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An example of High Productivity Old-Growth Forest. Ancient Forest Alliance volunteer Mary Vasey stands amongst old-growth redcedars in the unprotected Upper Castle Grove in the the Walbran Valley on southwestern Vancouver Island.

"The Good, the Bad, and the Wobbly"

May 13 2013/in Media Release

“The Green, Liberal, and NDP platforms on old-growth logging and sustainable forestry can best be summarized as ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Wobbly’,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “The Greens have committed to ending logging of our endangered old-growth forests, the BC Liberals are still spinning their anti-environmental fairy tale that ‘old-growth forests are not disappearing’, and the NDP are trying to figure out how far they’ll go to protect old-growth forests but have not provided any details or made any strong commitments.”

On old-growth logging and sustainable forestry, the parties’ platforms are as follows:

The Green Party’s platform can be described as “Good”.
The Greens have committed to a science-based plan to fully protect BC’s old-growth forests in endangered regions, to reduce the unsustainable overcutting of second-growth forests with longer rotations and to phase-out clearcutting, and to increase the fee on raw log exports to support value-added processing of BC wood products. https://www.greenparty.bc.ca/forest_action_plan and https://www.greenparty.bc.ca/forestry

The BC Liberals’ platform can be described as “Bad”.
The BC Liberals maintain that old-growth forests are not disappearing, that raw log exports are necessary, and continue to support the status quo of large-scale old-growth liquidation. See this article in the Times Colonist.

The BC Liberals have been promoting misleading statistics for a decade where they’ve overinflated the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including vast tracts of stunted, non-commercial “bonsai” forests in bogs and at high altitudes in their statistics. “It’s like including your Monopoly money with your real money and then claiming to be a millionaire, so why stop spending?” Wu noted. “The BC Liberals have been the ‘Despoilers of Beautiful BC’ when it comes to supporting large-scale old-growth logging and unsustainable forestry across most of the province.”

The NDP’s platform platform can be described as “Wobbly” or “Vague”.
The NDP mention protecting “valuable old-growth forests” in their main platform (see page 42: https://www.bcndp.ca/files/BCNDP-Platform-2013-Web.pdf- Link no longer available), but don’t provide any key details like “how”, “how much”, “where”, and “when”. The party has not committed to ending old-growth logging in any region of BC, nor to a science-based old-growth protection plan for the province. The party says it aims to reduce raw log exports, but provides no details how except to “work with stakeholders”. During the election campaign, thousands of people have written emails and called NDP candidates (see https://www.BCForestMovement.com – Link no longer available) asking them to end logging of endangered old-growth forests. The NDP’s position has evolved from no mention of old-growth, sustainable forestry or the environment in their status quo Forestry Platform (April 15), to a brief mention of old-growth in their Main Platform (April 24), and in recent days increasing mention of saving old-growth forests in their various PR initiatives (but still lacking detailed, strong commitments).

“As the NDP are likely to be the next government, I sure hope they remember the 1990’s ‘War in the Woods’, and that they truly listen to the conservation movement and implement a science-based old-growth protection plan that will end endangered old-growth logging and ensure a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry,” stated Ken Wu.

New maps of BC’s southern coast highlight the ecological crisis in BC’s forests due to old-growth logging. At least 74% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including at least 91% of the biggest, best old-growth stands (ie. the“classic” high productivity valley-bottom old-growth forests with the largest monumental trees most heavily visited by tourists and featured in photos). See the new maps and statistics at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

Ancient forests are vital to sustain endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.

The BC Conservatives have made no mention in their platform or website about old-growth protection, sustainable forestry, or anything environment-related to forestry. About the only mention of forestry in their platform is a strange statement that “the BC Liberals have shown little enthusiasm for the development of British Columbia’s abundant natural resources.” “They must have a pretty scary platform on the environment if they think that,” Wu observed.

MORE BACKGROUND INFO:

How has the NDP’s Position Evolved on Old-Growth Forests?

– From 2006-2008 (Forestry Critic Bob Simpson) the party called for a “Provincial Old-Growth Plan for the Coast and Interior”. During this time, Simpson moved the party into a strong position in favour of protecting old-growth forests, but was ousted from the party a couple years later.

– In 2011 during Adrian Dix’s NDP party leadership bid, Dix had quickly followed the lead of his opponent, John Horgan, who was also vying for party leadership and who had made old-growth forest protection a key part of his platform. Dix soon followed, committing to: “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the Province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans…” See point 4 under “Ecosystem Management” at: [Original article no longer available] . This commitment has since not been further developed, re-mentioned, or even officially adopted by the party.

– On April 15, 2013, the NDP’s Forestry Platform was launched (Forestry Critics Norm MacDonald and Bill Routley). There was no mention of old-growth forests, sustainability, or the environment. See: https://www.bcndp.ca/files/BG-BCNDP-130415_-_Forestry.pdf

– On April 22 (Earth Day), 2013, the NDP’s Environment Platform was launched. There was no mention of old-growth forests in the media release or in public. See: https://www.bcndp.ca/newsroom/dix-invests-green-projects-ends-carbon-credit-fund-and-reaffirms-opposition-enbridge

– On April 24, 2013, the NDP’s Main Platform was launched. The words “Protect significant ecological areas like wetlands, estuaries and valuable old-growth forests” were included in the Environment section. This was a recent step forward, but still vague without details. See page 42: https://www.bcndp.ca/files/BCNDP-Platform-2013-Web.pdf

Tracts of old-growth forests are regularly protected in BC each year through the implementation of regional land use plans that designate new Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s), often in marginal old-growth stands with stunted trees – while at the same time larger areas of productive old-growth forests are logged.

Key questions about the NDP’s old-growth commitment include if it would be above and beyond the protection levels of current land use plans; if it would be a limited, ad-hoc approach on the party’s whim wherever they choose to or choose not to protect, or if would be a comprehensive, systematic protection plan across the province; if it would involve science-based conservation assessments that set old-growth protection/ restoration targets in each ecosystem and region of the province that must be met to minimize biodiversity loss; and if they would actually end old-growth logging in any regions deemed endangered by science.

“A crucial question is if the NDP’s old-growth protection commitment would exceed the inadequate protection levels of the status quo under the BC Liberals and restrict or fully end the logging of endangered old-growth forests in any regions of the province. Without further details, the NDP’s stance could very well be just a continuation of the unsustainable status quo. In fact, BC’s top industry insiders say it is,” stated Ken Wu.

The presidents of BC’s two largest old-growth logging industry associations, Rick Jeffrey of the Coast Forest Products Association (CFPA) and John Allen of the Council Of Forest Industries (COFI), have both stated that the NDP’s forestry platform represents the status quo, with little difference from the BC Liberal government’s policies. See “Parties’ Forestry Platforms Show Few Differences, Industry Insiders Say”: https://www.timescolonist.com/parties-forestry-platforms-show-few-differences-industry-insiders-say-1.111472 and “Global TV: Cathedral Grove and NDP on Forestry” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOz232HDx3Y

See spectacular photos of our old-growth forests at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/.

See a recent ancient forest campaign video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YTizBF-jE

The stump of a 14ft diameter old-growth redcedar freshly cut in 2010 found along the Gordon River near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

Your election, your choice

May 11 2013/in News Coverage

Environment
“In many ecosystems of B.C., old-growth forest is incredibly scarce — 91 per cent of valley bottom ancient forest growth on the southern coast has been logged of the classic monumental trees. Are you willing to commit to fully ending old-growth logging in any regions or ecosystems of B.C.?”
Ken Wu , Executive Director, Ancient Forest Alliance

Jane Sterk, Green: Yes. It is a policy of BC Greens that we stop all old-growth logging in B.C.

Carole James, NDP: The BC NDP is committed to protecting our province’s environment and coasts and will take measures to protect significant ecological areas including wetlands, estuaries and valuable old-growth forests.

Karen Bill, Liberal: Old-growth forests are not disappearing. There are more than 25 million hectares of old-growth forests in B.C. About 4.5 million hectares are fully protected, representing an area larger than Vancouver Island. Conserving old growth is an important part of long-term resource management. By law, forests that reflect the working definition of old growth must be retained in ecological units to meet biodiversity needs.

John Shaw, BC Communist Party: Yes, all regions of the province containing old-growth forests should be protected and maintained. The provincial government must ban raw log exports, and legislate the processing of timber locally for export as lumber or value-added products under public ownership and control.

A map of the remaining productive old-growth forests left on Vancouver Island and the SW Mainland as of 2012.

New Maps Highlight BC’s “Crisis in the Woods” due to Old-Growth Logging

May 10 2013/in Media Release

Media Release
May 10, 2013

New Maps Highlight BC's “Crisis in the Woods” due to Old-Growth Logging

New maps of BC’s southern coast highlight the ecological crisis in BC’s forests due to old-growth logging. The most conservative figures from the preliminary analysis of Vancouver Island and the southwest mainland reveal that at least 74% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including at least 91% of the biggest, best old-growth stands (ie. the“classic” high productivity valley-bottom old-growth forests with the largest monumental trees that are most heavily visited by tourists and featured in photos).

See the new maps and statistics at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

“These new maps clearly show the ecological crisis in BC’s forests due a century of overcutting BC’s biggest, best old-growth stands, particularly at the lower elevations. The high-grade depletion of our ecologically richest ancient forests – which continues on a large scale today – has resulted in the increasing collapse of ecosystems and rural communities,” stated Vicky Husband, the noted Victoria-based conservationist who helped pioneer the development of the first old-growth forest cover maps of Vancouver Island in the early 1990’s. “In the '90's we were still fighting for intact watersheds, whole valleys – those are all gone, except in Clayoquot Sound. Today, almost all of our ancient forests are tattered and fragmented, and we need the BC government to have the wisdom to implement a science-based old-growth protection plan immediately to save what remains. In addition, they must ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.”

The new maps are based on 2012 BC Ministry of Forests inventory data (site productivity, stand height and volume, elevation, terrain) for the Crown lands and 2011 satellite photos and logging data for the private lands. The figures are derived from a preliminary data analysis based on the most conservative calculations (ie. erring on the lower side of what percentages of productive old-growth forests have been logged), with a more comprehensive analysis to be released in the near future.

“As a result of the high-grade depletion of the biggest trees, the forest industry has been left with diminishing returns as the trees get smaller, lower in value, and more expensive to reach. Most remaining old-growth forests in the province are on low productivity sites at high elevations, on rocky mountainsides, and in bogs of little to no commercial timber value,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “The BC government for the past decade has been spinning a tale that all is well in the woods and that ‘old-growth forests are not disappearing’ by their promotion of totally misleading statistics. They fail to provide context on how much productive old-growth once stood across the entire land base, and always include vast tracts of stunted, non-commercial ‘bonsai’ forests in bogs and at high altitudes in their statistics. It’s like combining your Monopoly money with your real money and then claiming to be a millionaire, so why curtail spending?”

• See a photogallery of Canada's biggest trees found in High Productivity, Valley Bottom Old-Growth Forests (91% have been logged on BC's southern coast) at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=1

• See a photogallery of Low Productivity Old-Growth Forests (much of the remaining old-growth forests) at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=22

Other key findings of the preliminary analysis include:

• Of the 5.5 million hectares of old-growth forests originally on BC’s southern coast, 2.2 million hectares (40%) were “low productivity” old-growth forests (generally smaller, stunted trees growing in bogs, in the subalpine zone, or on steep rocky slopes – most of which have little to no commercial timber value), while 3.3 million hectares (60%) were medium to high productivity old-growth forests (large trees targeted by logging). NOTE: Medium to high productivity forests are referred to here as simply “productive”.

• Of 3.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast, only 860,000 hectares (26%) currently remain.

• Only 260,000 hectares (8% of the original) of productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s).

• Of 360,000 hectares of the high productivity, valley-bottom stands (ie. the biggest, best stands with the richest biodiversity – the “classic” iconic old-growth forests of coastal BC) that once existed, only 31,000 hectares (9%) remain.

• Only 11,700 hectares (3% of the original) of the high productivity, valley bottom old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas.

MORE BACKGROUND INFO

Ancient forests are vital to sustain endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.

The evidence of collapsing ecosystems due to massive old-growth logging is revealed through the dramatic decline of old-growth dependent species across the province, like spotted owls, marbled murrelets, and mountain caribou.

BC’s spotted owl population was once estimated to consist of 1000 breeding adults, or likely several thousand individuals – today less than a dozen individuals are believed to exist in BC’s wilds. Marbled murrelets, a seabird that nests in old-growth trees, are considered to have undergone a “substantial to moderate decline” by BC’s Conservation Data Center. Mountain caribou populations, found in BC’s interior, have declined by 40% since the 1990’s, from 2500 individuals in 1995 to 1500 individuals today.

The BC government more than tripled the amount of unprocessed, raw logs leaving the province to foreign mills during their reign of power, according to recent figures provided by BC’s Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations (Min. of FLNRO) to the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA).

From 2002 to 2012, over 47 million cubic meters of raw logs were exported from BC to foreign mills in China, the USA, Japan, Korea, and other nations. This contrasts to about 14.8 million cubic meters from 1991 to 2001 under the previous government. Over the past two years alone, in 2011 and 2012, record levels of raw logs were exported from BC, 13.2 million cubic meters in total.

At its core, the massive export of raw logs has been driven by a combination of the BC government’s deregulation of the forest industry and by the industry’s unsustainable depletion of the biggest best old-growth trees at the lower elevations.

The overcutting of the prime stands of old-growth redcedars, Douglas-firs and Sitka spruce in the lowlands that historically built the wealth of the forest industry – and for which coastal sawmills were originally built to process – has resulted in diminishing returns as the trees get smaller, lower in value, different in species, and harder to reach high up the mountainsides and in the valley headwaters. Today, more than 90 per cent of the most productive old-growth forests in the valley bottoms on B.C.’s southern coast are gone.

Coastal mills generally haven’t been retooled to handle the changing profile of the forest with smaller trees as the lowland ancient forests have been depleted. Today hemlock and Amabilis fir stands (“hem-bal” in industry jargon) constitute most of the remaining old-growth stands, and Douglas-fir, cedar, and hemlock constitute most of the maturing second-growth stands. At a critical juncture in 2003 the BC Liberal government removed the local milling requirements (through the Forestry Revitalization Act), thus allowing tenured logging companies to shut down their mills instead of being forced to retool them to handle the changing forest profile. This allowed the companies to then export the unprocessed logs to foreign countries.

In a report for the B.C. Ministry of Forests (Ready for Change, 2001), Dr. Peter Pearse described the history of high-grade overcutting in BC`s coastal forests: “The general pattern was to take the nearest, most accessible, and most valuable timber first, gradually expand up coastal valleys and mountainsides into more remote and lower quality timber, less valuable, and costlier to harvest. Today, loggers are approaching the end of the merchantable old-growth in many areas … Caught in the vise of rising costs and declining harvest value, the primary sector of the industry no longer earns an adequate return …”

B.C.’s coastal forest industry, once Canada’s mightiest, is now a remnant of its past. Over the past decade, more than 70 B.C. mills have closed and over 30,000 forestry jobs lost. As old-growth stands are depleted and harvesting shifts to the second-growth, B.C.’s forestry jobs are being exported as raw logs to foreign mills due to a failure to retool old-growth mills to handle the smaller second-growth logs and invest in related manufacturing facilities.

In his 2001 report, Pearse also stated: “Over the next decade, the second-growth component of timber harvest can be expected to increase sharply, to around 10 million cubic metres … To efficiently manufacture the second-growth component of the harvest, 11 to 14 large mills will be needed.” Today, more than a decade later, there is only one large and a handful of smaller second-growth mills on the coast.

While old-growth forests are being liquidated, second-growth stands are also currently being overcut at a rapid pace mainly for raw log exports, thus limiting future options in general for a sustainable forest industry.

See spectacular photos of our old-growth forests at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/ (NOTE: Media are free to reprint any photos, credit to “TJ Watt” if possible. Let us know if you need higher res shots too)

See a recent ancient forest campaign video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YTizBF-jE

Authorized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act.
Ancient Forest Alliance, Victoria Main PO, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC, V8W 3S1 Canada