Avatar worth saving

As one of the 80 hikers who visited Avatar Grove on March 28 with the Ancient Forest Alliance, I find it somewhat ironic that the Vancouver Olympics showcased the natural beauty of B.C.’s old-growth forests.

Majestic cedar trees, salmon and orca whales were all images seen in the Opening Ceremonies. How is it that we can value and promote these wonderful aspects of our province to the entire world, while at the same time allowing the fast-paced destruction of our natural ecosystems?

The logging of old-growth forests continues every day at unprecedented rates. We must make a transition into sustainable second-growth logging, ban raw log exports and re-tool B.C. mills to provide and ensure forestry jobs in perpetuity.

Ending old-growth logging and forestry jobs can co-exist in B.C. Old-growth forests, such as the Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island (part of Teal Jones’ TFL 46), are not only a part of our heritage in B.C., but they also provide habitat for animals of all shapes and sizes: bacteria, fungi, insects, amphibians, fish, birds, and land and ocean mammals. These forests provide carbon storage, are important to First Nations cultures and are evidently fundamental for B.C.’s tourism industry (as witnessed in the promotional imagery of the Olympics). Let’s end old-growth logging for the well-being of all British Columbians.