Excellent story by Stefan Labbé on this vitally important research by Johnson and Alila.

No. Primary and old forests are being replaced with managed forests. The logging industry plans to cut those managed forests (Langford) long before the carbon density becomes anywhere near what it was in an old forest (Vancouver). Those plantations will never become a Vancouver, let alone a New Delhi or Tokyo. If the logging industry continues to hold sway in BC, managed "forests" will toggle between Lytton and Langford until it's too hot and dry for forests to grow. Then they will become grasslands (Regina).

Would not Vancouver be replaced by a more expansive population rivaling Delhi or Tokyo per square meter? The absolute density of sequestering forest would be a magnitude higher would it not?

David Shipway shared the response he received from Jillian Tougas: SCNRD_David_Shipway_Response.pdf

Thank you IWTF members and Evergreen Alliance. This is a great start for IWTF.

Our watersheds are unprotected and over 35,000 people are dependent on clean, accessible drinking water - not to mention our crops and tourism. The South Okanagan-Similkameen has experienced the worst of floods and droughts created by the atmospheric river and heat dome. We don't hear from RDOS what is happening in our watersheds. Peachland has already experienced a watershed disaster, only Penticton has free clean drinking water (for the moment), and all other small towns are on water advisories. Who is the contact person for our area?

Following the May 11 decision by Justice E.M. Myers of BC Supreme Court, the Nuchatlaht First Nation released the following statement: Nuchatlaht celebrate finding of Aboriginal Title, will return to court to argue exact location May 12, 2023 The Nuchatlaht First Nation are celebrating a landmark finding of Aboriginal Title within their territory, but are left disappointed with the Court’s request to return to identify where exactly that Aboriginal Title is. Delivered May 11, 2023, this is the first trial court decision finding Aboriginal Title in British Columbia, and the first decision to apply the 2014 Supreme Court Tsilhqot’in ruling. This was also the first decision heard since British Columbia adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) in 2019. Justice Myers found that the Nuchatlaht have Aboriginal Title within their traditional territory, but declined to grant the entire Nuchatlaht claim area. Instead, the Court requested the parties return to argue over exact locations. Nuchatlaht were victorious on nearly every point at issue in the trial, pushing the state of the law forward. “With this victory Nuchatlaht hope to clear a path for others to follow” said the Nuchatlaht Tyee Hawiilth (Chief) Jordan Michael. In this case the court found that Nuchatlaht concepts of ownership exceeded the common law. “We need to take this victory and continue fighting for recognition of our rights” stated Nuchatlaht Councillor Mellissa Jack. Nuchatlaht plan to return before Justice Myers to identify the exact locations of Aboriginal Title. They will also apply to the B.C. Court of Appeal over the decision to decline awarding the entire claim area. We’re not going anywhere, we know what’s ours” said Nuchatlaht Councillor Erick Michael. “This isn’t just about Nuchatlaht, but about every First Nation.” “I would like to thank all the supporters who got us this far” said Nuchatlaht Councillor Archie Little. We couldn’t have won this victory without you, but we’re not finished fighting.” Read Justice Myers’ judgement: BC Suprem Court Decision 2023BCSC0804-Nuchalaht.pdf