Ancient Forest Alliance
Aug 27 2012

Ben Parfitt and Anthony Britneff: B.C. MLAs take wrong approach to timber supply crisis

The real tragedy in the committee members’ recommendations is that they are well aware of where the real challenges lie. The committee acknowledges the essential importance of improved forest inventories—looking at how many healthy trees we have. Why isn’t this the first order of business? B.C. needs an expedited, thorough assessment now, before we have committed to even more unsustainable logging rates. To proceed with logging increases before such work is done is irresponsible and an insult to forest-dependent communities across the province.

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Photo by TJ Watt
Aug 16 2012

Environmentalist bristles over report urging more logging

A government report looking at the pine beetle's impact in B.C.'s central interior has taken the wrong approach in urging more logging, says the executive director of Ancient Forest Alliance. Ken Wu says the report's recommendation to increase the timber supply and value of pine-beetle wood could allow for logging in protected forests.

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Ancient Forest Alliance
Aug 7 2012

Lift on logging restraints would be ill-advised

As members of a hastily convened committee of the provincial legislature meet to consider a controversial government proposal to escalate logging activities in British Columbia's already hard-hit Interior forests, questions arise about whether the commit-tee is in any position at all to make an informed decision.  

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The stump of a 14ft diameter old-growth redcedar freshly cut in 2010 found along the Gordon River near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.
Aug 1 2012

More logging won’t cure forestry trade’s ills

The B.C. Liberal government stirred up controversy recently by proposing to remove scenic forest protections in the Harrison, Chehalis and Stave Lakes regions near Vancouver. Their “quick-fix” attempt to provide more timber for logging fails to recognize that the coastal forest industry’s 20-year decline has fundamentally been driven by their own resource depletion policies.  

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Jul 31 2012

Opening protected areas not ideal: Bercov

To access more timber, the Clark government is floating a plan that includes logging in areas that were previously off limits for environmental or visual quality reasons and changing the boundaries of forest districts to add more timber to the supply. Bercov said that while the focus of the committee is currently on the Interior, he fears that any changes to policy that would allow more logging in protected areas would inevitably apply to the Island.

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Jul 31 2012

Here’s what B.C. needs to do to save forestry

As a publicly owned resource, British Columbia's forests must be harvested in a manner that promotes sustainability and healthy forests that are ecologically diverse. This would protect and promote existing and new jobs in communities dependent on well-managed forests.

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Old-growth clearcut near the Avatar Grove in the Gordon River Valley.
Jul 23 2012

Saving ‘Avatar Grove’: the battle to preserve old-growth forests in British Columbia

A picture is worth a thousand words: this common adage comes instantly to mind when viewing T.J. Watt's unforgettable photos of lost trees. For years, Watt has been photographing the beauty of Vancouver Island's ancient temperate rainforests, and documenting their loss to clearcut logging.

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Avatar Grove
Jul 16 2012

Big trees by the numbers

Vancouver Island is home to some of the largest trees on the planet. From the well-known towering giants of Cathedral Grove to those newly discovered near Port Renfrew, ancient forests have been wowing visitors to Canada’s West Coast for centuries.

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Elk are among the wildlife you will find among the towering trees in Avatar Grove.
Jul 5 2012

‘Big trees’ of Avatar Grove are pure magic

There are some places so precious that just standing there makes you proud to be a Canadian. Avatar Grove is one of those.  

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Old-growth logs head out of the the Gordon River Valley near Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island
Jun 26 2012

B.C. warned not to touch reserves for short-term supply

To access more timber, the B.C. government is floating a plan that includes logging in areas that were previously off limits for environmental or "visual quality objectives" and changing the boundaries of forest districts to add timber to one district at the expense of another.

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