Carney government commits $1.2 billion to subsidize the forest industry while evidence shows provinces approve clearcutting in federally mapped critical habitat of several species.

VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh AND səlilwətaɬ TERRITORIES — New analysis by the Wilderness Committee shows that British Columbia and other provincial governments continue to ignore federal efforts to protect the critical habitat of several endangered species while seeking a share of a federal forest industry aid package.

In August, Ottawa earmarked $1.2 billion dollars to subsidize Canadian logging operations in the face of rising U.S. lumber tariffs and there’s little transparency around which companies have applied for, or received, this funding. This means the federal government could be subsidizing provincially approved logging that actively accelerates habitat loss for species legally recognized as at risk, pushing them closer to extinction.

The Wilderness Committee's mapping analysis shows that since June of this year — when the federal government published its finalized recovery strategy for the northern spotted owl — the B.C. government continued to permit logging in federally mapped spotted owl critical habitat. The organization has documented 253 hectares of approved cutblocks, 202 hectares of cutblocks pending approval and 195 hectares of proposed cutblocks that threaten the viability of the recovery strategy for the most endangered bird species in Canada.

“Provincial governments have no shame,” said Protected Areas Campaigner Joe Foy. “Demanding more logging subsidies while continuing to issue permits to cut down the habitat of endangered species like the spotted owl."

And the spotted owl is not the only species affected. More analysis by the Wilderness Committee shows that since southern mountain caribou habitat was federally mapped in 2014, there have been 52,557 hectares of approved cutblocks.

"Governments across the country are abandoning their biodiversity and climate goals while pouring public money into supporting status quo resource extraction instead," said Conservation and Policy Campaigner Lucero González. "Earlier in the fall, we spent time on the land documenting logging in southern mountain caribou critical habitat."

“Witnessing that destruction reminded us that when you subsidize logging in species at risk habitat, you subsidize extinction.”  — Lucero González

Logging also continues in the most endangered forest habitat of all: big tree old-growth forests. The kind that Vancouver Island is famous for. But these old-growth forests earmarked for protection by the B.C. government are still falling fast, threatening endangered forest-dependent species like the marbled murrelet. The Wilderness Committee’s mapping analysis shows that since marbled murrelet critical habitat was mapped in 2014, 14,389 hectares has been approved for logging, with an additional 6,085 hectares pending approval or proposed.

"There are areas on the island where murrelets once nested and now no longer do,” said Forest Campaigner Tobyn Neame. “If the federal government is putting millions into forest industry subsidies, it must demand that the province uphold its old-growth protection commitments before the marbled murrelet disappears for good.”

Download the Wilderness Committee's most recent maps on provincially approved logging of federally mapped habitat here, along with photos and video documenting some of these areas. In addition to the three species analyzed in this mapping, logging also continues in the critical habitat of dozens of others across the country. The Wilderness Committee will continue research and on-the-ground documentation as well as grassroots public mobilization efforts to protect endangered wildlife and threatened forests across B.C., Manitoba and Ontario.

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For more information please contact:

Joe Foy | Protected Areas Campaigner
604-880-2580, joe@wildernesscommittee.org

Lucero Gonzalez | Conservation and Policy Campaigner
604-700-3280, lucero@wildernesscommittee.org

Tobyn Neame | Forest Campaigner
403-461-5151, tobyn@wildernesscommittee.org