(From an app on David Suzuki Foundation website)
Dear [recipient name will go here], I am deeply concerned that under your watch, industry continues to log some of the last old-growth forests in B.C. You are failing to meet your election promise to protect these ancient forests & their globally rare ecosystems! By now you must know that few old-growth forests with huge trees remain.. & we need your leadership to keep these ancient trees & their ecosystems alive!? Please act now to:
●Immediately curtail logging in all old-growth forest areas in B.C., giving special attention to preserving high-productivity forests, not just individual trees. Without immediate protection, many of these forests will disappear before your Old-Growth Review Panel recommendations come into effect in 2023.
●With much of BC's forests now burned by wildfire, limit logging co's to harvesting affected trees only (as they've a maximum of 2 years to do so economically) to limit waste & allow regrowth - & to make co's responsible for their practices' consequences;
●Work with Indigenous communities to implement the Old-Growth Strategic Review Panel’s recommendations now. Provide a timeline, funding & resources to support this work throughout B.C. & ensure their free, prior & informed consent. Current permits & plans don’t meet this standard.
●Provide a transition to Indigenous- & community-led sustainable 2nd-growth forestry that focuses on value over volume models. If done right, switching to logging secondary forests can ensure our precious old-growth forests remain intact;
●Commit to a green & just recovery that puts people & ecosystem health first.
We need thriving nature to build back better: this means protecting non-timber values of old-growth ecosystems like drinking water, flood/ fire mitigation & biodiversity while also addressing the needs of workers & communities transitioning out of old, unsustainable practices.
Please save our remaining old-growth forests or they may soon be gone forever! Old-growth forests are irreplaceable. With their huge trees, multistoried canopy & large amounts of woody debris, they create unique conditions for life that younger forests do not:
■They provide homes for many species, including western screech-owls & other endangered wildlife that we, as stewards, are supposed to protect;
■They have an unparalleled ability to keep carbon out of the atmosphere - but when logged, all their stored C02 is released into the atmosphere, causing further rising cumulative emissions;
■They provide us with essential services such as clean water & fire/ flood protection;
■They support essential community jobs in tourism & other sustainable industries.
In the midst of climate & biodiversity crises, we can’t afford to destroy the last of these ancient ecosystems that wildlife, communities & future generations depend on to thrive!!? B.C. can still become a leader in old-growth conservation, respecting Indigenous rights & sustainable forestry - as 85%++ of BCers want - but only if you act now..
Sincerely,
[your name will go here] [your email address will go here], [your location will go here] Cc'd: Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development