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There have been a lot of words about old-growth thrown around from the
Minister of Forests recently. The sense I am getting from the flow of
correspondence coming to me is that people are not buying the story he is
trying to pitch.
Here he is quoted from Hansard in response to me in Question Period.
"We're blessed with amazing forests in this province. There are a
variety of perspectives on old-growth management. Our government is committed
to protecting the important biodiversity of old-growth forests. We also
recognize the value of old-growth forests as they sustain wildlife, an
important part of B.C.'s natural heritage. We're also committed to ensuring the
continued vibrancy and an innovative forest sector. Over 24,000 people are
employed in the coastal forest sector."
There is no other issue that captures the attention of British
Columbians as big trees or forests. Salmon is close but there is no parallel to
the quantity of advocacy flooding into my office about old-growth clear-cuts,
log exports and the impact of forest policy on habitat and wildlife management.
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| Clayquot Sound --1993's War in the Woods |
Forestry inspires unrest
Forestry issues have long been an inspiration for unrest in our
province. In 1993, BC NDP forestry policy resulted in the “War in the Woods”
with the mass arrests of British Columbians at Clayquot Sound still burned into
our psyche. A decade earlier, the B.C. Green Party was born. As I have heard
it, it started in a pub by a group of people who had a forestry policy up for
debate at the B.C. NDP convention. The policy was quietly pushed down the list
before eventually being shuffled right off the agenda.
As the decades slip into our memory we continue carving away at our
mountainsides. The trees are getting smaller and the forest companies are
consolidating, laying off tens of thousands of people through mechanization and
mill closures. Over this time poor forestry practices have intensified wildfire
seasons, increased vulnerability to pest outbreaks, and degraded watersheds. We
are managing old-growth forests to zero.
Managing old-growth to zero
Yet the Minister of Forests continues to try and walk the balance beam.
We cannot preserve biodiversity by cutting old-growth forests. The obvious
contradictions in his statements are deeply troubling. Something has to give
because we cannot continue to speak out of both sides of our mouth. We either
choose to sacrifice biodiversity or the old-growth logging industry. 79% of
productive old-growth on Vancouver Island is already gone, and 90% of the high
productivity old-growth in valley bottoms has been cut. Only 8% of old-growth
trees have protection and we are dangerously close to having nothing left.
At some point the government needs to stop repeating the rhetoric of the
1990's and begin to transition the economy of community’s dependant on the
forest industry. An honest approach will recognize that the future of the
forest industry is in tourism, selective logging and value-added industries.
Old-growth trees are far more valuable in the ground than out. Their
ecological and cultural value and significance far outweigh their value in lumber.
British Columbians want better
People from throughout rural British Columbia have been raising their
concerns about poor habitat and ecosystem management. Resource dependant
communities are vulnerable as the Minister of Forest continues the
short-sighted approach of the past. Pretending like we can protect old-growth
and biodiversity by clear-cutting ancient forests is a disservice to British
Columbians who know better and they are demanding better. They have real
concerns about species-at-risk and global-warming. They know the party is
coming to an end and they want real leadership with a vision to transition us
from the province we were to the province we are going to be.
Constituents, First Nations, environmental and business groups,
scientists and citizens are demanding we protect our last remaining stands of
old-growth. In the face of these calls the Minister of Forests stubbornly
refuses to stop logging old-growth. On one hand he claims to be developing a
management plan and yet B.C. Timber Sales continues to auction hotspots on
Vancouver Island and beyond.
Calling for a moratorium on logging old-growth
This is why the B.C. Green Caucus is calling on government to
immediately stop logging the last intact, high productivity old-growth on
Vancouver Island.
We want the provincial government to invest in mill retrofits so
that the coastal logging industry is able to process second-growth and
value-added products. Further we demand the Province immediately begins the
process of nation-to-nation consultation with First Nations regarding
old-growth protection, announce a transparent engagement process for impacted
communities and focus on transitioning to a sustainable-second growth
industry. We urgently need a plan that is based on meaningful First Nations
consultation and integrated science-based best-practices.
Old-growth is an endangered, non-renewable resource. Either we act now
or we will run out completely. Forestry continues to be a flashpoint in British
Columbia. More than 20,000 people have emailed my office demanding we act and
we cannot delay any longer.
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