Campbell River Mirror, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Who is keeping an eye on the forests? That’s a question that environmental groups have been asking ever since COVID-19 put limitations on all major watchdog activities. As logging continues amidst COVID-19 lockdown, conservationists are worried that there’s no one around to monitor old growth forest logging on North Vancouver Island.
Continue reading Old Growth Forest Logging During COVIDBy Carl Meyer, National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Companies can cut down whole trees to be ground into pellets for fuel if they are “inferior,” says British Columbia’s natural resources ministry, a position that has led to concerns the government is “rebranding” old growth forests as low-quality in order to justify logging them.
Continue reading Whole Trees Ground Into Pellets For FuelOn Saturday March 14th, the monthly Cortes Currents news/talk show featured an interview with Mark Lombard, contract manager for the Cortes Forestry General Partnership. This podcast explores what the “Community Forest” is, and how it works. Did you know that CFGP’s license now covers far more hectares of Cortes Island than the MMB/IT/Mosaic license? This and many other interesting details are discussed in our program (such as what “MMB” and “IT” mean).
Continue reading Interview with Mark LombardIf you have been to Rebecca Spit, on Quadra Island, or similar beaches along the B.C. Coast, in the past few stormy days, you likely will have spent more than a few minutes mesmerized, watching as well as listening to logs crashing onto the shore. Has this activity always happened on the B.C. Coast?
If you are a long time resident, perhaps 40+ years, the beach fronts today are significantly different from your early years.
Continue reading Beach Logs Come & GoThe story that follows contains perspectives not necessarily shared by the Cortes Radio Society, its board, staff, volunteers or membership.
On Monday, November 25, 2019, the forest management company Mosaic began shutting down its Vancouver Island harvesting operations because of “very challenging pricing and market conditions.” Approximately 2,000 people – contractors, union and non union workers, are being dismissed “ahead of the usual winter shutdown.” Mosaic plans to “resume harvesting when the market outlook improves,” but some see this as symptomatic of a much larger industry problem. Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee had planned to hold an event in Campbell River’s downtown Community Centre that same day. Two hours before this was to begin, the city of Campbell River cancelled it because of “the number of people anticipated, the strong potential for highly-charged emotion, and lack of time to establish a security plan for this booking.” This morning’s program is about the crises in our forests.
Continue reading The Crises In Our Forests
