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Sierra Club BC reacts to court decision on Fairy Creek injunction application by Teal Jones

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Sierra Club BC statement in response to today’s court decision on the injunction application by logging company Teal-Jones Group to remove Fairy Creek/Ada’itsx forest defenders.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 1, 2021

Sierra Club BC is calling on the B.C. government to speed up solutions to avert imminent risk of losing irreplaceable at-risk ecosystems after court grants injunction to Teal-Jones logging company, clearing the path to clearcutting in one of the last intact old-growth areas on Vancouver Island.

“The confrontation between logging company Teal-Jones and forest defenders in court is the result of the ongoing failure of the provincial government to follow through on their promise and deliver solutions to protect globally rare and endangered old-growth forest like the spectacularly intact Fairy Creek rainforest in Pacheedaht territory,” said Sierra Club BC senior forest and climate campaigner Jens Wieting.

“This whole issue is a continuation of the provincial government pitting Indigenous bands (as defined by the Indian Act) against the people making up the Nations that those bands are said to govern. This is the same colonial government that removes Indigenous people from the land and diminishes their ability to be self-sustaining by way of displacement. These policies coerce Indigenous Nations to choose between financial impoverishment and the impoverishment of land and resources,” said Ma̱k’wa̱la – Dakota Smith, Sierra Club BC’s forest relations coordinator.

“Without leadership from the provincial government, including adequate funding to First Nations and forestry dependent communities that currently see no alternative to logging the last old-growth trees for short-term relief, there is no hope for the promised paradigm-shift in forest management,” added Wieting. “Support for Indigenous-led conservation solutions and transition in the forestry sector is paramount to give communities a real choice, prepare for the inevitable end of old-growth logging and to safeguard natural life support systems that we have brought so close to collapse.”

Earlier this month, Sierra Club BC partnered with Ancient Forest Alliance and Wilderness Committee to issue a report card assessing the B.C. government’s progress on protecting old-growth forests. March 11, 2021 marked exactly six months since the provincial government published the report from its independent old-growth panel, followed by the promise of Premier John Horgan to implement the panel’s recommendations in “totality”.

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, 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.

Meanwhile, the province is locking in species extirpation, climate disaster and new conflict by auctioning new cutblocks in old-growth forests through its own agency, BC Timber Sales, including 927 hectares on Vancouver Island alone in 2021.

“Once again, our government has made promises it chooses not to fulfill. This time it not only failed its Indigenous constituents, but also forestry workers, specifically loggers, by refusing to take swift action. This failure will leave the Indigenous Nations here without access to traditional regalia and canoes. It will also leave the next generation of forestry workers in an unstable job sector,” added Ma̱k’wa̱la – Dakota Smith.

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Information about the March 11 report card and a backgrounder can be found here


Media contacts:

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

Ma̱k’wa̱la – Dakota Smith, Forest Relations Coordinator | Sierra Club BC
makwala@sierraclub.bc.ca, (250) 514-7800

 

Photo by TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance

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

 

Critical report shows current BC logging practices increase climate disaster risks for BC communities

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Forest conservation, forestry reforms, and Indigenous expertise and knowledge are urgently needed to mitigate climate disaster risks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 1, 2021

Unceded Coast Salish Territories (VANCOUVER, BC) — A new independent report commissioned by Sierra Club BC looks at the relationship between forest management and severe climate impacts expected across B.C. It shows that governments can mitigate climate related disasters like flooding, droughts, fires and heatwaves by swiftly reforming B.C.’s forestry practices, applying Indigenous knowledge to forest-related decisions, and protecting and restoring intact forests, before the climate crisis worsens.

Written by Dr. Peter Wood, the ‘Intact forests, safe communities’ report found that industrial logging has a significant impact on the severity and frequency of climate risks for B.C. communities. Of the 15 climate risks identified in B.C.’s 2019 Strategic Climate Risk Assessment, the majority are influenced by logging. The BC Climate Risk Assessment outlined how several of these risks have the potential to create catastrophic impacts.

B.C.’s assessment did not consider the ways that logging worsens climate risks, presenting a major blind spot that could undermine the effectiveness of the Province’s response to global heating. In order to support the health and safety of B.C. communities, it is critical that the BC Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy, now under development, include measures to protect intact forests and reform forestry practices. The best way to accomplish this is by implementing all of the recommendations from the 2020 Old Growth Strategic Review.

“The science is clear that clearcutting increases the frequency and intensity of forest fires. We also know it increases both the risk of flooding and periods of drought, as well as erosion and slope instability, which increase the likelihood of landslides,” explained Dr. Peter Wood, the author of the report. “In contrast, old intact forests act as a moderating influence on the landscape, supporting ecosystem function and resilience, and lowering risk to surrounding communities.”

“The climate crisis impacts us all, but it particularly has devastating repercussions for vulnerable and marginalized people, including First Nations across the province, many who have limited capacity and resources to respond to climate disasters and whose territories are high-risk areas that corporations and governments seek to develop,” stated Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.

“UBCIC endorsed Resolution 2020-23 to call on the government to involve Indigenous people in decisions related to forestry management, including the protection of old-growth forests, as they not only have a vested interest in protecting and stewarding the land that they have maintained spiritual and cultural ties to since time immemorial, but many Nations depend on forestry for their livelihoods and must be able to help guide BC’s transition to more sustainable and conservation-based practices,” added Phillip.

“The climate crisis puts the health and safety of communities in danger, and clearcut logging is making things worse,” said Sierra Club BC’s Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner Jens Wieting.

“It doesn’t need to be this way. Immediately deferring logging in at-risk old-growth forests and implementing the promised paradigm shift to forest management can reduce climate risks, if we move quickly. Remaining old-growth must be protected, and forest that has already been degraded by logging can be restored to increase resiliency,” added Wieting.

Premier John Horgan has committed to implementing all of the recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review; however, the B.C. government has yet to implement interim protection for all at-risk forests, provide the necessary funding, and disclose a timetable for how they will live up to this commitment.

The ‘Intact forests, safe communities’ report emphasized that the provincial government must work with Indigenous decision-makers to incorporate Indigenous perspectives, cultural values, and knowledge into forest management decisions to mitigate risks.

“First Nations have long been lobbying the B.C. government to recognize their right to manage the forest in their territories and to protect their sacred sites, old-growth ecosystems that support medicinal plants, and habitat for wildlife and birds. Through management of their forests, they would keep healthy forests with high environmental standards. This report reflects what First Nations have always known, that the provincial governments must change the way they manage forests immediately,” stated Kekinusuqs, Dr. Judith Sayers, President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.

“We are entering a new era of climate emergency and forest management must be adapted to mitigate many of the risks,” said Wieting.

“This is an opportunity to transition to a more sustainable model of forestry that is jointly designed with First Nations and build more resilient communities. However, time is running out, as these threats will only increase in magnitude with further warming and logging of intact forest.”

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• Download the ‘Intact forests, safe communities’ report here
• Download photos and infographics related to the report here


Media contacts:

Peter Wood, Report Author | PhD in Forestry from the University of Toronto
peterjwood@gmail.com, (604) 761-3075

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip | President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs
(250) 490-5314

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

 

Photo by U.S. Forest Service – Pacific Northwest Region

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