British Columbia’s Forest Protection

“U.S. Activists Swing Ax at Canada’s Timber Exports” (Dec. 8) fails to acknowledge Canada’s position as one of the world’s leading stewards of lands and resources. British Columbia retains and will continue to retain a large amount of old growth. There are almost 98,000 square miles of old growth forest in British Columbia--a total area larger than Oregon. Almost 59,000 square miles of this forest are already fully protected or are considered to be unavailable or unsuitable for harvesting.

Forest questions are being addressed through a democratic, community-based land-use planning process and through the comprehensive provincial Forest Practices Code. This code is backed by legislation and ensures that all harvesting is carried out in a way that takes environmental values such as old growth into account. The type of logging described in your article is no longer allowed. In contrast to The Times’ report, a 1995 study found that provincial protection of streams and rivers is stricter than state protection of forests in the Pacific Northwest.

While it is true that Canada lacks endangered species legislation, your article failed to mention that complementary provincial policies and laws, including the Forest Practices Code, the Protected Areas Strategy, the Wildlife Act, the Parks Act, the Ecological Reserves Act, the Fish Protection Act and the Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy, collectively protect endangered species.

DAVID ZIRNHELT

Minister of Forests

Victoria, British Columbia