Members of a former panel appointed by the British Columbia government to identify and protect old-growth forests in 2021 are now raising serious concerns about ongoing logging activities in these "irreplaceable" areas. The five former panellists state that the deferrals were intended as temporary measures to allow for long-term planning, but this process has not materialized as expected.
According to the panellists, including ecologists Rachel Holt and Karen Price, the province continues to approve logging in forests previously identified as being at high risk of irreversible biodiversity loss. This is happening while long-term management plans remain unfinalized. The document sent to Premier David Eby and other officials warns that "purposely causing extinction is not just a moral failure but also a high economic, ecological and social risk."
Public mapping reveals proposed cut blocks from BC Timber Sales overlapping with ancient and big-treed forests in areas around Nahmint Lake and the Tsitika region on Vancouver Island. The B.C. government had tasked the advisory panel with identifying these at-risk ecosystems following a 2020 strategic review.
While the province announced deferrals for over 350,000 hectares in 2020, the panel's mapping identified 2.6 million hectares. The Forests Ministry notes that First Nations do not currently support deferrals for about half of this area, though they have supported deferrals for 1.1 million hectares and identified an additional 0.9 million as "priorities."
The panellists emphasize that conservation financing has been absent from the deferral discussions, leaving First Nations with limited options. They urge the province to take responsibility for maintaining these forests rather than placing the burden of harvesting decisions solely on First Nations.
The Forests Ministry maintains its focus is on long-term management approaches, including forest landscape planning processes involving First Nations, communities, and industry stakeholders. These plans aim to guide the management of old-growth, biodiversity, climate resilience, and economic opportunities. However, a review of BC Timber Sales initiated by the province concluded that its forest stewardship should align with the old-growth review's guidance, a directive the panellists argue is not being followed.