Five years after the release of the Old-Growth Strategic Review report, the BC NDP’s momentum towards a “new, holistic approach” to the management of old-growth forests has slowed almost to the point of regression.
“Rather than the ‘paradigm shift’ we were promised, we’ve seen Premier Eby’s government doubling down on its prioritization of timber and industry profits over all other values,” said Eddie Petryshen, Wildsight’s Conservation Specialist.
“Large portions of the East Kootenays now contain less than 10% of their historical old-growth stands, and every field season I see fresh clearcuts and roads in the old and ancient forests that our deep-snow caribou rely on. It’s hugely disappointing.”
After its public release on September 11, 2020, the BC NDP government promised to enact all 14 recommendations made in the landmark Old-Growth Strategic Review (OGSR). The goal: to shift its focus towards ecosystem health, rather than timber.
Since then, temporary logging deferrals have been put in place in high-risk old-growth stands in some parts of the province, and a 2023 Draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework was released for public review. But the framework still hasn’t been finalized, and the temporary deferrals remain just that — stopgap measures that leave large areas of old-growth on the chopping block. Across the province, deferrals have been implemented in approximately 40 percent of the high-risk old growth identified by the Technical Advisory Panel.
Ecosystems losing value in the province’s eyes?
“Five years on, the government has barely made any progress on its commitments to protect old growth and usher in a new era of land management. Wildsight is concerned it’s now regressing back to the outdated concept that these forests only have value when they’ve been cut down,” said Petryshen.
“Just last year, before the provincial election, Premier Eby pledged to achieve an assured annual harvest level of 45 million cubic metres, which would be a 22% increase on our already unsustainable harvest levels. At the same time, he released an update on his government’s ‘progress’ towards the OGSR recommendations.”
“This is a leader who knows his voters care deeply about the protection of old-growth forests and so says the right words. But when push comes to shove, he is still putting industry interests ahead of our wildlife, climate and clean water.”
The fire sale of British Columbia’s last old-growth forests must stop. These forests are not a renewable resource; once they are gone, there is no getting them — or the species that will disappear with them — back.Eddie Petryshen