by WCWC (Mid-Island)
Nanoose Bay, British Columbia – The Wilderness Committee and
many concerned community residents were shocked to learn in BC Supreme
Court on Friday November 25, 2011 that Timberwest has contracted to
buy logs from Snaw-Naw-As Forest Services Ltd's proposed logging of DL33,
located near Nanaimo BC. DL33 is a Red Listed Coastal
Douglas-fir forest. The logging operation is expected to start Monday
November 28.
" Timberwest is certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
(SFI) – which says on its website that: SFI labels are
recognized globally and provide a visual cue to help customers source
responsibly managed forest products," said Annette Tanner,
Wilderness Committee, Mid Island Spokesperson.
"And we also note that Timberwest's website states that:
"Protection of biodiversity is a key element of sustainable
forest management and TimberWest continually strives to improve efforts
to sustain key habitat for plants and wildlife. This endeavor is not only
part of delivering on our social and environmental license to operate, it
meets the increasing market demand for products from timberlands that
have been independently certified as having high standards of
environmental management," said Tanner.
Yet now our community has discovered that Timberwest is in effect paying
for the destruction of this rare remnant of one of the most endangered
ecosystems in Canada.
Our local community has been
unanimously supported by the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal
Communities (AVICC) , which is the municipal and regional government
representation of all municipalities and regional districts on Vancouver
Island and the Sunshine Coast who are on record for the association's
unanimous support for the preservation of Nanoose Bay's DL 33, a crown
land older forested wetland located in the globally imperilled ecosystem
called the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone.
The Wilderness Committee and the undersigned groups and concerned
citizens say that this logging goes against Timberwest's and FSI's stated
policy regarding environmental protection and we are demanding that
Timberwest take immediate steps to halt the logging of DL33.
For more information please contact: Annette Tanner
250-752-6585 , cell 240-7470
