WCWC Takes BC's Chief Forester To Court To Save Spotted Owls
Month-old Spotted Owl in area slated for clearcut logging. Photo:Dave Dunbar
Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) has petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court to force B.C.'s Chief Forester Larry Pedersen to take preservation of endangered Spotted Owl habitat into account and lower the rate of logging (the Allowable Annual Cut) in the Timber Supply Areas (TSAs) where the owls live.
Scientists on the government's own Spotted Owl Recovery Team concluded that the owl will be extirpated (go extinct in Canada) unless most of the remaining larger fragments of oldgrowth in the southwest mainland of B.C. are left unlogged.
The petition filed by the Sierra Legal Defense Fund on behalf of WCWC was heard on February 22-23, 1996. WCWC contended that Pedersen broke the law in explicitly excluding owl habitat requirements when he made his recent cut determination for the Soo and Fraser TWAs. On March 18, the petition was denied. WCWC is appealing this decision to a higher court.
Andrew Miller, who holds a Master of Science degree in wildlife management from the University of Alberta and is a PhD candidate there, was WCWC's chief witness. His list of credentials makes him a leading northern Spotted Owl expert. As a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service from 1988 through 1991, Miller conducted extensive field research on the Spotted Owl, noting that these fearless birds have only one persistent enemy, the timber barons. WCWC's case, however, hinges on technical legal interpretation of the wording of the Forest Act, not on biological criteria or moral principles.
Even if WCWC wins its case, it does not ensure the B.C.'s Chief Forester will make an adequate reduction in the rate of forest harvest to save the owl. To meet the letter of the law, all the Chief Forester has to do is consider the owl's conservation needs. But the Wilderness Committee hopes he uses his powers to drastically reduce the cut and tip the balance in favour of Spotted Owl survival.
