BC Timber Sales: A government agency out of control

Schmidt Creek

(Photo: Louis Bockner)

On north-east Vancouver Island, in unceded Tlowitsis-Ma’amtagila territories, a small, steep-sided valley drains into the Johnstone Strait. Schmidt Creek, which is the next watershed over from the legendary Tsitika Valley, drains into Robson Bight, a world-renowned killer whale habitat.

One of the only places on earth with well-documented killer whale rubbing beaches, Robson Bight is subject to stricter regulations than elsewhere in the marine environment. 

On land though, not much is different. 

Outside of the Lower Tsitika River Provincial Park, most of the forests in this region are wide open to logging, including the valley adjacent to the Tsitika — Schmidt Creek.

In the last few years, BCTS has laid out and auctioned off massive new old-growth cutblocks in this sensitive watershed, raising  concerns from whale experts  and  Indigenous leaders and environmentalists .

Thousands have called on the B.C. government to order BCTS to halt logging in Schmidt Creek, but so far it has ignored these calls.

We can’t destroy the remaining old-growth rainforest in the Robson Bight area just because part of the Tsitika Valley is protected. It’s time for the B.C. government to halt logging permits in Schmidt Creek and develop a plan to protect old-growth in the region.

Tessium Creek

(Photo: Torrance Coste)

On northeastern Vancouver Island, in the unceded territory of the Ma’amtagila Nation, a creek called Tessium drains into the Johnstone Strait. The bottom of this valley, where the densest forest, biggest trees and richest habitat once existed, has been almost entirely logged over the last several decades.

Ecologically, this watershed has been completely disrupted. And the replanted forest — which ranges in size from seedling to Christmas tree — won’t be of economic value to north Island communities for decades to come. 

Just one stand of old-growth remains — an incredibly beautiful cedar and hemlock forest near the head of the valley. But it too is under immediate threat, slated for extensive road building and clearcut logging by BC Timber Sales now.

Tessium Creek highlights how far past balance the forest industry has come and what we’re at risk of losing — forever.

Tahsish River Valley

(Photo: Torrance Coste)

On the middle of northern Vancouver Island, the Tahsish River flows southwest out of the Karmutzen Range into Kyuquot Sound through the unceded territory of the Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h' Nations. While the lower part of the river is protected within Tahsish-Kwois Provincial Park, most of the watershed is unprotected. Huge stretches of clearcuts, many of which burned after they were left bare by logging over the last decade, scar the region.

One of the last tracts of intact rainforests in the valley on the west side of the river, filled with giant hemlock and fir, is on the chopping block. Once again, the culprit is BC Timber Sales.

Heavily-impacted watersheds like the Tahsish should be left alone and given a chance to recover, not targeted for tax payer-funded old-growth logging.

Nahmint Valley

(Photo: TJ Watt)

West of Port Alberni, in the territory of the Hupačasath and Tseshaht Nations, the Nahmint Valley contains some of the most picturesque scenery and some of the biggest trees still standing on the West Coast.

And thanks to BCTS, it also contains some of the biggest stumps. 

In the last few years, the government agency has auctioned off cutblock after cutblock in this beautiful valley, with the clearcuts including some of the largest douglas-fir and red cedar trees in Canada. 

Photos of giant trees on the ground have gone viral. An investigation initiated by complaints filed by activists with the  Ancient Forest Alliance  found BCTS has been in  non-compliance with regulation in Nahmint . Their logging plans there are ignoring the province’s already inadequate best practices for old-growth.

This is one of the clearest examples in B.C. of extreme old-growth logging and it’s being done by our own government.

The ancient rainforest in the Nahmint Valley represents the last, best low-elevation old-growth rainforest. The kind of ecosystem that’s been removed from the vast majority of its former range. 

Old-growth forests of this quality are non-renewable. We’re at serious risk of losing them forever. The Nahmint shows BCTS is leading the way to that extinction.

Port Renfrew / Juan de Fuca

(Photo: Mark Worthing)

On Vancouver Island’s southern shore, in unceded Pacheedaht territory, the original rainforest is essentially limited to a thin strip along the coast. 

And BCTS is making that strip thinner by the month.

Despite its scarcity, the coastal rainforest that sits along the shore draws thousands each year, visitors to the legendary West Coast and Juan de Fuca trails seeking to experience what this entire coast was once like. The town of Port Renfrew has seen a dramatic shift in its local economy, with the importance of sectors like logging declining, while ecotourism continues to grow. 

But in the last year alone, BCTS has auctioned off 109-hectares of old-growth forest just outside Port Renfrew for clearcutting.

By refusing to see ancient forests for anything other than timber they contain, BCTS is not only clinging to the past, it’s undermining a more sustainable future.

Mount Elphinstone Area

(Photo: Emily Hoffpauir)

Across Howe Sound from Metro Vancouver Area, in the territory of the shishalh (Sechelt) and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nations, a diverse forest ecosystem extends from the Sunshine Coast Highway up gradual slopes to the peaks of the Coast Mountains Range.

Small parts of this region are protected within Mt. Elphinstone Provincial Park and other protected areas. However, the vast majority of the forest — mostly older second-growth with pockets of majestic old-growth — remains open for logging, and is being targeted by BCTS. 

Because of the proximity of this forest to communities like Gibsons, Roberts Creek and Sechelt, it has immense recreational value and is beloved by thousands of local residents.

Groups like  Elphinstone Logging Focus  have fought for this forest for years, advocating for expansion of the provincial park to include accessible and widely-used stands of trees. The  Sunshine Coast Regional District has also raised concerns  about the impacts of logging on runoff, groundwater and recreation infrastructure across the Mt. Elphinstone Map Area, Dakota and McNair Community Watersheds. 

A modern land use plan is currently underway for the Elphinstone area, and BCTS should halt new cutblock auctions while this is underway. The fact that BCTS can’t keep its hands off cherished forests so close to communities, highlights the unsustainable nature of an agency not operating in the public interest.

Spuzzum Creek

(Photo: Joe Foy)

The Spuzzum Creek Valley in Fraser Canyon country in southwest BC country has seen heavy logging in past decades. This watershed is in the territory of the Nlaka’pamux, and fortunately still contains enough old-growth forest remains in this region to provide a home for the last remaining wild spotted owls in B.C. The spotted owl is Canada's most endangered bird species with only three remaining in the wild. 

The cause of their decline? Continued industrial logging of their old-growth forest habitat. Shockingly, BCTS has extensive plans to log the remaining old-growth forest in the Spuzzum Valley, part of the last stand of the spotted owl in Canada.

B.C. is one of two provinces in Canada without endangered species legislation, and the plight of the spotted owl highlights just how serious a problem that is. The B.C. government has a duty to responsibly look after resources and protect vulnerable wildlife. Instead, it’s poised to log the spotted owl into extinction in the Spuzzum Valley.

Skagit Headwaters Donut Hole

(Photo: Joe Foy)

In the heart of the northern Cascade Mountains a rich cluster of valleys sits completely surrounded by existing provincial parks. As its name suggests, the Skagit Headwaters ‘Donut Hole’ contains some of the tributary streams to one of the most iconic rivers in the Cascade region.

Despite holding rich biodiversity — from low elevation rainforests to beautiful sub-alpine meadows — and being a key wildlife corridor between two beloved parks, Manning and Skagit Valley, the Donut Hole remains unprotected. It has even seen some logging over the past couple of decades by BCTS. 

The public outcry has been long-standing and fierce. This area is revered by wildlife conservationists and recreationalist alike. The concern for the Donut Hole even extends below the Canada-US border. The Skagit River provides salmon habitat, water for irrigation, hydroelectricity and other values in Northwest Washington. Concern about its headwaters is widespread, right up to the state’s governor and the mayor of Seattle. 

After years of advocacy by Indigenous peoples, groups on both sides of the border, including the Wilderness Committee, and thousands of citizens, the B.C. government blinked. In December 2019, it announced an end to issuing BCTS logging permits in the Skagit Headwaters Donut Hole.

While the Donut Hole will still face threats until it is fully protected — notorious mining corporation Imperial Metals holds substantial mining claims in this precious area — the end of BCTS logging is a major win. It’s also a sign the B.C. government recognizes other values are more important in sensitive and endangered forests. 

We’re hopeful we can build off this momentum and build pressure on the provincial government to protect key forests in other BCTS areas.