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6
Forest Minister
Here's the first 10 minutes or so of the video Taryn linked to. Morris is always interesting to listen to. -
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Forest Minister
Totally agree Taryn... It's hard to get much detail about how MOF works on the daily from down here south of the border, but how could this job as minister be difficult when the only thing it does is delay and obstruct environmental issues in order to put almost zero limits on the loggers who have the licenses already in hand for years to come? As a viewer from far away it seems like the same thing that the ministry of fisheries was doing to prevent the end of net pen farming by deliberately lying and obstructing the environmental claims until Alexandra Morton and others finally wore them down and exposed so many of their false claims that they finally made progress in getting these salmon parasite production facilities shut down. As in, I don't see why these are difficult jobs? Listening to both sides and honestly addressing the concerns and needs of everyone with a legally valid process is definitely a difficult job, but blindly ignoring one side and parroting the industry's bullet points on the other... That's hardly even a job, that's just being a bully who's past hasn't caught up to them yet. -
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Forest Minister
If the left hand does not even know what the right hand is doing or can even understand it, how can they even wipe their own butts? Embarrassing beyond belief, agree this needs to be a focus and mentioned at every opportunity: ''The frustrating part is that the FPC watershed assessment guidebook states that ECA on its own is meaningless and ECA should not be used as a management target.'' -
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Forest Minister
Gov’t methodology has/should be using three key indicators when assessing watershed hydrological integrity: 1. Peak Flow Sensitivity (PFS)…of which also generally equates to low flow sensitivity; 2. Riparian Functionality; 3. Sediment Transfer. In practice, if one manages PFS at a low risk, then riparian functionality and sediment transfer are not an issue if best management practices are being applied with respect to road construction and maintenance, and riparian management practices. What I have found, is that most "forest developed” watersheds are now in moderate to high to very high risk categories of Peak Flow Sensitivity Risk based on individual watershed assessments that thoroughly consider their geomorphology and geography, among other factors. I use ECAs as “triggers" for defining a given PFS risk category, and each watershed has its own unique triggers since they are all individually different. Also, when indicators are applied properly, I have found that when a watershed approaches 20 to 30 % ECA, red flags go up, and in most cases, the watershed has entered a moderate to high risk PFS. This is in major contrast to what the government is generally stating. Case in point, check out the work that Ron Saimoto and I did on the Skeena Maps Portal for examples (I can walk anyone through this if you desire): https://maps.skeenasalmon.info/maps/702 https://maps.skeenasalmon.info/maps/672 ….oh yes, let’s not forget about the wild salmon indicators as well such as the number of road crossings and road density -
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Forest Minister
Ralston did not seem to understand what he was talking about. I think he got confused and his “80% ECA” was supposed to be 80% retention. I seriously doubt the Ministry would allow an ECA of 80% as a target. The frustrating part is that the Forest Practices Code watershed assessment guidebook states that ECA on its own is meaningless and ECA should not be used as a management target. See page 25 (note that the hydrological recovery values have changed since this document was produced): Coastal watershed assessment procedure guidebook -
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Forest Minister
Interesting exchange between Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston and MLA Mike Morris on BC watersheds, ECAs, reports from FPB. loss of life, billions in infrastructure damage, and forest habitat loss. According to extension #0118 ECAs should only be 20-30% whether a community drinking watershed, fishery sensitive watershed or standard watershed yet watersheds Morris has studied have ECAs of 80%, and so far NONE of these forests have recovered hydrologically due to loss of canopy increasing floods, wildfires. Morris asks Ralston if the Chief Forester is taking into account the new hydrology and old ECA calculations.... RALSTON CLAIMS 80% ECA IS THE NORMAL TARGET RATE, BUT IF THERE IS MPB INFESTATION, INDUSTRY IS ALLOWED AND NEEDS TO GO BEYOND AN 80% ECA! GOVT & INDUSTRY CAN THEN JUST ADDRESS ANY NEGATIVE HYDROLOGICAL ISSUES. Ralston then back paddles, he is inept, more so than EVEN Katrine Conroy, and does not deserve to earn a wage as Minister of Forests. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FFCzHPzw2FWBE7mvFpfYKDXfehYWmzAX/view -
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Forest Minister
Being Forest Minister is one of BC’s most difficult jobs. How is the current minister doing? -
7
Leaked data reveals new threat to BC’s old growth forests
Coverage of the story by Global News -
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Leaked data reveals new threat to BC’s old growth forests
Let this fundamentally very disturbing and alarming article serve as a model by which objective analysis is carried out as a "checks and balances" measure to keep agency logging documentation and performance on the up-and-up, such that outside surveillance/ monitoring delves deeper, going well beyond rubber-stamp approval. I appreciate the detail with which the article and commenters address the tactical strategies of core deception and corruption at institutional/ agency levels and plan to actively refer others in the realm of conservation (here in the US) to this article with emphasis on the importance of not only good investigative journalism but on steady oversight. Given global pressure on the planet's last resources, the health and survival of the last vestiges of old growth and critical watersheds/ habitats everywhere depend on this sort of active citizenry involvement as well as the bravery of whistle blowers, whether in broad daylight or undercover. As a member of that citizenry locally, I applaud the bravery exhibited herein as well as the level of educated and active citizenry in BC. May the forests prevail. -
7
Leaked data reveals new threat to BC’s old growth forests
When the stewards of our land and civil lives become the destroyers... When we fail as society's leaders or citizens to take accountability for protecting that which sustains life on earth and our own survival... When we turn a cheek to the rampant well-coined "deliberate ecocide on a global scale"... When we refuse to recognize and/ or support the selfless dedication of a few for the benefit of many, or to stop the evil, deceptive actions of a few at the expense of many... When we presume we are superior to, and apart from, the interconnected web of life on this precious planet... When we surrender activism for fatalism... When we ignore the inherent value and dignity of every sentient being and soul in the animal kingdom or cannot honor and celebrate the diversity of all life in its myriad forms... And we cease to recognize the oceans and forests as the givers of life, as we kill and consume their occupants and eradicate their roles in our living, breathing, pulsating hemisphere... We close our eyes to the beauty and bounty we've been gifted, to the consequences, damage and suffering we leave behind, to the possibilities and options we could have chosen, to the hope that it's not too late... When, what we really need most, is to ask what each of us CAN do - now, today, in the smallest or grandest of ways, to open our eyes and see. (My thanks to the anonymous leaker of BC government info, Ben Parfitt for great investigative journalism, Vicky Husband for a life of relentless devotion and hard work to save old growth and critical watersheds in BC, other authors, scientists, activists, photographers, dedicated community of conservationists and friends of BC... and all other brave citizens of the world, you know who you are.) -
7
Leaked data reveals new threat to BC’s old growth forests
The government's true agenda to have the forest industry including First Nations destroy the rarest-of-the-rare, at-risk, irreplaceable, large primary forests in British Columbia is nothing short of deliberate ecocide on a global scale. No-one including First Nations has the right to destroy the remaining primary forests. All need inviolate protection. Thanks to Ben Parfitt for exposing the NDP provincial government's double-dealing and duplicity on old growth and primary forests. We have long alleged government's shell game with conservation and protection ever since the first Old Growth Strategy in 1991. But we now have irrefutable proof. Friends who have responded to me on reading Ben's story of government subterfuge have done so using words like: disappointing, distressing, discouraging. These are not the words that will have the government change course. We need to write to our respective MLAs with strong words of outrage requesting the secret mapping project be terminated. Don't think about writing to your MLA; do it now. The provincial NDP must pay dearly for this deceit and for its betrayal of British Columbians. P.S. I just wrote an email expressing outrage to my MLA and copied it to the premier Find your MLA's email address at this web link: https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members The premier's email address is premier@gov.bc.ca -
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Leaked data reveals new threat to BC’s old growth forests
Thanks for another great, albeit tragic and all too rare piece of investigative journalism Ben! I was particularly shocked to discover that one of the last vestiges of intact, primaeval western Vancouver Island shoreline has been systematically destroyed by Interfor since 2005. I know this shoreline, -between Klaskino and Klaskish Inlets- very intimately, having traversed that remote stretch on numerous occasions by kayak with my wife, Krista, as we conducted our CMT research project in the East Creek estuary, with protocol permission and the collaboration of the Quatsino First Nation. This stretch of shoreline had been identified as being of "High Conservation Value," and I am certain that numerous historic and "protected" ancient CMT's have been destroyed. The whole area has a busy ancient history with numerous village sites, and interconnecting land trails through the area. I had been watching the area by Google Earth, and had therefore been under the impression that this area had actually been "protected" and that logging had, at least been deferred. But too my shock, while viewing satellite imagery of herring spawn seen from space, I saw that that once magnificent stretch of wild, historic Vancouver Island coastline has now been entirely gutted. I call Google Earth as being complicit in the industrial destruction of these forests. Google Earth purports to be an eye on the Earth, observing and depicting the massive impacts human beings are having on our beleagured planet. Interfor has a long record of destruction on the Vancouver Island coast, and I call out its longtime "RPF" and more recently "RFP" logging apologist spokesman, Ric Slaco as being a major mastermind of the destruction. Interfor brought us the shameless total denudation of Mount Paxton further down the coast, which became an international poster-child for voracious primaeval forest destruction. They logged the entire mountain right down to the beach. Now, like its equally denuded neighbour, St Pauls Dome, which is bisected by a massive logging induced slide, Mount Paxtons flanks are inexorably sloughing off into the sea. Vancouver Island has been utterly destroyed by the most voracious industrial logging ever to disgrace the planet. If there remains any doubt that our final, gargantuan giants continue to be slaughtered every single day, check out Bjarne Butler's YouTube channel, where he films himself felling these last, huge trees. -
7
Leaked data reveals new threat to BC’s old growth forests
Thanks for your relentless exposing of ministry of forests malfeasance Ben. It's not too hard to imagine the backroom boys shifting all of the genuine big-tree deferral areas out of the "priority deferral" column and into the "good to go" column as quick as they can be logged. If it weren't for people like you and the anonymous source of the data, we would never know. -
7
Leaked data reveals new threat to BC’s old growth forests
Talk and log has been the ministry and corporate game plan since before the 80’s. The loss of biodiversity and species is directly linked to their for-profit annihilation scheme. Any old growth forests should be protected immediately to ensure any kind of blueprint for the future and to give some sense of hope for so many species being annihilated by the loss of old growth forests. These trees are crucial to spotted owls and owls of all species(they don’t build nests): to blue herons, eagles, osprey,king fishers, murrelets, and many more bird species…to salamanders,cougar, bears, insects, mosses, ferns, mushrooms, and flora and fauna too innumerable to mention. These forests give us shade, moisture, clouds, oxygen, soil, beauty and diversity beyond what we have even recorded. To destroy any more old growth forest is a crime against all life on Earth. -
5
Departing BC Chief Forester Diane Nicholls allowed logging companies to profit at the expense of the public interest (Part 2)
Excellent articles on the disastrous decisions being made and the deception being practiced at the Ministry of Logging…shame, shame, shame👎
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