Sierra Club BC reacts to Premier Horgan’s forestry announcement 

Sierra Club BC Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner Jens Wieting offered the following brief statement to the media in response to today’s announcements on updates to forestry in B.C.

June 1, 2021

Statement by Sierra Club BC Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner Jens Wieting:

“Today’s announcement was an Orwellian nightmare. The outrageous claims by Premier John Horgan about how much old-growth is already protected and the extent of old-growth protections enacted during his government is quickly destroying any and all remaining trust that his government is sincere about its promise to protect at-risk forests before it’s too late.

“Preparing to redistribute forest tenure without first taking action to ensure that the most endangered old-growth forests have at least interim protection will only make it harder to save any of these forests later. It’s continued talk-and log. People in B.C. who care about the web of life should be deeply worried about this government’s ongoing denial of the severity of the old-growth and biodiversity crisis.

“This government received a blueprint for solutions over a year ago, independent experts mapped the most endangered old-growth forests across the province for them, the federal government committed $2.3billion dollars to increase protected areas across Canada and yet, old-growth logging continues unabated and almost all at-risk forests remain without interim protection.

“The old-growth crisis calls for immediate short-term funding for First Nations and forestry workers seeking an alternative to logging the last old-growth. Defending business as usual will only exacerbate conflicts like the one happening over Fairy Creek and undermine options for communities seeking an alternative to destructive resource extraction.”

-30-

We are calling on the B.C. government to speed up solutions to protect irreplaceable at-risk old-growth ecosystems — these need to include adequate funding and support for Indigenous-led conservation solutions and a just transition in the forestry sector. 

Ask the B.C. government to ACT NOW on old-growth protection🌲