BC was blessed with extensive forests that early colonial settlers thought were “endless”. Yet here we are, facing the imminent loss of one of the world’s rarest and most iconic ecosystems: the highly productive old growth forest sites, those with the big trees that long predate the arrival of those settlers.

In response to the growing public demands to preserve these forests, the BC government commissioned an expert panel to explore what was happening to BC’s iconic, big tree old growth and what could be done to stop the losses. They published their report, the Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR), in September 2020. It included fourteen recommendations which the government has since committed to “fully” implement. 

Key among those recommendations, one of only two that are the necessary “immediate responses”, is #6: “Until a new strategy is implemented, defer development in old forests where ecosystems are at very high and near-term risk of irreversible biodiversity loss.”

This recommendation is speaking of the best of the remaining, at-risk, productive old growth forests, rich in biodiversity and representing less than 1 percent of all forests in the province. Of the approximately 415,000 hectares of remaining high structure/productive old growth forest in B.C., about 75 percent is unprotected and open to logging. Additional at-risk mature forest protection is also needed to restore already lost old forests and ecological function in some landscapes.

Recognizing the irreplaceable value of these old growth forests and their rapid loss, the Old Growth Review Panel recommended that deferrals be implemented within 6 months. The Panel submitted their recommendations to the province in April, 2020. Government announced initial deferrals in September, 2020 purporting to protect 353,000 hectares of old forest, but the included only 3,800 hectares of actual at-risk old-growth forest, leaving out over 99 percent of what should be included under the Panel recommendation. In the absence of deferrals, the few remaining productive old growth forests in B.C. continue to be targeted by logging companies and through B.C. Timber Sales.

The OGSR also went further to recommend that the BC government: “Declare the conservation and management of ecosystem health and biodiversity of British Columbia’s forests as an overarching priority and enact legislation that legally establishes this priority for all sectors.” The OGSR recommended that this occur within 6-18 months. If this recommendation is fully implemented, as the BC government has committed to do, it has the potential to be transformational not just for the forest sector but in addressing cumulative impacts from multiple forms of development. This new law could usher in a long-overdue reorientation in BC’s decision-making – shifting towards the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity as the foundation for long-term community and economic well-being. 

Implementation of the OGSR’s recommendations will take time, must be co-led with First Nations, and require engagement with a range of stakeholders throughout the province. This is why deferrals of at-risk old growth are needed up front: to create the “container” for the creative, solutions-oriented processes that must unfold over the next couple of years. Without those deferrals it’s impossible to focus on the long-term when the last of the irreplaceable old growth forests continue to fall every day. 

We call on the BC government to follow through on its commitment to implement, in full, the recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) within 3 years, including the following milestones:

1. Immediately defer harvest of at-risk forests as outlined in the OGSR, particularly remaining large structure/big tree “productive” old growth forests province-wide, and additional old and mature forests in landscapes and ecosystems where the old forest in the Timber Harvesting Land Base is insufficient to meet BC’s biodiversity targets, and forests required for ecosystem resilience.

2. Immediately give direction to statutory decision-makers, including the Chief Forester and district managers, to prioritize ecosystem integrity and biodiversity in executing their duties.

3. Provide funding to finance implementation and initial programs to support economic alternatives for First Nations and transition in the forestry sector.

4. Enact legislation establishing conservation and management of ecosystem integrity and biodiversity as an overarching priority for all sectors.

By doing so BC can ensure remaining and at-risk old growth forests are deferred from logging while long-term protection measures, forestry reform and a new overarching biodiversity law are implemented.