Thank you to the more than 2,300 VHS supporters who sent the following message to the B.C. Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development and to everyone who worked for these important wins for animals.

“I am writing to ask you to stop planned logging on the Sunshine Coast and in the Fraser Canyon that threatens the habitats of black bears and spotted owls.

Specifically, I’m asking that you halt a plan by B.C. Timber Sales to allow logging in the Dakota Ridge area of the Sunshine Coast that could destroy black bear dens that are concentrated on the ridge. Studies have shown that logging in the area would destroy up to 28 dens in two cut blocks. The forest on Dakota Ridge has some of the oldest trees in Canada, which provide ideal dens for black bears when they rot out at the base.

In addition, the provincial government has approved clearcut logging in the Fraser Canyon, which is a habitat for highly endangered northern spotted owls. The spotted owl has been listed as endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act since 2003. I urge you to reconsider approval for this logging, which is a clear threat to this vulnerable species.

British Columbians value these animals and we expect the provincial government to protect them. Please take action to ensure their habitats are not destroyed by this ill-considered exploitation of B.C.’s forests.”

Campaign Background:

Spotted owl habitat under threat

The online magazine The Narwhal reports that the provincial government has approved clearcut logging in the Fraser Canyon, which is a habitat for highly endangered northern spotted owls.

Citing maps produced by the Wilderness Committee, the Narwhal report states that the B.C. government has “issued more than 300 logging approvals — totaling almost 2,000 hectares — in the spotted owl’s range from October 2018 to May 2020…” The spotted owl has been listed as endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act since 2003.

Black bear dens would be destroyed

The Narwhal also reported that a plan by B.C. Timber Sales (the B.C. government agency that regulates logging on public land) to allow logging in the Dakota Ridge area of the Sunshine Coast could destroy black bear dens that are concentrated on the ridge. A study cited by the magazine concluded that logging in the area would destroy up to 28 dens in two cut blocks (areas authorized for logging).

The forest on Dakota Ridge has some of the oldest trees in Canada, which provide ideal dens for black bears when they rot out at the base. The area also provides the bears with plentiful blueberries and fresh water.