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| Me @ Hayward Lake park, by Frank V. |
Here's a letter to Govt. I customized thru Sierra Club BC - & encourage you to write your own, at this link;
Dear Minister Conroy,
RE: PROTECT OUR PRECIOUS FORESTS NOW!
Your govt's announced intentions to protect BC's old-growth forests by deferring logging contracts are a step in the right direction, but recent events have shown we need lasting changes on the ground today, not tomorrow.
The climate crisis is jeopardizing the health & safety of BC's communities -- & clearcut logging is further increasing the likelihood & severity of droughts, erosion, fires, floods & landslides.
Yet your govt can effectively mitigate & prevent these catastrophes before the crisis worsens by protecting endangered old-growth forests, restoring healthy ecosystems & reforming forest management.
Without immediate action, not enough old-growth forests will be left to sustain the web of life, support a diverse economy & limit the climate risks communities across B.C. are facing right now.
As 1 of millions of affected citizens, I demand that you:
- Do your sworn duty & apply the [sizeable] federal grant $$ to its intended purpose of enacting & enforcing BC's long-overdue Species At Risk law, to support threatened wildlife species & their habitats.
- Immediately commit to adequate funding for forestry workers & Indigenous Nations to address the impacts of logging deferrals, as well as conservation financing for effective Science-based solutions.
- Reform B.C. forestry practices & climate adaptation strategies with actual LAWS that PROTECT healthy forest/watershed ecosystems & REDUCE risks of catastrophic climate impacts -- including BANNING harmful clearcutting & spraying of our forests!
- Expedite real engagement with [rightful hereditary] Indigenous decision-makers to implement all recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review, in line with the B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Your govt's woeful inaction on these urgent measures defies all logic. In fact, it's inexcusable that few intact old-growth forests remain standing across BC — & worse, that most are slated to be logged despite clear evidence that these forests are KEY DEFENSES against impacts of the EMERGENCY in our midst.
These deadly impacts promise only to increase in magnitude unless we transition to Nature-restoring sustainability in all sectors now. Time is running out.
Science says so. & Science doesn't lie.
I implore you to do the right thing NOW to save our precious forests -- 'Lungs of the Earth' -- & thereby ensure the health & safety of communities across BC.
Sincerely,
[your name will go here]
[your email address will go here], [your location will go here]
CC: Premier David Eby; Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Nathan Cullen; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman; and my local MLA.