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Teal Jones has begun logging in area with confirmed endangered marbled murrelet sightings

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This summer alone, there have been over 300 marbled murrelet sightings in the area that Teal-Jones is now logging.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

September 14, 2021 

VANCOUVER / SOOKE xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ AND t’Suk TERRITORIES — Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee have received reports on the ground that Teal-Jones is now logging near Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) in confirmed valuable habitat for marbled murrelets, a federally-listed endangered seabird.

This weekend, Teal-Jones contractors moved equipment into the adjacent watershed of Granite/Renfrew Creek to access BC Timber Sales (BCTS) approved old-growth cutblocks, even though aerial surveying produced by the B.C. government showed the area to be a highly suitable potential nesting habitat for marbled murrelets. In early July, birders raised the alarm that marbled murrelets were nesting in the area. This summer alone, there have been over 300 marbled murrelet sightings in the area confirmed by marbled murrelet experts, including a recent survey.

Early Monday the RCMP escorted falling crews who began immediate active logging near ‘Heli-camp,’ a spur off the Granite Mainline forestry road, just outside the Fairy Creek Watershed Old-Growth Deferral Area. Marbled murrelets and their nests are ‘protected’ under the federal Migratory Birds Act and the provincial Wildlife Act, but protections are only triggered if a nest is found. Marbled murrelet nests are difficult to find because they’re located on top of moss-covered branches of old-growth trees, at least 40 feet above the ground.

“These laws were created without species ecology in mind, making them weak. Even when species are known to occupy an area during the breeding season, without a confirmed nest, there’s no habitat protection,” said Conservation and Policy Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee Charlotte Dawe. “Marbled murrelets build nests to be undetectable to predators like falcons, with eyesight eight times better than humans. It is ridiculous to think we’d be sufficient enough to locate every nest.”

Under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), a clause allows the federal government to take over provincial land management if they believe the province fails to protect the critical habitat of a species at risk effectively.

“Marbled murrelets will not recover if their critical habitat continues to be destroyed by logging. We need the federal government to act,” said Dawe.

On July 19, wildlife consultant Bernard Schroeder carried out a radar survey for marbled murrelets near this exact cutblock and observed a total of 97 murrelets within two kilometers of this location. The radar was able to detect murrelet activity at the top end of Granite Creek and into Fairy Creek watersheds, with at least 10 adults circling, which indicates proximity to a nesting location.

“The intact nature of the Fairy Creek watershed is unique in the southern Vancouver Island region and could provide significant refugia for nesting marbled murrelets in this area,” Schroeder outlined in his final report to Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee.

His report also highlighted the decline of marbled murrelet populations across all six conservation regions in B.C., with the most severe decline found in areas that have the most significant levels of old-growth forest removal.

“When old-growth forests are destroyed for short-term economic profits we lose critical biodiversity habitat forever. B.C. is Canada’s most biodiverse province; sadly it is also home to the most species at risk and is one of only three provinces that lacks an endangered species law,” said Britton Jacob-Schram, Sierra Club BC’s Grants and Partnerships Manager.

“The B.C. government committed to enacting species at risk legislation back in 2020. It’s beyond frustrating to know recovery for a unique, charismatic bird like the marbled murrelet will simply fall through the cracks of faulty election promises and government heel-dragging on protection for old-growth forests,” added Jacob-Schram.

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A map showing the marbled murrelet habitat ranks, cutblocks, and radar station location for the July 19 ornithological survey can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14JujFhzt0ZU3sQ5ITf6wp-wFyD37yPlC/view?usp=sharing

Images of marbled murrelets can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bpTGqvF_-TunhaKSij08UInE2JS397rJ?usp=sharing


Media contacts:

Charlotte Dawe | Conservation and Policy Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
778-903-3992, charlotte@wildernesscommittee.org

Britton Jacob-Schram | Manager, Grants and Partnerships, Sierra Club BC
250-220-0683, britton@sierraclub.bc.ca

 

Photo by Eric Ellingson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Endangered seabird found in old-growth forest slated for logging near Fairy Creek/Ada’itsx

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

August 5, 2021 

VANCOUVER / PORT HARDY xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ AND Kwagu’ł TERRITORIES — A recent radar survey revealed endangered marbled murrelets are likely to be nesting in the Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) watershed and surrounding areas. The survey, completed by wildlife consultant Bernard Schroeder, confirmed adult murrelets flying in from the sea and circling — behaviour that is indicative of nesting sites. They were spotted near an unprotected area of old-growth forest set to be logged by Teal Jones.

In early July, a group of birders raised the alarm that marbled murrelets were nesting in the area. Together there have been over 240 marbled murrelet sightings, confirmed by registered biologists.

Both the federal and provincial governments have been notified of the marbled murrelet sightings but this hasn’t resulted in a comprehensive plan to protect the birds. Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee have notified the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and the Huu-ay-aht to help inform their ongoing long-term land use planning work.

“This finding reveals how valuable ancient forests are to species at risk of extinction and shows that both the B.C. government and Teal Jones are either unaware of at-risk species in these forests or unwilling to take the action needed to protect them,” said Conservation and Policy Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee Charlotte Dawe. “It’s the federal government’s responsibility to step in when the province is failing species at risk and they are failing.”

The federal Migratory Birds Convention Act protects marbled murrelets. The provincial Wildlife Act only protects a marbled murrelet nest if it’s occupied. Nest detections of many birds are incredibly rare, as a number of species — including marbled murrelets — build hidden and unobtrusive nests on thick moss and lichen-covered branches in old-growth forests, usually at least 40 feet above ground, which makes surveying incredibly difficult.

“We theoretically have laws to protect species and combat extinction, but these laws are only as real as politicians are willing to utilize them,” said Mark Worthing, Coastal Projects Lead at Sierra Club BC. “We need governments to stop coddling logging companies and instead coordinate all levels of government towards implementing Indigenous governance and stewardship practices and to activate the tools in the Species at Risk Act. Without leadership that can get the job done species will continue to go extinct forever.”

“Marbled murrelets build nests to be undetectable to predators like eagles, so we humans have an incredibly low chance at finding one,” said Dawe. “Logging companies have a financial interest in these nests being undiscovered and the B.C. government is not doing enough to locate them, and so murrelet habitat remains unprotected even if we know they’re living in a specific area.”

Under the federal Species at Risk Act, a clause allows the federal government to take over provincial land management if they believe the province fails to protect the critical habitat of a species at risk effectively.

Marbled murrelet expert Alan Burger says the forests on southwest Vancouver Island support some of the highest densities of nesting murrelets anywhere in their range. These forests are critically important to meeting Canada’s stated goal of protecting the endangered bird’s habitat.

“More research is needed in this area before it’s logged — we need to know what species are relying on this forest so that informed decisions can be made,” said Dawe. “Marbled murrelets have their young in nests right now and they will not recover if they are destroyed by logging. We need the federal government to act.”

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Images can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bpTGqvF_-TunhaKSij08UInE2JS397rJ?usp=sharing


Media contacts:

Charlotte Dawe | Conservation and Policy Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
778-903-3992, charlotte@wildernesscommittee.org

Mark Worthing | Coastal Projects Lead, Sierra Club BC
mark@sierraclub.bc.ca

Photo by Eric Ellingson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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