There is a fascinating irony to British Columbia\u2019s often polarized discussions in the so-called \u201ceconomy versus the environment\u201d debate. It is how seemingly natural adversaries have worked together quietly, often over long spans of time, to devise solutions that both sides can live with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One example is the Great Bear Rainforest, the sprawling natural forest on British Columbia\u2019s central coast that has now grown, thanks to protections kicking in, to an area equal to 7,800 Stanley Parks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years since a landmark agreement ended British Columbia’s infamous War in the Woods, the final stages to secure the Great Bear will be reached this fall. Completion of the agreement is a monumental achievement \u2013 the largest successful conservation effort in North America \u2013 that carries the potential for replication elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meantime, it\u2019s shaping up to be a different story on the west coast of Vancouver Island where the Walbran valley has long been a site of environmentalist-forester confrontation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two decades ago, then-forests minister Dan Miller (now a Resource Works Advisory Council member) reported to the Legislature that 34 tree spikes were discovered in the Walbran, having been “deliberately inserted in such a fashion as to prevent their detection and to cause them to fly out of the tree when struck by a saw blade.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pact was eventually reached through the work of the Commission of Resources and Environment (CORE) after what is remembered today by those at the table as unique, lengthy, intensive, detailed and collaborative work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a three-year process that shaped the way we have managed forests on Vancouver Island ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plan increased the area of B.C.\u2019s parks and conservation areas in the coastal region. It included the expansion of the Carmanah Pacific Park to include the lower Walbran, forming the new Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In total, this amounted to the addition of nearly 13,000 hectares of parkland. Such undisturbed, natural forests are not available for harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite this clear win for forest preservation, peace in the Walbran has been elusive. With logging plans today moving ahead<\/a> outside of the park boundaries, just as provided for through the agreed process, there have been stirrings of renewed anti-logging protest movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get a flavour of what these voices are asking for, here is what three protesters shared at a Victoria event during the summer of 2015:<\/p>\n\n\n\n