Clayoquot a heritage worth protecting

Wilderness Committee Educational Report Vol.13 - No.05, Summer 1994

SCIENTIFIC PANEL SAYS "AVOID CLEARCUTTING" IN CLAYOQUOT SOUND

Attempting to make its April '93 decision to allow logging in most Clayoquot Sound acceptable to the public, the B.C. government set up a Scientific Panel to ensure that any logging there would meet the "highest scientific standards" in the world.

The panel is not allowed to consider whether or not the "islands of preservation" established by the decision will adequately protect biodiversity.

But the Panel's March '94 interim report concludes that current forest practices lead to the loss of biodiversity. It recommends new, holistic "ecosystem-based" practices that:

  • maintain the integrated functions of soils, freshwater, marine and forest ecosystems.
  • maintain old-growth forest characteristics.
  • avoid clearcutting.

    The big question is, will the B.C. government act on the Scientific Panel's recommendations?