This week, we’re reigniting #WalbranWednesday. So on this coming Wednesday, we’re going to send this message to Forest Minister Steve Thomson in a way he can’t ignore.

We haven’t had a #WalbranWednesday since March, to give the logging company Teal Jones and the BC government time to come up with alternatives to clearcut logging some of the last old-growth rainforest on southern Vancouver Island.

But they’ve failed to act.

A few weeks ago, we visited the cutblocks to the south of the Walbran River that Teal Jones clearcut logged over this past winter and spring. What was prime old-growth forest just a few months ago was now completely destroyed – you can check out the devastating photos here.

That's why starting up #WalbranWednesday couldn't have come at a better time. 

Even though organizations like the BC Chamber of Commerce and Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities have passed motions opposing old-growth logging, the Minister has so-far ignored them. The fact is that he has the direct authority to approve or reject any logging activity in BC.

Our goal is to have as many people as possible phone the Minister’s office during business hours on Wednesday with a unified demand: SET THE CENTRAL WALBRAN VALLEY OFF LIMITS TO LOGGING!

In the last year, more than 8,000 people have written to the Minister, calling on him to set the Central Walbran off-limits to logging and find a solution that works for the environment as well as local First Nations. This fight is heating up with frustration, and we’re not going to let Minister Thomson off the hook.

Phone Number: 250-387-6240 (Victoria office)

250-712-3620 (Kelowna constituency office)

Email address:  flnr.minister@gov.bc.ca or steve.thomson.mla@leg.bc.ca 

*For those of you on Twitter, send Minister Thomson a message: @Steve4Kelowna

The Minister of Forests is a public servant, but through his silence on this issue he is siding with the logging company and in so doing is facilitating the destruction of the environment.

For our Walbran Wednesday phone blitzes, we’re asking participants to keep the tone civil and respectful. We want to send a strong message that people care passionately about protecting this ancient forest, and that stopping the destruction of the Central Walbran Valley is simply the right thing to do.

We’ve provided a sample script that you can use with staff at Minister Thomson’s office. The same text could also be used in an email to the Minister. The script however, is just a suggestion – we know many of you have been passionate advocates for the protection of old-growth forests for years, and that your argument, in your own words, carries so much power!

For more information about the Walbran Valley, please check out our campaign web page or letter-writing tool for more points to use on your call!

We encourage you to give us a call, send us an email or post on the #WalbranWednesday Facebook page to let us know how your conversation went! You can contact our Victoria office at (250) 388-9292 or email torrance@wildernesscommittee.org with feedback.

Here we go! We know that when we raise our voices together we can ignite real change in our world, so let’s tell Minister Thomson to keep chainsaws out of the Central Walbran Valley!

Click here to download the sample script.