Download the Nelson Event Schedule, Poster PDF
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 2024, 12-3pm
LOCATION: Adventure Hotel, 616 Vernon Street, Nelson, BC
COST: by donation at the door
RECORDINGS: Presentations will be recorded and publicly available at https://www.boundaryforest.org approximately 2 weeks after event.
The Power of Forests project is bringing together grassroots organizations, concerned BC residents, Indigenous Peoples, and scientists to push for a new BC Forest Act. The new Act is intended to ensure that forest management on public lands focuses on the interests of communities and nature rather than on extraction interests. Under this new legislation, the primary objective of forest management will be to maintain the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems.
There is an urgent need for new forestry legislation to ensure the safety and security of BC residents. Decades of overcutting from industrial logging have resulted in enormous losses of primary natural forests in BC. The devastating outcomes include more floods, more drought, more fires, and a deadly landslide at Duffey Lake that killed 5 people. Although the BC government does not declare it, these disasters can be directly and indirectly linked to industrial logging.
Natural ecosystems function fully and flawlessly without industrialized activities on them. Fully functioning natural systems ensure our survival and are the source of what we value. Halting the loss and degradation of natural forest ecosystems and restoring forest landscapes helps enhance climate change mitigation and disaster protection. It also drives sustainable economic growth and supports livelihoods.
This is the power of forests.
Details of the new Forest Act proposal will be shared at the event by Jennifer Houghton, the Power of Forests Project Manager (with the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society). Local speakers, Indigenous People, and scientists will also present relevant regional information regarding the costs of the current system and the urgent need for new legislation. Presentations will be recorded and shared on Youtube, and social media. Recordings will be available within two weeks of the event at: www.boundaryforest.org
NELSON EVENT SCHEDULE
| TIME | EVENT PROGRAMME NELSON |
| 12:00-12:05 | Opening |
| 12:05-12:25 12:25-12:35 Q & A | Joe Karthein, Save What’s Left – Transform BC Timber Sales |
| 12:35-12:45 | Break |
| 12:45-1:15 1:15-1:25 Q & A 1:25-1:55 1:55-2:40 2:40-2:50 Q & A | SPECIAL GUEST: Dr. Rachel Holt -Live Interview Break Jennifer Houghton, Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society – The New Forest Act & How to Get There |
Coffee & tea will be provided.
Nelson Speakers
Joe Karthein – Joe’s advocacy work grew out of a lifelong love for the outdoors and through witnessing the shocking degradation of BC’s forests. His efforts are focused in on transforming the provincial government’s agency, BC Timber Sales (BCTS). Joe will present the case for why BCTS needs to be targeted for radical reform. He will present local and province-wide examples of BCTS’ unsustainable logging practices and show how BCTS has failed to respond to a hotter, drier climate, or take into account modern forestry science. Joe doesn’t consider himself to be a radical. He is the owner of a small excavation business and his favourite tool is his old, trusty Stihl 440 chainsaw. He believes in a truly sustainable forestry industry: Saving what is left of our undisturbed forests AND more forestry jobs.
Dr. Rachel Holt – Originating from the UK, her graduate studies and research in British Columbia created her passion for the BC landscape and its incredible biodiversity. Rachel is trained in the science of conservation biology and land management, and accomplished in the art of applying science in the land and resource management context. Rachel has recently been Vice Chair of BC’s independent watchdog on forest practices – the BC Forest Practices Board, as well as the board of the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology. Rachel volunteers on the Conservation Committee for the West Kootenay EcoSociety.
Jennifer Houghton – After her Grand Forks, BC home flooded in 2017 and 2018, Jennifer became deeply involved in reforming forestry in BC. She co-founded BFWSS along with a small group of locals concerned about the damage from industrial logging to the ecosystems in the region. Jennifer has done extensive filming of the effects of the flooding on the people of the area. She spent time traveling the province listening to politicians, scientists, Indigenous people, loggers, and residents to expand her understanding of the issues. Jennifer was co-author of the BFWSS report Brighter Future for Boundary Forests: The Case for Nature-Based Forestry Supported by a Community Forest Board. She was the lead organizer of Forest March BC, forestry summits, and runs the 3.6K member Facebook group BC Forestry Reform. She continues to speak, present, and collaborate with BC grassroots groups to drive for forest management to prioritize ecosystems and local communities rather than corporate profits. She is the Project Manager and presenter for the Power of Forests project.