“In many ecosystems of B.C., old-growth forest is incredibly scarce — 91 per cent of valley bottom ancient forest growth on the southern coast has been logged of the classic monumental trees. Are you willing to commit to fully ending old-growth logging in any regions or ecosystems of B.C.?”
The volume of raw logs exported from B.C. more than tripled between 2002 and 2012, prompting forestry workers to join with the Ancient Forest Alliance to push for more stringent log-export restrictions. During the last decade, 30,000 forest workers lost their jobs and more than 70 mills shut down, said Arnold Bercov, Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada forestry officer.
Environmental groups are suing the provincial government in hopes of saving the last remaining pockets of coastal Douglas fir forests on Vancouver Island. The groups are claiming that the province is violating its own laws, which are supposed to protect ecosystems from destruction.
When provincial NDP leader Adrian Dix announced his party’s green policy last Monday, Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance was less than impressed: “The NDP’s environment platform is like a blurry moving sasquatch video in regards to potential old-growth forest protections and park creations. You can’t discern if it’s real and significant, or if it’s just Dix in a fake gorilla costume.”
With a name inspired by James Cameron's blockbuster film, Avatar Grove is home to a remarkable stand of photogenic old-growth trees, including "Canada's gnarliest". Download a map at https://ancientforestalliance.org
The Ancient Forest Alliance is taking provincial political parties to task this election in terms of committing to preserve B.C.’s remaining old growth forests.
The Climate Action Secretariat would take over from the trust, with carbon-tax revenues used to fund transit and other green projects, he said. Levies paid by hospitals, Crown corporations and post-secondary schools would fund energy-efficiency upgrades for those institutions.
Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island is a protected forest of towering trees that have survived on the planet for centuries, and in some cases millennia. TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance has been integral in promoting sustainable practices that will ensure Avatar Grove’s existence. An activist and photographer, Watt has so far managed to help preserve 59 hectares of forest near Port Renfrew from logging.
“We need the NDP to commit to a science-based plan to fully protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests on Crown lands, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, and to commit to a B.C. park acquisition fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands.”
“We’re watching the demise of something comparable to the decline of the buffalo on the prairies.”
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