Download the Vancouver Event Schedule, Poster, Driving/Parking map PDF
DATE: Saturday, September 21, 12-4pm
LOCATION: The Nest, UBC Vancouver, Rm 2306/2309, 6133 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC (click here for map)
PARKING: for parking info near The Nest click here
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
| TIME | EVENT PROGRAMME VANCOUVER |
| 12:00-12:15 | Opening and Indigenous Welcome |
| 12:15-12:30 12:30-12:40 Q & A | hiwus Calvin Craigan, Hereditary Chief, Sechelt First Nation – Our Sacred Connection to the Land |
| 12:40-12:50 | Break |
| 12:50-1:10 1:10-1:20 Q & A | Ross Muirhead, Elphinstone Logging Focus – The Elphinstone Water Protection Forest Campaign: a case study in the problems of professional reliance |
| 1:20-1:50 | Break |
| 1:50-2:35 2:35-2:45 Q&A | Dr. Younes Alila, UBC Forest Hydrology – What the Hell Caused the Chilcotin Landslide? How forest cover loss has awakened a sleeping giant |
| 2:45-2:55 | Break |
| 2:55-3:20 3:20-3:30 Q & A | Jennifer Houghton, Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society: The New Forest Act for Public Land & How to Get There |
| 3:30-3:40 | Role Play |
| 3:40-3:50 | Q & A/Panel Discussion |
VANCOUVER SPEAKERS
Dr. Younes Alila – Dr. Alila graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor degree in civil engineering in 1985, a Master degree in water resources engineering in 1987, and a Doctorate in engineering hydrology in 1994. Dr. Alila teaches and conducts research on climate and land use change effects on water resources. Dr. Alila’s work over the last 20 years on forests effects on floods challenged an over a century-old hydrologic wisdom on how forests affect large floods. His work on this topic has been the subject of much peer reviewed discussion among academics in the field and generated press releases by the American Geophysical Union. Dr. Alila served as an expert witness in three court cases: Randy Saugstad vs. Tolko industries Ltd. (logging effects on hydrology, 2015), Waterway Houseboats Ltd. vs. British Columbia (flood hydrology unrelated to logging, 2018), and Ray Chipeniuk and Sonia Sawchuk vs. BCTS & Triantha (logging effects on hydrology, 2022).
hiwus Calvin Craigan – hiwus, known as Calvin Craigan to many of us, is a shíshálh elder, oral knowledge keeper, a hereditary chief of the shíshálh Nation and the youngest Indigenous chief ever elected in Canada.
Ross Muirhead – based on BC’s Sunshine Coast, Elphinstone Logging Focus Society (ELF) is a non-profit, environmental group that provides information to the public on proposed logging in important forest lands. The organization’s mission is to ‘Protect Key Forests and Habitat’ in order to conserve ecosystems and support recreation, tourism, and community resilience. ELF examines the forest industry’s 5-year plans for due diligence covering wildlife, archaeological, recreational, and hydrological assessments. ELF’s foremost goal is to protect provincial forests for their long-term ecological functioning. For a small group working in a rural region, ELF has steadily grown to 900 supporters. This dedicated non-profit has worked with leading scientists (Baden, Banner, Brett and McCrory, Alila), funding their scientific reports. Ross Muirhead, ELF’s founder, lives in xwesam on shíshálh Nation lands, where the first of many local logging protests against BC Timber Sales (BCTS) and Sunshine Coast Community Forest logging company began. Born in West Vancouver, Ross has a background in marine software technical sales, naval architecture software, and has helped out with the Wilderness Committee. https://loggingfocus.org/
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.