The decision to open up pristine areas of Clayoquot Sound to logging is outrageous and must be resisted by all who care about the environment.

Clayoquot Sound contains the largest intact forest remaining on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. quote:The heart of Clayoquot's intact forest is composed of a series of undisturbed, or "pristine", valleys. Many of these valleys are unprotected. Large valleys like the Sydney, Pretty Girl, Ursus and the Upper Bulson stand majestically as they have for thousands of years, and are cradled by smaller but equally important stretches of wilderness like Satchie and Hesquiat Lake Creeks. In the ocean channels lie impressive islands carpeted in old-growth forest, like Flores and Meares Islands. Fishermen regularly report seeing cougars, bears, and deer swimming from shore to shore in search of nourishment. Together, these islands and valleys offer native wildlife on Vancouver Island their best chance to survive and thrive for countless generations to come. Yet logging continually diminishes Clayoquot's intact forest, threatening its capacity to sustain wildlife.... Friends of Clayoquot SoundOne of the eight major watersheds that the Clayoquot Sound Central Region Board agreed last week to open up to logging is the Ursus River Valley, one of the largest unprotected watersheds in the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve. Spanning 7380 hectares, this lush valley was awarded "eehmiis" status by Iisaak Forest Resources and the Central Region First Nations in 1999. An eehmiis area is considered to be "very, very precious" to the native people of Clayoquot Sound and is supposedly off-limits to logging.

Contemporary reports of environmentalists from 1999 confirm that it was the clear intent of the Memorandum of Understanding that no pristine areas, such as the Ursus Valley, would be opened up to logging: quote:Our Iisaak-enviro MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] was supported by the Nuu-chah-nulth Central Region Chiefs in January 1999 and finally signed at a public ceremony in Tofino on June 16, 1999. It was a very happy day! The MOU confirms Iisaak's commitment to reserve eehmiis (undeveloped) areas for non-timber uses and to log according to the highest eco-forestry standards only in the parts of Clayoquot Sound that had already been partially logged. [my emphasis] Western Canada Wilderness Committee quote:"The problem is that the forest lobby is stronger and more well-established than the tourism lobby and the government has not put in place laws halting the logging of old growth in BC," said [B.C. Green Party leader Adriane] Carr. "I cannot imagine that the BC government wants Clayoquot to revert back to conflict. Nor can I imagine who would want to see precious places like the Sydney, Ursus or Clayoquot logged. It makes absolutely no long term business sense."

"Preserving old growth as an economic growth strategy is even more intelligent today given the steady increase in high-value ecotourism and the flood of cheap lumber which is making traditional forestry risky. With over 75 percent of the old growth forests on Vancouver Island now logged, Clayoquot's eehmiis areas are even more precious than they were in the 1990s," explains Carr.

"These new plans break the promise that brought an end to the conflict in Clayoquot and they allow logging in the unspoiled valleys that the world was told were safe from destruction," says Carr. BC Green Party quote:"Clayoquot Sound's pristine valleys should be saved forever, but these new plans undermine years of protests, good faith negotiations and the will of the international community," said Stephanie Goodwin, Greenpeace forest campaigner. "Any long-term solution for Clayoquot Sound must incorporate the protection of these valleys."

World-renowned scientists including Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. E.O. Wilson as well as several members of the blue ribbon Clayoquot Sound Science Panel, from which the Plans originated, have said the pristine valleys should not be logged. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature also recommended that the pristine valleys be protected.

"Recent satellite photo analysis shows that 89% of the productive, valley-bottom ancient forests on Vancouver Island have already been logged. This Island-wide context must factor into any scientific assessment on whether it is acceptable to allow logging in the pristine valleys of Clayoquot Sound. Clearly, this wasn't done in devising the new watershed plans," states Ken Wu of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. ForestEthics

[ 04 August 2006: Message edited by: M. Spector ]