Northern BC’s Seven Sisters one of nine sites to defer old growth forest harvesting

Nine old-growth forest locations across BC, totaling almost 353,000 hectares, will cease forest harvesting operations for the time being, including one in the northern region.

Seven Sisters, near Smithers, will be protected under what the BC Government is calling the first step in a ‘new and holistic’ approach to protecting old-growth forests.

Spanning about 4,510 hectares, the site is described as a complete elevation sequence of forested ecosystems, with a blend of coastal, interior and northern features.

It is also recognized as a habitat for many red- and blue-listed wildlife species, the government says.

Indigenous leaders and organizations, labour, industry and environmental groups can all expect to be a part of the process.

The actions are informed by the independent panel report, says the Ministry of Forests.

“For many years, there has been a patchwork approach to how old-growth forests are managed in our province, and this has caused a loss of biodiversity. We need to do better and find a path forward that preserves old-growth forests while supporting forest workers,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development.

“Those who are calling for the status quo to remain are risking crucial biodiversity loss, while those who are calling for immediate moratoriums on logging are ignoring the needs of tens of thousands of workers.”

Panel members Garry Merkel and Al Gorley were appointed to lead an old-growth strategic review in July of last year.

They gathered input and examined old-growth management from a variety of perspectives and submitted 14 recommendations this past April.

Merkel and Gorley outline a four-phased process to develop and implement an old-growth strategy.

The strategy consists of immediate actions in the first six months, near-term actions over six to 12 months, mid-term actions over six to 18 months and long-term actions over 18 to 36 months.

Initial actions government is taking in formulating an old-growth strategy include:

• engaging the full involvement of Indigenous leaders and organizations to review the report and work with the Province on any subsequent policy or strategy development and implementation
• deferring old forest harvesting in nine areas throughout the province totaling 352,739 hectares as a first step, and committing to engaging, initiating or continuing discussions with Indigenous leaders;
• beginning work to address information gaps, update inventory and improve public access to information, and bring the management of old forests into compliance with existing
• involving industry, environmental groups, community-based organizations and local governments in discussions regarding the report recommendations

Further work is also underway to protect up to 1,500 exceptionally large, individual trees under the Special Tree Protection Regulation.

List of old-growth areas for immediate development deferral