B.C. charts new path for old-growth forests with 2.6M hectare logging deferral

B.C. is unveiling a plan to pause logging in at-risk and highly sensitive old-growth forests as it charts a new path forward.

B.C. is unveiling a plan to pause logging in at-risk and highly sensitive old-growth forests as it charts a new path forward.

Forests Minister Katrine Conroy presented a proposal Tuesday to defer (just to avoid repetition with the lede) harvesting on 2.6 million hectares of rare and ancient forests while the province consults with First Nations.

"We're building a new vision for forest care to better share all the benefits of our forests for generations and generations to come," she said at a news conference.

Conroy noted the biodiversity and ecosystems of old-growth forests and how they store carbon, which is released when the trees are cut down, contributing to climate change. At an international conference focused on tackling global warming, more than 100 world leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are vowing to end and reverse deforestation. It's a promise that's been made before.

After protests in Fairy Creek over concerns that old-growth trees were being logged, B.C. deferred the harvesting of 200,000 hectares of old growth land. An independent review is now recommending further protections.

Garry Merkel is a member of the independent Old Growth Technical panel. He said the group focused on what is most urgent.

"Deferrals are targeted at ecosystems that are most at risk of irreversible loss at this moment in time, and they're temporary pauses," he explained.