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Northern B.C. group demands action on 2020 biodiversity recommendations in Prince George

Conservation North says government has done “nothing” for biodiversity at high risk due to logging
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The boreal rainforest north of Prince George (photo provided by Conservation North).

Conservation North is calling out the B.C. government and demanding action on the 2020 Forest Practices Board biodiversity recommendations for the Prince George Timber Supply Area (TSA).

In a statement released Aug. 23, the volunteer-run community group said the government has done “nothing to limit further destruction of wildlife habitat” in the area.

The board concluded in its investigation that biodiversity is at high risk of irreversible loss due to industrial logging.

“It has been two years since the Forest Practices Board concluded that nature was at high risk in the Prince George TSA because of industrial logging. Why is it taking so long for the B.C. government to act on the board’s recommendations when these ecosystems are on the brink of collapse?” said Conservation North’s director, Michelle Connolly.

Conservation North said the board’s two recommendations were that the government map and protect old growth where it is at risk of experiencing the most damage by logging and update the province’s anachronistic biodiversity requirements for the region to reflect the latest science.

Currently, biodiversity requirements for the TSA are in the Biodiversity Order, a document created in 2004.

“The order is widely known to have been written to protect logging company access to the amount of old forest they want, where they want it,” said Connolly.

“It specifies minimum areas to be retained that are way below what the science says must be protected to avoid ecological collapse.”

Conservation North’s Asta Glembotzki added that “B.C. has to rectify a massive problem in the Prince George TSA by following the recommendations of the board now.”