Member of Parliament for Burnaby – New Westminster Peter Julian will be at Chilliwack Lake today to tour an area of old-growth forest previously protected as spotted owl habitat – but now threatened by logging.
Members of the Friends of Chilliwack River Valley and the Wilderness Committee will be joining with Post Creek residents to take Mr. Julian on a hike through groves of big trees near Post Creek, located between Ford Mountain and Chilliwack Lake. The forest had originally been protected by the BC government in 2006 as spotted owl habitat, but then in early 2011 the BC government suddenly gave permission for 13 logging cut blocks to be felled in the habitat area.

The spotted owl is one of the most endangered species in Canada, with less than a dozen owls thought to now survive in southwestern BC, the only place in Canada where they live. Logging of the owl’s old-growth forest habitat is the chief reason for the species’ steep decline – down from a population of 500 pairs thought to have existed before the start of commercial logging in the 1880s.

“I am very interested in the issue of protecting Canada’s endangered species,” said Mr. Julian. “In the case of the spotted owl forest at Post Creek I have quite a strong interest, as my family had a cabin in the area when I was a child and I spent quite a bit of time hiking the local forests,” he said. “By allowing logging inside a supposedly protected area, I would say that the BC government is not taking adequate care to protect spotted owl habitat to ensure the recovery of this endangered species. It may be time for the government of Canada to step in and use the federal Species at Risk Law to take emergency action to do so,” he said.

Glen Thompson of the Friends of the Chilliwack River Valley agreed with Mr. Julian. “The spotted owl is extremely endangered in Canada," Thompson said. "All that can be done, should be done. That’s why we have invited Mr. Julian here today”.

Joe Foy, National Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee expressed hope that the logging plans would be cancelled. “I am hoping that Mr. Julian’s visit today will help the BC government come to its senses and cancel the logging plans. After all, no one in Canada wants to see such a beautiful creature disappear from our nation,” Foy said.

For more information please contact:

Joe Foy, National Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee – Cell tel: 604-880-2580

Peter Julian, Member of Parliament for Burnaby – New Westminster – (604) 505-1431