"It’s heart-wrenching,' Ralph Keller, a spokesman for the Discovery Islands Marine Tourism Group, said Tuesday. 'The Discovery Islands are probably the most geographically spectacular islands in the world … [but] in some places we have gone from beautifully forested shorelines to industrial logging … these channels have just been nuked."
The provincial government has backed away from a plan that critics claim would have radically reduced public control of forest land. Conservationists, who were girding for a full-fledged fight over proposed changes to the Forest Act, reacted with delight Tuesday after Forests Minister Steve Thomson said he was withdrawing plans to allow a rollover of volume-based forest licences to area-based tree farm licences.The backdown appears to be sparked by a massive public uproar
The BC Liberals wanted to give a ‘parting gift’ to the major logging companies before they leave office, but in this politically sensitive pre-election period that’s not going to happen now — thanks to thousands of people who spoke up and the great work of Bob Simpson.
Massive public uproar spearheaded by Independent MLA Bob Simpson and environmental groups causes BC Liberals to delete Section 24 (aka. “The Forest Giveaway Bill”) in omnibus Bill 8 that would have empowered BC’s Minister of Forests to grant exclusive logging rights over vast areas of public lands for major forest companies. Conservationists continue to push for old-growth protection legislation, sustainable second-growth forestry, and an end to raw log exports. Thousands of emails sent to BC government through https://www.BCForestMovement.com
Port Alberni – Conservationists are calling for much stronger, comprehensive old-growth protection policies in BC after having discovered a major logging threat to Canada’s most famous old-growth forest, Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.
Thanks to the Powell River Voices, Sierra Club, and Communication, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) for hosting a great evening with a full house last night, with a presentation and discussion on raw log exports, TFL expansion/forest privatization, and ancient forest protection.
"At first glance Bill 8 — the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act — looks like housekeeping legislation. Read a little closer and one discovers one of the most pernicious pieces of forest legislation to be tabled in the legislature since a forests minister lost his job over the same issue in 1989. Bill 8 includes an addition to the Forest Act that would allow the forests minister to invite corporations to roll over their forest licences into Tree Farm Licences (TFL), effectively transferring private ownership rights to the corporation without any reciprocal benefit in the public interest…"
The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is planning a provincial tour to mobilize communities in key swing ridings in a bid to stop the BC government's anti-environmental forest policies, including old-growth logging, raw log exports, and the recent proposal to increase the privatization of public forest lands by expanding Tree Farm Licences for major companies, and to ensure that the incoming government adopts new, sustainable policies. The tour will begin immediately after the organization’s March 16 “Pre-Election Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs”
If any of you are in Powell River, this Wednesday March 6th Ken Wu of the AFA will be speaking there at a forum on raw log exports and sustainable forestry from 7-9pm, at the United Church, 6932 Crofton St. Organized by Powell River Voices, Sierra Club and CEP union.
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