Momentum is growing as 16 major BC conservation and recreational groups have now signed onto the call for the BC government to establish a dedicated provincial fund that can be used to purchase and protect endangered private lands of high environmental and recreational significance.
Here is a media release and action alert from the Mount Moresby Adventure Camp on Haida Gwaii, where a forest that is central as a learning centre for the children and youth of Haida Gwaii is threatened by planned logging by TimberWest (whose managing agent for their Forestry Licence there is Teal-Jones).
When: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, 7:00 pm
Where: The HUB, 2375 Koksilah Road, Cowichan Station (south of Duncan)
Learn about the old-growth forest ecology, wildlife, relevant policies, and conservation status of the Central Walbran Valley's old-growth forests in the context of southern Vancouver Island. Discussion to follow.
Find out what you can do to help protect the area's ecology and to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry jobs
Free. Donations appreciated to cover hall rental.
Questions: cvns@naturecowichan.net
Check out the news report by Shaw TV on the endangered Central Walbran Valley! TJ Watt and Ken Wu from the Ancient Forest Alliance talk about their goal of legislation to protect all of BC's endangered old-growth forests and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry, and Dan Hager of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce talks about the local business community's interest in seeing the Central Walbran protected for tourism.
Treaty 8 First Nations protest against the Site C dam in northeastern BC: "Local people are trying to protect the land – significant because it contains swaths of old-growth boreal forest – until court proceedings run their full course, Hofmann said."
Unfortunately the court injunction has been extended in the Walbran Valley – see this article from the Vancouver Sun.
The board’s findings drew immediate support from the environmental community and those individuals who have fought against the province’s inability to stop controversial logging practices.
“Logging companies have free rein over everything,” said Dan Gerak, owner of Pitt River Lodge, who is fighting to stop the Teal Jones Group from logging his tourist viewscapes and the rainforest habitat of some of the last few grizzlies in southwest B.C.
“Somebody has to get control of these logging companies. They have way too much power.”
Here's a new article by the AFA's Ken Wu in Focus Magazine about the impacts of old-growth logging on climate change. In particular, it debunks the false notion that logging old-growth forests and replacing them with younger second-growth tree plantations benefits the climate. Scientific research shows that BC's coastal old-growth forests store two times more carbon per hectare than the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they're being replaced with – and that the second-growth plantations are simply trying to re-sequester or re-absorb the carbon that is lost into the atmosphere after logging the original old-growth forests. However, it'll take 200 years to resequester the released old-growth carbon, which will never happen under the 30 to 80 year rotation ages in coastal BC when our second-growth stands are slated to be relogged. Thus, there is a major net release of carbon – about 50% – when converting old-growth forests into second-growth stands. You can read the article online at: https://focusonline.ca/?q=node/979
Make the Ancient Forest Alliance your Holiday-Giving Priority by picking up some of our beautiful AFA merchandise and/or donating!
• To order products online visit: www.ancientforestalliance.org/store.php
• To donate visit: https://ancientforestalliance.org/donations.php
We’re proud to present the Ancient Forest Alliance’s 2016 CALENDAR! It features many of the special places on British Columbia’s coast that we’ve explored as we work to secure provincial legislation to protect our endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. It includes beautiful photos of Avatar Grove, Big Lonely Doug, Central Walbran Valley, Nootka Island, Cameron Valley, Mossy Maples, wildlife, and more!
See here for a full list of items and details on how to purchase/donate!
The AFA office space in Victoria (Central Building, 620 View St, 3rd floor #306, inside the Volunteer Victoria office) will be closed at 4pm on Dec 23rd and from Dec 24th-Jan 4th. The office will re-open on Jan 5th with the regular office hours of Tues & Thurs, 11am-5pm.
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