Webinar | Old-Growth Forests in British Columbia: Current Status and Challenges
A webinar hosted by Sierra Club BC, Wilderness Committee, and Elders for Ancient Trees
Join us for a webinar where we talked about how much old growth remains in the province, what is being done to keep it standing, and how to separate facts from government and corporate talking points.
This webinar featured Wilderness Committee’s national campaign director Torrance Coste, Sierra Club BC’s campaigns director Shelley Luce, opening words from Mariah Charleson of the Hesquiaht Nation, and will be moderated by Jackie Larkin from Elders for Ancient Trees.
It’s been more than two and half years since the BC NDP government promised to implement the recommendations from its Old-Growth Strategic Review and protect old-growth forests. But despite some encouraging commitments and new policies, action to meaningfully limit the destruction of at-risk old-growth forests has been slow and insufficient. Since the provincial government promised a paradigm shift in forest management in B.C., tens of thousands of hectares of the most endangered old-growth ecosystems have been destroyed, along with the life-giving biodiversity they harbour.
Intentions don’t stop chainsaws. Big promises don’t always lead to change on the ground, making it difficult to parse through the public relations spin and determine what’s actually changed for old-growth, and what hasn’t. We’re here to help.
We’ll talk about the reality of how much old growth remains and how those numbers are determined, how much is protected or deferred, how much is being cut, and crucially, what measures and financial supports exist for First Nations and other communities to enable protection for threatened forests.
This webinar includes a Q&A where our panellists answered your forest-related questions to make sure you have up-to-date and factual messaging that you can use to take action for old-growth forests you love!
An informed, empowered public that knows the difference between fact and fiction on old growth is the most powerful force to keep the province accountable.
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The campaign you just read about is one of about 20 we’re actively working on at any given time. And the person who wrote this article is the same campaigner who’s asking you to take action, who’s calling on our legislators to make changes and who’s in the field to bring you photos, videos and stories documenting this issue.
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