Last month, British Columbia’s Deputy Chief Forester determined that approximately 15,000 logging trucks’ worth of wood (550,000 cubic metres) will be able to be harvested each year for the next decade from the Kootenay Lake region. The decision reveals an industry in which timber-centric thinking still prevails over ecosystem health and respect for First Nations — and highlights a problematic disconnect between our provincial leaders’ promises, and the day-to-day decisions being made on the ground.
The Annual Allowable Cut (AAC) refers to the amount of timber that is permitted to be cut each year from a particular area — in this case, the Kootenay Lake Timber Supply Area (TSA), which encompasses 1.2 million hectares from Creston, Nelson and Kaslo up to Glacier National Park. Cut levels are determined by the province’s Chief Forester through Timber Supply Reviews and, combined, they account for about 85% of all timber harvested within B.C.
The new Kootenay Lake AAC is problematic for several reasons, one of the most significant being that it does not meaningfully address many of the concerns and recommendations raised by the Ktunaxa Nation. In its submission to the Chief Forester, the Nation pointed out that current forest management practices are degrading Ktunaxa lands and waters, and that the cumulative impacts of developments and accelerating climate change are putting forest biodiversity at unacceptable levels of risk. It asked that cut levels be lowered to 325,000 cubic metres per year — a more sustainable AAC that would have aligned with Ktunaxa’s stewardship responsibilities and forest standards — but that did not happen.
The new AAC is also risky for local watersheds, particularly given the tremendous pressure they’re likely to come under in the future as droughts and wildfires become more frequent. The province modelled that nearly 40% of logging in the Kootenay Lake TSA will occur within local watersheds over the next decade. If current trends continue, much of that logging is likely to be clearcutting — from 2009 to 2022, clearcutting made up over 93% of logging in the TSA.
Allowing this level and method of logging to continue in our watersheds will have major impacts on the clean, freshwater that local communities rely on. While the Deputy Chief Forester acknowledged this in his determination — urging licensees to “consider partial harvesting to manage water supply, adapt to climate change and to maintain and enhance timber supply” — he stopped short of taking any meaningful action to change practices.
There are several instances such as this throughout the determination in which the Deputy Chief Forester acknowledged ways in which current logging practices threaten old growth, wildlife and ecosystems throughout the Kootenay Lake region. But unless those acknowledgements are backed up with enforceable directions and more sustainable cut levels, they are empty words.
Four years ago, British Columbia promised to bring about a ‘paradigm shift’ in its timber-first approach to forestry. It said it would prioritize biodiversity and ecosystem health, and committed to co-developing forestry-related laws and policies in consultation with First Nations. At a provincial level, it has initiated processes to address those commitments — developing the draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework, and announcing the Tripartite Nature Agreement. But as the Kootenay Lake TSR determination shows, we’re a long way from seeing the province’s good intentions filter down to a local level.
Currently, the Revelstoke and Golden AACs are three and four years overdue for review, respectively. The former covers 527,000 hectares between the Monashee Mountains to the west and the Selkirk Mountains to the east, while the latter straddles the Rocky Mountain Trench and upper Columbia River Valley northward to near Mica Dam. When those reviews take place, we’ll be watching closely to see whether the new AACs are more aligned with the province’s commitments to prioritize biodiversity and to work closely with First Nations.
