iT's time 2 UNLearn the BS & ReFResh..
Showing posts with label SaveBCForests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SaveBCForests. Show all posts

February 10, 2024

My input on BC's 'B.E.H.F.' draft - Spring 2024



Here's my official input on the draft BC Biodiversity & Ecosystems Health Framework - to be finalized in Spring 2024.  If you care about saving BC's (fast-dwindling, due to clearcut logging & overdevelopment) wildlife habitats -- & who doesn't -- please write to the BC Govt to let them know your views (though the deadline has passed, it wasn't well publicized).  I've included the Ministry's reply below it)


To: biodiversity.ecosystemhealth


Ministry of Water, Land & Resource Stewardship (Ministry of WLRS)


Re:  DRAFT B.C. BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM HEALTH FRAMEWORK

.

Please include this letter as my input on your well-intentioned Biodiversity (BEHF) framework currently before us.


I had a whole lengthy, carefully researched & well-worded essay -- on which I'd spent hours compiling, duly including points as recommended by the hard-working eco-orgs of which I am a member & remembering to commend your Govt's upstanding efforts in drafting the BEHF.


But I've deleted it, recognizing my optimism felt entirely false -- & my well-considered arguments were mostly repeats of other heartfelt letters I've directed to your offices 'ad infinitum', ever since your BC-NDP Govt was elected in 2017 on promises of Climate action & --yes-- protection of our invaluable ecosystems against Big-Industry extractive pipelines & projects that your leader(s) vehemently denounced & vowed to oppose "using all the tools available"... or some such pre-election hype from your party's promo toolbox..


And it's been one giant disappointment after another observing the reality of your Govt's non-progress on aLL its avowed plans/ promises on Climate action -- ESP. your constant scathing & very vocal derision of the newly-hated Clark-led Liberals, amid non-stop claims that the BC-NDP were different & would overturn the Libs' reckless pro-pollution policies & champion publicly-clamored Climate action instead, like heroes!


How wrong we've been to keep hoping for a sign that our love of, & pride in, "Super, Natural" BC's clean waters, iconic wildlife habitats & globally-rare ancient forests was shared (& protected) by our new Govt!


Instead, despite overwhelming growing public support for fresh new nature-restoring -- desperately-needed -- paradigms of Climate-balancing/ forest-protecting/ wildlife-conserving laws & policies that brought hope for a better, more sustainable future (bolstered by many letters of encouragement to 'do the right thing') your Govt has squandered each & every opportunity to make good on your promised intentions for ecosystems.


Even as evidence of -- & public demos/ protests/ opposition to -- irreversible harms of your pro-BigIndustry stance compounded (which you are finally -- belatedly -- addressing in this BEHF) your party has violated its own newly-adopted UNDRIP laws by fast-tracking clearcut logging (=decimation of our most beneficial & biodiverse primary forests) & fragmented threatened wildlife habitats.  


Your Govt is also to blame for -- but won't admit -- extinction of our last rare Spotted Owls by permitting logging of habitat that should have been protected at all costs.  You've also backed RCMP-led armed raids against indigenous land-defenders' rightful opposition to CGL & TMX violations of their hereditary rights & title.. to the extreme point of violently arresting them & overturning previously-hard-won legal recognition of their hereditary land rights..


More recently, your Govt had the gall to stand by & do nothing for the Fairy Creek forest protectors who were -- shockingly -- criminalized by a judge for their non-violent & publicly-backed defence of an important & beloved old-growth watershed from being unlawfully wiped off the map:  a crime against these Climate-balancing C02-sinking eco-heroes, the best of which still stand unprotected against loggers, thanks to your inaction..


Notably, one of those selfless Fairy Creek defenders is a member of the upstanding Green party (an admirable org. whose generosity & leadership aided your party's political ambitions by legitimising election promises to save old-growth in 2020).


If these caring, committed eco-activists & FN land defenders continue to be shamed for their lawful pro-Nature activism, we'll know for sure just how fraudulent your Govt's BEHF intentions are..


Meanwhile, delaying any beneficial Climate/ eco-measures (& publicly claiming otherwise -- in pricey TV ads touting NON-EXISTENT 'CLIMATE CAPTURE' TECH no less!) has pushed BC's biodiversity/ natural habitats to the very brink of Climate disaster.. & many of your already-approved extractive nightmares have yet to be built!  If/ when they're up & running, if your govt continues allowing these reckless new monuments to rising emissions --  eg. Site 'C' dam, LNG (fracked-gas) development, clearcut logging/ old-growth destruction, Ingerbelle expansion, Blackwater Gold mine, to name but a few -- the colossal damage to biodiversity & ecosystems will be locked in & unmitigated -- ALL ON YOUR WATCH.


So you see, as an informed citizen -- & a Vegan -- I cannot find it in me to commend yet another of your Govt's claims of Climate action/ intentions, since from the start you have repeatedly dismissed/ ignored public calls to action & instead made decisions that:

(A.) SERVE the interests of extractive & polluting corporations, not citizens; 

(B.) DEFY our right to clean air/ water & (govt-pledgd) Climate action; 

(C.) FAIL to meet our Climate goals;

(D.) ADD TO ever-climbing GHGs; 

(E.) DRIVE erosion, flooding, wildfires+++;

(F.) SABOTAGE communities' resilience.


Biologists, ecologists, experts & locals agree:  BC's iconic wildlife is extirpating at alarming rates due to worsening fires/ habitat loss from cont'd clearcut logging & overdevelopment.. as well as the lack of a (promised) proper 'Species At Risk' law.  Science-advised transformative changes are long overdue, yet your Govt's inaction - while siding with polluters - is V worrying. 


I am hoping against hope that this new 'Framework' WILL result in actual, permanent protection of our most at-risk & invaluable old-growth ecosystems with the most threatened wildlife.  But I find it hard to trust a Govt that operates so dishonestly & fails its duties to those who pay your salaries.  That resembles dereliction of your sworn duties, which I cannot pretend to respect or support.


*  *  *  *


One pending disaster in the works I feel duty-bound to mention is the Zincton Resort, proposed for the heart of BC's Inland Temperate Rainforest.  At stake, for starters, is the survival of at least 185 known species at risk in BC’s under-protected Inland Rainforest.


The whole area is prime grizzly bear & mountain goat habitat, which this massive unsustainable development would forever fragment & disable by its sprawling size alone.


At this critical point, ONLY clean-energy/ habitat-restoring/ low-footprint/ off-grid/ renewably-run/ sustainable/ zero-waste projects should even be considered now.  Zincton Resort is none of the above -- its proposal outlines a high-traffic, heavy-footprint, high-profit all-season outfit (1,200+ guests daily!) with NO PLANS to benefit/ enhance/ honor local biodiversity/ ecology/ wildlife:  NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!


The Zincton area is one of BC's few wildlife havens left, home to grizzly bears, cariboo, mountain goats & other native species that NEED large tracts of intact wilderness to survive - & keep away from communities, to prevent more "nuisance bears" from being killed.  Noone wants that.


I - & almost everyone I know - vote for the bears++ to stay, & for projects like Zincton Resort to die before they drive more wildlife to extinction & add more GHGs to our ever-rising emissions (= the very last thing we need now!) 


TXA wildlife impact assessment by registered professional biologist & grizzly bear expert Wayne McCrory has found that the project will significantly diminish, and could eventually wipe out, three provincially blue-listed species: grizzly bears, mountain goats & wolverines. Western toads would also suffer increased mortalities.  This is wholly unacceptable in today's changing climate:  we can, & must, do better!


*  *  *  *


Wolves are another imperiled & unfairly maligned wild species, thanks to misguided (& harmful) 'culling' (= killing) programs implemented by your Govt.  Yet wolves are an important keystone species that help balance ecosystems & biodiversity.  Please watch the documentary 'Return of the Wolves' (2005) which details the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park, a landmark conservation project in the 1990s aimed at restoring natural balance in the park's ecosystem.  The film explores the ecological significance of wolves as apex predators & how their presence has benefitted many species & the landscape itself. As most conservationists agree, CULLING IS NEVER THE ANSWER.  I'd add, it's an embarrassment to your Govt's declared biodiversity goals to continue such cruel & unnecessary barbarism - not to mention hypocrisy.


*  *  *  *


CLEARCUTTING has turned vast areas of BC into dried-out fire accelerant, incLuding our globally rare primary forests - which instead of being protected as they should, continue to be logged & exported to provide PELLETS FOR BURNING FUEL OVERSEAS!! (For example) This unsustainable industry violates all eco-laws & undermines our every effort to save irreplaceable ecosystems, & must end ASAP.


Unknown to most, your Govt continues to issue permits & allow proposals for industrial extraction projects deemed (by ecosystem/ wildlife experts, scientists etc.) to worsen the size/ spread of wildfires & further degrade wildlife habitats.  That the threatened Spotted Owl habitat in Spuzzum was logged instead of protected at all costs, is just one example of extreme malfeasance re. Biodiversity's shrinking habitats driving extinction - proof that both fed & prov Govts have been derelict in their duties to uphold their duties as stewards.  In the end, the onus is on honest Govt leadership to enact the proper expert-advised measures - without polluting corps' vested lobbying input - that will preserve & restore our globally-rare natural ecosystems for generations to come.  The alternatives - worsened degradation, drought & extirpation of our most valuable natural sustainers - are unthinkable.  And unnecessary.  We can do this -- but only with your genuine commitment to renewed good stewardship.


*  *  *  *


One more crucial point:  as a result of BC's increasingly disastrous, record fires - eg. last summer (2023) - long-burning & widespread due to clearcut logging/  spraying cutblocks with toxic glyphosate/ replanting monoculture conifers solely for harvest (& largely preventable by policies akin to what this BEHF draft purports to address) there exist across BC MASSES OF NOW-BURNT TIMBER in degraded ecosystems.  New enforceable laws under this plan should require logging co's to prioritize harvest of these burnt stands before any more intact forests are cut.  AND such operations must be carried out within 2 years of those fires to have any effect.  THIS of course falls under the revive/restore part of this new BEHF initiative.


*  *  *  *


To end this input on a (somewhat) optimistic note for the future of BC's biodiversity/ ecosystems, I'll draw your attention to the ironic ease, efficiency & speed with which legislation banning plastic straws was implemented - the widespread success of which surely proves:  our efforts as individuals on the Climate/ extinction crisis are only effective if bolstered by an accountable & transparent Govt that is not afraid to take charge & make the changes needed to dispel corruption & bring about the better future we ALL deserve & desire!?


The alternatives - incl. Honing same-old backward last-decade concepts/ dinosaurs; degrading, ecocidal, extractive, perpetual-growth & wasteful economies - will only bring more destruction, hopelessness & misery.  Please do the right thing & (finally) PUT THIS PLAN IN ACTION, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE TO SAVE OUR BELOVED NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS & THE BIODIVERSITY WHOSE SURVIVAL IMPLICITLY DEPENDS ON OUR STEWARDSHIP NOW:  let's not let them down! (Please?)


Thank you very much,

Sarah M. Chesterman


AND here's the emailed response I received:


Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health WLRS:EX

Feb 2, 2024, 12:50 PM (8 days ago)
Reply
to me

Hi Sarah,

 

Thank you for your email and for taking the time to provide input on the draft B.C. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (‘Framework’). The input received will support the work to finalize the draft Framework and inform planning for implementation. Once the Framework is finalized, it will be released publicly along with an implementation plan.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Biodiversity and Ecosystems Branch

Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship

July 28, 2021

My letter to Premier Horgan..

(Via Conservation North's tool - here, so you can write too:  LETTER re. OLD-GROWTH FORESTS)


It's time to act for BC’s primary & old growth forests, some of the world's most important rainforest ecosystems & critical wildlife habitats.  Your govt. won a majority on promises to abide by your OldGrowth Panel's deadlines, & your delay is proving catastrophic..


BC's intact living primary forests have dwindled down to critical levels due to a century & a half of Govts' appropriation of sacred lands inhabited & used by 1st Nations for centuries.  Notably, at inception BC's forests were largely intact & teeming with biodiversity.


What's happened since is Forestry's continual wipeout by logging corps of entire swathes of BC's most precious 'Lungs of the Earth' -- i.e. our oldest living forests -- for the low-balled value of their marketable "timber":   A TRAGIC LOSS of priceless eco-benefits that virtually guarantees BC's failure to mitigate climate change-!?


Only in the last 3/4 decades have the BC govt's dire Natural Resource policies  come to light, & they hardly embody Canada's Constitutional stewardship needs.  But despite steadily-growing heartfelt opposition to BC's disastrous logging practices (ie. clearcutting), successive govts have charged forward in blind ignorance of its public & of science's best info.


Your govt has claimed to  better previous govts re. eco-improvements/ laws that protect BC's best assets & give communities false hope of Climate Action, with vows to "support" our vital forests & nice-sounding words like "decolonization" -- & even promises to implement the "paradigm shift" called for by your own Old Growth Panel -- yet our forests continue to be felled at such a sickeningly sped-up pace (backed by BC's Supreme Court as proof) that makes it clear your govt still supports logging corps' rapacious & unending greed/speed to KILL our ONLY natural climate protectors/C02 sinks.. i.e. FAILURE


Your govt could have begun to 'Build Back Better' by keeping your promises to implement the Old Growth Panel's forward-thinking recommendations - of which protecting Old Growth is KEY to Building Back Better & protecting all BCers' best interests!?


Failing those basic steps is disastrous enough.  But claiming otherwise in the name of reconciliation, WHILE forcing impoverished 1st Nations to participate in egregious clearcut wipeouts of their once-lush & proud great stands (whose pristine abundance had testified to deep native knowledge/ skills  capable of LEADING a renewable industry rooted in nature-based longevity) is grossly unacceptable!  


We will not win unless ALL remaining intact old growth ecosystems are left intact!


The best & newest science agrees:  industrial logging in BC is unsustainable -- & V. worrying, with resultant 'hotspots' causing critical biodiversity loss, droughts & other climate disasters.  Tho less than 10% of BC's old growth forests remain, most are slated to be logged -- which puts aLL of BC (if not the entire biosphere) in jeopardy..


Deforestation exacerbates human errors/weaknesses in this climate Emergency -- eg. Our emissions keep rising & adding to global warming.  In coming months/years, your actions TODAY will define our future -- & being 1 of few 'green' (forested) refuges left on Earth, we wait.. (but the safety-net a Just Transition to sustainability can give us NOW, cannoT!)


Old-growth forests, despite scientists' best efforts/R&D to invent effective C02 sequestration, are still the most -- no, the ONLY -- effective C02 sinks known to humankind. Allowing them to be cleared -- & our multi-billion$ eco-tourist industry to die out along with Old-Growth's threatened biodiversity -- is a sure suicide/ SPECIESCIDE we just cannot afford..


Please SEE how many educated BCers are choosing to be arrested rather than allow our last OldGrowth elders/ lifeboats to be logged like so much wood!? Then fire Katrine Conroy & save our best trees' lives (it's only fair!)


You yourself have said our ancient forests are "worth more standing" -- & you're right:   i.e. Keeping their entirety alive & intact is CRITICAL to mitigating biodiversity loss/ climate change, providing clean air/water, capturing/storing vast amounts of atmospheric C02, regulating ground/ surface water flow, preventing  fires/ floods: the list goes on & on of Old-Growth's uniquely timely qualities:  our living SAVIOURS, which you & (appare only ½) your govt want to deny us/ the world!? 


Right now, BC communities are seeing & feeling the deadly, direct effects of decades of destruction of these MOST IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEMS.  Yet status quo clearcuts & extraction continue apace!!? & Fairy Creek forest defenders are still being arrested -- proving your govt. is stalling on real Climate Action, with an old-school pro-logging puppet of a Forestry Minister dooming us all to a future of fire & Hell & orphaned investments:  WHY!!? 


At this point, clearing our last intact ancient forests equals the stupidity of demolishing the Great Pyramids for the value of their stones-!!?  (Actually worse, given our ancient forests' invaluable benefits that ensure successful outcomes for us all).  It's up to you & your govt. to intervene NOW with actual laws that protect BC's oldest wettest forests:  our globally-unique temperate rainforests, the giants of global Just Recovery, Beautiful BC heritage, Climate Action & so much more..


The world needs these key forests as much as we do, having cleared most of their own indigenous H²0-/ 0²-supplying forests long ago (which they doubtless regret, having become drought-ridden deserts like the others:  Iran, Iraq, Australia, California.. Brazil..?)


Isn't it time you & your govt SHOW US that you actually care, & have the integrity to do what's right -- for our kids' (& their kids') futures, if nothing else? 


Even industry pro's know climate change is real -- with insurance pull-outs from TMX just the start of the REAL recovery from Colonial oppression's ugly hold on our destinies.  YOU & YOUR GOVT. can put us on top (with our friends Old-Growth) oR doom us to the bottom of a bitumen spill -- but either way, change is coming.. & it won'T be kind to the culprits of Climate's/ Nature's downfall:  ie. polluters & their champions..


Thank you Premier Horgan, for hearing input from one whose family's dedication to the NDP ended with me, as I'm young/old enough to see only eco-INaction from your party, which i can't condone.. (I trust you understand)


Sincerely from my heart,

February 24, 2019

The UGLY REALiTy of TMX [Trans MounTain pipeline]

Being Canadian is a virtual EMBARRASSMENT these days, as we suffer thru an obnoxious new round of irresponsible media - even TV ads! - advocating the [polluting & uneconomical] 'benefits' of constructing the Trans-Mountain pipeline in BC - as if the deadly risks did not exist..

Au contraire, these advertisers are Clearly operating unethically, selling false & misleading - biased & unbased - pro-industry BS to a largely misinformed target market, obfuscating the realities of this TMX Pipeline's intended purpose & belying their own selfish interests & excluding serious, valid concerns - including inherent byproducts like eco-destruction/ poisonous waste which are taxing ecosystems to the max..
  
YES the indisputable science of the impacts of industry on the ecological balance that sustains us pRoves we humans hold the decisive cards of our destiny - ie. We made the mess we're in - severely disrupting the eco-balance which sustains all life on Earth - so we must fix it.. NOT by green-lighting disasters like Site C Dam & AB Oilfields expansion or by subsidizing polluting gigs like LNG, but by legislating protection of our air/ ecosystems/ forests/ waters & transitioning to science-based renewable, sustainable ops in all sectors..

Ie. WE MUST SOW WHAT WE REAP! =ECoLogy 101 

Only those who are paid by polluting industries are [still] denying the facts of Climate Change, tho they must witness firsthand the havoc wreaked by their polluting activities over time!?  Money may make ignorance bliss - for those without a conscience - but the cost of valuing money over Nature risks our FUTURE & WELL-BEING for the short-term wealth of a selfish few..

[GOVTs MUST QUIT GIVING GREEDY CORPS LICENSES 2 KILL - cuz they will!]

Canada's once-lush diversity, forests, waters & thriving agriculture are being threatened by accelerating eco-imbalances/ extinction/ overproduction furthered  by ongoing Govt approval of destructive/ polluting projects instead of financing/ incentivising eco-smart outfits, transitioning to renewable zero-waste energy & properly reducing our C02/GHG counts!?

Where's ouR Govt's progressive legislation ensuring, @ the very least, protection of our most critically important carbon sinks - eg. BC's overlogged ancient old-growth forests [approximately only 3% of which remains unlogged] & our most vulnerable wildlife - eg. Orcas, whose extinction would be imminent if bitumen/oil were to spill into BC's coastal waters..


AS for intended plans for the Trans-Mtn pipeline, currently held up in the Courts for failure to seek/obtain 1st Nations' consent, here are the ugly facts:


[from RainforestRescue.org]
Tankers carrying tar sand oil are a serious threat to the habitat of endangered Orcas. Yet Alberta is planning the world's largest open-pit tar sand mine. If realized, it would wipe out 292 square kilometers of forests and wetlands and be a disaster for the climate. Tell Canada to keep tar sand in the ground!
To: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Environment Catherine McKenna
Teck Resources' planned Frontier Tar Sand Mine would be an ecological disaster with a global impact..
The pipelines needed to export tar sand oil are environmental disasters waiting to happen: the Trans Mountain Pipeline crosses the Rocky Mountains to British Columbia’s Pacific coast. Oil spills are virtually pre-programmed, and a tanker accident could devastate the coastline and the habitat of 75 endangered orcas.
Further inland, the tar sand mining industry is turning swathes of northern Alberta, Canada, into a wasteland: Forests are being felled to make way for open-pit mines. Tailing ponds contain water laden with heavy metals. Refineries pollute the air.
Tar sand oil is the world's dirtiest fossil fuel, and extracting and refining it requires far greater amounts of energy than conventional oil. This project would make a mockery of Canada’s commitment to protect the climate – leaving it in the ground is the only sane option.
UNESCO is alarmed by the prospect of the mine: the guardians of World Heritage Sites see grave danger for Wood Buffalo National Park at the mouth of Athabasca River. The river is already polluted by existing oil sand mines and its condition would become much worse.
Local people are also impacted by the environmental destruction. The Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations reject the project and have declared the land north of Firebag River to be a no-go area. This has not stopped the mining company from running roughshod over the rights of the indigenous peoples.
An official hearing for the pipeline project is currently in progress. Together with our Canadian partners, we want to bring international pressure to bear against the dirtiest fossil fuel on the planet. Please sign our petition: Tell the Canadian government to keep tar sand in the ground!

Teck Resources' planned Frontier Tar Sand Mine would be an ecological disaster with a global impact..
@

January 8, 2018

UEGENT CALL TO ACTION: SAVE BC's ENDANGERED OLD-GROWTH FORESTS!




From our friends at Ancient Forest Alliance: ACTION ALERT: Support Expanded Protection of the Endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem in British Columbia!

Link here:  https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/action-alert-support-expanded-protection-of-the-endangered-coastal-douglas-fir-ecosystem-in-british-columbia/
Please take just a couple minutes to WRITE to the BC government, telling them you support their proposal to expand protections in the endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem on Vancouver Island and in the Gulf Islands!
The BC government is seeking the public’s input on their proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem protected on public (Crown) lands on Vancouver Island’s southeast coast and in the southern Gulf Islands.
The Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) ecosystem is home to the highest number of species at risk in BC, including Garry oak trees, sharp-tailed snakes, alligator lizards, and Vancouver Island screech owl and pygmy owl subspecies. With less than four percent of the region’s ecosystems currently protected by the province, the proposed protection measures are greatly needed and are a significant step forward, although by themselves are not sufficient to halt the loss of biodiversity from the region.
The BC government is proposing to protect 21 parcels of public land in Bowser, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose Bay, Gabriola Island, Ladysmith, Galiano Island, and Saltspring Island. The proposed new protected areas total 1,125 hectares and expands upon a similar process in 2010 that resulted in the issuance similar land use orders, which protected 2,024 hectares of public lands on southeast Vancouver Island the Sunshine Coast.
See:https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/TASB/SLRP/southisland/CDFAmendment.html
Please write to the BC government until Monday, January 15th 2018, to express your support for this proposal and for greater protection of the Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem.
Email your written comments toCDFOrderAmendment2017@gov.bc.ca and Cc Forest Minister Doug Donaldson at FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca and Environment Minister George Heyman at env.minister@gov.bc.ca.
Tell them:
  1. You support the BC government’s full proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) ecosystem protected on Crown lands through their proposed Land Use Orders.
  2. In addition, you also support the creation of a provincial land acquisition fund, which would allow the BC government to purchase and protect private lands of high conservation or recreational values to establish new protect areas in the CDF ecosystem and across BC. Because private lands constitute the vast majority of the region, this fund is needed to ensure the sufficient protection of the CDF ecosystem.
  3. You recommend they read the report Finding the Money to Buy and Protect Natural Lands by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre, which details over a dozen mechanisms used in jurisdictions across North America to raise funds for protecting land (found online here:http://www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FindingMoneyForParks-2015-02-08-web.pdf).
  4. You would like the province to consider a third phase of similar land use order protections on additional Crown lands in the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem.
*Be sure to include your full name and address so that they know you are a real person.
More details:
https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/action-alert-support-expanded-protection-of-the-endangered-coastal-douglas-fir-ecosystem-in-british-columbia/
See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s media release about the proposed expansion of Coastal Douglas-Fir zone protections at: http://ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1162