AFA Plans “Communities for Sustainable Forestry” Tour in Key BC Ridings in Bid to Stop Proposed Forest Privatization Plan and to Promote Old-Growth Protection, Sustainable Second-Growth Forestry, more

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For Immediate Release
March 4, 2013
Ancient Forest Alliance Plans “Communities for Sustainable Forestry” Tour in Key BC Ridings in Bid to Stop Proposed Forest Privatization Plan and to Promote Old-Growth Protection, Sustainable Second-Growth Forestry, and an End to Raw Log Exports
Conservationists plan activism trainings, rallies at MLA offices, and door-to-door campaigns in key communities and provincial swing ridings.
The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is planning a provincial tour to mobilize communities in key swing ridings in a bid to stop the BC government’s anti-environmental forest policies, including old-growth logging, raw log exports, and the recent proposal to increase the privatization of public forest lands by expanding Tree Farm Licences for major companies, and to ensure that the incoming government adopts new, sustainable policies. The tour will begin immediately after the organization’s March 16 “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” (see www.BCForestMovement.com ) in Victoria.  During the tour from mid-March until the May 14 provincial election, AFA activists Ken Wu and TJ Watt will organize activism trainings, rallies at BC politician offices, and door canvassing campaigns in key electoral ridings.
The anti-environmental forest policies of the BC Liberal government include:
– The recently proposed bill to increase private property rights for corporations on public forest lands through the expansion of Tree Farm Licences where companies will get exclusive logging rights over vast areas. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-pine-beetle-used-as-trojan-horse-to-increase-privatization-of-bcs-forests-through-ministerial-fiat-instead-of-democratic-legislative-vote/
–   The planned logging of previously off-limits old-growth forests in the Burns Lake region and potentially in other parts of the Central Interior to make up for a timber shortfall in relation to the overcapacity of the region’s mills due to decades of overcutting and the more recent pine beetle infestation.
– The BC Liberal government’s continued support of the large-scale liquidation of endangered old-growth forests.
–  The continued export of millions of raw, unprocessed logs each year from the province to foreign mills while the government fails to support a value-added, second-growth forest industry.
“We need old forests, not old mindsets in this province. The BC Liberals have a chance to leave a positive legacy of ancient forest protection and a sustainable second-growth industry in this province before they leave power. Instead, they’re going the opposite way towards forest privatization and massive old-growth logging and raw log exports . If they don’t change course, this will be the legacy that they’ll be remembered for. Meanwhile, so far the NDP seems to be keeping their heads down, not bringing forward any new old-growth protection policies or a vision for sustainable forestry that is markedly different from the disastrous status quo. We’re hoping both parties will change their tunes very soon – we’re willing to give credit where credit’s due, and to dish out consequences where they’re deserved,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “We’re aiming to change the current situation by undertaking a province-wide tour to help train and support local citizens, including conservationists, forestry workers, recreationists, First Nations, and anyone interested in a sustainable forest industry, to launch campaigns in their areas to spur BC’s politicians towards more sustainable policy positions.”
On February 20, the BC Liberal government introduced an omnibus bill, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act or Bill 8, that includes a proposal to enable the massive increase of private property rights for major logging companies on BC’s public forest lands by empowering the Forest Minister to readily create new Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s) through policy fiat. See the AFA’s media release at:  www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=564
On Friday, Independent MLA Bob Simpson revealed that last September the BC government had already indicated their intent to create a new Tree Farm Licence for Hampton Affiliates as an incentive for the company to rebuild their Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake – months before the currently proposed bill, and which they have no right to do.
“This is a dangerous, undemocratic proposal that will give increased rights to the major logging corporations on public lands at the expense of local communities. Greater certainty through exclusive logging rights over huge areas for these companies will make it harder to protect forests for wildlife, recreation and scenery, and will entrench the overcutting already taking place at the expense of local communities,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.
 The NDP opposition has so far stayed silent on a previous commitment by leader Adrian Dix in 2011 during his leadership bid that 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: conservationvoters.ca/past-endorsements/leadership-race-2011/ndp-candidates/adrian-dix [Original article no longer available]
The Ancient Forest Alliance is planning a major “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” on Saturday, March 16 at 12 noon at the Legislative Buildings. Already about 1000 people have pre-confirmed their attendance for the rally, including over 700 on the website and almost 300 more via Facebook.  See www.BCForestMovement.com
Old-growth forests are vital to sustain endangered species, the climate, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.  On Vancouver about 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. About 10% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been protected in parks and in Old-Growth Management Areas on Vancouver Island.
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.
  • 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.
See spectacular old-growth forest photos at:  https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/
Photo attached (media are free to reprint): From left to right - AFA Executive Director Ken Wu; Campaigner and Photographer TJ Watt; Admin Director Joan Varley; Researcher and Writer Hannah Carpendale. Taken at hollow old-growth cedar at Goldstream.

Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) Celebrates its Three Year Anniversary

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February 28, 2013
Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) Celebrates its Three Year Anniversary
Conservation organization aims to spotlight old-growth forests and raw log exports as central BC election issues, urges BC Liberals and NDP to break from the unsustainable status quo.
The Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org) , a BC environmental organization founded in early 2010, is celebrating its three year anniversary this week as a registered not-for-profit society. Yesterday, February 27, was the organization’s anniversary.
To celebrate, this coming Sunday, March 3, the organization will hold an “Ancient Forest Biodiversity Hike” for the public to see a magnificent old-growth Douglas fir grove in Goldstream Provincial Park, on the campground side of the park (Meet at 1:00 pm at the top parking lot by Sooke Lake Rd. and Humpback Rd. near the pub, hike finishes by 3:00 pm – easy to moderate difficulty) with Ken Wu ,TJ Watt, and Joan Varley from the AFA and naturalists Darren and Claudia Copley of the Victoria Natural History Society. The organization will also have a “Meet and Greet” afterwards with snacks, drinks, and a fun slideshow with staff from 4:30 to 6:00 pm on Sunday at its office at 827 Broughton St. in Victoria.
“We’re grateful for the huge support we’ve received from thousands British Columbians to build a major environmental organization from scratch,” stated Ken Wu, AFA co-founder and executive director. “Our size and strength has grown tremendously over three years, and we’ve had some specific successes. However, our main task – of getting the BC Liberal government and the NDP opposition to commit to a plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and to ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry – is now more urgent than ever. During these last 3 months before a BC election we’ll be going all-out to push both the BC Lib’s and NDP for a seismic shift from the unsustainable status quo of massive overcutting, old-growth logging and raw log exports.”
So far the BC Liberal government has been defending major old-growth logging and raw log exports, while often citing highly misleading statistics to convey the false message that old-growth forests are not endangered. They’ve also introduced a bill that would empower the Minister of Forests to expand Tree Farm Licences (ie. to give exclusive logging rights to huge areas of Crown forest lands to major timber companies) through policy fiat instead of through a democratic legislative vote, which is bound to become a major election issue.  See:  www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=564
The NDP opposition has so far stayed silent on a previous commitment by leader Adrian Dix in 2011 during his leadership bid that 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: conservationvoters.ca/past-endorsements/leadership-race-2011/ndp-candidates/adrian-dix [Original article no longer available]
The Ancient Forest Alliance has been noted for its approach towards building broad-based movements involving local tourism and small businesses (including the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce who helped to protect the Avatar Grove), forestry workers, First Nations, and other diverse people. The organization is planning a major “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” on Saturday, March 16 at 12 noon at the Legislative Buildings. Already over 500 people have pre-confirmed their attendance for the rally on the website and 200 more via Facebook.  See www.BCForestMovement.com
A major strength of the organization has been the photography of its campaigner and co-founder TJ Watt, whose stunning, award-winning photos of old-growth trees and giant stumps on Vancouver Island have circulated around the world through the news and social media. See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s photogallery of Watt’s photos at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/
“While we’ve taken thousands of people on public hikes to see ancient forests, we also know it’s impossible to bring millions of people out, and that the clearcutting of our endangered old-growth forests also goes unseen by most. So through professional photography we’ve been able to bring the beauty and destruction of our ancient forests into the homes of millions of people to raise public awareness,” stated Watt.
The AFA is best known for its successful campaign that culminated last year to protect the “Avatar Grove”, a stand of centuries old giant redcedars near Port Renfrew, some with fantastic shapes. See:  www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=378  and a spectacular photogallery at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=6
The organization’s other successes include:
– Getting NDP leader Adrian Dix to commit to, “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the Province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans” during his NDP leadership bid (a promise which he has not mentioned since, however). See: [Original article no longer available]
– Ensuring a reprieve from logging for the “Castle Grove” last November, Canada’s finest ancient cedar grove in the Upper Walbran Valley. See:  www.timescolonist.com/news/local/province-has-no-plans-to-cut-old-growth-stand-in-walbran-near-port-alberni-1.17753
– Convincing the BC government to develop a legal designation, still in the works, to protect the province’s biggest trees and potentially monumental groves. See above link.
– In general, raising the level of public awareness on the need to protect the province’s endangered ancient forests through countless public hikes, slideshows, rallies, petition drives (see ancientforestalliance.org/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/), and through garnering local, provincial, national, and international media coverage on its campaigns.
The organization has grown from 400 to 900 to 2000 donors by the end of its first, second, and third years of existence, respectively, and raised $59,000, $80,000, and $137,000 in revenues each successive year.  The organization also has 23,000 people on its supporters lists (email and Facebook), mainly within British Columbia.
“With our regular door canvasses now in Victoria and Vancouver, plus the support we get from small and independent businesses, we’re firmly entrenched in the BC conservation community. As such I’m confident that the Ancient Forest Alliance will be here to stay until our endangered old-growth forests are protected and we see a sustainable forest industry in this province,” stated Wu.
Ken Wu is the AFA’s Executive Director, TJ Watt is the Campaigner and Photographer, Joan Varley is the Admin Director, Hannah Carpendale is the Researcher and Writer, Amanda Evans is the Victoria Canvass Director, and Noah Schillo is the Vancouver Canvass Director.
Old-growth forests are vital to sustain endangered species, the climate, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.  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. About 10% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been protected in parks and in Old-Growth Management Areas on Vancouver Island. Of 2.3 million hectares of original, productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island, about 1.7 million hectares have now been logged.

BC Government Protects about half of Echo Lake’s Old-Growth Forests

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For Immediate Release

February 23, 2013

BC Government Protects about half of Echo Lake’s Old-Growth Forests

Earth’s largest night roosting site for bald eagles east of Vancouver needs additional protection

The BC government has protected about half or more of old-growth forests around Echo Lake, an extremely rare, lowland old-growth forest between Mission and Agassiz in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver. The Ministry of Forests made the announcement last week, where about 55 hectares of old-growth forests have been included in an Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA) on Crown lands primarily on the south side of Echo Lake. About 40 hectares or so of old-growth and mature forests remain outside of the OGMA on the north and west side of the lake within a Woodlot Licence where the ancient trees can be logged.

See the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations’ media release at: https://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2013FOR0014-000251.htm

See spectacular images of Echo Lake Ancient Forests at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/echo-lake/

See a Youtube Clip at: https://youtu.be/HPstV14oZ6s

Echo Lake is the largest night-roosting site for bald eagles on Earth, where as many as 700 bald eagles roost in the ancient Douglas fir and cedar trees around the lake at night during the fall salmon runs. Along the nearby Chehalis and Harrison Rivers, as many as 10,000 bald eagles come to eat the spawning salmon on some years, making the area home to the largest bald eagle/ raptor concentration on Earth. The BC government also announced that they are looking at the possibility of establishing a Wildlife Management Area in the Chehalis-Harrison Rivers region for the eagles, which the Ancient Forest Alliance supports.

The area is in the traditional, unceded territory of the Sts’ailes First Nations band (formerly the Chehalis Indian Band – see www.stsailes.com ), who run the Sasquatch EcoLodge and whose members run eagle-watching tours nearby.

“We’re pleased about the designation of the south side of the Echo Lake as an Old-Growth Management Area that prohibits logging. However, most of the north and some of the west side of Echo Lake, with enormous old-growth cedars and Douglas firs that are as rare as Sasquatch these days, remain unprotected and must be included in the OGMA,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance campaign director.

“The BC government needs to work with the local Woodlot Licensee, First Nations, the adjacent private land owners like myself, and conservationists to ensure the area’s legal protection. This could entail shifting the Woodlot Licence boundaries into a second-growth forest with an equivalent timber value and then expanding the Old-Growth Management Area to encompass all of the forests around Echo Lake,” stated Stephen Ben-Oliel, a private landowner on the eastern shore of Echo Lake.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is also calling for a larger provincial plan to protect the remaining endangered old-growth forests across BC while ensuring sustainable second-growth forestry jobs. Some of the key policies the organization is calling for include:

  • A Provincial Old-Growth Plan that would inventory the old-growth forests and protect them in regions where they are scarce (eg’s. Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, southern Interior, etc.)
  • Ensuring the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which now constitute the vast majority of forested lands in southern British Columbia.
  • Ending the export of raw logs to foreign mills in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills and value-added manufacturers.
  • Supporting the retooling of old-growth mills and the development of value-added processing facilities to handle second-growth logs.

In the Lower Mainland, about 80% or more of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottom ancient forests where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity is found.

“How many jurisdictions on Earth still have trees that grow as wide as living rooms and as tall as downtown skyscrapers? What we have here is something exceptional on the planet, our ancient forests make British Columbia truly special – while we still have them,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner. “More than ever we need the BC Liberal government and NDP opposition to have the wisdom to move ahead with a plan that protects our endangered old-growth forests, ensures the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and ends the export of raw logs to foreign mills”.

The last of BC's old-growth forest continues to be targeted by logging companies like this example on southern Vancouver Island.

Pine Beetle used as Trojan Horse to Increase Privatization of BC’s Forests through Ministerial Fiat instead of Democratic Legislative Vote

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For Immediate Release

February 22, 2013

Pine Beetle used as Trojan Horse to Increase Privatization of BC’s Public Forest Lands through Ministerial Fiat instead of Democratic Legislative Vote

On Wednesday, the BC Liberal government introduced a proposed bill that would enable the massive increase of private property rights for major logging companies on BC’s public forest lands by empowering the Forest Minister to quickly create new Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s) in BC through fiat – that is, through policy decree rather than through a vote in the Legislative Assembly of elected politicians (Members of the Legislative Assembly – MLA’s). See: [Original article no longer available]

The proposal was inserted in a larger omnibus bill, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (see: https://www.leg.bc.ca/39th5th/1st_read/gov08-1.htm)

“This is a dangerous, undemocratic proposal that will give increased rights to the major logging corporations on public lands at the expense of local communities. Greater certainty through exclusive logging rights over huge areas for these companies will make it harder to conserve forests for wildlife, recreation and scenery, and will exacerbate the overcutting already taking place at the expense of local communities ,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“While the government has stated that the pine beetle-killed trees are the reason for wanting to give logging companies greater rights in the Central Interior, the proposed bill gives province-wide powers for the Forest Minister to do this anywhere through policy fiat instead of through a democratic vote in the Legislative Assembly,” Wu continued. “On the ground it means more clearcuts, less old-growth forests, ruined scenery and recreational opportunities, more dirty drinking water, and destroyed salmon streams.”

A Tree Farm Licence (TFL) is a defined geographic area that is tens or hundreds of thousands of hectares in size that confers exclusive logging rights to one logging company on Crown (public) lands. TFL’s currently constitute a minor fraction of BC’s landbase, perhaps about 10% of the geographic area and about 20% of the cut. Most of the province’s forests are found in Timber Supply Areas (TSA’s) where no specific geographic area is granted to companies for exclusive logging rights – instead they are given a volume of wood (in cubic meters) through a Forest Licence (FL) that they are allowed to cut within each massive TSA each year in cutblocks planned by the Forest Service.

The BC Liberals’ public relations spin about this proposal include such lines as:

Myth: This is for the benefit of local communities, as many people want to see more Community Forests and small businesses in the forest industry.

Fact: The proposal would enable those with replaceable volume-based licences, mainly Forest Licences, to be turned into Tree Farm Licences. The vast majority of Forest Licences are held by large logging companies, they are the ones who will receive the main benefits of this “rollover” from volume-based licences to area-based Tree Farm Licences and will generally oppose any allocation of their cut to communities.

Myth: This will help logging corporations plan for the future to invest in responsible forestry and act as stewards for the resource by increasing their certainty to the land base.

Fact: Corporations are not communities. They don’t hike, fish, hunt, recreate, or benefit from having endangered species and clean water in the forests where they log. They are highly mobile, moving on to other areas as needed and are bought and sold regularly, with no long term ties to the land and certainly not to the myriads of life forms adapted to standing forest ecosystems. In 2004 the BC Liberals changed the Forest Act to allow TFL’s to be bought and sold without public oversight, enabling greater flexibility and mobility for the major logging corporations that have TFL’s, as well as removing the requirement that companies must process the logs in BC. The history of Tree Farm Licences in BC shows a regular change-over in their ownership often every several years and massive clearcut logging, depletion of old-growth forests, destruction of salmon streams and wildlife habitat, and damage to the tourism potential of our forests.

Myth: This proposal comes out of the recommendations of the Special Committee on the Mid-Term Timber Supply that was convened last summer to take public input on what to do about the impending shortage of timber to feed mills in BC’s Central Interior.

Fact: The Committee did not recommend an expansion of TFL’s and certainly not through ministerial fiat – they noted there was an appetite in communities for greater control over the resource, such as tenures like Community Forests and for small enterprises. This proposal would go the opposite direction, increasing corporate control on BC’s forests lands at the expense of communities, conservation, and First Nations rights and title by increasing corporate certainty over unceded lands. Due to the shortage of timber in BC due to overcutting and the pine beetle expansion, few companies would be willing to hand over any significant portions of their allowed cut to communities during the change over from a Forest Licence to a Tree Farm Licence – the net effect being increased corporate logging rights, not greater community control.

“Christy Clark’s BC Liberal government is increasingly out of touch with the electorate with poor to atrocious judgement. To propose something as sweeping as this before a BC election is not only outrageous, but foolish. The government needs to smarten up – and the NDP opposition needs to come out of its careful slumber too. This is now an election issue – we guarantee it,” stated Wu.

Links:

Today Conservationists call for Action on BC Forests at Legislature Opening

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For Immediate Release
February 12, 2013

Today Ancient Forest Alliance to Unfurl Giant “Hands Off the Old-Growth” Banner During BC Legislature’s Opening Ceremonies – Calls for Action on BC’s Forests from BC Liberals and NDP

Today from 12:45 to 1:30 pm at the BC Legislative Buildings, a group of Ancient Forest Alliance supporters will unfurl a giant 10 meter long banner that reads “Hands Off the Old-Growth” during the opening ceremonies.  The BC Legislative Assembly will sit for its last session before a provincial election is held just over three months from now, on May 14, 2013.

The Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org) is calling on the BC Liberal government and the NDP Opposition to:

  • Commit to a new Provincial Old-Growth Plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests. Old-growth forests are vital to sustain endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.
  • To ensure sustainable, value-added forestry in second-growth stands which now constitute the vast majority of the forest lands in southern BC.  The BC Liberal government is allowing a massive exodus of raw, unprocessed logs from BC to foreign mills in China, the US, and Japan, allowing the liquidation of BC’s forest resource while doing little to support investment in coastal second-growth mills and value-added facilities.
  • To halt the BC Liberal government’s sneaky plans to introduce a bill this legislative sitting to allow the expansion of Tree Farm Licences. Expanding Tree Farm Licences would confer increased private property-like rights for logging companies by granting them exclusive access to vast areas of public forest lands. Currently most logging licences are “volume-based” (ie. no specific areas given to companies, only an amount or volume of wood they can cut). See: https://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/27/ben-parfitt-sneaky-liberals-are-planning-a-b-c-forest-giveaway/

“During their last three months the BC Liberals can choose a legacy as the government that finally ended BC’s ‘War in the Woods,’ or acted as the ‘Despoilers of Beautiful British Columbia’ until the very end,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Either way, we will ensure that they have a legacy, depending on what they do now – commit to protecting our ancient forests and to ending raw log exports, or continue to keep their heads in the sand by insisting that old-growth forests are not endangered and that raw log exports are a necessary evil.”

“For the NDP, they must remember their history in the 1990’s, when they continually battled environmentalists over old-growth forests,” Wu stated. “They need to significantly break from the disastrous status quo and adopt a truly new and courageous vision for a sustainable forest industry. Specifically, they must follow through and develop Adrian Dix’s promise during his 2011 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’”. See:  [Original article no longer available]

The Ancient Forest Alliance is planning to significantly ramp-up its grassroots mobilization campaign to inform the public on the stance of the political parties about BC’s old-growth forests and forestry jobs in the months leading up to the May provincial election.

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. Of 2.3 million hectares of productive (ie. moderate to fast growth rates, with large trees) old-growth forests originally on Vancouver Island, 1.7 million hectares have already been logged (ie. about 600,000 hectares remain). See “before and after” maps at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

See spectacular photos of Vancouver Island’s biggest trees and biggest stumps at:  https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/ (Note: Media are free to reprint any photos, credit to “TJ Watt” if possible)

The incredible Cathedral Grove Canyon near Port Alberni is just one of many conentious areas of old-growth forest land owned by Island Timberlands.

Media Release: Chinese Goverment’s Ownership of BC’s Forests Could Undermine New Environmental Laws, Forestry Jobs, and First Nations

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Chinese Government’s Ownership of British Columbia’s Forests Could Stifle New Environmental Laws, Undermine BC Forestry Jobs, and Infringe on First Nations’ Rights under Proposed Trade Agreement
 
Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are raising the alarm that the potential ownership of vast tracts of British Columbia’s private forest lands by the Chinese government could negatively impact BC’s environmental laws, forestry jobs, and the rights of First Nations in light of the proposed Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). Island Timberlands is BC’s second largest private landowner, with over 254,000 hectares of private forest lands on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. The company is expected to close a $100 million deal soon with the China Investment Corporation (CIC), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds owned by the Chinese government. The deal will see the CIC own a 12.5% stake in Island Timberlands (see the article: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1099267/tiny-cortes-island-girds-battle-chinas-huge-cic-wealth-fund).

 
“The Communist Party of China is about to become one of the biggest landowners in British Columbia if this deal goes through. In light of the proposed Canada-China investment treaty, this could be at the expense of BC’s environment, forestry workers and First Nations,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Chairman Harper seems to be channelling Chairman Mao’s spirit these days, as it’s hard to see how this proposed agreement will be a net benefit to Canadians.”
 

The Canada-China FIPA would allow Chinese investors in Canada to sue the federal government for lost profits due to new regulations, taxes, and environmental laws enacted federally, provincially, or municipally. This would undercut the ability of future governments to enact new regulations or policies that might result in a lawsuit by Chinese companies which are accountable to the Chinese government. Any disputes under FIPA would go for arbitration in tribunals outside of Canadian courts and mostly outside of any court. These tribunals are not independent, open, and procedurally fair in the manner of other international courts and tribunals. The agreement’s stipulations would last for a minimum of 31 years even if the Canadian government in the future opts out of the agreement at the earliest opportunity, which is after a 15-year minimum term. The federal government has yet to ratify FIPA, possibly as a result of major public opposition including within Conservative party constituencies. See more info at: https://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/15/china-canada-investment-treaty-designed-be-straight-jacket-canada-exclusive-interview-trade-investment-lawyer-gus-van

 
“Not only could the Chinese government’s ownership of our forests under FIPA obstruct future measures to protect our endangered ecosystems, BC wood processing jobs, and First Nations land use plans, but it could result in Canadian taxpayers owing tens of millions of dollars to the Chinese government for protecting the interests of our own citizens,” stated Wu.
 
Measures to protect the environment, labour, and First Nations rights that could be negatively affected by the Canada-China FIPA and the CIC buying a stake in Island Timberlands include:
 
– Obstructions against new regulations or taxes to curtail unprocessed “raw” logs from being exported from BC to sawmills in China and abroad. Island Timberlands is one of BC’s largest exporters of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills in China, the US, and other countries. Public pressure is strong to curtail raw log exports in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC’s wood manufacturing sector. “This trade agreement with China could provide an unfettered conduit for the free flow of unprocessed raw logs from BC’s forests to Chinese sawmills,” stated Wu.
 
– Undermining stronger Forest Practices regulations on private forest lands. Conservationists are calling for stronger regulations on Private Managed Forest Lands to protect salmon streams with wider forested“buffers”, to protect drinking watersheds, old-growth forests, and endangered species against industrial logging, and to enact controls on the unsustainable rate of overcutting. In 2004 the BC Liberal government removed 88,000 hectares of private forest lands now owned by Island Timberlands from the Tree Farm Licenses that once regulated them with stronger forest practices regulations with the same standards on public lands.
 
– Frustrating the establishment of a “Forest Land Reserve”, similar to the existing “Agricultural Land Reserve”, that would prohibit real estate subdivisions and suburban sprawl on private forest lands zoned for forestry use.
 
– Obstructing the implementation of First Nations land-use plans and shared decision-making measures that may require legally-binding orders from the BC government to protect sacred sites, important cultural use sites, and natural resource areas. Most of Island Timberlands’ lands are also unceded by First Nations where no treaties were signed that relinquished First Nations title to them. Many BC First Nations are pushing for increased legal control over their unceded territories and to implement their own land use visions even before treaties are settled, which in most cases are still many years away.
 
Island Timberlands is entangled in battles with communities across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast who are upset by the company’s plans to log old-growth forests and sensitive ecosystems (see a list of contentious areas and beautiful photos at: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=519).

 
On Cortes Island (see beautiful photos at: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=12), local residents repeatedly protested and blocked Island Timberlands’ attempts to log earlier this month. Last week the company temporarily pulled out its logging crews from Cortes Island and postponed its pursuit of a court injunction against the protesters, with Island residents currently waiting for the company to meet with them to resume negotiations.

 
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on Island Timberlands back off from logging its contentious “forest hotspots” across the coast until conservation funding can be secured for their purchase, and to log on Cortes Island according to community, ecosystem-based forestry standards.
 
In addition to strengthening environmental regulations on private forest lands, the AFA is also calling on the provincial government to establish a $40 million annual BC park acquisition fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands. The last time the provincial government had a dedicated park acquisition fund was in the 2008 budget.
 
“While private land trusts are vital for conservation, they simply don’t have the capacity to quickly raise the tens of millions of dollars needed each year to protect most endangered private lands before they are logged or developed —only governments have such funds,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer. “More than ever, considering the potential future difficulties to strengthen environmental laws on private lands under FIPA, the BC government must fund the purchase of the last endangered old-growth forests on private lands before they are logged.”
 
A battle over private forest lands on Salt Spring Island over a decade ago between local residents and a logging/development company was resolved when the federal, provincial and regional governments provided over $16 million in funding, along with $1 million raised by local citizens, to purchase over 1000 hectares of private forest lands on Mount Maxwell and around Burgoyne Bay – an area similar in size to Island Timberlands’ holdings on Cortes Island. Currently, Cortes Island residents are working to raise funds to purchase and protect the 250 hectare “Children’s Forest” from Island Timberlands, constituting about 25% of the company’s private lands on Cortes.
 
The transfer of lands from private corporate ownership to public ownership would also open up greater possibilities for First Nations shared decision-making and cultural uses on those lands. Other provincial funds could also be put forward to purchase private forest lands for conversion to Community Forests for ecosystem-based forestry operations controlled by local communities. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cortes Island resident and activist

Media Release: BC’s War in Woods on Cortes Island needs Political Leadership

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For Immediate Release

December 6, 2012

Political Leadership Needed to Resolve Cortes Island’s “War in the Woods” and other Island Timberlands battles

Conservationists renew call for BC Liberals to commit to restoring and expanding a “BC Park Acquisition Fund” to purchase and protect endangered forests on private lands

NOTE: Media are free to reprint any photos, credit to “TJ Watt” where possible.
“What is needed now is leadership from the BC Liberal government to help resolve the War in the Woods by committing funds to purchase endangered ecosystems on private lands, including old-growth forests on Cortes Island and throughout the southern coast where communities are fighting Island Timberlands’ old-growth logging plans,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “The province hasn’t had a dedicated annual fund to purchase and protect private lands in years, despite that fact that for every $1 invested in new parks in BC, another $9 is generated in revenues in the provincial economy, according to studies. Island Timberlands also has an obligation to log according to community, ecosystem-based forestry standards on Cortes Island.”
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling for a $40 million annual BC park acquisition fund, which would amount to about 0.1% or 1/1000th of the province’s $40 billion annual budget. Over 10 years, $400 million would be available for purchasing critical habitats on private lands throughout the province. The last time the provincial government had a dedicated land acquisition fund was in the 2008 budget.  A similar battle on Salt Spring Island over a decade ago between local residents and a logging/development company was resolved through funding from the provincial, federal and regional governments and local citizens to purchase the endangered lands around Burgoyne Bay and on Mount Maxwell.
Park acquisition funds already exist in several Regional Districts in BC, including the Capital Regional District (CRD) in the Greater Victoria region, which has a Land Acquisition Fund of about $3.5 million each year. The CRD has spent over $34 million dollars since the year 2000 to purchase over 4500 hectares, including lands at Jordan River, the Sooke Hills, the Sooke Potholes, Thetis Lake, Mount Work, and Mount Maxwell on Salt Spring Island, to expand their system of Regional Parks.

“While private land trusts are vital for conservation, they simply don’t have the capacity to quickly raise the tens of millions of dollars needed each year to protect most endangered lands before they are logged or developed —only governments have such funds,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer.

Logging giant Island Timberlands, which owns about 260,000 hectares of private forest lands on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, is entangled in battles with communities throughout the region. The company is also one of the largest exporter of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills in the USA and Asia. Currently, the Chinese government is looking to buy a major stake of Island Timberlands through the China Investment Corporation, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, and is expected to close a $100 million deal with the company soon.
Contentious old-growth forests and endangered ecosystems owned by Island Timberlands include (see beautiful photos in the following links):
–          Day Road Forest near Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/day-road-forest/
–          Stillwater Bluffs near Powell River on the Sunshine Coast: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/stillwater-bluffs/
–          McLaughlin Ridge near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/mclaughlin-ridge/
–          Cameron Valley Firebreak near Port Alberni: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/mclaughlin-ridge/
–          Cathedral Grove Canyon near Port Alberni: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/cathedral-grove-canyon/
–          Lands directly adjacent to Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park near Port Alberni
–          Labour Day Lake near Port Alberni
–          Pearl Lake adjacent to Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island
–          Eagle Ridge Bluffs near Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island
Old-growth forests are vital for supporting endangered species, tourism, recreation, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures. On Vancouver Island, 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the most productive old-growth forests in the lowlands where the largest trees grow. Well over 90% of the old-growth “Dry Maritime” and Coastal Douglas-fir forests on BC’s southern coast have already been logged.

See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s petition for a BC Park Acquisition Fund at www.BCParkFund.com [Original article no longer available] and a recent newsletter at https://www.bcparkfund.com/newsletter/June-2012-Parks-Acquisition.pdf [Original article no longer available].

 

 

Media Release: Conservationists Relieved as Forest Company Backs Away from Logging Canada’s Finest Old-Growth Cedar Grove, Vancouver Island’s "Castle Grove" in the Upper Walbran Valley

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For Immediate Release

November 30, 2012

Conservationists Relieved as Forest Company Backs Away from Logging Canada’s Finest Old-Growth Cedar Grove, Vancouver Island’s “Castle Grove” in the Upper Walbran Valley

BC government also moving forward with a “legal tool” to potentially protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves in spring of 2013 – but more comprehensive “ecosystem-level” old-growth protection also needed

See spectacular PHOTOS of the Castle Grove at: https://16.52.162.165/photos.php?gID=21

(NOTE: Media are free to reprint any photos, photo credit to “TJ Watt” if possible.)

Conservationists are breathing a sigh of relief as Canada’s finest stand of old-growth redcedar trees appears to have been spared the axe – for now. The Castle Grove in the Upper Walbran Valley on southern Vancouver Island (west of Lake Cowichan) had been flagged for logging in August by the Teal-Jones Group and subsequently was the focus of an intense environmental campaign by the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org). In addition, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations has recently indicated that they intend to follow through on a 2011 promise to create a “legal tool” to potentially protect the province’s largest trees and monumental groves, which the AFA would like to see used to protect the Castle Grove.

“We’re happy that the logging company has given some breathing room for Canada’s finest old-growth redcedar grove – now we need the BC Liberal government to follow up with some legal protection so we don’t ever have to refight this again,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance. “We’re also pleased to hear that the BC government is finally moving forward with the potential legal protection for BC’s largest trees and monumental groves – whether this actually happens, what legal form it takes, where the protections are located, and how extensive the protections are, won’t be known until the spring. Most importantly however, we need much more comprehensive ‘ecosystem-level’ protection for BC’s endangered old-growth forests, which are vital to sustain endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures. Sustainable, value-added second-growth forestry is also needed to support BC forestry jobs, as most of our forests in southern BC are second-growth now.”

In several recent emails to the Ancient Forest Alliance, the Ministry of Forests stated that while the forest company, the Teal-Jones Group, is still actively pursuing old-growth logging in other areas in the region, the company has backed down from their logging plans in the Castle Grove. The email stated:

“There is no cutting permit application for the Upper Castle Grove area. Apparently the company did some preliminary work, hence the tape, but has decided not to pursue any harvesting in that area.”

Another email stated:

The Ministry…is currently conducting policy analysis and stakeholder consultation around legal tool(s) that could specifically protect the big trees we are already aware of. The ministry is also exploring the feasibility of a legal mechanism that could protect big trees that have not yet been located …Options are currently being identified and will be thoroughly analyzed…conclusions and recommendations will be brought forward by the spring of 2013. “

For the past several months the Ancient Forest Alliance had been bracing for a major escalation in BC’s “War in the Woods” as survey tape marking the “falling boundary” for logging had been discovered in August in Upper Castle Grove. Subsequently, the organization began a public awareness campaign that included media coverage (see the Vancouver Sun and Times Colonist article), photography and video expeditions, slideshow tours, and a major letter-writing campaign among thousands of environmental supporters.

“Not all old-growth forests are created equal – the Castle Grove tops all remaining ancient cedar forests that we know for its combined qualities of grandeur, geographic size, and intactness. It’s a real life Jurassic Park-type landscape, a global treasure that must absolutely be protected,” stated TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Of all places, the Castle Grove is THE place where a legal designation to protect our monumental ancient groves would make the most sense. The existing so-called ‘Special Management Zone’ in the Upper Walbran Valley has resulted in the area’s old-growth forests being turned into Swiss cheese, punctured with major clearcuts throughout.”

The Castle Grove is an extensive stand of densely-packed enormous redcedars, including the “Castle Giant”, a 16 foot (5 meter) diameter cedar that is one of the largest trees in Canada. It sits on unprotected Crown (public) lands within Tree Farm License 46 in the Upper Walbran Valley. Unfortunately much of the grove is not protected by any forest reserve designations such as Old-Growth Management Areas, Ungulate Winter Ranges or Wildlife Habitat Areas. The Walbran Valley has been the focus of protests against old-growth logging for years, and early protests in 1991 there played an important role in the build-up towards the massive Clayoquot Sound protests near Tofino on Vancouver Island in 1993. Most of western Vancouver Island, including the Walbran Valley, is in unceded Nuu-cha-nulth First Nations territory.

See a beautiful photogallery of the Walbran Valley at: https://16.52.162.165/photos.php?gID=7

In February, 2011, former Minister of Forests Pat Bell promised that the BC Liberal government would implement a new legal tool to protect the largest trees and associated groves after a Forest Practices Board report that investigated the logging of an exceptionally grand stand of ancient redcedars near Port Renfrew showed a deficiency in protection levels for productive stands over 400 years in age. The BC government has indicated that they may be looking at using existing legal tools, namely provincial Recreation Sites and Old-Growth Management Areas, to fulfill this function.

See the BC government’s announcement in February, 2011, about creating a new legal tool to protect BC’s largest trees and groves:

Vancouver Sun and Times Colonist: “B.C. looking for new ways to protect ancient trees” (Feb.16, 2011)

“We don’t care if the BC Liberal government uses new or old tools to protect our endangered ancient groves like the Castle Grove. The main thing is they need to actually designate such areas for protection, otherwise it was simply an empty promise for PR purposes at the time,” stated Ken Wu. “Most importantly, the BC Liberal government needs to implement a much more comprehensive Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect old-growth ecosystems on a much larger scale across BC.”

The BC government’s PR-spin inflates the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal, low productivity forests growing in bogs and at high elevations with smaller, stunted trees, lumped in with the productive old-growth forests (where most logging takes place). “It’s like including your Monopoly money with your real money and then claiming to be a millionaire, so why curtail spending?” stated Ken Wu.

These low productivity forests are extensively protected and are disproportionately represented in parks and regulatory-protections compared to the productive, big-treed forests. The government’s statistics also fail to reveal the context of the remaining old-growth forests, that is, how much of these forests once remained across Vancouver Island, including on the vast corporate-owned private lands on eastern Vancouver Island that until recent years were managed as public lands (until the Tree Farm Licenses were removed, thus deregulating the lands) and where about 95% of the old-growth forests have been logged.

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). Of 2.3 million hectares of original, productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island, about 1.7 million hectares have now been logged. Of the remaining 600,000 hectares of productive old-growth forests, just over 200,000 hectares are protected in parks and regulatory protections like OGMA’s.

See maps and stats at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government and the NDP Opposition to commit to implementing a BC Old-Growth Strategy that will protect old-growth forests wherever they are scarce (such as on Vancouver Island, in the Lower Mainland, in the BC Interior, etc.). The AFA is also calling for the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which constitute most of the forests in southern BC, and to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills and value-added wood manufacturers by ending the export of raw logs to foreign mills.

AFA's Hannah Carpendale stands near a giant red cedar and Douglas-fir in the Echo Lake ancient forest.

Campaign Launched to Protect Rare Lowland Old-Growth Rainforest and Internationally Significant Eagle Roosting Area east of Vancouver

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For Immediate Release
October 11, 2012

Campaign Launched to Protect Rare Lowland Old-Growth Rainforest and Internationally Significant Eagle Roosting Area east of Vancouver

Between Mission and Agassiz, Echo Lake’s old-growth Douglas fir and redcedars are home to hundreds of roosting bald eagles during the fall salmon run. A new BC government proposal would protect some of the area but is still missing key old-growth groves, with public input ending on Nov.5

See SPECTACULAR photos of Echo Lake’s ancient forest at:  https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/echo-lake/

Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) have launched a new campaign to fully protect one the last endangered lowland old-growth forests left in the Lower Mainland at Echo Lake east of Mission, as part of the organization’s larger campaign to lobby the BC government for a new Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to save endangered old-growth forests across the province. The campaign to protect the Echo Lake Ancient Forest coincides with the onset of a 60 day public input period launched last month by the Ministry of Forests, ending on November 5, in regards to proposed new Old-Growth Management Areas in the Chilliwack Forest District.

The Echo Lake Ancient Forest is a spectacular, monumental stand of enormous mossy redcedars and extremely rare old-growth Douglas firs (99% of which have already been logged on BC’s coast) found on the shores and lower slopes around the lake. The area is within the traditional, unceded territory of the Sts’ailes First Nations band (formerly the Chehalis Indian Band).  The BC government’s newly proposed Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA) for Echo Lake excludes some of the area’s finest old-growth trees.

“This is really an extremely rare gem of lowland ancient rainforest in a sea of second-growth forests, clearcuts, and high altitude old-growth patches. It’s like a little slice of the Carmanah-Walbran, but in the Lower Mainland. To still have an unprotected lowland ancient forest like this left near Vancouver is like finding a Sasquatch. But on top of that, during the fall salmon run the region is home to one of the largest concentrations of raptors on Earth – that is, thousands of fishing and roosting bald eagles,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “The BC government’s proposed new Old-Growth Management Area for Echo Lake excludes some of its most spectacular old-growth trees. It’s sort of like serving a burger without the patty, or a lobster without the tail meat. All of the old-growth forests around Echo Lake must be protected.”

In September, the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations launched a 60 day public review ending on Nov.5 of proposed Old-Growth Management Areas that prohibit logging as part of the process to complete the land use planning process in the Chilliwack Forest District. See:[Original article no longer available]

Echo Lake is found within the Hatzic Landscape Unit, one of 6 landscape units under review in the plan. Unfortunately, while the boundaries of a proposed Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA) for Echo Lake encompasses the old-growth forests on the south side of the lake, some of the finest old-growth redcedars and Douglas firs on the west and north sides of the lake are still excluded from the proposed boundaries, as are mature forests that buffer these groves and provide scenery and additional wildlife habitat.

The Harrison and Chehalis Rivers area is home to one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles on Earth. Thousands of eagles come in the fall to eat spawning salmon in the rivers and hundreds roost in the old-growth trees at night around Echo Lake. It is also home to a large array of biodiversity including bears, cougars, bobcats, deer, mountain goats, and osprey, and until recent times would have been populated by the critically endangered northern spotted owl.

Virtually all low elevation old-growth forests in the region have been now been logged, with most remaining old-growth stands consisting of smaller mountain hemlocks, amabilis firs, and yellow cedars at higher altitudes on steep slopes.

The vigilance of local landowners on the east side of Echo Lake, whose private lands restrict public access to the old-growth forests on the Crown lands on the west side of the lake, have held-off industrial logging from the lake’s old-growth forests for decades. Across the southern coast of BC, about 80% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged.

“A professor from Oxford University did a study in the 1980’s on the eagles that roost every fall in the old growth trees surrounding Echo Lake. He said that this small valley has offered sanctuary to these majestic birds for over eight thousand years. When you see them come in at sunset by the hundreds, you quickly realize this valley should be theirs in perpetuity,” stated Stephen Ben-Oliel, the landowner whose private property at Echo Lake abuts the Crown lands covered in old-growth forests.

“Considering the exceptional importance of Echo Lake for bald eagles and the scarcity of these lowland ancient forests in the Lower Mainland, it really should be a no-brainer that all of the old-growth and mature forests around the lake should be protected,” stated TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance.  “But that also goes for all of the remaining endangered old-growth forests now throughout the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and elsewhere in BC where logging has greatly depleted these ancient ecosystems.”

Local conservationists are also interested in stronger conservation measures for the massive bald eagle population in the area, including stronger protections for salmon habitat, water quality, and forests.  The protection of the Echo Lake Ancient Forest where the eagles roost at night would be a vital part of such a plan. For example, near Squamish at another major eagle congregating region, the Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park protects over 700 hectares of forests on the west side of the Squamish River. The local Sts’ailes First Nations band have a particular interest in protecting the salmon habitat and water quality in the region that supports the eagles.

While the Ancient Forest Alliance is calling for the full protection of Echo Lake’s forests, the organization is primarily calling for a larger provincial plan to protect the remaining endangered old-growth forests across BC while ensuring sustainable second-growth forestry jobs. In particular, some of the key policy shifts the organization is calling for include:

  • A Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that would inventory the remaining old-growth forests in BC and protect them in regions where they are scarce (egs. Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, southern Interior, etc.)
  • A shift to sustainable logging in second-growth forests, which now constitute the vast majority of forested lands in southern British Columbia.
  • An end to the export of raw logs to foreign mills in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills and value-added manufacturers.

“How many jurisdictions on Earth still have trees that grow as wide as living rooms and as tall as downtown skyscrapers? And how many jurisdictions still consider it okay to turn such trees in giant stumps and tree plantations? What we have here in BC is something exceptional, the likes of which won’t be seen again for a long, long time if they are logged,” stated Wu. “More than ever we need the BC government to have the wisdom and courage to move ahead with a provincial plan that will protect our endangered old-growth forests, ensures the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and ends the export of raw logs to foreign mills”.

Media Release: BC Liberals open the back door to log protected forests under the guise of "science" and "local communities"

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For immediate release,
October 10, 2012.

BC Liberal Government opens back door to potentially log protected old-growth forests in BC’s Central Interior under the guise of “science” and “local communities”.

VICTORIA, BC – The BC Liberal Government announced yesterday a new forestry action plan for BC’s Central Interior that would open the “back door” for logging in currently protected forests. By the spring of 2013 the BC government plans to create frameworks for a “science-based review” and “community-engagement” process to potentially open up forest reserves that currently protect old-growth forests, scenery for tourism, species at risk, and wildlife in the Central Interior. Conservationists are calling the government’s invoking of “science” and “local community input” as Trojan horses for logging companies to access protected forests. The government’s action plan is detailed in a new report, “Beyond the Beetle: A Mid-Term Timber Supply Action Plan” at: https://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2012FOR0193-001516.htm

“The BC Liberals are using weasel-words and sneaky manoeuvres to open the back door for the logging industry to get into these currently protected forests under the guise of ‘science’ and the politically correct phrase of ‘local community input’ – despite the fact that a majority of people have already clearly said ‘no’ to logging in protected forest reserves during the public input process and that a true science-based review would show the need to protect more forests to slow the decline of endangered species and wildlife, not to log their few protected reserves,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “What I predict is that the BC government will set-up a ‘rigged-game’ for the science review with an overarching constraint that the existing unsustainable levels of timber harvest must be maintained – meaning that science will be used as a tool to determine which protected areas should be logged, not whether or not they should remain protected or be expanded as needed by endangered species, wildlife, tourism, and wild salmon. In addition, having local logging industry reps sit at local committees to decide whether to log these areas certainly won’t hinder the BC Liberals’ logging goals.”

The rationale for opening up protected forest reserves is that an impending shortfall in available timber supplies to support Central Interior sawmills will soon take effect, known as the “falldown effect”. This shortfall in timber supplies in relation to an overcapacity in the forest industry is the result of the loss of mature forests from the pine beetle infestation (caused by climate change and forest fire suppression) and a massive forest industry expansion in the Interior in recent years to take advantage of the infestation, as well as a decades-long history of overcutting the best stands at lower elevations resulting in diminishing returns as the standing timber declines in volume and value and becomes more expensive to access.

“Rewarding unsustainable behaviour with more unsustainable behaviour is wrong and foolish. The Interior timber industry’s unsustainable expansion and overcutting of beetle-affected wood and vast areas of living trees should not be rewarded with more of the same inside of our protected forest reserves now – that’s the worst, most myopic course of action possible and it’s precisely the type of mindset that has brought this planet to the ecological brink,” stated Wu. “Instead the BC Liberal government should diversify rural economies, reduce overcutting while supporting the creation of more higher-end value-added wood manufacturing jobs, ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, end wood waste in clearcuts, end raw log exports to foreign mills, retrain forestry workers, and expand forest protections for wildlife, tourism, recreation, and wild fisheries.

The move to log protected forest reserves and Old-Growth Management Areas is based on the false notion that because there are many beetle-killed trees, that the entire ecosystem is not ‘living’ and therefore clearcutting and punching roads into vast swaths of protected forests – which are a mix of living and dead trees that are part of very vibrant, alive, and continually growing ecosystems – does little environmental damage.

Pine beetle-affected forests include living, unaffected trees of various species, younger regenerating trees, and intact understory vegetation and soil structures, while the dead trees and woody debris provide homes for much wildlife. The extent of the pine beetle infestation is unnatural, caused by anthropogenic climate change and decades of wildfire suppression by the forest industry – however, further clearcutting of these living, dynamic forest ecosystems by removing all the living and dead trees and punching road networks throughout them, leading to soil erosion, vastly increases the environmental damage and removes vital wildlife habitat.

Forest reserve designations in the BC Interior include:

– Old-Growth Management Areas (that protect representative tracts of scarce old-growth forests)
– Riparian Management Areas (that protect fish habitat and water quality)
– Ungulate Winter Ranges (wintering habitat for mountain caribou, mountain goats, etc.)
– Wildlife Habitat Areas (that protect species at risk such as grizzlies and other wildlife)
– Visual Quality Objectives (that protect scenery for tourism)
– Recreation Areas (campsites, hiking areas, etc.)

The proposed environmental deregulation would take place in four Timber Supply Areas (TSA’s): the Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, and Lakes (Burns Lake area) TSA’s.

A true science-based framework without the constraint of needing to maintain unsustainable harvest levels, and that focuses on what it will take to sustain species at risk, biodiversity, water quality and scenery (ie. that focuses on the original land-use plan goals without new, added logging goals) would almost certainly recommend the expansion of Old-Growth Management Areas and other forest reserves, given the advancement of landscape ecology and conservation biology over the past two decades in recognizing the destructiveness of habitat loss and fragmentation on species at risk and fish-bearing streams. A true science-based review without unsustainable timber constraints would almost certainly reveal the inadequacy of the existing land-use plans and their system of protected forest reserves to stem the decline of species at risk, to sustain old-growth ecosystems, to support scenery for tourism, and to protect fish habitat – it would lead to an expansion of forest protections.

“More overcutting and opening up protected forest reserves to try to prop-up an unsustainable industry a bit longer is like burning up parts of your house for firewood after depleting all your other wood sources. In the end, you’re a lot worse off,” stated Wu. “Logging protected forests in this province is a no-go in terms of public opinion. For the BC Liberals to hang this albatross around their neck in the months leading up to BC election is both wrong and unwise – they need to start correcting their course, fast.”