The Port Alberni chapter of the Council of Canadians along with the Ancient Forest Alliance, Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club of BC, Canadian Parks And Wilderness Society, Wilderness Committee, the Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada union and others have called on Island Timberlands and the BC government to immediately cease and desist from logging the endangered old-growth forests of McLaughlin Ridge, one Canada’s most ecologically significant old-growth forests near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.
The statement says in part: “Island Timberland is the second largest private landowner in British Columbia, with over 258,000 hectares of private forest lands in BC. The controversial logging corporation’s rapid cutting of extremely scarce old-growth Douglas-fir forests, high quality ungulate (deer) winter range, and endangered Queen Charlotte goshawk habitat at McLaughlin Ridge risks escalating a wider conflict in the War in the Woods. … Protecting these areas would protect vital habitat for endangered species and Roosevelt elk, deer, and other wildlife; ensure clean and abundant water for fish and drinking watersheds; protect hiking, hunting, fishing, and recreational areas; and would provide huge potential for eco-tourism ventures in the area.”
24 Hours Vancouver reports, “Local MLA Scott Fraser of the BC NDP said the government has ignored its own scientists, who recommended the ungulate habitat not be logged. …The Ministry of Forests said as far as it’s concerned, the land is private and said it was told by Island Timberlands the sensitive area is not being logged.”
A Vancouver Observer news report on this can be read here.
Photos by Ancient Forest Alliance.
