Press Release  -  for immediate release

Qualicum Beach, British Columbia – Many Cathedral Grove supporters in several Mid Island communities will be heading to Victoria for the Ancient Forests and BC Jobs rally this Saturday, after witnessing Island Timberlands waste and destruction left behind in the Grove during a group hike sponsored by the Wilderness Committee, Mid Island this weekend at Labour Day Lake.
"Beautiful, bountiful and pristine, Labour Day Lake which supplies the Town of Qualicum Beach and other communities with its clean, clear drinking water is also the headwaters of the Cathedral Grove watershed where Island Timberlands clearcuts surround the lakes ancient forest with many of its waterfalls and streams flagged with logging tape", explains Annette Tanner, Wilderness Committee, Mid Island spokesperson.

"It is time to stop cutting the last of the ancient forest in Cathedral Grove and insist that Island Timberlands clean up their mess and provide local jobs for local communities instead of cutting the ancient trees in Canadas most famous forest and international tourist destination," Tanner continues.

Saturdays ralliers will be calling on Premier Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberal government to:

-Enact legislated timelines to quickly end old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland (ie. the south coast) where old-growth forests are now scarce.
-Ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests which now constitute 75% of the productive forests on BCs south coast.
-Ban the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign countries in order ensure a steady supply of logs for BCs saw mills and pulp mills.
-Assist in the retooling and development of second-growth mills and value-added wood processing facilities.

Speakers at the rally include BC Opposition leader Carole James of the New Democratic Party (NDP), NDP forestry critic Bob Simpson, BC Green Party leader Dr. Jane Sterk, Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada union (PPWC) forestry officer Arnold Bercov, Hupacasath First Nations Chief Councillor Dr. Judith Sayers, Friends of Clayoquot Sound board member and ForestEthics campaign director Valerie Langer, Sierra Club of BC campaign director Susan Howatt, Alberni-Qualicum Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Scott Fraser, and Wilderness Committee campaigners Annette Tanner and Ken Wu.

Recent satellite photos show that about 75% of Vancouver Islands original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow and 99% of the old-growth coastal Douglas fir forests on eastern Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. While 13% of Vancouver Islands land base is protected in parks, this only includes 6% of its original, productive old-growth forests. This is because much of the land in parks include treeless alpine terrain, stunted bog forests along the west coast of the Island, and high altitude snow forests with scrubby trees (ie. marginal or low-productivity old-growth forests with small trees that generally cant be profitably logged). For maps, photos, and stats visit www.viforest.org

Old-growth forests are important for many reasons: they provide habitat for many species at risk like spotted owls and marbled murrelets that need older forests; they sequester two to three times more atmospheric carbon per hectare than second-growth forests do; they are important parts of many First Nations cultures; and they are fundamental pillars of BCs multi-billion dollar coastal tourism industry, as millions of tourists visit old-growth forests each year in such places as Cathedral Grove, Clayoquot Sound by Tofino, the West Coast Trail, the Carmanah and Walbran Valleys, Goldstream, Cape Scott, Juan de Fuca Trail, Chilliwack Lake, and the Nootka Trail.

The Wilderness Committee (www.wcwcvictoria.org), Canadas largest membership-based wilderness protection group, is aiming for 3000 participants at their "Rally for Ancient Forests and BC Jobs" this Saturday, October 25 in the provincial capital of Victoria (11:30 am Crowd meets at Centennial Square, then marches to arrive at 12:00 noon at the Legislative Buildings for speeches, 12:45 pm Crowd joins hands and encircles Legislative Buildings several times around).

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For more information contact:
Annette Tanner, 250 752-6585, cell 250 240-7470