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Forestry workers and environmentalists call for a renewed Forest Land Reserve
by WCWC Media •
Monday June 09, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Western Canadas largest forestry union and its largest environmental group are calling on the BC Liberal government to reinstate a Forest Land Reserve (FLR) to protect BCs forests from suburban sprawl. The United Steelworkers Union (USW) with 60,000 members in western Canada and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) with 70,000 members and supporters, are calling for the Campbell government to re-establish the protective zoning designation on the forest lands of BCs largest forest landowners...
Forestry Workers and Environmentalists call for a renewed Forest Land Reserve to Halt the Loss of BCs Forest Lands to Suburban Sprawl
Western Canadas largest forestry union and its largest environmental group are calling on the BC Liberal government to reinstate a Forest Land Reserve (FLR) to protect BCs forests from suburban sprawl. The United Steelworkers Union (USW) with 60,000 members in western Canada and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) with 70,000 members and supporters, are calling for the Campbell government to re-establish the protective zoning designation on the forest lands of BCs largest forest landowners. A Forest Land Reserve would prohibit residential building developments on private lands, similar to how the existing Agricultural Land Reserve prohibits residential and industrial building developments on BCs agricultural lands.
The call for a FLR coincides with the BC Liberal governments removal of almost 120,000 hectares of coastal forestlands since 2004 from Tree Farm Licenses (TFL) 6, 19, 25, and 44. This is an area ten times larger than the City of Vancouver, which is 11,400 hectares. Elimination of Tree Farm License designations removes the prohibitions on forest lands against residential building developments, restrictions on raw log exports, protections for ungulate wintering ranges and old-growth management areas, controls on the rate of cut, and forest practices regulations.
"There are intense pressures right now on Vancouver Island and in many parts of BC to convert tens of thousands of hectares currently in forestry use to residential use. Considering the impacts of forestry deregulation by this government in allowing the loss of thousands of BC forestry jobs, a Forest Land Reserve would help to provide greater security for the jobs of forest workers now and into the future," states Scott Lunny, United Steelworkers Union staff representative.
"The Wilderness Committee would like to see a mandatory Forest Land Reserve," states Ken Wu, campaign director of the Wilderness Committees Victoria office, similar to the Agriculture Land Reserve enacted by former BC premier Dave Barrett in 1973 or the Forest Land Reserve introduced by the provinces NDP government in the 1990s. "It would keep huge tracts of forest lands available for forestry use, recreation, conservation, drinking watershed protection, and for First Nations uses. The BC public hugely supports the Agricultural Land Reserve, and I have no doubt they would also support a renewed Forest Land Reserve."
The Forest Land Reserve of the 1990s reduced property taxes for private forest landowners if they agreed to keep their lands within the FLR. It was dismantled after the BC Liberal government came to power in 2001.
BCs major forest companies agreed in the 1940s and 50s to include their private forest lands within Tree Farm Licenses and to set-up sawmills to create jobs for local people in exchange for receiving free logging rights on huge areas of public lands. The current government has simply allowed forest companies to do as they please. USW and many environmentalists believe that companies removal of lands from TFLs without compensation to the Crown is a violation of the public interest.
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