Environmental protection of B.C.’s landscapes is fragmented, inconsistent and falls woefully short of what scientists say is needed to conserve species biodiversity, according to a comprehensive land-use review released Thursday by environmentalists.
There is very little common ground between Island Timberlands’ logging methods and how the community would like forestry to be done on Cortes—but as this is private managed forestland, there’s not a whole lot they can legally do about it.
Members of the Discovery Island Marine Tourism Group say their concerns have fallen on the deaf ears of the B.C. Liberal Government and the current logging operations will harm their industry for years.
Georgia Straight: Proposed logging around the Clearwater Valley near the spectacular Wells Gray Provincial Park threatens the second largest herd of mountain caribou in BC.
Policy analyst Eric Hamilton-Smith said there is growing pressure to log marginal forest — including old growth — to compensate for the shortfall due to mountain pine beetle. He also pointed to increased volumes of waste wood, policies absolving companies from having to build mills in communities and a draft policy to convert forest licences into tree farm licences. If government were serious about developing secondary manufacturing in the sector, it could create tens of thousands of jobs, he said.
An environmental coalition will Thursday attempt to push protection of the Great Bear Rainforest onto the already crowded election agenda, issuing open letters to B.C.’s main political leaders, calling for more immediate action.
Forests Minister Steve Thomson's account of proposed changes to forest licences in B.C. is being questioned by independent MLA Bob Simpson and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives researcher Ben Parfitt.
According to a leaked cabinet document, the “rollover” of volume-based licenses to area-based tenures was recommended to cabinet in April as an option to enable the rebuilding of the Burns Lake sawmill — a month before the committee was formed and five months before it made its recommendations public.
In their dying days, the BC Liberals will introduce enabling legislation that will allow politicians to give forest companies exclusive rights over our public forests without the checks and balances of governing laws or regulations, or the guaranteed scrutiny of a transparent public process.
Given the short duration of the upcoming legislative session and the provincial election to follow, a government plan to introduce a scant two-paragraph bill granting it powers to fundamentally alter the course of forestry in B.C. is disturbing, to say the least.
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