This is a follow-up letter to “Change in Forest Practices Needed Now,” July 29, Pique. I read the March 31, 2021 Synthesis Report “Implementing a Vision (50 Year) for the Forests and Forest Dependent Communities of BC” with great disappointment. The UBC Faculty of Forestry hosted the Vision Summit that involved 70 stakeholders from across the province and I would have hoped the resulting 50 Year Vision would have been accompanied by a substantive action plan and timeline.
The Introduction of the 50 Year Vision states that a goal is that B.C. become “the foremost centre of expertise in conservation, forest management, and advanced forest products process ... in the world.” With our biodiversity under huge pressure new forest management practises need to happen now, not over 50 years.
The Vision states: “A major constraint on all land-use planning, and the proper execution of resource management plans, is the poor quality of forest inventory data in British Columbia. This extends to all aspects of the environment, including wildlife populations, and is partly a result of the spatial extent of the Province.” This task is easily within man’s grasp and the Faculty of Forestry and the B.C. government share the blame for not getting it done over the past 100 years.
One of the most disconcerting statements in the Vision is: “There is a risk associated with cut levels determined exclusively on ecological principles (likely leading to reduced fibre availability and increased cost of delivered fibre), and no working group (none of the six) proposed this.”
This is astonishing but not a surprise given that it echoes The Forest and Range Practices Act, which states that non-timber values (including ecosystem and biodiversity protection) must not unduly reduce the supply of timber. It is truly frightening that when push comes to shove, protecting our biodiversity has always taken a back seat to corporate profits and jobs.
Dean John Innes, UBC Faculty of Forestry, in his June 12 Vancouver Sun article “Healthy Communities Need Healthy Forests” pointed out issues regarding the B.C. government’s June 1 Policy Intentions Paper “Modernizing Forest Policy in BC.” I felt the Vision and his description of the government’s policy intentions paper were similar, with the same deficiencies: no on-the-ground plans for protecting biodiversity and ecologically sustainable forests.
From my experience, putting all the stakeholders together to develop a plan only increases divisiveness and at best results in a sub-optimal compromise. The way to expedite an optimal operating plan for B.C. forests is to have UBC’s Faculty of Forestry and the provincial government produce the plan.
This would be mapped out in detail as to what is open to harvest, how it is to be harvested and what is never to be harvested. When this plan is complete it would be given to industry and local communities to fit their harvesting plans into. First Nations would participate in both plans. As the timber supply and AAC would be reduced, jobs would be lost. Job protection does not need to be a reason for continuing to abandon biodiversity. The answer is job retraining on a large scale. There are many industries currently crying out for workers, creating opportunities and many high paying jobs.
B.C. needs an immediate paradigm shift and that will only happen when we decide to prioritize an ecological and science-based plan which protects our biodiversity. All other interests need to be secondary to this.
I read Dean Innes’ July 2 “Personal Message to the UBC Forestry Community” where he made some key points that our government and the people of B.C. need to hear. The fact that our government has not yet acknowledged the 50 Year Vision which was sent before Easter is untenable. With no communication how can we expect things to change?
Lastly, his message conveyed a sense of the Faculty of Forestry’s lack of responsibility for the state of B.C.’s forests. This cannot be the case. UBC Forestry’s graduate students should be leading the science toward responsible forestry in B.C. and the Faculty should be giving them every bit of guidance and encouragement it can in this regard. This should be very public. B.C. needs Dean Innes’ and the UBC Faculty of Forestry’s leadership and action desperately. There is no time to lose!
