British ColumbiaIt’s been five years since the B.C. government promised to overhaul how old-growth trees are logged in the province — a process that was supposed to take three years — and conservationists say the province’s heel-dragging is resulting in preventable biodiversity loss.14 recommendations meant to dramatically change how old, huge trees are logged remain unmet say criticsChad Pawson · CBC News · Posted: Sep 13, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoA moss-covered stump inside a wildlife protection area in the Klanawa valley on western Vancouver Island. Conservationists say the province is dragging its heels on protecting old-growth forests. (Mike McArthur/CBC)It’s been five years since the B.C. government promised to overhaul how old-growth trees are logged in the province — a process that was supposed to take three years — and conservationists say the province’s heel-dragging is resulting in preventable biodiversity loss.In early September 2020, the provincial government released a review of the way old, huge trees are logged in B.C. The independent report, A New Future for Old Forests, sought to usher in a “paradigm shift” in the management of one of the province’s most iconic natural resources.”This isn’t just about trees. It’s about climate, community safety, Indigenous rights and the future of forests in B.C.,” said Tobyn Neame, a campaigner with the Wilderness Committee, in one of several releases from similar groups marking the anniversary of the report.”The longer the province delays, the more we’ll all lose.”Conservationists argue the province has not moved deliberately to accomplish the 14 recommendations in the report, the culmination of B.C.’s Old Growth Strategic Review process. The 72-page report called for logging deferrals of old, huge trees in areas most at risk of biodiversity loss, and a framework to come up with policy changes that would help industry and First Nations transition to second-growth logging or other economic activities.Every year since the report was released and adopted by the government, conservation groups have reviewed the province’s progress, and have most often given it a failing grade.”By avoiding these critical steps, the results are devastating — giant, thousand-year-old trees continue to fall, and public frustration is reaching a breaking point,” said TJ Watt with the Ancient Forest Alliance, who is famed for his before and after old-growth logging photographs.Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt leans against an ancient red cedar tree before and after logging by Teal-Jones in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht Territory on southern Vancouver Island in the fall of 2020. (TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance)Since the Old Growth Strategic Review released its findings, there has been significant protest over old-growth logging.That’s included the blockade at Fairy Creek on southwestern Vancouver Island on the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation, where more than 1,100 people were arrested, the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. The fallout of Fairy Creek There’s currently a blockade opposed to old-growth logging in the Walbran Valley near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island, which is preventing Tsawak-qin Forestry Inc. — a firm co-owned by the Huu-ay-aht First Nations and Western Forest Products Inc. — from logging on Pacheedaht territory.The nation says the blockade is undermining its authority on its territory and that it wants protesters to stand down and leave, with other neighbouring nations joining them in their opposition to the blockade activity. On Friday, the loggers were successful in their application for an injunction against the protesters in B.C. Supreme Court.RCMP assess how to remove two protesters chained to a tree stump at an anti-logging blockade on southern Vancouver Island on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 (Jen Osborne/The Canadian Press)The B.C. government says it’s deferred logging in more than two million hectares, or 20,000 square kilometres, since November 2021. It has also secured $1 billion in federal-provincal conservation financing, began the transition to value-added, second-growth forestry, and is working with First Nations to support stewardship through initiatives, forums and partnerships.The province says there are about 11.1 million hectares of old-growth forest in B.C., which make up about 20 per cent of B.C.’s publicly managed forest areas. Most of the old growth in B.C. — around nine million hectares — is protected or not economical to harvest, the province says on its website.In early September, the Provincial Forest Advisory Council, an independent group of forestry experts, announced a new public-facing website seeking input over the issue.The council is “tasked with developing recommendations for how to build a stronger, more stable forestry system that works for communities, the economy and the environment.” It aims to support forestry workers while advancing forest stewardship.Through the website, the council is seeking public input, which it will combine with other research and documents, including the Old Growth Strategic Review. It intends to provide a report and recommendations to government by the end of 2025.A cut block is pictured in the Fairy Creek logging area near Port Renfrew on Oct. 5, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar said in a statement that the government is, “building a path forward, working with First Nations on stewarding B.C.’s lands in a way that advances reconciliation while balancing ecological protection and economic prosperity.”He said recommendations from the the Old Growth Strategic Review, “are embedded in our current work throughout the province.”Conservationists like Watt want the public to use the five-year anniversary and the unmet promises of the Old Growth Strategic Review to call for direct action over old growth now, such as protecting 1.36 million hectares of the best remaining old growth still at risk of being logged.”While we recognize the important steps the B.C. NDP has taken, action in the past year has largely stalled, leaving the remaining old-growth forests in B.C. at imminent risk.”ABOUT THE AUTHORChad Pawson is a CBC News reporter in Vancouver. Please contact him at chad.pawson@cbc.ca.With files from Kieran Oudshoorn and The Canadian Press
Conservationists decry lack of progress 5 years after B.C.’s old-growth logging review
