Times Colonist
May 3, 2019
New deadline is May 10 after environmental groups’ concerns prompt reassessment
View of the old-growth forest slated for logging by B.C. Timber Sales adjacent to a section of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. Photograph By TJ WATT
A backlash against plans to log old-growth forests near Port Renfrew has prompted the B.C. government to push back the timber sale by two weeks.
Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said the delay will allow the government to investigate concerns raised by environmental groups.
The groups reacted angrily after B.C. Timber Sales advertised plans to auction 109 hectares of old-growth forest in seven cutblocks — two of which come within 50 metres of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.
The Ancient Forest Alliance says logging will damage forests that buffer the park and harm ecotourism in an area that has branded itself Canada’s Big Tree Capital.
The group adds that the proposed cutblocks contain large “legacy trees” that qualify for protection under provincial rules.
Donaldson said B.C. Timber Sales has extended the auction deadline to May 10 in response to the outcry.
“It gives us more time to investigate the information that’s been provided by environmental organizations about legacy trees being in some of the areas that [are] planned for logging,” he said, adding: “It’s part of best practices under B.C. Timber Sales to provide protection for those legacy trees.”
Donaldson said the government agency, which auctions off about 20 per cent of the provincial allowable cut each year, has already made adjustments for rare plant species in the area.
“They’re not aware of impacts directly for ecotourism operations within this licence area,” he said.
But environmentalists and local businesses say logging intact old-growth forests in the region will deal another blow to Port Renfrew’s economy, which is already reeling from new federal restrictions on chinook fishing.
“Today, the vast majority of business is related to tourism and leaving trees standing,” said TJ Watt, a campaigner with the Ancient Forest Alliance.
“They’re moving into a more modern and sustainable economy based on big-tree tourism, and the Juan de Fuca trail draws thousands of visitors in every year.”
He noted that one section of the trail is already closed for repairs. “If logging were to proceed, at the north end you could be hiking the trail and hear the sound of chainsaws and road-blasting all day long.”
Randal Pickelein, whose Mystic Beach Adventures company leads hikes on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, said logging near park boundaries detracts from the beauty that draws people to a region in the first place.
“I think it’s just an embarrassment,” he said. “[Logging] should be not be more important than all of the tourism industries that are employing more people. “And for future generations, it’s horrible what we’re leaving them.”
Environmental groups welcomed the government’s decision to extend the sale deadline, but they want the auction cancelled outright and the forests protected.
“They should be dropped indefinitely because of their very high ecological value,” said Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner with Sierra Club B.C.
“Overall, southern Vancouver Island has very little old growth left and we have to understand that climate change means even greater pressure on the unique plants and animals that depend on old growth.”
Donaldson said the government values the biodiversity provided by old-growth forests. “That’s why there’s 520,000 hectares of old growth already that won’t be logged on Vancouver Island.”
But he said the government also has to consider the impact on communities and forest workers of shifting away from old-growth logging.
“There has to be consideration of a fair transition for workers, as well,” he said.
To that end, Donaldson said the government is working on a “new old-growth strategy” for the province and expects to announce a public engagement process in the coming weeks.
Torrance Coste of the Wilderness Committee said conservationists recognize that it will take time to phase out old-growth logging.
“We realize that it’s not going to happen tomorrow,” he said. “But we argue that it needs to be phased out rapidly.”
And he said government could start by reining in its own agency.
“We’ve said that’s a place to start — start with B.C. Timber Sales,” he said. “And since this government’s been in, they’ve just ramped up, really, the amount of cutting that’s happening under BCTS. So that’s a huge concern.”
Coste said the government should put a halt to logging old-growth forests until it has a strategy in place.
“We need to see a proper plan from this government that lays out the adequate management and the survival of some of these ecosystems before we’re going to be OK with a government agency clear-cutting some of what we think is the last of it,” he said.
lkines@timescolonist.com
See original the original article
B.C. Greens call for immediate moratorium on logging of VI old-growth, support sustainable second-growth industry
/in News CoverageMay 13, 2019
VICTORIA, B.C. — Today at the Legislature, forestry and community stakeholders joined the B.C. Greens in calling for a moratorium to protect Vancouver Island’s vital old-growth ecosystems and to develop more sustainable forest practices that B.C. can depend on for generations to come.
“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.
“We are demanding that the provincial government immediately halt logging in old-growth hotspots on Vancouver Island and invest in transitioning to a sustainable second-growth economy.”
The B.C. Green caucus is calling on government to protect “hotspots”- the few remaining intact, pristine old-growth forests – on Vancouver Island and the people, species, and businesses that depend on them.
“Last year, hundreds of scientists from around the world wrote the NDP government and asked them to protect our rainforests,” Furstenau said. “Last fall, 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. We need to take action now.”
At present, 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. Yet according to multiple reviews of their sales schedule, the provincial timber agency is actively auctioning off the remaining old-growth for logging. Despite its 2017 campaign rhetoric, the NDP government is continuing to pursue the Liberal government’s old- growth logging legacy.
“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.
“There are so many solutions available,” Olsen continued. “We can invest in value-added manufacturing and refit our mills. We can sustainably harvest using practices informed by scientific evidence and traditional knowledge. We can collaborate with local communities and Indigenous people who have an intimate knowledge of their landbase.”
“Logging old-growth is short-sighted,” added Furstenau. “It jeopardizes the job stability, local economies, and ecosystem health. The government cannot continue to talk about a future strategy while actively logging these endangered forests. They must act now, or British Columbians and future generations will suffer consequences.”
Quotes:
Andrea Inness, Ancient Forest Alliance Campaigner –
“Old-growth hotspots represent the very best of what remains of B.C.’s unprotected and endangered ancient forests. But thanks to B.C.’s destructive forest policies, they’re disappearing before our eyes. Although we desperately need long-term, science-based solutions for all of B.C. old-growth forests, it is imperative the B.C. government immediately halt logging in hotspots to ensure those areas with the highest conservation value receive the protection they deserve.”
Josie Osborne, Mayor of Tofino –
“We can have healthy, vibrant forest-based economies in Vancouver Island communities while conserving intact, high-productivity hotspots if we have strong leadership, a bold vision, and a plan for a fair transition to a new way of conducting forestry. I believe that industry, First Nations, and communities share the right values to make this transition successfully.”
Lisa Helps, Mayor of Victoria –
“I’d like to add my voice to the chorus of municipal and business leaders on the island calling for the protection of some of the island’s most precious ecological assets and for the preservation of biodiversity. As serious climate leaders, we must protect Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests for generations to come.”
Andy MacKinnon, Forest Ecologist –
“For millennia B.C.’s magnificent coastal old-growth forests have provided us with a wealth of social, economic and ecological benefits. Logging old-growth forests is not renewable resource management – once these old-growth forests are gone, they’re gone forever. And if we’re logging 10,000 hectares of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island every year, we’re certainly the last generation that will have a chance to save these forests for our children.”
Barry Gates, Ecoforestry Institute Society Co-Chair –
“Wildwood Ecoforest serves an example of what forests on Vancouver Island might have looked like had government not engaged in a management policy of old-growth elimination and the replacement of these magnificent forests by short rotation, mono-species stands. In the face of climate change, this decision will have devastating consequences.”
See the original media release
Thank you to our recent business supporters!
/in Thank YouAt AFA, we’re no strangers to the daily grind and we know it takes great effort to run a successful enterprise. That’s why we’re especially grateful when the business community finds ways to support our ancient forest campaigns! We’ve recently received support from several stand-up businesses that we would like to acknowledge: Seaflora Skincare is donating 5% of e-commerce sales from all of May to AFA; Enlife Studio is donating 10% of proceeds from sales of forest-themed artwork; Gran Manitou is donating 10% from sales of their ‘Big Lonely Doug’ t-shirt, Skye Dreamer donated generous proceeds from their nature photography, and Bough & Antler Northwest Goods continues to regularly support our work, including designing the logo on our AFA t-shirt. Thank you all for your outstanding support and continued efforts to help conserve BC’s endangered old-growth forests!
Plan to log near Juan de Fuca park on hold again for consultation with nearby lodge
/in News CoverageTimes Colonist
May 9, 2019
A controversial plan to log old-growth forests near Juan de Fuca Provincial Park has been postponed for a second time.
The Ministry of Forests confirmed Wednesday that B.C. Timber Sales has pulled its advertisements for the auction of 109 hectares of forest in seven cutblocks — including two that come within 50 metres of the park.
It’s the second time the government agency has delayed the sale following a public outcry from conservationists, businesses and others.
Forests Minister Doug Donaldson initially said the auction deadline was being pushed back two weeks to May 10 to give officials time to investigate concerns raised by environmental groups.
This time, the ministry said B.C. Timber Sales “is no longer advertising the timber sale in order to engage with a local stakeholder who was inadvertently missed during the initial referral process.”
Donaldson was unavailable for an interview Wednesday and the ministry did not identify the stakeholder.
But Jon Cash, co-owner of Soule Creek Lodge, said he received an email from B.C. Timber Sales Wednesday morning saying the sale had been “postponed/removed to allow for additional engagement with Soule Creek Lodge.”
The lodge is located near the proposed clearcuts and Cash has complained that noise from chainsaws and road blasting will devastate his business.
B.C. Timber Sales said in the email that it hopes “to find reasonable grounds to move forward with this timber sale in the near future with refinements that hopefully meet your interests.”
Cash called the response “not terribly encouraging” and urged the government to clarify its plans.
“I think the political blowback has been significant enough that they’re trying to defuse it a bit until they can figure out how to deal with it,” he said.
Cash added that it’s unfair of the government to blame the delay on him when thousands of others oppose logging in the area.
“It’s hardly me that’s standing in the way,” he said.
Environmental groups have launched a campaign to protect the forests, arguing that the massive trees represent a major tourist attraction and a buffer against the impacts of climate change and species loss.
The Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce says clear-cutting the forests would do irreparable harm to tourism in a region that has branded itself Canada’s Tall Tree Capital.
Chamber president Dan Hager took it as positive sign that B.C. Timber Sales appears to have delayed the sale indefinitely. “At the very worst, what we’ve done is we’ve bought some time.”
Now, groups can bolster their economic and environmental arguments for saving the trees in case the government tries to revive its plans, he said.
“I mean, the arguments we can make that this is a dumb idea just go on.”
The Ancient Forest Alliance attributed the latest delay to the ongoing public backlash.
“I can’t speak to the length of the postponement, but it would seem that with the amount of people who are paying attention to this topic and [who] are staunchly opposed to it, it would be hard to see it going forward,” said TJ Watt, an alliance campaigner and photographer.
“I would say at least the battle has been won, but we’ll see where it goes from here.
“Ideally, we would see those regions protected, either through an old-growth management area or, in a perfect world, the expansion of the provincial park.”
lkines@timescolonist.com
See the original article
Conservationists and Port Renfrew Business Community Welcome Postponement of Old-Growth Logging Plans near Juan de Fuca Provincial Park
/in Media ReleaseVictoria, BC – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance and members of the Port Renfrew business community are welcoming the postponement of BC Timber Sales’ plans to auction off 109 hectares of old-growth forest for logging next to Juan de Fuca Provincial Park in Pacheedaht territory on Vancouver Island.
The timber sale auction, which was scheduled to end this Friday, would have seen seven cutblocks, totalling 55,346 cubic metres of old-growth forest, logged next to one of the most spectacular sections of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail with two cutblocks coming to within 50 metres of the park boundary.
BC Timber Sales, the BC government’s logging agency, advised members of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce yesterday that the timber sale auction had been removed. While there is currently no indication that the BC government are adding any additional protections for the area, the news was welcomed by conservationists and local business representatives alike.
“We appreciate this positive shift and thank Premier John Horgan, the MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca, and Forests Minister Doug Donaldson for listening to the Port Renfrew business community and the thousands of British Columbians who have spoken up for the protection of this important area,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness. “But there is still a lot of uncertainty around the fate of this ancient forest. We hope to see the BC government cancel the timber sale outright and protect the forest in an Old Growth Management Area or, ideally, as an addition to the provincial park.”
“The Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce is very encouraged by the news that the province has postponed the auction of the 109 hectares which border our community and the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail,” stated Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce President Dan Hager. “We remain hopeful that the absence of notice of a future auction date will mean this old-growth forest will be allowed to remain standing for the foreseeable future.”
“We are mindful there are members of our business community and communities of Port Renfrew and the Pacheedaht Nation who could’ve potentially benefited from the short-term economic activity of this timber sale. However, we have learned from our Avatar Grove experience that the long-term economic benefits of tall tree tourism are substantially greater than the comparatively brief economic activity created by old-growth logging.”
Jon Cash, the owner of Soule Creek Lodge, was particularly concerned due to expected adverse impacts of the proposal which included the construction of 10 kilometres of new road and logging to within 500 metres of his property. Cash is staunchly opposed to the clearcutting of old-growth forests next to his business and Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, one of the region’s biggest tourist draws, and has been outspoken in his opposition to the logging plans due to potential damage to Renfrew’s reputation as eco-tourism destination.
“Over 79% of the original productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow.” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt. “Some of the finest, endangered old-growth stands that still remain are found in the Port Renfrew region, and, if protected, will continue to draw visitors in from around the globe, helping the environment and bolstering the local economy for generations to come.”
“As former resource-based communities like Port Renfrew work to diversity their economies toward more sustainable approaches, the BC government should be supporting and facilitating these efforts and ensuring the benefits of old-growth forest protection are reaped by all community members,” stated Inness.
“To this end, we’re calling on the BC government to support the sustainable development and economic diversification of rural and First Nations communities and to legally recognize, support, and help finance the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas like Tribal Parks.”
The Ancient Forest Alliance, along with other conservation groups, are also calling on the BC government to develop a comprehensive, science-based plan protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry. While such long-term solutions for old-growth forests are developed, the BC government must place and immediate halt on logging in old-growth ‘hotspots’ of high conservation and recreational value to ensure the best of what remains of BC’s ancient forests are protected.
Background information:
Old growth forests are integral to British Columbia for ensuring the protection of endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original productive old growth forests are protected in parks and Old Growth Management Areas.
Due to the popularity of nearby old-growth forests for large numbers of visitors from across the world, the former logging town of Port Renfrew has rebranded itself in recent years as the “Tall Trees Capital of Canada.” Port Renfrew boasts access not only to the popular West Coast and Juan de Fuca trails, but also some of BC’s most popular ancient forest destinations including Avatar Grove, the Central Walbran Valley, Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir), the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir), the San Juan Spruce (previously Canada’s largest Sitka spruce until the top broke off in 2017), Eden Grove, and Jurassic Grove. These ancient forests and trees attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world, strengthening the economy of southern Vancouver Island.
Port Renfrew chamber decries logging plan
/in News CoverageTimes Colonist
May 4, 2019
Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce has joined a growing outcry against B.C. government plans to log old-growth forests near Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.
President Dan Hager said Friday that clearcutting the ancient trees will hurt tourism and damage a regional economy already hard hit by chinook fishing restrictions.
“Right now, we tell everybody that Port Renfrew is Canada’s tall tree capital,” he said in an interview. “It’s on our website. It works.
“I’m in the accommodation business in Renfrew. People ask about it. I’m the one that responds to all the inquiries that come in off the chamber email and people are asking about the trees.”
Hager said that will be put in jeopardy if B.C. Timber Sales proceeds with plans to sell off 109 hectares of the region’s old-growth forest in seven cutblocks — including two that come within 50 metres of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.
“If I was an editor of a newspaper, I would say: ‘Canada’s tall tree capital is now Canada’s clearcut capital,’ ” Hager said.
“What kind of damage is that going to do our reputation in the long term?”
Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said this week that B.C. Timber Sales, which is a government agency, was not aware of any direct impacts from logging on ecotourism in the area.
But he said the timber auction has been delayed two weeks so officials can investigate concerns raised by conservationists and others.
Environmental groups have launched a campaign to protect the trees, arguing that they’re more valuable as a tourist attraction and a buffer against climate change and the loss of endangered species.
The Port Renfrew chamber, meanwhile, has appealed directly to the office of Premier John Horgan, who represents the Langford-Juan de Fuca constituency.
“He’s familiar with Renfrew,” Hager said. “He knows that it’s a community recovering and that our economy revolves around trees and revolves around the fish.
“So we’re optimistic that we’re going to get good results here.”
Horgan was unavailable for comment Friday, but Hager said the chamber was encouraged that the government has delayed the timber sale and hopes it eventually will decide to protect the ancient trees.
Hager said the main message the chamber hopes to get across is that the trees are worth more standing — as demonstrated by the global appeal of Avatar Grove about 20 minutes from Port Renfrew.
“We know from the Avatar experience that old-growth forests attract tourists — not just locally but from all over the world,” he said. “And those tourists have money. They bring money and the more of it that we have in the immediate driving area of Renfrew, the better it is for our local economy.
“It’s a lot better than cutting them down, because you cut them down once, you run them through the sawmill, they build somebody’s deck and that’s it. But, if you leave them standing, people come over and over again to look.”
Al Jones, one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail in the 1990s, said he, too, contacted Horgan’s office to complain about the logging plans.
“Yesterday, I was on the phone all day, phoning people that I don’t even know to help us out and speak out against it,” he said Friday. “It’s just a beautiful spot. Renfrew’s a beautiful area and I just think the logging should be over with.”
Jones said he’d like to see the old growth preserved for future generations, as opposed to clearcutting the trees to turn a quick profit.
“Mostly, that cedar is going to be sent to China,” he said. “There’s not going to be the jobs that they say that there is.
“I have been a logging superintendent and they could go in there for three or four months and log the whole thing and be in and out of there. So it’s a short-term [gain] for a big expense on such a beautiful spot.”
lkines@timescolonist.com
See the original article
B.C. delays timber auction near Juan de Fuca park
/in News CoverageTimes Colonist
May 3, 2019
New deadline is May 10 after environmental groups’ concerns prompt reassessment
View of the old-growth forest slated for logging by B.C. Timber Sales adjacent to a section of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. Photograph By TJ WATT
A backlash against plans to log old-growth forests near Port Renfrew has prompted the B.C. government to push back the timber sale by two weeks.
Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said the delay will allow the government to investigate concerns raised by environmental groups.
The groups reacted angrily after B.C. Timber Sales advertised plans to auction 109 hectares of old-growth forest in seven cutblocks — two of which come within 50 metres of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.
The Ancient Forest Alliance says logging will damage forests that buffer the park and harm ecotourism in an area that has branded itself Canada’s Big Tree Capital.
The group adds that the proposed cutblocks contain large “legacy trees” that qualify for protection under provincial rules.
Donaldson said B.C. Timber Sales has extended the auction deadline to May 10 in response to the outcry.
“It gives us more time to investigate the information that’s been provided by environmental organizations about legacy trees being in some of the areas that [are] planned for logging,” he said, adding: “It’s part of best practices under B.C. Timber Sales to provide protection for those legacy trees.”
Donaldson said the government agency, which auctions off about 20 per cent of the provincial allowable cut each year, has already made adjustments for rare plant species in the area.
“They’re not aware of impacts directly for ecotourism operations within this licence area,” he said.
But environmentalists and local businesses say logging intact old-growth forests in the region will deal another blow to Port Renfrew’s economy, which is already reeling from new federal restrictions on chinook fishing.
“Today, the vast majority of business is related to tourism and leaving trees standing,” said TJ Watt, a campaigner with the Ancient Forest Alliance.
“They’re moving into a more modern and sustainable economy based on big-tree tourism, and the Juan de Fuca trail draws thousands of visitors in every year.”
He noted that one section of the trail is already closed for repairs. “If logging were to proceed, at the north end you could be hiking the trail and hear the sound of chainsaws and road-blasting all day long.”
Randal Pickelein, whose Mystic Beach Adventures company leads hikes on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, said logging near park boundaries detracts from the beauty that draws people to a region in the first place.
“I think it’s just an embarrassment,” he said. “[Logging] should be not be more important than all of the tourism industries that are employing more people. “And for future generations, it’s horrible what we’re leaving them.”
Environmental groups welcomed the government’s decision to extend the sale deadline, but they want the auction cancelled outright and the forests protected.
“They should be dropped indefinitely because of their very high ecological value,” said Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner with Sierra Club B.C.
“Overall, southern Vancouver Island has very little old growth left and we have to understand that climate change means even greater pressure on the unique plants and animals that depend on old growth.”
Donaldson said the government values the biodiversity provided by old-growth forests. “That’s why there’s 520,000 hectares of old growth already that won’t be logged on Vancouver Island.”
But he said the government also has to consider the impact on communities and forest workers of shifting away from old-growth logging.
“There has to be consideration of a fair transition for workers, as well,” he said.
To that end, Donaldson said the government is working on a “new old-growth strategy” for the province and expects to announce a public engagement process in the coming weeks.
Torrance Coste of the Wilderness Committee said conservationists recognize that it will take time to phase out old-growth logging.
“We realize that it’s not going to happen tomorrow,” he said. “But we argue that it needs to be phased out rapidly.”
And he said government could start by reining in its own agency.
“We’ve said that’s a place to start — start with B.C. Timber Sales,” he said. “And since this government’s been in, they’ve just ramped up, really, the amount of cutting that’s happening under BCTS. So that’s a huge concern.”
Coste said the government should put a halt to logging old-growth forests until it has a strategy in place.
“We need to see a proper plan from this government that lays out the adequate management and the survival of some of these ecosystems before we’re going to be OK with a government agency clear-cutting some of what we think is the last of it,” he said.
lkines@timescolonist.com
See original the original article
Photos: 35-Year Anniversary of the Meares Island Tribal Park.
/in Photo GalleryHere are photos from the April 17th event celebrating the 35-year anniversary of the Meares Island Tribal Park, Wah’nah’juss Hilth’hooiss! In April of 1984, the Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht First Nations and local environmentalists came together in an historic show of solidarity to protest the logging of some of Canada’s finest ancient forests by MacMillan Bloedel on Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound. The blockade marked the first protest against old-growth logging in Canadian history as well as the creation of BC’s first Tribal Park with the declaration of the Meares Island Tribal Park by Tla-o-qui-aht Chief Moses Martin.
Thanks to this collaborative effort, Meares Island’s extraordinary natural and cultural heritage remains intact to this day. It also inspired the expansion of the Tribal Park model throughout Tla-o-qui-aht territory and beyond with the establishment of Tribal Parks and other Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas expanding across Canada.
For more info see: https://www.iisaakolam.ca/
Photos by TJ Watt
‘They’re going to have a fight’: local businesses and activists promise to stand against old-growth logging near Juan de Fuca park
/in News CoverageThere is a call from conservationists tonight to halt plans to log an old-growth forest near Port Renfrew. The province says ecology and aesthetics are taken into consideration when crown-owned timber is auctioned off. But critics say the damage outweighs the benefits, Kori Sidaway reports.
WATCH the CHEK News story here.
These gentle giants have stood for millennia.
But the towering trees are becoming increasingly rare.
“This is what makes Port Renfrew unique!” said TJ Watt, a campaigner with Ancient Forest Alliance.
“People will travel from across the world to see these ancient cathedrals, but once they’re gone they’re gone.”
And that’s just what’s set to happen.
One hundred and nine hectares of old growth forests, sitting on crown land on the border of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, is up for auction off to logging companies at the end of the month.
“This would result in giant clear cuts, and actually the wood volume is equivalent to about 1300 logging trucks worth of old growth,” said Watt.
Old growth forests aren’t fully protected in B.C., and activists say that’s endangering tourism in the area.
“Port Renfrew has successfully rebranded itself as the tall tree capital of Canada in recent years and they’re seeing a boom because of that,” said Watt.
“They’re adapting a more sustainable economy based in the 21st century whereas the B.C. government is trying to hold it in the past.”
It’s something places like Soule Creek Lodge, with its 270-degree views of the rainforest, agree with.
“They’re worth much more standing than lying down,” said Jon Cash who owns Soule Creek Lodge.
“Whichever private forestry company is successful in getting this bid, they’re going to have a fight.”
Both businesses and activists are calling on the government to end the auction and to stop issuing permits for old-growth forests throughout the province.
Something, the government isn’t prepared to do.
“Immediately ending logging in old-growth forests would affect over 24,000 people employed in the coastal forest sector,” said the Ministry of Forestry in a statement.
The ministry does say, however working on a new old-growth strategy, and those discussions are ongoing with stakeholders.
The auction for the land ends on April 27th.
See the original story here.
Plans to clear-cut old-growth near Port Renfrew causes an environmental outcry
/in News CoverageSooke News Mirror
April 18, 2019
Note: Two of the seven proposed cutblocks fall within 50 metres of the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park boundary, not 37 metres as stated in the article.
Groups call logging a provincial government ‘blind spot’
Plans to auction off 109 hectares of old-growth forest adjacent to the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park have outraged conservationists and tourism operators.
The seven planned cutblocks, two of which come to within 37 metres of the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park boundary near Port Renfrew, would see an estimated 55,346 cubic metres of old-growth – the equivalent of over 1,300 loaded logging trucks – leave the region known as the Tall Tree Capital of Canada.
Opponents charge the B.C. government and Forests Minister Doug Donaldson have demonstrated a lack of political will to preserve the endangered forests.
“The provincial government has a blind spot that they are not willing to address,” said Andrea Inness, a representative of the Ancient Forest Alliance.
“They won’t even acknowledge that there’s a problem and keep hiding behind misleading statistics that paint a very rosy, and very false, picture for old-growth forests. But if you dig down you can see they just don’t get it.”
Inness said the government will say that 55 per cent of the old growth on Vancouver Island is protected, but they fail to acknowledge that some forest types have already been devastated by logging.
“If you look at the coastal Douglas-fir forests, for example, less than one per cent of those forests remain,” she said.
Inness added that the 55 per cent figure is also misleading as it includes already protected areas like the Great Bear Rainforest and other forest types like the sub-alpine and bog forests that have no commercial value and were never threatened.
The government’s move to auction off the current cutblocks came with no public consultation, said Inness and were discovered when environmental groups studied the 2019 schedule of work published by the B.C. government’s logging agency, B.C. Timber Sales.
B.C. Timber Sales is the B.C. government logging agency that manages 20 per cent of the province’s allowable annual cut. It recently came under fire from a host of environmental agencies for what Jens Weiling of the Sierra Club has described as “flying blind into terminating the old-growth web of life.”
In a review of B.C. Timber Sales’ sales schedule, environmental organizations Elphinstone Logging Focus and Sierra Club B.C. found the provincial government agency is proposing 2019 cutblocks across the last intact old-growth rainforest areas on Vancouver Island adding up to more than 1,300 hectares–an area equivalent to the size of more than three Stanley Parks.
The move to cut down old-growth forests is also of concern to tourist business operators in the region who contend that the standing trees have a far greater value than the clear cut lumber they will provide.
“Port Renfrew, a former logging town, has successfully re-branded itself in recent years as the Tall Tree Capital of Canada and is seeing a huge increase in eco-tourism, greatly benefiting local businesses,” said TJ Watt, a photographer and advocate for old growth forests.
“This logging will impact Port Renfrew’s reputation as an eco-tourism destination, not to mention the impacts on the environment.”
Soule Creek Lodge owner John Cash said he is deeply concerned and disappointed with the planned logging in an area adjacent to his tourist attraction.
“My business relies on tourists who come to admire the big trees and old-growth forests. My business doubled after Avatar Grove was discovered,” he said.
“Instead of old-growth clearcutting right up to a provincial park boundary, the B.C. government should be helping rural communities like Port Renfrew transition to more diverse and sustainable economies. People don’t come here from all around the world to hear the sounds of old-growth being cut down.”
Cash said despite the NDP’s promise that they would make forest conservation a priority, their actions have not reflected that commitment.
“It’s business as usual,” said Cash.
Both Cash and Inness have called upon Forests Minister Doug Donaldson to cancel the old-growth timber sales before the closing date for bids on April 26. They say that, instead, the minister should move to protect the area and consider incorporating it into the boundaries of the provincial park.
A spokesman for the Forest Ministry responded with a statement that confirmed the sale of the cutblocks, reiterated the government position that 55 per cent of old growth forests are protected and said that ending logging in old growth forests would affect people engaged in the logging industry.
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Eco-activists urge halt to logging plans near Juan de Fuca park
/in News CoverageTimes Colonist
April 18, 2019
NOTE: While old-growth logging would not occur within Juan de Fuca Provincial Park boundaries, the old-growth forests adjacent to the park that are slated for logging provide a valuable buffer that protects the park’s outstanding ecological and recreational values. Clearcutting the proposed cutblocks would fragment and degrade this important buffer and compromise the park’s tourism and recreational values. Additionally, while the BC government states that ‘55% of coastal old-growth forests on Vancouver Island and the B.C. coast, have already been protected’, the vast majority of these protected forests are located in the Great Bear Rainforest, not on Vancouver Island. That figure also excludes largely cut-over private lands and includes vast areas of low productivity forest with little to no commercial value. In actual fact, only about 6% of Vancouver Island and 8% of the Southwest Mainland’s productive forests are protected in parks.
Finally, it’s important to remember that BC’s forest industry will be forced to shift to second-growth eventually, when all the unprotected old-growth is gone. In order to maintain forestry jobs and protect BC’s endangered ancient forests, the BC government must facilitate this shift sooner rather than later by curbing raw log exports and encouraging value-added second-growth manufacturing.
Plans to log old-growth forests near Port Renfrew have conservationists accusing the B.C. Ministry of Forests of endangering tourism in the area.
The Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance says government-run B.C. Timber Sales is preparing to auction 109 hectares of forest in seven cutblocks. Two of those planned cutblocks will see trees falling within 37 metres and 50 metres of the boundary of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, known as a gentler, more accessible version of the West Coast Trail.
“Port Renfrew is changing toward a more sustainable economy based on leaving trees standing rather than cutting them down,” said T.J. Watt, campaigner with the Ancient Forest Alliance. “We are calling on B.C. Timber Sales to cancel these auctions.”
A spokeswoman for the B.C. Forests Ministry confirmed B.C. Timber Sales has advertised the timber sale identified by Ancient Forest Alliance. The sale closes on April 26. The successful buyer will have 2 1/2 years to conduct the logging.
But the spokeswoman also said when cutblocks are surveyed and positioned, considerations are always made for the ecology of the site and the esthetics of nearby views. And logging is not occurring in the park.
Meanwhile, significant areas, 55 per cent of coastal old-growth forests on Vancouver Island and the B.C. coast, have already been protected, the spokeswoman said.
B.C. Timber Sales was formed in 2003 to inject market-based pricing to Crown-owned timber as opposed to other land-based tenure systems.
The provincial agency monitors economic conditions to determine an appropriate price for the timber. About 20 per cent of the province’s total, annual allowable cut is now sold through auction.
The Ancient Forest Alliance’s objections to the B.C. Timber Sales auction received little enthusiasm from Mike Hicks, Capital Regional District director for the Juan de Fuca district.
Hicks, the closest thing the unincorporated community of Port Renfrew has to an elected local government, agreed that tourism, including environmental tourism, has taken off in recent years. But he said that logging, while diminished, remains a significant economic generator and shouldn’t be frozen out.
Hicks said Port Renfrew is reeling from Tuesday’s federal announcement of tough restrictions on fishing for chinook salmon: a catch-and-release fishery until mid-July, followed by catch limits of one to two per day depending on time of year and location.
He said he thinks the fishing closures have made economics in Port Renfrew, including its tourism, too fragile to put more obstacles in the path of business.
“Logging is a very important part of our economic survival and so is eco-tourism,” Hicks said. “They should both be able to get along.”
But John Cash, owner and founder of Soule Creek Lodge near Port Renfrew, operating wilderness huts and cabins near the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, is concerned about the effects of nearby logging.
The noise of blasting during the building of logging roads along with chainsaws and other machinery during falling will only take away from the wilderness experience, he said. “It would be pretty unpleasant. It’s not what you want to hear when you are camping or hiking, the blasting and tree-falling.”
rwatts@timescolonist.com
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