Brenna Owen
Moss covered branches are seen in the Avatar Old Growth Forest near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island, B.C. Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward March 12, 2021 - 12:13 PM
VANCOUVER - The most at-risk ecosystems should be set aside from logging while British Columbia shifts its forestry policies toward a more sustainable system,says a forester who helped write a provincial report on old-growth forests.
The report last April co-written by Garry Merkel urged B.C. to act within six months to defer harvesting in old forest ecosystems at the highest risk of permanent biodiversity loss. There (are) some of those ecosystems targeted for harvesting right now, he said in an interview this week, six months after B.C. released the report and pledged to implement the recommendations from the panel of two independent foresters who were commissioned to write it.
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There (are) some of those ecosystems targeted for harvesting right now, he said in an interview this week, six months after B.C. released the report and pledged to implement the recommendations from the panel of two independent foresters who were commissioned to write it. I do share the impatience of a lot of folks.
At the same time, Merkel said he doesn’t question the government’s commitment to implementing the panel’s recommendations and the process overall will take years. This is very much in my mind an intergenerational process that we re working through.
Old-growth forests are crucial to the overall health of ecosystems in the province, said Merkel, affecting everything from the raindrops that collect in the tree canopy to the water that runs in salmon streams below.
B C urged to protect at-risk old growth while it works to transform forestry policy - Medicine Hat NewsMedicine Hat News medicinehatnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medicinehatnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.