestry Jobs” into the Legislative Assembly on its last day this session by NDP MLA Scott Fraser (Alberni – Pacific Rim) this afternoon. The 22,000 signatures were garnered by the Ancient Forest Alliance since 2010 in through its public events, volunteers, door canvassers, and website.

The issues of old-growth logging and sustainable forestry have been spotlighted in the media heavily this week, due to a new controversy over potential logging adjacent to the world-famous Cathedral Grove (see: www.timescolonist.com/news/local/old-growth-near-cathedral-grove-set-for-imminent-logging-activists-1.90194) and over the BC Liberal government backing down on Tuesday from introducing a controversial bill to expand Tree Farm Licences on Crown land.

The 22,000 strong petition calls on the BC government to:

  • Undertake a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will inventory and protect the remaining old-growth forests in regions where they are scarce (eg’s. Vancouver Island, Southern Mainland Coast, Southern Interior, etc.)
  • Ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which now constitute the majority of forest lands in southern BC.
  • End the export of BC raw logs to foreign mills in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC wood processing facilities.
  • Assist in the retooling of coastal BC sawmills and the development of value-added facilities to handle second-growth logs.
  • Undertake new land-use planning processes to protect endangered forests based on new First Nations land-use plans, ecosystem-based scientific assessments, and climate mitigation strategies through forest protection.

This Saturday, the Ancient Forest Alliance is also planning a major rally, the “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” featuring prominent First Nations, conservationists, union leaders, and business owners. Over 1,300 people have already pre-confirmed their attendance for the rally on the website, with another 500 people on Facebook.

“Virtually the whole industrialized world is logging second or third-growth forests now, but the BC Liberal government still takes the anti-environmental stance that it’s fine to finish off the last unprotected ancient forests and to export raw logs. As such, so far they’ve been the ‘Despoilers of the Best Place on Earth’,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “With a BC election coming up in only two months, let’s hope they reverse their intransigence and PR spin-doctoring that old-growth forests are not endangered. We’re more than willing to give credit where credit is due – and to also dish out consequences where they’re due.”

MLA Scott Fraser applauds the strong public reaction: “The public is demanding leadership to ensure that our remaining old-growth forests are not squandered for short-term gain; that they be allowed to survive for future generations, and that we work to revitalize the forest industry to include milling and value-added processing in the province. Our trees have great value standing, and when we log them we need to maximize the jobs for the benefit of people here in British Columbia. These petitions should serve as a wake-up call to an out of touch premier and her MLAs.”

Since the BC Liberals have come to power, over 30,000 BC forestry jobs have been lost and over 70 mills closed. About 6 million cubic metres of raw, unprocessed logs are being shipped each year to China, Japan, the USA, and Korean mills, while the BC Liberal government has repeatedly over-ruled the recommendations of its Timber Export Advisory Committee (TEAC) to make logs available for BC sawmills instead of exporting them. On February 21, prominent TEAC member David Gray resigned, stating that recent changes to the raw log export regulations was making it virtually impossible to do his job.

Landsat satellite photos reveal that about 75% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow and 99% of old-growth Douglas-firs. Only about 10% of the original, productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Much of BC’s remaining old-growth forests are now marginal or low-productivity “bonsai” forests, with stunted trees growing in bogs, rocky mountainsides or at high elevations. Much of the remaining productive old-growth forests with the classic giant trees, or “ancient” forests, are still targeted for logging. See maps at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

Old-growth forests support many species at risk that can’t flourish in younger forests; store two-to-three times more carbon per hectare than the second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with; are fundamental pillars of BCs multi-billion dollar coastal tourism industry; are important parts of many First Nations cultures; and provide clean water for spawning salmon and trout.

See spectacular old-growth forest photos and videos at:
www.ancientforestalliance.org