Recent Progress and Opportunities for Nature Protection in Canada – there is Hope!

December 31, 2021 Ken Wu

EEA's Staff — The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance team - Left: Ken Wu (Executive Director) by an old-growth Ponderosa pine in the proposed South Okanagan National Park Reserve. Top Right: Celina Starnes (Outreach and Operations Director) by the Alberta badlands along the Red Deer River. Bottom Right: Nick Davis (Administrative Coordinator) in the Carolinian forest of the Rouge Valley Urban National Park.

There’s no doubt that these last couple of years have been particularly tough for most people - not only of course due to the pandemic, but also because of the ever-expanding environmental crisis partly experienced via extreme weather events, and compounded by pervasive anti-science and alternative-facts movement divorced from reality among certain segments of society .

But in this article instead of shoveling more unhappy dung your way for the New Year, I want to focus on some recent good news and progress with nature protection in Canada and some opportunities for further progress in 2022.

Riverdale star fundraising for B.C. environmental groups with sale of his photo prints

December 13, 2021 Ken Wu

The actor who plays Jughead Jones in the Archie Comics’ spin-off show Riverdale is selling prints of his own nature photography to fundraise for two B.C. environmental organizations.

By Victoria News Staff, originally published Dec 1

The Ricochet: ‘A calculated strategy:’ B.C. logging deferral fails to protect old-growth, say critics

December 8, 2021 Ken Wu

Temporary deferral of logging in some B.C. forests leaves First Nations stranded, and may be too little, too late for the province’s ancient ecosystems

by Chen Zhou, originally published November 7, 2021.

The Narwhal: Canada underestimating 80 megatonnes of emissions from boreal logging: report

October 29, 2021 Ken Wu

New research finds that by overcounting the carbon storage of intact forests the undercounting emissions from logging, the Government of Canada is vastly underrporeting the climate impacts of clearcutting in one of the country’s greatest carbon sinks.

by Stephanie Wood

Ken Wu and Cliff Atleo jr. on CBC’s The Current: Old-Growth Forests in BC, First Nations and Financing Alternatives

October 1, 2021 Ken Wu

The following is the transcript for an interview today on CBC Radio One’s “The Current” with host Matt Galloway, with guests professor Cliff Atleo Jr. of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Tsimshian Nations, and Ken Wu, the Executive Director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance.

The Interview with Patrick Canning, lawyer for the Rainforest Flying Squad over the Fairy Creek blockade, follows.

The Narwhal: Fairy Creek is set to become the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada’s history

August 26, 2021 Ken Wu

Recent cut blocks in adjoining valleys of the Fairy Creek watershed as seen from the air in June 2021. Blockaders at Fairy Creek say although the province has introduced two-year deferrals in some areas of the watershed, much old-growth still remains at imminent threat of logging. Photo: Taylor Roades / The Narwhal

Amid escalating tensions with the RCMP, old-growth logging blockades on Vancouver Island show no signs of letting up. B.C.’s response, experts say, will determine the legacy of the new war in the woods.

Toronto Star: In B.C., the biggest sights include massive ancient trees. Here’s how tourism can prove they’re ‘worth more standing’

August 17, 2021 Ken Wu

As a Vancouverite, I can commune with big trees easily. Stanley Park is practically my backyard and a short stroll takes me to soaring Sitka spruce, Western red cedars and Douglas firs. The 405-hectare park’s establishment in 1887 kept these ancient beauties standing amid urban development. But just across the Georgia Strait, Vancouver Island is home to entire forests of these beautiful behemoths. For now.

EEA's Ken Wu on CBC's All Points West with Kathryn Marlow on federal Support to Protect BC Old-growth

June 8, 2021 Ken Wu

Here is a transcription of an interview between EEA’s Ken Wu and CBC’s Kathryn Marlow on All Points West where they discuss how the B.C. government needs to take advantage of federal funding to preserve old-growth forests and provide First Nations with an economic alternative to logging on their traditional lands.

Aired June 6, 2021

The Globe and Mail: First Nations seek to defuse old-growth logging dispute, but B.C. still on the fence about protected areas

June 8, 2021 Ken Wu

The three First Nations who have been the reluctant hosts of B.C.’s current war in the woods have called for a deferral of logging in some of the most contentious areas in and around the Fairy Creek watershed.

From the Globe and Mail June 7, 2021

The Narwhal on Old-Growth in BC: Five ways B.C.’s new forestry plan sets the stage for more old-growth conflict

June 4, 2021 Ken Wu

In the midst of escalating protests over logging, Horgan released an intentions paper on Tuesday that critics say fails to implement any immediate solutions.

From the Narwhal, June 2, 2021

The National Observer on BC's Old-growth: Ottawa dollars can save B.C.'s old-growth forests

May 28, 2021 Ken Wu

A coalition of conservationists is urging the B.C. government to use federal funds to end the province’s new war in the woods on Vancouver Island, protect old-growth forest and establish targets for endangered ecosystems.

From the National Observer, May 27th 2021

Maclean's Magazine on BC's Old-Growth: Falling Fast

April 15, 2021 Ken Wu

Three decades after the so-called ‘War of the Woods,’ the logging of B.C.’s ancient forests goes on, prompting protest from a new generation of eco-activists.

From Maclean’s Magazine, April 13th

EEA's Ken Wu on the Capital Daily Podcast discussing the Politics of Old-Growth BC Forests with Sonia Furstenau

April 9, 2021 Ken Wu

Here is a radio podcast in the Capital Daily News where the EEA's Ken Wu and Green leader and Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau talk about the politics of old-growth forests in BC and how the BC government has to provide the critical conservation financing for First Nations land use plans and protected areas if they are serious about implementing the recommendations of the Old-Growth Strategic Review panel.

Click here to listen

CHEK News: B.C. Government Faces Rising Criticism for Failing to Protect Old Growth Forests from Logging

March 22, 2021 Ken Wu

Here is an important article by Rob Shaw of CHEK news, who the EEA's Ken Wu spoke with about some of the PR-spin of the BC NDP government as it relates to the destruction of old-growth forests.

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