Spin-filled Announcement Reveals BC Government’s Failure to Ensure Net Gains in Old-Growth Logging Deferrals

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VICTORIA / UNCEDED LEKWUNGEN TERRITORIES – Yesterday the BC government released new and misleading statistics about old-growth logging on the one year anniversary of its science panel’s recommendations that logging should be deferred on millions of hectares of the most at-risk old-growth forests in BC. In November of 2021, the province’s independent science panel, the Technical Advisory Panel, recommended that the rarest, grandest, and oldest fraction of the remaining unprotected old-growth forests in BC, totalling 2.6 million hectares, be deferred from logging, while the province developed new management policies and legislation based on its Old-Growth Strategic Review panel’s recommendations.

Based on the BC government’s statistics (ie. the same ones they used last time), there has been no net increase in the deferred area since the BC government’s last official update in April, when they reported that 1.05 million hectares of the 2.6 million hectares (about 40%) recommended area had been deferred.

The implementation of the logging deferrals is contingent on the consent of local First Nations, whose unceded territories these are. However, the province has thus far failed to provide the critical funding for First Nations sustainable economic alternatives (to help develop such industries as tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood, non-timber forest products, value-added second-growth forestry, etc) to offset and replace their reliance on old-growth timber revenues (in the form of logging tenures, joint venture agreements, and revenue-sharing agreements) that would make it economically feasible for most First Nations to support the deferrals and to protect old-growth forests. This funding process is known as “conservation financing”, and was undertaken in the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii with a mix of funding from conservation organizations and the provincial and federal governments, and is currently underway in Clayoquot Sound, enabling significant protection levels for old-growth forests in those regions.

The lack of progress of any net gain in old-growth deferrals – the precursor to permanent, legislated protection – with still no announcement of vital provincial funding for First Nations sustainable economic development linked to the development of new protected areas, reveal’s the provincial NDP government’s efforts to contain change against the status quo of old-growth logging, while thousands of hectares of old-growth forests continue to fall each year.

Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer & Campaigner, TJ Watt, stands on top of a freshly cut stump in an old-growth forest recommended for deferral on southern Vancouver Island, BC.

“The BC government for many months now has been backsliding on their old-growth commitments, working to delay, deflect and slow the momentum for significant policy change for old-growth forests, away from the ‘paradigm shift’ that they committed to in theory in 2020. Instead of changing their ways, they’re changing their PR again. David Eby, the new premier of BC, can veer away from the anti-environmental backsliding of the BC government. He has said he wants to speed up the implementation of the province’s old-growth plans when he takes the reigns soon. This will require major funding specifically for First Nations sustainable economic development and for private land acquisition, that is, a commitment of many hundreds of million of dollars from the province alone, which should be combined with other funding sources including federal and non-profit conservation funds. This is the key to speeding up both deferrals and to enabling the permanent protection of those forests – I can’t stress that enough. There can be no ‘paradigm shift’ without the funding, the key missing piece here”, stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director.

Furthermore, the province seems to be returning to its old ways of undertaking major misleading PR-spin and sophistry in their press releases.

Their press release for example noted a decline in the amount of old growth logging between 2015 and 2021, from 65,500 to 38,300 hectares logged, but failed to mention that overall logging rates have declined across the province for well over a decade due to a diminishing timber supply from massive pine beetle kill and wildfires as a result of climate change (exacerbated by old-growth logging) and by old-growth logging itself (leaving lower volume second-growth stands behind and fewer jobs, a process known as the “falldown effect”), and failing to attribute how much of the decline has been due to the logging deferrals since the initial set of deferrals in 2020.

Old-growth logs are hauled out of the woods in 2022 on southern Vancouver Island, BC.

In addition, the province’s press release minimizes the amount of old-growth forests that are still at risk, stating “In total, approximately 80% of the priority at-risk old growth identified by the panel is not threatened by logging because it is permanently protected, covered by recent deferrals and/or not economic to harvest.” This figure is based on the province’s repeated, misleading use of the figure that 4 million hectares of the most at-risk old-growth forests remain, and that only 800,000 hectares are at risk of logging. However, they fail to mention the context of the original amount (a bread-and-butter tactic of their PR-spin), that there were once about 20 million hectares of such forests in BC (ie. the vast majority of the medium to high productivity old-growth forests have been logged where most forest giants grow), and that 1.4 million hectares of the remaining fraction was in pre-existing protected areas and forest reserves, much of it for decades, unrelated to province’s old-growth plan. In addition, their reference to old-growth forests that are “not economic to harvest” refers to about 700,000 hectares of at-risk old-growth forests that are largely outside the Timber Harvesting Land Base – but which get added in (ie. will still get cut) as old-growth forests are logged-out in adjacent areas, thus making previously uneconomic stands economic to then harvest (ie. being outside the Timber Harvesting Land Base is not secure nor a conservation designation).

Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, First Nations cultures, tourism and recreation. Old-growth forests possess distinctive structures, biodiversity, and functions that are not replicated by the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with, which are re-logged every 50 to 80 years in BC, never to become old-growth again. Virtually all industrialized countries are now logging second and third-growth forests (eg. 100 year old not 1000 year old trees), as is much of the rest of Canada, and BC is one of the last industrialized jurisdictions that supports the large-scale commercial logging of old-growth forests.

“For over a decade now we have been telling successive BC governments that the only pathway forward for old-growth protection in BC is to provide conservation financing for First Nations communities and to implement a provincial land acquisition fund to protect private lands,” said TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance “Now, since we have not seen the necessary funding put on the table to offset lost revenues from forgoing logging, we are seeing the BC government failing to keep its own promises to protect our most at-risk forests. My before and after photos of giant old-growth trees standing and then cut reveal exactly what that looks like on the ground.”

Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer & Campaigner, TJ Watt, beside a giant redcedar tree before and after it was cut in an old-growth forest recommended for deferral in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht territory on Vancouver Island, BC.

“The province seems to be returning to its ‘bad old days’ of terrible PR-spin and sophistry when it comes to the state of old-growth forests in BC, inflating the amount that remains and masking the amount at risk to deflect for their lack of progress in protecting them. It’s disingenuous for the province to somehow insinuate that the drop in old-growth harvest levels from 2015 are due to their policies – they weren’t even around in 2015 and it wasn’t until late 2020 when they committed to the Old-Growth Strategic Review panel recommendations – while total harvest levels have been dropping for about 15 years due to overcutting (ie. running out of old-growth from logging) and climate-change driven impacts of pine beetle and wildfires. Similarly, the classic spin of playing with statistics – of removing the context of how much has already been logged, and then cobbling together a variety of disparate and misleading categories to beef up the numbers of how much old-growth they’ve ‘saved’ signals that they are hiding their lack of progress and trying to contain change against the status quo of old-growth liquidation”, stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director. “But with the political will and major new funding, with an incoming new leader, they can change this quickly. Let’s see what happens here.”

The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and Ancient Forest Alliance have been working with the Nature-Based Solutions Initiative to help fund First Nations old-growth protection initiatives and to buy old-growth forests on private lands, a project known as the Old-Growth Solutions Initiative.

New before & after images reveal shocking impacts of old-growth logging on Vancouver Island

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For immediate release, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022:

New before & after images reveal shocking impacts of old-growth logging on Vancouver Island

Images highlight the critical need for conservation financing to help secure old-growth logging deferrals and eventual permanent protection.

VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) – The Ancient Forest Alliance has just released a new series of shocking before and after images and videos that expose the ongoing impacts of old-growth logging in British Columbia, highlighting the critical need for conservation financing from the province to help secure old-growth deferrals and permanent protection. Captured between 2020-2022 by Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer & Campaigner, TJ Watt, the images feature centuries-old redcedar trees standing and then cut down in the upper and lower Caycuse Valley in Ditidaht territory on southern Vancouver Island.

The series is part of work Watt has created with support from the Trebek Initiative, a grantmaking partnership between the National Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society that supports emerging Canadian explorers, scientists, photographers, geographers, and educators with a goal of using storytelling to ignite “a passion to preserve” in all Canadians. Watt was among the first round of grant recipients in 2021 and was named a National Geographic Explorer and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer.

The new before and after images can also be viewed on an interactive page on the Ancient Forest Alliance website that allows viewers to reveal either the tree or the stump.

“Capturing these before and after images is a difficult process – both technically and emotionally – but I’m committed to exposing the ongoing threats ancient forests face until legislated protection can be achieved for them,” stated Watt. “Only when seeing a side-by-side comparison can one truly grasp the scale of loss and devastation from old-growth logging. Once cut down, not even our great, great-grandchildren will have the chance to see a forest like that there again.”

In 2021, the provincial government accepted, in principle, a recommendation from their appointed independent science panel, the Technical Advisory Panel, to defer logging on 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk old-growth forests in BC, pending approval from local First Nations. However, more than a year on, less than half of these areas have been secured for deferral and some recommended areas, such as these, continue to be logged, as the province has failed to provide the requisite financing for First Nations needed to enable the full suite of deferrals.

Many of the groves and trees pictured in this latest series were identified as priority ‘big-tree’ old-growth forests that met the criteria for temporary deferral by the Technical Advisory Panel. In some locations, the forests were logged just months before the recommendations came into effect, while in others, deferrals were not secured in time before logging took place.

“In 2019-2020, I captured my original series of before and after images in the Caycuse watershed which went viral around the world and still draws attention to the issue of old-growth logging today. People were shocked to see that trees of this age and size were still being clearcut while the BC government made bold promises to protect old-growth forests. Now in 2022, much of the forests surrounding that original location have met with the same fate”, stated Watt.

Watt also notes, “The fundamental issue holding up the full implementation of old-growth logging deferrals – and the ultimate protection of old-growth forests across the province – is the BC government’s failure to provide significant conservation financing for First Nations communities, which would allow them to reasonably forgo their old-growth logging revenues and facilitate a transition into a more diversified economy associated with the establishment of new, Indigenous-led protected areas. Without this funding, enacting the full suite of old-growth logging deferrals and permanent old-growth protection will be virtually impossible to achieve.”

The federal government has committed $2.3 billion to expand protected areas across Canada, and $1.4 billion for nature-oriented solutions to climate change. Of this, several hundred million dollars are available for the expansion of protected areas in BC, including in old-growth forests. $55 million has also been specifically allocated to protect old-growth forests in BC, with the promise of more should the BC government get on board.

Under pressure, the BC government put forward $185 million in Budget 2022 to support forestry workers and communities affected by old-growth deferrals (with a smaller subset going towards First Nations forestry workers) and $12.69 million to assist First Nations in reviewing deferral options and next steps. However, these funds still fall far short of the total amount needed and are not intended to support First Nations-owned sustainable businesses (in such industries as tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood, and non-timber forest products) in lieu of old-growth logging – the most critical missing funding piece.

“The Ancient Forest Alliance has been calling on the BC government to establish a dedicated fund of at least $300 million to support Indigenous-led old-growth logging deferrals, land-use plans, and protected areas alone. This would include funding for Indigenous Guardians programs, offsetting the lost revenues for logging deferrals, and supporting the sustainable economic diversification of First Nations communities in lieu of old-growth logging linked to the establishment of Indigenous Protected Areas.” stated Watt.

In the meantime, Watt has full intentions to continue exploring and documenting endangered old-growth forests, which are vital to sustaining unique endangered species, climate stability, eco-tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations.

“It’s my mission to hold the government to account on their promises to protect old-growth forests and inspire a much more diverse movement of people to speak up for their protection. These ancient ecosystems with their 500-1000 year old trees are irreplaceable. I will continue to expose their destruction until it stops.”

Media Release: Two Years into Old-Growth Strategic Review mandate, BC is failing to deliver change on the ground

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For Immediate Release, September 8, 2022:

Two years into Old-Growth Strategic Review mandate, BC is failing to deliver change on the ground

Environmental organizations call for immediate action to make the promised paradigm shift a reality as at-risk forests continue to be destroyed

VICTORIA / UNCEDED LEKWUNGEN TERRITORIES – Two years after the provincial government released the report of its Old-Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) panel, Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC, Stand.earth and the Wilderness Committee have given B.C. failing grades for its progress to protect threatened old-growth forests. Grades for four of five key issues fell since the last report card, with time running out to address delays before it’s too late to safeguard remaining endangered old-growth forests.

View Full Report Card Image Here

The OGSR report, released Sept. 11, 2020, makes clear recommendations to keep at-risk old-growth forests standing and overhaul forest stewardship within three years. However, the B.C. NDP government has fallen far behind, so far completing none of the panel’s 14 recommendations two-thirds of the way through the three-year timeline laid out in the report.

“Two of the three years to implement the B.C. government promises on old-growth have passed. Yet, clearcutting of irreplaceable, endangered old-growth continues, even in the most-at-risk stands,” says Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “Instead of changing course, we are still marching towards ecosystem and climate breakdown. The window for action is closing. The next premier of B.C. must act swiftly before it’s too late.”

Following the assessment of a second expert group, the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) in 2021, last November, the province released mapping of five million hectares of unprotected, at-risk old-growth and stated its intention to temporarily defer logging for about half of that (2.6 million hectares) considered most at-risk in the short-term. The TAP scientists emphasized deferrals were needed, especially for areas where logging was already planned, which they expected to encompass about 50,000 hectares. In April 2022, Forest Minister Katrine Conroy announced that a little over one million hectares of these deferrals had been finalized — leaving more than half of the most at-risk old-growth forests open for logging — but was unclear about which deferrals would actually stop permitted logging. Ongoing monitoring via field assessments and satellite analysis show clearcutting continues in stands recommended for deferral. It’s resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of hectares of the most ecologically valuable forests.

“With one hand, the province is signing off on logging and road building in proposed old growth deferrals, and with the other it’s congratulating itself for saving the forests,” says Tegan Hansen, Senior Forest Campaigner at Stand.earth. “Deferrals are meaningful when they stop logging, not as a political talking point. We need to see this government live up to its promises and prevent the destruction of the most at-risk old-growth forests.”

The B.C. NDP government has stated it will not halt logging without agreement from First Nations, but has not offered adequate funding to address the economic impacts of foregoing logging for short-term deferrals, or for long-term protection. The organizations are urging the province to immediately provide full financial support to First Nations to ensure logging is deferred in all at-risk old-growth forests, as called for by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs in June.

“If the province is serious about protecting old-growth, they must come forward with at least $300 million in conservation financing for First Nations to address the economic impacts of accepting short-term logging deferrals and enacting long-term protection measures for old-growth, and leverage the federal funding available to expand protected areas in Canada,” states TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Without that funding, which the province must be fully aware is critical for these efforts to succeed, progress will remain stalled and irreplaceable ancient forests will continue to fall.”

In their bi-annual report card, the four organizations gave the B.C. government a D for funding provided to date, and the same grade for the deferrals enacted so far. For transparency and communication on old-growth, the province received a D-. And for changing course to prioritize ecological health and providing a three-year timeline to implement the OGSR’s recommendations, the province earned failing grades.

Over the summer, the provincial government has remained tight-lipped about old-growth forests. In the meantime, images of logging in proposed deferral areas have garnered attention and public frustration with the ongoing destruction of irreplaceable forests in B.C.

“The recommendations of the OGSR are clear and measurable, and this government told the public it would act on them with urgency. What we’ve seen in the two years since is the opposite, a slow, plodding approach that’s not at all indicative of a paradigm shift,” says Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee. “Ultimately, the score that matters is the one kept in the forests themselves. And the fields of fresh clearcuts in endangered old-growth underscore the NDP government’s failure to protect the most threatened forests.”

Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC, Stand.earth, and the Wilderness Committee will continue to mobilize the public, document ongoing old-growth logging and partner with First Nations, community groups, municipalities, unions and businesses to advance meaningful protection for threatened old-growth forests and a paradigm shift that puts ecological integrity and the wellbeing of communities over short-term timber values.

Canada’s fourth-widest tree found in North Vancouver

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Canada’s fourth-widest tree found in North Vancouver

Canada’s fourth-widest tree was found in the Lynn Headwaters Regional Park in North Vancouver, a giant western redcedar that is likely the widest tree found in Canada in over 34 years. 

VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) – Two big tree hunters from Vancouver have just identified the fourth-widest known tree in Canada: an ancient western redcedar tentatively measured at over 5.8 metres (19.1 feet) in diameter and well over a thousand years old. Nicknamed “The North Shore Giant”, this ancient colossus was found by Colin Spratt, a Vancouver big-tree hunter, and Ian Thomas of the Ancient Forest Alliance, on an expedition deep into the remote reaches of Vancouver’s Lynn Headwaters Regional Park in the territory of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. 

Ian Thomas of the Ancient Forest Alliance measures the North Shore Giant, the 4th widest tree in Canada, newly identified in a remote corner of Lynn Valley in North Vancouver. Photo Credit Colin Spratt.

Lynn Valley has long been renowned for its giant trees. In fact, the tallest trees on Earth might once have grown there, but aggressive logging in the 19th and early 20th centuries eliminated most of those superlative forests. Throughout much of Lynn Valley, gargantuan, castle-like stumps are all that remain of the ancient trees that once dominated the region. However, in the depths of the watershed, far from the established trails, are remnants of that original old-growth forest – enormous trees many centuries old, still surviving a stone’s throw from the thriving metropolis of Vancouver. 

“Finding this colossal ancient tree just demonstrates the sublime grandeur of these old-growth temperate rainforests,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance researcher Ian Thomas.  “Luckily this incredible being and the impressive grove in which it stands is safe in a park. Most of our richest ancient forests are still unprotected and in danger of being logged. Even now in Canada, in the year 2022, trees as old as this giant, and entire groves like this one, are still being cut down on an industrial scale.”

The terrain is extremely rugged, with sheer cliffs, treacherous boulder fields, steep ravines, and dense underbrush, which has allowed these monumental trees to remain hidden for so long. The North Shore Giant grows on the slopes west of Lynn Creek on a boulder field among other magnificent ancient redcedars. Further groves of giant trees are found nearby, including one containing Canada’s fifth widest known western hemlock, identified mere hours before the North Shore Giant. The area represents one of the most magnificent tracts of productive ancient forest left in BC.

 

 

Ian Thomas of the Ancient Forest Alliance beside the North Shore Giant, the 4th widest tree in Canada, newly identified in a remote corner of Lynn Valley in North Vancouver. Photo Credit Colin Spratt.

Colin Spratt and Ian Thomas set out to fully document and explore this incredible ancient forest. On their second expedition and after bushwacking for 10 hours, they finally arrived at the North Shore Giant and realized that this could be the widest tree that has been found in Canada in over 34 years. The current diameter measurement is a preliminary one, following the methodology of the American Forest Association’s Champion Trees Program, which has been the standard used by BC’s own official big-tree registry. Soon, members of the British Columbia Big Tree Committee will visit the tree to confirm the diameter and take official height and crown measurements for entry into BC’s Big Tree Registry.

“When I first saw the tree, I froze in my tracks and the blood drained from my face. I started getting dizzy as I realized it was one of the largest cedars ever found, and one of the most amazing life forms left on earth. Finding this tree is an incredible reminder of what is still out there in the less explored old-growth forests. It’s sobering to realize that in so many areas of BC, unprotected trees and groves just as rare and precious are still being cut down,” said big-tree hunter Colin Spratt.

Big-tree hunter Colin Spratt beside the North Shore Giant, the 4th widest tree in Canada, newly identified in a remote corner of Lynn Valley in North Vancouver. Photo Credit Ian Thomas.

 

 

“This is one of the most remarkable big-tree finds of this century and it just shows how special the old-growth forests in BC are. Unfortunately, unless the BC government hurries up and provides the critical funding – several hundred million dollars more, which is peanuts if you look at their other massive spending projects – they will ensure that the status quo of industrial clearcutting of the last unprotected old-growth stands occurs. In particular, support for Indigenous old-growth protection initiatives and the associated sustainable economic development in the communities is needed, along with a major, dedicated land acquisition fund to purchase and protect old-growth forests on private lands. They can fix all of this if they wanted to in their upcoming budget,” said TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer.

 

 

 

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Background Info on Endangered Old-Growth Forests in BC

Old-growth forests have unique characteristics not found in the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with and which are re-logged every 50 to 60 years on BC’s coast – never to become old-growth again. 

Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, the multi-billion dollar tourism industry, carbon storage, clean water, wild salmon, and First Nations cultures. Well over 90% of the high productivity old-growth forests with the biggest trees and over 80% of the medium productivity old-growth forests have been logged in BC. 

In September of 2020 after the release of the report of their public input panel, the Old-Growth Strategic Review Panel, the BC government opened the door to a major policy overhaul in old-growth forest management for the first time in decades. In the summer of 2021, they commissioned a top science team that identified 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk old-growth forests (the grandest, oldest and rarest stands) for deferrals on logging, pending First Nations consent.

About 1.05 million hectares or 40% of these priority stands, an area about the size of Jasper National Park, have now been placed under deferral from logging by First Nations and by BC Timber Sales (the BC government’s logging agency).

Permanent, legislated protection for most of these stands and others will take at least a couple of years while First Nations develop land use plans (a complex process) to determine which areas get protected via new Indigenous Protected Areas (via Provincial Conservancy legislation) and forest reserves.

The fundamental issue holding up the implementation of old-growth logging deferrals for much of the remaining 60% of undeferred, most at-risk old-growth forests and the ultimate protection of old-growth forests across BC, is the BC government’s lack of commitment to the critical funding needed for First Nations to defer logging and to protect old-growth forests.

Across BC, old-growth forests are on the unceded lands of diverse First Nations, whose support is legally necessary for the establishment of new legislated protected areas.  

Successive BC governments have facilitated and fostered an economic dependency in First Nations communities on old-growth logging revenues and jobs, in the form of revenue-sharing, employment, joint venture, and tenure agreements. 

Therefore, in order to reasonably forgo their old-growth logging revenues and to protect old-growth forests on a major scale, First Nations communities require critical funding from the provincial and federal governments to help build an alternative sustainable economy in tourism, clean energy, non-timber forest products (eg. wild mushrooms), sustainable seafood, and value-added, second-growth forestry linked to protecting old-growth forests.

Such an approach, called “conservation financing,” was implemented in the Great Bear Rainforest in 2006 (where $120 million from environmental groups, the BC government, and the federal government-funded old-growth protection and First Nations jobs and business development) and is now underway in Clayoquot Sound, resulting in the greatest old-growth protection levels in BC and significant economic development and jobs for First Nations.

Government funding is also needed to support forestry workers and communities in general affected by major land-use changes, along with compensation under the law for major timber licensees.

To protect old-growth forests on private lands, a provincial land acquisition fund is also needed to purchase and protect such lands. The BC government has not provided any major dedicated funds for private land acquisition. 

All told, well over a billion dollars in governmental funding will be needed to protect the remaining old-growth forests, which must be provided by the provincial government, which has the direct responsibility for provincial forest policy, and the federal government, which is already providing significant funding to expand protected areas in BC.

The federal government has allocated a $2.3 billion fund to expand protected areas in Canada and $1.4 billion for nature-oriented solutions to climate change, including old-growth protection, much of which can and is being made available for First Nations Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) initiatives. In total, between the two federal funds, roughly $300 to $400 million are available from the federal government to expand protected areas in BC – if the BC government were to embrace this federal funding and allow the flow of these funds into the province on a major scale. Currently, the province is slowly and carefully undertaking negotiations with the federal government on how and where these federal funds can potentially be spent in the province.

Under massive pressure, the province has put forward $185 million over the next 3 years, primarily for forestry workers as well as for communities and businesses, to help finance the transition from old-growth logging due to the deferrals. Perhaps half of these funds (maybe $90 million) will go to First Nations workers and communities – an insufficient sum. So far, the province is providing only about one-third of the $300 million that the province must provide to First Nations to match the roughly $300 million or more that the federal government is making available to expand protected areas in BC (including in old-growth forests). 

In addition, the BC government has not yet embraced Canada’s national protected areas targets of 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 of the land and marine areas in the country, as the country heads towards hosting the UN Biodiversity Conference in December of this year.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quotes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

March 10, 20212

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

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

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

See the full version of the report card here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Download a PDF of the full report card here

Download a JPEG version of the full report card here

Funding for Old-Growth Arrives in BC Budget, Falls Short of What’s Needed

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For immediate release
February 22, 2022

Conservationists argue more support is necessary for First Nations communities to ensure most at-risk ancient forests can remain standing.

VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) – The BC government appears to have improved upon funding commitments for old-growth forests in Budget 2022, but still has fallen short of providing the amount necessary to fully protect endangered ancient forests in BC. $185 million has been budgeted for old-growth, which includes funding for workers, industry, communities, and First Nations. Depending on how funding is allocated, this announcement potentially contains up to one-third of the contribution needed from the province to support First Nations communities, whose consent is needed to implement old-growth logging deferrals.

Conservationists have repeatedly called for the province to commit at least $300 million to support Indigenous-led old-growth logging deferrals, land-use plans, and protected areas alone.
 
This would include funding for Indigenous Guardians programs, offsetting the lost revenues for logging deferrals, and support for the sustainable economic diversification of First Nations communities in lieu of old-growth logging and linked to the establishment of Indigenous Protected Areas. Support for forestry workers and contractors, and legally defined compensation for major licensees, would be above and beyond this total.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner & photographer TJ Watt stands beside a giant old-growth cedar stump in the Caycuse Valley in Ditidaht territory.

“Today the BC government took a first step in the right direction in funding for old-growth,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “However, they still fell short on the funding needed to relieve the economic pressure faced by First Nations so that logging deferrals can become an economically viable option for them. This funding shortfall makes enacting the full suite of old-growth logging deferrals virtually impossible to achieve.”
 
The BC government has committed to implementing all 14 recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel. In its list of recommendations, the review panel directed the province to act quickly to defer (temporarily halt) the logging of old-growth forests at high risk of biodiversity loss. The BC government later accepted, in principle, the recommendation to defer 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk ancient forests by an independent science panel, focusing on the largest and oldest trees remaining in BC. Months later, 570,000 hectares have been deferred on lands managed by BC Timber Sales, and an additional smaller fraction has been set aside by First Nations, while some forests identified for deferral continue to be logged.
 
Federal funding is available to support environmental protection in BC. $2.3 billion was committed last year to help Canada achieve its international commitments to protect 25% of lands and waters by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Of this, several hundred million dollars are available for the expansion of protected areas in BC, with $50 million specifically allocated to BC old-growth so far. An additional $631 million is earmarked for “Nature Smart Climate Solutions” with $200 million already allocated for the protection of carbon-rich ecosystems such as BC’s old-growth forests.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner & photographer TJ Watt stands beside a giant old-growth cedar tree in a forest recommended for deferral near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory. 

“It’s time that the BC government embraced the significant funding available from the federal government to help support land conservation initiatives in BC, including for old-growth forests,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Ian Illuminato. “This is a golden opportunity to obtain hundreds of millions in funding from the federal government to support the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and support the permanent protection of old-growth forests. Why are they waiting?”
 
Last week, 25 municipal leaders from 14 BC communities urged the province to follow through on its promises to protect at-risk old-growth forests. Their letter requested that the BC government swiftly establish a provincial fund to relieve the economic pressure that makes it challenging for many First Nations communities to support logging deferrals. Citizens across BC have recently made hundreds of phone calls and sent thousands of letters calling for increased funding for old-growth protection as well.

Municipal leaders in BC call on provincial government to commit funding for old-growth protection in Budget 2022

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VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) – A letter signed by 25 municipal leaders from 14 BC communities is urging the province to follow through on its promises to protect at-risk old-growth forests, including by allocating significant funding in the upcoming provincial budget, set to be released February 22nd. Read the letter here.

Metchosin councillor and forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon beside Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s second-largest Douglas-fir tree, found near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory.

The letter is addressed and sent to seven provincial decision-makers, including Premier Horgan, Forests Minister Katrine Conroy, and Environment Minister George Heyman, and is signed by mayors, councillors, and regional district directors from diverse communities including Comox, Nanaimo, Powell River, Saanich, Victoria, Vancouver, Nelson, and Tahsis. In it, the elected leaders commend the province for taking the first important steps towards protecting old-growth forests and express their concern with the insufficient amount of funding committed so far to ensure success.

“Imagine asking California to turn their iconic Ancient Redwoods into roof shingles – you’d get laughed out of the room,” said Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov, one of the letter’s co-authors. “That’s how we treat the last remnants of old-growth forests we have left. This budget cycle, the province needs to put their money where their mouth is and commit significant funding to finally make good on their promise to protect our world-class old-growth assets,” Vagramov continued. “It’s time we log elsewhere; the vast majority of BC is now second-growth forest.”

The letter urges the BC government to swiftly establish a provincial fund to relieve the economic pressure that makes it challenging for many First Nations communities to support logging deferrals in 2.6 million hectares of at-risk ancient forests.

The fund, they argue, is also crucial to ensure the permanent protection of old-growth forests by supporting Indigenous-led land-use planning, the creation and management of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), and the development of sustainable economic alternatives to old-growth logging.

“Communities need sufficient funding and support to transition away from old-growth logging while ensuring economic prosperity through more sustainable means,” stated Ben Geselbracht, Nanaimo city councillor and co-author of the letter. “Without critical funding to support economic alternatives and transitions, the current path will lead to the collapse of old-growth ecosystems and the economies of many communities.”

Tahsis Mayor Martin Davis next to a giant old-growth Douglas-fir tree growing unprotected near town in Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory.

The provincial government has so far offered limited funding, including $12.6 million for capacity building support for First Nations to engage in the initial logging deferrals process, and $19 million to help forestry workers impacted by the deferrals. The municipal leaders acknowledge these are important first steps, but they are inadequate to provide the kind of support communities need to protect at-risk old-growth while diversifying their economies.

“Indigenous Protected Areas that permanently protect at-risk old-growth forests can play a significant role in supporting community wellbeing and economic diversification,” said Andy MacKinnon, a forest ecologist and Councillor for the District of Metchosin. “But their creation and management require investment. The federal government has come to the table with hundreds of millions of dollars that can be used to help solve BC’s old-growth crisis, but where is the province?”

Last year, the federal government pledged $2.3 billion to help Canada achieve its international commitments to protect 25% of lands and waters by 2025. Of this, several hundred million dollars are available for the expansion of protected areas in BC, with $50 million specifically allocated to BC old-growth so far. An additional $631 million was committed for “Nature Smart Climate Solutions” with $200 million already allocated for the protection of carbon-rich ecosystems such as BC’s old-growth forests.

Metchosin councillor and forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon measures a giant old-growth Douglas-fir tree on Edinburgh Mountain near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory.

The municipal leaders’ letter urges the BC government to adopt Canada’s goals of protecting 25% of lands and waters by 2025 and 30% by 2030 and to act quickly to implement all the recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review panel, including developing overarching biodiversity protection legislation, setting new, science-based old-growth protection targets for all old-growth forest ecosystems, and implementing an ecosystem-based approach to forest management.

“Ancient forests are in peril across the province,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “Municipal leaders and their constituents are advocating for lasting solutions that support local economies and these irreplaceable ecosystems. The BC government needs to fund old-growth protection and economic diversification in Budget 2022.”

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Conservationists Applaud Tourism Industry Association of BC for Joining the Call to Protect Old-Growth Forests

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VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are celebrating that the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC) has joined the call on the BC government to protect endangered old-growth forests and enable the shift to a sustainable, second-growth forest industry.

In December, TIABC signed an AFA resolution that acknowledges the significant economic benefits standing old-growth forests provide, including for BC’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry, and urges the province to support Indigenous communities to defer and permanently protect old-growth forests, which are central to many First Nations’ cultures, while supporting sustainable economic development.

 Click here to read the resolution.

Tourists visit the giant trees of Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew, BC in Pacheedaht territory. ‘Big Tree Tourism’ has seen a dramatic rise in the town over the past decade, giving the local economy a major economic boost. Photograph by TJ Watt.

“Old-growth forests are vital to British Columbia’s ‘super, natural’ image and are part of what makes BC an increasingly popular destination for tourists from near and far,” said Walt Judas, TIABC CEO. “Our tourism and broader economy depend on healthy, functioning old-growth forests to provide things like climate stability, wildlife habitat, and clean water and to support myriad tourism and recreational activities like wildlife viewing, fishing, hiking, and more.”

“Despite the impact of the COVID-19 travel restrictions in the last two years, domestic tourism has thrived, with British Columbians increasingly flocking to BC’s parks, outdoor spaces, and nearby rural communities. Continuing to log old-growth forests would further compromise the over $23 billion in average annual tourism spending that many thousands of people rely on in the province.”

“We applaud TIABC’s decision to speak up for old-growth forest protection,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness. “The tourism sector won’t stand by while BC continues to destroy its globally rare forests and, with them, sustainable tourism jobs. By passing this resolution, TIABC joins a growing chorus of voices across BC, calling on the province to step up its efforts to protect old-growth while supporting communities’ economic wellbeing. 

A hiker takes photos of a giant redcedar in the lower Avatar Grove.
Avatar Grove, Port Renfrew BC.

TIABC is the primary advocate for BC’s tourism industry, one of the province’s top business sectors, and represents most of the province’s 19,000 tourism businesses and nearly 300,000 employees. Nature-based tourism is one of the top three drivers of BC’s tourism and rural economy, supporting 26,000 direct full-time jobs and some 40,000 jobs in total.

TIABC joins the Wilderness Tourism Association, over 100 BC businesses, mayors and city councils (Union of BC Municipalities and Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities), First Nations (Union of BC Indian Chiefs), unions (the Public and Private Workers of Canada forestry union) and conservation groups across BC who have called on the provincial government to increase protection for BC’s endangered old-growth forests.

Communities across the province stand to benefit from protecting ancient forests. An economic analysis commissioned by the Ancient Forest Alliance in 2021 showed that keeping old-growth forests standing can provide greater overall economic benefits than cutting them down when factoring in their value in supporting tourism, recreation, carbon offsets, commercial fisheries, education and research, and non-timber forest products (e.g. mushrooms and salal).

The BC government has promised to take significant steps to protect old-growth forests and overhaul BC’s forest sector by implementing all the recommendations in the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel’s 2020 report. As a first step, in November, the province announced its intent to defer logging in 2.6M ha of the most at-risk old-growth forests across the province. However, conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance are deeply concerned by the lack of provincial funding to support Indigenous-led old-growth protection.

“The province has acknowledged the biodiversity crisis that’s resulted from decades of unsustainable forestry and has promised to act, but endangered ancient forests are still being logged every day,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer, TJ Watt.

TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance stands beside a giant redcedar tree in the unprotected Eden Grove near Port Renfrew, BC in Pacheedaht territory. This forest is growing in popularity but its future remains uncertain. Photograph by TJ Watt.

“Protecting old-growth forests is vital to support healthy, safe, and prosperous communities. Without provincial support and significant funding, First Nations and forest-based communities are losing opportunities to protect old-growth forests and diversify their economies through nature-based cultural and eco-tourism, recreation, carbon offsets, sustainable second-growth logging and manufacturing, and more.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to commit several hundred million dollars in conservation financing in the upcoming provincial budget to support logging deferrals, Indigenous-led land-use planning and sustainable economic development, Guardians programs, and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas that permanently protect at-risk old-growth forests.

Environmentalists, Green Party MLA, and prominent forest ecologist make holiday-themed appeal for provincial old-growth funding

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VICTORIA (Lekwungen Territories) – Pressure on the BC provincial government to back their old-growth forest protection commitments with funding is growing with First Nations leaders, scientists, and Green Party representatives joining environmentalists to demand significant funding for old-growth protection in the 2022 provincial budget.

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), along with Adam Olsen, Green Party MLA for Saanich and the Islands and Andy MacKinnon, forest ecologist and Metchosin Councillor, held a press briefing on the steps of the BC Parliament Buildings on Tuesday to discuss the urgent need for significant provincial funding to both temporarily defer and permanently protect the province’s at-risk old-growth forests. 

Tying into the season of giving, the briefing featured gift-wrapped presents and signs reading “All we want for Christmas…is funding to protect old-growth forests!”

The briefing comes after the BC government announced its intention to work with First Nations to defer 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old-growth forests in early November, based on the recommendation of an independent scientific panel. Last week, the province announced that most First Nations that responded to requests for deferrals have expressed interest in discussions with the government on old-growth management, but the province is failing to back these discussions with funding to offset revenues from old-growth logging. 

Adam Olsen, Green Party MLA for Saanich and the Islands speaks on the steps of the BC Parliament Buildings addressing the need for funding for old-growth protection in BC.

“We are glad the province has finally moved to protect BC’s most at-risk forests, but as long as they continue to come to the negotiation table with First Nations virtually empty-handed, they won’t fully achieve it,” stated Adam Olsen. “Many Nations are dependent upon the revenues from logging in their territories, and the government is putting them in the impossible position of having to choose between old-growth protection and economic security. This does not advance conservation or reconciliation.” 

Despite logging continuing in at-risk old-growth forests identified for deferral, the BC government has yet to announce any significant new deferrals, which were recommended by the province’s Old Growth Strategic Review Panel to immediately halt the destruction of old-growth forests at high risk of biodiversity loss. $12.6 million has been allocated to support ongoing government-to-government deferral negotiations, but without greater financial support for compensation, many First Nations may be reluctant to support proposed deferrals. 

However, conservationists are quick to point out that funding for deferrals is only a first step and that significant funding, in the hundreds of millions of dollars, is also needed to support First Nations-led land-use planning, Indigenous protected areas that permanently conserve old-growth, and economic alternatives to old-growth logging.

Makwala Rande Cook, a Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw artist and Hereditary Ma’amtagila Chief, who was unable to join the press conference as anticipated, said “Old-growth forests have sustained our people for millennia. They provide critical ecosystem services that sustain the health and wellbeing of all British Columbians, but successive governments and industry have depleted them to near extinction. Indigenous communities need funding and support to protect and steward what little old-growth remains.” 

Federal funding has already been made available to support old-growth protection in BC. $2.3 billion was committed earlier this year to help Canada achieve its international commitments to protect 25% of lands and waters by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Of this, several hundred million dollars are available for the expansion of protected areas in BC, with $50 million specifically allocated to BC old-growth so far. An additional $631 million has been committed for “Nature Smart Climate Solutions” with $200 million already allocated for the protection of carbon-rich ecosystems such as BC’s old-growth forests. 

The Ancient Forest Alliance is urging the BC government to adopt Canada’s protected area targets and commit several hundred million dollars in conservation funding to match or exceed the federal government’s funding commitments in the upcoming spring budget.

Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance hold signs during the press conference on the steps of the BC Parliament Buildings

Last week, the province announced $19 million in funding to support workers and communities impacted by logging deferrals and promised additional supports in the new year. This is a welcome step in the right direction, but conservationists are pointing to BC’s recent extreme weather events as further justification for urgent conservation funding. 

“If the BC government is serious about community safety and addressing deadly climate change impacts like flooding, landslides, fires, and droughts, they must include funding in Budget 2022 to vastly expand protection of BC’s most carbon-rich and climate change resilient old-growth forests and to overhaul the forestry regime,” stated forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon. “They simply cannot afford not to.” 

“Making bold promises without the funds to deliver on them is a recipe for failure, leaving millions of hectares of at-risk ancient rainforests on the chopping block,” said AFA campaigner Andrea Inness. “Right now, the question is: will there be significant funding in Budget 2022 to implement deferrals and permanent old-growth protection? Or will BC’s remaining ancient rainforests receive a lump of coal?”

(L-R) Andy MacKinnon, forest ecologist and Metchosin Councillor, Andrea Inness, Ancient Forest Alliance Campaigner, and Adam Olsen, Green Party MLA for Saanich and the Islands, stand on the steps of the BC Parliament Buildings.