Ancient Forest Alliance

B.C. backs off on changes to licensing forest lands

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The provincial government has backed away from a plan that critics claim would have radically reduced public control of forest land.

Conservationists, who were girding for a full-fledged fight over proposed changes to the Forest Act, reacted with delight Tuesday after Forests Minister Steve Thomson said he was withdrawing plans to allow a rollover of volume-based forest licences to area-based tree farm licences.

The backdown appears to be sparked by a massive public uproar, said Ancient Forest Alliance executive director Ken Wu.

“The forest-giveaway bill would have taken us backward,” he said. “The B.C. Liberals wanted to give a parting gift to the major logging companies before they leave office, but, in this politically sensitive pre-election period, that’s not going to happen now.”

Under a volume-based system, licence holders have the right to a specific volume of timber within an area. Under an area-based system, companies are given exclusive tenure in defined areas.

Critics of the changes said they would increase private property rights for forest companies, making protection harder, First Nations treaty settlements more complicated, and resulting in less land available for other foresters.

The changes were contained in a multi-faceted omnibus bill. Thomson said Tuesday that more public consultation was needed.

Thomson had previously said that, although conversions from forest licences to tree farm licences would have been at the minister’s discretion, there would be public reviews and consultation before changes were made.

Joe Foy of the Wilderness Committee said the proposed changes sparked a flurry of opposition from First Nations, environmentalists, unions, politicians and individuals.

“It really goes to show how much people value our public forests and don’t want to see them fall into corporate hands,” he said.

Greenpeace Canada forest campaigner Eduardo Sousa said the decision to pull the legislation will keep Crown land in the hands of the public and First Nations.

“This means that people remain stewards of the land, and governments, not companies, are responsible for building prosperous communities and protecting our forests,” he said.

Withdrawal of the Forest Act changes will not alter plans for a rally for “ancient forests and forestry jobs” outside the legislature on Saturday at noon, Wu said.
 

B.C. backs off plan that would give private companies more power over Crown forests

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VICTORIA — The B.C. government has backed off on a plan that critics said would have sold out public control over Crown forest land.

Forests Minister Steve Thomson says he’s withdrawn proposed changes to the Forest Act that would have allowed volume-based forest licences to be converted to area-based forest licences, essentially giving private companies more power over government-owned land.

Thomson says it’s become clear more public input is needed on the idea, so the government will conduct broad consultations this summer on the recommendations of a special committee that first proposed the change.

That means nothing will be done until after the May election.

NDP forests critic Norm Macdonald welcomed Thomson’s move.

“The proposed changes were deeply problematic and went in exactly the wrong direction,” MacDonald said in a news release.

“They threatened public control over B.C.’s land base and risked hard-won environmental standards.

“I’m glad to see that the minister listened, not only to what I had to say, but to the concerns of thousands of British Columbians who let the Liberal government know that this was simply unacceptable.”

Independent MLA Bob Simpson also praised the government’s decision to shelve the amendments, saying the Liberals responded to mounting public concerns over plans to make sweeping changes to B.C. forest policy.

He also called for a public inquiry into future forest policy.

“The last inquiry into B.C.’s forests and forest policy was in the 1990s, and given all that’s happened with the mountain pine beetle epidemic, our shrinking timber supply, corporate concentration and control of log supply, and climate change’s threat to our public forests, we need a full public inquiry before considering any forest policy changes,” Simpson said in a statement.

Ken Wu of the environmental group Ancient Forest Alliance is also applauding the Liberals for backing down.

“The BC Liberals wanted to give a ‘parting gift’ to the major logging companies before they leave office, but in this politically sensitive pre-election period that’s not going to happen now — thanks to thousands of people who spoke up and the great work of Bob Simpson,” Wu said in a statement.

Ken Wu

Environmentalists Sigh with Relief as BC Liberals Back Down from “Forest Giveaway Bill” to expand Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s) on Public Lands

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Environmentalists are rejoicing today after the BC Liberal government backed down from its plans to pass enabling legislation to give greater property rights for major logging companies in British Columbia by expanding Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s). Earlier today Forests Minister committed to delete Section 24, the so-called “Forest Giveaway Bill”, from Bill 8, an omnibus bill of miscellaneous statute amendments, after facing huge pressure from concerned citizens through a campaign spearheaded by Independent MLA Bob Simpson and BC environmental organizations. The deletion will occur tomorrow during the committee stage of Bill 8. See MLA Bob Simpson’s media release at: https://www.bobsimpsonmla.ca/independent-mla-calls-for-public-inquiry-into-forest-policy/

“This is good news! The BC Liberals wanted to give a ‘parting gift’ to the major logging companies before they leave office, but in this politically sensitive pre-election period that’s not going to happen now – thanks to thousands of people who spoke up and the great work of Independent MLA Bob Simpson. Simpson was the ‘central clearing house’ for the campaign, providing the main insights for concerned citizens on the government’s proposal, and acting as a battering ram against the proposal from within the legislature. He has clearly demonstrated the power that one determined, independent thinker and politician can be,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Time and time again, British Columbians have spoken up en masse to keep public lands in public hands every time a large scale forest privatization scheme like this has reared its ugly head through successive governments.”

The BC Liberals received thousands of emails in recent weeks, including over 3200 messages from Ancient Forest Alliance supporters through its website www.BCForestMovement.com, protesting the proposal since the government introduced Bill 8 on February 20. In addition, over 1200 people have already pre-confirmed their attendance for this Saturday’s rally for sustainable forestry (12:00 noon, Legislative buildings) being planned by the Ancient Forest Alliance in Victoria, which was originally going to include a focus against the “Forest Giveaway Bill” – but now no longer has to.

The TFL expansion bill would have gone through its second reading today, and would have empowered the Minister of Forests to allow major forest companies to convert their “volume-based” logging rights (ie. in cubic metres) into “area-based” licences or Tree Farm Licences in defined areas tens or hundreds of thousands of hectares in size.

Opponents of the plan argued that increasing private property rights for major logging companies on Crown lands would make it harder to protect forests for wildlife, recreation and scenery; make First Nations treaty settlement more difficult, lengthy and expensive; entrench the overcutting already occurring at the expense of the long term viability of local communities; and diminish the land base available for community forestry and other tenures.

“The Forest Giveaway Bill would have taken us backwards. Now we need to move forward, as the status quo is still highly unsustainable for jobs and the environment. We need to get commitments from both the BC Liberal government and the NDP opposition for strong legislation to protect our endangered old-growth forests, ensure sustainable, value-added second-growth forestry, and to end the export of raw logs to foreign mills,” stated Wu.

Background Info

A Tree Farm Licence (TFL) is a defined geographic area that is tens or hundreds of thousands of hectares in size that confers exclusive logging rights to one logging company on Crown (public) lands. TFL’s currently constitute a minor fraction of BC’s land base, perhaps about 10% of the geographic area and about 20% of the cut. Most of the province’s forests are found in Timber Supply Areas (TSA’s) where no specific geographic area is granted to companies for exclusive logging rights – instead they are given a volume of wood (in cubic meters) through a Forest Licence (FL) that they are allowed to cut within each massive TSA each year in cutblocks planned by the Forest Service.

See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s original media release on the BC Liberal government’s TFL expansion proposal at: See the AFA’s original media release at: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-pine-beetle-used-as-trojan-horse-to-increase-privatization-of-bcs-forests-through-ministerial-fiat-instead-of-democratic-legislative-vote/

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on BC’s politicians to commit to:

– A provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will protect the province’s endangered old-growth forests.
– Ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which now constitute most of BC’s productive forest lands.
– End the export of raw logs to foreign mills.
– Support the retooling of coastal old-growth mills and the development of value-added wood processing facilities to handle second-growth logs.

BC’s old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures. On Vancouver Island, satellite photos show that about 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley-bottom ancient forests where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity resides. Only about 10% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s). See: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

So far the BC Liberal government has been defending continued, large-scale old-growth logging and raw log exports in the province, often citing highly misleading statistics to convey the false message that old-growth forests are not endangered.

The NDP opposition has so far stayed silent on a previous commitment by leader Adrian Dix in 2011 during his leadership bid that he would, “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the Province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans” if elected. See:
[Original article no longer available]

See spectacular old-growth forest photos at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/
and videos at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/videos/

Planned Old-Growth Logging by World Famous Cathedral Grove Highlights Need for New Provincial Forest Policies

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Port Alberni – Conservationists are calling for much stronger, comprehensive old-growth protection policies in BC after having discovered a major logging threat to Canada’s most famous old-growth forest, Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island. Conservationists came across survey tape marked “Falling Boundary” and “Road Location” in an old-growth Douglas fir and hemlock forest only 300 meters from the park boundary last week.  See photos and a map (based on some GPS points) at:  https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=24

The planned cutblock by Island Timberlands is about 40 hectares and lies within an area formerly planned to be protected as an Ungulate (deer) Winter Range. It lies on the southwest facing slope of Mt. Horne on the ridge above the park and highway that millions of tourists pass through each year. Logging the area would further fragment the forest that is contiguous with the small park, destroying an important wildlife corridor from mountain ridge to valley bottom in an area that conservationists once hoped the park could include for the deer winter range. The logging would also threaten eco-tourism in the area, by destroying a major section of the popular hiking trail, the Mt. Horne Loop Trail, which the cutblock overlaps.

“Cathedral Grove is BC’s iconic old-growth forest that people around the world know – it’s like the redwoods of Canada. The fact that a company can just log the mountainside above Canada’s most famous old-growth forest underscores the BC government’s deep failure to take action to protect our ancient forest heritage,” stated TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance. “More than ever we need the BC Liberals and NDP to commit to comprehensive new legislation to protect our old-growth forests on Crown lands, and to create a fund to save endangered ecosystems on private lands.”

The lands are privately owned by Island Timberlands but until recently were regulated to the stronger standards found on public lands. However, in 2004, the BC Liberal government removed 88,000 hectares of Island Timberlands’ private forest lands from their Tree Farm Licences, thereby exempting the area from the intended old-growth, scenic, and wildlife habitat protections, and removing the existing restrictions on raw log exports and real estate development on those lands.

 “The BC government removed the environmental protections on these lands a few years ago and exempted the area from other planned protections, putting these lands in jeopardy. Now they need to clean up this mess by protecting these lands, either by purchasing them or re-regulating them,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance.

“Cathedral Grove is the mascot of old-growth forests in Canada. If we can’t ensure its ecological integrity because of the BC government’s inaction – or complicity – it really gives a black eye to BC’s environmental reputation in the international community,” stated Annette Tanner, chair of the Mid-Island Wilderness Committee, who has led the fight for the ecological integrity of Cathedral Grove for over a decade.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberals and NDP to commit to a provincial plan to protect the province’s old-growth forests, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, and to end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills. For private lands, the organization is calling for a provincial “park acquisition fund” of $40 million/year to purchase endangered ecosystems on private land for protection, similar to the park acquisition funds of various regional districts, like the Capital Regional District around Victoria.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is planning a major “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” this Saturday, March 16 at 12 noon at the Legislative Buildings. Already over 900 people have pre-confirmed their attendance for the rally on their website and almost 400 people via Facebook.  See www.BCForestMovement.com

So far the BC Liberal government has been defending continued, large-scale old-growth logging and raw log exports in the province, often citing highly misleading statistics to convey the false message that old-growth forests are not endangered. They’ve also introduced a bill in the legislature, Bill 8, that would empower the Minister of Forests to give logging companies exclusive logging rights over massive areas of Crown forest lands by converting their “volume-based” logging rights (ie. in cubic metres) into “area-based” licences or Tree Farm Licences. Increasing private property rights for major timber companies on Crown lands is a central bone of contention for the province’s conservation organizations – and a massive fight is underway. See:  https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=564

The NDP opposition has so far stayed silent on a previous commitment by leader Adrian Dix in 2011 during his leadership bid that he would, “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the Province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans” if elected.

See:  https://conservationvoters.ca/past-endorsements/leadership-race-2011/ndp-candidates/adrian-dix

BC’s old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures. On Vancouver Island, satellite photos show that about 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley-bottom ancient forests where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity resides. Only about 10% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s).  

See: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

URGENT: STOP the BC Liberal Government’s Proposed Forest Giveaway THIS WEEK!

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SEND a MESSAGE ASAP to BC’s politicians to rescind the TFL expansion bill at: www.BCForestMovement.com
The BC Liberal government proposes new law to expand Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s) to give major companies exclusive logging rights over vast areas of public forest lands – to the detriment of conservation, communities, and First Nations.
NOTE: The proposed bill could go through its critical 2nd reading THIS WEEK.
Also PLEASE COME to the Sat., Mar. 16 “RALLY for ANCIENT FORESTS and BC FORESTRY JOBS” in Victoria to send the strongest message to BC’s politicians – and recruit as many friends and family to attend! (11:30am Centennial Square, 12:00 noon Legislature, Victoria – see above website for details)
Also WRITE your own personal email to Minister of Forests Steve Thomson (steve.thomson.mla@leg.bc.ca), Legislature House Leader Mike de Jong (mike.dejong.mla@leg.bc.ca).
and to your own provincial MLA representative for your riding, who you can find at:  [Original article no longer available]

Recently, the BC Liberal government introduced a bill that, if passed into law, could be used to massively expand private property-like rights for major logging companies on BC’s public forest lands and on unceded First Nations lands. The proposed law, included within a larger omnibus bill, Bill 8, would empower BC’s Forest Minister to readily create new Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s) that give exclusive logging rights over large expanses of Crown lands to major companies who currently have “volume-based” logging rights (ie. in cubic metres of wood). This undemocratic, anti-environmental proposal could increase the claims to compensation – to be paid for by BC’s taxpayers – by major logging companies in light of future conservation designations and First Nations treaty settlements.

It’s key to tell the BC Liberal government to delete section 24 (the part with the TFL expansion proposal) of Bill 8, because the proposed law would:
  1. Undermine forest protections for wildlife, scenery, water quality, and recreation, by making it more difficult and expensive to create new protected areas.
  2. Further entrench the current unsustainable rate of overcutting taking place in BC’s forests.
  3. Make First Nations treaty settlement on their unceded lands more difficult, lengthy and expensive.
  4. Privatize forest inventories into the hands of logging companies.
  5. Result in more locked gates and obstructions to forest recreationists.
Next week, the BC Liberals are planning to introduce Bill 8 for its second reading – a critical phase toward’s the bill’s passage. They must be STOPPED and convinced to delete section 24.
Key articles on this issue:

MLA Bob Simpson: Claim vs. Fact [Original article no longer available]

Privatizing our public forests (Bob Simpson, Independent MLA) [Original article no longer available]

MLA Bob Simpson’s Response to Minister Thomson: The real facts about the proposed tenure legislation [Original article no longer available]
SEND a MESSAGE to STOP this PROPOSAL at: www.BCForestMovement.com  and come out to our March 16 forest rally in Victoria (details on website).

 

 

Ken Wu

Activist Tackles Raw Log Exports

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A BC environmental activist is talking about raw log exports at a community forum tonight, Wednesday, March 6.

Ken Wu, of the Ancient Forest Alliance, is speaking at 7 pm in Trinity Hall, United Church, on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Duncan Street.

Last year, more than 5.7 million cubic metres of raw logs were exported from BC. In January, Forest Minister Steve Thomson announced changes to export rules that would include the cost of transporting logs to the Vancouver log market as a factor in determining whether logs are available for export.

“The government has essentially made it easier for companies to export raw logs, especially from Vancouver Island,” said Wu.

In terms of solutions, Wu said, the government needs to restructure the industry to provide the support for a value-added second growth forest industry. “Right now, a lot of the second growth logs are being exported to foreign mills,” he said.

As well, Wu said, he will be talking about the proposed expansion to tree farm licences in the province. The government has proposed amendments to the Forest Act that will allow for the conversion of volume-based forest licences to area-based tree farm licences at the minister’s discretion.

The government is increasing corporate control over Crown lands in BC by introducing the new bill in the legislature, just before the writ is dropped for the election, Wu said. “It enables the minister of forests to readily create new tree farm licences which confer exclusive logging rights over vast areas of land for these companies,” he said.

Another topic Wu will speak about is the need to protect old-growth forests, he said. “There’s controversial logging all around the province, including on the Sunshine Coast, in old-growth forests,” he said.

The community forum is sponsored by PR Voices, Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union of Canada and Malaspina Sierra Club. Discussion and refreshments will follow Wu’s presentation and admission is by a suggested donation of $5.
 

Read More: https://www.prpeak.com/articles/2013/03/06/community/doc51369a7eaa879890427028.txt

Ancient Forest Alliance

Tree licence rollover has no public benefit

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At first glance Bill 8 — the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act — looks like housekeeping legislation. Read a little closer and one discovers one of the most pernicious pieces of forest legislation to be tabled in the legislature since a forests minister lost his job over the same issue in 1989.

Bill 8 includes an addition to the Forest Act that would allow the forests minister to invite corporations to roll over their forest licences into Tree Farm Licences (TFL), effectively transferring private ownership rights to the corporation without any reciprocal benefit in the public interest such as requirements to tie timber to local mills for local jobs; to upgrade existing mills; to invest in new mills; and to hand back more than five per cent of the allowable annual cut from existing forest licences, say 30 per cent, to deal with known timber supply shortages and to redistribute timber rights among communities and First Nations.

Imagine many large apartment complexes under a singe landlord. What sane landlord would invite selected tenants to roll over their month-to-month tenancies into a renewable 25-year lease with a token annual rent but without payment for the lease or any substantial reciprocity in kind other than five per cent loss of area? Well, that is precisely what your land agent, the government, is planning to do with your forest land. And matters get worse still.

Unfortunately, this offer realistically works for only corporate tenants of the larger apartments. If you happen to be a First Nations’ band or a forest-dependent community occupying smaller apartments, this offer is not for you because your rented areas are uneconomic in size to roll over into a renewable 25-year lease.

Under TFL tenure, private property rights transferable to corporations include rights to control access; to withhold information about public land (e.g., inventory statistics and maps); to sell and transfer the TFL tenure for which they did not pay in the first place; and to receive compensation if, for example, treaty negotiations should settle land title in favour of First Nations. In short, TFLs alienate public lands.

So how does the government justify provincewide forest tenure reform on the fly without public discussion?

First, in a recent news release, forests minister Steve Thomson declares, “the legislation fulfils recommendations made by the Special Committee on Timber Supply in their August, 2012 report …” This statement not only misrepresents the scope and object of the committee’s work but it is patently false. The committee’s final report does not contain one recommendation that the government enable TFL-rollover legislation provincewide.

Secondly, the forest minister claims, “area-based tenures [have] a number of benefits, such as creating an incentive for licence holders to make enhanced silviculture and infrastructure investments that will improve the midterm timber supply.”

Again, this assertion is not substantiated by fact. Government directly and indirectly subsidizes most forest management functions on TFLs.

For example, the taxpayer directly pays for insect and disease monitoring and for timber and non-timber inventories.

So what precisely is the incentive for the TFL holder to invest any more in public forests than the minimum required by law?

Thirdly, MLA John Rustad claims area-based tenures lead to “higher productivity and higher return on our land base.” Of timber and profits only. Because area-based management produces “normalized” forests designed to maximize timber growth at the expense of other forest values such as water, soil and biodiversity.

In British Columbia, we ostensibly, and badly, manage natural forests for ecosystem services and for many other cultural values other than timber such as recreation, big game hunting, and tourism.

In just about every country in which area-based forest management is practised, they have completely lost their natural biodiversity of ecosystems, species and genetic richness.

Ironically this government is trying to ram through Bill 8 just as the Auditor General releases a scathing report on the status of the province’s biodiversity.

We in British Columbia still have a chance to do it right for future generations by enacting a Sustainability Act for the protection of air, water, and soil and by implementing a provincewide conservation framework for biodiversity; all resource-use and tenure laws should be subordinate to both.

Further administrative fragmentation of landscapes and enclosure of the commons by TFLs will only make matters worse and infinitely more expensive for us to settle First Nations’ land claims and to assert the public interest in how our forest lands are best managed for the protection of air, water and soil and for the conservation of the biodiversity that bestows on us bountiful timber and non-timber benefits.

Anthony Britneff recently retired from a 40-year career with the B.C. Forest Service during which he held senior professional positions in inventory, silviculture and forest health.

Read more: https://www.vancouversun.com/news/Tree+licence+rollover+public+benefit/8059516/story.html#ixzz2MvKFwm3s

AFA Plans “Communities for Sustainable Forestry” Tour in Key BC Ridings in Bid to Stop Proposed Forest Privatization Plan and to Promote Old-Growth Protection, Sustainable Second-Growth Forestry, more

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For Immediate Release
March 4, 2013
Ancient Forest Alliance Plans “Communities for Sustainable Forestry” Tour in Key BC Ridings in Bid to Stop Proposed Forest Privatization Plan and to Promote Old-Growth Protection, Sustainable Second-Growth Forestry, and an End to Raw Log Exports
Conservationists plan activism trainings, rallies at MLA offices, and door-to-door campaigns in key communities and provincial swing ridings.
The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is planning a provincial tour to mobilize communities in key swing ridings in a bid to stop the BC government’s anti-environmental forest policies, including old-growth logging, raw log exports, and the recent proposal to increase the privatization of public forest lands by expanding Tree Farm Licences for major companies, and to ensure that the incoming government adopts new, sustainable policies. The tour will begin immediately after the organization’s March 16 “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” (see www.BCForestMovement.com ) in Victoria.  During the tour from mid-March until the May 14 provincial election, AFA activists Ken Wu and TJ Watt will organize activism trainings, rallies at BC politician offices, and door canvassing campaigns in key electoral ridings.
The anti-environmental forest policies of the BC Liberal government include:
– The recently proposed bill to increase private property rights for corporations on public forest lands through the expansion of Tree Farm Licences where companies will get exclusive logging rights over vast areas. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-pine-beetle-used-as-trojan-horse-to-increase-privatization-of-bcs-forests-through-ministerial-fiat-instead-of-democratic-legislative-vote/
–   The planned logging of previously off-limits old-growth forests in the Burns Lake region and potentially in other parts of the Central Interior to make up for a timber shortfall in relation to the overcapacity of the region’s mills due to decades of overcutting and the more recent pine beetle infestation.
– The BC Liberal government’s continued support of the large-scale liquidation of endangered old-growth forests.
–  The continued export of millions of raw, unprocessed logs each year from the province to foreign mills while the government fails to support a value-added, second-growth forest industry.
“We need old forests, not old mindsets in this province. The BC Liberals have a chance to leave a positive legacy of ancient forest protection and a sustainable second-growth industry in this province before they leave power. Instead, they’re going the opposite way towards forest privatization and massive old-growth logging and raw log exports . If they don’t change course, this will be the legacy that they’ll be remembered for. Meanwhile, so far the NDP seems to be keeping their heads down, not bringing forward any new old-growth protection policies or a vision for sustainable forestry that is markedly different from the disastrous status quo. We’re hoping both parties will change their tunes very soon – we’re willing to give credit where credit’s due, and to dish out consequences where they’re deserved,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “We’re aiming to change the current situation by undertaking a province-wide tour to help train and support local citizens, including conservationists, forestry workers, recreationists, First Nations, and anyone interested in a sustainable forest industry, to launch campaigns in their areas to spur BC’s politicians towards more sustainable policy positions.”
On February 20, the BC Liberal government introduced an omnibus bill, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act or Bill 8, that includes a proposal to enable the massive increase of private property rights for major logging companies on BC’s public forest lands by empowering the Forest Minister to readily create new Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s) through policy fiat. See the AFA’s media release at:  www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=564
On Friday, Independent MLA Bob Simpson revealed that last September the BC government had already indicated their intent to create a new Tree Farm Licence for Hampton Affiliates as an incentive for the company to rebuild their Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake – months before the currently proposed bill, and which they have no right to do.
“This is a dangerous, undemocratic proposal that will give increased rights to the major logging corporations on public lands at the expense of local communities. Greater certainty through exclusive logging rights over huge areas for these companies will make it harder to protect forests for wildlife, recreation and scenery, and will entrench the overcutting already taking place at the expense of local communities,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.
 The NDP opposition has so far stayed silent on a previous commitment by leader Adrian Dix in 2011 during his leadership bid that he would, “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the Province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans” if elected. See: conservationvoters.ca/past-endorsements/leadership-race-2011/ndp-candidates/adrian-dix [Original article no longer available]
The Ancient Forest Alliance is planning a major “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” on Saturday, March 16 at 12 noon at the Legislative Buildings. Already about 1000 people have pre-confirmed their attendance for the rally, including over 700 on the website and almost 300 more via Facebook.  See www.BCForestMovement.com
Old-growth forests are vital to sustain endangered species, the climate, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.  On Vancouver about 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. About 10% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been protected in parks and in Old-Growth Management Areas on Vancouver Island.
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on BC’s politicians to commit to:
  • A Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will protect the province’s endangered old-growth forests.
  • Ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests.
  • End the export of raw logs to foreign mills.
  • Support the retooling of coastal old-growth mills and the development of value-added wood processing facilities to handle second-growth logs.
See spectacular old-growth forest photos at:  https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/
Much of Vancouver Island's second-growth forest is being logged quickly and shipped out of BC as raw logs instead of being processed and manufactured at local mills.

TONIGHT! Wed. March 6th, Ken Wu of the AFA will be speaking at a forum on raw log exports and sustainable forestry in Powell River

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If any of you are in Powell River, this Wednesday, March 6th Ken Wu of the AFA will be speaking there at a forum on raw log exports and sustainable forestry from 7-9pm, at the United Church, 6932 Crofton St. Organized by Powell River Voices, Sierra Club and CEP union.

Facebook Event Page: www.facebook.com/events/339892902788922/

Ancient Forest Alliance

Oceans and Forests on Naturalists’ Agenda

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The Cowichan Valley Naturalists have a busy schedule of free public events coming up in the next few weeks.

On Friday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., Caitlin Birdsall from the Vancouver Aquarium will be at the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre in Cowichan Bay to speak about the cetaceans of British Columbia.

Cetaceans are marine mammals, including whales. Admission is by donation.

Then, on Monday, March 11 at 9: 30 a.m. at the Freshwater Ecocentre in Duncan Ken Wu of Ancient Forest Alliance will give a talk entitled “The State of our Forests: The status, ecology, and pre-election politics of B.C.’s old growth forests.”

Admission is free but coffee and snacks are by donation and you should bring your own cup.

For more information about the Cowichan Valley Naturalists and their programs go to www. naturecowichan.net or call Eric at 250-748-3682.