 |
| counting the rings |
Activists calling themselves the "Rainforest Flying Squad" are blocking loggers attempting to fell old growth trees in the Fairy Creek and Caycuse watersheds. The protests are reminecent of the "War in the Woods" in 1993 when 1,000 protesters were arrested in what is the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada's history. Several dozen activists are camping out and vowing to block any logging in small area of remaining rainforest at the island's southern end. They have erected shelters, a kitchen tent and fortifications as well as an outhouse made of discarded old growth cedar. The bloickaders have vowed to remain until the old growth trees are protected from felling. [photo credit: J. Winter, UK Guardian]
A recent government report made fourteen recommendations to the provincial government concerning old growth logging that includes a moratorium on cutting in high-risk ecosystems. Critics say the government is overstating the amount of old-growth remaining and is moving too slow to protect what is left. The government is caught between its election promises to protect old-growth forests and what it says is an undue risk to jobs in the forestry industry. Timber companies say some logging must go on to protect jobs that are rapidly disappearing. Giant trees are the skeleton of a rain forest, supporting a myriad of organisms within their moss-covered canopy.