In-depth piece by Judith Lavoie in The Narwhal on the urgent need for reforms by government to protect BC's old-growth forests:

https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-forests-logging-nine-protected-areas/

Quote from this article:

“The looming threat of climate change is often cited as one of the compelling reasons for protecting what remains of B.C.s old-growth forests.

"A new report commissioned by Sierra Club BC found nine of the 15 climate-related risks identified in B.C.’s 2019 Strategic Climate Risk Assessment are influenced by logging, including water shortages, extreme precipitation and landslides and severe wildfire seasons.

"The government assessment looked at the possible effects of climate change on timber resources but not at how logging increases climate risks to communities. Sierra Club report author Peter Wood, an independent forestry consultant, said he was surprised the B.C. government failed to connect the dots.

“'I was just overwhelmed by how much scientific evidence there is that logging has a direct effect on flooding, on fires, on drought, on heat waves,” Wood told The Narwhal. “And yet nowhere in this otherwise comprehensive report did they even consider the potential that the logging industry was making these risks worse.”

"Many B.C. communities, including Peachland and Grand Forks, have already suffered from flooding and fires because of the impact of logging, yet that was not mentioned in the climate risk assessment, Wood said.”

Photo: TJ Watt

Photo caption: Clearcut logging in the Walbran valley has been highly controversial on Vancouver Island. The Wilderness Committee, which is campaigning for greater protections for the Walbran, estimates clearcutting on Vancouver Island is occurring at the rate of 34 soccer fields per day. Despite calls for protection, the Walbran valley was not included in the deferrals announced by the government in September.