Tag Archives: Torrance Coste

Forests

On third anniversary of B.C’s promise to protect old-growth, ancient trees still falling

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Conservation groups are alarmed that endangered old-growth forests continue to fall three years after B.C. promised to protect the ancient ecosystems and transform the province’s approach to forestry.

The province hasn’t fully met any of the 14 recommendations of the 2020 Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR), said Torrance Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee.

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Forests

‘A public relations strategy’: Critics slam B.C’s recent effort to boost transparency on logging

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The B.C. government has announced changes to improve transparency around logging operations, but critics have more questions than answers. 

Due to recent changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act, forestry companies will be required to create a map of proposed logging operations available for public review as of April 1, 2024, according to B.C.’s Ministry of Forests. And the public will be able to offer input on what environmental values should be considered for future logging plans. 

In addition, the province is developing an online mapping system that companies can choose to use to display their map and get public feedback. The system will be fully launched sometime in 2024. 

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Politics

B.C. budget a mixed bag on climate

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

B.C.’s budget viewed through a climate lens got mixed reviews from the province’s environmental and conservation sector following its release Tuesday. 

The province got kudos for bolstering funding for parks and trails for active transportation initiatives to get people out of their cars and on bikes and walking paths. But the budget was panned by those hoping to see a wholesale commitment to the protection of old-growth or urgent, large-scale reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. 

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Forests, Politics

Why the NDP Cleared a Union Local’s Pro-Eby Effort

By Zak Vescera,  The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Vancouver Island union local is behind a letter that sparked an investigation into David Eby’s NDP leadership campaign and complaints  from disqualified rival Anjali Appadurai of a double standard. 

BC NDP chief electoral  officer Elizabeth Cull said she spent weeks investigating the source of  the letter, printed on United Steelworkers’ letterhead, that urged  members to join the NDP to support Eby’s leadership bid. 

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Forests

B.C. failing to meet promised benchmarks to transform old-growth logging

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Two years after pledging to take a new approach to the management of old-growth forests, the B.C. government is failing to make the grade, environmental groups say. 

The province promised to act on 14 recommendations in an independent old-growth strategic review to protect the most at-risk big tree ecosystems while transforming forestry over a three-year period. 

But the NDP government continues to lag on its most urgent and important commitments, and hasn’t completed any recommendations most of the way through the stated timeline, a report card issued by the Wilderness Committee, Sierra Club BC, Stand.earth and Ancient Forest Alliance suggests.

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