Forestry is a solution; just not the way BC forest industry suggests

By Eli Pivnick and Janet Parkins
Castanet
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

At the Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the Council of Forest Industries announced its new platform entitled “Forestry is a Solution”. It is asking British Columbians to voice their support for forestry workers by pushing the BC government to speed permitting and access to timber but the main problem is that much of the timber needed does not exist because of decades of over-cutting. That is why more than 100 mills in BC have shut down since 2005. What COFI is really asking for is more access to protected areas, fire- and insect-damaged forests and the very modest and dwindling areas of remaining, unprotected old growth forests. …What is needed now are some major changes in how forests are monitored and trees allocated, with a lot less cutting and no cutting in primary forests whether old growth or fire or insect-damaged forests. …But what is allocated for cutting must make ecological sense.

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