Please STOP SPRAYING OUR FORESTS!

(Updated Sept '22 - see bottom of pg)

Email now: stop the chemical herbicide spray in forests across southern B.C. (stand.earth)

Org's like StopTheSprayBC have been opposing the unethical spraying of forests by BC Timber for the purpose of killing fire-resistant broadleaf shrubs/ trees that jeopardize ecosystem/ wildlife health for years if not decades:  It's GOT TO STOP!!

For more information, Stand.earth have provided these links on their letter-writing page, for review / add more details to your submission:

• Angelina Hopkins Rose from the St̓át̓imc Nation’s letter template
• Stop the Spray BC press release
• Stand.earth statement

Here's my letter, which Stand.earth will send to key decision-makers, including Premier Horgan & Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy:

To whom it may concern,

I am appalled that the province has not fulfilled its responsibility to adequately engage Indigenous Nations & the public at large RE. Pest Management Plan 18597-40/2022-27 proposed by BCTS for the Sea to Sky & Chilliwack Natural Resource Districts on unceded Stó:lō, St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh territories.

"Given the complexity & potential severity of these issues, 30 days is simply not enough time for members of our communities to be adequately engaged & provide feedback." - Excerpt from the letter written by Angelina Hopkins Rose, St̓át̓imc First Nations member

Glyphosate, currently under federal review, is an especially controversial chemical herbicide that is the subject of ongoing lawsuits for potential cancer links.

The potential impacts of this plan are immense & likely to jeopardize local food & medicine sources for Indigenous communities, as well as all wilderness areas:

"The broad-leaf plant species that BC Timber Sales proposes to target with glyphosate, triclopyr & Formula 40 include salmonberry, huckleberry, thimbleberry, elderberry, salal, red raspberry, blueberry, mushrooms, Indian Hellebore, Devil’s club, fireweed.. These are all culturally significant plants & medicines that local Indigenous peoples have harvested & relied upon for thousands of years. Targeting these native plants will have serious negative impacts on local Indigenous peoples, local wildlife, & wild salmon." - Excerpt from the letter written by Angelina Hopkins Rose, St̓át̓imc First Nations member

The protection & recovery of forests, including fire & drought-resistant species like broadleaf trees, must be an integral part of any strategy to mitigate climate change impacts.

The B.C. NDP government has pledged to undertake a “paradigm shift” for forest management, specifically to value ecological & community values above timber values. The continued spraying of chemicals, especially without due public dialogue or transparency, is the very antithesis to this commitment.

Signed,

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

Update Sept. 20th:  important FB post by the knowledgeable Taryn Skalbania:

Taryn Skalbania

17 h  · 

Did you sign this yet? https://www.intotheweedsimpact.com/...

INTOTHEWEEDSIMPACT.COM

Into the Weeds Impact - Home

Official film site for Into the Weeds and information about the ban against glyphosate

Help save BC bears: Protect bear dens!

Through Sierra Club BC's important campaign to save our bears by calling for long-overdue protection of their essential Old-growth dens for winter hibernation,  I wrote this letter [cc'd to relevant Govt. ministers/ decision-makers] using SC's tools -- & you can too, at this link:  

Call on B.C. to enact legal protection for bear dens - Sierra Club BC

[MY LETTER:]

As a born-&-raised BCer, I'm extremely disturbed about the ongoing destruction of bear dens across the province.

A century of old-growth logging has dramatically reduced the number of bear dens across B.C.  Bears desperately need our help -- as does all biodiversity -- while these CRIMES of Clearcutting &  Old-growth logging continue!!

Bear dens are nurseries – safe places to give birth & survive the winter.  Logging these sanctuaries puts the lives of bears & the many beings who depend on them at risk. 

The fact that we still have no province-wide legal protection for bear dens is a shocking policy gap that should have been resolved years ago -- & aligns with the Together for Wildlife strategy implementation work currently underway.  (So you say - but why should we believe you?) 

In 2020, Premier Horgan promised to implement all recommendations made by the Old Growth Review Panel, including to “declare conservation of ecosystem health & biodiversity of BC’s forests as an overarching priority, & enact legislation that legally establishes this priority for all sectors.” 

Protecting bear dens is a small step the B.C. government can take immediately to catch up on the promised paradigm shift in forest stewardship.  It's simply critical that this is done NOW, in time for the coming denning season. 

Everyone can agree that protecting bears’ homes is necessary for their long-term wellbeing.  So please -- download & implement this applicable Sierra-Club BC report today:

https://sierraclub.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/ELC-Report-on-Protecting-Bear-Dens-2022.pdf. 

Thank you very much.