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.