BC-NDP KILLing our wiLd COYOTES? NOT on MY WATCH!

Please see my Letter to Govt. (also posted to this blog) OPPOSING their heinous Wolf Cull program - @ this link:

I Oppose BC's UNETHICAL WoLF CuLL: Letter 2 Govt

Culling protected urban wildlife like these cherished coyotes in Stanley Park is NOT a solution to the "problem" (?) of wildlife in our parks, it's yet another abhorrent sign that elected officials are UNFIT to govern this once-thriving province; their every decision spells 'FAIL' for our biodiversity, our precious old-growth forests & our very own Stanley Park urban paradise..

Even Conservation Officers are FAILING US by acting with psychopathic insensitivity toward the many beloved species with which we share our home - for as any true, legit Conservationist knows, CULLING IS NEVER THE ANSWER!

Where's the RESPECT for Nature & all its variety of species (Flora AND Fauna), which Conservationists (& BCers) have a long-held & proud tradition of HONOURING?  Now, instead of prioritizing co-existence with all BC's endemic wildlife (as their jobs dictate) they think nothing of setting barbaric LEG-HOLD TRAPS (which should have been banned years ago) & MASS-MURDERING these blameless creatures, when they should be doing everything in their power to PROTECT THEM, per our Constitution?

What happened to the City's plan to amend Park hours to close it to the public from dusk to dawn - LIKE EVERY OTHER PARK IN BC??  They didn't even TRY to enforce that policy!  Instead, we were suddenly informed of some ridiculously ill-advised 'Malkin Bowl' concerts planned for AFTER-DARK HOURS in Stanley Park!!?  Talk about hypocrites!!!

I'm with Bryan [Adams] 100% - TRAPPING & KILLING urban wildlife is an utterly ABHORRENT, MINDLESS decision by an inept govt. that's woefully OUT OF TOUCH with what makes Vancouver LIVABLE!  Having a giant forest paradise in our midst -- along with other parks & beaches & numerous natural wonders -- inevitably brings abundant urban wildlife to these areas. It's one of the greatest joys of living here, & the vast majority of residents are ON BOARD WITH 'doing our bit' to nurture & respect the thriving biodiversity around us. NOT by feeding/luring them irresponsibly of course, but by enjoying them from afar & LEAVING THEM BE!

The few who act in ignorance -- acclimatizing wildlife to human conflicts/attacks -- should be seen as the problem that needs fixing -- i.e. NOT THE FAULT OF BLAMELESS ANIMALS with whom we've coexisted happily for decades!!? "Getting rid of" ANY of them is unthinkable.

Stanley Park is our JEWEL, & as such should be a protected park, NOT A FREE-FOR-ALL FOR TOURISTS TO ABUSE & DESECRATE!!? Invading its peaceful serenity with inhumane LEG-HOLD TRAPS (which could easily hurt other creatures, not just coyotes) & terrorizing every lifeform sheltered in this forest sanctuary VIOLATES its every purpose & PUTS OUR CITY ON THE MAP OF SHAME!

It's nothing short of an indecent act of terrorism by govt. officials who've lost touch with the limits of their "power" as public servants.. 

PS. If we can't train/inform the population, how can we enjoy our city?  Problem is, people can't be BOTHERED to teach each other to coexist with nature - which is their lame excuse for doing what's "easier" & KILLING OFF whole groups of species in which they've NO BUSINESS INTERFERING!?  That's not progress, it's IGNORANCE!  Canada's constitution enshrines protection of native wildlife - which our govts forget in their blind rush to "get rid of" inconveniences that make our world LIVABLE.. (Wish we'd get rid of THEM, they're making OUR city UNLivable!!)  Fact is, coyotes are V helpful for balancing ecosystems like Stanley Park.. so we're better off learning to live with them, not harming/ killing them.. (We've harmed Nature enough - to the point that our biodiversity & ecosystems & environments are downgrading, FAST.

We need to instill healthy respect for ALL nature's lifeforms in every resident/visitor of BC.  MODIFYING OUR BEHAVIOUR, NOT CULLING WILDLIFE, IS THE ANSWER TO HUMAN-BROUGHT PROBLEMS.

Cdns: VoTe 4 Climate Sept.20

Below is my response to a MUST-READ guest post on Norm Farrell's blog, insights.ca, by long-time BC environmentalist Bill Henderson - @ this link:

This Abominable Scam of a Climate Election 

 

                                                {illustration by me}

Such a powerful piece as this instils not just fresh hope & [non-GMO/ smart] food for thought, but the re-charged resolve to get its contents INTO the mainstream of 'must-reads' on this top-rated topic -- not least for the preponderance of denial drivel [STILL!!?] spouted & re-hashed by politicians, popular pundits & people-in-passing alike..

We need scientists to replace industry lobbyists working closely with our govts ASAP -- to unite BCers with the updated facts of Climate change & stay on top of REAL science-advised solutions of merit that'll help us tackle this giant climate crisis b4 us - together!?  The time for proactive measures is NOW..

The days of Govts [public servants!] getting away with corrupt misuse of their positions of leadership must end:  we cannot afford more of the same BS!

It's plain as day the Old Guard needs replacing -- i.e. the same-old wealthy banks, polluters, BigPharma monoliths, logging/mining co's that, up until today, have had their way [&Govt approval] to keep digging/ grinding/ logging/ mining/ polluting/ wasting Mother Nature to extinction.. Modern science shows their rapacious & unsustainable extractive industries NEED TO BE CURTAILED -- YESTERDAY -- to have a hope in hell of saving life on Earth & leaving living legacies for our kids..?

And yet it seems the purveyors of pollution are -- still!!? -- WINNING over those with the actual working solutions for clean GHG-free sustainability in all sectors.  Why?  Because banks, govts etc. -- having acknowledged & announced the Climate crisis in our midst -- refuse to match their actions with words & actually WORK ON making the transition, starting with divesting from polluters & investing in the CLEAN GREEN RENEWABLE innovators with the future-forward jobs of tomorrow..

The increasing # & size of rampant wildfires across Canada are the most obvious -- & frightening -- sign that the old rapacious, unforgiving pace of clearcut logging (having wiped out 95% of our protective primary forests -- ie. Our most prodigious C02 sinks/ endangered species' habitats/ Salmon refuges/ OXYGEN PROVIDERS+++) CANNOT CONTINUE APACE!!?

Once these precious & globally unique rainforest habitats are clearcut (emitting most of their stored C02), the barren ravaged wastelands left behind DESERTIFY & turn into TINDER that fuels fires+++!!??  Anyone who thinks planting replacement seedlings of 1 tree type --along with spraying all deciduous 'pest' trees [which act as key barriers to fires] w/ deadly carcinogens like Monsanto's [now Bayer's] glyphosate-- EVER restores those critically beneficial 1,000-yr-old fire-resistant 'Lungs of the North',  is sorely out of touch with reality!

But let's face it - mainstream media (MSM) has been keeping Cdns misinformed, persistently keeping the lies dished by the BigIndustry lobbyists alive.. & supporting Govts push to let the [mostly foreign-owned] extractive corporations gauging out the last of our precious natural resources -- while steadily stripping down Mama Nature's last best defences (i.e. what makes 'Super, Natural BC' thrive)  Those who blame the 'big polluter' highest-emissions giants such as China for 'holding back the rest of us' should know:  Canada's Govt subsidizes (!) the very industries keeping Climate crises escalating globally, & positioned to keep the world's MOST polluting countries dependant on our tar-sands' dirty bitumen for years to come!!??

Those of us who've invested everything to transition out of fossil-fueled pollution into clean green livelihoods -- eg. organic regenerative non-GMO farming & growing bamboo/hemp to save our last living OldGrowth forests -- CANNOT accept such colossal ineptitude from Govt:  WE'RE ALREADY LIVING THE GREEN FUTURE -- proof of its efficiency -- but we could use influxes of public $$ to keep expanding as required!  What's holding us back -- & darkening our rosy outlook -- is the constant evidence around us of cont'd Govt FAILURES, past & present..

Unfortch, all 'Big 3' main parties -- Cons, Libs & NDP -- are pushing same-old status-quo of cont'd extraction, fossil fuel growth, logging our last living breathing IRREPLACEABLE forest ecosystems, ETC. ETC.. Yup they've decided our kids don't deserve a future.. & we're supposed to be reassured by such dishonesty!!??

NO:  we can't be OK with such blatant insults from our public servants, who appare don't mind if our entire land base (& all the freshwater lakes & lush green wilderness therein) is sucked dry & shipped to Asia, with what's left used for grazing beef cattle for fast-food exports:  HELL NO (As a vegan, I'm appalled..)

The ONLY viable alternative to such disastrous outcomes is to VOTE FOR YOUR VALUES NOT CONTINUED DEGRADATION/ ECOCIDAL TERROR -- & that means backing the only ones with ethics, integrity & smarts -- THE ONLY PARTY CAPABLE OF BRINGING A BRIGHT RENEWABLE FUTURE:  THE GREEN PARTY (duh?)  Anything else is a re-hash of past errors/injustices, which we're MUCH better off without..

We deserve better than these tired, useless throwbacks to polluter-culture don't we?  So let's KICK EM TO THE KERB SEPT 20th & VOTE GREEN.. CUZ WE CAN!!!!

Letter #14 to BC-NDP - Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy

 

Written using Sierra Club's letter-writing TooL (ALways besT to personalize!)  You can write one too, @ this link:  

CLICK HERE 2 WRITE YOUR OWN Letter 2 BC's Forest Minister 

Here's mine:

Dear Minister Conroy, 

I am writing to denounce you & your appalling govt's inaction on Fairy Creek & FAILURE to follow through on promises to fully implement all recommendations from the Old Growth Strategic Review, as an urgent priority in your mandate.    

So few of our iconic, important old-growth forests remain due to clearcutting/ over-logging & egregious clearcutting which has had DISASTROUS results due to the devastation wrought by clearcut logging of whole ecosystems (including the hundreds of species of biodiversity that depend on these forests for survival, many of which are now critically endangered)..

Clear evidence of this needless destruction has been exposed this summer by dangerous -- & PREVENTABLE -- wildfires that continue to burn, despite all efforts to control them..

AS your Old-Growth Strategic Review Panel advised well over a year ago, BC desperately needs a new paradigm for forest mgmt. implemented NOW to avoid an even deadlier fire season next year!?

Without immediate action, not enough will be left to sustain the web of life as we know it & support a diverse economy.  

Last year's election made it VERY clear that the majority of BC citizens want to protect endangered Old-Growth forests before it is too late!  And the majority of us are strongly opposed to the shameful bullying & violence of the RCMP against peaceful defenders in the ancient Fairy Creek stand - despite the injunction granted to Teal Jones (in bad faith & against your govt's stated intentions for our precious forests) as well as overwhelming public support for our heroic Fairy Creek forest defenders..   

The deadlines from your expert O-G Panel have long passed, thanks to your wilful refusal to act on your party's promises, but WE cannot forget our dedicated friends who know the priceless value of these forests --ALIVE NOT LOGGED-- & remain determined to protect them from destructive, greedy & unethical logging corps.

Equally heinous is federal govt's ongoing refusal to intervene on behalf of the Species At Risk which Canada's constitution expressly delineates responsibility to prevent their extinction!!?  At this rate, under your mismanagement, we are set to lose the valuable benefits -- incl. essential habitat provision, C02 sequestration at unequaled capacities, water purification & other essential services -- that only these primary forests can effectively provide.

Allowing these few Old-Growth ecosystems to be exploited, knowing their wealth lies in their preservation (i.e. preventing them from being logged), is akin to violating Canada's constitution -- which YOU can rectify & upgrade by implementing legislated protection for all Old-Growth forests in BC. 

Please Minister, do your job & turn around the fate of our beloved forests & the lifeforms --flora & fauna-- they support.  Shrinking into the background hoping this urgent issue will disappear is what only a coward would do:  Surely you have the knowledge of the requirements of your privileged position to know that banning Old-Growth logging is the ONLY solution with any merit -- along with its assurance of a hopeful future for our kids, the next-gen recipients of results from your actions today.

Please do the right thing & resolve this matter for the best interests of BCers:   legislate protection for all remaining BC Old-Growth & commit at least $1 billion to implement the 14 recommendations, provide funding for Indigenous-led conservation solutions & support transition for forestry-dependent communities.

Time is of the essence.

Thank you very much for taking action -- your immediate intervention will be a proud moment in your career, one in which you can claim a groundbreaking part on the right side of history!!?

But you need to act now to make this happen -- for the health & wellbeing of our communities, for salmon habitat, for essential carbon storage, for tourism jobs & to help defend our communities from fires, flooding & other worsening impacts of climate change. Considering all that BCers have endured of late, it's the least you & your govt. can do to lift some of the worry from our present outlooks!!?

These big, rare old trees are vital to our resilience in the face of climate change - please don't let down our kids' hope for a thriving future!  We're counting on you, because you were appointed to protect these living elders:  a grave responsibility, & one which you should not take lightly.

(Our future health - & that of our sustaining ecosystems/ 'Lungs of the North', without which we are nothing - relies on your urgent action today..)

Sincerely, 

SARAH (SAZ) CHESTERMAN

Vancouver, BC

CC: Premier John Horgan and Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Nathan Cullen