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Over 150 Fairy Creek old-growth defenders to appear in Nanaimo court today

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This is among the largest number of people appearing before Justice Thompson in a single day since Fairy Creek protests began.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

December 5, 2022 

VANCOUVER/UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES – One hundred and sixty Fairy Creek land defenders are scheduled to appear in a Nanaimo court this morning, one of the largest groups in a single day since police action to clear logging roads into old-growth forests in the Fairy Creek area in Pacheedaht and Ditidaht territory on Vancouver Island ramped up in the spring of 2021. Another 25 forest defenders are scheduled for sentencing hearings this week, also marking the largest number in a single week since the protests began.  

The conflict between logging company Teal-Jones and forest defenders has escalated into one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history, with over 1,100 protesters arrested on the site as of February 11, 2022. Land defenders want the provincial government to follow through on their promise to protect globally rare and endangered old-growth forests in B.C.  

“This day in court is a dramatic example of the consequences of misguided police action to defend the status quo at almost any cost and continue clearcutting the last old-growth despite the climate and biodiversity crisis. The tax dollars spent to clear logging roads would be better spent financing Indigenous-led conservation solutions,” said Jens Wieting, Sierra Club BC’s Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner.   

“B.C.’s last old-growth forests continue to disappear at a similar rate as Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. There is very little time left for Premier Eby to implement the old-growth promises of his government before it’s too late,” added Wieting.  

While logging has been deferred for the Fairy Creek watershed, adjacent at-risk old-growth forests on Southern Vancouver Island and in many other parts of the province remain without temporary protection. B.C. will continue to see similar conflicts as old-growth logging continues with no certainty whether at-risk stands will be spared. 

According to the latest provincial update, logging has been deferred in less than half of the 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk stands recommended for deferrals.  

Additionally, the annual old-growth logging rate has remained relatively stable before and after the provincial old-growth promises made in 2020. Provincial funding commitments to enable deferrals for all at-risk old-growth forests and Indigenous-led conservation solutions remain insufficient.  

“Premier Eby has pledged to accelerate the BC NDP’s old-growth plan and to step up urgent action to address the climate crisis. His government has a unique opportunity to partner with the federal government to secure adequate funding tied to milestones and timelines to increase protection of highly endangered and carbon-rich ecosystems across B.C.,” said Wieting.

“A strong British Columbia–Canada Nature Agreement would give people in B.C. hope that this government is stepping up to the plate and inspire confidence in other parts of the world that it’s not too late to safeguard the web of life.” 

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Background: 

For international comparison: The 10-year average rate of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest of Brazil was 0.2% per year, based on data from the National Institute for Space Research and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). According to B.C. government data, the last old-growth in B.C. was being clearcut at a rate of 0.3% in 2021. About 80% of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil remains standing. In B.C., the majority of old-growth forests have been logged and big-tree old-growth ecosystems have been reduced to single digit percentages of their original extent, and for certain ecosystems (Coastal Douglas Fir) to about 1% of their original extent.    


Media contact:

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner | Sierra Club BC
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca, (604) 354-5312

 

Photo by TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance

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)

Sierra Club BC reacts to police violence against old-growth forest defenders on Vancouver Island

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Sierra Club BC statement in response to police violence against old-growth forest defenders on Vancouver Island

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 24, 2021

Sierra Club BC is deeply disturbed by the increasingly aggressive tactics deployed by the RCMP and captured on video in Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek). These acts of violence come less than two weeks after the B.C. Supreme Court found the RCMP’s use of exclusion zones, which place certain areas off-limits to protesters, members of the media and observers, to be unlawful.

“Once again, in ways that echo the police raids on Wet’suwet’en territory in 2019 and 2020, the RCMP is being deployed to violently protect corporate interests. This is a shameful abuse of power that militarizes the police against Indigenous youth and other land defenders that are choosing to act as the provincial government fails to uphold their promises on Indigenous rights, climate action and old-growth protection,” said Sierra Club BC Executive Director Hannah Askew.

The B.C. government made an election promise in the fall of 2020 to implement the recommendations from its own Old Growth Panel “in totality.” Delivery of this promise would have resulted in a solutions-focused path to protect at-risk old-growth forests like Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) across the province and assured concerned citizens that the provincial government was acting in the public interest. The violence we are witnessing is the direct result of government inaction and broken promises.

“The images of police violence against peaceful protesters seeking to save some of the last ancient forests on the planet from destruction for corporate short-term profit would be shameful for any country in the world calling itself democratic, at any given time. The fact that this is happening during the rapidly escalating climate and extinction crises of 2021 makes this political failure even more unbearable,” said Sierra Club BC Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner Jens Wieting.

Almost a year has passed since the B.C. government committed to protecting endangered old-growth ecosystems yet almost all at-risk forests remain open to logging.

“The lack of action, funding and proper timelines for the implementation of B.C.’s Old Growth Panel recommendations is resulting in battlegrounds like Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek), where land and water defenders are putting their wellbeing on the line to do what Horgan’s government promised to do. We are calling for an immediate halt to the violence against youth and others courageously standing up for our collective future, and demand that all levels of government act swiftly and meaningfully to protect old-growth forests in this time of climate emergency,” added Askew.

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Media contacts:

Hannah Askew, Executive Director | Sierra Club BC
hannah@sierraclub.bc.ca, (604) 880-6286

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner | Sierra Club BC
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca, (604) 354-5312

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)

Independent Advisory Panel could be turning point for the fate of at-risk old-growth forests

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Immediate deferrals, political will and funding will determine success

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

June 24, 2021 

Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) (VANCOUVER, BC) — Sierra Club BC believes the creation of an independent Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel, which was announced by the B.C. government today, could be a turning point for the fate of at-risk old-growth forests amid a delayed implementation of the promised paradigm-shift in forest stewardship in B.C. Overcoming this government’s history of ignoring the best-available science and playing politics with advisory boards will require political will and clear direction.  

“Last fall, the B.C. government promised to implement a paradigm-shift in forest stewardship, but to date it has failed to deliver the most pressing first step – to stop the bleeding and use interim mechanisms to ensure the most endangered old-growth forests are not being logged while forest management in B.C. shifts from a focus on timber values to one of respecting ecological limits,” said Sierra Club BC Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner Jens Wieting. 

“This advisory panel combined with leadership from the B.C. government will allow the province to implement a precautionary approach. This requires deferring logging in all at-risk forests in the short-term to buy time to work with Indigenous decision makers on long-term designations that respect Indigenous rights and title. Speeding up change on the ground also requires funding for Indigenous-led conservation solutions and a just transition for forestry workers,” added Wieting. 

“It’s hard to get excited about steps like this when this government has gone from talk and log politics to predatory delay.  Out of one side of their mouth, they hide behind First Nations, while out the other side they actively push old-growth forest referrals through band offices and profit off of BC Timber Sales logging in territories they don’t have consent to operate in.  Science is always celebrated, but political courage is what we need most,” said Sierra Club BC Coastal Projects Lead Mark Worthing. 

”The unprecedented heatwave currently enveloping Turtle Island is a brutal reminder of how little time we have to safeguard what remains intact of our best ally in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crisis. Intact, carbon-rich, resilient old-growth forests are our best defense against the ravages of climate change such as heatwaves, drought and wildfires. The web of life that depends on these forests cannot withstand more industrial devastation combined with climate change impacts,” added Wieting.  

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For more information about the B.C. governments’ independent Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel go here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021FLNRO0043-001225


Media contacts:

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner | Sierra Club BC
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca, (604) 354-5312

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

Photo by TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance

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