By Jack Clark

biodiversity issues

Conservation North calls on province to fix biodiversity issues

Aug 24, 2022 | 12:23 PM

PRINCE GEORGE- Conservation North has called on the provincial government to limit further destruction of wildlife habitats in Prince George.

“The rules around protecting the biodiversity in the Prince George TSA, which is a huge area spanning 8 million hectares, resulted from a negotiated agreement around 20 years ago between logging companies and the B.C. government,” said Michelle Connolly, the volunteer director with Conservation North. “Essentially protecting logging company access to the number of old forests when they want and where they want.”

The group is looking for action from the province on recommendations made by the Forest Practice Board back in 2020.

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“The Forest Practices Board came and did an investigation in 2019 and then in 2020,” said Connolly. “They released a report, and the results of their report are that they recommend that the B.C government map out risk for growth and then promptly protect it using a mechanism like an old growth management area.”

CKPG News reached out to the Ministry of Forests to discuss Conservation North’s call. Who responded with the following statement.

“Since November, our government has prevented logging in nearly 1.7 million hectares of old growth working in partnership with First Nations,” said Katrine Conroy, the minister of forests.

“Approximately 80% of the priority at-risk old growth identified by the Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel is not threatened by logging because it is already permanently protected, covered by deferrals, or uneconomic to harvest,” said Conroy

Conservation North also says if the logging trends don’t change soon, it will affect cultures, people who hunt and fish and emotional impacts on people who value natural resources.