By Roy L Hales
British Columbia’s Ministry of Forests said the first cutback the in the Walbran Valley is only 3.2 hectares large. It is to be heli-logged, not clearcut. The province is protecting over 30,300 hectares in old growth management areas in the South Island Natural Resource District. The map on the top of this page shows what they did not say, why the Walbran is important.
Continue reading Why The Walbran Is ImportantBy Roy L Hales
According to a press release from the Wilderness Committee, the Union of BC municipalities (UBCM) has passed resolutions calling for the province to rescind the Order in Council that excluded Site C dam reservoir lands from the Agricultural Land Reserve and refer the project to the BC Utilities Commission. Both resolutions pertain to actions Premier Christy Clark’s government undertook to bypass supposedly independent provincial agencies. While neither are legally binding, UBCM told the Province to Stand Down over Site C.
Continue reading UBCM told the Province to Stand Down over Site COn September 18th BC’s Ministry of Forests gave Teal Jones approval to start logging in what is believed to be one of Canada’s most important stands of unprotected old-growth rain-forest. The Walbran Valley, on Vancouver Island, contains some of the nation’s oldest and largest red cedar and sitka spruce trees. Teal Jones has applied to log eight cutbacks. So far, they have only been permission to log a 3.2 hectare section known as Cutblock 4424. Yet when you consider the role that trees have fighting Climate Change, how does BC defend logging the Walbran?
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Forests provided most of the answers that follow.
By Roy L Hales
British Columbia’s environmental community has been calling upon the provincial government to set aside plans to log in the Walbran Valley for months. The city of Victoria joined the chorus in July, passing a motion against this project. Everyone appears to have believed the Walbran was an old growth forest. Yet on September 18th, BC gave Teal Jones approval to start logging the first cutblock. Now, as the Surrey based logging company prepares to commence operations, the existence of an old growth forest grove in cutblock 4424 has been documented.
Continue reading An Old Growth Forest Grove In Cutblock 4424By Roy L Hales
Though the numbers are still far from what is being reported in European cities like Copenhagen, more and more British Columbians are adopting bicycles as their principal form of transportation. According to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Transportation, 25,115 cyclists participated in Bike to Work Week in 2014. A large number of them were in one city. Cycling is Vancouver’s fastest growing transportation sector.
Continue reading Vancouver’s Fastest Growing Transportation Sector
