Nanoose Bay – The Government’s Forest Practice Board (FPB), an independent watchdog for forest and range practices, concluded a nearly year-long investigation yesterday, responding to a complaint lodged against the proposed logging of DL33, a rare crown land forest in the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem which is already at high risk.The FPB investigation re-affirmed their earlier statements that older stands of forest, such as DL33, should be protected in order to prevent the degradation of the entire critically endangered east Vancouver Island ecosystem identified as the Coastal Douglas-fir moist maritime (CDFmm) ecosystem.

“This report confirms what opponents of logging DL33 have been saying,” said Annette Tanner, Wilderness Committee Mid Island spokeswoman. The FPB investigation found “that harvesting mature and older forest in the CDF, such as that found in good condition on DL33, is not consistent with a vision of overall ecosystem integrity.”

The FPB investigation assessed the cutblock planning for biological resources and groundwater. “Given the endangered status of the CDF ecosystem, this is like assessing the method of extermination for the last herd of Buffalo,” said Tanner.

Furthermore, the report states : “The large trees and maturity of the red-listed plant communities on DL33 contribute to its good ecological condition and make it valuable to restoring the ecological integrity of the CDF…and that by modifying a forest stand that is currently in good ecological condition, will further compromise the already tenuous overall condition of the ecosystem.”

“The key revelation of this report is stated in the conclusion,” said Tanner. “Any logging, no matter how sensitive, will put the integrity of the CDF ecosystem at greater risk of extinction. We need the government in Victoria to do the right thing and protect the integrity of this vital piece of the Coast Douglas -fir ecosystem.”

For more information, contact Annette Tanner 250 752-6585/ (cell)250 240-7470