The Globe and Mail
November 6, 2021
In British Columbia’s Nahmint Valley, an 11th-hour reprieve was issued this week for ancient forests that were slated for logging.
The valley, in central Vancouver Island, features massive old western redcedars and some of the province’s largest Douglas fir trees, and is home to Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, cougars, wolves, black bears and threatened species such as the marbled murrelet and northern goshawk. It has been at the centre of a long-running battle between environmental values and economic ones, as the provincial government’s own logging agency, BC Timber Sales (BCTS), oversees the falling of large chunks of the forest.
Across BC, a total of 2.6 million hectares of rare, old-growth forests may be spared further logging under the provincial government’s new approach to forestry, which recognizes that these ecosystems are irreplaceable. On Nov. 2, Forests Minister Katrine Conroy announced the province’s largest-ever commitment to preservation. The first step isto suspend logging in one-third of the rare, old-growth forests, which are considered at a very high risk of irreversible biodiversity loss. The measures are temporary, but intended to allow time for the government to fully develop its plan, which will make the health of British Columbia’s forests an overarching priority.
There is a catch: Most of the proposed logging moratoriums are subject to what may be lengthy consultations with Indigenous communities. But the province has immediately put the brakes on new logging through BCTS, which accounts for one-fifth of all of BC’s annual forestry harvest. For the bulk of the proposed deferrals, the province will make no changes until it conducts individual consultations with 204 First Nations, a process that, optimistically, the province hopes to complete in 30 days.
Meanwhile, BC will continue to harvest trees in old-growth forests, some essentially undisturbed since the last ice age, as part of an industry that still contributes mightily to the provincial coffers.
Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt beside an old-growth Douglas-fir tree in a planned BC Timber Sales cutblock that is now deferred from logging in the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni.
TJ Watt has spent years bushwhacking through the Nahmint Valley for the non-profit Ancient Forest Alliance, documenting both the old-growth giants and the logging that targets the biggest and most valuable stands of trees. Since the announcement on Tuesday, he has been studying the deferral maps to see what the changes mean.
“We’ve documented some of the earth’s largest trees being cut down there by BC Timber Sales, and we’ve continued to highlight the forest that remains at risk in that valley. And today, I’m excited to look at these maps and see that there is a real change coming,” he said.
The valley has been heavily logged, same as the surrounding region. The nearest town is Port Alberni, a forestry-dependent community where the first commercial sawmill opened in 1860.
The San Group opened a $70-million sawmill in Port Alberni in 2020, the first major investment in coastal sawmilling in 15 years. Kamal Sanghera, the chief executive officer, said his company’s five mills are already struggling to obtain raw materials to process, but if halting BCTS operations in places such as the Nahmint Valley leads to reforms of the system, he can support the changes.
“We need to cut less and create more value,” Mr. Sanghera said in an interview Friday. “The system now is wrong. We are shipping raw logs overseas, while guys like us can’t get supply.”
Conflict over old-growth forestry is a familiar story in BC, which was described internationally as the “Brazil of the North” 30 years ago. In 1992, the provincial government appointed an independent Commissioner of Resources and Environment in a bid to resolve these conflicts with a consensus-based land use strategy. Consensus remains elusive, and while the industry has changed, timber harvesting remains entrenched as a priority over values such as biodiversity.
One factor has changed significantly. In 1992, Indigenous communities struggled to influence land-use decisions in their traditional territories. Today, the BC government is bound by legislation to seek consent before making new decisions about resource development.
The First Nations Leadership Council, in a statement Thursday, welcomed the deferrals but criticized the delivery, noting that some old growth remains unprotected while the consultations are carried out. As well, the council is unhappy that the province has passed responsibility to First Nations without providing financial support to replace any revenues that might be lost if they choose to defer logging old growth in their territory.
Ms. Conroy would not say whether her government is ready to offer compensation to First Nations that wish to approve deferrals. “We will work with the communities,” she said in an interview.
The government is also under fire from the forest industry, which predicts devastating consequences for jobs and communities if the deferrals are approved.
Susan Yurkovich, president and chief executive officer of the Council of Forest Industries, is shocked by the scale of the deferrals. To freeze 2.6 million hectares of old-growth forests equals an annual loss of 10 million cubic metres of timber, she said. Based on the average requirement to feed a sawmill, that would shut down up to 20 mills, and cost 18,000 jobs, she added.
The provincial government insists that the toll will be smaller: If all of the proposed deferrals go ahead, 4,500 forestry workers would be out of a job. The transition that the BC government envisions would see the forest industry extract more product, more value and more jobs out of every tree cut. But that, Ms. Yurkovich said, would require significant investments.
“To retool a mill takes millions and millions of dollars,” she said, “What is going to get people to invest is predictable access to fibre at a reasonable cost. And this announcement has created significant additional uncertainty. It is going to have a chilling effect not only for industry, but for workers.”
The bulk of the trees that are cut in BC are on Crown land, meaning that forestry companies depend on the province for their fibre supply. That is the provincial government’s bargaining chip.
“This is a new vision for how we’re going to do forestry in this province. We have to look at the whole picture, the whole ecosystem. It’s not just about looking at that tree and saying, ‘Okay, how much do I get for that when we harvest it?’” Ms. Conroy said. “Some companies have adjusted and some haven’t. If you’re going to harvest our timber in BC and reap the benefits of that, then we hope you will invest in BC They are the peoples’ forests.”
Although many communities around the province still depend on forestry, the industry’s clout has waned. In 1992, the industry provided more than 90,000 jobs; today there are about 50,000. Mills have closed around the province even as the trees continue to fall. In the past year, BC has shipped $500 million worth of raw logs overseas to be processed in other countries. Nation-wide, only Alberta gets fewer jobs out of every tree cut.
As the most valuable, old-growth forests disappear, experts warn that job losses, with or without this action, are looming.
Ecologist Rachel Holt is one of the experts the province retained to produce its 2.6-million-hectare deferral plan. “We know that the old growth is running out. In some places, it’s already gone, like the dry coastal Douglas fir forests on the east side of Vancouver Island. We couldn’t set deferrals, because there is no old growth left. And what has industry done to prepare for this? Where was the forward planning to make sure there wasn’t community disaster?”
Environmentalists have accused the BC NDP government of dragging its heels on action, but there is a sense of urgency now on display. That is partly due to domestic pressure: The mass civil disobedience that continues in Fairy Creek has put a spotlight on old-growth logging. It’s also international, as Canada makes bigger and broader commitments to conservation and climate change.
But most of the promises made this week depend on the work ahead, as the province seeks to execute what it has billed as unprecedented conservation.
First Nations, industry leaders and environmentalists all agree on one thing: This transition cannot be achieved without a significant amount of money.
“If the government wants to set themselves up for success here, they absolutely need to come to the table with hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation funding,” Mr. Watts said. “Primarily for the economic relief of First Nations communities, if they choose to defer and ultimately move to permanent protection, so that it’s not a choice between logging and making money, and protecting forests and losing money. It needs to be a fair and equitable choice.”
Read the original article
Old-growth images net Victoria photographer grant named for Jeopardy! host
/in News CoverageVictoria photographer TJ Watt, whose photos documenting the loss of old-growth trees have been seen around the world, has won a grant named for former Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek.
Times Colonist
November 12, 2021
Victoria photographer TJ Watt, whose photos documenting the loss of old-growth trees have been seen around the world, has won a grant named for former Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek.
The Trebek Initiative grant will support the continuation of Watt’s “before” and “after” series, which depicts 800-to-1,000-year-old red cedars in the Caycuse Valley of southern Vancouver Island next to images of the stumps left behind after the trees are cut.
Watt, always in the same red jacket, stands next to the trees and their stumps, providing scale for the enormous trees.
Watt said he is humbled and grateful to have received one of the initial grants from the Trebek Initiative, which was awarded for the first time this year following Trebek’s death last November. He is also named a National Geographic Explorer and a Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer.
Watt, 37, said he has dedicated the last 15 years to documenting B.C.’s ancient forests in an effort to save them from logging.
“A lot of that time is spent alone, either in really rainy, miserable, clearcuts or off in faraway forests. You can feel like you wonder if anyone’s paying attention or watching, but I think this grant award and those naming recognitions really show that the world is watching,” said Watt, a co-founder of the non-profit Ancient Forest Alliance, which works to protect B.C.’s old-growth forests from logging.
His series of before-and-after images, published while protests against old-growth logging on southern Vancouver Island grew into Canada’s largest act of civil disobedience, was seen by millions on social media and recognized by multiple international photography contests. About 1,100 arrests have been arrested in the Fairy Creek area near Port Renfrew since May for attempting to block logging crews from cutting down old-growth trees.
“When people saw those photos, it was just outrage. There’s no way to spin it in any positive way,” Watt said. “And I think it really held the government’s feet to the fire to actually move and take some real action to protect old-growth forests.”
Watt took his “before” photos in the spring of 2020, carefully recording the location of each tree and noting how his camera was set up so he could return and replicate the image when only stumps remained.
“I was literally standing on the edge of existence where you have massive stumps on one side and a 12-foot-wide tree on your other side with a chainsaw sitting beside it, knowing that the next day that tree is going to be cut down,” he said.
Watt has already taken his first “before” images of giant red cedars and Sitka spruce trees with support from the Trebek grant. The success of the series is bittersweet for Watt.
“I would consider myself successful if I put myself out of a job,” he said. “We just don’t have the time to do this forever. The old-growth forests are already in a crisis.”
The Trebek Initiative grant supports emerging Canadian explorers, scientists, photographers, geographers and educators to explore unique ecozones, conduct research on wildlife, wilderness or water and document Canadian geography.
Trebek, who had a passion for geography, served as honorary president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society from 2016 until his death on Nov. 8, 2020.
Read the original article
BC makes big commitment to save old-growth trees from further logging
/in News CoverageThe Globe and Mail
November 6, 2021
In British Columbia’s Nahmint Valley, an 11th-hour reprieve was issued this week for ancient forests that were slated for logging.
The valley, in central Vancouver Island, features massive old western redcedars and some of the province’s largest Douglas fir trees, and is home to Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, cougars, wolves, black bears and threatened species such as the marbled murrelet and northern goshawk. It has been at the centre of a long-running battle between environmental values and economic ones, as the provincial government’s own logging agency, BC Timber Sales (BCTS), oversees the falling of large chunks of the forest.
Across BC, a total of 2.6 million hectares of rare, old-growth forests may be spared further logging under the provincial government’s new approach to forestry, which recognizes that these ecosystems are irreplaceable. On Nov. 2, Forests Minister Katrine Conroy announced the province’s largest-ever commitment to preservation. The first step isto suspend logging in one-third of the rare, old-growth forests, which are considered at a very high risk of irreversible biodiversity loss. The measures are temporary, but intended to allow time for the government to fully develop its plan, which will make the health of British Columbia’s forests an overarching priority.
There is a catch: Most of the proposed logging moratoriums are subject to what may be lengthy consultations with Indigenous communities. But the province has immediately put the brakes on new logging through BCTS, which accounts for one-fifth of all of BC’s annual forestry harvest. For the bulk of the proposed deferrals, the province will make no changes until it conducts individual consultations with 204 First Nations, a process that, optimistically, the province hopes to complete in 30 days.
Meanwhile, BC will continue to harvest trees in old-growth forests, some essentially undisturbed since the last ice age, as part of an industry that still contributes mightily to the provincial coffers.
Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt beside an old-growth Douglas-fir tree in a planned BC Timber Sales cutblock that is now deferred from logging in the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni.
TJ Watt has spent years bushwhacking through the Nahmint Valley for the non-profit Ancient Forest Alliance, documenting both the old-growth giants and the logging that targets the biggest and most valuable stands of trees. Since the announcement on Tuesday, he has been studying the deferral maps to see what the changes mean.
“We’ve documented some of the earth’s largest trees being cut down there by BC Timber Sales, and we’ve continued to highlight the forest that remains at risk in that valley. And today, I’m excited to look at these maps and see that there is a real change coming,” he said.
The valley has been heavily logged, same as the surrounding region. The nearest town is Port Alberni, a forestry-dependent community where the first commercial sawmill opened in 1860.
The San Group opened a $70-million sawmill in Port Alberni in 2020, the first major investment in coastal sawmilling in 15 years. Kamal Sanghera, the chief executive officer, said his company’s five mills are already struggling to obtain raw materials to process, but if halting BCTS operations in places such as the Nahmint Valley leads to reforms of the system, he can support the changes.
“We need to cut less and create more value,” Mr. Sanghera said in an interview Friday. “The system now is wrong. We are shipping raw logs overseas, while guys like us can’t get supply.”
Conflict over old-growth forestry is a familiar story in BC, which was described internationally as the “Brazil of the North” 30 years ago. In 1992, the provincial government appointed an independent Commissioner of Resources and Environment in a bid to resolve these conflicts with a consensus-based land use strategy. Consensus remains elusive, and while the industry has changed, timber harvesting remains entrenched as a priority over values such as biodiversity.
One factor has changed significantly. In 1992, Indigenous communities struggled to influence land-use decisions in their traditional territories. Today, the BC government is bound by legislation to seek consent before making new decisions about resource development.
The First Nations Leadership Council, in a statement Thursday, welcomed the deferrals but criticized the delivery, noting that some old growth remains unprotected while the consultations are carried out. As well, the council is unhappy that the province has passed responsibility to First Nations without providing financial support to replace any revenues that might be lost if they choose to defer logging old growth in their territory.
Ms. Conroy would not say whether her government is ready to offer compensation to First Nations that wish to approve deferrals. “We will work with the communities,” she said in an interview.
The government is also under fire from the forest industry, which predicts devastating consequences for jobs and communities if the deferrals are approved.
Susan Yurkovich, president and chief executive officer of the Council of Forest Industries, is shocked by the scale of the deferrals. To freeze 2.6 million hectares of old-growth forests equals an annual loss of 10 million cubic metres of timber, she said. Based on the average requirement to feed a sawmill, that would shut down up to 20 mills, and cost 18,000 jobs, she added.
The provincial government insists that the toll will be smaller: If all of the proposed deferrals go ahead, 4,500 forestry workers would be out of a job. The transition that the BC government envisions would see the forest industry extract more product, more value and more jobs out of every tree cut. But that, Ms. Yurkovich said, would require significant investments.
“To retool a mill takes millions and millions of dollars,” she said, “What is going to get people to invest is predictable access to fibre at a reasonable cost. And this announcement has created significant additional uncertainty. It is going to have a chilling effect not only for industry, but for workers.”
The bulk of the trees that are cut in BC are on Crown land, meaning that forestry companies depend on the province for their fibre supply. That is the provincial government’s bargaining chip.
“This is a new vision for how we’re going to do forestry in this province. We have to look at the whole picture, the whole ecosystem. It’s not just about looking at that tree and saying, ‘Okay, how much do I get for that when we harvest it?’” Ms. Conroy said. “Some companies have adjusted and some haven’t. If you’re going to harvest our timber in BC and reap the benefits of that, then we hope you will invest in BC They are the peoples’ forests.”
Although many communities around the province still depend on forestry, the industry’s clout has waned. In 1992, the industry provided more than 90,000 jobs; today there are about 50,000. Mills have closed around the province even as the trees continue to fall. In the past year, BC has shipped $500 million worth of raw logs overseas to be processed in other countries. Nation-wide, only Alberta gets fewer jobs out of every tree cut.
As the most valuable, old-growth forests disappear, experts warn that job losses, with or without this action, are looming.
Ecologist Rachel Holt is one of the experts the province retained to produce its 2.6-million-hectare deferral plan. “We know that the old growth is running out. In some places, it’s already gone, like the dry coastal Douglas fir forests on the east side of Vancouver Island. We couldn’t set deferrals, because there is no old growth left. And what has industry done to prepare for this? Where was the forward planning to make sure there wasn’t community disaster?”
Environmentalists have accused the BC NDP government of dragging its heels on action, but there is a sense of urgency now on display. That is partly due to domestic pressure: The mass civil disobedience that continues in Fairy Creek has put a spotlight on old-growth logging. It’s also international, as Canada makes bigger and broader commitments to conservation and climate change.
But most of the promises made this week depend on the work ahead, as the province seeks to execute what it has billed as unprecedented conservation.
First Nations, industry leaders and environmentalists all agree on one thing: This transition cannot be achieved without a significant amount of money.
“If the government wants to set themselves up for success here, they absolutely need to come to the table with hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation funding,” Mr. Watts said. “Primarily for the economic relief of First Nations communities, if they choose to defer and ultimately move to permanent protection, so that it’s not a choice between logging and making money, and protecting forests and losing money. It needs to be a fair and equitable choice.”
Read the original article
You’re invited to the AFA’s 2021 Virtual Year-End Update & Fundraiser!
/in AnnouncementsWe’re hosting our virtual year-end update and fundraiser on Thursday, November 25, from 7-8 pm (PST) on Zoom. Join us to learn what we’ve been up to this past year and what’s next for old-growth forests in BC. Plus, you could win some fun prizes!
With the BC government’s latest old-growth deferral announcement, the release of our groundbreaking report on the economic value of standing ancient forests, a federal funding commitment for BC old-growth, and mounting public pressure on the province to act, 2021 has been an eventful year for the ancient forest campaign.
Tune in to hear more about these and other developments, learn what AFA is doing to ensure the BC government follows through on all its old-growth promises, and help us celebrate all we’ve achieved this past year together.
The evening will feature a slideshow presentation from AFA campaigners TJ Watt, Andrea Inness, and Ian Illuminato about where we’ve been in 2021 and what’s next for ancient forests in BC, a Q&A session on all things old-growth, the chance to connect with the AFA team, and some fun giveaways.
You’ll also learn how you can support our campaigns, including by purchasing some great AFA gear (which make excellent holiday gifts!).
Event schedule:
7:00pm presentation followed by Q&A
Tickets: By donation. Register here
A Zoom link to join the webinar will be sent in your confirmation and reminder emails. If you have an Eventbrite account, you can also access the link on your online event page.
Proceeds from the event will go towards AFA’s campaign to protect endangered old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable, second-growth forest industry in BC.
We’re hosting our virtual year-end update and fundraiser on Thursday, November 25, from 7-8 pm (PST) on Zoom. Join us to learn what we’ve been up to this past year and what’s next for old-growth forests in BC. Plus, you could win some fun prizes!
With the BC government’s latest old-growth deferral announcement, the release of our groundbreaking report on the economic value of standing ancient forests, a federal funding commitment for BC old-growth, and mounting public pressure on the province to act, 2021 has been an eventful year for the ancient forest campaign.
Tune in to hear more about these and other developments, learn what AFA is doing to ensure the BC government follows through on all its old-growth promises, and help us celebrate all we’ve achieved this past year together.
The evening will feature a slideshow presentation from AFA campaigners TJ Watt, Andrea Inness, and Ian Illuminato about where we’ve been in 2021 and what’s next for ancient forests in BC, a Q&A session on all things old-growth, the chance to connect with the AFA team, and some fun giveaways.
You’ll also learn how you can support our campaigns, including by purchasing some great AFA gear (which make excellent holiday gifts!).
Event schedule:
7:00pm presentation followed by Q&A
Tickets: By donation. Register here
A Zoom link to join the webinar will be sent in your confirmation and reminder emails. If you have an Eventbrite account, you can also access the link on your online event page.
Proceeds from the event will go towards AFA’s campaign to protect endangered old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable, second-growth forest industry in BC.
We’re hosting our virtual year-end update and fundraiser on Thursday, November 25, from 7-8 pm (PST) on Zoom. Join us to learn what we’ve been up to this past year and what’s next for old-growth forests in BC. Plus, you could win some fun prizes!
With the BC government’s latest old-growth deferral announcement, the release of our groundbreaking report on the economic value of standing ancient forests, a federal funding commitment for BC old-growth, and mounting public pressure on the province to act, 2021 has been an eventful year for the ancient forest campaign.
Tune in to hear more about these and other developments, learn what AFA is doing to ensure the BC government follows through on all its old-growth promises, and help us celebrate all we’ve achieved this past year together.
The evening will feature a slideshow presentation from AFA campaigners TJ Watt, Andrea Inness, and Ian Illuminato about where we’ve been in 2021 and what’s next for ancient forests in BC, a Q&A session on all things old-growth, the chance to connect with the AFA team, and some fun giveaways.
You’ll also learn how you can support our campaigns, including by purchasing some great AFA gear (which make excellent holiday gifts!).
Event schedule:
7:00pm presentation followed by Q&A
Tickets: By donation. Register here
A Zoom link to join the webinar will be sent in your confirmation and reminder emails. If you have an Eventbrite account, you can also access the link on your online event page.
Proceeds from the event will go towards AFA’s campaign to protect endangered old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable, second-growth forest industry in BC.
We’re hosting our virtual year-end update and fundraiser on Thursday, November 25, from 7-8 pm (PST) on Zoom. Join us to learn what we’ve been up to this past year and what’s next for old-growth forests in BC. Plus, you could win some fun prizes!
With the BC government’s latest old-growth deferral announcement, the release of our groundbreaking report on the economic value of standing ancient forests, a federal funding commitment for BC old-growth, and mounting public pressure on the province to act, 2021 has been an eventful year for the ancient forest campaign.
Tune in to hear more about these and other developments, learn what AFA is doing to ensure the BC government follows through on all its old-growth promises, and help us celebrate all we’ve achieved this past year together.
The evening will feature a slideshow presentation from AFA campaigners TJ Watt, Andrea Inness, and Ian Illuminato about where we’ve been in 2021 and what’s next for ancient forests in BC, a Q&A session on all things old-growth, the chance to connect with the AFA team, and some fun giveaways.
You’ll also learn how you can support our campaigns, including by purchasing some great AFA gear (which make excellent holiday gifts!).
Event schedule:
7:00pm presentation followed by Q&A
Tickets: By donation. Register here
A Zoom link to join the webinar will be sent in your confirmation and reminder emails. If you have an Eventbrite account, you can also access the link on your online event page.
Proceeds from the event will go towards AFA’s campaign to protect endangered old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable, second-growth forest industry in BC.
Province uses best available science to identify and partially defer logging of at-risk old-growth, critical funding measures still missing
/in Media ReleaseVICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) commend a BC government announcement made today releasing independent scientific mapping of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, and in principle accepting recommendations to defer logging in 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old-growth forests. The province has also immediately deferred all future BC Timber Sales (BCTS) cutblocks that overlap with identified at-risk forests. However, critical conservation funding to enable the full scale of deferral recommendations is still missing.
A summary report and new scientific mapping produced by an independent Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel have revealed there are 5 million hectares of unprotected, at-risk old-growth forest across BC. These forests are categorized into ancient, rare, and big tree forests. The panel recommended the province immediately defer logging in 2.6 million hectares of these forests, focusing on the most critically endangered stands.
“The independent mapping is a major step forward,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt. “For the first time in history, the province has used the best available science to accurately identify old-growth forests at risk. This mapping confirms what conservation organizations have been saying for years: that much of BC’s forests are at risk of irreversible biodiversity loss and must be protected.”
“The province’s acceptance of the recommendation to defer logging in 2.6 million hectares of the best and most at-risk old-growth forests is also unprecedented,” stated Watt “However, these are not immediate and without a matching provincial commitment of several hundred million dollars in conservation financing, with a primary focus on First Nations economic relief linked to deferrals, the full scale of the deferrals, and eventual permanent protection, will be impossible to achieve. We have the road map in hand, but we’re missing the gas in the tank.”
A highlight of the announcement is that BCTS, which has stood at the centre of considerable controversy for the logging of some of BC’s finest remaining old-growth stands, will see immediate logging deferrals. Covering about 20% of the province’s annual allowable cut, this could represent an area of about 500,000 hectares being placed under temporary deferral. This area is larger than all protected parkland on Vancouver Island put together, vastly exceeding all deferrals in place thus far. Included in this area are some of the most critical old-growth hotspots remaining in BC, such as the Artlish, Tsitika, and Nahmint watersheds, areas that conservationists have struggled to protect for decades.
The province also announced its plan to launch a suite of programs to support workers that will be impacted by the deferrals, including connecting workers with short-term employment opportunities, education and skills training, or funds to bridge to retirement. However, the province did not announce economic relief for lost forestry revenues in First Nations communities due to proposed deferrals. $12.69 million over three years was committed to providing capacity funding for First Nations to participate in planning and negotiation, but no money has yet been committed to providing further conservation financing.
“Today’s announcement is a historic step in the right direction, but there are some critical pieces still missing,” said AFA campaigner Andrea Inness. “Besides a lack of funding, the province has failed to provide timeframes or deadlines for the implementation of deferrals or any of the OGSR recommendations. Meanwhile, at-risk old-growth forests are being left on the chopping block while negotiations take place.”
“The province needs to show leadership in supporting First Nations-led old-growth conservation. The $12 million committed today to support capacity building for First Nations to participate in government-to-government negotiations doesn’t go nearly far enough.”
“It’s about ensuring First Nations in BC have funding made available to support logging deferrals, First Nations-led land-use planning, Indigenous protected areas that conserve old-growth, and economic diversification of First Nations’ communities,” said Inness. “There must also be support for joint decision-making and Indigenous self-determination. Currently, the province doesn’t have the political will to deliver on these pieces. That needs to change.”
The federal government recently committed $2.3 billion to expand protected areas across Canada. Of this, several hundred million dollars are available for the expansion of protected areas in BC, with $50 million specifically allocated to protect old-growth forests in BC.
The Ancient Forest Alliance is urging the BC government to commit several hundred million dollars in conservation financing to match this federal funding in the upcoming spring budget.
AFA Photographer TJ Watt receives Trebek Initiative grant and named National Geographic Explorer and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer
/in Media ReleaseThe Ancient Forest Alliance’s co-founder and photographer working to protect old-growth forests has been awarded significant support and recognition by receiving a Trebek Initiative grant, naming him a National Geographic Explorer and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer.
“I’m honoured and grateful to have been selected as one of the first grant recipients for the Trebek Initiative and to be named a National Geographic Explorer and a Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer,” noted Watt. “Combining art with exploration and environmental education is a lifelong passion of mine and I hope to shed new light on ancient forests to help see them saved.”
Watt’s project will focus largely on creating a new ‘before and after’ series of monumental old-growth trees standing and then cut, building on the impact of his first series captured in the Caycuse Valley that went viral around the world this year. The series garnered recognition in three international photo competitions: the Earth Photo 2021 Exhibition, the LensCulture Art Photography Awards, and Px3 ‘State of the World’ in Paris. The sobering images have also appeared in a number of major magazine publications such as Patagonia, Red Bulletin (Red Bull’s magazine), Outside Magazine, and the cover of British Columbia magazine.
Often exploring remote forests alone with just his camera gear and a GPS in hand, Watt hopes capturing photos of endangered old-growth will bring the attention needed to protect these forests before they’re clearcut.
“Ideally, no ‘after’ photos will have to be taken.”
“I have already captured my first set of ‘before’ images with support from the Trebek Initiative grant, which include giant old-growth redcedar and Sitka spruce trees within a recently approved cutblock along the lower Caycuse River, not far from the location where the previous series was shot,” noted Watt. “If the province doesn’t halt the logging here, the world will witness their unnecessary destruction.”
The solution to BC’s old-growth crisis lies in the need for conservation funding for indigenous communities. The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the province to support First Nations’ old-growth protection initiatives with several hundred million dollars, matching federal funds already allocated for expanding protected areas in BC.
“With our planet facing a global climate and biodiversity crisis, there’s a heightened urgency to ensure some of the world’s most ecologically and carbon-rich forests remain standing for centuries to come,” stated Watt.
The Trebek Initiative is named after the late Canadian host of Jeopardy! Alex Trebek and is a grantmaking partnership between the National Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society that supports emerging Canadian explorers, scientists, photographers, geographers, and educators with a goal of using storytelling to ignite “a passion to preserve” in all Canadians. This is the first year it has been awarded.
Learn more about the Trebek Initiative.
Thank you to our recent business supporters!
/in Thank YouA special thanks to the following groups for supporting the AFA:
Westside Pest Control for their generous support https://westsidepestcontrol.com/
Wild Coast Perfumery for donating $1 from select natural eau de perfumes https://www.wildcoastperfumes.com/
Asahna for donating partial proceeds from their mycelium-inspired artwork. An additional thanks to the collaborating artist, Tall Tale Works, for their creative artwork displays in support of this project https://www.etsy.com/shop/asahna and https://www.etsy.com/shop/TallTaleWorks
Zale Design for their contributions in solidarity with the AFA https://www.zaledesign.ca/
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Ottawa’s offer to help end battle over old-growth logging insufficient, BC says
/in News CoverageThe Globe and Mail
By Justine Hunter
British Columbia Premier John Horgan patted down his suit pockets, theatrically searching for a misplaced $50-million cheque. The performance was in response to a reporter’s question about Ottawa’s offer to help resolve the ongoing conflict over old-growth logging.
The money was a campaign commitment, and with the federal Liberals returned to office, the province could start figuring out how to spend it. Instead, the province has been dismissive of the proposed BC old-growth nature fund.
Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal Minister of Environment, floated the idea in August as a means to preserve ancient forests from logging. “BC’s iconic old-growth forests are increasingly under threat,” Mr. Wilkinson said at the time.
In an interview on Friday, he said his government is ready to write that cheque, as a bulwark against further loss of biodiversity in Canada. “A first step is to preserve those ecosystems that remain intact,” he said. “And in British Columbia, that includes those old-growth forests that are at threat from the logging industry.”
The BC government also has promised to protect old growth, and has conceded that poor management of its forests has contributed to the province’s dismal record of protecting species at risk. Mr. Horgan has accepted the recommendations of his 2020 old-growth strategic review, which call for legislation that would make the conservation of ecosystem health and biodiversity of British Columbia’s forests an overarching priority.
With that apparent common ground between the two levels of government, Mr. Horgan’s chief complaint could be a simple bargaining tactic.
The $50-million fund “would be a very small amount of money relative to the consequences to the forest industry, to communities and to workers,” Mr. Horgan told reporters on Thursday. “I’m hopeful that the federal government will recognize the importance of us working together on this and will up their game a little bit, so that we can have a real, meaningful discussion and get the conclusions that I know all British Columbians want to see – protection our special places, and continuing to have a foundational [forest] industry, not just now, but well into the future.”
He suggested Ottawa could “add a zero” to the proposed fund as a starting point.
It is an audacious counteroffer, considering the bind that Mr. Horgan’s government finds itself in. Since the RCMP moved to break up blockades that are disrupting logging in the Fairy Creek watershed last May, more than 1,000 people have been arrested. All of this protest against old-growth logging is being staged in the Premier’s riding.
Mr. Horgan’s government has tried to defuse the protests by giving the local First Nations communities, which have interests in the forest industry, a central role in deciding what can be logged and what should be protected. That’s made it awkward for protesters who don’t want to be seen undermining Indigenous rights, but it hasn’t stopped them.
The protesters have said they won’t end their blockades until the province’s ancient forests are protected, and not just in the Premier’s riding. The forest industry says three-quarters of the province’s old-growth forests are already protected, and a balance is needed that allows them access to some old-growth timber. Bridging the gap between those two positions will be costly.
Andrea Inness, forests campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance, says Mr. Horgan’s estimates are in the ballpark: Permanent protection of old-growth forests in BC would add up to $500-milllion or more. That’s to buy back tenure from forestry companies, but also to support economic diversification, particularly for Indigenous communities.
But Ms. Inness wonders if the province really wants to make the shift. “They are dragging their heels on the implementation of the old-growth strategic review panel’s recommendations, falling behind on their own implementation timeline, and have failed to commit any funding to expanding protected areas or supporting urgently needed economic transitions.”
Mr. Horgan says there is no “instant gratification” to be had on this file. Two years after commissioning the old-growth review, the province now has set up a technical panel to define just what an old-growth tree is, exactly. “We want to ensure that we’re talking about the same types of trees, large trees, ancient trees, rare trees,” the Premier explained. But he said that work is due to be completed in the weeks ahead.
Mr. Wilkinson says he is ready to dig up more money in Ottawa and help the province find a path out of the Fairy Creek conflict, but BC needs to move beyond temporary deferrals and look at permanent solutions.
British Columbia also needs to up its game.
The original article is only available to subscribers of The Globe and Mail.
NGO report card: One year after BC promised action, logging continues in almost all at-risk old-growth forests
/in Media ReleaseReport card raises alarm about predatory delay contributing to climate and extinction crises, lack of support for First Nations and forestry reforms, fuelling Canada’s biggest act of civil disobedience
VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) — One year after the BC government shared its Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) report and Premier John Horgan committed to implementing all of the panel’s recommendations, Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee have released a report card assessing the province’s progress on their promise to protect old-growth forests.
The OGSR’s report, made public on September 11, 2020, called on the province to work with Indigenous governments to transform forest management within three years.
The panel recommendations include taking immediate action to protect at-risk old-growth forests and a paradigm-shift away from a focus on timber value and towards safeguarding biodiversity and the ecological integrity of all forests in BC. However, old-growth-related headlines in recent months have been dominated by police violence and arrests of forest defenders, rather than protection. As of this week, with at least 866 arrests, the fight to save what is left is now Canada’s biggest-ever act of civil disobedience.
“The tough reality is that thousands of hectares of the endangered forests that Premier Horgan promised to save a year ago have been cut down since then,” said Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee. “We’ve seen pitifully little concrete action to protect threatened old-growth, and ecosystems and communities are paying the price for the BC NDP government’s heel-dragging.”
In their report card, the organizations issued new grades on the BC government’s progress in five key areas, crucial for implementation of the panel recommendations: immediate action for at-risk forests (F), the development of a three-year work plan with milestone dates (D), progress on changing course and prioritizing ecosystem integrity and biodiversity (F), funding for implementation, First Nations and forestry transition (D), and transparency and communication (F).
“Our assessment is as devastating as a fresh old-growth clearcut. The ongoing ‘talk and log’ situation combined with police violence and the escalating climate and extinction crisis can only be described as predatory delay,” said Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “Premier Horgan’s failure to keep his promise has now fueled the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada’s history, larger than Clayoquot Sound, with no end in sight. People know that clearcutting the last old-growth is unforgivable”
“In the last six months, the BC government has failed to allocate any funding toward protecting old-growth, instead funnelling millions into police enforcement to clear a path for old-growth logging,” said Andrea Inness, forest campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Without funding to support old-growth protection, the BC NDP government is forcing communities to make the impossible choice between revenue and conservation. They’re choosing inaction while the conflict in BC’s forests worsens.”
In July, the province created a technical expert panel to inform the next announcement of old-growth deferral areas. Repeated government remarks about new deferrals in the summer, that are yet to be announced, have sparked a glimmer of hope for science-based interim protection for all at-risk old-growth forests in BC in the near future.
Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee will continue to mobilize their tens of thousands of supporters and hold the government accountable for its old-growth promises. The next report card will be issued on March 11, 2022.
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For more information, please contact:
Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner/Science Advisor, Sierra Club BC
604-354 5312, jens@sierraclub.bc.ca
Andrea Inness, Campaigner, Ancient Forest Alliance
778-953-5983 (text only), andrea@15.222.255.145
Joe Foy, Protected Areas Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
604-880-2580, joe@wildernesscommittee.org
Logging in the Klanawa Valley: “World’s best forestry practices”?
/in Photo GalleryThese recent images from the Klanawa Valley highlight the brutal impacts of clearcut logging on Vancouver Island.
Until recently, this mountain was one of the last largely intact stands of unprotected old-growth in the valley. Now a sprawling 30-hectare cutblock, a web of roads from Western Forest Products scar the hillside here in Tree Farm Licence 44, north of Nitinat Lake in Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht territory. This is what ‘talk & log’ looks like.
Speak up! Send a message to John Horgan and the NDP, demanding they take action to protect endangered old-growth forests in BC.
Red Bull: Protecting our Elders
/in News CoverageThe Red Bulletin
May 2021
In the May 2021 edition of Red Bull’s magazine, The Red Bulletin, TJ Watt talks about the devastating before and after photos taken in the Caycuse Valley. Capturing the world’s attention at the end of 2020, Caycuse Valley’s old-growth forests were cut down and TJ’s record of their previous grandeur was a bitter pill to swallow. Sharing photos of this caliber, the hope is more old-growth forests will be saved due to this important work.
Read the original article