Annette Tanner — January 2009
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BC Liberal government proposes to revive deeply unpopular “Anti-Forest Protection Zones” previously killed by huge public outcry
Please SPEAK UP AGAIN!
This is serious. The BC Liberal government is looking to revive their old proposal to halt new forest protections on our public lands, including obstructing the protection of old-growth forests. They are calling these anti-forest protection zones “Commercial Forest Reserves”. It is VITAL that we kill this plan before it gets going.
Many of you will remember our successful campaign a few years ago against the BC Liberal government’s so-called “Working Forest Initiative”, where tens of thousands of BC citizens spoke out and rallied against the vast proposal to pseudo-privatize our public forest lands, forcing the government to back away from legally implementing the initiative. This new proposal is essentially an attempt to revive the old Working Forest more sneakily by starting off small, and then expanding gradually over all of our biologically richest forest lands. It’s a tumour that must be destroyed before it spreads.
Instead of helping forestry dependent communities by assisting in the retooling of sawmills away from the last, increasingly marginal stands of old-growth forests on the south coast and to handle the more abundant and accessible second-growth stands (which are generally exported as raw logs now), the BC Liberal government has instead chosen to obstruct new forest conservation measures as a false way to “save” the forest industry.
See the PRESS RELEASE below for more details.
*** IMPORTANT***
Please WRITE and PHONE the elected decision-makers – be sure to include your home mailing address.
Let the politicians know if you believe they must:
Toss out plans for a Commercial Forest Reserve that obstructs future protected areas on our public forest lands, or else face a major fight.
Enact concrete timelines to quickly end old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and the Southwest Mainland where old-growth forests are now scarce.
Ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which now constitute most of the landbase on the south coast.
Ban raw log exports.
Assist in the development and retooling of sawmills for second-growth logs and value-added wood processing facilities.
Write and Phone:
Pat Bell, Minister of Forests and Range
pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca
Phone: 250-387-6240
Premier Gordon Campbell
Phone: 250-387-1715
Both at: Legislative Buildings, Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
ALSO very importantly, your own BC Liberal or NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) (ie. your provincial political representative for your area) who you can find at:
http://www.leg.bc.ca/Mla/3-1-1.htm
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Press Release
Proposed Commercial Forest Reserves will prevent new forest conservation measures on public lands, are another step towards pseudo-privatization of public lands for timber companies
The Wilderness Committee is preparing for an increasingly fierce battle against the BC Liberal government’s forest policies due to their plans to revive one of their most anti-environmental ideas – the designation of public lands that are off-limits to future forest conservation measures. Premier Campbell announced on Wednesday to the Truck Loggers Association Convention that he has instructed Forest Minister Pat Bell to start developing plans for a Commercial Forest Reserve where “forestry is the priority” and “harvested land will not be set aside for other uses” (Press Release, Ministry of Forests and Range, January 14, 2009)
“For a fleeting moment, I thought Campbell was talking about keeping out suburban sprawl from destroying private forest lands where he deleted the Tree Farm Licenses on our coast,” states Ken Wu, campaign director for the Wilderness Committee’s Victoria office. “Then I realized to my horror he was talking about public lands – about preventing future forest protections on Crown lands, such as for drinking watersheds, scenic viewscapes, deer and elk wintering ranges, endangered species protections, new parks, and old-growth management areas. This revived push to keep out ‘other uses’ on public lands to benefit private logging companies is fundamentally about eliminating the public’s right to choose what to do with their own public lands, specifically when it entails choosing options that keep trees standing for conservation. It’s a form of pseudo-privatization for the exclusive benefit of the major timber companies that hold logging tenures on our public lands”.
Previously in 2001 the BC Liberal government proposed to implement a “Working Forest” designation on all of BC’s Crown lands outside of parks that would have obstructed new protected areas and forest protections. However, a massive public outcry spearheaded by the Wilderness Committee resulted in the BC government backing down from the legal implementation of the plan in the summer of 2004 (see media release and Vancouver Sun article).
Forest Minister Pat Bell has stated that the Commercial Forest Reserve would be different from their previous Working Forest proposal in that it wouldn’t include all of BC’s Crown lands, but instead would at first be limited to areas that are “particularly productive” and “start small and grow” (Prince George Citizen, January 14, 2009)
“At this point it looks like a sneaky, foot-in-the door, scaled-down version of their previous Working Forest proposal – at least to begin with. They remember how unpopular their previous proposal was, so they know they need to start small at first. But it’s like a tumour – once it’s in place, it’ll grow and spread. They even admit this. We’re calling on all conservationists and recreationists, hunters and anglers, tourism operators and First Nations, to kill this tumour before it takes over and destroys our public forest lands,” states Wu.
In particular, the Wilderness Committee is concerned about the proposed Commercial Forest Reserves obstructing the protection of old-growth forests, as well as areas with the highest biodiversity, most of the salmon and trout, and the largest trees which usually coincide with the most productive growing sites in the valley bottoms. The Wilderness Committee is calling on the BC Liberal government to enact concrete timelines to quickly phase-out old-growth logging from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, ensure sustainable second-growth logging, ban raw log exports, and assist in retooling and developing mills and value-added wood processing facilities for second-growth forests which now constitute most of the south coast and interior.
Satellite photos show that about 75% of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms and 99% of the coastal old-growth Douglas firs. Only 6% of Vancouver Island’s original productive old-growth forests are protected in parks. See maps, stats, and photos at http://www.viforest.org and www.wcwcvictoria.org
The movement to protect Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland’s old-growth forests and to ban raw log exports is the largest movement in the province. Almost 3000 people showed up at the last Wilderness Committee rally in October (www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRmXjq7ZSCI) and last week over 30,000 signatures had been gathered on the petition (see www.viforest.org and www.wcwcvictoria.org)
“How backwards, anti-environmental and reckless can the BC Liberal government get with their forest policies? Right now we have the largest, active grassroots movement in the province. The Commercial Forest Reserve runs precisely counter to our goals. With this proposal Campbell and Bell are saying ‘lets go to war with conservationists’. If they are serious about pursuing this, they are committing themselves to the fiercest conflict only four months before a BC election,” states Wu.
For more information please contact Annette Tanner at –
Tel: (250) 752-6595. Fax: (250) 752-7085. E-mail wcwcqb@shaw.ca
