Published in National Observer
The forestry industry has always been an important part of British Columbia’s economy. According to a study commissioned by the B.C. Council of Forest Industries, in 2019, the provincial forest sector supported more than 100,000 jobs, generated more than $13 billion in GDP and nearly $8.5 billion in wages, salaries, and benefits.
Some of this logging has been of old-growth forests, containing trees over a thousand years old to the point where the majority of these forests no longer remain. Old-growth forests are home to endangered species, reduce the severity of floods and landslides, act as a barrier to wildfires, are culturally significant for indigenous people as well as just simply being loved by people around the world for their beauty.
A study often cited by environmentalists, says that only 8 percent of “original forests” remain in the province and that only %3 is productive old growth, containing very big trees like the one pictured above. Other numbers published by the Government of British Columbia state that %23 old growth remains while the B.C. Council of Forest Industries says it’s closer to %30. Environmentalists argue that these are inflated numbers driven to maximize profits by including forests with low productivity (old bog and alpine forest as examples), those that don’t have big and old trees, as well as economically insignificant forests.
The majority of British Columbians don’t support the logging of Old Growth forests and steadily over the decades, more and more action has been taken by grass-root activists to put an end to this part of the logging industry. The most recent organization getting attention is @saveoldgrowth with their controversial technique of blocking bridges, tunnels, roads and ferries in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo. To do this they superglue themselves to roads, sit on tall ladders, park beater cars in the middle of bridges and more. From those arrested I’ve talked to, they don’t want to be doing this but feel like they have to since they feel that simple petitioning, protesting and other forms of civil disobedience haven’t worked in the past.
