fbpx

Tag Archive for: old growth

Posts

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

/in , , , /by

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.”

-30-

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

/in , , , , /by

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.  

-30-

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

Sierra Club BC reacts to Premier Horgan’s Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek and Central Walbran deferral announcement

/in , , , , /by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

June 9, 2021 

Sierra Club BC Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner Jens Wieting offers the following statement in response to today’s deferral announcements. 

“Hearing first from the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations and now from the province that old-growth logging will be deferred for two years in the Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek watershed and the Central Walbran gives us a glimpse of hope for two small but highly endangered old-growth forest areas on Vancouver Island. 

“But studying the maps shared today by the B.C. government is a sobering experience and shows a consistent pattern: Minimize conservation, even temporary deferrals, to the absolute minimum; defend timber access as much as possible. 

“Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek is a dramatic example for this pattern, with hundreds of hectares of intact contiguous old-growth adjacent to the watershed left out of the deferral area. The province even insisted on creating a Zone B to allow for some degree of logging in the watershed.  

“The BC NDP government shows great creativity to defend business as usual and almost none when it comes to enabling communities and First Nations to protect the last old-growth forests. 

“At the current pace, the B.C. government will not be able to win the race to save what’s left and restore what’s damaged for future generations. The April 2020 old-growth panel recommendations included one indispensable step that came with an expiry date – defer logging in all at-risk old-growth forests within six months. Any further delay would be irresponsible.  

“In May, after a year of almost no action to protect at-risk forests, a group of independent experts shared a map with the province that used criteria from the old-growth panel report to identify the most endangered forests that need immediate deferrals from logging. Their maps show 1.3 million hectares of forests that need interim protection, 2.6 percent of all forests in B.C.  

“Today’s deferral announcement for Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek and Central Walbran adds up to 2,000 hectares or 0.15 percent of the forests that need interim protection. Almost all at-risk forests across the province remain open for logging, including thousands of hectares on Southern Vancouver Island.” 

-30-

For more information about the deferral map developed by independent experts go here: https://sierraclub.bc.ca/new-map-of-at-risk-old-growth-forests-in-bc-is-a-first-step/ 


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

Vast Majority (85%) of British Columbians Want Action for Old-Growth Forests; Only 16% Think BC NDP Has Done a Good Job Protecting Them

/in , , , /by

74% support doubling protection of provincial lands; strong opposition against using trees as pellets and raw log exports.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 4, 2021

Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) (VANCOUVER, BC) — Sierra Club BC and Insights West partnered to examine public perceptions of several ecological and social issues in British Columbia, particularly forest related issues.

We found that the vast majority of B.C. residents (85%) want the provincial government to follow through on their election promise to implement all of the recommendations from the independent Old-Growth Panel Review, including:

• Deferring logging of all at-risk old-growth forests within 6 months
• Working with Indigenous governments on the implementation of all recommendations
• A shift in forest management towards a focus on biodiversity protection
• Developing a transition plan to help the forestry industry with the needed changes.

A large majority (85%) of British Columbians feel that it is important that the BC NDP government keeps these promises (55% say it’s ‘very important’ and 30% ‘somewhat important’). Six in ten (60%) are aware of the promises made.

Only 16% of B.C. residents say the government has done a ‘very good’ (2%) or ‘good’ (14%) job in keeping this election promise. More than double that number (40%) think they have done a bad job and 45% are unsure.

Looking at a range of issues, a majority of British Columbians are very concerned about the destruction of old-growth forests in B.C., they are also opposed to the practice of exporting raw logs, as well as to whole trees being made into pellets for energy production and logging of old-growth forests in general. Almost three-quarters support doubling protection of provincial lands to 30% by 2030.

Relative to other social and environmental issues, concern about forestry-related issues rate highly among British Columbians. COVID-19, poverty and declining salmon stocks are at the top (86%), followed closely by endangered species/ecosystems (84%), the opioid crisis (81%) and logging of old-growth forests (78%), single-use plastics (77%), climate change (76%), the impact of logging on climate change and nature (76%), systemic racism (73%) and raw log exports (68%).

When British Columbians are asked to rate the job the provincial government is doing on these issues, it is clear that COVID-19 is the only instance where the majority feels they are doing a good job (58%). On some issues – like climate change, single-use plastics and systematic racism – British Columbians are split on giving the government good and bad scores.

In contrast, the BC NDP government receives the lowest positive scores on their performance around forestry and ecosystem related issues like raw log exports 38% negative, 12% positive; declining salmon stocks, 39% negative, 15% positive; logging of old-growth forests 42% negative, 18% positive; impact of logging on nature and climate 39% negative, 20% positive; and endangered species and at-risk ecosystems 36% negative, 23% positive.

A global initiative called High Ambition Coalition for People and Nature supported by more than 50 countries, including Canada, aims to protect 30% of lands and oceans by 2030 to conserve nature, halt biodiversity loss, tackle climate change and encourage sustainability. Currently, 15% of lands in B.C. have protection and the province has not yet committed to any new target. The vast majority of B.C. residents (74%) support doubling protection to 30% and only 16% are opposed.

The survey also covered a forestry topic that few British Columbians are aware of, logging whole trees in B.C. to turn them into wood pellets and burn them as an energy source. The polling indicates that only 40% of B.C. residents are aware of the issue but the majority (66%) are against this practice; only 13% support it and 21% are not sure.

“These polling results show very clearly that the escalating frustration and despair about logging of the last old-growth forests for short-term profit is shared by the vast majority of British Columbians who want the provincial government to follow through on their promises without further delay,” said Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner for Sierra Club BC.

“British Columbians are more concerned than ever about threats to the web of life and lack of action for future generations. They are dismayed by the irresponsible talk-and-log approach to old-growth and expect leadership for a just transition towards truly sustainable jobs that respect ecological limits. They understand that there are severe challenges beyond covid, like the climate and extinction crisis that requires immediate action today, not tomorrow.”

-30-

About this poll:

Results are based on an online study conducted by Insights West Marketing Research May 12 to 15, 2021 among a sample of 831 residents across B.C. Respondents are part of Insights West’s Feedback Community, a panel of B.C. residents recruited from a variety of sources and backgrounds who share their views and opinions on an ongoing basis, and from other panels provided by partner providers. The margin of error with the total sample – which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies between totals are due to rounding. Click HERE to view the detailed data tabulations.

Media contacts:

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

Steve Mossop, President | Insights West
stevemossop@insightswest.com, (778) 891-4762

 

Featured photo: TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance

MENU