| On December 9, 2025, CBC BC Today invited the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society to explain what’s driving the escalating mill closures across the province, and what long-term solutions are available. In the interview, Campaign Director Jennifer Houghton outlined a simple but uncomfortable fact: BC’s timber supply has collapsed because the industrial system was built on decades of overcutting. Industry leaders often cite tariffs, fibre costs, or global markets. Those pressures are real – but they sit on top of a deeper structural problem: the forests that were modelled on paper never matched what existed on the ground. As a result: Mills are closing because the wood is “too costly to log” or simply “not there.” Communities are losing jobs despite decades of extraction. Companies continue to profit by selling off timber rights as corporate assets, even after the trees are gone. Government has no clear long-term framework to stabilize rural economies or protect forest ecosystems. This is exactly why the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society has developed the New Forest Act – a full legislative framework that restructures BC forestry around ecological integrity, local decision-making, and community economies. It replaces the short-term industrial model with a Protect–Restore–Harvest system that keeps primary forests intact, restores damaged landscapes, and harvests carefully from previously logged areas. BC does not need more short-term fixes or crisis responses. It needs a coherent long-term strategy that protects ecosystems and gives rural communities stability for generations. You can watch the CBC interview here – forestry segment starts at 27:47: On December 10, CBC BC Today invited the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society to explain what’s driving the escalating mill closures across the province, and what long-term solutions are available. In the interview, Campaign Director Jennifer Houghton outlined a simple but uncomfortable fact: BC’s timber supply has collapsed because the industrial system was built on inflated assumptions, outdated modelling, and decades of overcutting. Industry leaders often cite tariffs, fibre costs, or global markets. Those pressures are real — but they sit on top of a deeper structural problem: the forests that were modelled on paper never matched what existed on the ground. As a result: Mills are closing because the wood is “too costly to log” or simply “not there.” Communities are losing jobs despite decades of extraction. Companies continue to profit by selling off timber rights as corporate assets, even after the trees are gone. Government has no clear long-term framework to stabilize rural economies or protect forest ecosystems. This is exactly why the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society has developed the New Forest Act proposal – a full legislative framework that restructures BC forestry around ecological integrity, local decision-making, and community economies. It replaces the short-term industrial model with a Protect–Restore–Harvest system that keeps primary forests intact, restores damaged landscapes, and harvests carefully from previously logged areas. BC does not need more short-term fixes or crisis responses. It needs a coherent long-term strategy that protects ecosystems and gives rural communities stability for generations. You can watch the CBC interview here: https://www.youtube.com/live/-9RtihoIB7w?si=WFZfVWaijbKbJzar To learn more about the New Forest Act or support this work, visit: https://boundaryforest.org/new-forest-act-campaign/ |