My Letter to BC Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar 'et al'

 

As someone who is deeply concerned about the dangerous direction of the BC Govt & MSM vis-a-vis the perilous state of BC's globally-rare rainforest ecosystems, I wrote the following letter in support of a (Govt-promised) Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health law - via the locally-based non-profit Neighbours United.  ( Be sure to add your name to their related petition at this link:  Add your name - Defend our home - Neighbours United )  Here's my letter: 

Dear Ministers Neill, Parmar and Premier Eby,

As a born & bred BCer I've been advocating for biodiversity & ecosystem protection for literally years, having learned firsthand the heart-sinking outcomes of govt. policies that blatantly ignore Science & give logging ops free rein to wipe out whole wildlife habitats with frighteningly efficient clearcutting, spraying with deadly chemicals & other last-century industrial norms that should be banned by now.

In Maple Ridge, the latest result of your govt's inaction sticks out like an open wound:  a giant clearcut adjacent to Dewdney Trunk Rd that's suddenly eliminated an entire stretch of forest - along with all its Climate-protecting/ wildlife-sustaining assets - just in time for summer (/'fire season').  Making the drive is now a torturous reminder of your govt's dereliction of duty that allowed this to happen ON YOUR WATCH..

So my worries for BC's future have only intensified, seeing the (predicted & well-warned) disastrous effects of govt's reckless doubling-down on egregious status-quo 'Talk-and-log' hypocrisy serving corporate profits over BCers' best interests AS ELECTED PUBLIC SERVANTS!

As such, you must be aware of the dangerous ongoing drought emergency across BC - directly caused & exacerbated by harmful ecocidal policies furthered by your govt.  And I shouldn't have to remind you of pre-election promises to apply the Old-growth Strategic Review report's recommendations for forestry reforms - marked 'URGENT' with good reason, i.e. per scientists' findings commissioned by your govt!  ON TOP OF good-faith election declarations to legislate Species At Risk protection within B.E.H.F. (Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health Framework)??

Reneging on these measures in favour of inaction is a huge betrayal by your govt. -  UNACCEPTABLE IN FACT!   It's as if we've been abandoned - denied decision-making rights+++ - by glib officials who openly pander to U.S./ multi-nat'l/ billionaire corporate lobbyists:  NOT what BC needs or wants!  No wonder your corrupt Conservative 'opponents' have gained undue support from gullible BCers who are understandably disappointed by your obvs. lack of caring or leadership.

The only way to make this right is to honour your intentions & prioritize B.C.'s globally-rare natural ecosystems, now & in future, by getting back to work on 'Just Transition':  finalizing legislation of BC's Species at Risk act, applying the OldGrowth Strategic Review recommendations & ratifying our urgently-needed B.E.H.F. laws = PROVEN SOLUTIONS for a thriving future.  Making deals with U.S. billionaires tied to Trump's resource-grabbing sweeps are NOT THE WAY TO MAKE CANADA STRONG!

I must also strongly suggest you put new rules in place that restrict the corrupting influence of corporate lobbyists on govt law-making, by limiting their unaccountable access to MPs' official duties.

Thank you very much,

[SaRah ChesTeRman]

Umpteenth plea to SAVE BC's FORESTS

Yup I was pushed --again-- to pen another impassioned plea to the BC Govt to save our priceless forest ecosystems -- which are dwindling disastrously due to cont'd CLEARCUT LOGGING:  THE major cause of worsened Climate catastrophes like the insane wildfires we saw this past summer!  No hyperbole needed - all is 100% verifiable.  You too can customize your own message, via https://sierraclub.bc.ca

                   Pic by me:

My fave old-growth

forest grove in BC

Dear Minister Ralston and Premier Eby, 

The 3-year anniversary of your govt's promises to implement all 14 recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Report has come & gone without meaningful measures taken.  This is unacceptable, since the extreme Climate impacts of 2023 -- & cont'd clearcut logging -- have further imperiled BC's communities & globally-rare rainforest ecosystems.

It's now crystal-clear that protecting BC's last intact unlogged primary, old-growth & mature forests is crucial to maintain natural carbon sinks, reduce Climate impacts & protect biodiversity that depends on these ecosystems.

Yet your govt. has stalled progress on the most fundamental, urgent calls to action -- eg. petitioning the federal govt NOT to issue an Emergency Order to save the last critically endangered Spotted Owl in the Spuzzum watershed (!) -- & instead allowed catastrophic clearcutting of its essential habitat, highlighting your govt's sinister true intentions.      

* * * *

The double whammy of industrial logging & Climate impacts means our iconic forests -- i.e. the ecosystems that draw tourists from all over to experience "Super, Natural BC" -- are fast shrinking, while industrially-degraded forests become parched 'dead zones' that fuel fast-spreading wildfires & jeopardize whole communities as well as entire wild foodchains. 

All so logging corps can keep reaping their outsize profits while denying BCers our Constitution-backed rights to benefit from & steward these irreplaceable LIVING LEGACIES, without which our lives will drastically decline.

* * * *

Your govt. ought to resign 'en masse' for its cont'd failure/refusal to protect the public's interests!

* * * *

In just 50 years much of the interior’s once-bountiful forests are gone, with horrendous consequences for endangered wildlife species such as woodland caribou, who need all that the forest contains, & where a “low-quality” tree for lumber is the highest-quality tree for lichen, without which caribou cannot survive.

The additional forest losses associated with Climate change & its role in fueling more prolonged & intense wildfires, tree-killing droughts, insect attacks & tree diseases, are exacerbating this ecological & economic crisis.

Surely as BC's official representatives in charge of managing our most invaluable (PUBLIC) natural resources on our behalf, you recognize the sheer folly of stubbornly keeping the (obvsly broken, harmful & unfair) status-quo -- along with the urgent need to save what’s left of our critically key forest landscapes!??

By banning ecocidal clearcut logging, protecting & restoring existing forests, & reforming forest practices (for starters), your govt. has the power to fulfill its stewardship responsibilities of supporting critical biodiversity & the health & safety of BC communities!?

* * * *

Therefore I'm calling on you to ACT NOW on your govt's promises to implement aLL 14 Old Growth Strategic Review recommendations, before it becomes even harder to save (once-'Beautiful') BC's life-saving Lungs of the Earth.

The entire world is waiting & watching, in mortal dread of the consequences of cont'd ill-advised corporate ecocide on the futures of those who will inherit the worst of its inevitable disasters:  our kids, & their kids.. & the many priceless benefits BC's native (unlogged & unsprayed) forests bestow on aLL our lives.

Allowing them to be systematically wiped out -- along with their myriad life-sustaining benefits/ biodiversity -- by greedy polluting billionaire corporations (/for export!?) is a crime worse than demolishing the Great Pyramids for the price of their stones:  & one to which your dishonest money-grubbing govt. CANNOT POSSIBLY BE ENTITLED!

Sincerely,  

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

CC: Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Nathan Cullen; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman