including Flores Island, within the next few years.
by Bonnie Glambeck
Iisaak
is currently undergoing an audit of their Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) certification. As part of this audit they are requesting input on
their “High Conservation Value Forest” (HCVF) assessment. The original
report they commissioned (2007 Holt/Utzig) on HCVF recommended that
Clayoquot Sound’s remaining intact valleys be reserved from logging for a significant period of time (in excess of 20 years and possibly up to 100 years).
If you agree that the precautionary principle
should be applied and that no logging should be allowed the intact
valleys of Clayoquot Sound, please take the time to send your comments
to Iisaak. Let them know that maintaining Clayoquot’s intact wilderness
valleys in their natural, wild state is a key value and priority.
One of the categories in the FSC criteria looks at
the cultural and spiritual values of Clayoquot Sound for First Nations
and non-First Nations. If the intact valleys have a cultural or
spiritual value to you, please consider including this in your letter.
Thank you for taking a few minutes to send your letter!
Cheers,
Bonny Glambeck
Tofino,BC
Background info:
Completing
a “High Conservation Value Forest” (HCVF) assessment is part of
Iisaak’s Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) eco-certification.
The
report is lengthy (90 pages plus 60 pages appendices) and very
technical, so here are some basics you need to know in order to comment:
-according to FSC standards, all of Clayoquot Sound is considered a high conservation value forest
-FSC allows logging of high conservation value old-growth forests, as long as HCVF attributes are “maintained or enhanced”
-the
current report does not recommend any strategies for Iisaak to follow
in order to maintain HCV forests, other than monitoring, which is
already required by FSC anyway
-a previous HCVF report in 2007 recommended that Clayoquot Sound’s remaining intact valleys be reserved from logging for a significant period of time (in excess of 20 years and possibly up to 100 years).
PLEASE ASK IISAAK TO NEVER LOG IN CLAYOQUOT’S INTACT VALLEYS IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE INTACT HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE FORESTS IN THESE VALLEYS INDEFINITELY.
From Iisaak's Holt/Utzip 2007 report:
HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE FORESTS IN CLAYOQUOT SOUND
• We recommend that some areas must remain intact if their HCVF values are to be
maintained in future. Other areas could potentially be developed: this development
however, could only occur after monitoring has demonstrated that Iisaak management
activities are consistently implementing the CSSP recommendations, and that the CSSP
management strategies are in fact effective in conserving ecological integrity. We believe
this process would take a significant period of time (in excess of 20 years and possibly up
to 100 years) because of potential time lags in response, the difficulties in detecting
ecological change in a powerful statistical manner and the unknown influences of climate
change on ecosystem functioning and resilience.
• We are of the opinion that reserving significantly less than we have recommended is unlikely to meet the test of precautionary
management for intactness values, especially considering all the other values present in
those areas.
