Full Breakdown
British Columbia’s Old-Growth Forests Face New Roadblock
8/6/2026, 10:25:34 AM
Blockade on a Logging Road
Around sunset, a five-car caravan of roughly 20 forest defenders entered a gravel road near Port Renfrew on southwest Vancouver Island. They set up tents and parked a logging truck across the road, then spent the night in the roadway to prevent a company from felling old-growth trees the following morning. Elder Bill Jones of the Pacheedaht Nation, 86, described the scene as “practically naked, bare,” emphasizing the urgency of protecting the remaining stands.
Background, Scale, and Stakes
Coastal temperate rainforests cover less than 0.5 % of Earth’s land, and Vancouver Island’s old-growth stands store more carbon per hectare than most forest systems, according to the Sierra Club of British Columbia. The province reports more than 11 million hectares of old growth, yet scientists estimate only about 415,000 hectares are productive enough to grow the largest trees. About 20 % of the island’s old-growth forests remain, and most of that is still open to logging.
Ecologically, some stands have avoided major disturbance since the last ice age ? 12,000 years ago, providing habitat for threatened marbled murrelet seabirds and salmon. Economically, forests minister Ravi Parmar notes the sector supports roughly 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and faces U.S. softwood-lumber tariffs now exceeding 45 %. Premier David Eby’s government has pledged to increase timber harvests to revitalize the industry, a goal critics say conflicts with conservation aims.
Government Position
Forests minister Ravi Parmar said the province is transitioning away from old-growth dependence, pointing to deferrals protecting 2.4 million hectares since 2021 and investments in second-growth hemlock milling. Premier David Eby has pledged higher timber harvests to boost the economy, while also noting that a long-term agreement with the Pacheedaht Nation is needed before the Fairy Creek deferral expires.
Activist Voices and Opposition
Steven “Shambu” Daniluk, a longtime blockader, likened the fight to an “ivory trade,” stressing that arrests are often the only way to be heard. Outdoor enthusiast Veronika Sitar documents remaining old-growth stands before they disappear, expressing fear that future visits may find nothing.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Once an old-growth forest is logged, it will require millennia before it has the structure, composition and function of the forest that was logged — if in fact it can ever recover in times of changing climate,” — Andy MacKinnon
