New Old Growth Protections More Symbolic than Symbiotic, Environmentalists Say

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The Tyee
July 19, 2019

Province vows to protect 54 trees, describing it as a ‘first step.’

Environmentalists say the provincial government’s commitment to protect 54 more old-growth trees is a good first step, but its effect will likely be more symbolic than ecological.

B.C. Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said at a press conference Wednesday that the designated trees would be protected by placing a one-hectare buffer zone around each of them.

He described the action as a “first step in a broader old-growth plan” that also includes an independent, two-person panel to “engage with First Nations, industry, stakeholders and communities on old-growth management” starting this fall.

The panel will provide recommendations to the government in spring 2020.

“This is good, but it’s not nearly enough, and it’s not happening anywhere close to the pace we need change for endangered old-growth forests,” said Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner with the Sierra Club BC. “We are in the midst of extinction and climate crisis, and this step is more symbolic than anything else.”

Old-growth forests, he said, help mitigate the effects of climate change — particularly when it comes to forest fires. Wieting said he’s worried about any delay in implementing a long-term strategy for such forests.

“While the plan sounds good, it’s actually a huge concern that the government is proposing more talks,” he said, noting that the government has also invited feedback on its Forest and Range Practices Act until Monday.

Forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon said the announcement made him hopeful that the government is “listening to what people have to say about old-growth forests in B.C.,” but he also finds the current lack of a long-term plan troubling.

“What they’re announcing is protection for some very large trees,” he said. “It’s not any kind of plan for old-growth forests.”

Wieting and MacKinnon are doubtful that protecting 54 trees, even with a one-hectare buffer zone, will have significant effect on their ecosystems.

“It’s a very modest step,” said Wieting. “The buffer zones would add up to 54 hectares. On Vancouver Island alone, we are destroying about 10,000 hectares of old growth every year.”

MacKinnon compares the total area protected to a little more than 13 per cent of Stanley Park, which comprises around 400 hectares.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness is optimistic that the buffer zones will be a good first step to avoiding more “Big, Lonely Doug” scenarios on the coast, referencing Canada’s second-largest Douglas fir tree that stands alone amid a clearcut. It is now one of the 54 protected trees.

But Innes also said a more comprehensive strategy based on ecosystem science is needed.

“Standing and fallen dead wood plays an incredibly important role in old-growth forest ecosystems as wildlife trees, for example,” she said. “Bears will still use dead and rotting western red cedar trees for habitat.”

Currently, only living trees are eligible for provincial protection, and advocates want protection for dead trees, too.

Dead trees continue to store carbon for decades, Wieting said. “It takes that long for a truly old tree to completely decompose and much of the carbon will then remain stored in the soil, slowly absorbed by other growing trees.”

Inness, Wieting and MacKinnon also said the size threshold is a concern.

To be eligible for provincial protection, Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western red cedar and yellow cedar trees must have a diameter at least half the size of the largest tree on record for their species. All other species of trees must be 75 per cent of the largest tree on record.

“It sounds like that would capture a lot, but it actually doesn’t. The very largest trees on the Big Tree Registry are exceptional giants,” said Inness. “So to protect only those that are 50 per cent as wide only captures exceptionally rare and large trees.”

The BC Big Tree Registry is a record of large tree specimens native to B.C. housed at the University of British Columbia. All 54 of the newly protected trees are from the registry.

MacKinnon, who was the committee chair of the registry from the mid-1990s until last year, said that any old-growth forest strategy needs to extend far beyond trees on the registry.

“Much more important than protecting individual, large, old trees is protecting watersheds,” said MacKinnon. “One-hectare patches won’t help anything except perhaps protect individual, very large trees.”

Donaldson noted Wednesday that the 54 newly protected trees would be in addition to the 55 per cent of old-growth forests on Crown land already protected on Vancouver Island and the coast, citing 500,000 hectares of protected old growth on Vancouver Island.

But Inness, Wieting, and MacKinnon said those numbers are misleading.

“Not only does that [55 per cent] include low productivity forests in subalpine areas and bogs — forests that have very little to no commercial value and aren’t endangered — it excludes private lands which have largely been cut over,” said Inness.

The ministry has previously said that it has “very limited jurisdiction over private land harvesting” in response as to why it’s not included.

Inness also said that the 55 per cent of protected old growth only describes the remaining forests, not the original amount before industrial logging began.

According to her, more than 80 per cent of original productive old-growth forests and more than 90 per cent of very rare, monumental old-growth stands have already been logged on the south coast.

“They’re just talking about a fraction protected of the fraction remaining,” she said. “By that logic, the more you log outside of the protected areas, the more is protected until finally, the government can say ‘100 percent of old growth on the coast is protected’ because everything else is logged.”

Wieting and MacKinnon said they have been unable to map 500,000 hectares of protected old growth on Vancouver Island.

“It’s been really frustrating to see the different numbers that have been thrown about,” said MacKinnon. “When an environmental NGO says there’s only this amount [of old growth] left on Vancouver Island, the government and industry together will always respond that there’s this amount protected on the coast of British Columbia.”

MacKinnon said the coast of B.C. has very different conservation statuses depending on the location, with 75 per cent of the north and central coast already protected under the Great Bear Rainforest agreement and 52 per cent of Haida Gwaii in protected areas.

Lumping the amount of protected old growth on Vancouver Island with these regions distorts the image of how much is at risk from logging, he said.

“If you’re wondering who to believe about Vancouver Island, I would encourage people to either look at satellite imagery, air photos,” said MacKinnon. “Or simply drive the back roads and decide for yourself.”

The province’s office of Land Use Planning was reached out to for data on Vancouver Island’s protected old growth but did not respond. 

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NDP announces plan to protect old-growth trees

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Global News
July 17, 2019

Watch this Global News piece featuring interviews with Endangered Ecosystems Alliance’s Ken Wu, the AFA’s Andrea Inness, and Sierra Club BC’s Jens Wieting about the BC government’s plan to protect 54 of BC’s biggest trees and develop an old-growth management strategy.

While the conversation often comes down to jobs vs. the environment and the need to ‘strike a balance’, this is a tired argument that must be left in the past. Healthy forest ecosystems form the basis of a strong economy and healthy communities. Many jobs, not to mention our climate, clean water, endangered species, and First Nations’ cultures depend on healthy, intact old-growth forests.

With 80% of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forests already logged, it’s time for bold action from the BC government. We need to keep the pressure up to ensure the Province’s old-growth strategy isn’t a piecemeal approach that protects big trees but allows entire old-growth ecosystems to be mowed down.

 

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B.C. announces protection for old-growth trees

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CTV News
July 17, 2019

 

 

Forests minister says 54 of the province’s largest trees will be protected

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Times Colonist
July 17, 2019

The B.C. government moved Wednesday to protect 54 of the province’s largest trees in a first step toward a broader old-growth strategy.

In a change criticized as “inadequate” by the B.C. Green Party, Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said the “exceptionally large and old trees” were selected from 347 on the University of B.C.’s Big Tree Registry.

The 54 old-growth giants will be surrounded by groves about the size of a “soccer pitch” to provide additional protection, especially from windstorms, Donaldson said.

“I don’t want to leave the impression that it’s one tree standing in the forest,” he said. “It’s a one-hectare buffer around that tree. So it’s other trees included in that.”

The 54 trees include seven in the Capital Regional District — one Arbutus, two Douglas firs, three Sitka spruce and a western red cedar, documents show.

More trees could be added as they are identified, said Donaldson, who made the announcement at Francis/King Regional Park, standing in front of an ancient Douglas fir tree that is already protected within the park boundaries.

“British Columbians want to know that trees like this and the ones you’re seeing today — even in an area they might not ever visit — will never be cut down,” he said.

B.C. Green Party MLA Adam Olsen said the decision to protect 54 trees falls far short of what is needed to save endangered old-growth ecosystems, particularly those on Vancouver Island.

“It’s the least possible thing that the government could do when it comes to protecting old growth,” he said. “It’s frustrating and a distraction, I think, from what actually needs to be done.

“It’s not good enough, not far enough.”

The Greens have called for a moratorium on logging in Vancouver Island’s old-growth “hot spots,” described as pristine areas of conservation significance, such as the Central Walbran or Schmidt Creek, north of Sayward.

Donaldson said the move to protect big trees marks the start of a “broader conversation” about managing old-growth forests.

He noted that Gary Merkel, a forester and member of the Tahltan Nation, and Al Gorley, former chair of the Forest Practices Board, will hear from British Columbians beginning this fall on how to manage old-growth forests. The two-man panel will deliver its recommendations to the government next spring.

“The recommendations are expected to inform a new approach to old-growth management for British Columbia,” Donaldson said. “It’s always a question of how to strike a balance between protecting old-growth trees and protecting jobs and the economy.”

Andrea Innes, a forest campaigner with the Ancient Forest Alliance, welcomed the appointment of an independent panel. “The NDP have been talking about an old-growth strategy for almost a year now, with very little to show for it,” she said.

“What we need is a much more comprehensive, legislated plan that’s based on science and protects entire endangered old-growth forest ecosystems.”

The government said the 54 trees selected for protection had to meet certain criteria, including being on Crown land outside parks or other protected areas. In addition, each tree was required to meet a minimum size threshold determined by the tree’s diameter.

For Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western red cedar and yellow cedar, the minimum threshold was set at 50 per cent of the largest tree on record for those species. The minimum for other species was set at 75 per cent.

For example, the largest coastal Douglas fir on record has a diameter at breast height of 4.23 metres. The protection threshold was set at 2.12 metres.
lkines@timescolonist.com

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Big Lonely Doug among largest old-growth trees now on protection list

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Sooke News Mirror
July 17, 2019

B.C. to protect 54 old-growth trees, but critics say it’s not enough

 

A tree climber scales Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s second largest Douglas-fir tree. Doug stands alone in an old-growth clearcut in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew, BC. Height: 216 ft (66 m) (broken top) Diameter: 12 ft (4 m)

Big Lonely Doug won’t be so lonely anymore.

The Coastal Douglas-fir is among 54 of the province’s largest and oldest trees to be protected by the province along with a one-hectare buffer zone surrounding each of the giants, says Forest Minister Doug Donaldson.

Big Lonely Doug is the second largest Douglas-fir in Canada. The tree, located near Port Renfrew, stands at 70.2 metres, or 230 feet.

Two other trees in the Port Renfrew region – Sitka spruce – are also protected.

The trees are on the University of B.C.’s Big Tree Registry that has identified 347 of the largest of each species in the province.

The 54 trees were at risk of being harvested.

The trees are in more than two dozen locations, including central B.C., the East Kootenays, Haida Gwaii, Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley.

The species include arbutus, coastal Douglas-fir, Pacific yew, ponderosa pine, Sitka spruce, western red cedar and western white pine.

Donaldson says the announcement is also the start of a broader conversation about the future of old-growth management in the province.

The government says starting this fall, an independent two-person panel will meet with First Nations, industry and communities on how to manage old growth in the province.

Local environmental groups welcomed the decision to protect the 54 trees, but say much more needs to be done.

“It’s a small step, but it may signal there’s more comprehensive action to come,” said Andrea Inness, forest campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“A more comprehensive, legislated plan is still desperately needed to protect the province’s old-growth ecosystems on a larger scale in order to sustain biodiversity, clean water, and the climate.”

Ken Wu, the executive director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance, says the government announcement protects the most charismatic fraction of B.C.’s endangered old-growth forests, but at the same time thousands of others remain endangered, including their ecosystems.

“The fact that the B.C. government says that they plan more comprehensive big tree protections and also old-growth forest ecosystem protections gives us some hope – but let’s see where they go with it,” Wu said.

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UBC scientists find high mutation rates generating genetic diversity within huge, old-growth trees

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UBC News
July 8th, 2019

Study provides clues on how trees evolve to survive

The towering, hundreds of years old Sitka spruce trees growing in the heart of Vancouver Island’s Carmanah Valley appear placid and unchanging.

In reality, each one is packed to the rafters with evolutionary potential.

UBC researchers scraped bark and collected needles from 20 of these trees last summer, sending the samples to a lab for DNA sequencing. Results, published recently in Evolution Letters, showed that a single old-growth tree could have up to 100,000 genetic differences in DNA sequence between the base of the tree, where the bark was collected, and the tip of the crown.

Each difference represents a somatic mutation, or a mutation that occurs during the natural course of growth rather than during reproduction.

“This is the first evidence of the tremendous genetic variation that can accumulate in some of our tallest trees. Scientists have known for decades about somatic mutations, but very little about how frequently they occur and whether they contribute significantly to genetic variation,” said Sally Aitken, the study’s lead researcher and a professor of forestry at UBC. “Now, thanks to advances in genomic sequencing, we know some of the answers.”

The researchers chose the Sitka spruce because it’s among the tallest trees growing in the Pacific Northwest, and sampled the exceptional trees in Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park.

“Because these trees live so long and grow so tall, they’re capable of accumulating tremendous genetic variation over time,” explained Vincent Hanlon, who did the research as part of his master of science in the faculty of forestry at UBC.

“On average, the trees we sampled for the study were 220 to 500 years old and 76 metres tall. There’s a redwood tree in California that’s 116 metres tall, but these Sitka spruce were pretty big.”

The researchers say more time and further studies will be needed to understand exactly how the different somatic mutations will affect the evolution of the tree as a species.

“Most of the mutations are probably harmless, and some will likely be bad,” explained Aitken. “But other mutations may result in genetic diversity and if they’re passed onto offspring they’ll contribute to evolution and adaptation over time.”

Studying somatic mutation rates in various tree species can shed light on how trees, which can’t evolve as rapidly as other organisms like animals due to their long lifespans, nonetheless survive and thrive, Aitken said.

“We often see tree populations that adapt well to local climates and develop effective responses to changing stresses such as pests and bugs,” she added. “Our study provides insights on one genetic mechanism that might help make this possible.”

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Province-wide rallies to protect old-growth forests

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Global News
June 6, 2019

Environmental activists rallied across B.C. Thursday, demanding the government do more to protect B.C.’s old-growth forests. Kylie Stanton reports.

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Premier’s office one of 17 rallies across B.C. calling for protection of old-growth forest

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Sooke News Mirror
June 6, 2019

Protestor questions Horgan’s commitment to mitigate ‘climate degradation’

Dozens of constituents showed up outside the community office of Premier John Horgan Thursday afternoon as part of province-wide protest against the logging of old-growth on the Island.

Steve Gray of the BC-Yukon KAIROS Rolling Justice Bus spoke on the need to transition old-growth logging jobs to second-growth and other sectors.

“We say loggers need to transition away from logging old growth forests now. We say the government should lend them a hand,” he said.

“Re-tool our mills to handle second growth. Lend them a hand.”

Gray questioned the Horgan’s commitment to mitigate “climate degradation,” citing the premier’s support for the Site C hydroelectric dam and $6 billion in tax exemptions for the liquified natural gas industry.

Bruce Fogg, executive assistant to the premier, said he would relay the message to Horgan, who was aware of the issue.

“I will certainly take back [to Horgan] information that he’s already aware of, that you folks have some very strong opinions on this very complex issue,” he said before the crowd drowned out his voice.

In her speech, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness urged action and offered steps to protect B.C. forests.

This included halting the logging of old-growth ‘hotspots’ with the “greatest” conservation and recreation value; creating a “comprehensive, science-based” plan to protect endangered old-growth across the province; implementing a natural lands acquisition fund to buy and protect old-growth on private lands; introducing sustainable development and economic diversification of First Nations communities tied to the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas like tribal parks; and supporting an “expedited transition to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry.”

Inness noted the government is inviting feedback from the public on ways to improve the Forest and Range Practices Act until July 15, which can be submitted on the B.C. government website.

Today, 79 per cent of “the original productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have been logged, including 90 per cent of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow,” according to the B.C. Green Party.

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B.C. Greens call for halt on logging Island old-growth

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Times Colonist
May 14, 2019

The provincial government should immediately halt the logging of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island, the B.C. Green Party said Monday. However, B.C.’s minister of forests rejected a moratorium, saying it would be devastating for the Island’s forestry workers.

In the legislature, the Green Party called on the government to impose a moratorium on old-growth logging and develop more sustainable forestry practices that protect vital ecosystems.

The call comes amid uncertainty around the B.C. government’s plans to log 109 hectares of old-growth forest near Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.

“Our coastal old-growth is not a renewable resource — and there’s not much left,” Sonia Furstenau, Green MLA for Cowichan Valley, said in a statement. “These globally rare ecosystems support threatened species — including wild salmon — and keep our water and air clean.”

Furstenau said the government should protect the last few remaining intact old-growth forest “hot spots” on Vancouver Island and transition to second-growth logging, which focuses on cutting trees that have regrown after a timber harvest.

“Logging old-growth is short-sighted,” said Furstenau. “It jeopardizes the job stability, local economies, and ecosystem health.”

Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said more than 500,000 hectares of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island are already protected in provincial or national parks or other designated areas.

“Over half the old-growth forests on the coast of Vancouver Island are protected. So we have a lot of old-growth forest protected already,” Donaldson told the Times Colonist. “And the remainder of the areas that are being managed, if we implement an immediate moratorium in those areas, the impacts to the forest sector on Vancouver Island would be devastating.”

There are 24,000 people who work directly in the forestry sector and many of those people would lose their jobs if a moratorium is imposed, said Donaldson, adding there are not enough second-growth trees to replace old-growth cutblocks.

Last week, the Ministry of Forests confirmed that a controversial plan to log old-growth forests near Juan de Fuca Provincial Park had been postponed for a second time following a public outcry.

The ministry said B.C. Timber Sales, a government agency, had pulled its advertisements for the auction of 109 hectares of forest in seven cutblocks — including two that come within 50 metres of the park.

The ministry said it needed more time to engage with a local stakeholder who was missed during the initial referral process.

Jon Cash, co-owner of Soule Creek Lodge, received an email from B.C. Timber Sales saying the sale had been “postponed/ removed” to allow for more engagement with the lodge.

Cash has said the noise of chainsaws and road blasting will be devastating for the lodge, which is located near the proposed clearcuts.

Donaldson said the ministry also plans to investigate information provided by environmental groups that there are legacy trees — particularly old and large trees — in the cutblock.

“Best practices of B.C. Timber Sales is to preserve those legacy trees, so that’s why the timber sale was taken off B.C. Bid,” Donaldson said.

The Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce decried the original logging plans, saying clear-cutting the forests would do irreparable harm to tourism in a region that has branded itself Canada’s Tall Tree Capital.

The Green Party says 79 per cent of the original productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have been logged, including 90 per cent of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Despite that, B.C. Timber Sales continues to auction off the remaining Crown-owned old-growth for logging.

Green MLA Adam Olsen, the party’s forestry spokesman, acknowledged the importance of forestry jobs, but said thousands of jobs have been lost over the decades due to poor forestry management.

“We want high-paying jobs that are not vulnerable to boom-bust economics,” he said. “There are mills on Vancouver Island that can only process old-growth.

“But old-growth is a finite resource, and most of it is already gone. That means those forestry jobs are at risk.”

In February, environmental advocacy group Sierra Club B.C. delivered a petition signed by 20,000 British Columbians to five NDP MLA constituency offices, including the Vancouver-Fairview office of Environment Minister George Heyman.

In June 2018, 223 scientists from nine countries signed a letter urging the provincial government to take immediate action to protect B.C.’s temperate rain forests.

The B.C. Greens say they’ve received more than 20,000 emails from British Columbians asking why the province fails to protect old-growth trees.

In the next six months, Donaldson said, the government will begin a public consultation process with First Nations groups and communities across Vancouver Island as it develops a sustainable forest management plan.

Last year, the NDP government protected an additional 70,000 hectares of old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island and the southern mainland to ensure an undisturbed habitat for marbled murrelet and coastal northern goshawk, Donaldson said.

An additional 1,000 hectares of old-growth Douglas fir was also protected on the east side of Vancouver Island.

Furstenau said the government is inflating the amount of old-growth forest that is protected.

“The government cannot continue to talk about a future strategy while actively logging these endangered forests,” Furstenau said. “They must act now, or British Columbians and future generations will suffer consequences.”

kderosa@timescolonist.com
lkines@timescolonist.comm

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B.C. Greens call for immediate halt to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island

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CTV Vancouver Island
May 13, 2019

The B.C. Green Party is calling for an immediate halt to the logging of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island.

The Greens called on the government to impose a logging moratorium at the B.C. legislature Monday, asking the province to adopt more sustainable forestry practices to protect old-growth ecosystems.

“Our coastal old-growth is not a renewable resource, and there’s not much left,” said MLA Sonia Furstenau, deputy leader of the B.C. Greens.

“Stakeholders and experts are clear that the government is inflating the amount of productive old-growth that’s protected from logging. These globally rare ecosystems support threatened species — including wild salmon — and keep our water and air clean.”

The B.C. Green caucus said in a news release that an immediate transition to a “second-growth economy” is necessary to protect the island’s remaining untouched old-growth habitats.

“Last year, hundreds of scientists from around the world wrote the NDP government and asked them to protect our rainforests,” Furstenau said.

“A petition with hundreds of thousands of signatures calling for the same was delivered to the legislature. Our B.C. Green offices have received more than 20,000 emails from concerned British Columbians asking why the province continues to eradicate its old-growth.”

The Greens accused the NDP government of pursuing the previous Liberal government’s old-growth logging policy.

“Forestry jobs are of critical importance to B.C., but thousands have been lost over the last few decades. That’s because we haven’t been managing our forests sustainably or promoting value-added manufacturing,” said B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen, who shares the role of forestry spokesperson.

“We want high-paying jobs that are not vulnerable to boom-bust economics. There are mills on Vancouver Island that can only process old-growth. But old-growth is a finite resource, and most of it is already gone. That means those forestry jobs are at risk.”

Olsen said investing in value-added manufacturing and refitting existing mills will protect the island’s most endangered forest ecosystems.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps voiced her support for the Green initiative, saying, “as serious climate leaders, we must protect Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests for generations to come.”

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Note: Keep in mind that, while Forests Minister Doug Donaldson states that a moratoria would be devastating for forestry workers, thousands of forestry jobs have already been lost over the last 20 years largely due to the decline in availability of old-growth trees from excessive clearcut logging.

The BC government needs to help create a forest industry for the future, not continue down the forest policies of the past. This can be done by facilitating the shift to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest sector while quickly phasing out logging of BC’s old-growth forests. It means creating incentives and regulations to support retooling of mills to handle second-growth trees; developing a long-term, science-based plan for the protection of ancient forests; and, in the meantime, putting a halt on the logging of the most intact, endangered old-growth forest “hotspots.”

First and foremost, the Forests Minister needs to stop hiding behind misleading stats and acknowledge there’s a crisis on our hands. For example, of the 520,000 hectares of old-growth forest that Donaldson states are protected on Vancouver Island, only about 160,000 hectares are productive old-growth while the other 360,000 hectares are low productivity forests with little to no commercial value. He also states that over 50% of the old-growth on the coast is protected, but this includes the Great Bear Rainforest, where 85% of forests are set aside from commercial logging and where the forests are not as endangered compared to the south coast. He also leaves out vast, largely cut-over private lands and ignores the context of how much has already been logged since European colonization!