A Nelson ecologist who served as part of a provincial government panel that mapped B.C.含羞草研究社檚 remaining old growth forest is concerned about the way the government has implemented the panel含羞草研究社檚 work.

The Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel identified and mapped 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old growth forest.

In a Nov. 2 news release, the province said it would respond to the report by asking First Nations to identify forests within the 2.6 million hectares that should not be cut, and the province would defer harvesting in those areas pending further discussions. First Nations were given 30 days to do this 含羞草研究社� a deadline that expired on Dec. 2.

But otherwise, logging has not stopped in those 2.6 million hectares, even temporarily.

含羞草研究社淭hey haven含羞草研究社檛 deferred anything,含羞草研究社� Holt says. 含羞草研究社淸They are] not deferring unless [a First Nation] sticks their hand up and says they want to defer. So that含羞草研究社檚 the urgency, because those blocks are being logged, anywhere there is a cut block.含羞草研究社�

The term 含羞草研究社渄eferral,含羞草研究社� in the provincial government含羞草研究社檚 old growth discussions, means pausing logging in a specific area, not necessarily stopping it indefinitely.

The other members of the technical panel were forest policy analyst Lisa Matthaus, ecologist Karen Price, landscape analyst Dave Daust, and forester Garry Merkel.

The panel含羞草研究社檚 report, entitled , released on Nov. 2, identified and mapped 2.6 million hectares of old growth in several categories, and recommended that logging there be deferred until a new forest management plan is developed for old growth.

含羞草研究社淒efer harvest, i.e., no development or harvesting,含羞草研究社� the report reads, 含羞草研究社渋n all mapped highest-priority at-risk old forests (priority big-treed old growth, ancient forest, remnant old ecosystems) while development of a new approach to forest management is underway.含羞草研究社�

Contacted by the Nelson Star, the forests ministry stated in an email: 含羞草研究社淎t this time, licensees with previously approved cut blocks within the 2.6 million hectares are legally authorized to harvest timber within these cut blocks.含羞草研究社�

The provincial agency B.C. Timber Sales has stopped advertising and selling timber rights in the areas identified by the panel.

The statement went on to say that the government might eventually work with logging companies to temporarily halt harvesting in some areas identified by the panel, after it makes agreements with First Nations.

含羞草研究社淭his may include industry voluntarily halting harvest or government halting harvesting under section 13 of the Forest Act.含羞草研究社�

This is not what the technical panel recommended, which was that all current logging in areas indicated on their map should be deferred, Holt says.

含羞草研究社淭he point of the deferrals was to prevent harvest of the most high-value forest,含羞草研究社� she said, adding that currently the government含羞草研究社檚 default approach is harvesting, not protecting.

Paradigm shift

The work of Holt and her colleagues came as a result of the provincial government含羞草研究社檚 April 2020 publication of , written by a two-person government-appointed panel of foresters who travelled the province getting feedback and information about old growth.

The report含羞草研究社檚 authors, Garry Merkel and Al Gorley, gave the province 14 recommendations, one of which called for immediately deferring logging in old growth forests that are at risk of ecosystem loss and that would otherwise be harvested. They asked that these areas be identified and deferred within six months.

Merkel and Gorley, in A New Future for Old Forests, called for a paradigm shift from managing forests for timber supply to managing them for ecosystem health.

At the time, the province committed itself to implementing all of Gorley含羞草研究社檚 and Merkel含羞草研究社檚 recommendations.

含羞草研究社淣ow it含羞草研究社檚 18 months later,含羞草研究社� says Holt.

含羞草研究社淎nd [deferrals] are not the real work,含羞草研究社� she says. 含羞草研究社淭he real work is the next step. This deferral process was supposed to be short and sweet and point to the most at-risk forest, so that we could then get on with the real work of the paradigm shift of planning with a different framework.含羞草研究社�

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bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
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