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| Photo (from TheNarwhal article): Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program |
Fellow BCers, it's become V. clear our Govt officials ("public servants") CANNOT be trusted to carry out their sworn duties as Stewards of our --globally rare-- ancient 1,000++-yr-old primary forests, as they continue to allow clearcutting & to violate all their Old-Growth agreements --eg. It's been 3 years since Premier Horgan made his election promise to implement their Strategic Old-Growth panel's 14 recommendations, & his Govt has yet to act. The Narwhal recently updated the dire state of Spotted Owl habitat & the case in which Ecojustice, representing the Wilderness Committee, revealed the BC-NDP lobbied to prevent the federal Govt. from issuing an Emergency Order to #EndClearcutLogging to save the Spotted Owl from extinction. Details on that key case here:
Canada’s last wild spotted owl gets its day in court | The Narwhal
Under the link below is my latest appeal to the BC govt - done via Sierra Club BC's letter-writing tool, which you can access to write one of your own at this link:
Tell the B.C. government to accelerate action on old growth protection - Sierra Club BC
Dear Premier Eby & Minister Ralston,
I'm writing to express my utter disappointment in your Government's failure to protect BC's invaluable forests & act on the (urgent) Old-Growth Strategic Report of 3 years ago.
The resulting extreme impacts of continued clearcut logging across BC - as well as driving the last of our endangered Spotted Owl to extinction due to habitat loss - make the urgent need to save our forests impossible to ignore.
You ought to know by now that protecting primary, old-growth & mature forests is our best (if not only) hope to maintain natural carbon sinks, reduce climate impacts & protect the biodiversity that depends on these ecosystems. (Throwing $$ at more useless 'C02 capture' research is a proven waste of taxpayer dollars!)
Dismissing public concerns about worsening Climate catastrophes like wildfires, while continuing to serve the rapacious greed of industry co's, is a dereliction of duty by Govt. This summer's disastrous fires show we're facing an emergency that requires action to resolve!
The only way your Govt can show it cares about BC's communities & people is to DO ITS PART to prevent extreme Climate breakdown from wreaking unmitigated havoc throughout once-named 'Beautiful BC'. Therefore I call on you to:
- Implement all 14 recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Report, on this its milestone 3-year anniversary - IN ADDITION TO:
- Immediately require all logging co's to harvest burned timber before allowing ONE MORE healthy intact forest to be clearcut! (Must be done before the 2-year harvestable deadline).
It's no longer economically feasible to allow the status quo of existing preference given to logging co's over protection of the biodiverse-rich natural ecosystems that provide us all with invaluable services such as clean water, emissions reduction, fire prevention... the list goes on of reasons to protect BC's forests NOW.
Please follow through on your promise of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health Framework legislation, with a clear timeline for at-risk ecosystems & critical species habitat.. PLUS provide transparent, detailed information on ALL BC forestry activity.
Our very survival depends on immediate application of these measures.
Sincerely,
Sarah (Saz) Chesterman
Vancouver, BC
CC: Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Nathan Cullen; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman