Tag Archives: Garry Merkel

Forests

Mosaic defers logging of old-growth on Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii

By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

British Columbia’s largest private landowner, Mosaic Forest Management, is halting logging in nearly 100,000 acres of old-growth forest for the next 25 years.

The forestry company announced the deferral on March 16 and said it’s transitioning to a carbon credit program, which is expected to generate several hundred million dollars in revenue. 

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Environment, Forests, Indigenous Nations

Do clearcuts contribute to BC’s flooding?

By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Thousands of British Columbians remain displaced following a series of devastating floods and landslides that have swallowed highway roads and entire cities in the southern part of the province.

The floods prompted British Columbia to declare its third state of emergency this year on Nov. 17. The devastation was triggered by an atmospheric river that carried rainfall two times the average amount within a 72-hour period.

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Forests, Indigenous Nations, Justice

The Last stand: Fairy Creek

By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Port Renfrew, BC – After over a decade of documenting B.C.’s last remaining old-growth ecosystems, TJ Watt said he hadn’t come across anything quite like the grove of red cedars hidden in the upper reaches of the Caycuse watershed, near Port Renfrew.

“It was truthfully one of the most stunning old-growth forests I’ve been in,” said the co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “The sheer volume of giant cedars was mind-blowing – every direction you looked was another 10 to 12-foot-wide ancient cedar that could be 800 years old, or older.”

When he returned later that year in 2020, only their stumps remained.

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