The last of BC's old-growth forest continues to be targeted by logging companies like this example on southern Vancouver Island.
Feb 14 2013

Forest policy must change, forum hears

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.

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Ancient Forest Alliance
Feb 8 2013

Environmentalists look to insert Great Bear Rainforest into B.C. election agenda

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.

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Feb 1 2013

Letters: B.C. forests, Steve Thomson, Ben Parfitt, Bob Simpson…

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.

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Forests Minister Steve Thomson
Jan 31 2013

Response to Minister Thomson – The Real Facts about the Proposed Tenure Legislation

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.

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Much of Vancouver Island's second-growth forest is being logged quickly and shipped out of BC as raw logs instead of being processed and manufactured at local mills.
Jan 31 2013

Privatizing Our Public Forests

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.

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Old-growth logging near the Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island.
Jan 28 2013

Ben Parfitt: Sneaky Liberals are planning a B.C. forest giveaway

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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Ancient Forest Alliance
Jan 22 2013

Roadside logging project put on hold

Logging company Island Timberlands is putting its plans to harvest a roadside section of forest near the Alberni Highway summit on hold. They are pressing the pause button on the logging project after being hit with a wave of outrage from citizens in the Valley. Many say a roadside cut will destroy the beauty of the region and could affect tourism.

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A map detailing the area of planned logging.
Jan 21 2013

Alberni’s "Hump" gets reprieve as Island Timberlands delays logging plans

“We considered our plans over the weekend and now we are putting a temporary suspension on the harvest of the buffer along the highway,” Island Timberlands spokeswoman Morgan Kennah said in an interview Monday.

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A map detailing the area of planned logging.
Jan 18 2013

Island Timberlands’ logging of Alberni summit could denude the Hump

On Monday, Island Timberlands starts logging about 40 hectares of privately managed forest land beside a hilly section of Highway 4 known as the Hump. It tops out at the 400-metre-high Alberni summit, about nine kilometres east of Port Alberni.

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Jan 14 2013

Cortes Island logging dispute moves to the market

As the dispute between Cortes Island residents and Island Timberlands escalates, activists are moving the debate to where it will hurt: the market.

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