News Release

5,300 postcards delivered to Premier in BC Legislature

VICTORIA – The Wilderness Committee delivered 5,300 postcards to the BC Legislature today, calling on the provincial government to reject logging permits in the central Walbran Valley on southwestern Vancouver Island. The cards, which are individually signed by British Columbians, will be delivered this afternoon during a session of the Legislature by MLA Scott Fraser, whose Alberni-Pacific Rim riding encompasses the Walbran Valley.

In addition to the thousands of signed postcards, over 1,080 people have written personalized emails to the Premier and Minister of Forests demanding protection for this unique old-growth forest.

“The amount of public outcry we’ve heard on this has been unprecedented,” said Torrance Coste, Vancouver Island Campaigner with the Wilderness Committee. “No one we’ve talked to can understand how the BC government can issue new permits to cut down 1000-year-old trees.”

The Wilderness Committee launched the postcard campaign over the summer, after learning that logging company Teal Jones was planning to cut down old-growth rainforest in the Walbran. The organization has also hosted rallies and town hall meetings, and has made several expeditions into the valley.

On September 18th, the BC government granted Teal Jones a permit for its first cutblock, which encompasses the Black Diamond Grove – one of the most spectacular stands of ancient forest in the Walbran Valley. To date, the company hasn’t begun to log, but could start at any time.

The Wilderness Committee’s multiple requests for a meeting with BC Forest Minister Steve Thomson have been rejected.

“The provincial government has ignored this issue so far, but we hope they’ll listen to the thousands of people who are asking them to step up and protect the Walbran Valley,” Coste said. “Some of these trees were already old during Europe’s Dark Ages. These ancient stands are simply too rare to liquidate for profit, and it’s time for the Premier and the Minister of Forests to recognize that.”

The Walbran Valley contains some of the oldest and largest redcedar and Sitka spruce trees in Canada – some as wide as four metres across at their base. The Walbran is located in the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation.

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For more information, please contact:

Torrance Coste | Vancouver Island Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
250-516-9900, torrance@wildernesscommittee.org

For photos and maps of the Walbran Valley and Black Diamond Grove, visit:
https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/walbran_valley_photos_cut_block_4424