The largest private landowner in British Columbia, Mosaic Forest Management, is moving to defer 40,000 hectares (400 square kilometers) of old-growth and older second-growth stands from logging on their private lands for the next 25 years, via a carbon credit program. The lands are mainly located on southeastern Vancouver Island, with a few scattered stands on other parts of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii.
Read moreIt's International Day of Forests!
Today (March 21st) is International Day of Forests!
On this day it is worth taking an overview of some progress in forest conservation, driven by millions of concerned citizens who have spoken up - including tens of thousands of Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) supporters! And by recognizing progress when it happens, it fuels everyone to keep going, to ensure more progress - because what we all do makes a difference!
Read moreGood News for Old-Growth in BC's Provincial Budget - A Step Forward
For those of you concerned about the fate of old-growth forests in BC:
Yesterday, for the first time the BC government dedicated a significant sum in the provincial budget - $185 million over 3 years - to help protect old-growth forests in BC!
The National Observer: Conservation cash vital to securing B.C.’s old-growth deferrals
A new conservation foundation is working to provide Indigenous and other land-based communities with funds to protect endangered ecosystems and build economic alternatives to the logging of at-risk old-growth forests.
It’s unjust and impractical to expect communities that rely on revenue from activities such as forestry, ranching or resource extraction to bear the financial burden of shifting their local economy on their own to protect areas for the benefit of all, said Ken Wu, chair of the recently established Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF).
Case in point is the current old-growth deferral process underway in B.C., where the provincial government has asked First Nations to consider putting logging on hold in at-risk old-growth forests but hasn’t offered any compensation to do so, said Wu, also executive director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance.
Rochelle Baker, The National Observer, Jan 13th, 2022
Read moreRecent Progress and Opportunities for Nature Protection in Canada – there is Hope!
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.
Read moreEEA's Grassroots Fundraising Targets for the 2021 Holiday Season/Year End
Our goal is to raise $60,000 by the end of 2021
Can you help us? As a young organization (founded just 3 years ago, in late 2018) but with major experience, dedication and influence far beyond our size, we need the resources to grow the most powerful campaigns to protect endangered ecosystems across Canada, from temperate rainforests to grasslands, from southern deciduous forests to northern boreal forests!
Read moreRiverdale star fundraising for B.C. environmental groups with sale of his photo prints
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
Read moreThe Ricochet: ‘A calculated strategy:’ B.C. logging deferral fails to protect old-growth, say critics
Photo: Province of British Columbia
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.
Read moreMedia Release: Over 100 BC Businesses Call on BC Government to Expand and Fund the Creation of New Protected Areas
To date, 113 businesses - 104 based in BC - have signed a resolution calling on the BC government to help avert the extinction and climate crises and to benefit our health and the BC economy, by committing to at least meet Canada’s national and international protected areas targets (protecting 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 of Canada’s land and marine areas). This includes protecting BC’s old-growth forests, and providing the necessary funding to do so.
See the resolution and signatories here
Read moreMedia Release: Significant Progress Towards Old-Growth Protection - Critical Funding Missing Still
Significant Progress to Protect Old-Growth Forests in BC, with Critical Funding Still Missing: “Building an Amazing Car without an Engine” – for now
BC Government Accepts Science-Based Old-Growth Mapping and Enacts Major Old-Growth Logging Deferrals in BC Timber Sales Areas (about 20% of remaining old-growth) – Vital Funding for Indigenous old-growth logging deferrals and protection sorely needed.
Read moreThe Narwhal: Canada underestimating 80 megatonnes of emissions from boreal logging: report
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
Read moreSEND a MESSAGE: The BC Government Must Protect Endangered Old-Growth Forests - and dedicate the key Funding to Do So ASAP!
Here’s our action page, updated Oct 14, to ensure that the BC government funds the protection of old-growth forests in BC.
To finally Protect Old-Growth Forests in BC, Funding from the Provincial and Federal governments is vital to support Indigenous Protected Areas and First Nations Land Use Plans that protect Old-Growth Forests, as well as a Land Acquisition Fund to purchase and protect Old-Growth Forests on Private Lands
Read moreKen Wu and Cliff Atleo jr. on CBC’s The Current: Old-Growth Forests in BC, First Nations and Financing Alternatives
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.
Read moreVideo: The Coastal Dry Forests of British Columbia
Check out our NEW mini-documentary video on the Coastal Dry Forests of British Columbia (ie. the Coastal Douglas-Fir and Very Dry Coastal Western Hemlock ecosystem).
Read moreThe Endangered Ecosystems Alliance is 3 Years Old! Can you help us?
Today Friday, September 17th, is the 3 year anniversary of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA)!
We've come a long way in this short time and have accomplished many important steps towards our mission to ensure the science-based protection of Canada's most endangered ecosystems, from old-growth temperate rainforests to grasslands, from southern deciduous forests to northern conifer forests - all supported by a modest budget.
Read moreVideo: The Great Grasslands of BC's Southern Interior
See the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance's new mini-documentary video on the amazing grasslands of the Interior Valleys in British Columbia, home to some of the greatest concentrations of unique and endangered wildlife in Canada with an emphasis on the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys.
Read moreThe Narwhal: Fairy Creek is set to become the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada’s history
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.
Read moreMedia Release: Federal Liberals’ $50 million BC old-growth fund an important step towards a needed $600 million old-growth fund - BC NDP Gov’t a Conservation Laggard
Federal Liberals’ $50 million BC old-growth fund an important step towards a much greater $600 million old-growth fund that is needed – BC NDP government continues as reluctant conservation laggards for funding old-growth protection.
Read moreToronto Star: In B.C., the biggest sights include massive ancient trees. Here’s how tourism can prove they’re ‘worth more standing’
Avatar Grove, an old-growth forest near Port Renfrew, has been declared off-limits to logging. TJ WATT / ANCIENT FOREST ALLIANCE
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.
Read moreEEA's Grassroots Fundraising Targets for August through November 2021
Our goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of November, 2021
Can you help us? As a young organization (founded less than 3 years ago, in late 2018) but with major experience, dedication and influence far beyond our size, we need the resources to grow the most powerful campaigns to protect endangered ecosystems across Canada, from temperate rainforests to grasslands, from southern deciduous forests to northern boreal forests!
Read more