November 29, 2023
The Globe and Mail
By Justine Hunter
See the original article.
New plan from the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, aided by the BC and federal governments, signals a shift in Indigenous-led conservation across the province
Backed by a $15.2-million commitment from the federal government, a First Nations community on the west coast of Vancouver Island intends to buy out forestry tenures to stop old-growth logging in selected watersheds around Nootka Sound.
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation has declared a string of “salmon parks” in its traditional territories that includes more than 66,000 hectares of watersheds.
The parks are designed to protect critical salmon habitat by maintaining and restoring the land where it intersects with marine ecosystems. Logging can damage the rivers where salmon spawn, and deforestation has been tied to warmer rivers that reduce survival rates for young fish.
Proposed salmon parks on Vancouver and Nootka islands
Red: Proposed salmon parks
Green: Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation territory
Yellow: Nuchatlaht First Nation territory
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL SOURCE: BC GOVERNMENT; HA-SHILTH-SA OPENSTREETMAP
The salmon parks of Nootka Sound offer an example of a shift that is coming across the province as a result of the new $1-billion Nature Agreement signed on Nov. 3 between Canada, BC and the First Nations Leadership Council. Significantly more land will be designated for conservation, which in turn will change how and where the province exploits its natural resources.
To meet commitments by the federal and provincial governments, BC will need to set aside more than 10 million hectares of new biologically important areas for protection from development over the next six years. Much of that will be achieved through Indigenous-led conservation projects that are now on a fast track for approval. This includes the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation plan, which will require additional funding to complete.
British Columbia has the greatest diversity of species, ecosystems and habitats of any jurisdiction in Canada, and both the federal and provincial governments have promised to protect 30 per cent of the country’s land and water by 2030.
The provincial government says there are currently 18.5 million hectares of protected and conserved areas, making up 19.6 per cent of BC’s total land.
A number of First Nations in BC have declared Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas that will be among the first in the queue for consideration by the new tripartite committee, which will decide where the nature agreement funding will go. Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault promised financing for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht salmon parks in late October, providing tacit approval of the First Nation’s IPCAs.
Five species of Pacific salmon run through the traditional territories of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, but stocks are in decline. Eric Angel, the project manager for the salmon parks, said the selected areas include some of the last remaining old-growth forest ecosystems in the region.
“What we are bringing to this is a much more creative and nuanced view of what a sustainable economy looks like in rural communities. What we’ve been doing up till now has been liquidating a one-time resource, old-growth forests. What we need to do is find ways to harvest forest products,” he said, “while we also build economies around tourism and conservation and stewardship.”
Celina Starnes from Endangered Ecosystems Alliance looks up at the big-leaf maple grove of the Burman River valley, which lies within the Mowachaht/Muchalaht salmon-park system.
TJ WATT
The village of Gold River, located in the heart of Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory, was built as a forestry community, but the last mill closed in 1999. The salmon-parks strategy will balance economic development with ecology, Mr. Angel said, and some of the funds will help develop those plans. By clearly identifying which lands must be protected, industry will better understand where resource extraction will be allowed, and what kind of activities would be welcomed.
The salmon park is home to black bears like this one near Tahsis.
Based on studies by biologists, the First Nation has determined that 90 per cent of salmon productivity in the region can be protected by setting aside 20 per cent of the watersheds – especially those where glacier-fed rivers offer the greatest climate resiliency.
The provincial government, which awards forestry tenures, has not yet weighed in on the salmon parks. However, Nathan Cullen, BC’s Minister for Land, Water and Resource Stewardship, said that his government needs to endorse IPCAs to reach its conservation targets. “Getting there would be absolutely impossible without willing First Nations partners.”
He believes IPCAs also hold the key to ensuring that this transition can be done without cratering the province’s resource-based economy. Conservation decisions will bring certainty to land that has long been mired in conflict because of unresolved Indigenous claims. First Nations communities have told him, he said, that they will be more open to extraction industries after the areas they have identified for conservation are protected. “The whole point of land-use planning is to lessen the conflict, lessen the legal challenges and increase certainty for investors while protecting more of the province.”
But that process can be expensive. The largest cost associated with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht IPCAs will be the purchase of logging tenures from industry. To implement the plan, the First Nation expects it will need to raise as much as $50-million. “It will cost money because the companies will not just say, ‘Okay, yeah, take our tenure and make a reserve.’ So everyone will need to be compensated,” said Azar Kamran, chief executive officer and administrator for the First Nation.
Western Forest Products, one of those tenure holders in Nootka Sound, is aware of the salmon-parks plan, said Babita Khunkhun, a spokesperson for the company. “While we have not had specific discussions with the Nation since the recent announcement, we work to understand and incorporate the interests of Indigenous communities through open communication and that ongoing commitment will serve to guide us going forward.”
‘We’ve been clear for a number of years now that protecting our old-growth forests is one of our priorities,’ Ms. Dabrusin says.
CHAD HIPOLITO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Ottawa has agreed to invest up to $500-million across all projects over the life of the tripartite agreement, with matching funding to come from the province. Philanthropic organizations are also expected to contribute. It took two years to negotiate and now it could take another year to set up the committee.
Julie Dabrusin, parliamentary secretary to Mr. Guilbeault, was one of the brokers. On a recent visit to BC, she visited an old-growth forest where 500-year-old Douglas firs rival the height of the concrete towers of her home riding of Toronto-Danforth.
The trees in Francis/King Regional Park, near Victoria, are already protected, but she said seeing them was a good reminder of the purpose of her assignment, which was to help secure an agreement that would allow the federal Liberal government to achieve its “30 by 30″ commitment.
She acknowledged concerns that BC’s old-growth forests are being logged while the process unfolds. “I think that there is always an urgency to get beyond talking. We’ve been clear for a number of years now that protecting our old-growth forests is one of our priorities.”
Leading Ms. Dabrusin’s old-growth tour was Ken Wu, who heads the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and has spent decades campaigning for protected areas. Meeting Canada’s conservation targets will be “a monumental undertaking,” he said, but with $1-billion or more, and a framework that puts First Nations in the driver’s seat, the past month has given environmentalists something to celebrate.
“In the coming months and years we’re going to see – I’m certain of it – the biggest protected areas expansion in Canadian history within a province.”
See the original article on the new Salmon Park IPCA here.
What are “Forest Productivity Distinctions”?
/in Educational, Take Action“Forest Productivity Distinctions” and “Ecosystem-based Targets” are two phrases you’ve heard us use a lot, but what do they mean? And, why are they important regarding the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) and the greater conservation of BC’s natural spaces as a whole? Read on to learn more!
Ecosystem-based protection targets ensure the full diversity of ecosystems in BC receive the protection they need, rather than concentrating protection in certain ecosystems and largely excluding others.
“Forest Productivity” refers to the capacity of the forest to produce large trees, with the endangered, higher productivity forests generally featuring the giant ancient trees that BC is famous for.
High-productivity forests, as well as lower elevation forests, grasslands and wetlands in general, have the greatest concentrations of biodiversity, species at risk, salmon and fish-bearing streams, and areas of greatest cultural value to First Nations in the province. However, these same ecosystems have been disproportionately excluded from protection at the behest of industry.
Ecosystem-based targets used in conjunction with forest productivity distinctions ensure the ongoing expansion of protected areas in BC prioritizes the endangered, big-tree forests, rather than focusing protection on the boggy, subalpine, and tundra ecosystems of the province. The latter of which has been the status quo for decades.
The proposed BEHF is a first-rate opportunity to ensure these high-productivity forests get the protection they need and deserve.
If you haven’t yet, please send an instant message to political decision-makers (while the January 31st deadline to make a technical submission to the bureaucrats has passed, the elected BC Cabinet — the Premier and Ministers — ultimately decides the final version) to support strong ecosystem-based targets with forest productivity distinctions.
Flip through these slides to get a break-down of forest productivity distinctions and why they’re so important! And, visit our Instagram for more educational resources!
All About the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health Framework
/in Educational, Take ActionBC’s proposed Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) is the greatest chance in BC’s history to direct the expansion of its protected areas system in the right direction.
If done right, the new biodiversity framework could usher in a major paradigm shift that safeguards the most endangered ecosystems in BC rather than primarily protecting areas with low timber value and which are less coveted by industry. These endangered ecosystems include “high productivity” old-growth forests with classic forest giants, such as the ones you see in all our photos, along with diverse valley bottom and low-elevation ecosystems.
The current draft has many promising components that should be retained, such as creating a Provincial Biodiversity Officer, but is still missing key pieces to give it the teeth it needs to be transformational.
“Ecosystem-based protection targets” devised by science and informed by Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees that incorporate all ecological communities and forest productivity distinctions (distinguishing between sites that tend to grow small vs large trees) are needed to guide the expansion of the protected areas system and the expenditure of conservation funding in BC.
The standard and permanency of new protected areas must also be upheld while enforcing accountability and transparency of the framework through legally binding milestones, objectives, and timelines.
Please join us in calling on the BC government to ensure this new framework results in the protection of old-growth forests and other threatened ecosystems across BC! Send an instant message to decision-makers using our newly updated Take-Action Tool here.
And read through these slides to learn more about this potentially history-making framework!
Thank You to Our Business Supporters!
/in Thank YouWe would like to extend a sincere thank you to the following businesses for kindly supporting the old-growth campaign:
Pacifica Nurseries for their generous contribution and supportive words about why they donate to old-growth forests in BC:
“I love to contribute to the AFA because the forests in BC are such a special place and are not something that can be replaced. BC logging is such a huge business though and cannot just stop, so it’s nice that you also support sustainable second-growth logging. I also love that you involve First Nations as they deserve to be involved in the future of this land. Many thanks.”
—Nicole Widdifield, Horticulture Manager, Pacifica Nurseries
Spring Activator for their kind contribution and words of support:
“Protecting old-growth forests is a cause close to many of our hearts on the Spring team and in our community. We look forward to continuing to support your work through our 1% for the Planet commitment. Thank you for all you do.”
—Caroline von Hirschberg, Spring Co-CEO
Chris Sterry, who contributed more than half of the proceeds from his landscape paintings and urban sketches to AFA and other charities.
And Camp Wolf Willow, for their generous monthly gifts to AFA.
Your support makes our important work possible and we’re extremely grateful!
Biodiversity And Ecosystem Health Framework – Public Input Guide
/in Take ActionThe BC government is currently accepting public input on its draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework. The following info will help you write your personalized submission. Submissions are due by January 31st, 2024.
Send your submission in your own words to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (Ministry of WLRS): biodiversity.ecosystemhealth@gov.bc.ca
Be sure to include your first and last name, home address, email, and any organization affiliation you are submitting on behalf of.
Key information
The BC government recently released a draft policy, the “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework”. If done well, it could place ecosystem integrity first to guide all land-use, forestry, and conservation policies to ensure an ecological “paradigm shift” – as called for by BC’s appointed Old-Growth Strategic Review panel’s recommendations in 2021.
To be finalized in the spring, it could result in vastly increasing the protection of BC’s most endangered ecosystems – those most impacted by industry and least included in the protected areas system, such as productive old-growth forests and lower elevation, valley bottom forests, grasslands, wetlands, and other at-risk ecosystems.
That is, a strong Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) would up-end the status quo in conservation policy in BC that has always sought to minimize the impacts of conservation policies on resource extraction industries (in particular, to minimize the impacts of protected areas on the available timber supply for logging) and for the first time could place ecological integrity first. In turn, this will exert pressure on BC industries to operate with greater efficiency and to increase their processing operations within the province, such as fostering a modernized, value-added, second-growth forest industry.
While BC has adopted the national target to protect 30% of the land area in the province by 2030, there are currently no specific targets to ensure the protection of all of the diverse ecosystems in BC. Without legally binding “ecosystem-based targets”, protected areas will continue to emphasize the protection of ecosystems with the lowest value for logging – typically alpine, subalpine, and far northern ecosystems with low to no timber values (i.e. no trees or small trees in cold climates) – and minimize protection for the most endangered and least protected ecosystems, typically at lower elevations in southern BC where most biodiversity, species at risk, and endangered ecosystems are located, and which are most coveted for logging, development, and human settlement.
Please consider the following points to guide your written input:
We need the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) to result in policies and legislation that:
Send your submission in your own words to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (Ministry of WLRS) by January, 31st, 2024: biodiversity.ecosystemhealth@gov.bc.ca
Additional Resources:
See the AFA and EEA’s media release in response to the draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework.
Happy holidays from the AFA
/in Announcements, Thank YouHappy Holidays from the AFA!
We hope you and your loved ones have a safe and healthy holiday season and find some time to spend in nature. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of standing in the presence of ancient giants; a wave of wonder, serenity, and calm washes over you. The healing nature of these ecosystems has never been more important to our personal and planetary well-being.
As 2023 comes to a close, we want to extend our deepest thanks for the support you’ve shown over this past year. Together, we have achieved so much. We look forward to all that’s still to come.
For the forests,
The Ancient Forest Alliance team
2023 Holiday Office Closure
/in AnnouncementsHello Ancient Forest Friends! Please take note:
The AFA Office in Victoria will be closed from Friday, Dec. 22nd to Monday, Jan. 1st. We will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 2nd with regular business hours. Any AFA merchandise orders received during this time will be shipped on or after Wednesday, Jan. 3rd.
Thank you for your support and wishing you a healthy and joyous holiday season!
Best of 2023 — AFA’s top photos, videos, news & campaigns!
/in AnnouncementsAs 2023 comes to a close, we want to extend our deepest thanks to you for helping us achieve so much this year. We’re seeing some of the most significant progress towards nature conservation in Canadian history with the potential to keep ancient forests standing for generations to come. Read on to see our highlights from 2023, and if you’re able, please make a tax-deductible donation to help us keep the momentum going in 2024! Thank you!
Top 5 Campaign Highlights of 2023
1. Over one billion dollars announced for nature conservation in BC through the BC Nature Agreement.
We always joked that if we had a billion dollars, we could finally see ancient forests get the protection they deserve. Well, in November, that funding arrived! This is the largest provincial funding package in Canadian history for nature conservation and will be vital to support Indigenous-led conservation initiatives and deal with all the various costs of establishing new protected areas, particularly in contested landscapes. What a major victory!
2. $300-million conservation financing fund launched by the province.
We did it! After more than five years of campaigning for this specific goal, in November, the province launched its $300 million conservation financing fund to help protect old-growth forests through the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas while supporting sustainable economic alternatives to old-growth logging. We probably asked you to send a message calling for conservation financing about 300 million times, but our collective efforts truly paid off!
3. $100-million BC Old-Growth Fund launched to save the most at-risk old-growth forests.
Thanks to the work of MP Patrick Weiler, this federal-provincial funding pot (set to increase to at least $164 million) is now available to help protect anywhere from 400,000 hectares to 1.3 million hectares of the grandest, rarest, and oldest stands in the Coastal and Inland Rainforests and the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone. These areas include the spectacular forests you see in all of our photos! What an incredible leap forward!
4. Premier David Eby commits to protecting 30% of lands in BC by 2030.
The year started strong shortly after this commitment was made by Premier David Eby, which will double the current extent of legislated protected areas across BC (an additional area of about four times the size of Vancouver Island). It took over a century to get to the first 15%, now we’re set to double that in just seven years!
5. Draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework is released.
2023 ended with the BC government releasing its draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework, which, if done correctly, will open the door for a major paradigm shift in conservation: prioritizing saving the most endangered ecosystems via “ecosystem-based targets”. The draft framework aims to prioritize ecological values above timber extraction and other industrial activity across all ministries. It’s incredible to see this language being used when compared to where we were five years ago! Stay tuned for calls to action on this piece soon.
Ancient Forest Alliance photographer & campaigner, TJ Watt, beside an enormous old-growth Sitka spruce growing unprotected west of Lake Cowichan in Ditidaht territory.
Biggest News Stories of 2023
This year we were once again able to garner multiple international news stories, twice making the top story on Apple News! Here are a few of the year’s top stories below.
1. The Washington Post — ‘Freak of Nature’ is the find of a lifetime for forest explorer
2. The Guardian — Canada: images of felled ancient tree a ‘gut-punch’, old-growth experts say
3. The Independent UK — Rare tree hunter in Canada finds ‘freak of nature’ 1,000-year-old cedar
4. Canadian Press — Poor data hinders BC old-growth logging deferrals, advocates say
5. CHEK News — BC signs ‘historic’ $1B agreement to protect lands and waters
Thanks to your generous support, we continue to embark on field expeditions to explore and document the beauty and destruction of endangered old-growth forests in BC, which often results in the coverage you see here.
Top 3 Photos of 2023
Professional photography continues to be one of our greatest communication tools. Below are three of TJ’s photos that gained the most attention this year!
The most impressive tree in Canada.
Flores Island cedar, Ahousaht territory.
The largest spruce in Canada, San Jo’s Smiley.
Northern Vancouver Island, Quatsino territory.
Fallen giants.
Northern Vancouver Island, Quatsino territory.
Our Favourite Video of 2023
Bringing ancient forests to life through video is one of our favourite ways to share our explorations with you. This spectacular video showcases the most impressive tree in Canada growing on Flores Island in Ahousaht territory!
Supporting Indigenous-led Old-Growth Protection
Together with our partners Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and Nature-Based Solutions Foundation, Ancient Forest Alliance continued its support for two exciting Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area proposals.
We have partnered with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band in the Fraser Canyon to help support their T’eqt’aqtn Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) which will protect some of the most diverse old-growth ecosystems found anywhere in BC, including 42 species at risk.
We have also partnered with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation in Gold River to support their incredible Salmon Parks Initiative, which is now backed by a $15.2-million commitment from the federal government!
These Indigenous-led conservation initiatives will eventually see over 43,000 hectares (430 km2) of combined old growth protected — an area about four times the size of Vancouver!
We’ll continue to expand our efforts with other key First Nations in 2024.
Old-growth Douglas-fir forest in the Burman River valley. Proposed Salmon Park, Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory.
On top of what was one of the most action-packed years in the history of our organization, we also received charitable status this year! If you’re inspired by the progress you see above, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us launch into 2024.
A sincere thank you to all those who contacted decision-makers, donated, organized a fundraiser, purchased AFA gear, met with your elected representatives, signed a resolution, shared our photos and news articles, or simply cheered us on. British Columbians and people from across the globe continue to demonstrate that they will stand up for the protection of endangered old-growth forests. Collectively, we are changing the world.
We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in 2024!
For the forests,
The Ancient Forest Alliance team
(L-R) Nadia Sheptycki (Victoria Canvass Director), Joan Varley (Administrative Director), TJ Watt (Campaigner & Photographer), Kristen Bounds (Communications Coordinator), Coral Forbes (Donor Relations & Administrative Associate) and Ian Thomas (Research & Engagement Officer)
Nature photographer discovers ancient ‘freak-of-nature’ tree hiding in plain sight: ‘I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one’
/in News CoverageDecember 15, 2023
The Cool Down
By Jeremiah Budin
A nature photographer in British Columbia discovered one of the largest old-growth cedars ever documented off the coast of Vancouver Island — and he’s not telling you or anyone else how to find it.
TJ Watt, a co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance, a charitable organization that works to protect endangered old-growth forests, waited more than a year after first happening across the massive tree, which he nicknamed “The Wall,” to even tell the world about its existence, according to The Washington Post.
During that time, Watt consulted with members of the Ahousaht First Nation, who have lived in the area for thousands of years.
“It was decided that we should keep the tree’s location a secret because these are sensitive areas, and everything could get pretty trampled if word got out where to find it,” Watt told the Post.
He also took time to thoroughly measure and document The Wall. It is believed that the massive tree is over 1,000 years old, standing 151 feet tall and 17 and a half feet in diameter.
“I’ve found thousands and thousands of trees, and I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of photos of old-growth forests,” Watt told the Post. “But I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one.”
“It was incredible to stand before it,” he continued. “I’d describe it as a freak of nature because it actually gets wider as it gets taller. As I looked up at it, I felt a sense of awe and wonder.”
Canada’s largest documented tree, a humongous red cedar known as the Cheewhat Giant, is located in the protected Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and stands 182 feet tall and 19 feet in diameter, per the Post.
Old-growth forests play an essential role in wildlife habitat, species diversity, carbon storage, and other crucial ecological processes. However, like so many parts of the natural world, they are threatened by pollution, the effects of human-caused extreme weather events, and the logging industry.
Although trees such as the Cheewhat Giant are protected, per the Post, 80% of the original old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have already been logged, according to the Ancient Forest Alliance. That’s why it is essential that The Wall stays protected and its location unreleased.
Read the original article.
Thanks for the support at our Year-End Celebration & Fundraiser!
/in Announcements, Events, Thank YouThanks to all who attended and/or supported our Year-End Celebration & Fundraiser!
We’re feeling extremely grateful following our event this past Tuesday evening, where you helped us raise $5,284 for old-growth protection through donations, the silent auction, and merchandise sales! We hope you enjoyed the engaging presentations, food, drinks, and socializing with other old-growth fans.
As always, meeting and having conversations with many of you in person is a great reminder of what a dedicated, passionate, and kind community we have standing with us. We couldn’t have achieved all the latest success without you!
A special shoutout goes to the local businesses and individuals who kindly donated items to our silent auction. Thank you to: Jordan Fritz Art, Botanical Bliss, Fish Hair Salon, Handsome Dans Port Renfrew, Pilgrim Coffee House, Lorelei Green Art, Timothy Colman, Zula Jewelry, The Papery, Smoking Lily Handcrafted Goods, Seaflora Skincare, Spinnacle Yarns, Russell Books, Wild Coast Perfumery, Richard Malacek, Robinson’s Outdoors, Patagonia Victoria, Ecologyst, Bolen Books, and Barbara Brown Art.
Your support this season will make a huge difference and will ensure we’re able to hit the ground running come 2024.
For the forests,
The Ancient Forest Alliance team
The Globe & Mail: ‘Salmon parks’ in traditional First Nations territory aim to save habitats by stopping old-growth logging
/in News CoverageNovember 29, 2023
The Globe and Mail
By Justine Hunter
See the original article.
New plan from the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, aided by the BC and federal governments, signals a shift in Indigenous-led conservation across the province
Backed by a $15.2-million commitment from the federal government, a First Nations community on the west coast of Vancouver Island intends to buy out forestry tenures to stop old-growth logging in selected watersheds around Nootka Sound.
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation has declared a string of “salmon parks” in its traditional territories that includes more than 66,000 hectares of watersheds.
The parks are designed to protect critical salmon habitat by maintaining and restoring the land where it intersects with marine ecosystems. Logging can damage the rivers where salmon spawn, and deforestation has been tied to warmer rivers that reduce survival rates for young fish.
Proposed salmon parks on Vancouver and Nootka islands
Red: Proposed salmon parks
Green: Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation territory
Yellow: Nuchatlaht First Nation territory
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL SOURCE: BC GOVERNMENT; HA-SHILTH-SA OPENSTREETMAP
The salmon parks of Nootka Sound offer an example of a shift that is coming across the province as a result of the new $1-billion Nature Agreement signed on Nov. 3 between Canada, BC and the First Nations Leadership Council. Significantly more land will be designated for conservation, which in turn will change how and where the province exploits its natural resources.
To meet commitments by the federal and provincial governments, BC will need to set aside more than 10 million hectares of new biologically important areas for protection from development over the next six years. Much of that will be achieved through Indigenous-led conservation projects that are now on a fast track for approval. This includes the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation plan, which will require additional funding to complete.
British Columbia has the greatest diversity of species, ecosystems and habitats of any jurisdiction in Canada, and both the federal and provincial governments have promised to protect 30 per cent of the country’s land and water by 2030.
The provincial government says there are currently 18.5 million hectares of protected and conserved areas, making up 19.6 per cent of BC’s total land.
A number of First Nations in BC have declared Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas that will be among the first in the queue for consideration by the new tripartite committee, which will decide where the nature agreement funding will go. Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault promised financing for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht salmon parks in late October, providing tacit approval of the First Nation’s IPCAs.
Five species of Pacific salmon run through the traditional territories of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, but stocks are in decline. Eric Angel, the project manager for the salmon parks, said the selected areas include some of the last remaining old-growth forest ecosystems in the region.
“What we are bringing to this is a much more creative and nuanced view of what a sustainable economy looks like in rural communities. What we’ve been doing up till now has been liquidating a one-time resource, old-growth forests. What we need to do is find ways to harvest forest products,” he said, “while we also build economies around tourism and conservation and stewardship.”
Celina Starnes from Endangered Ecosystems Alliance looks up at the big-leaf maple grove of the Burman River valley, which lies within the Mowachaht/Muchalaht salmon-park system.
TJ WATT
The village of Gold River, located in the heart of Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory, was built as a forestry community, but the last mill closed in 1999. The salmon-parks strategy will balance economic development with ecology, Mr. Angel said, and some of the funds will help develop those plans. By clearly identifying which lands must be protected, industry will better understand where resource extraction will be allowed, and what kind of activities would be welcomed.
The salmon park is home to black bears like this one near Tahsis.
Based on studies by biologists, the First Nation has determined that 90 per cent of salmon productivity in the region can be protected by setting aside 20 per cent of the watersheds – especially those where glacier-fed rivers offer the greatest climate resiliency.
The provincial government, which awards forestry tenures, has not yet weighed in on the salmon parks. However, Nathan Cullen, BC’s Minister for Land, Water and Resource Stewardship, said that his government needs to endorse IPCAs to reach its conservation targets. “Getting there would be absolutely impossible without willing First Nations partners.”
He believes IPCAs also hold the key to ensuring that this transition can be done without cratering the province’s resource-based economy. Conservation decisions will bring certainty to land that has long been mired in conflict because of unresolved Indigenous claims. First Nations communities have told him, he said, that they will be more open to extraction industries after the areas they have identified for conservation are protected. “The whole point of land-use planning is to lessen the conflict, lessen the legal challenges and increase certainty for investors while protecting more of the province.”
But that process can be expensive. The largest cost associated with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht IPCAs will be the purchase of logging tenures from industry. To implement the plan, the First Nation expects it will need to raise as much as $50-million. “It will cost money because the companies will not just say, ‘Okay, yeah, take our tenure and make a reserve.’ So everyone will need to be compensated,” said Azar Kamran, chief executive officer and administrator for the First Nation.
Western Forest Products, one of those tenure holders in Nootka Sound, is aware of the salmon-parks plan, said Babita Khunkhun, a spokesperson for the company. “While we have not had specific discussions with the Nation since the recent announcement, we work to understand and incorporate the interests of Indigenous communities through open communication and that ongoing commitment will serve to guide us going forward.”
‘We’ve been clear for a number of years now that protecting our old-growth forests is one of our priorities,’ Ms. Dabrusin says.
CHAD HIPOLITO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Ottawa has agreed to invest up to $500-million across all projects over the life of the tripartite agreement, with matching funding to come from the province. Philanthropic organizations are also expected to contribute. It took two years to negotiate and now it could take another year to set up the committee.
Julie Dabrusin, parliamentary secretary to Mr. Guilbeault, was one of the brokers. On a recent visit to BC, she visited an old-growth forest where 500-year-old Douglas firs rival the height of the concrete towers of her home riding of Toronto-Danforth.
The trees in Francis/King Regional Park, near Victoria, are already protected, but she said seeing them was a good reminder of the purpose of her assignment, which was to help secure an agreement that would allow the federal Liberal government to achieve its “30 by 30″ commitment.
She acknowledged concerns that BC’s old-growth forests are being logged while the process unfolds. “I think that there is always an urgency to get beyond talking. We’ve been clear for a number of years now that protecting our old-growth forests is one of our priorities.”
Leading Ms. Dabrusin’s old-growth tour was Ken Wu, who heads the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and has spent decades campaigning for protected areas. Meeting Canada’s conservation targets will be “a monumental undertaking,” he said, but with $1-billion or more, and a framework that puts First Nations in the driver’s seat, the past month has given environmentalists something to celebrate.
“In the coming months and years we’re going to see – I’m certain of it – the biggest protected areas expansion in Canadian history within a province.”
See the original article on the new Salmon Park IPCA here.