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Journalism: The over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: Destruction of wildlife habitat and loss of biodiversity
Journalism: Loss of forest-related employment
Journalism: The need to expedite final treaties with First Nations
Journalism: Loss of primary forest
Journalism: Loss of carbon sequestration capacity
Other notable forest-related writing and reports
Noteworthy writing and reports from the forest-industrial complex
Forest News
Library: The over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: Loss of primary forest
Library: Loss of the hydrological functions of forests
Make conservation of the hydrological function of forests a higher priority than timber extraction
Library: Loss of forest-related employment
Library: The need to expedite final treaties with First Nations
Transition from clearcut logging to selection logging
Library: Increase in forest fire hazard
Journalism: End public subsidization of BC's forest industry
Library: End public subsidization of BC's forest industry
Library: The need to reform BC forest legislation
Journalism: The need to reform BC forest legislation
Library: Creating a new vision for BC forests
Forest industry public subsidy calculator
Manufacturing and processing facilities
Forest Trends
Investigations
Community Forest Mapping Projects
Area-based calculations of carbon released from clearcut logging
Journalism: The increase in forest carbon emissions
Library: Increase in forest carbon emissions
To protect biodiversity, transition away from clearcut logging
Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance
Library: Loss of future employment resulting from exporting raw logs
Mapping old forest on Vancouver Island
Mapping old forest in Omineca Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Skeena Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Northeastern Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Cariboo Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in South Coast Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Thompson-Okanagan Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Kootenay-Boundary Natural Resource Region
Forest Conservation Organizations
Mapping old forest on Haida Gwaii
Mapping old forest on the central coast
Library: Ecologically damaging practices
Journalism: Ecologically damaging practices
Critical Issues
Analysis
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Listed species: Cascades Natural Resource District
Listed species: 100 Mile House Natural Resource District
Listed species: Campbell River Natural Resource District
Listed species: Cariboo-Chilcotin Natural Resource District
Listed species: Chilliwack River Natural Resource District
Listed species: Fort Nelson Natural Resource District
Listed species: Haida Gwaii Natural Resource District
Listed species: Mackenzie Natural Resource District
Listed species: Nadina Natural Resource District
Listed species: North Island Natural Resource District
Listed species: Peace Natural Resource District
Listed species: Prince George Natural Resource District
Listed species: Quesnel Natural Resource District
Listed species: Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District
Listed species: Sea-to-Sky Natural Resource District
Listed species: Selkirk Natural Resource District
Listed species: Skeena Natural Resource District
Listed species: South Island Natural Resource District
Listed species: Stuart-Nechako Natural Resource District
Listed species: Sunshine Coast Natural Resource District
Listed species: Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District
Listed species: Coast Mountains Natural Resource District
Action Group: Divestment from forest-removal companies
Fact-checking mindustry myths
First Nations Agreements
Monitor: BC Timber Sales Auctions
BC Timber Sales auction of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island
Monitoring of forest fires in clearcuts and plantations: 2021
Library: End public subsidization of forest industry
Examples of engaging the mindustry:
Portal: The over-exploitation of BC forests
Portal: The need to reform BC forest legislation
Portal: The need to expedite treaties with First Nations
Portal: The need to get more organized, informed and inspired for change
Portal: Develop a new relationship with forests
Portal: Destruction of wildlife habitat and loss of biodiversity
Portal: Loss of the hydrological functions of forests
Portal: Increase in forest fire hazard
Portal: Loss of carbon sequestration capacity
Portal: Increase in forest carbon emissions
Portal: Ecologically damaging forestry practices
Portal: Loss of forest-related employment
Portal: Loss of future employment resulting from raw log exports
Portal: Costs of floods, fires and clearcutting of watersheds
Portal: The economic impact on communities of boom and bust cycles
Portal: Loss of economic development by other forest-based sectors
Portal: The true cost of subsidies provided to the logging industry
Help
Loss of trust in institutions
Portal: The instability of communities dependent on forest extraction
Portal: The psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Portal: Loss of trust in institutions caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Portal: Social division caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Journalism: The instability of communities dependent on forest extraction
Journalism: Psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Journalism: Loss in trust of institutions as a result of over-exploitation of BC forests
Journalism: Social division caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: The instability of communities dependent on forest extraction
Library: Psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Library: Loss of trust in institutions as a result of over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: Social division caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Resources: Psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Resources: The economic impact on communities of boom-and-bust cycles
Resources: Loss of economic development potential in other forest-based sectors
Journalism: Cost of floods, fires and clearcutting of community watersheds
Journalism: The economic impact on communities of boom-and-bust cycles
Journalism: Loss of economic development potential in other forest-based sectors
Library: Cost of floods, fires and clearcutting of community watersheds
Library: The economic impact on communities of boom-and-bust cycles
Library: Loss of economic development potential in other forest-based sectors
Portal: Permanent loss of forests to logging roads
Portal: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Journalism: Permanent loss of forests to logging roads
Library: Permanent loss of forests to logging roads
Journalism: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Library: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Resources: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Resources: Ecologically damaging forestry practices
Resources: Conversion of forests to permanent logging roads
Library: Getting organized
Journalism: Getting organized
Forest politics
Forest Stewards
Portal: Plantation failure
Library: Plantation failure
Journalism: Plantation failure
Library: Loss of carbon sequestration capacity
Portal: Soil loss and damage
Journalism: Soil loss and damage
Library: Soil loss and damage
Resources: Soil loss and damage
Journalism: Loss of employment resulting from export of raw logs
Journalism: Destruction of wildlife habitat and loss of biodiversity
Journalism: Loss of the hydrological functions of forests
Journalism: Increase in forest fire hazard
Action Group: Sunlighting professional reliance
Making the case for much greater conservation of BC forests
Science Alliance for Forestry Transformation
Bearing witness:
Economic State of the BC Forest Sector
Big tree mapping and monitoring
Reported Elsewhere
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Article reference pages
Physical impacts created by logging industry
Nature Directed Stewardship at Glade and Laird watersheds
References for: How did 22 TFLs in BC evade legal old-growth management areas?
References for: BC's triangle of fire: More than just climate change
References for: Teal Cedar goes after Fairy Creek leaders
References for: Is the draft framework on biodiversity and ecosystem health something new? Or just more talk and log?
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Record Comments posted by David Broadland
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3 hours ago, BCforester said:
The article conveniently ignores the 2.6 million hectares of Old Growth that the government recently put into deferral and every other existing forest preservation measure. These programs have to be looked at in the the context of a suite of policies that protect old growth. individually they may be small but in total they are significant. (over 70% of primary forest in BC is protected) Of course there are those that will only be satisfied when all logging ceases.
Thanks for joining the conversation BCforester.
Lannie and Johanna aren't ignoring the old-growth deferrals; they reference them in the very first line of the story. But this story is about the inconsistencies and fluidity of the ministry's definitions of and regulations for "big" trees, which is a tiny subset of both the "old-growth forest" and "primary forest" categories of forest.
Your statement that 70 percent of primary forest in BC is "protected" is interesting. As you know, all old-growth forest is primary forest, but not all primary forest is old. Let's consider "primary forest." How much is protected?
Before European settlement, 100 percent of BC forests were primary forest, by definition. Back then, there were a bit more than 56.2 million hectares of primary forest. For 70 percent of that area to be "protected" would mean there would be 39.34 million hectares of protected forest in BC. But ministry of forests and ministry of environment data shows there are currently 6.53 million hectares of protected forest in BC. That would amount to 11.6 percent protected. Some of that "protected forest" contains areas that were logged previous to being protected. So the subset of protected primary forest would be even smaller. Where do you get that "over 70 percent" from?
But let's go further and put into areal context the kind of forest this article actually addresses—those forests that contain "very large" old trees.
Let's start with the 2.6 million hectares of old-growth forest that the deferrals covered (the deferrals are just 2-year temporary logging deferrals, not "protected areas"). In its technical brief provided to media at the time of the deferral announcement, the ministry stated that of the 11.1 million hectares of "old growth" forest in the province, 3.5 million hectares are "protected." See below. That's 31.5 percent of remaining old-growth forests, but only 6.2 percent of the original area of primary forest (3,500,000/56,200,000).
A much smaller subset of old-growth forest contains "large" and "very large" old trees. Currently, there is no reliable (ground-truthed) information about how much area there is of those categories of forest. BC's Old Growth Forest: A Last Stand for Biodiversity estimated that at 415,000 hectares, based on admittedly flawed ministry data. That's less than one percent of the original area of primary forest.
The kind of forest considered in this article is forest that contains "very large" old trees. Again, there is no reliable data on the remaining area of this subset, but the authors of Last Stand put it at around 35,000 hectares. That would amount to one-half of one-tenth of one percent of BC's total original area of primary forest (35,000/56,200,000), which is why Lannie and Johanna are asking, in effect: Why is the ministry splitting hairs over the definition of "very large" trees? That type of forest is so rare, why not protect what's left?
Teal Cedar Ltd. is going after leaders of the Fairy Creek blockades for millions in damages. Does Teal have a case?
in Analysis
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Thanks for your comment Russ!
Anyone who would like to donate to the legal fund for the Fairy Creek Fifteen can do so at this page.