Michael Polanyi
Ninety scientists ask feds to protect carbon-rich old forests in upcoming climate plan, March 23; Letter, Managing forests is critical in the face of a changing climate, March 29. Kate Lindsay of the Forest Products Association of Canada fails to acknowledge either the large net carbon emissions from logging or the view of numerous scientists that clear-cutting forests is unsustainable. Younger trees sequester carbon faster, but it takes centuries for regrowth to pay back the emissions from logging. Canada is both failing to follow the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s requirement to report all forest carbon fluxes and claiming excessive credit for sequestration. We encourage industry leaders to engage with serious scientific concerns on these issues, not jump to dismiss them.
Why are the old growth trees and forests being cut down, (often clear cut instead of selectively logged), when the Fraser River near the Lower Mainland cities is full of floating pods of lumber, growing larger with time, much of it visibly rotting around us? Enough is enough! Be innovative. Start building with new, safer materials. Enough is enough! Be innovative. Start building with new, safer materials. [End of story]
Dear BC Elected Officials, I concerns me that we have BC taxpayers so committed to saving forests and battling climate change that they embark today on a 25 day hunger strike. Is there any other issue in BC that has ever spawned such ardent actions for no personal gain? “Deforestation is at the root of the climate emergency in British Columbia.” – says old-growth forest activist Howard Breen joined on this strike with Brent Eichler. They embark on solidarity fasts TODAY, seeking NDP Forestry Minister, Katrine Conroy meet their demand for a public meeting to discuss significant forestry concerns. Howard’s platform is to save all BC’s remaining old growth and spotlight NDP’s 2017 election promise to curb raw log exports. …it was the actions of hunger strikers in 2020 that galvanized the Fairy Creek Forest Defenders to initiate the blockades in TFL 46 .
A group of climate change activists called “Save Old Growth” are prepared to make their voices heard through public protests in the upcoming weeks. … The group made headlines earlier this year by supergluing themselves to major highways and bridges to halt traffic and protest old-growth logging. …After a 2-month hiatus from protesting, the group has decided that on April 4th they will once again be taking to the streets to protest. Protestor Brent Eichler … is currently on a 2 year probation period. Although Eichler will no longer be on the front lines of the protest, he says that he will continue to play a small part in their campaign. Eichler began a hunger strikeon March 26th and says he won’t stop until the Minister of Forestry Katrine Conroy speaks with the group and develops a plan on how to save the last remaining old-growth trees.
Campbell River is part and parcel of the greater north-central portion of Vancouver Island and the associated mainland. It may very well be the heart of this area that I call the “Forest Village.” …this village is nature-based and our very future depends upon how well we realize and govern our activities within this truth. To me, planning and development in Campbell River and the regional district has had a clear top-down character…organised along the lines of the services that public authorities provide. Until recently, these “silos”…were relatively effective in delivering public management. Yet, the effectiveness of dealing with cross-sectoral issues … has been limited. …Now at a time when the public trust in government seems to be decaying [and we turn] toward a more participatory approach, our city centres [need] to transform from “Government” to “Governance”… As residents, let’s help our leaders provide the socio-environmental context in which we all benefit.
The Anacla Old-Growth Summit, postponed last November, has been rescheduled to April 28. Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership and Huu-ay-aht First Nations are co-hosting the event, which was deferred due to provincial travel restrictions. Tayii Ha’wilth Derek Peters (Head Hereditary Chief, Huu-ay-aht First Nations) and Elected Chief Councillor Robert J. Dennis, Sr. will host the summit, which will bring together 50 coastal Indigenous nations to share information on their stewardship and resource management planning and decision making processes. “As sovereign nations, we know how much old growth is left and we know the key priority is planning for what happens in the long term,” Dennis Sr. said. …In stark contrast to public conversations to date, this summit will reflect the depth and broad range of professionals, academics and subject matter experts who advise sovereign nations. …The summit will also be an opportunity to introduce the Indigenous Witwak Guardians who protect, monitor and enhance Tsawak-qin Forestry operations. 
The people of Prince George are going to get screwed and their lives will change for the worse when they see no more logging trucks. No more logging trucks means no more billions of dollars will be pumped into the local economy. It is predicted that that up to 8,000 families that depend on forestry jobs for their income in the north will be forced onto government assistance, which means they no longer will be able to support the local economy. Businesses will close and others will be forced to reduce staff and tens of thousands more families will be forced onto government assistance in the north. Prince George will no longer be a nice place to live because nobody will have any money. This is the NDP’s plan for Northern BC. …Don’t you think it’s time to say no to the NDP plan or do you prefer all the extra time off you will have on government assistance?
Last year, Montana’s fire season started early and ended late, with smoke blanketing much of the state throughout the summer and well into the fall. …It’s little wonder that a bipartisan survey recently conducted by Colorado College found that 92% of Montana voters are concerned about more frequent and severe wildfires. ….Most folks agree that the thoughtful harvesting of timber resources is an important part of Montana’s economy and provides jobs in communities across our state. In addition, science-based vegetation management, including thinning and prescribed fire, can alter fire behavior and help reduce the threat of wildfire to people and their property, especially if management projects are focused on treating the wildland-urban interface. However, the idea that we can achieve shorter and less intense fire seasons by simply logging more is a political concept, not a scientific one.
ALASKA — The Roadless Rule is supposed to protect wild places. What went wrong in the Tongass National Forest? …The Tongass has been the heart of the logging industry in Alaska for decades, starting in the 1950s with the arrival of pulp mills. It was at its zenith in 1990, employing crews in the thousands to clear-cut old growth trees. But attitudes were shifting. …In 2001, in the waning days of his administration, President Bill Clinton issued the Roadless Area Conservation Policy, also known as the Roadless Rule. …Governors from both parties have fought the Roadless Rule in federal court. Now, Naukati Bay and the other communities nestled within Tongass are on the front lines of the debate over clear-cutting old-growth trees in the 21st century.
MONTANA — There is no silver bullet solution when it comes to adapting communities to wildfire in Montana and across the West, experts told state lawmakers. The Environmental Quality Council held a wildfire panel last week to hear about trends, mitigation and potential policy implications. The meeting comes as much of Montana faces widespread drought and pushes by state and federal officials to increase the pace and scale of forest management. …When it comes to mitigation, Mark Finney, a U.S. Forest Service researcher, told the council that logging or thinning alone has not been shown to prevent large fires burning under extreme conditions. ..“If we stop (at logging or thinning), if we do not follow with prescribed burning, we don’t have a fuel treatment,” he said. “All of the evidence … over the past 80 years, all of the research has shown fire is the essential fuel treatment.”
The amount of forested areas in Poland has been rising steadily over the past few decades. So why are forestry experts sounding the alarm? Nearly 30 per cent of Poland, around 9.1 million hectares, is now covered with forests, up from 21 per cent in 1945. The vast majority of that area is managed by State Forests, a governmental organisation which comes under regular fire from scientists and pro-nature activists. Critics accuse State Forests of ill-advised logging of old-growth forests, most recently in the Białowieża Forest on the border between Poland and Belarus. …When thousands of people from the Middle East and Africa tried to enter the European Union via Belarus last summer, the Polish authorities decided to stem the tide by building a 186 kilometre wall along the border. The 2.7 kilometre section which will cut through the strict reserve of the Białowieża Forest may not seem as much at first glance, but scientists say it will have a disastrous effect on local wildlife.
