Wildlife protection system 'broken'
Report says logging rules in forest, habitat preservation ignoredaa

Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist

March 4, 2005

The system B.C. uses for protecting threatened and endangered species is broken and urgently needs repairs, says a report by the Forest Practices Board.

The provincial government has ignored recommendations for improving protection, made by the board in 2001, and continues with policies that facilitate logging but do not conserve habitat for threatened species such as the marbled murrelet, the report says.

"They are trying to make science to fit policy, rather than policy to fit science. We think they have got it backwards," said board chairman Bruce Fraser in an interview.

The report is in response to a 1999 complaint by the Sierra Club of B.C. about logging approvals in the Brand Valley, near the centre west coast of Vancouver Island, an area with prime old-growth habitat for the marbled murrelet.

The small seabirds, red-listed as threatened species, nest in old-growth forests within 50 kilometres of the ocean. Loss of nesting habitat is believed to be the major contributor to their decline.

The 2001 Forest Practices Board recommendations were for the government to complete detailed land-use planning and establish wildlife habitat areas for threatened and endangered species.

The response of the Water, Land and Air Protection Ministry and the Sustainable Resource Management Ministry has been largely inadequate or inappropriate, Fraser says in a letter to Sierra Club forestry specialist Justin Calof.

Staff shortages, reduced budgets, and a policy which says only one per cent of old-growth forest in a timber supply area can be set aside for habitat conservation appear to be the main culprits.

The government needs to set specific targets for such species as the marbled murrelet conservation and then decide how much forest needs to be set aside, rather than allowing forest companies to propose habitat areas driven by arbitrary policy targets, Fraser said.

"This is just one example of a recurring breakdown in the habitat conservation system, which begins with a lack of clear targets set by government for population levels of threatened species such as marbled murrelets," he said.

"Many companies are doing valuable work on habitat assessments, but these efforts require a specific government objective for murrelet conservation to be truly effective."

Threatened species are falling through the cracks, with logging continuing in sensitive areas under plans approved by the government, Fraser said.

"This situation will continue unless government ... provides sufficient funding to resource ministries for planning and enforcement and reviews the one per cent timber supply cap on wildlife habitat areas," he said.

Max Cleeveley, spokesman for Water, Land and Air Protection Ministry, said minister Bill Barisoff had not yet read the report, which was released Thursday afternoon, and would not be able to comment until today.

Calof said the report clearly shows that many of the species-protection policy tools put in place over the last five years are arbitrary and driven by economics. "They don't lead to any protection for endangered species," he said.

The province needs a clear and effective endangered-species law, he said.

The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog that reports to the public on compliance with the Forest Practices Code.