FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES/VANCOUVER – Sierra Club BC agrees with the Provincial Forest Advisory Council (PFAC) that there is an urgent need for change in how British Columbia manages forests. However, the report does not in any way meet the moment by providing clear and actionable steps to stop the devastation of forests in B.C. and the jobs and communities that rely on forestry.  

Previous government commitments, like implementation of the Old Growth Strategic Review, emphasized the need to protect at-risk old-growth forests and prioritize biodiversity to ensure a transition to a sustainable B.C. forestry sector, which is in crisis after decades of overlogging. The new report does not discuss the urgent need for logging deferrals for the most at-risk old growth in the province, nor the long-overdue Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health framework. 

“This report talks about care, but it doesn’t deal with the bleeding,” said Jens Wieting, Sierra Club BC’s senior policy and science advisor. “The most endangered old-growth forests in B.C. are still being logged every day, and the PFAC report offers no immediate steps to address loss of biodiversity or forestry jobs.” 

The report ignores existing commitments like support for First Nations to defer logging of at-risk old growth and develop new, sustainable business models. Instead, the PFAC report introduces new recommendations that describe long-term change but fail to integrate the immediate conservation and community-supportive measures government promised to deliver.

The report also avoids confronting recent government decisions and policy directions that directly undermine conservation goals and the outlook for a diverse, sustainable economy, including tourism, recreation and long-term forestry jobs. For example, the report does not discuss the province’s stated goal to increase timber harvest levels to 45 million cubic metres, a target that is both unrealistic and at odds with long-term forestry jobs, protecting biodiversity, and reducing climate risks.

“You cannot claim to move ‘from crisis to care’ while simultaneously expanding logging pressure and ignoring the disastrous consequences faced by communities throughout B.C. This report risks resetting the conversation yet again, while economic decline and ecological damage continue on the ground.” said Wieting.

The PFAC report is released as B.C. approaches the two-year anniversary of a call for public feedback on the draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health framework, which received thousands of submissions calling for strong, science-based safeguards. That framework remains unfinalized, while resource extraction continues to be fast-tracked.

Meanwhile, the consequences of over-logging combined with climate change are becoming increasingly visible. Recent flooding events have once again caused extensive damage to communities and infrastructure—costs borne by the public and far exceeding the short-term revenues from continued clearcutting of intact forests.

Sierra Club BC is calling on the provincial government to treat the PFAC report as a prompt to finally act on commitments already made, including:

• Support for First Nations to enable immediate deferral of logging in the most at-risk old-growth forests mapped by the provincial Technical Advisory Panel; 
• Finalization and implementation of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health framework;
• Transparent, independent reporting on the state of the forest in B.C.;    
• Alignment of forest management with long-term jobs, conservation, climate, and biodiversity goals. 

“B.C. does not need another vision document,” said Shelley Luce, Sierra Club BC’s associate director and campaigns director. “It needs the political will to act on the science, honour its commitments, and protect the forests that communities and future generations depend on.” 

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