NDP Leader Adrian Dix

URGENT- Strong Old-Growth Commitment Needed from BC’s NDP – Speak Up Now!

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URGENT- Strong Old-Growth Commitment Needed from BC’s NDP – Speak Up Now! SEND a NEW MESSAGE at:  www.BCForestMovement.com

Last week the BC NDP mentioned in their Main Election Platform that they will “protect valuable old-growth forests”, though they have not yet specified key details like “how much”, “where”, or “when”. Previously, the NDP’s Forestry Platform and their initial Environment Platform made no mention of old-growth forests or sustainable forestry, so this is a step forward for the party. What is needed now is a stronger commitment for a comprehensive, science-based old-growth protection plan that will fully end old-growth logging in endangered ecosystems and regions of BC. Already 91% of the high-productivity valley bottom ancient forests on BC’s southern coast with the “classic” monumental trees have been logged, while 99% of the old-growth Coastal Douglas Firs have been logged. There is a large scale ecological crisis in BC’s woods and our politicians must understand this if they are to be elected.

Currently, the BC Liberals contend that “old-growth forests are not disappearing” while the BC Greens have committed to a science-based plan to fully protect endangered old-growth forests.
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. The crucial question on the NDP’s old-growth plan is if it would exceed the inadequate protection levels of the status quo under the BC Liberals and restrict or end the logging of endangered old-growth forests in any region 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 so far say it is [see details BELOW].
PLEASE SPEAK UP!
Putting pressure on NDP candidates is the MOST IMPORTANT thing YOU can do to protect our ancient forests now!! The NDP will likely form BC’s new government in less than three weeks. There’s a large scale ecological crisis underway in BC’s ancient forests as we lose biodiversity and as ecosystems collapse, and continuing the status quo is simply untenable. Right now, THOUSANDS of people must tell the NDP to make a stronger, detailed commitment on protecting old-growth forests. The NDP must be given full credit if they come forward with a strong old-growth commitment before this election – if they don’t, their failure must also be noted.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
– SEND a MESSAGE (even if you’ve done so before – it’s a NEW message) to BC’s politicians at:  www.BCForestMovement.com
– RAISE the Old-Growth Issue at ALL-CANDIDATES DEBATES. Ask the candidates if they will “Commit to end the logging of endangered old-growth forests and to ensure sustainable, value-added, second-growth forestry” and to “End the export of raw logs to foreign mills”.
– SPEAK to Political Canvassers at your door from the NDP or other parties about your old-growth and forestry concerns.
– WRITE LETTERS to the EDITORS (under 200 words, include your name, mailing address and phone number so they can verify you’re real) to the Times Colonist (letters@timescolonist.com), Vancouver Sun (sunletters@vancouversun.com), The Province (provletters@theprovince.com), BC Community Papers [Original article no longer available] – includes Monday Magazine), Georgia Straight (letters@straight.com) and others.
– POST your concerns on FACEBOOK pages and in online forums and commentary sections following news articles.

**** MOST EFFECTIVE  ***  EMAIL, PHONE, and ASK to MEET your NDP Candidate to “commit to a science-based old-growth protection plan that will fully end old-growth logging in endangered regions, and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry.”

*** PS. Make sure you let them know if you’re an NDP MEMBER, VOLUNTEER, or PREVIOUSLY VOTED NDP.
*** PPS. Don’t let your candidate skirt the old-growth issue by offering countless excuses, egs. “We’ve already committed to protecting old-growth” (but the question is “how much?” “where?”, “when?”, “will you fully end old-growth logging in any major regions like Vancouver Island or the Lower Mainland?” etc.), “We’ve committed to planting more trees” (a tree farm does not replace an old-growth forest), “We need better inventories first before we can make any specific old-growth commitments” (existing inventories are more than good enough to know we’ve already logged most productive old-growth forests, updated inventories today will show even less remain), “We will invest in forest health” (the largest threat to forest health is large scale old-growth depletion and unsustainable logging), “After the election we can talk with stakeholders” (after the election politicians will no longer feel pressure to change the entrenched status quo), “We don’t know the province’s real financial situation until we take power, it would be irresponsible to make such commitments before we figure out the finances” (this is not a spending issue, it’s one of regulations and legislation to restrict an unsustainable activity), “We will protect endangered species habitat which will protect old-growth” (good, but we need stand-alone old-growth protection legislation, not possible partial protection indirectly through other measures…).
Here are some NDP CANDIDATES with their ridings, phone, and email (Find all the NDP candidates at: https://www.bcndp.ca/team).
DETAILS and MORE INFO:
The BC NDP’s platform briefly mentions they will “Protect wetlands, estuaries, and valuable old-growth forests” but elaborates no further. “How?”, “To what extent?”, “Where?”, and “When?” are all vital questions that must be answered for the promise to be meaningful. See:  https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=642
The NDP’s Forestry Platform released on April 15 makes no mention of old-growth protection, sustainability, or the environment. It commits to investing in more tree-planting (tree plantations do not replicate old-growth forests), expanding global markets for BC wood products (ie. BC old-growth logs and lumber sold to China, Japan, USA, etc.), reducing raw log exports (with no details how besides “work with stakeholders”), creating a jobs commissioner, training more workers, “improving” forest health (ie. intensive silviculture), and better forest inventories. See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=630
Even 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”: www.timescolonist.com/parties-forestry-platforms-show-few-differences-industry-insiders-say-1.111472
and “Global TV: Cathedral Grove and NDP on Forestry”
The BC Green Party has committed to a science-based plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry. See: www.andrewjweaver.ca/bc_green_party_forestry_action_plan [Original article no longer available] and www.greenparty.bc.ca/forestry
The BC Liberals still hold their unscientific stance that “old-growth forests are not disappearing” and that they’ve managed them well, and are leaving an anti-environmental legacy of old-growth forest liquidation and environmental deregulation across most of BC.
There is hope though. Recently, NDP leader Adrian Dix changed course and announced his opposition to increased tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet from the Kinder Morgan pipeline due to huge public pressure on his candidates, ie. public pressure on candidates led to candidates pressuring Dix. The same process is underway for BC’s old-growth forests if YOU speak up. See:
Additional Articles:
Times Colonist: Ancient Forest Alliance calls for science-based forest plan
The Globe and Mail: NDP’s forest-policy plank sparks partisan ire, disappoints ecologists
The Tyee: NDP forest plan ‘minor deviation from unsustainable status quo’: critic
Maclean’s Magazine: Earth Day forms backdrop to BC Election Campaign
Youtube Clip: Save BC’s Endangered Old-Growth Forests and Forestry Jobs:
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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
Old-growth logging near the Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island.

NEW Old-Growth Protection Act! SEND a MESSAGE to the NDP-Government-in-Waiting

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**Please FORWARD far and wide!**ACTION ALERT! April 14, 2013

Proposed BC “Old-Growth Protection Act”

LETTERS NEEDED NOW to the NDP Government-in-Waiting!

There are only TWO days left until the official 28 day campaign period begins (ie. when the “writ drops”) in the lead-up to the May 14 BC Election.

NOW is the MOST important time for YOU to SPEAK UP for our Ancient Forests and Sustainable Forestry Jobs!

A proposed BC “Old-Growth Protection Act” has just been released by the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria. The science-based plan would incorporate timelines to immediately end or quickly phase-out old-growth logging in endangered regions of BC. See more info on the proposed act at:

CTV News Clip:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb09Z0-4rmE

Media Release:  https://16.52.162.165/old-growth-protection-act-needed-to-preserve-bcs-natural-heritage/

The BC Liberals are in all likelihood going to lose power in May. This is a necessity, given their long, unapologetic, anti-environmental history of large-scale old-growth forest liquidation, massive overcutting, environmental deregulation, and overseeing the demise of tens of thousands of BC forestry jobs while tens of millions of raw logs were exported to foreign mills. It’s important to remember this while at the ballot box on May 14.

Now, with an NDP government in all likelihood about to take power, we are asking that the NDP COMMIT to the key tenets of the proposed Old-Growth Protection Act and to not continue the disastrous, unsustainable status quo in BC’s forests. [SEE “Where Do the Parties Currently Stand” down BELOW]

**** PLEASE take just a couple MINUTES to WRITE a QUICK EMAIL to the NDP! ****

Let BC NDP Leader Adrian Dix (adrian.dix@bcndp.ca), NDP Forestry Critic Norm MacDonald (norm.macdonald.mla@leg.bc.ca), NDP Environment Critic Rob Fleming (rob.fleming@bcndp.ca), and your own NDP Candidate (find at:  https://www.bcndp.ca/team) know that you expect them to:

  1. Commit to the “Old-Growth Protection Act”, or a similar plan, that establishes science-based targets and timelines to quickly end old-growth logging in endangered regions of BC.
  2. Ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry to sustain BC’s forestry jobs, instead of allowing massive raw log exports to foreign mills.
  3. Reduce the unsustainable rate of overcutting in BC’s forests that is causing the collapse of ecosystems and rural communities.

* Be sure to include your full mailing address so they know which riding you live in and that you’re a real person.

* Be sure to let them know if you are a member of the NDP party!!

*** NOTE:  In addition, you can SEND a MESSAGE (but also please write your own email, above, which is most effective) to the BC NDP and also Premier Christy Clark through our website:  www.BCForestMovement.com  (IMPORTANT: If you’ve used this website before, note that it sends a DIFFERENT message now with important changes, and YES, you can and should send this NEW message).

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WHERE DO THE PARTIES CURRENTLY STAND on OLD-GROWTH PROTECTION?

The BC Liberals have not changed their unscientific, anti-environmental stance that old-growth forests are not endangered and that they’ve managed them well. They will likely lose power, and deserve to, unless they radically change their stance.

The BC Green Party recently committed to the key parts of the Old-Growth Protection Act. See: [Original article no longer available]

The NDP seem to support scientific conservation assessments for our old-growth forests, as indicated by yesterday’s comments of the NDP’s Environment Critic Rob Fleming about the Old-Growth Protection Act (see: www.timescolonist.com/news/world/ancient-forest-alliance-calls-for-science-based-forest-plan-1.109973). This is a recent step forward.  However, they have not committed yet to the plan’s actual protection scheme that would end old-growth logging in endangered regions – this is the central part of the plan.

In mid-March, a Global TV piece aired about old-growth forests and the NDP’s forestry platform. Nowhere was old-growth protection mentioned as being part of the NDP’s forest policies (rather, their main policy was to “plant more trees”) and the Council Of Forest Industry (COFI) president commented that there was nothing of concern to the timber companies with the NDP’s forest policies. Let’s hope the party’s forest policies have evolved since! See: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOz232HDx3Y

NDP Leader Adrian Dix, during his 2011 campaign to become party leader, promised to: “Develop a long term strategy for old growth forests in the Province, including protection of specific areas that are facing immediate logging plans.” While several NDP MLA’s have championed protecting specific old-growth forests while in Opposition, at this time Dix and the NDP party as a whole have not followed up, developed any specifics, re-mentioned, or even officially adopted Dix’s earlier leadership promise for a province-wide old-growth plan. DIX MUST BE MADE to KEEP HIS PROMISE. See Dix’s 2011 promise (#4 Ecosystem Management) at:  [Original article no longer available]

See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s new Youtube Clip on Saving BC’s Endangered Forests and Forestry Jobs at:  https://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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

Mountain Caribou

Mountain Caribou Alert: Call to Action!

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The threatened Mountain Caribou – kin to Santa’s reindeer – is about to become even more threatened if forestry giant Canadian Forest Products is allowed to log in the Upper Clearwater Valley adjacent to Wells Gray Provincial Park.

A pending proposal by Canfor to salvage log beetle-killed Lodgepole Pine near Wells Gray would not only kibosh any spontaneous recovery the park’s resident Mountain Caribou might have in store, it would also further stress a herd already in serious decline.

That’s the message recently sent in a letter to Mr. Terry Lake, B.C. Minister of Environment and MLA for the North Thompson, by the Wells Gray World Heritage Committee (WGWHC), a group dedicated to furthering the candidacy of British Columbia’s fourth largest wilderness park for designation as a World Heritage Site.

Write YOUR letter today and help make that important difference!

Please visit the Wells Gray World Heritage website to read the full details of the situation and see great photos and maps of the area.

Click the Action! tab for a sample letter to Terry Lake, B.C.’s Minister of Environment and MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson and Steve Thomson, B.C.’s Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

Thank you!!

Echo Lake and the surrounding ancient forests.

Echo Lake Ancient Forest – Follow-Up Letters Needed! Please WRITE!

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Recently, over a thousand of you wrote letters to the BC government asking for the full protection of the Echo Lake Ancient Forest near Mission (see www.ProtectEchoLake.com), an extremely rare, lowland old-growth rainforest that is also the world’s largest night-roosting site for bald eagles.  The BC government is proposing to protect about 45 hectares, or about half, of the old-growth forests around Echo Lake as an Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA). Unfortunately, the government’s proposal excludes spectacular stands of old-growth redcedars and Douglas firs on the west and north sides of the lake.
 
These unprotected forests are within a Woodlot License, a smaller logging tenure on Crown lands, which the BC government states is not subject to the creation of new Old-Growth Management Areas. However, it is within the government’s power to shift the Woodlot License boundaries to another second-growth forest area among the thousands of hectares of Crown lands in the region.
 
PLEASE write a follow-up letter asking the BC Liberal government to:

  • Please work to make a solution that will legally protect all of the old-growth forests around Echo Lake, including the 30 hectares or so of old-growth and mature forests on the north and west sides of the lake that are excluded from the proposed Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA). Voluntary measures on the part of the logging licensee will not suffice.
  • Such a solution could entail shifting the Woodlot License boundaries on the north side of the lake into second-growth forests elsewhere, among the thousand hectares of second-growth Crown lands available for harvesting in the Chilliwack District.
  • Enact a provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect endangered old-growth forests across BC, such as in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and southern Interior.
  • Ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry and end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills.

 
*** Be sure to include your home mailing address so they know you are a real person.
 
Write to:
 
Steve Thomson, BC Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations
FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
 
And CC your letter to:
 
Enrique Sanchez, Chilliwack District Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s) – Public Review Coordinator
Enrique.Sanchez@gov.bc.ca
 
Terry Lake, BC Minister of the Environment
ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
 
Christy Clark, Premier of BC
Premier@gov.bc.ca
 
Norm MacDonald, BC Opposition Forests Critic
Norm.MacDonald.mla@leg.bc.ca

Ancient Forest Alliance

Protect Echo Lake Ancient Forest

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Direct link to YouTube clip: https://youtu.be/HPstV14oZ6s

Please SIGN our PETITION at https://16.52.162.165/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/ 

Echo Lake is a spectacular, unprotected, lowland ancient forest near Agassiz, BC on the east side of the Lower Fraser Valley. It is in the unceded territory of the Sts’ailes First Nations band (formerly the Chehalis Indian Band). The area is home to perhaps the largest concentration of bald eagles on Earth, where thousands of eagles come each fall to eat spawning salmon in the Harrison and Chehalis Rivers and hundreds roost in the old-growth trees at night around Echo Lake. It is also home to bears, cougars, deer, mountain goats, and osprey, and was historically populated by the critically endangered northern spotted owl. The vigilance of local landowners on the east side of Echo Lake, whose private lands restrict access to the old-growth forests on the Crown lands on the west side of the lake, have held-off industrial logging of the lake’s old-growth forests for decades. Local conservationists are interested in increased protections for eagles in the Harrison/Chehalis area and the protection of the Echo Lake Ancient Forest where the eagles roost at night.

Filmed and edited by TJ Watt.

Eagle photo by Christian Sasse.

Music – “Razorback Sucker” by Tom Fahy (https://tomfahy.org/)

Echo Lake, BC

*ACTION ALERT* Save Echo Lake’s Ancient Forest! Globally significant bald eagle habitat

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Save Echo Lake’s Ancient Forest! Globally significant bald eagle habitat
 
Please WRITE-in to the public input process by November 5, 2012!
 
See SPECTACULAR photos of the Echo Lake Ancient Forest at:  
 
Echo Lake is a magnificent, unprotected, lowland ancient rainforest in British Columbia between Mission and Agassiz in the Fraser Valley, about a hundred kilometers east of Vancouver.  The region is home to perhaps the largest concentration of bald eagles on Earth, where thousands of eagles come each fall to eat spawning salmon in the Harrison and Chehalis Rivers and hundreds roost in the old-growth trees at night around Echo Lake.
 
Echo Lake is also home to a large array of biodiversity including bears, cougars, bobcats, deer, mountain goats, and osprey, and was historically populated by the critically endangered northern spotted owl. The area is in the traditional, unceded territory of the Sts’ailes First Nations band who hold great value in the salmon/cedar/eagle ecosystem.
 
Virtually all low elevation old-growth forests in the region have now been logged, with most remaining old-growth stands consisting of smaller trees at higher altitudes on steep slopes. However, one small gem of the classic lowland old-growth temperate rainforest, with its towering ancient Douglas fir trees and enormous moss-draped giant redcedars, remains – Echo Lake. The vigilance of local landowners on the east side of Echo Lake, whose private lands restrict access to the old-growth forests on the public lands on the west side, have held-off old-growth logging there for decades. Across the southern BC coast, about 80% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged.
 
The BC government has recently released details of a long-awaited plan to increase protection for old-growth forests in the Chilliwack Forest District, which includes Echo Lake. While the government’s proposed boundaries for a new Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA) at Echo Lake would protect the old-growth forests on the lake’s south side, the current boundaries unfortunately exclude important old-growth redcedars and Douglas firs stands on the west and north side of the lake, as well as mature second-growth forests that buffer the ancient groves and provide important scenery and wildlife habitat around the lake. The deadline is November 5 to provide public input to modify the proposed plan.
 
In the bigger picture, across much of BC old-growth forests are now gravely endangered due to decades of overcutting and their conversion to second-growth tree plantations. Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, wildlife, tourism, recreation, clean water, the climate, and many First Nations cultures.
 
MAKE your VOICE HEARD by NOVEMBER 5!  Please WRITE to the BC government asking them to:
 
  • Expand the boundaries of the proposed Old-Growth Management Area at Echo Lake to include all of its surrounding old-growth and mature forests on public lands, including those on the north and west sides of the lake. Lowland old-growth forests are extremely rare today, and Echo Lake is globally important for roosting bald eagles.
  • Create a plan to increase protection for the eagles, wild salmon, and their habitat in the surrounding Harrison and Chehalis Rivers region where thousands of bald eagles congregate to fish during the fall salmon run.
  • Establish a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect endangered old-growth forests across British Columbia, while ensuring sustainable logging in second-growth forests and ending the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills in order to sustain BC forestry jobs.
Write to:
 
Enrique Sanchez, Chilliwack District Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s) – Public Review Coordinator
 
And CC your email to:
 
Steve Thomson, BC Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations  
 
Terry Lake, BC Minister of the Environment
 
Christy Clark, Premier of BC
 
Norm MacDonald, BC Opposition Forests Critic
 
For more info about BC’s endangered old-growth forests, visit the Ancient Forest Alliance at www.AncientForestAlliance.org and sign our online petition at ancientforestalliance.org/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/
Flagging tape marked "falling boundary" recently discovered in the Upper Castle Grove.

Action Alert! Canada’s Finest Grove of Old-Growth Cedars under Threat – Speak Up!

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Canada’s Finest Grove of Old-Growth Cedars under Threat – Speak Up!

Citizens are still waiting for a promised new “Legal Tool” to protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves – let’s start with the Castle Grove!

Recently, survey tape for logging was discovered in the Upper Castle Grove in the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island – that is, in Canada’s finest stand of monumental old-growth red cedar trees.  The Castle Grove is an extensive stand of densely-packed enormous cedars which includes the “Castle Giant”, a 16 foot (5 meter) diameter cedar in the Lower Castle Grove that is one of the largest trees in Canada. The flagging tape for the potential logging comes to within 50 meters of the Castle Giant.

The Grove is jam-packed with wildlife and species at risk and is “ground zero” for the ancient forest movement on southern Vancouver Island.

It must not be logged! Please speak up to defend the best of the best ancient forests in Canada!

See the recent Times Colonist and Vancouver Sun articles at: https://www.canada.com/news/Markers+stir+fears+Walbran+logging/7158575/story.html and https://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Survey+tape+sparks+logging+concerns+Vancouver+Island+oldgrowth/7158428/story.html

See new, incredible PHOTOS of the Castle Grove and the “falling boundary” survey tape at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/castle-grove/ and a beautiful photogallery of the Walbran Valley at: https://16.52.162.165/our-work/old-growth-campaigns/central-walbran-valley/

So far the logging licensee, Teal-Jones, has not applied for a cutting permit for the surveyed cutblock, but if they do it will be a relatively quick “rubber stamp” from the Forest Service before they can log the Upper Castle Grove.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government to protect the area using a long-promised (but as yet unrealized) “legal tool” to protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves.

See the BC government’s announcement in February, 2011, about creating a new legal tool to protect BC’s largest trees and groves:
Vancouver Sun and Times Colonist: “B.C. looking for new ways to protect ancient trees” (Feb.16, 2011)

SPEAK UP for CANADA’s FINEST ANCIENT FOREST!!  WRITE to the BC Liberal Government and to the NDP Opposition!

Cc your email to:

Please tell the above politicians that you want them to commit to:

– Use their promised new “legal tool” to protect the Castle Grove in the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island, including the Upper Castle Grove that is currently flagged for logging and other exceptionally grand old-growth groves in BC.

– Implement a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will protect the remaining old-growth forests in regions of the province where old-growth forests are now scarce, such as on Vancouver Island, in the Lower Mainland, the southern Interior, etc.

– Protect BC forestry jobs by ensuring the sustainable logging of second-growth forests and by ending raw log exports to foreign mills.

***Be sure to include your full name and your home mailing address so they know you’re a real person! Thank you!

MORE BACKGROUND INFO

The Castle Grove (Lower and Upper) is the most impressive stand of unprotected monumental ancient red cedars in Canada. The Grove is in the Walbran Valley and is ‘Ground Zero’ for the ancient forest movement on southern Vancouver Island – both historically and today. Because it’s Canada’s finest stand of endangered old-growth red cedars, it has been the focal area for ancient forest campaigns for decades. The Walbran Valley was the focus of early protests against old-growth logging in 1991 and 1992, playing an important role in the build-up towards the massive Clayoquot Sound protests near Tofino on Vancouver Island in 1993.

In February 2011, former Minister of Forests Pat Bell promised that the BC Liberal government would implement a new legal tool to protect the largest trees and associated groves. So far BC citizens have waited for over a year and a half for the BC Liberal government to implement this legal tool. Of all places, the Castle Grove is THE place where such a legal designation would make most sense. Otherwise the BC Liberals’ rhetoric has been as empty as a clearcut.

To date, the BC Liberal government under the new Minister of Forests Steve Thomson has not publicly followed through with this promise, although sources within the ministry have indicated that the BC government is now looking at using existing legal tools, namely provincial Recreation Sites and Old-Growth Management Areas, to fulfill this function.

It doesn’t matter if the BC Liberal government uses new or old tools to protect our endangered ancient groves like the Castle Grove. The main thing is they need to actually start identifying and designating such areas for protection, otherwise it was simply an empty promise for PR purposes at the time, and hollow promises like that won’t go unnoticed by the conservation movement during this pre-election period. More importantly, the BC Liberal government needs to implement a much more comprehensive Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect old-growth ecosystems on a much larger scale across BC.

Ecological surveys done in the Castle Grove have revealed the presence of threatened marbled murrelets, screech owls, Queen Charlotte goshawks, red-legged frogs, cougars, black bears, and black-tailed deer in the Upper Castle Grove, while steelhead and coho salmon spawn in the Walbran River below the Castle Grove.

On southern Vancouver Island south of Barkley Sound and Port Alberni, satellite photos show that over 87% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged (the rest mainly being second-growth forests now and some urban/agricultural areas). See maps and stats here.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government and the NDP Opposition to commit to implementing a BC Old-Growth Strategy that will inventory and protect old-growth forests wherever they are scarce (such as on Vancouver Island, in the Lower Mainland, in the BC Interior, etc.). The AFA is also calling on the BC Liberal government to ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which constitute most of the forests in southern BC, and to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills and value-added wood manufacturers by ending the export of raw logs to foreign mills.

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

 

The last of BC's old-growth forest continues to be targeted by logging companies like this example on southern Vancouver Island.

URGENT: BC’s FOREST RESERVES in PERIL! PLEASE WRITE-IN and SPEAK UP!

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URGENT:  BC’s FOREST RESERVES in PERIL!   PLEASE WRITE-IN and SPEAK UP!
Currently the BC Liberal government is proposing to open up protected forest reserves for logging in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of BC’s central interior. These threatened forest reserve designations include:
– Old-Growth Management Areas (that protect representative tracts of scarce old-growth forests)
– Riparian Management Areas (that protect fish habitat and water quality)
– Ungulate Winter Ranges (wintering habitat for mountain caribou, moose, mountain goats, etc.)
– Wildlife Habitat Areas (that protect species at risk like grizzlies and other wildlife)
– Visual Quality Objectives (that protect scenery for tourism)
– Recreation Areas (campsites, hiking areas, etc.)
The proposed environmental deregulation would take place in a massive region in four “Timber Supply Areas” (TSA’s): the Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, and Lakes (Burns Lake area) TSA’s.
The BC Liberal government is proposing a temporary quick-fix for the timber shortage caused by a combination of the pine beetle epidemic (due to climate change and decades of wildfire suppression) and the timber industry’s massive overexpansion and unsustainable logging of vast tracts of both beetle-killed and living, non-affected trees in the BC interior over the past decade. The BC government is hoping to prop-up the unsustainable scale of the bloated forest industry in the region for three or four more years – until the last of the protected forest reserves in the region have also been logged.
It’s like burning up parts of your house for firewood once you’ve depleted all your other wood supplies – it won’t last very long and in the end you’ll be a lot worse off.
This is a precedent-setting proposal of provincial significance that could be used later to justify opening up millions of hectares of protected forest reserves across the province where timber shortages also occur due to a long history of unsustainable logging.  We need YOU, your family and your friends to SPEAK UP to ward off the BC Liberal government from moving ahead with this outrageous, destructive proposal.
WRITE-IN and SPEAK UP!
Until July 20th, the Special Committee on Timber Supply, consisting of four BC Liberal and three NDP MLA’s (Members of the Legislative Assembly), will be taking written public input (and video messages, if you are so inclined), holding public hearings in rural communities in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region, and meeting with stakeholders in Vancouver.
Please take a few minutes to WRITE to the” Special Committee on Timber Supply” at: timbercommittee@leg.bc.ca
Please be sure that you also CC your email to:
Premier Christy Clark:  premier@gov.bc.ca
Opposition Leader Adrian Dix:  adrian.dix.mla@leg.bc.ca
Your own MLA who you can find at:  [Original article no longer available]
***Be sure that you also include your home mailing address so that they know you are a real person. 
Let them know in your words that you:
  1. Oppose logging in protected forest reserves in BC, which are vital for wildlife, tourism, clean water, fish, and recreation.
  2. Instead support a sustainable economy based on reducing the massive wood waste in clearcuts, value-added wood manufacturing, sustainable rates of harvest, retraining and supporting displaced forest workers, tourism, increased forest conservation, and diversifying rural economies.
  3. The interior logging industry’s massive expansion in recent years under the rationale of tackling the pine beetle epidemic was recognized from the outset as only temporary and clearly unsustainable in the long run. Rewarding unsustainable actions with more unsustainable actions like logging in protected forest reserves is short-sighted and more destructive.
NOTE: If you or friends and family live in BC’s central interior please SPEAK UP at the public hearings in Williams Lake (July 5), Prince George (July 6), Quesnel (July 6), 100 Mile House (July 5), Kamloops (July 12), and Merritt (July 12)!  In Vancouver from July 9 to 11, the committee will be meeting with representatives of organizations, stakeholder groups, and individuals (you must schedule this in advance).  See details on MLA Bob Simpson’s website at:  https://www.bobsimpsonmla.ca/timber-supply-committee/
MORE INFO:
Local Port Alberni resident and Watershed-Forest Alliance coordinator Jane Morden (red shirt) hikes amongst some of the giant old-growth Douglas-fir trees found in the endangered Cameron Valley Firebreak.

Protect the Cameron Valley’s Endangered Forests!

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Protect the Cameron Valley’s Endangered Forests!

Save Labour Day Lake, Cameron Valley Firebreak, Cameron Valley Canyon, and Cathedral Grove from Island Timberlands’ logging!

Located near the town of Port Alberni, the Cameron River Valley is home to some of the most significant remnant old-growth stands left on southern Vancouver Island, where almost 90% of the productive old-growth forests have already been logged. These ancient forests in the Cameron Valley are currently threatened by Island Timberland’s logging.

Starting from the headwaters of the subalpine Labour Day Lake, surrounded by endangered ancient yellow cedars and mountain hemlocks in an area heavily used by local recreationists, the waters of the Cameron River start flowing downstream.

In the middle Cameron Valley lies the “Cameron Valley Firebreak”, a 150 hectare remnant tract of mountain-top to valley-bottom old-growth forest – the last of its kind in the valley – that was formerly intended for protection as winter range for Roosevelt elk and deer until the BC Liberal government removed the Tree Farm License in 2004. This exceptional ancient forest, filled with dense stands of enormous coastal Douglas firs and redcedars and with Culturally Modified Trees, has just started being logged by Island Timberlands as of April, 2012.

See: [Original article no longer available]

and https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=427

Farther downstream, also in the middle Cameron Valley, are old-growth forests in and around the Cameron Valley Canyon, also called the Cathedral Grove Canyon, about 5 kilometers or so from the world-famous Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. This spectacular canyon – a national treasure (see images at https://16.52.162.165/protecting-old-growth-rainforests-to-the-economic-benefit-of-tourism-based-communities/4) – was the center of a public uproar in 2006 when local conservaitonists found the canyon’s largest Douglas firs and cedar trees marked and surveyed by Island Timberlands, and the company later declared that they would not log the area for the time being. Around the canyon farther upstream and downstream, and along adjacent slopes are also major tracts of endangered ancient forests, some of which Island Timberlands have started to log as of April, 2012. Many of these areas are heavily used by black-tailed deer and Roosevelt elk for their winter range.

Finally, in the Lower Cameron Valley is the spectacular Cathedral Grove, the most famous old-growth forest in North America after the California redwoods. Part of Cathedral Grove is protected in MacMillan Provincial Park, where visitors meander among the finest ancient Douglas fir stand on Earth – however, unprotected groves of ancient Douglas firs stretch alongside the highway and up adjacent slopes for a couple kilometers west of the park boundary, which Island Timberlands had planned to log in 2008 until a public uproar staved off their intentions (see https://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=a8e02d65-8d2e-401a-8359-12c8d7345e17). These currently unprotected parts of Cathedral Grove also constitute a buffer to the park’s trees, many of which blew down in ferocious winter storms several years ago in part due to increasing exposure to strong winds as a result of nearby clearcuts.

Make YOUR Voice Heard!

Please WRITE a LETTER to the BC Liberal government to:

  •  Ask Island Timberlands to halt logging in the old-growth forests of the Cameron Valley, as 99% of the old-growth Douglas firs on Vancouver Island have already been logged.
  • Help to significantly fund the purchase of the endangered old-growth forests in the Cameron Valley – Cathedral Grove’s unprotected forests adjacent to the park, the Cameron Valley Canyon, the Cameron Valley Firebreak, and Labour Day Lake.
  • Establish a $40 million/year BC Park Acquisition Fund, similar to the park acquisiton funds of many regional districts in BC, to purchase endangered ecosystems on private lands across BC for new protected areas.
  • Establish a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect the province’s endangered old-growth forests, while ensuring the sustainable logging of second-growth forests and ending the export of raw logs to foreign mills in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills.

Write to Minister of Environment Terry Lake at: terry.lake.mla@leg.bc.ca or phone him at 250 387-1187
 

SUPPORT the local conservationists in Port Alberni at the Watershed-Forest Alliance, who are spearheading efforts to protect ancient forests in the Cameron Valley, to ensure clean water, and to push for sustainable forestry jobs. Contact Jane Morden at: watershedforestalliance@gmail.com

SUPPORT Annette Tanner of the Wilderness Committee’s Mid-Island chapter to also help protect all of Cathedral Grove and the Cathedral Grove Canyon at: wcwcqb@shaw.ca