Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, has released the following statement in response to the B.C. Forestry Alliance Save the Working Forest rally on Feb. 18, 2020, at the Parliament Buildings:

A fourth year of helicopter logging in the Williams Lake area is expected to start next week to help minimize the spread of Douglas fir beetles on Crown land. 

A new protected area next to the recently established Nlhaxten/Cerise Creek Conservancy will help conserve biodiversity, support traditional Indigenous land-use activities and protect cultural landmarks.

The Cascadia Timber Supply Area (TSA) has a new allowable annual cut (AAC) for timber harvesting.

Mount Elphinstone, located on the west side of Howe Sound between Gibsons and Sechelt on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, is designated as provincial forest. Current land use supports management for a variety of values, including forestry, water, wildlife and recreation.

To protect the environment for people now and in the future, the B.C. government has taken steps to safeguard the Silverdaisy watershed from logging on the B.C. side of the Skagit River Valley.

The new allowable annual cut (AAC) for Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 61 near Sooke is 121,000 cubic metres, announced Shane Berg, deputy chief forester.

As part of government’s new approach to managing old growth in British Columbia, a two-person, independent panel is engaging British Columbians to get input and hear perspectives on managing the province’s old-growth forests for ecological, economic and cultural values.

The B.C. government is protecting some of the province’s largest trees as the first step in a new approach to old-growth management.

Residents and area communities that have long fought to revive Fort Nelson’s forest sector are starting to realize the benefit of their efforts with the approval of the Fort Nelson Community Forest Agreement, in partnership with the British Columbia government.