Cape Scott Logging on World Rainforest Day
It is World Rainforest Day and it is time to take action! Today Pacific Wild is voicing concerns about recent clearcutting of old-growth forests near Cape Scott Provincial Park, a beautiful, wildlife-rich area.
In March, Pacific Wild co-founder and conservation advisor, Ian McAllister, discovered the clearcuts while out in the field by following a new logging road on the northern end of Vancouver Island. The extent of the logging was shocking, including ancient trees facing the park. The entire mountain along a creek had been cleared, revealing numerous stumps of monumental red and yellow cedars, some over 1,000 years old.
Although the logging occurred outside the park boundaries and was legally sanctioned, the loss of more ancient forests is keenly felt. Pacific Wild applauds the recent efforts to protect old-growth forests, including the permanent protection of 76,000 hectares in Clayoquot Sound, but maintains that all remaining old-growth forests should be protected from clear cut logging for their rarity and ecological significance.
Canada’s magnificent coastal temperate rainforests have been devastated by industry for years and are not only globally rare, covering less than 1% of the earth’s surface but rare in British Columbia too. Less than less than 1% of British Columbia’s forests are “highly productive old growth,” in other words, the giant, iconic ancient trees that this coast is famous for, and those old groves on Vancouver Island have already been reduced by more than 75%.
Premier Eby has the chance to leave a legacy of protection.
Contact Premier David Eby directly to let him know what you think.
Phone: (250) 387-1715
Email: [email protected]
Find the Global News coverage titled “clearcut discovered near cape scott provincial park” to learn more.
#WorldRainforestDay #BeautifulBritishColumbia #DestinationBC #TourismBC #UnitedForOldGrowth
