The certification of wood products from logging operations — including in B.C.’s old-growth forests such as the Caycuse watershed (above) — as sustainable is misleading, say complainants pushing the Consumer Bureau to investigate. Photo by TJ Watt
The fact clear-cutting at-risk ancient forests continues apace in British Columbia indicates Canadian forestry certification standards assuring consumers lumber products are sustainable are a mockery and need to be investigated, says a coalition of environmentalists.
Under the CSA’s current certification regime, the logging of B.C. forests such as hotly contested regions of old-growth on southwest Vancouver Island would be deemed sustainable — including unprotected areas of the Fairy Creek watershed, the epicentre of activist logging blockades for close to a year.
“What serious standards organization would certify the logging of the remaining three per cent of (B.C.’s) most valuable big tree forests as sustainable?” asked Vicky Husband, one of the complaint signatories and a renowned environmentalist.
“This certification is meaningless, designed to fool consumers into thinking they’re doing the right thing by buying these products.”
The investigation request to the Competition Bureau on behalf of the signatories was filed by Ecojustice, a non-profit environmental law firm, with the support of environmental groups Stand.earth and the Ancient Forest Alliance.
The complainants also want the CSA to pay a $10-million fine towards conservation projects should the bureau — responsible for the administration and enforcement of the federal Competition Act — deem the CSA’s forestry sustainable labelling is false.
The coalition also recommended the CSA be ordered to publicly retract certification claims of forestry sustainability if the case is verified.
Devon Page, executive director of Ecojustice, says industry shapes the certification process labelling forest products as sustainable. Photo courtesy of Devon Page
Canada’s weak environmental laws give logging companies control over the forests, and allow the industry the discretion to shape a certification process that allows it to flog destructive logging products in domestic and international markets as sustainable, said Devon Page, executive director of Ecojustice.
“Of course, it makes no sense that industry sets the certification standard,” Page said.
“What serious standards organization would certify the logging of the remaining three per cent of (B.C.’s) most valuable big tree forests as sustainable?” said environmentalist Vicky Husband, who wants the Canadian Standards Association investigated.
And weaknesses in the CSA’s forest certification system make it incapable of guaranteeing that forest management is sustainable, he added.
Nobody — not the CSA, the federal or provincial governments, or the logging companies themselves — is required to verify that the parameters of the sustainable certification are met in practice on the ground, he added.
CSA’s certification scheme includes language on conserving biological diversity, the recognition of environmental, economic, social or cultural values, and input from the public, but it’s a matter of form over substance, Page said.
“You could call it a process standard, not a performance standard,” he said. “CSA uses sustainable forest management language throughout their certification scheme, but at the end of day, they don’t require it.
“They give industry the discretion to determine whether they will do anything.”
The complaint establishes how the CSA’s claims are false and materially misleading based on a review of the wording of the association’s standards and in the context of old-growth logging in British Columbia’s forests, said Page.
While there have been few changes to the status quo logging practice, sustainable forestry certification systems have expanded rapidly in Canada, Page said.
Canada has 13 million hectares of forest certified to the CSA standard, two million of which are in B.C. And Canada has more certified forest area than any other country in the world, mostly to industry-led systems, according to the complaint.
Governments see forest certification as a means to reduce their role in forest industry oversight, pointing to independent third-party audits as evidence of compliance with regulations, the coalition stated.
It’s unacceptable that the continued logging of ancient forests is deemed sustainable, said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and another individual in the complaint.
The practice also infringes on Indigenous rights and title as First Nations seek to sustainably protect, manage, and steward the forests they hold jurisdiction over, Phillip said.
“In these times of renewed focus on the need to protect old-growth forests and their crucial importance for biodiversity and the climate, it’s clear that this logging is not remotely sustainable and is at odds with B.C.’s commitment to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.”
A spokesperson from the CSA was unavailable for immediate comment before publication deadline.
Ancient forests at the centre of a dispute around old-growth logging in B.C. are worth more standing in terms of tourism and ecosystem services, a new study finds. Photo by TJ Watt.
A new economic study shows ancient trees in the contentious Fairy Creek region on southern Vancouver Island are worth considerably more standing to nearby communities than if they were cut down.
And it confirms investments and efforts by the former forestry hub of Port Renfrew to rebrand itself as an ecotourism hot spot are right on track, business leaders say.
Protecting all the old-growth forests in the study area near Port Renfrew could result in an additional $40 million in net economic benefits over the next 100 years compared to logging as usual, said Andrea Inness of the Ancient Forest Alliance, which commissioned the independent research.
The cost-benefit analysis indicates carbon storage or sequestration, recreation, tourism, coho salmon habitat, non-timber forest products like floral greenery and mushrooms, along with research or education opportunities are worth more than timber extraction alone, Inness said.
“The findings are significant because they tell us that old-growth forests are not being managed in the broader public’s best interest,” Inness said.
“We need to see the province start making decisions around old-growth management that are in the best interest of all British Columbians — and not just the forest sector.”
Traditional economic analyses typically don’t tally up valuable ecosystem services that old-growth forests provide for free, says Andrea Inness of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA). Photo courtesy AFA
The two-and-a-half-year study focused on the province’s Arrowsmith Timber Supply area in Pacheedaht and Ditidaht First Nations’ territories within a 35-kilometre radius of Port Renfrew, said Inness.
As only a portion of harvestable forests near Port Renfrew were analyzed, the study actually underestimates the overall value of standing old-growth, she said.
Ancient forests in the Port Renfrew region have been at the centre of old-growth logging blockades by Rainforest Flying Squad (RFS) activists since August.
Both the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht have asked the protesters to leave the region so they can develop a regional integrated resource management plan, but protesters have remained, with close to 350 people arrested as of Monday.
“With much existing and potential tourism value to be gained from #OldGrowth, it makes economic sense to keep what’s left standing,” says Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC @TIABC_CA. #FairyCreek #BCpoli
And the NDP government is under increasing public pressure at home and abroad to take more action to protect remaining at-risk, old-growth forests throughout the province.
The new study reflects the economic changes that Port Renfrew is experiencing on the ground, said Karl Ablack, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce.
If all old-growth forests examined were protected, tourism itself would nearly make up for losses associated with timber extraction by adding an equivalent number of jobs and covering 66 per cent of the losses to GDP, the study said.
The economy of Port Renfrew, formerly a thriving resource community until the 1970s and ’80s, stalled with severe declines in forestry and the commercial fishing industry, Ablack said.
But the small community has revived itself over the last 20 to 25 years, first as a result of recreational fishing, and has since diversified into other ecotourism activities, including big tree tourism, he said.
In 2016, the community’s chamber put forth a resolution to the BC Chamber to support the protection of old-growth forests in areas where these forests had greater tourism value left standing. The resolution was unanimously adopted, noted Ablack.
Big Lonely Doug, believed to be one of the largest Douglas firs in Canada, was discovered alone in a clear-cut near Port Renfrew in 2014. Photo by TJ Watt
Selling itself as the Tall Tree Capital of Canada, people flock from around the globe to visit the gnarly giants in the now-protected Avatar Grove, or Big Lonely Doug, a massive Douglas fir that stands alone in a clear-cut.
A strict visitor count has yet to be done, but approximately 5,000 cars a day travel to Port Renfrew during the height of summer via the Pacific Marine Circle Route — a loop on southern Vancouver Island featuring the region’s wild beaches and majestic forests, Ablack said.
“And there are days at Avatar Grove or at Lonely Doug where you can have 200 cars lined up on the side of the road,” he said.
“The numbers in the recent study have been very important to help quantify some of that data.”
Tourism is a core industry across the province, and virtually every community relies on revenue and employment generated from visitors, especially as pandemic travel restrictions ease, said Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC), in a statement.
International tourists in particular are keen to experience B.C.’s natural beauty not found anywhere else, he said.
“With much existing and potential tourism value to be gained from old-growth, it makes economic sense to keep what’s left standing,” Judas added.
Beyond a focus on tourism revenue, traditional economic analyses typically don’t tally up the valuable ecosystem services old-growth forests provide for free, and which are increasingly important as climate change intensifies, Inness said.
“If you only consider short-term job creation, revenues and impacts to GDP, the economics aren’t telling the whole story,” Inness said, adding old rainforests store large amounts of carbon above and below ground and release carbon slowly as they decay.
And harvesting ancient groves sends more carbon into the atmosphere than can be compensated for by tree-planting or creating secondary wood products, she said.
Carbon storage is the biggest economic benefit to justify leaving old-growth standing and to reduce the massive financial burdens climate change is having, she added.
If old-growth in the study region was left alone, forest carbon emissions would be reduced by 569,250 tonnes, she said.
“This fact seems particularly timely, given B.C. is hitting record high temperatures,” Inness said.
Though the Pacheedahts recently asserted their right to determine how forest resources should be used in their territory, the nation is also heavily invested in ecotourism — owning a gas station, general store, and a resort, as well as recently securing $1 million in COVID-19 relief funding to expand and upgrade its campsite.
Port Renfrew’s regional director, Mike Hicks, believes the community would still be an ecotourism destination if old-growth logging continued. Photo courtesy of Mike Hicks
Mike Hicks, director for the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, which includes Port Renfrew, said logging will likely remain part of the region’s economy no matter what decisions are eventually made around old-growth.
Even if some old-growth logging continues, Hicks believes Port Renfrew’s economy is diversified enough to weather any limited damage to the community’s brand.
The area still boasts world-class recreational fishing, numerous beaches, surfing at Jordan River, excellent accommodations and restaurants, and Port Renfrew is still an entry point for the iconic West Coast Trail, he said.
And now with the availability of satellite internet services and the province’s recent commitment to extend cell service along Highway 14 between Sooke and Port Renfrew, the town has everything it needs to consolidate its reputation as a destination location, Hicks said.
“There is no stopping Port Renfrew,” Hicks said.
“It’s not going to live or die on old-growth logging because it’s got so much going for it.”
But keeping old-growth in the region has greater inherent value economically, Ablack said, adding second- or third-growth logging is likely to continue.
“Do I see logging going away? Absolutely not,” Ablack said.
“Do we need to redirect it to better serve sustainability? Certainly, we can look at that.”
[Editor’s Note: This story was updated Friday, July 2 to clarify the study examined harvestable old-growth in the provincial timber supply area within 35 kilometres of Port Renfrew – not all harvestable forests in that radius.]
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2-Walt-Judas-CEO-Tourism-Industry-Association-of-BC.jpg10001500TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-30 14:17:002023-04-06 19:05:57Old-growth in contentious Fairy Creek region could be worth more standing than logged
Environmentalists struggling to save diminishing ancient forests on Canada’s West Coast are hopeful after BC announced a new old-growth advisory panel staffed by respected foresters and scientists.
“The technical panel is a very welcome positive step forward,” said Andrea Inness of the Ancient Forest Alliance.
“It really gives me a glimmer of hope the province is going to listen to science around the state of old-growth forests.”
The new technical panel will ensure the province is using the best science and data available to identify at-risk old-growth ecosystems and prioritize the areas slated for old-growth logging deferrals, said BC Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy on Thursday.
“We are committed to a science-based approach to old-growth management, and our work with the advisory panel will help us break down barriers between the different interpretations of data that are out there,” Conroy said in a press statement.
The panel includes ecologists Rachel Holt and Karen Price, forest policy expert and environmental economist Lisa Matthaus, and foresters Garry Merkel and Dave Daust.
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The appointments come as the NDP government is facing mounting public pressure, both at home and abroad, to make good on its promise to protect the most at-risk tracts of BC’s iconic ancient forests. Protests calling for action have been occurring across the province, and hundreds of activists have been arrested at old-growth blockades in the Fairy Creek watershed on southwest Vancouver Island in Premier John Horgan’s riding.
The choice of panellists suggests the province is finally acknowledging the data and science behind the independent Last Stand report written by Holt, Price and Daust that indicates the dire state of at-risk forest ecosystems in BC, Inness said.
The report, often cited by environmental groups (ENGOs), suggests that only three per cent of BC’s remaining old forests support massive ancient trees.
“To date, we have not seen or heard the province accept those scientific findings or embrace and make decisions based on them,” Inness said.
The inclusion of Merkel — an author of the old-growth strategic review that includes 14 recommendations the province has committed to implement to shift forestry away from a focus on timber extraction to prioritizing biodiversity — is also a positive sign, she added.
“It really gives me a glimmer of hope the province is going to listen to science around the state of #OldGrowth forests,” says Andrea Inness, @ancientforestbc, of BC’s new advisory panel that will identify at-risk areas for logging deferrals.
“I hope this signals a turning point in the province’s approach to implementing the old-growth (review) recommendations,” she said.
“And that the province understands we can’t get anywhere if we don’t see eye-to-eye on the crisis at hand and the state of old-growth forests.”
The province has come under fire by ENGOs, which suggest it has grossly exaggerated the amount of at-risk old-growth it protected through logging deferrals in nine areas across the province made in September.
Inness hopes the panel’s input will rectify the government’s claim it has protected 200,000 hectares of old-growth.
“I still have concerns, because we continue to see the province use misleading figures around the state of old-growth forests and what they’ve done so far,” Inness said.
“You know much of that forest is not what the average British Columbia would consider old-growth. It is low-productivity forest with smaller trees, and much of that area is already protected.”
The panel will be providing advice around high-priority areas for deferrals, but won’t be making any decisions, which will result from government-to-government discussions with Indigenous nations, Conroy said at a press conference Thursday.
In addition to identifying high-priority at-risk areas for deferral, the panel will help develop a common understanding of the broader issues around at-risk forest ecosystems, Holt told Canada’s National Observer.
“We’re hoping along the way we can increase the understanding and transparency of information around the issues of old-growth forests in the province,” Holt said.
There has been a lot of different or competing data presented from various stakeholders around old-growth forests, and it’s resulting in public mistrust, she said, noting the old-growth review called for better public information on at-risk forests.
“We’re hoping the panel can clear up a lot of that miscommunication, and really help the public, so everyone has a baseline understanding of the state of old-growth in the province,” Holt said.
“What really is and isn’t at risk. How much there is. You know, all these questions there’s been a lot of conversation about over the last couple of years.”
However, Conroy would not clarify when or if the panel’s information around the priority deferral areas would become public, saying, eventually some information would be released.
“The advice will be confidential, but it’ll help us to inform those really important government-to-government discussions on future deferrals,” Conroy said, adding more deferrals are expected this summer.
Jens Wieting of Sierra Club BC said he hoped the panel appointment signalled the province would no longer delay action around the promised paradigm shift in forest stewardship.
Interim old-growth deferrals are vital to ensure the most at-risk forests aren’t being logged as discussions with First Nations occur, Wieting said.
“But I’d like to repeat how important it is that the government act quickly, and announce funding with the explicit purpose to increase protections, and give First Nations and communities some hope they’ll be supported through this transition,” he said.
Holt also hopes the panel’s work will mark a shift in forestry policy in the province.
“The government taking the step of putting this group together really helps us move along that track,” she said, adding little progress has been made to date.
“I want to be optimistic that this is the beginning of the paradigm shift. And time will tell us if that is correct.”
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/old-growth-redcedar-stump-teal-jones_tj_watt.jpeg10001500TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-25 12:07:192023-08-14 15:49:16BC’s new old-growth advisory panel ‘a glimmer of hope’ for ancient forests
I’ve fought to save forests for 40 years. It’s time for real change.
NDP forest policies are just more ‘talk and log,’ writes veteran environmentalist Vicky Husband. This recent old-growth clearcut is adjacent to the Fairy Creek Valley. Photo by T.J. Watt.
Let’s call Premier John Horgan’s forest policies what they are — a colonial defence of talk and log and a moral failure to protect the province’s remaining old-growth forests.
Horgan has sparked a brutal new war in the woods by denying two realities: our forests have been massively overcut for little added value, and we are now nearing the long-predicted end of our old-growth forests.
In this regard Horgan and his government share with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro a disregard for the value, work and beauty of primary ancient forests.
For more than 40 years now I have fought to save ancient complex forests from corporate chainsaws on Meares Island, and later Clayoquot Sound, South Moresby/Gwaii Haanas, the Khutzeymateen and more.
I did so because I saw these forests not solely as a source of giant trees, but also as groundwater regulators, carbon holders, medicine makers, water filters, biodiversity bankers, fungal communicators, salmon guardians and rainmakers.
We won a few battles, but we never saved enough ancient forest. After every protest, the government dutifully promised to reform the industrial logging system. And then the clear cutting of ancient forests resumed.
Under Horgan, the deadly game continues. After some 200 arrests at Fairy Creek, the premier now promises to defer logging on “part” of that timber licence and in the Central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island. But that part is less than one-sixth of one per cent of the forest that needs protection province-wide.
Last year the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel gave the government an urgent message — defer logging on province’s last old-growth forests or risk losing the province’s remaining ecosystem health and diversity.
But Horgan didn’t listen.
B.C. has the nation’s richest biodiversity, containing 50,000 species — everything from ferns to fungi. Our forests nourish much of this diversity. Without that diversity the forest perishes and there remains nothing “super, natural” about this place.
But as these primary forests disappear into two-by-fours, wood pellets and raw log exports, B.C. is now seeing not only an extreme loss of species but the risk of multiple extinctions.
Salmon numbers have dwindled because they spawn in the headwaters of B.C. rivers where they need forest-shaded and sediment-free water. The health of our wild salmon and the integrity of our forests are one and the same.
It took 150 years to get to this reckoning. But the most extreme damage to once-bountiful forests has all happened in the last 70 years.
We liquidated ancient forests hundreds, even more than a thousand, years old, to “build the province” and export fibre. As the companies and machines got bigger, the primary forests shrank, rural communities began to grow poorer and fish and wildlife populations declined.
In this reductionist scheme, the government gambled that uniform tree plantations could replace complex ecosystems. These second- and third-growth forests aren’t as diverse or valuable, and now we are hunting the last great trees like buffalo.
Throughout the Fairy Creek blockade, Horgan has noted the Pacheedaht Nation supports logging in the territory and had called on the protesters blocking roads not to interfere. Government defenders have talked about the nation’s forest revenue-sharing agreement, sawmill and tenure.
Green MLA Adam Olsen, a member of the Tsartlip First Nation, shredded those claims. In a statement, he wrote that nations like the Pacheedaht have little choice but to sign take-it-or-leave it agreements “that provide limited benefits, do not affirm the human rights of Indigenous peoples, or recognize their rights.”
Clauses in the agreement, he writes, commit the Pacheedaht to “not support or participate in any acts that frustrate, delay, stop or otherwise physically impede or interfere with provincially authorized forest activities.”
But there is a bigger problem with these colonial agreements. The government offered the Pacheedaht no other economic alternatives or ecological choices other than logging their remaining heritage. Horgan has cynically called this political shell game “reconciliation.”
All of my life I have supported Indigenous rights and title. But using First Nations’ rights as a weak excuse for logging the last vestiges of biological diversity in this province and removing our best defence against climate change is morally wrong. It is also an insult to First Nations.
Horgan has accepted the Pacheedaht call for a two-year deferral of old-growth logging in Fairy Creek. But the Squamish Nation has called for a similar ban in its territory, and others are expected to follow. We’ll see how far the government’s claimed respect for Indigenous rights extends.
During this latest war in the woods, Horgan’s government has been in denial about another fundamental reality: the declining value of B.C.’s aging forest industry.
Two decades ago, B.C.’s forest industry employed 91,000 citizens: today it employs fewer than 50,000 people. The industry accounts for a paltry two-per-cent share of GDP. Forest revenue is forecast at $1.1 billion this year, less than two per cent of total government revenues.
An analysis by Focus on Victoria magazine found that operating the Forests Ministry — managing timber sales, fighting wildfires, tree planting and other expenses cost taxpayers more than $10 billion between 2009 and 2019. During the same period the industry produced direct government revenues of $6 billion. That’s appalling math, and even worse stewardship.
The industry has closed 100 mills since the late 1990s. And contrary to Horgan’s explanation, this has nothing to do with fires and pine beetles, but everything to do with allowing existing tenure holders to harvest too much wood, too fast.
Not surprisingly, the government, the steward of this grand mess, hasn’t even bothered to issue a report on the state and conditions of our forests since 2010.
Meanwhile, the government has allowed the export of raw logs to China, Japan and Korea to grow to an average of six million cubic metres. That amounts to the export of an estimated 3,600 full-time manufacturing jobs every year.
Unlike the industrial forest business, tourism generated $22.3 billion in revenue in 2019 and employed more than 130,000 people. The millions of visitors didn’t come here to view clearcuts, flooded valleys or destroyed salmon habitat. They came to see the very same “super, natural” beauty that the government seems dedicated to erasing on behalf of a few special interests.
The time for half measures, intentions and denial is over. British Columbians have spoken: they want to protect what few sylvan elders remain and end the destructive travesty in our forests.
The political tool is simple: a moratorium on the logging of the province’s remaining old-growth forests.
And while reducing the scale of the industry, why not create a special and innovative fund to pay First Nations and other communities to protect and monitor the health of our forests?
One obstacle remains: we must drag a premier stuck in a 19th-century culture of exploitation into the 21st century. It is time to manage our forests for the survival of all living things.
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Teal-Jones-Old-Growth-Logging-Aerial.jpg10001500TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-14 13:35:002024-06-17 16:10:31Ending Horgan’s War against Old Growth
VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has approved a request from a group of First Nations to defer old-growth logging in their territories on southwestern Vancouver Island for the next two years.
Premier John Horgan announced the province’s decision to approve the request on Wednesday, saying he was “very proud” to receive the deferral request and says more requests will be coming this summer.
The deferred lands include 884 hectares of old forests in the Fairy Creek watershed, near Port Renfrew, and 1,150 hectares of old growth in the central Walbran valley, near Lake Cowichan.
When asked if he thought the two-year deferral on roughly 2,000 hectares of old-growth forests would end the months-long protests in the region, Horgan was cautiously optimistic.
“I’m hopeful that those who have taken to the roads of southern Vancouver Island will understand that this process is not one that can happen overnight,” the premier said.
“I understand the importance of preserving these areas,” Horgan added. “But I also understand that you can’t turn on a dime when you’re talking about an industry that has been the foundation of BC’s economy.”
The Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht First Nations told the province on Saturday of their plan to postpone old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas while the nations develop long-term resource stewardship plans.
Horgan acknowledged Wednesday that his government’s approval of the deferral request comes at a cost to the forestry sector but said the anticipated impact on jobs is “modest in this area.”
“Over time there will be costs to moving in this direction but those are going to be dollars well spent,” Horgan said. “We’re changing the way we do business on the land and that is hard work.”
MORE LOGGING DEFERRALS COMING
Protesters have been blockading logging roads in the Fairy Creek area since August, preventing forestry company Teal-Jones from accessing the watershed. In April, the BC Supreme Court granted the company an injunction to have the blockades removed.
Since the RCMP began enforcing the injunction in late May, at least 194 people have been arrested, including more than two dozen arrests since the First Nations announced their deferral plans.
“These are monumental steps,” the premier said of the logging deferrals, noting that more deferral requests will be coming.
“These announcements are transformative for an industry that has been foundational to British Columbia’s success and will be foundational to our future success, but it has to be done a different way,” Horgan said.
“Today I am proud to have deferred these territories at the request of the title-holders and I’m very excited about the deferrals that will be coming later in the summer and all through the implementation of our old-growth plan,” the premier added.
Teal-Jones told CTV News on Monday that it would abide by the First Nations’ deferral request even before the province had accepted it.
“Teal-Jones acknowledges the ancestral territories of all First Nations on which we operate and is committed to reconciliation,” the company said.
The deferral prevents not just old-growth logging but all logging activities in the designated old-growth areas. It also prohibits the construction of new logging roads, however some maintenance and deactivation work may continue for safety and environmental reasons.
The First Nations say forestry operations in other parts of their territories will continue without disruption and they are asking protesters not to interfere with these approved operations.
“Today, we welcome the decision by the Government of British Columbia to approve the request made by our three nations,” the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht said in a joint statement following the premier’s announcement.
“We expect everyone to allow forestry operations approved by our nations and the Government of British Columbia in other parts of our territories to continue without interruption,” the nations added.
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Screen-Shot-2021-06-10-at-10.14.19-AM.png7161256TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-09 10:12:002024-07-30 16:27:13These are monumental steps’: BC government approves old-growth logging deferral on Vancouver Island
The Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations are requesting a two-year pause on old-growth logging in two watershed areas while they work on stewardship plans informed by Indigenous priorities
The Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, and Huu-ay-aht First Nations have formally given notice to the province of BC to defer old-growth logging for two years in the Fairy Creek and Central Walbran areas on southwest Vancouver Island while the nations prepare resource management plans.
The notice comes as RCMP prepared on Monday morning to arrest protesters who have been camping in the Fairy Creek area since last summer in an attempt to prevent old-growth logging of the valley in Pacheedaht territory. More than 170 people have been arrested since forestry company Teal-Jones obtained a court injunction in April to allow the arrest and removal of protesters from access points to planned logging in the Fairy Creek area.
The nations announced on Monday that they have signed a declaration called the the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration to take back their power over their ḥahahuułi (traditional territories).
“For more than 150 years they have watched as others decided what was best for their lands, water, and people,” said a statement issued by the Huu-ay-aht First Nation, which had already decided to defer logging of its treaty lands.
“This declaration brings this practice to an immediate end,” said the statement.
In an emailed statement, Teal-Jones said the company will abide by the declaration and looks forward “to engaging with the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations as they develop integrated resource forest stewardship plans.”
“Teal Jones acknowledges the ancestral territories of all First Nations on which we operate and is committed to reconciliation,” said the statement.
It was not immediately clear if the RCMP will continue to arrest people who are still blocking logging roads leading to the Fairy Creek watershed.
Pacheedaht First Nation chief councillor Jeff Jones said the three nations look forward to building a future based on respectful nation-to-nation relationships with other governments “that are informed by Indigenous history, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous rights and Indigenous priorities.”
“We ask that all peoples both Indigenous and non-Indigenous learn and move forward together and that by working together we can realize a future that is fair, just, and equitable,” Chief Jones said.
The declaration states that the governance and stewardship responsibilities in the traditional territories of the three Nations must be acknowledged and respected, in accordance with the traditional laws and constitutionally protected Aboriginal Title, Aboriginal Rights and Treaty Rights.
“Third parties — whether they are companies, organizations, other governments or individuals — have no right to speak on behalf of the Nations,” the statement said.
“Moreover, for third parties to be welcome in their ḥahahuułi, they must respect their governance and stewardship, sacred principles, and right to economically benefit from the resources within the ḥahahuułi.”
Leaders from the three nations said they have made a commitment to their people to manage the resources on their ḥahahuułi the way their ancestors did — guided by the sacred principles of ʔiisaak (utmost respect), ʔuuʔałuk (taking care of), and Hišuk ma c̕awak (everything is one).
“We are in a place of reconciliation now and relationships have evolved to include First Nations,” Huu-ay-aht Tayii Ḥaw̓ił ƛiišin (Head Hereditary Chief Derek Peters) said.
“It is time for us to learn from the mistakes that have been made and take back our authority over our ḥahahuułi.”
The declaration acknowledges that three sacred principles are often ignored and the Nations are “the last to benefit from what is taken out of the territory and the last to be asked what must be put back.”
The nations said they are already engaged in extensive stewardship efforts on their territories to “repair damage done in the past and to plan for future generations, drawing on sound data and information, best practices and science, and as always, guided by traditional values.”
Pacheedaht First Nation forestry manager Rod Bealing told The Narwhal there will be no more road-building in the Fairy Creek headwaters during the two-year deferral. “Our agreement is for no forest management activities,” Bealing said.
“However, we do expect an appropriate amount of maintenance to be carried out to make sure that the roads are safe and that there is an appropriate level of environmental protection.”
In mid-April, the Pacheedaht asked protesters to leave their territory, saying: “We do not welcome or support unsolicited involvement or interference by others in our territory, including third-party activism.”
Premier John Horgan said his government has received the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration and deferral request issued by the chiefs of the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations.
“These Nations are the holders of constitutionally protected Indigenous interests within their traditional territories. It is from this position that the Chiefs have approached us,” Horgan said in a media statement issued at 1 p.m. on Monday.
“We honour the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration. And we are pleased to enter into respectful discussions with the Nations regarding their request. We understand the request must be addressed expeditiously, and we will ensure a prompt response.”
Horgan said the government recognizes that the three Nations will continue to exercise their constitutionally protected Indigenous interests.
“Our government is committed to reconciliation. True reconciliation means meaningful partnerships. I know the three Nations are ready to enter into these discussions in a spirit of good faith, and with a goal of achieving a mutually satisfactory resolution. Our government is as well.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Fairy-Creek-Aerial-2021-493.jpg10001500TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-07 14:04:002024-07-30 16:26:47Pacheedaht First Nation tells BC to defer old-growth logging in Fairy Creek
The provincial ministry in charge of forests is sending biologists to the Fairy Creek region following reported recent sightings of Western Screech-Owls, which are protected under the federal Species at Risk Act.
David Muter, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Resource Stewardship Division of the Forests and Lands Ministry, confirmed with CHEK News that a team of biologists is headed to where the sightings happened in Caycuse/Fairy Creek area.
“We’re going to be having our team out there on the ground trying to develop a plan on that specific site to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect these owls,” said Muter.
“[It is] very significant because I don’t think anyone’s ever observed a screech owl in that area of Fairy Creek, at least officially,” she said.
Petrell, who has previously reported 10 owls in six different locations within the region, says during her latest trip she’s also documented a band-tailed pigeon and an Olive-sided Flycatcher — birds that are on the federal government’s list of special concern.
“I hope this time the government listens and halts the logging of the old-growth and all around for kilometres around where we saw the sightings,” said Petrell.
Petrell has sighted the owls on either side of the Fairy Creek watershed but none within it.
“John Horgan barely mentioned old growth in his presentation and true modernization of BC’s forestry practices can only come when we address the ecological crisis that we’re in. It needs to be rooted in the survival of B.C.’s endangered old-growth forests,” said TJ Watt of Ancient Forest Alliance.
“People are looking to products that are made from forest fibre that are sustainably managed as part of the climate solution and I think it’s not an either-or conversation,” said Susan Yurkovich, the council’s chief executive officer and president. “We can have environmental conservation. We can have old-growth forests and we can have economic contribution and I hope we can move the conversation to that space.”
Petrell says she’s hoping the federal government, which has jurisdiction over migratory birds will get involved in halting old-growth logging in the region because she doesn’t believe the province will.
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Screen-Shot-2021-06-03-at-12.21.26-PM.png8801574TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-03 12:15:002023-04-06 19:06:07Professor finds more threatened owls and birds in Fairy Creek region, province sending biologists
The province says there are 57 million hectares of forested land in B.C. (The Wilderness Committee)
Forestry Minister Katrine Conroy says she expects new logging deferrals to be announced this summer, following Tuesday’s announcement of a new forestry plan.
The province’s plan is intended to modernize the industry, focusing on sustainability and redistribution of forest tenures.
Deferrals temporarily protect old growth, putting harvesting on hold in old forest ecosystems at the highest risk of permanent biodiversity loss. They can expire, and can be extended.
The province says there are 57 million hectares of forested land in B.C., and there are currently 13.7 million hectares of old growth in British Columbia, 10 million of which are protected or considered not economical to harvest.
Conroy said there is a policy in the new plan’s intentions paper that is a commitment to continue to defer logging old-growth forests.
“We are continuing to engage with Indigenous leaders, we’re working with labour, with industry and environmental groups to look at where there is to identify the potential for additional deferral areas,” she told All Points West host Kathryn Marlow.
“I expect we’ll be able to announce additional deferrals this summer.”
An ancient red cedar stump measuring four metres in diameter is shown in this file photo. (TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance)
“The reality is this crisis is precipitated by the government making promises to save the most at-risk old growth and then not doing anything,” Wilderness Committee campaign director Torrance Coste said in an interview on Tuesday.
“We were expecting some acknowledgement of that and maybe a faster timeline or some immediate on-the-ground measures, some things that would actually make it different out in the forest tomorrow.”
Consulting with First Nations
Dallas Smith, president of the Nanwakolas Council in Campbell River, said First Nations have been concerned about logging old-growth trees for two decades, but recent protests in the Fairy Creek area have created more awareness.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s got to the point that it’s gotten to,” he said.
A sign at the entrance to the Eden blockade in the Fairy Creek area near Port Renfrew, B.C., is shown on May, 11. (Jen Osborne/Canadian Press)
Smith hopes there will be more engagement between the provincial government and First Nations communities about the process of getting deferrals.
“We would love a chance to sit down with government, with the Ministry of Forests and have that discussion about all the tenures that exist within our territories, including B.C. timber sales, and just have a talk about how we fit within those licences that go there and start making some of that transition,” he said.
“There’s no new tenures out there so we have to find a way of redistributing existing tenures while keeping the continuity of the economy going.”
He wants to find the balance between conservation and First Nations being able to benefit from forestry on their lands.
Conroy said those conversations will happen.
“From my perspective, that’s a key part of it, she said, adding that the new plans include ensuring that Indigenous nations are involved when it comes to land management.
In the midst of escalating protests over logging, Horgan released an intentions paper on Tuesday that critics say fails to implement any immediate solutions
As protests over old-growth logging continue to escalate on southern Vancouver Island, where more than 140 people have been arrested, all eyes were on the provincial government Tuesday as it announced much-anticipated action on the future of forest policy.
But the province’s policy intentions paper failed to present any immediate solutions to the problems unfolding on the landscape, deferring action on old-growth until 2023 in a move critics say sets the stage for more conflict.
“It’s just a stunning denial of the reality on the ground,” Torrance Coste, national campaign director with the Wilderness Committee, told The Narwhal in an interview. “There was a good chance that there were people arrested during the press conference.”
Ken Wu, executive director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance, also pointed out the stark contrast between the passion of hundreds of people fighting to protect ancient forests and “their connection to these magnificent living ecosystems” versus the government response.
“You have, essentially, these guys who are trying to buy time and take it slowly and not put in place the key components to actually save those ecosystems. You can see the fury developing.”
The intentions paper outlined how the province plans to implement changes to its forest management policies, including preparing the way to transfer forest tenures to First Nations, but according to numerous conservation organizations, the plan lacks key elements needed to support communities and protect biodiversity.
Here’s what you need to know about the province’s plan for BC forests.
A protester is carried on a police stretcher after being arrested at a blockade near the Fairy Creek watershed on Monday, May 31. Photo: Carol Linnitt / The Narwhal
1. No new BC old-growth logging deferrals implemented
In the spring of 2020, an independent panel commissioned by the province reviewed BC’s management of old forest ecosystems and called for a “paradigm shift” in the way the province oversees the forest industry. The panel made 14 recommendations, including an urgent need to immediately defer logging in old-growth forests at risk of irreversible biodiversity loss, to buy time for the province to develop a new strategy. The panel gave the province six months to implement deferrals.
At a press conference, Premier John Horgan claimed the province is working on implementing the recommendations and cited 200,000 hectares of deferrals that were implemented last year. But critics said those deferrals failed to protect ecosystems facing the highest risk, and noted deferrals are no more than temporary protective measures. https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-old-growth-forest-vancouver-island-caycuse/embed/#?secret=SPf1B04tkD
“To say they’re implementing the panel’s recommendations is demonstrably false,” Wu said. “They missed their six-month deadline — in fact, it’s been over a year and they haven’t implemented critical deferrals, in particular on the high-productivity old-growth.”
Last month, a trio of independent scientists analyzed and mapped the province’s old forests to provide the province with a ready-to-go tool for implementing the deferrals. As The Narwhal previously reported, the map identified about 1.3 million hectares of forest in harm’s way, which is around 2.6 per cent of BC’s timber supply.
The province’s plan did not include any new deferrals, instead noting it intends to commit to more deferrals.
A statement provided to The Narwhal by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said the panel did not recommend a pause on all old-growth harvesting and added one of the key recommendations is engaging the full involvement of Indigenous leaders and organizations.
“Indigenous engagement is critical but will take time,” the statement said. “Government recognizes the importance of this issue to many Indigenous nations, and has sought advice from some Indigenous organizations to develop an engagement approach that can be effective. Discussions have begun with some nations, but not all nations yet.”
During a press briefing, the province noted the organizations it consulted, including Indigenous organizations, were confidential.
In a recent interview with The Narwhal, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, said time is of the essence.
“It makes no sense to have a protracted dialogue if, at the end of it, we discover the old-growth is gone.”
“It’s a basic denial of what this moment requires,” Coste said of the province’s intentions paper. “This moment requires hitting the brakes, realizing that the public trust is extremely frail. And without that public trust, none of these intentions are achievable.”
An aerial view of a clearcut timber supply area in the Caycuse watershed. Photo: TJ Watt
2. No clear path for funding a transition to more sustainable BC forestry
According to critics, the intentions paper notably lacks a plan to financially support the province’s modernization goals, and warned that redistributing forest tenures from large logging companies to First Nations could perpetuate the harvest of at-risk ecosystems.
“The most insidious thing is that they look like they are working to increase the economic dependency of communities, including First Nations, through an economic stake in old-growth logging,” Wu said.
Coste said First Nations relying on the revenue generated by old-growth logging need to be compensated for any economic losses resulting from putting the brakes on forestry activities, but noted that Premier Horgan said he cannot implement deferrals without consent from Indigenous communities.
“The choice for First Nations is: agree to deferrals and get no revenue or agree to logging and get revenue. That’s not a choice, not after 150 years of colonization,” he said. “There’s zero dollars earmarked under that policy intention, zero dollars earmarked in the budget and zero plan for how these immediate, medium and long-term steps will be funded.”
Wu said without alternative economic solutions, old-growth logging will continue.
“That’s a game changer if there’s no funding and agreements to protect the at-risk old-growth and to finance the alternative, which is conservation-based economies,” he said. “[The province has] made no commitments to increase … provincial funding for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and associated sustainable economic development.”
The Ministry of Forests did not respond to questions about allocating funding to support its policy intentions.
3. Province intends to double forest tenures held by First Nations
One of the principle themes outlined in the intentions paper is increasing Indigenous participation in BC’s forest management. At the press conference, Horgan repeated his government’s commitment to reconciliation.
“We continue to collaborate with First Nations, and others, to make sure that we protect species, and we protect the biodiversity that is so critically important to our old-growth forests,” he said. “It’s vital that we do not repeat the colonial activities of the past and [dictate to] the First Nations what they do on their territories today.”
According to Jessica Clogg, executive director and senior counsel with West Coast Environmental Law, these statements only addressed one side of the story.
“I was quite appalled at how the premier hid behind the Crown’s constitutional duties to Indigenous People in justifying [the province’s] failure to act on its commitment to immediately defer at-risk old-growth,” she said. “The province has continued for decades to issue cutting permits to new tenures, all without Indigenous consent, keeping the momentum of clearcut logging going in this province. And yet, when it comes to pressing the pause button in order to avoid talking and logging while negotiations are ongoing, the premier then trotted out consultations as an excuse.”
The plan, according to Horgan and Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Katrine Conroy, is to double the tenures owned by First Nations.
“The idea of breaking up tenure concentration and ensuring local partnerships with Indigenous Peoples are all good words,” Clogg said. “But when you look at the details, you see the province saying that they hope to increase the amount of replaceable forest tenure held by Indigenous Peoples to 20 per cent from the current level of 10 per cent. That’s effectively saying that they intend to leave the other 80 per cent of logging rights in the control of major forest companies.”
Clogg admitted one policy intention gives her some optimism.
“What I read as a commitment to work with Indigenous Peoples to reintroduce prescribed and ceremonial burning — there are definitely forest ecosystems in which Indigenous management through fire was an integral part of the historic ecosystem condition. That is a very positive thing.”
Wu noted the province has an opportunity to protect BC’s forests, which he said Horgan acknowledged.
“The one tiny little glimmer of hope is it seems like he’s recognized that the federal government is providing $2.3 billion largely for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas over the next five years and BC’s share of that would probably be [around] $300 million.”
He said that funding could be used to support communities as part of a strategy to save what’s left of BC’s old-growth.
4. Intentions include plans to maximize value and support local manufacturers
Several of the policy intentions focused on restructuring provincial rules and regulations to support local manufacturers, including addressing issues with the province’s own forestry outfit, BC Timber Sales, which manages about 20 per cent of BC’s forests.https://thenarwhal.ca/indicative-of-a-truly-corrupt-system-government-investigation-reveals-bc-timber-sales-violating-old-growth-logging-rules/embed/#?secret=yD5vFpAJW0
Clogg said there could be positive outcomes from revising how BC Timber Sales operates in the province, but warned any changes would need to be supported by additional measures to ensure local manufacturers don’t have to log themselves to access the wood.
The province also noted its intention to revise its rules on how companies operate on the landscape, which could reduce the amount of waste, which is typically burned on the forest floor. But Clogg said the wording in the intentions paper is vague.
“The way the language in the paper is structured, you could say the province is finally going to take some measures to prevent high-grading — taking some of the highest and best trees and leaving the rest,” she said. “On the flip side, we could be going back to the bad old days, where you had even more draconian ‘log it or lose it’ provisions.”
She added that the province’s plan does little to shift the forest industry away from being controlled by a handful of large companies.
“The underpinning foundation of our forest sector is a set of what we call tenures — various licences and logging rights — that were established between the ’40s and the ’60s, and were always designed to attract and support major logging companies,” she said. “That fundamental foundation would not be altered by these proposals.”
5. BC forestry plan does not address the biodiversity crisis
The 2020 old-growth strategic review urged the province to prioritize biodiversity and at-risk species over the economic benefits of the forest industry. The intentions paper does not mention biodiversity and instead focuses largely on forest-based economy.https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-biodiversity-targets-ecojustice-report/embed/#?secret=5voV5472Vv
Andrea Inness, campaigner with Ancient Forest Alliance, said in a statement that was a glaring omission from the intentions paper.
“A vision for BC’s forests that isn’t firmly rooted in ecological health does no favours for communities. This path continues to rob British Columbians of old-growth forests and the critical ecological services they provide while driving communities ever closer to the looming economic cliff ahead of them.”
Clogg said it was clear the province continues to view BC forests as timber supply, not ecosystems, and noted the speakers at the press conference included forest industry advocates and lacked any environmental organizations.
“The timber-oriented orientation of the intentions paper really leaves me doubting that this increased discretion the province now intends to give itself legally will be used in a way that protects biodiversity and ecosystem health or upholds Indigenous Rights.”
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screen-Shot-2021-03-11-at-11.37.59-AM.png10661798TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-02 11:41:002023-04-06 19:06:07Five ways BC’s new forestry plan sets the stage for more old-growth conflict
B.C. Greens, Sierra Club B.C. say old growth forests still at risk; industry council praises announcement
Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance say old growth forests like this one are crucial to the overall health of ecosystems. (Submitted by TJ Watt)
After weeks of arrests and attempts to block old growth logging on Vancouver Island, the province’s anticipated forestry announcement proved to be a disappointment Tuesday to protesters and environmentalists.
The province unveiled a plan Tuesday for “sustainable forest policy” that largely focuses on redistributing forest tenures — the agreements between government and harvesters.
While the province said the plan is to include more Indigenous Nations, forest communities and small operators in forestry agreements, critics say the move does little to address the need to preserve old growth forests that are actively being logged, including trees inside lots at the Fairy Creek Watershed.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Jens Wieting, forest and climate campaigner with the environmental group Sierra Club B.C. “We are seeing thousands of people across B.C. joining protests, and they know we are in the midst of a climate and biodiversity crisis.”
The province says there are currently 13.7 million hectares of old growth in British Columbia, and 10 million of those hectares are protected or considered not economical to harvest. There are about 57 million hectares of forested land in B.C.
But for the past decade, conservation groups like the Ancient Forest Alliance, the Wilderness Committee and Sierra Club B.C. have all used provincial data to argue that old growth trees in the areas where the trees grow biggest are being cut down at an unsustainable rate.
Last year, more than a dozen recommendations were made to the province in a report aimed at protecting old growth forests. The province maintains it is committed to implementing them by 2023.
Critics say that’s not soon enough and would rather see immediate deferrals of old growth logging.
“We are losing any and all remaining trust that the B.C. government is serious about implementing these changes before it’s too late,” said Wieting.
The recently released Old Growth Strategic Review lays out an ambitious set of recommendations meant to help change forest management policies on a systemic level. (Kieran Oudshoorn/CBC)
It’s a sentiment echoed by Sonia Furstenau, leader of the B.C. Green Party and MLA for Cowichan Valley.
“This really shows a lack of leadership and a lack of understanding of the moment we’re in,” she told CBC News. “British Columbians want to see the last of this land protected.”
Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee, said that while many of the policy intentions laid out by the government are worthy, such as more tenure for First Nations and strengthened enforcement for companies that break the rules, the most important missing component was immediate action.
“These forests are falling now,” he told All Points West host Kathryn Marlow.
“There needs to be some interim action. There needs to be some, not permanent action, but some protections for some holds on logging right now. And instead, we’re seeing [Horgan] make more commitments and broaden the issue and really sidestep the commitments that he has already made.”
Industry support
The premier was asked why Tuesday’s announcement did not include immediate action to prevent logging of old growth trees in the Fairy Creek watershed, where protesters have been defying an injunction in Horgan’s own riding.
“The critical recommendation that’s in play at Fairy Creek is consulting with the title holders,” said Horgan. “If we were to arbitrarily put deferrals in place there, that would be a return to the colonialism that we have so graphically been brought back to this week by the discovery in Kamloops.”
In a statement, the B.C. Council of Forest Industries applauded the government’s announcement, saying a collaboration with various stakeholders moving forward will help “sustain good jobs for British Columbians.”
Between wildfires, the mountain pine beetle, and a declining timber supply, the province says there have been 1,620 permanent, 420 temporary and 820 indefinite job losses in the forestry sector.
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Nahmint-Valley-Andrea-Inness-Cedar-Stump-1.jpg12001800TJ Watthttp://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cropped-AFA-Logo-1000px-300x300.pngTJ Watt2021-06-01 11:56:002024-07-30 17:03:18Politicians, environmentalists, industry divided on B.C.’s forestry plan
