The battle to protect old-growth forests is a fight some of you have been involved in for decades. As a result of your hard work, today some of those forests are on their way to permanent protection. 

The BC government just released the long-awaited report from their independent Old-growth Strategic Review Panel and it calls for a paradigm shift in the way we manage old forests and immediate measures to stop logging in some of the most at-risk forests.

In response, the government has deferred nearly 353,000 hectares (that’s bigger than the size of Metro Vancouver!) of forest from development in nine different areas in the province.

Here are some of those areas:

After decades of our hard work clearing trails and collaborating with First Nations and local communities, the majority of Clayoquot Sound is on its way to protection. 

Most of you are no stranger to the “Donut Hole” — the unprotected area between Manning and Skagit provincial parks — with your letters, faxes and other actions you’ve given it the reprieve that it needs. 

McKelvie Creek is a beautiful watershed just outside Tahsis in Nootka Sound, where we’ve supported community residents, the municipal government and First Nations interested in protecting old-growth forests in the area.

The measures announced today are the result of Indigenous leadership and decades of forest activism from people like you! Thank you.

Today, the BC government has finally acknowledged that old-growth logging is unsustainable. The next step is to rapidly expand the number of deferral areas to include remaining old-growth in the province that is being logged at this very minute, move quickly to permanently protect these areas, and follow through with the 14 recommendations outlined in the report. And you and I will ensure they do! 

Today we celebrate. Tomorrow, we get back to work. 

This announcement isn’t enough on its own. We will hold the government's feet to the fire to ensure this report doesn’t gather dust on the shelves. We will ramp up the fight for the remaining old-growth and endangered species habitat that is being chopped down as I write this. We fight to stop the extinction of spotted owls and southern mountain caribou.

Today we got 353,000 hectares. Tomorrow we get the rest. 

Thank you for speaking up for the forests. 🌲🌲🌲

P.S. Pitch in today to help us continue to fight for old-growth forests. Your donation means we can hold the government to their promises and take the next steps for at-risk old growth and the species that call it home.