Provincial data shows increase in old-growth logging, contrary to B.C.'s earlier figures: conservationists

Conservationists have used the B.C government's own data to show that the logging of old-growth trees in the province went up in 2021 compared to 2020 — contradicting assurances that more old forests have been left standing since an overhaul to forestry practices was announced three years ago.

On Wednesday, Sierra Club B.C. released its review of publicly available logging data to show that more than 457 square kilometres of old-growth trees were logged across the province in 2021 — not the 383 square kilometres reported by the province last fall.

Later that day, the province updated its numbers and, while they're slightly different, they also show the area of old-growth logging increased between 2020 and 2021, by around 13 per cent to 444 square kilometres.

Old-growth trees are generally described as at least 140 years old in the B.C. Interior and 250 years old on the coast. They are often found in biodiverse areas where they help support ecosystems and slow climate change.

They also represent some of the most valuable timber for the forestry industry, which, as one of B.C.'s top 10 major industries, contributed $5.6 billion to the provincial GDP in 2020.

In November 2022 the province touted its progress in reducing the amount of old-growth logging in B.C., saying it was achieving goals laid out in 2020 to vastly overhaul how old trees in biodiverse areas are cut down by forestry companies, including logging deferrals.

Sierra Club B.C. says the new data is a troubling sign that the province is not delivering on promises to protect old-growth.

"These are the most resilient forests we have left with a fighting chance to withstand climate change like drought, fire and flooding," said the Sierra Club's Jens Wieting. "If we continue to nibble away at the last old-growth we will be left defenceless."

Last November, the province said the logging of old-growth had declined by 42 per cent, from an estimated 65,500 hectares (655 square kilometres) in 2015 to 38,300 hectares (383 square kilometres) in 2021.

"The area logged in 2021 represents 0.3 per cent of the estimated 11.1 million hectares of old growth in the province," said a release at the time.

On Wednesday, following the release of the Sierra Club B.C. report, the province provided updated numbers to CBC News, and said that 0.4 per cent of old growth was logged in 2021.

That equates to 44,400 hectares (444 square kilometres), an increase of 61 square kilometres over what the province originally reported, and 50 square kilometres more than the 39,400 hectares (394 square kilometres) cut in 2020.

The province did not explain why more old growth was cut in 2021 compared to 2020, but said it was working to improve how it collects data.

"As part of our work to protect our oldest and rarest forests in partnership with First Nations, we are improving data collection on B.C.'s forests," said a statement from the Ministry of Forests. "This includes satellite-based change detection and mapping systems."

It says improvements over the past three years will help the province use "the best science and data available to create stronger, more sustainable forest stewardship, prioritizing ecosystem health and community resiliency."

The province says that since fall 2020, it has been working to engage Indigenous leaders on forestry policies, increase transparency about forest conditions, and defer logging in at-risk old-growth forests until a new management strategy can be implemented.

However, it has yet to complete work on any of the 14 recommendations laid out in the 2020 report A New Future for Old Forests, which it committed to at the time.

Conservationists, including the Sierra Club B.C., have hounded the province over its progress, criticizing it for not sharing better data around the logging of old-growth and the number of deferrals.

The fifth recommendation from A New Future for Old Forests asks the province to "provide the public with timely and objective information about forest conditions and trends."

The province has not yet announced the amount of old-growth trees harvested in 2022.