Thread by @taranmarch

Hey, @theJagmeetSingh. This is the problem with saying that now first nations have the right to control their own territory. The Pacheedaht have been shut out in the past, for sure. But the only solution made available to them has been to join in with logging. #SaveFairyCreek

And there is concurrent federal jurisdiction you can't ignore. The position of the Pacheedaht is equivalent to what in law is termed "agency capture". This is from a July 1, 2021 article in the Narwhal by Sarah Cox:

"Thirteen years ago, the forested area on the nation’s territory — about 163,000 hectares — was allocated to third parties through licenced areas and forest tenures. The Pacheedaht didn’t hold any of the logging rights.

"Today, the nation manages or co-manages about 140,000 cubic metres of annual cut on its territory — enough trees to fill 3,500 standard-sized logging trucks.

“We’ve been pushed out of the forestry industry for hundreds of years,” the Chief says.

“And now we’re at a point where we’re actually benefiting from forestry resources in the territory.” The nation’s involvement in the forestry industry has been incremental.

"In 2010, as part of a province-wide effort to include First Nations in the forestry sector, the B.C. government awarded the Pacheedaht First Nation forestry rights to an annual cut of 1,500 cubic metres near the reserve, known as Woodlot Licence 1957 —

timber to fill 37 standard-sized logging trucks. Then the nation entered into a 50-50 partnership with Andersen Timber, a Vancouver-based family business, to purchase about 20,000 hectares — the equivalent size of Salt Spring Island — of a tree farm licence near Jordan River.

"The newly minted duo formed one company that owns the tenure, now called TFL 61, and another to manage it. With a steady source of income from forestry, the nation deepened its investments in the sector.

"In 2017, the Pacheedaht First Nation and B.C. government signed a forest consultation and revenue sharing agreement that gives the Pacheedaht a percentage of stumpage revenues from all timber on its territory cut by tenure holders.

"The following year, the Pacheedaht First Nation, Cowichan Lake Community Forest Cooperative, the B.C. government and BC Timber Sales reached a new community forest agreement for the Qala:yit Community Forest.

"That agreement includes an allowable annual cut of 31,500 cubic metres in about 8,000 hectares of scattered parcels of Crown land in TFL 46, including in second growth forest in the lower Fairy Creek watershed.

Now here's the part about federal jurisdiction and laws it is your obligation to advance:

The Marbled Murrelet (MAMU) was identified by COSEWIC (a science expert team) as a species at risk in Canada (2012). The federal Species At Risk Act (SARA) and Migratory Bird Convention Act (MBCA) provide regulatory oversight.

In response, a federal MAMU Recovery Plan was developed by federal and provincial experts (2014, MAMU Technical Committee). This work is enabled under the ‘Accord for the Protection of Species At Risk’ (fed-prov/territories agreement to cooperate toward shared biodiversity goals)

As required within 5 years, an Action Plan was developed entitled ‘Implementation Plan for the Recovery of Marbled Murrelet in BC’ (2018). This BC’s assumption of responsibility to address this species at risk.

Practical takeaways from these documents are: i) loss of nesting habitat (exclusively Old Growth forests <30km of coast) is the most important issue to address, ii) SW Vancouver Island is identified as a nesting area hotspot (termed Critical Habitat),

iii) a provincially issued ‘land use objective regulation order’ was identified as the tool to achieve the desired outcome (provincial action plan). However, the BC Government values jobs and stumpage revenue more than adhering to its multi-stakeholder obligations.

The BC Government has failed, omitted or refused to implement old growth protection identified in the provincial action plan using the land use regulations that are in force despite some of these areas being previously identified as Critical Habitat.

Marbeled murrelets and western screech owls are among the endangered species that inhabit the Fairy Creek watershed. The area in issue is enormous; by comparison, the three parcels of land where the BC Government has paused logging at the request of the Pacheedaht are miniscule.

A recent National Observer article describes a rare lichen discovered in the same area. If there were wildlife surveys undertaken in Fairy Creek before roadbuilding began, they have been suppressed.

The BC Government has failed to acknowledge, identify or commit to preserving rare and endangered flora and fauna known to exist in the Fairy Creek watershed. Instead, Premier Horgan and the media have portrayed the protesters as selfish youth who disrespect the Pacheedaht.

Thirty years ago, the logged moonscape at the junction of Highway 4, where the road T's towards Tofino to the north and Ucluulet to the south, served as the encampment for hundreds of protesters fighting to stop logging in Clayoquat Sound.

Logging was planned for Meares Island, Vargas, the Megin, and elsewhere in Clayoquat Sound. That war in the woods was accessible and visible. The protesters fought as fiercely as those now fighting in Fairy Creek.

But because Fairy Creek is remote, Teal Jones is pushing hard to to punch in roads and log in areas of Old Growth outside the parcels set aside at the request of the Pacheedaht. Our tax dollars are being used to pay for RCMP who are out of control thugs.

Last week the RCMP smashed a van window, dragged out the elderly woman sleeping inside and then ran over her vehicle with a backhoe. The RCMP are destroying the protesters' possessions and towing all cars. Where is the federal government?

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