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

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

September 8, 2022

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.

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.”

Giant old-growth clearcut in a proposed deferral area. Photo credit: Alex Tsui, Wilderness Committee

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.

Wilderness Committee National Campaign Director Torrance Coste standing on an old-growth stump in a clearcut in a deferral area. Photo credit: Alex Tsui, Wilderness Committee

“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.

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View the full report card here.
View photos for press here.

 

For more information, please contact:

Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee
torrance@wildernesscommittee.org

Tegan Hansen, Senior Forest Campaigner, Stand.earth
tegan@stand.earth

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner/Science Advisor, Sierra Club BC
604-354 5312, jens@sierraclub.bc.ca

TJ Watt, Campaigner and Photographer, Ancient Forest Alliance
tj@ancientforestalliance.org

 

Enviro groups sue federal government for failing to protect at-risk migratory birds

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Federal environment minister’s Protection Statement weakens vital habitat protection provision under Species at Risk Act.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

April 28, 2022 

VANCOUVER/UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES – Environmental groups are suing the federal government for failing to protect the critical habitats of at-risk migratory birds across Canada. This includes the threatened marbled murrelet, a seabird that relies on coastal old growth forest for nesting in British Columbia.

The lawsuit, which Ecojustice filed in Federal Court on behalf of Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee, alleges that Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault is failing to meet his statutory duties to ensure the protection of habitat necessary for the survival and recovery of at-risk migratory birds.

At issue in the lawsuit is a protection statement issued by Guilbeault. The groups say the statement relies on an overly narrow interpretation of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to limit critical habitat protection for at least 25 at-risk migratory bird species, including the marbled murrelet.

Andhra Azevedo, lawyer, Ecojustice said:

“The Protection Statement issued by Minister Guilbeault sets a dangerously narrow interpretation of the federal government’s duty to protect critical habitat of at-risk migratory birds under SARA. It only protects migratory bird nests, not any other parts of the habitat necessary for the survival and recovery of at-risk migratory birds. This threatens the survival of vulnerable species, like the marbled murrelet, who face increasing threats of habitat loss from both natural and human-caused threats like the logging of old growth forests and the impacts of climate change.

“The Species at Risk Act plays a critical role in protecting endangered and threatened species and their habitats. A robust interpretation of the Act is essential to protect and restore vulnerable species and their habitats and hold those who damage habitat to account.

“In the face of the mounting biodiversity crisis, it is imperative the federal government protect critical forest habitat to support the recovery of at-risk species, including the marbled murrelet.”

 Charlotte Dawe, Conservation and Policy Campaigner, Wilderness Committee said:

“It’s a no-brainer that species at risk need habitat to survive and recover. When the federal government fumbles and fails to follow their own law, endangered wildlife pay the price. Marbled murrelets and many other species have paid that price time and time again. Now we’re taking action to stop this from ever happening again.”

“The alarm bells are ringing — we’re in the middle biodiversity crisis. We need to strengthen laws that protect species at risk. This protection statement will only allow for more habitat loss. It’s a massive step in the wrong direction when we can afford it the least.”

“What good is a law to protect species at risk if it doesn’t protect the habitat wildlife needs to survive? The new statement is equivalent to protecting a bed in someone’s home while setting the rest of it on fire and expecting that person to carry on like nothing’s wrong.”

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner, Sierra Club BC said: 

“The sixth extinction is accelerating globally, in Canada and in BC, largely driven by habitat destruction, now exacerbated by the climate crisis. We need every level of government to do their part to stop the unraveling of the web of life as we know it. Legislation and its interpretation must be based on the habitat needs of Marbled Murrelets and other species for their survival, not wishful thinking. The regulatory landscape needs strengthening today, not tomorrow.”

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More about this lawsuit 

Habitat loss is the main cause of decline for more than 95 per cent of at-risk species on land. Protecting threatened and endangered bird species requires protecting the ecosystems they depend upon for survival and recovery, including forests and other wildlands.

Under SARA, the minister is required to ensure protection of critical habitat for at-risk migratory birds on provincial lands to which the Migratory Bird Convention Act (MBCA) applies. However, the minister has taken the position that the federal government has no obligation to protect anything other than bird nests on provincial lands.

This is bad news for all at-risk migratory birds in Canada. Among these is the marbled murrelet, a small, threatened, migratory seabird that nests high in the mossy branches of old growth trees in British Columbia. The birds only approach or leave their nests under the cover of darkness, making the nests nearly impossible to find and difficult to protect.

The main threat to the marbled murrelet’s survival and recovery is logging of their nesting habitat. Surveys conducted in some of the last intact old-growth areas on Southern Vancouver Island in 2021 revealed over 300 marbled murrelet detections overtop of a proposed cutblock in the Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) watershed on Pacheedaht territory. This habitat was outside the deferral area and was set to be logged by Teal-Jones Group. No action was taken to stop logging because the nests themselves could not be identified. The cutblock was logged roughly a week after the federal and provincial governments were notified of the marbled murrelet detections.

Plant and animal species are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem. When a species like the marbled murrelet becomes threatened, it is a sign the ecosystem is deteriorating. Each species that is lost triggers spillover effects within its ecosystem, including the loss of other species.

B.C. is the most biodiverse province in Canada and the one with the most species at-risk. These two facts are linked. The province is one of the few in Canada without specific legislation to protect endangered species, which leaves B.C.’s biodiversity virtually unprotected and vulnerable to the impacts of logging, mining, and other industrial activities. This makes the federal government’s responsibility under SARA to protect critical habitat of at-risk species in the province all the more important.

Recent years have seen a rise in tangible habitat threats such as wildfires, heatwaves, and the logging of old growth forests, leaving endangered species increasingly vulnerable to extinction. A recent analysis of 492 wildlife species protected under SARA found that the status of 64 per cent of them has not improved, while the status of 18 per cent has worsened. By allowing the continued destruction of critical habitat for at risk species, the government is accelerating the biodiversity crisis.

This case has larger implications for habitat protection for bird species across Canada. If the groups are successful, the federal government would have to take steps to ensure protection of the habitat and ecosystems bird species are embedded in, rather than just applying often-ineffective measures to protect nests. This could in turn lead to the protection of more old growth forests and other habitat important to migratory birds.

About 

Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change, and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions and law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax.  

Sierra Club BC is an environmental non-profit working to support people stewarding abundant ecosystems and a stable climate, while building resilient, equitable communities. The organization strives to do this by upholding Indigenous rights and title, reconnecting children and youth with nature, supporting grassroots-led climate action, and advocating for old growth protection, a rapid shift away from fossil fuels and a just transition for industry workers. 

Wilderness Committee protects life-giving biological diversity in Canada through strategic research, community mobilizing and grassroots public education. As the people powered wilderness preservation group, we unite 60,000 supporters, volunteers and activists from coast to coast to coast, working together to preserve wilderness, protect wildlife, defend parks, safeguard public resources and fight for a stable and healthy climate. We have offices in Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg and Toronto.

For more information, please contact:

Zoryana Cherwick, Communications Specialist | Ecojustice
1-800-926-7744 ext. 277,  zcherwick@ecojustice.ca

Charlotte Dawe, Conservation and Policy Campaigner | Wilderness Committee
778-683-8220, charlotte@wildernsscommittee.org

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

 

 

Photo: A marbled murrelet chick by Aaron Allred.

New Report: British Columbia’s bear dens need urgent protection

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Environmental groups, First Nations and tourism sector call for legal protection of bear dens across B.C. as old-growth den habitats continue to be destroyed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

April 27, 2022 

Unceded Lekwungen Territories (VICTORIA, BC) — As bears emerge this spring from their winter denning sites, environmental groups, First Nations and members of the tourism sector are calling on the British Columbia government to formally protect grizzly and black bear dens and ensure viable habitat is available for a healthy bear population across the province.

In a new report developed by the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre, researchers have identified simple yet effective policy measures requiring minor amendments to the Wildlife Act that could provide provincial-scale protection for bear dens and practical guidelines for landscape-level planning and management on the ground.

Recent studies have shown a decline in black bear denning sites across the province, with research showing that black bears on Vancouver Island are some of the most affected. Black bears on Vancouver Island rely heavily on dens associated with standing and downed large-diameter trees most commonly found in old-growth forests. However, a century of logging these forests has greatly reduced the supply of suitable denning trees on Vancouver Island and other parts of the province.

“Bears are one of our closest forest relatives that have taught Kwakwaka’wakw people many lessons over time. Old-growth logging has been steadily destroying the homes of our t̕ła’yi (black bears). It’s time the province disavows the destruction of bear dens and takes responsibility for their protection,” said Rande Cook, Giǥa̱me’ ‘Ma̱kwa̱la, Ma’a̱mtagila and ‘Na̱mǥis First Nation.

“The fact that we still have no province-wide legal protection for bear dens is a shocking policy gap that should have been resolved years ago. It’s also a small step the B.C. government could take in the short term while the work continues on implementing the promised paradigm shift in forest stewardship. This is an easy and simple opportunity where everyone can agree that protecting bears’ homes is necessary for their long-term wellbeing,” said Mark Worthing, Coastal Projects Lead at Sierra Club BC.

“Bear dens are nurseries for bears⁠—as essential to cubs as nests are for birds. Cubs can only be born and successfully raised in safe, secure den sites that protect them from weather and predation. Yet specific legal protections for black bear dens only exist on Haida Gwaii and the Great Bear Rainforest where First Nations have demanded such protections. We now need a law to protect bears across the province from heedless logging,” said Calvin Sandborn, Senior Counsel at the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre.

Research has also found that dens in second-growth forests are decaying and will not be replaced because new logging is permitted long before the large-diameter trees suitable for dens have a chance to develop. As this new report states, the B.C. government has enough evidence of the decline of bear habitat to justify regulations that protect this habitat in an enforceable way, across the entire province.

“Moving forward with province-wide protection of black bear dens is overdue. This is not just about the necessity to stop logging old-growth den trees. All den types require protection. We need to start thinking about recruiting black bear den cavities by replacing big trees, especially in the most heavily logged coastal and interior wet belt landscapes,” said Tony Hamilton, former Large Carnivore Specialist at the B.C. Ministry of Environment.

“Protecting bear dens in British Columbia is vital because dens are paramount to species’ survival. As critical keystone species, their decline negatively impacts other species and can contribute to the eventual degradation of intact ecosystems. For bear viewing to continue, we know we need to continue to work diligently to protect these species, and protection starts with dens,” said Katherine MacRae, Executive Director of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association.

“Logging and other forms of resource extraction as they’re practiced today often threaten wildlife throughout the province. Den protection is an important part of keeping healthy, ecologically functioning black bear populations on the landscape,” said Thomas Knowles, Project Director at Echo Conservation.

“I have long believed in the need for legal protection of bear dens in B.C. The scientific research supports this need. It is gratifying to have others come to the same conclusion and I hope the B.C. government acts on the mechanisms suggested in the report,” said Helen Davis, Registered Professional Biologist at Artemis Wildlife Consultants.

The ongoing destruction of bear dens across many parts of the province is a dramatic example of the biodiversity crisis in B.C., particularly for species that depend on intact forests. In 2020, Premier Horgan promised to implement all recommendations made by the Old Growth Review Panel, including to “declare conservation of ecosystem health and biodiversity of British Columbia’s forests as an overarching priority and enact legislation that legally establishes this priority for all sectors.” (Recommendation 2). Province-wide regulation that protects bear dens can be rolled out immediately as efforts to implement Indigenous-led conservation solutions to protect all at-risk ecosystems and endangered species habitats continue.

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Link to ELC Report on Protecting Bear Dens

Link to Forest Practices Board Report on Bear Dens

Link to bear dens change.org petition

Link to photo gallery/media

 

For more information, please contact:

Mark Worthing | Coastal Projects Lead, Sierra Club BC
250-8893575 | mark@sierraclub.bc.ca

Calvin Sandborn | Senior Counsel, UVic Environmental Law Centre
250-472-5248 | csandbor@uvic.ca

Tony Hamilton | Former Large Carnivore Specialist, BC Ministry of Environment
250-818-4931 | Hamilton.Anthony.Neil@gmail.com

Kathy MacRae | Executive Director, Commercial Bear Viewing Association
604-762-7751 | kathy@bearviewing.ca

Thomas Knowles | Project Director, Echo Conservation
thomas@echoconservation.org

Helen Davis | Registered Professional Biologist, Artemis Wildlife Consultants
hdavis@artemiswildlife.com

 

 

Photo: Artemis Wildlife Consultants

New evidence shows logging and cutting permits in proposed old growth deferral areas

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2022

VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) – B.C. groups are releasing new evidence of ongoing logging and pending cut permits in proposed old growth deferral areas in the province.

Conservation North, Sierra Club BC, Stand.earth, Wilderness Committee, and Wildsight are calling on the province to immediately issue deferral orders for ongoing and planned logging in at-risk old growth forests, as well as to increase and expedite funding to First Nations and forest communities to support the transition from old growth logging.

In the absence of deferrals, cutting permits have recently been submitted for priority deferral areas in the Inland Temperate Rainforest. Wildsight has called on the province to immediately defer logging in 19 pending cutblocks from Downie Timber in the Wood River area north of Golden, which overlap important caribou habitat and old growth deferrals by more than 174 hectares.

“The Cutting Permit in the Wood River is a major test to the province’s public credibility on old growth,” said Eddie Petryshen, Conservation Specialist at Wildsight. “Deferring harvest and implementing legal deferrals here will set an important precedent for old growth protection.”

Upcoming research from Stand.earth Research Group (SRG) has identified multiple old growth deferral areas that were logged between March 2021 and March 2022, totalling an estimated 520 hectares of deferrals. Using satellite data from Planet Labs, this initial research, focused on Northern Vancouver Island and the Central Interior, found 43 deferral areas had been partially or mostly logged, including areas near 100 Mile House logged by West Fraser since November. In total, the study identified about 120 hectares of old growth logged after the province released maps of deferral areas on November 2, 2021.

“While Minister Katrine Conroy told us companies were acting in good faith, West Fraser and others continued to log old growth forests that had been marked for deferral,” said Tegan Hansen, Forest Campaigner at Stand.earth. “We cannot entrust the future of these irreplaceable forests to logging companies that profit from cutting them down.”

The logging identified in the initial research has overwhelmingly occurred in big-treed old growth forests (95%), one of three categories prioritized for logging deferrals by the province’s old growth Technical Advisory Panel (TAP). The majority of old growth forests mapped for deferral are in the B.C. interior, with many high-risk areas being in the Northern Wetbelt, an ecosystem ranked by scientists as Endangered under IUCN Red List criteria.

“We have evidence from satellite imagery that licensees have been clearcutting endangered northern old growth spruce forests in the Interior Wetbelt that were within deferral areas identified by the TAP,” said Michelle Connolly, Director of Conservation North.

On Northern Vancouver Island, Sierra Club BC confirmed ongoing destruction of the last productive big-tree old growth ecosystems remaining in Kwakwaka’wakw territory, using satellite and on-the-ground reconnaissance. Productive old-growth forests in the North Island have been disproportionately logged in past decades. This has resulted in an ecological emergency and requires government ground-truthing to confirm old-growth forests that require immediate deferral.

The Technical Advisory Panel mapped 5 million hectares of unprotected at-risk old-growth forests across B.C. and recommended 2.6 million hectares for immediate initial deferrals. Sierra Club BC found active and recent logging in at-risk old growth areas that should have been identified as candidates for immediate deferrals. Also new gates restricting public access to active logging operations in some of these at-risk old-growth deferral areas are cause for concern.

“Both Western Forest Products and BC Timber Sales are attempting to convince the public that they are forest stewards,” said Mark Worthing, Coastal Projects Lead at Sierra Club BC. “The reality is the opposite. Our findings suggest that unless the B.C. government respects Indigenous governance decisions and takes action now, both companies will continue to take advantage of every opportunity to log ancient cedars older than 500 years like the ones that we found last week.”

On Friday, April 1 Forests Minister Katrine Conroy presented new figures about the amount of old growth that has been recently deferred, and stressed that logging companies are acting in good faith to pause logging while the process unfolds. Conservation North, Sierra Club BC, Stand.earth, Wilderness Committee, and Wildsight welcome any progress to implement logging deferrals, but are calling for both more urgency and transparency around this process. In December the Wilderness Committee mapped approved cutblocks in tens of thousands of hectares of at-risk old-growth earmarked for deferral, and there is very little clarity on which of those areas remain under threat and which are deferred for now.

“The public has a right to know which endangered old growth are getting a temporary reprieve and which ones are getting destroyed,” said Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee. “The fate of these forests matters to everyone in the province and a true paradigm shift requires far more transparency from the BC NDP government.”

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Images and documentation can be accessed here and here.

Media contacts:

Ziona Eyob, Media Director – Canada, Stand.earth
+1 604-757-7279 (Pacific Time), canadamedia@stand.earth

Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee
250-516-9900, torrance@wildernesscommittee.org

Eddie Petryshen, Conservation Specialist, Wildsight
250-427-9885, eddie@wildsight.ca

Mark Worthing, Coastal Projects Lead, Sierra Club BC
1-250-889-3575, mark@sierraclub.bc.ca

Michelle Connolly, Conservation North
778-349-3667, michelle.connolly@alumni.unbc.ca

 

Featured image is an over 900-year-old tree that was logged in Kwakwaka’wakw territory right before the deferral maps were publicly released (Mya Van Woudenberg/Sierra Club BC).

BC not on track to meet milestones for old-growth, First Nations and forestry transition

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

March 11, 2021

Environmental organizations issue report card six months after publication of Old-Growth Panel Recommendations. 

“VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) — Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee issued a report card today assessing the B.C. government’s progress on protecting old-growth forests. Today marks exactly six months since the provincial government published the report from its independent old-growth panel. Premier John Horgan promised to implement the panel’s recommendations “in their totality” shortly after.

2021_Old-Growth_ReportCard_Final

The panel called for a paradigm-shift to safeguard the biodiversity of forests in B.C. with a three-year framework, including logging deferrals for all at-risk old-growth forests within the first six months. Half a year later almost all at-risk forests remain open for logging and the B.C. government has not developed a plan with milestone dates and funding.

“Government promised a ‘new direction’ for old-growth forests and then spent six months dragging its heels and refusing to protect the most endangered stands,” said Andrea Inness, campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance. “The government published the recommendations six months ago, but it received the report containing them on April 30, 2020 — by any measure they’ve missed this crucial deadline.”

Endangered old-growth stands across the province continue to be targeted by logging companies and the exact forests the panel called for urgent action to protect are being lost. At the same time, the lack of a concrete plan is leaving First Nations and forestry workers with uncertainty about whether conservation, economic diversification and the transition to sustainable second-growth forestry will be adequately funded.

“As long as we continue to rely on a dwindling supply of endangered old-growth forests, B.C.’s forest sector will continue to face uncertainty and instability,” said Cam Shiell, environmental sustainability officer with the Public and Private Workers of Canada, a union that represents thousands of workers in the B.C. forest industry.

“The provincial government can’t delay action any longer, it must take meaningful steps to protect old-growth forests, lead the transition to sustainable, value-added second-growth forestry and create the forest industry of the future.”

The organizations’ report card grades progress on five key areas related to the 14 recommendations: immediate action for at-risk forests (D), three-year work plan with milestone dates (F), charting a new course prioritizing ecosystem integrity and biodiversity (F), funding for implementation, First nations conservation and forestry transition plans (F) and transparency and communication (F).

“Promising a new direction and then avoiding any meaningful action to ensure the most at-risk old-growth forests are protected is not a ‘paradigm shift,’ it’s the same old talk and log,” said Jens Wieting, forest and climate campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “The evidence is clear: Premier Horgan’s government is likely the last one with a chance to save the last old-growth forests as a legacy for future generations.”

In its initial response in September, the province acknowledged status quo management of old-growth forests had “caused a loss of biodiversity,” recognized the “need to do better” and announced nine deferral areas encompassing 353,000 hectares. Horgan and the BC NDP have claimed these deferrals ‘protected old-growth,’ but a closer review revealed most of this area is either already under some form of protection or is second-growth forest and still open to logging.

According to independent experts, as of 2020, only about 415,000 hectares of old-growth forest with big trees remain in B.C., mostly without protection. Only 3,800 hectares or one per cent of the remaining fraction of this kind of forest was included in the government’s deferral areas. Old-growth logging continues at an average rate of hundreds of soccer fields per day, always targeting the biggest accessible trees that remain.

The old-growth panel report found broad agreement for a paradigm-shift to respond to the biodiversity crisis in B.C.’s forests which reflects polling results showing more than 90 per cent support for old-growth protection. The lack of social license or free, prior and informed consent for continued old-growth logging in the province is also highlighted by the ongoing blockades at Fairy Creek on unceded Pacheedaht territory (southern Vancouver Island), which have been in place for seven months.

“Nothing the Horgan government has done so far is preventing the most endangered old-growth forests in the province from being mowed down, and the public knows it,” said Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee. “The BC government must immediately defer logging in at-risk old-growth and commit substantial funding to support the economic diversification of First Nations and forestry communities to ensure the long-term sustainability of both jobs and the environment.”

Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee will continue to mobilize their tens of thousands of supporters and hold the government accountable for its old-growth promises. The next report card will be issued on Sep. 11, 2021.

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For background and additional information click here.

For more information, please contact:

Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee
torrance@wildernesscommittee.org

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner/Science Advisor, Sierra Club BC
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca

Andrea Inness, Campaigner, Ancient Forest Alliance
andrea@ancientforestalliance.org

 

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