Our article isn’t about Old Growth deferral or how much primary forest remains in BC. However, David Broadland’s calculation shows a very large error in your statement regarding BC’s remaining primary forest.
We stand by our assertion (and government stats) that show more than 97 percent of BC’s rich lower elevation forests have been logged, and that less than 3 percent of the habitats required for growing legacy trees remain intact.
Our article is a criticism of the Special Tree Protection Regulation, ostensibly a project to engage the public in locating trees that merit protection. However, newly increased size requirements make it almost impossible to find trees large enough to qualify. Or, if government’s intent is (at least on the surface) to their responsibility to protect old trees, then we question the viability of single trees with minimal buffers in a clearcut landscape. These trees are bound to suffer from early morbidity, leaving a downed or crippled giant as the legacy.
This project may inadvertently reveal the rarity of these ancient biological treasures, and also the importance of forest to trees. But let’s not let it be a distraction from government’s real duty to protect what little remains!
BC’s Big Tree Protection: a legacy of public deception
in Analysis
Posted
Dear BCForester,
Our article isn’t about Old Growth deferral or how much primary forest remains in BC. However, David Broadland’s calculation shows a very large error in your statement regarding BC’s remaining primary forest.
We stand by our assertion (and government stats) that show more than 97 percent of BC’s rich lower elevation forests have been logged, and that less than 3 percent of the habitats required for growing legacy trees remain intact.
Our article is a criticism of the Special Tree Protection Regulation, ostensibly a project to engage the public in locating trees that merit protection. However, newly increased size requirements make it almost impossible to find trees large enough to qualify. Or, if government’s intent is (at least on the surface) to their responsibility to protect old trees, then we question the viability of single trees with minimal buffers in a clearcut landscape. These trees are bound to suffer from early morbidity, leaving a downed or crippled giant as the legacy.
This project may inadvertently reveal the rarity of these ancient biological treasures, and also the importance of forest to trees. But let’s not let it be a distraction from government’s real duty to protect what little remains!
Respectfully,
Lannie & Johanna