Opinion: Status quo a non-starter in B.C.’s forest industry

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Vancouver Sun Op-Ed by Arnie Bercov: Doug Donaldson understands better than most how neglected B.C.’s forests are, and how that neglect is mirrored in troubling job losses and missed employment opportunities in rural towns and First Nations communities.

As B.C.’s forests minister, he is also the MLA for the vast Stikine riding where Highway 37 is a gateway to old-growth forests that have been logged for decades with one goal in mind: to strip them of their trees and send virtually every log out of the province, in raw, unprocessed form.

Donaldson’s riding is also home to a mothballed pulp mill, idled sawmills and troublingly few value-added mills, including one — Kyahwood Forest Products — that is First Nation-owned, employs mostly First Nation people from the small community of Moricetown and that ought to be the norm in B.C., not the exception.

Donaldson knows all of this. He also knows that just 10 days after Premier John Horgan named him to cabinet, the Somass sawmill in Port Alberni closed, ending good-paying jobs for 80 people at a mill whose history traces to the 1930s.

Western Forest Products, which put those people out of work, is B.C.’s biggest coastal forest company and a major exporter of raw, unprocessed, old-growth logs.

Donaldson and his NDP colleagues were silent on Somass’s closure. In contrast, just months earlier, Horgan travelled to a recently closed sawmill in Merritt, where against a backdrop of a large sign reading, Closed by Christy Clark, he lashed out at the Liberals for failing to help a “community in distress.”

Well the time for posturing is over. Horgan is premier. He and his forests minister, whose file now includes “rural development,” must act. It’s up to them to lead on the forestry and rural-revitalization files.

Were it not for the efforts of my union, at least one other sawmill in the same riding that includes Port Alberni would be down by now. We see no signs of action from the government. What is its plan, if any?

During the last term of the Liberal government, more raw logs left B.C. than at any other four-year span in the province’s history. In 2016 alone, enough unprocessed logs left the province to frame 134,000 homes. More troubling, we see that de facto log exports are regularly occurring in the Interior of the province, where “have” regions become the sources of logs for the “have-nots.” The Merritt mill closure was partly caught up in that ugly reality.

Perpetuating the status quo translates into a wholesale assault on our coast’s diminished forests, rural communities and First Nations, a reality that Scott Fraser, Port Alberni’s MLA and Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation, understands better than most.

Donaldson, Fraser and all their cabinet colleagues have signed mandate letters that explicitly commit them to implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

I’ve read that document. I see what’s happening on First Nation lands. I know that we can and we must do better as an industry and as a society by bringing First Nations into true partnerships with resource industries. But I’m starting to seriously wonder whether the same can be said of this government.

It’s time for bold action by government, driven by a vision of what is socially, economically and ecologically just. Here’s what my union believes is possible and that’ll have the ultimate support of many First Nations, environmental organizations and some forest companies:

More old-growth forests protected. An end to raw-log exports. Increased forest-industry employment based on getting greater value from every log we cut, rather than shipping it off in unprocessed form. New, First Nation-area-based tenures that anchor new joint ventures where First Nations are majority partners.

By staying silent on mill closures and allowing raw-log exports to continue unchecked, our government is allowing our pockets to be fleeced.

Last year, Horgan tried to exploit the Merritt mill closure to his political advantage. Today, the buck stops with him, Donaldson, Fraser and the rest of the NDP cabinet.

Staying silent in the face of more mill closures, more forest depletion and continued failure to reconcile with First Nations isn’t an option.

Arnold Bercov is president of the Public and Private Workers of Canada.

Click here to view the original story in the Vancouver Sun.

Tall trees draw renowned artist to Saanich

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The tall trees of Vancouver Island have drawn renowned visual artist Kelly Richardson to relocate from England.

Richardson was a lecturer at New Castle University the last 14 years, and was here to speak at the University of Victoria last year. During that trip she was brought to Avatar Grove, as she always visits the most unique and surreal natural landscapes whenever she travels.

Richardson’s known for hyper-real digital films and has been shown in North America, Asia and Europe, including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in Canada.

“I was overwhelmed by the fact [Avatar Grove] exists at all,” Richardson said. “When I learned there was a position coming up at UVic, I groaned, because I was very happy in England, but I was so overwhelmed by [the visit] I had to put my name in for the job, and now we’re here.”

Richardson’s now settled in Saanichton and teaches a full schedule of courses as an associate professor of visual arts courses at UVic.

She’s also wasted little time in pairing her move to the South Island with a visual arts project on the tall trees. Richardson is one of five artists commissioned to produce a large-format digital film short for the 50th anniversary of the invention of IMAX. For that, Richardson will partner with cinematographer Christian Kroitor (grandson of IMAX inventor Roman Kroitor). They’ll focus on the Island’s famed old-growth and ancient forests near Port Renfrew.

It is also Kroitor who is commissioning the IMAX project, called XL-Outer Worlds, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the invention of IMAX, set to tour IMAX theatres in 2019. The tall trees keep with the larger-than-life imagery IMAX.

Richardson’s multimedia work generally starts with her visiting a natural landscape that stands out and shooting it with her camera.

From there she creates video installations for museum or gallery scenarios on three big screens, big enough that viewers can immerse themselves in it. XL-Outer Worlds is her first time creating something or the massive IMAX screen. She’ll also bring the works into a the gallery or museum scenario, but this time it’ll be even bigger, with five screens, she said.

What marks Richardson’s work is the addition of other works that turn the images into something else, always keeping with an environmental theme, such as a proposed future landscape.

“There’s always multiple ways to read it, so sometimes it’s terrifying, and sometimes it’s positive,” Richardson said. “In this case, I’ll focus on implications of [human consumption on ancient forests], and what’s too much in terms of nature conversation. We’re still cutting a hectare of old growth every year, which is quite disturbing because it’s non-renewable.”

Read the original story here.

Capturing the art of nature and change

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Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests have inspired acclaimed digital artist Kelly Richardson to move to Victoria, to be closer to the inspiration the ancient stands of trees provide.

In particular, she has had her eye on Port Renfrew — dubbed the “tall-tree capital” of Canada — and is featuring it in a digital-art creation that will be shown at Imax theatres as part of a film series. The series will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Imax’s invention.

The Ontario-born Richardson is working as an associate professor of visual arts at the University of Victoria, and before that she was a lecturer in fine arts at Newcastle University in northern England.

Richardson, 45, said a visit to Victoria in 2016 to give a talk at UVic featured a trip to the Port Renfrew area’s Avatar Grove, which had a big influence on her decision to move here.

She said she was “phenomenally moved” at the sight of the grove.

The move to Victoria fell into place when there was a job opportunity at UVic.

“I had been living in England for 14 years,” Richardson said. “I really loved my life in the U.K., I was not looking to leave.”

But she said she could not pass up the opportunity to live close to Vancouver Island’s forests, something that fits with the basis of her art.

“Most of my projects focus on environmental issues, and I work with landscapes, always as a starting point in the works.”

Richardson said she is best known for creating large-scale video installations, with a video camera and a single-lens reflex camera her basic tools.

“The best way to describe them is that they’re moving pictures or paintings,” she said. “They’re not still images, but they are environments that viewers feel as though they can walk within.

“Everything’s moving, and then there’s sound that accompanies each video, which helps to convince the viewer of where they are.”

Special effects are added to achieve the final result, she said, and offered some examples.

“There’s images from a desert landscape where I’ve inserted rockets, what look like rockets endlessly leaving what is presumed to be planet Earth. Another image has yellow tendrils of light in it that were inserted, so it looks like either a toxic spill of some description or a bioluminescent life form that either existed in the past or might exist in the future.

“So there’s always multiple ways to read it.”

Conservation is a big part of her message, Richardson said.

“The work gets out there into the world, and on the one hand I want it to be enjoyable as artwork, but I want it to be more than that as well,” she said. “Environmentally, with climate change and the vast changes that we’ve made since the Industrial Revolution, we’re facing incredibly uncertain futures as a result.

“What I want people to do is to think about where we’re heading and why.”

Richardson’s art has an international following.

“I tend to show in museums around the world or festivals like the Sundance Film Festival.”

She has also been featured in many solo and group exhibitions, and is part of collections at such sites as the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.

Read the original story here.

Kelly Richardson in Avatar Grove

New Visual Arts Professor Creates Avatar Grove Film Project

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Internationally acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson, a new professor in UVic’s Department of Visual Arts, is bringing the old-growth forests near Port Renfrew sharply into focus with a new digital art project.

Created with the participation of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), Richardson’s large-format film will be shot in July at Port Renfrew’s Avatar Grove (a popular nickname for its Nuu-cha-nulth Pacheedaht name of T’l’oqwxwat) by Christian Kroitor, the grandson of IMAX inventor Roman Kroitor, and released on IMAX screens across Canada next year.

The Ontario-born artist, who has been living in the UK since 2003 and teaching at Newcastle University in northeastern England since 2013, cites proximity to Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests as one of the reasons she moved to Victoria and accepted the position at UVic.

New project to be featured as part of IMAX 50th anniversary
Richardson and four other Canadian media artists—Michael Snow, Oliver Husain, Lisa Jackson and Leila Sujir— are featured in the upcoming XL-Outer Worlds project which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the IMAX, a Canadian invention by Roman Kroitor.

XL-Outer Worlds focuses on short films creating a larger-than-life landscape that forms an outer world.

Home to spectacular stands of old-growth trees
Richardson decided to move to Vancouver Island specifically upon seeing BC’s old-growth forests firsthand during her time as a UVic Visiting Artist in the fall of 2016.

“I was overwhelmed by my experience of those ancient stands, which was a huge influence in my decision to apply for a professorship at UVic,” says Richardson. “I couldn’t believe those ancient stands still exist at all anywhere in the world, let alone here. My upcoming projects will feature the old-growth forests in this region and I hope I can contribute to efforts to raise awareness about their outstanding beauty and the plight to protect what remains.”

Known for creating hyper-real digital films of rich and complex landscapes manipulated using CGI, animation and sound, Richardson’s work fuses 19th century painting, 20th century cinema and 21st century scientific inquiries. She creates works with strong environmental themes, asking viewers to consider what the future might look like if we continue on our current trajectory of global environmental crisis.

“It’s not just the sheer size but it’s actually how you feel in front of these ancient, ancient trees.” – Kelly Richardson, visual arts prof

In 2017, Richardson was involved in 14 solo and group exhibitions across Canada and in China, France, the UK and the US. Her video installations have been included in the Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and she was previously honoured at the Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Awards alongside Robert Redford, Salman Rushdie and fellow artist Ed Ruscha.

Richardson’s old-growth project will be created with the participation of the AFA which, together with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, spearheaded the protection of Avatar Grove / T’l’oqwxwat located in the Pacheedaht First Nations’ traditional territory and home to one of the most spectacular and easily accessible stands of monumental old-growth trees in BC.

Read the original story here.

Port Renfrew’s Avatar Grove featured in national IMAX series

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Sooke News Mirror: A Victoria artist, recognized internationally, will showcase Port Renfrew’s old growth forests in a new IMAX project.

Kelly Richardson, who visited Avatar Grove two years ago has chosen it to be featured in her upcoming digital art installation series, which will be projected on IMAX screens across the country in 2019.

“Having lived and worked in England for the last 14 years, I recently relocated to Victoria in order to be closer to the truly magnificent old-growth forests. After visiting Avatar Grove during a work trip in the fall of 2016, I was overwhelmed by my experience of those ancient stands, which was a huge influence in my decision to apply for a professorship at the University of Victoria where I now work,” said Richardson in a press release.

“My upcoming projects will feature the old-growth forests in this region, and I hope I can contribute to efforts to raise awareness about their outstanding beauty and the plight to protect what remains.”

Richardson was born in Canada, and her artwork has been acclaimed throughout North America, China, and Europe, displayed in multiple museums, film festival, and expositions.

Her large format-film series where the ancient forests will be featured in, focuses on environmental themes and will encourage viewers to wonder why we have allowed ourselves to arrive at such an environmental crisis, and what our future might look like if we continue on this path of destruction.

“We’re excited to have such a renowned and original artist of Kelly Richardson’s caliber, focusing her talent to draw international attention through creativity to the endangered old-growth forests of Vancouver Island,” said Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance in a press release.

“The old-growth forests around Port Renfrew, which are still largely endangered, are clearly continuing to impress increasing numbers of people; not only tourists, businesses, and news media, but acclaimed artists as well.”

The AFA hopes all the attention being drawn to forests like Avatar Grove, will help catapult the campaign to convince the B.C. provincial government to protect old-growth forests in our region.

Read the original story here.

WATCH: Victoria artist to showcase Port Renfrew old growth forests in IMAX project

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WATCH: Vancouver Island’s endangered old-growth forests in Port Renfrew have captured the attention of an internationally acclaimed artist. The giant ancient trees will be featured in an upcoming digital art installation that will be projected on IMAX screens across the country.

They’re known as Canada’s tall trees the gorgeous giants part of the old growth forest in Port Renfrew are a magnificent sight to see.

“Trees that are as tall as a downtown skyscraper and as wide as your living room upwards of a thousand years old,” said TJ Watt from the Ancient Forest Alliance.

And they never fail to capture the attention of those lucky enough to witnesses their presence.

So, it was no surprise they caught the attention of internationally acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson, who took a job with the University of Victoria, after living in the UK for 14 years to be closer to the ancient giants.

Richardson is known for creating hyper-real digital films of rich and complex landscapes using CGI, animation and sound.

“It’s not just the sheer size but it’s actually how you feel in front of these ancient, ancient trees. I couldn’t believe those ancient stands still exist at all anywhere in the world let alone here,” said Richardson.

Infatuated with their beauty she hopes to bring the old giants to life on the IMAX screens for her latest work to celebrate 50 years since its invention.

“Without giving away too much you will be immersed in an old growth forest which has been shifted to an area of science fiction,” said Richardson.

But for her, it’s about more than just a visual experience.

“I want viewers to feel a potential future, what it’s like to live in that future and through that perspective view ourselves in our current situation with some measure of hindsight and clarity about what we are doing and where we are headed and why?” said Richardson.

Because while clearly magnificent to look at and a giant in size, the old growth trees are endangered.

“Old growth logging actually continues today on a very large scale. If you were to go to Port Renfrew this very week you will see old growth trees falling and hitting the ground,” said Watt.
The project will be shown on IMAX screens across the country premiering in 2019 and with a platform of that size, the goal is to bring attention to the issue of their preservation.

“ My hope is that one day we won’t have to protect them we can finally have then saved,” said Watt.

Watch the original CHEK News story here.

Internationally-acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson moves to Victoria, turns attention to “Tall Trees Capital” of Canada – Port Renfrew

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For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 9, 2017

Victoria, BC – Vancouver Island’s famed old-growth forests near Port Renfrew – known as Canada’s “Tall Trees Capital” – have attracted the attention of internationally acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson, who will feature these ancient forests in an upcoming digital art installation to be projected on IMAX screens across the country as part of an upcoming large-format film series.

Richardson is known for creating hyper-real digital films of rich and complex landscapes that have been manipulated using CGI, animation and sound. Her projects have received major international acclaim, having been featured in the National Gallery of Canada, in galleries around the world, in an official Canada 150 exhibition this year, and in the upcoming large-format film series.

Taking cues from 19th century painting, 20th century cinema and 21st century scientific inquiries, Richardson creates works with strong environmental themes, asking viewers to consider what the future might look like if we continue on our current trajectory of planetary pillaging and consumption, and why we have allowed ourselves to arrive at such a moment of global environmental crisis.

Kelly Richardson said: “Having lived and worked in England for the last 14 years, I recently relocated to Victoria in order to be closer to the truly magnificent old-growth forests. After visiting Avatar Grove during a work trip in the fall of 2016, I was overwhelmed by my experience of those ancient stands, which was a huge influence in my decision to apply for a professorship at the University of Victoria where I now work. My upcoming projects will feature the old-growth forests in this region and I hope I can contribute to efforts to raise awareness about their outstanding beauty and the plight to protect what remains.”

Over the years, Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests have drawn considerable attention from the artistic community, including Emily Carr who produced pieces depicting the old-growth trees, giant stumps, and forests of the region (whose works in regards to her interest in ancient forests is currently on display in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

) in the first half of the 20th century; scores of renowned artists who contributed to the best-selling art book “Carmanah: Visions of an Ancient Forest” (300,000 copies sold) in 1990; and increasing numbers of artists and filmmakers in recent years featuring the ancient forests around Port Renfrew, including Richardson.

“We’re excited to have such a renowned and original artist of Kelly Richardson’s caliber, focusing her talent to draw international attention through creativity to the endangered old-growth forests of Vancouver Island. Her work has gone far and wide across North America, Europe, and China, garnering major media attention, moving critics and reaching popular audiences, all while raising environmental themes in powerful ways”, stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “The old-growth forests around Port Renfrew – still largely endangered – are clearly continuing to impress increasing numbers of people – not only tourists, businesses, and news media, but acclaimed artists as well.”

Born in Canada, Kelly Richardson’s works have been widely acclaimed in North America, Asia and Europe, having been acquired by the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in Canada and by museums around the world. Her video installations have been included in the Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and she was previously honoured at the Americans for the Arts National Arts Awards alongside Robert Redford, Salman Rushdie and fellow artist, Ed Ruscha. Her forthcoming work focusing on British Columbia’s old-growth forests will be featured in the upcoming XL-Outer Worlds Project, an exposition of five new large format films by five digital media artists, including Richardson, that will help highlight Canada’s invention of IMAX film technology, to be screened across the country in IMAX theatres in 2019.

Located only 20 minutes from Port Renfrew, the Avatar Grove or “T’l’oqwxwat” in the language of the local Pacheedaht First Nation, is home to one of the most spectacular and easily accessible stands of monumental old-growth trees in BC. It has become among the province’s most popular old-growth tourism destinations, attracting visitors from around the world (particularly with the completion of a boardwalk last August), the attention of countless national and international news media organisations, and a major investment in new businesses in the region.

The campaign to protect the grove, spearheaded by the Ancient Forest Alliance and the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce – a ground-breaking alliance of environmental activists and the local business community – has significantly fuelled a provincial movement of businesses, labour unions, city and town councils, and environmental groups calling on the British Columbian provincial government to protect old-growth forests and to ensure a sustainable, second-growth forest industry.

More BACKGROUND Information on artist Kelly Richardson

Kelly Richardson’s work has been acquired into significant museum collections across Canada, the UK, and the USA including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (USA), Albright-Knox Art Gallery (USA), Arts Council Collection (England), among others. Recent one person exhibitions include Dundee Contemporary Arts, SMoCA, CAG Vancouver, VOID Derry, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien and a major survey at the Albright-Knox. Her work was selected for the Canadian, Beijing, Busan, Gwangju and Montréal biennales, and major moving image exhibitions including the The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and the Moving Image at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Toronto International Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival.

Kelly Richardson was born in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. From 2003-2017 she resided in north east England where she was a Lecturer in Fine Arts at Newcastle University. She currently lives and works as a visitor on the traditional territory of the WSANEC peoples of the Coast Salish Nation on Vancouver Island, Canada. She is Associate Professor in Visual Arts at the University of Victoria. See her website at https://kellyrichardson.net

More BACKGROUND Information on BC’s Old-Growth Forests

Old-growth forests are vital to sustaining unique endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. On BC’s southern coast, satellite photos show that at least 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas (see maps and stats at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/). Old-growth forests – with trees that can be 2000 years old – are a non-renewable resource under BC’s system of forestry, where second-growth forests are re-logged every 50 to 100 years, never to become old-growth again.

In recent times, the voices for old-growth protection have been quickly expanding, including numerous Chambers of Commerce, mayors and city councils, forestry unions, conservation groups, and First Nations across BC who have been calling on the provincial government to expand protection for BC’s remaining old-growth forests. The Ancient Forest Alliance is also calling on the province to support First Nations land use plans and the sustainable economic development and diversification of the communities as an alternative to old-growth logging. See a recent news article at: https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/groups-demand-protection-of-islands-old-growth-forests/

About the XL-Outer Worlds Project

Janine Marchessault of the Public Access Collective and Christian Kroitor (grandson of IMAX inventor Roman Kroitor) of True Frame Productions have come together to commission five new large-format digital film shorts in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the invention of IMAX. The theme for the commissioned program is in keeping with the cinematic genre typical of IMAX films: the larger-than-life landscape that forms an outer world. Participating Canadian media artists include: Oliver Husain, Lisa Jackson, Kelly Richardson, Michael Snow, and Leila Sujir. XL-Outer Worlds will result in a four-day Festival Celebration in 2019 at the Cinesphere, the world’s first permanent IMAX movie theatre located in Toronto at Ontario Place. This festival will showcase the commissioned films celebrating the invention of IMAX, alongside curated programs of early IMAX films. The XL-Outer Worlds festival will later tour the first IMAX cinemas across Canada in Victoria, Sudbury, Edmonton and Montreal. This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt stands among towering old-growth Douglas-fir trees in Metchosin.

ACTION ALERT: Support Expanded Protection of the Endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem in British Columbia!

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Please take just a couple minutes to WRITE to the BC government, telling them you support their proposal to expand protections in the endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem on Vancouver Island and in the Gulf Islands!

The BC government is seeking the public’s input on their proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem protected on public (Crown) lands on Vancouver Island’s southeast coast and in the southern Gulf Islands.

The Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) ecosystem is home to the highest number of species at risk in BC, including Garry oak trees, sharp-tailed snakes, alligator lizards, and Vancouver Island screech owl and pygmy owl subspecies. With less than four percent of the region’s ecosystems currently protected by the province, the proposed protection measures are greatly needed and are a significant step forward, although by themselves are not sufficient to halt the loss of biodiversity from the region.

The BC government is proposing to protect 21 parcels of public land in Bowser, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose Bay, Gabriola Island, Ladysmith, Galiano Island, and Saltspring Island. The proposed new protected areas total 1,125 hectares and expands upon a similar process in 2010 that resulted in the issuance similar land use orders, which protected 2,024 hectares of public lands on southeast Vancouver Island the Sunshine Coast.
See: https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/TASB/SLRP/southisland/CDFAmendment.html

Please write to the BC government until Monday, January 15th 2018, to express your support for this proposal and for greater protection of the Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem.

Email your written comments to CDFOrderAmendment2017@gov.bc.ca and Cc Forest Minister Doug Donaldson at FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca and Environment Minister George Heyman at env.minister@gov.bc.ca.

Tell them:

  1. You support the BC government’s full proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) ecosystem protected on Crown lands through their proposed Land Use Orders.
  2. In addition, you also support the creation of a provincial land acquisition fund, which would allow the BC government to purchase and protect private lands of high conservation or recreational values to establish new protect areas in the CDF ecosystem and across BC. Because private lands constitute the vast majority of the region, this fund is needed to ensure the sufficient protection of the CDF ecosystem.
  3. You recommend they read the report Finding the Money to Buy and Protect Natural Lands by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre, which details over a dozen mechanisms used in jurisdictions across North America to raise funds for protecting land (found online here: https://www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FindingMoneyForParks-2015-02-08-web.pdf).
  4. You would like the province to consider a third phase of similar land use order protections on additional Crown lands in the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem.

*Be sure to include your full name and address so that they know you are a real person.

More details:
The BC government is proposing to protect 21 parcels of public land covering 1,125 hectares in Bowser, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose Bay, Gabriola Island, Ladysmith, Galiano Island, and Saltspring Island. The protection measures expand upon a similar process undertaken in 2010, where land use orders were issued to protect 2,024 hectares of public lands on southeast Vancouver Island the Sunshine Coast.

The Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem, the smallest of BC’s 16 distinctive biogeoclimatic zones (classified according to their climatic and ecological features), is among the most endangered ecosystems in Canada.

The CDF ecosystem encompasses about 260,000 hectares on southeast Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands south of Cortes Island, and a small area of the Sunshine Coast. About 50 percent of the entire ecosystem has been converted to human uses such as agriculture and urbanization. About one percent of the region’s original old-growth forest remains.

Only nine percent of the land base is provincial Crown land, so the purchase and protection of additional private land is also critical to help safeguard conservation values and species at risk.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to establish an annual $40 million provincial land acquisition fund to purchase and protect private lands in BC, including in the Coastal Douglas-fir zone, which has the highest percentage of private land in the province of any biogeoclimatic zone in BC.

The proposed fund would rise to an annual $100 million by 2024 through $10 million increases each year and would enable the timely purchase of significant tracts of endangered private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreation value to add to BC’s parks and protected areas system.

Many regional districts in BC have land or “park” acquisition funds, including the Capital Regional District of Greater Victoria (CRD). The CRD’s fund generates about $3.7 million each year and, with its partners, has spent over $35 million to purchase over 4,500 hectares of land since its establishment in the year 2000, ensuring the protection of such iconic natural areas as the Sooke Hills and Potholes, Mount Maxwell on Saltspring Island, and lands between Thetis Lake and Mount Work. Like the CRD’s land acquisition fund, the proposed $40 million provincial fund could be used as leverage to raise additional funds from private land trusts, environmental groups and private donors.

See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s media release about the proposed expansion of Coastal Douglas-Fir zone protections at: https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=1162

Unprotected Castle Grove - Central Walbran Valley

Policy Recommendations for Old-Growth Forest Protection, support for First Nations, and Sustainable Forestry Jobs in BC

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Policy Recommendations for Old-Growth Forest Protection, support for First Nations, and Sustainable Forestry Jobs in BC

Background

British Columbia's old-growth forests are an iconic part of the province’s identity and are home to the largest trees on Earth, surpassed only by the US redwoods in grandeur.

A century of industrialized logging has resulted in over 75 per cent of the original, productive old-growth forests being logged on BC’s southern coast, including well over 90 per cent of the valley bottoms where the richest biodiversity and largest trees are found.[1],[2] Continued old-growth logging threatens vulnerable plant and animal species, contributes heavily to the province’s carbon emissions,[3] degrades fresh water sources and wild fisheries, and is adversely impacting the economy, communities, and First Nations cultures, whose unceded lands these are.

For almost 50 years, the struggle to protect BC’s old-growth forests has led to some of the province’s most enduring conflicts. However, much has changed since the “War in the Woods” of the 1990s. The economic landscape has changed, resulting in a significant decline in forestry sector employment and an increase in the value of standing old-growth forests; vast areas of second-growth forests have reached maturity, constituting most of BC’s productive coastal forest lands; recognition of aboriginal rights has greatly expanded; the environmental movement and its values are more pervasive; environmental pressures such as climate change and biodiversity loss have compounded; and old-growth forests have become ever scarcer.

Employment levels in BC’s forestry sector have declined dramatically, from 99,000 jobs in 2000 to 65,000 in 2015, constituting a loss of one-third of all forestry jobs.[4] At the same time, the value of protecting old-growth forests now economically outweighs the economic benefits of logging them in large parts of the province, according to a 2008 study.[5]

In recent years, support for increased old-growth protection has broadened to include unions, chambers of commerce and municipalities. For example, the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), representing mayors, city and town councils, and regional districts across BC, and the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) have passed a resolution calling for an end to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island;the BC Chamber of Commerce, representing 36,000 BC businesses, has called for expanded old-growth forest protection in BC in order to benefit the economy; and two major forestry unions – the Private and Public Workers of Canada (PPWC) and Unifor, which represent thousands of BC forestry workers -have been working closely with environmental groups to upgrade environmental standards and forestry employment.

Developing a plan to protect the province’s old-growth forests while ensuring a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry will undoubtedly receive strong, widespread support. It is a first-rate opportunity for the NDP government.

Many BC First Nations communities have also taken action to protect old-growth in their territories and to develop conservation-based economies. For example, both the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht Nations in Clayoquot Sound have developed preliminary land use plans that place the majority of their territories off-limits to old-growth logging. In addition, First Nations communities in the province’s northern rainforests in Haida Gwaii and the Great Bear Rainforest have succeeded in achieving conservation financing support from the province, federal government, and environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) to help develop sustainable economies in conjunction with implementing ecosystem-based management (EBM) guidelines for forestry.

BC NDP Government Commitments

In its 2017 election platform, the BC New Democratic Party promised to “apply an evidence-based scientific approach to land-use planning, using the ecosystem-based management of the Great Bear Rainforest as a model for managing…old-growth forests.” The NDP has also committed to finding “fair and lasting solutions that keep more logs in BC for processing”
and to partner with First Nations to “modernize land-use planning to effectively and sustainably manage BC’s…old-growth.” The 2017 Confidence and Supply Agreement between the BC Green and the BC NDP caucuses states that the government will “reinvigorate our forest sector to improve both environmental standards and jobs for local communities.”

The Ministerial Mandate for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) from John Horgan on July 18th directs the new minister to “work with the Minister of Indigenous Relations, First Nations and communities to modernize land-use planning and sustainably manage B.C.’s ecosystems, rivers, lakes, watersheds, forests and old growth” and to “improve wildlife management and habitat conservation, and collaborate with stakeholders to develop long and short term strategies to manage B.C.'s wildlife resources.”

The following set of policy recommendations, compiled by a group of environmental organizations, is designed to help the new provincial government fulfill these commitments. They aim to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests using science, while applying a system of incentives and regulations to support a vibrant forest industry, ensuring good paying jobs for working families through the sustainable harvesting and value-added manufacturing of second-growth stands.*

1) Seek a Dialogue with First Nations on how Old-Growth Protection can be Integrated into Indigenous-Led Land Use Planning, New Governance Models, and Economic Initiatives

Many of the province’s existing land use plans are out-dated and fail to align with the current political and legal authority of BC’s First Nations. However, only in a few parts of the province have indigenous land use plans been recognized and supported by provincial legislation and policies, notably in Haida Gwaii, Squamish and Lil’wat territory, and in the Great Bear Rainforest. The province should seek a dialogue with First Nations on how old-growth can be integrated into their land use plans, governance models, and economic initiatives. It should support the development of and formally recognize First Nations land use plans, Tribal Parks, and protected areas.

2) Develop an Old-Growth Forest Protection Act

The BC Government should develop a science-based, legislated plan that includes targets and timelines for protecting old-growth forests in all forest types based on best available science, including stronger protection for cultural old-growth values (such as Culturally Modified Trees); halts or quickly phases out logging of old-growth depending on their degree of endangerment; and establishes an extensive system of old-growth reserves that are selected using science-based criteria. [6] Read an example of an Old-Growth Forest Protection Act here.

3) Appoint an Independent Science Panel

An Old-Growth Forest Protection Act would require the BC government appoint an independent science panel, responsible for guiding the implementation of the Act and developing a framework for old-growth forest protection across the province. This would involve mapping BC’s old-growth forests by forest type and productivity level, determining how much old-growth must remain in each forest type to maintain ecological integrity, determining the current status of each forest type, and recommending minimum old-growth protection targets.

4) Support Conservation Financing Solutions and Economic Diversification for First Nations Communities

Many First Nations communities make significant revenues from old-growth logging, yet lack a range of alternative economic development opportunities that would support their local economies into the future and allow them to transition away from old-growth logging, should they wish to. In order to protect old-growth forests on a large scale in BC, the provincial government should fund conservation financing solutions to support First Nations sustainable economic development as an alternative to old-growth logging, similar to the $120 million (including $30 million in provincial funds) provided to nations in the Great Bear Rainforest in support of ecosystem-based management in that region. This is a fundamentally important precursor for the large-scale protection of old-growth forests in BC and for the NDP government to effectively implement its commitment to applying ecosystem-based management (EBM) to old-growth forests across BC.

5) Support a Sustainable, Value-Added Second-Growth Forest Industry

While most of the Western industrialized world is logging 50- to 100-year-old stands, including second-, third-, and fourth-growth forests, the status quo of old-growth liquidation is still underway across much of BC. By strengthening forest practices regulations and reducing the excessive rate of cut (i.e. implementing longer rotation ages), BC can achieve sustainable, second-growth forest industry. At the same time, if the BC government were to promote policies that support greater processing and value-added manufacturing of second-growth logs in the province, the total number of forestry jobs could be sustained and even increased in the province while old-growth logging is quickly phased out.

The following policies are recommended to support value-added, second-growth forestry jobs:

  1. Implement regulations or tax incentives to retool old-growth mills to process second-growth logs and to develop new second-growth mills and value-added facilities (for example, by forgoing the PST on new mill equipment and reducing stumpage fees or property taxes for companies which invest in second-growth mills).
  2. Use stumpage fees to expand markets for sustainable, value-added, eco-certified, second-growth forest products in various international jurisdictions, while discontinuing the marketing of old-growth and raw logs.
  3. Ensure a significant portion of BC logs harvested by tenure holders is sold through regional log sorts that make wood available to smaller mills and value-added manufacturers.
  4. Curb raw log exports by banning old-growth log exports and increasing the fee-in-lieu (i.e. log exports tax) on second-growth log exports to curb their export and encourage domestic processing.
  5. Diversify tenures to include more Community Forests and First Nations tenures in order to create local jobs and facilitate the expansion of a value-added forest industry.

6) Immediately Declare a Moratorium for Old-Growth Hotspot Sites to Create a Solution Space while Long-Term Solutions are Developed

Some old-growth forests are considered to be greater conservation priorities than others. These include stands that are more extensive and intact, have high cultural significance for First Nations, consist of rare forest types, are of high significance for wildlife and species at risk, are located in drinking watersheds of local communities, are particularly grand, and are of particular importance for recreation and tourism. It is recommended the BC government declare a moratorium for old-growth hotspot sites, thereby creating a solution space to determine the future regarding the possibility of long-term protection through legislated provincial conservancies or parks.

7) Expand the Existing Forest Reserve Network

The NDP government introduced a system of forest reserves in the 1990s, including Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMAs), Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs), Ungulate Winter Ranges, Visual Quality Objectives, Riparian Management Zones, and Recreation Areas. This reserve system has not been fully implemented, leaving vast areas of old-growth forest vulnerable to logging. The new government should fully implement the forest reserve system by converting all non-legal reserves into legally binding ones and expand the system to protect additional endangered old-growth forests. This can be done by quickly implementing the Big Tree Protection legal tool currently under development by the Ministry of FLNRORD and enhancing it to include the province’s grandest groves. In time, thesereserves would be replaced by a new system of forest protection under an Old-Growth Protection Act – the implementation of which will take some time. It is further recommended the government remove the existing 1 per cent cap on how much forest reserves may affect the timber supply.

8) Use Government Control Over BC Timber Sales’ Planning and Operations to Accelerate Conservation of Endangered Old-Growth Forests

BC Timber Sales (BCTS), a division of FLNRORD, is the BC government’s logging agency that plans and directly issues logging permits for about 20 per cent of the province’s merchantable timber on Crown lands, which fall outside of forestry tenures. As the BC government retains full control over which cut blocks are auctioned each year through BCTS, the incoming government should use this control to quickly phase out issuing timber sales in old-growth forests in these areas.

9) Phase out Old-Growth Logging in the Allowable Annual Cut

Currently, the government’s Timber Supply Branch fails to distinguish between old-growth and second-growth harvest levels in the Allowable Annual Cut (AAC) of each timber supply area (TSA) and tree farm licence (TFL). In order to more effectively manage the rate of old-growth logging, the BC government should apportion the Allowable Annual Cut so it distinguishes between old-growth and second-growth cut allocations in order to scale-down and phase out old-growth cutting, according to the conservation needs identified by the independent science panel.

10) Establish a Land Acquisition Fund to Protect Endangered Ecosystems on Private Lands.

Many of BC’s most endangered and biologically rich and diverse ecosystems, including many old-growth stands, are found on private lands, which constitute about 5 per cent of the province’s land base. Establishing new protected areas on private land requires the outright purchase of lands from willing sellers. To this end, the B.C. government should implement a minimum annual $40 million provincial Natural Lands Acquisition Fund, which could increase by $10 million/year until the fund reaches $100 million/year. The proposed fund would enable the timely purchase of significant tracts of endangered private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreation value to add to BC’s parks and protected areas system and resolve countless land use battles in the province.

*These recommendations would exclude the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii, where science-based old-growth protection plans already exist and have resulted in high levels of old-growth forest protection.

[1] Ancient Forest Alliance, Maps: Remaining Old-Growth Forests on BC’s Southern Coast: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

[3] Sierra Club BC, BC Forests Carbon Meltdown, January 2014, https://sierraclub.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/forest-backgrounder_draft.pdf

[5] Knowler, D., 2008, The Economics of Protecting Old Growth Forest: An Analysis of Spotted Owl Habitat in the Fraser Timber Supply Area of British Columbia https://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2008/SPOWL_Final_report.pdf

[6] 2013 report by UVic Environmental Law Centre and Ancient Forest Alliance https://www.elc.uvic.ca/press/documents/AnOldGrowthProtectionActforBC-2013Apr10.pdf

 

Ancient Forest Alliance

Thank You to All Supporters of the Ancient Forest Alliance!

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Thanks to our 2017 Donors!

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) was thrilled to grow our support base in 2017 to include a diversity of local businesses, artists, and organizations. The support and generosity of these businesses and individuals has been fundamental in our work to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry.

We are incredibly grateful to receive major support from Patagonia through their environmental grants program and to Valhalla Pure Outfitters in Nanaimo and Robinson’s Outdoor Store for awarding the AFA with conservation grants through Patagonia’s wholesale grants program. The Patagonia Vancouver and Patagonia Elements Victoria stores also offered their space on multiple occasions to host film nights and tabling events, with ticket sales proceeds going toward AFA campaigns.

Thank you to Robinson’s Outdoor Store in Victoria for hosting an amazing benefit night for the AFA with support from Patagonia, beer provided by Spinnakers, and the Giant Tree Hunters documentary provided by Nootka Street Film. We would also like to thank Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) for generously contributing funds, in-kind gifts, and store-front space to host our booth events in both the Lower Mainland and Victoria.

A big thanks again this year to ROOT Victoria for generously donating the proceeds from their opening dinner at the ROOT festival, and to Creatively United for hosting our canvassers and inviting our campaigners to speak at their Earth Day event.

Tribe Red Leaf Studios designed a special batch of AFA branded t-shirts, which they gifted to our staff and sold to earn funds for our campaigns. They also donate generously as monthly contributors!

Many thanks to Staekka Brand Goods and Apparel for supporting the Ancient Forest Alliance for a second year in a row, to Singing Bowl Granola for donating $1 per sale to the AFA during a special online promotion, to Fathom Stone Art for committing 1% of their proceeds from art sales toward protecting ancient forests, to Land & Sea West Coast Apparel for donating a portion of their annual sales toward our campaigns, and to the Ric Perron Community Film night for collecting donations for the AFA (queries: ricperron@shaw.ca).

We are grateful to Elastic Email for generously supporting us on a monthly basis; to Wild Coast Perfumery, Bough & Antler Northwest Goods, MacIsaac & MacIsaac, and Vicorp Services for their donations; and to Eternal Abundance Organic Vegan Grocery & Cafe and Banyen Books for supporting our campaigns by retailing AFA merchandise in their store-fronts.

Tall Tree Music Festival once again lent its support this summer to protect old-growth forests near Port Renfrew and beyond. Many thanks to the organizers for your hard work!

The AFA also received in-kind support from a variety of businesses and organizations during our 2017 year-end celebration and fundraiser. We would like to thank Patagonia Victoria,  Robinson’s Outdoor Store, MEC, Lumina Yoga & Wellness, Land & Sea West Coast Apparel, Emma Glover Designs, Expedition Old Growth, Olive the Senses, Harmony Bellydance Co., Butchart Gardens, Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub, Pelican Products, WindBlossom Massage, Il Terrazzo Ristorante, Café Brio, Phillips Brewery,  Mysore Victoria, Hemp & Co., Moksha Yoga Victoria, Heart and Hands Health Collective, Port Renfrew Marina and RV Park, Bahnmann Timber, The Land Conservancy, LUSH Cosmetics Victoria, the  UVic Ancient Forest Committee, Dr. Andrea Whelan at Hawthorne Naturopathic Centre, The Market on Yates, Red Barn Market,  Bon Macaron Patisserie , artists Paul Beique,  Keuque Method, and Logan Ford; musician Oliver Swain, DJs C-Frets, Rich Nines, and Taquito Jalepeno, as well as Social Coast and all our volunteers for helping to make the event a major success!

We are most grateful for the generous support we receive from businesses, organizations, and artists throughout Victoria, the Lower Mainland, and beyond. Your donations, talents, and creative fundraising efforts are appreciated.

Thank you for choosing to support the AFA!

Ken Wu, TJ Watt, Andrea Inness, Joan Varley, Amanda Evans, Tiara Dhenin, Kent MacWilliam
Ancient Forest Alliance