RESOURCES:
WHO ARE THE OWNERS of the E & N LANDS?
(current-land-ownership-2023, V2-24.5.31.docx 3 pages)
This is a copy of our web page “Does Mosaic own the E & N lands?”
THE NEED TO REFORM BC’s Private Managed Forest Land Act
(link: Need to Reform PMFLA.pdf 111 pages)
Published in 2019 by the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria
excerpts from this document:
p 4 – “Summary
This report outlines the inadequacies of British Columbia’s Private Managed Forest Land Act (PMFLA) and offers suggestions for law reform.
Part 1 is an overview of the PMFLA,
Part 2 offers specific examples of how logging on private managed forest land is causing harm to communities across BC, and
Part 3 proposes eight recommendations for law reform.
p 5 – Part 1: Introduction and Overview of the Private Managed Forest Land Act
For years, concerned citizens and environmental groups across British Columbia have been pointing out the inadequacies of the Private Managed Forest Land Act (PMFLA) and seeking reform.1 Since the Forest Land Reserve system was replaced by the PMFLA in 2004, private forest land has been logged at unsustainable rates, without adequate protection of sensitive public resources. Private managed forest land is subject to an entirely different set of rules than crown forest land – and those private land rules are far weaker. Notably, the PMFLA has no requirement for sustainable long-term forest management. Logging activities on private land can have devastating impacts on public resources if not managed responsibly.
p 31 – Conclusion
British Columbia’s Private Managed Forest Land Act must be changed to adequately protect valuable public resources that are threatened by unsustainable logging practices on private managed forest land. The new law should eliminate the existing two-tiered system and hold private forest land operations to the same management standards as crown forest land. While forest land dwindles, drinking water supplies are contaminated, valuable wildlife habitat and biodiversity are lost and BC’s tourism industry is threatened, a few large forestry corporations – who have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the BC Liberals – profit and thrive. It’s time for law reform that encourages sustainable forestry practices and recognizes the invaluable public values that are affected by private forest operations. “
P 13 covers Drinking Water issues.
P 21-22 is a comparison of the PMFLA compared to TFLs and the private lands they contain.
P 33-111 in depth comparison of 4 different Forest Practices Codes
PMFLA SCANDALS
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/report-slams-province-for-freeing-up-forests/article656738/
2007- “”forests minister Rich Coleman signed an order effectively improving Western Forest Products’ bottom line by about $150-million.
The contentious decision freed up 28,000 hectares of the struggling forest company’s timberlands on southern Vancouver Island for real estate development.
His brother, Stan Coleman, is in middle-management at Western Forest Products.
Rick Jeffery, president of the Coast Forest Products Association, said in an interview. “People should ask the 3,000 forestry workers [at WFP]who are going to benefit from this.”
However, employment by Western Forest Products has shrunk since the deal was sealed. The payroll has dropped from 3,000 to 2,400 direct employees, and about 800 of those workers are currently laid off due to temporary mill curtailments.”
https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/06/08/Rich-Coleman-Pension-Fund-TimberWest/
Rich Coleman Pressed Government Pension Fund to Buy TimberWest
Court filing seeks to have former BC Liberal forests minister examined under oath about sale.
TIMBERWEST ANNUAL REPORT 2010
(link: TimberWest-last-annual-report-2010.pdf 34 pages)
The last annual report (2010) from TimberWest as a publicly traded company prior to it being acquired by the pension funds (BCiMC and the Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board) later in 2011. The report contains descriptions of the property holdings (“TimberWest owns in fee simple approximately 319,000 hectares or 787,000 acres of Private Timberland. These timberlands are substantially all located on Vancouver Island…”). In addition the report outlines the advantages of operating under the Privately Managed Forest Land Act 1) “Stumpage fees, under normal market conditions, are a considerable cost component for logs harvested from Crown lands, whereas timber harvested from Private Timberlands is stumpage free“. 2) “TimberWest has greater flexibility to export logs from its Private Timberlands to the higher-value international log market” 3) “Private Timberlands afford full flexibility with regard to volumes harvested and selection of harvest areas“.
FINANCIERS in the FORESTS on VANCOUVER ISLAND
(link: Financiers-in-the-forests-on-VI.pdf 26 pages)
This article was published in the Journal of Agrarian Change. It provides an excellent historical timeline of how ownership of the Timberlands on Vancouver Island has developed over time.
THE GREAT LAND GRAB website
(link: website GreatLandGrab.com)
This website was produced by a team of University professors and students, to supply information about the E & N lands ownership and logging practices. It is primarily focused on helping First Nations with their agendas, but is also for the general public in helping with their access goal. In their words:
“The research hopes to provide a public and scholarly accounting of the E&N land grants and their significance for forestry policies and practices, Indigenous nations and the broader settler public who also deal with diminished access and the effects of deforestation. “
Of particular interest is the time lapse clips of logging in the E&N lands, found on their MAPS page. Click on the Time Lapse and it opens to 5 focused time lapses. At OTG we have wondered why we had access to the E&N lands for so many decades and then Mosaic took over management in 2018 and now gates were going up everywhere, not just the active logging sites. Does that coincide with the massive deforestation in the time lapse videos?
CALVIN SANDBORN’S LETTER to VANCOUVER SUN
(link: opinion-CALVIN-SANDBORN.pdf 2 pages)
His letter outlines a clear solution. The BC government made the problem and they can fix it!
ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCESS to PRIVATELY OWNED WILD LANDS
(link: EPAPOWL.pdf 37 pages)
Published in 2016 by UVIC Environmental Law Clinic, and commissioned by the Outdoor Recreation Council, this is a study of the privately owned BC wild lands access problem. It outlines the problem, then looks at what other jurisdictons in North America and globally have done to resolve the problem. It then offers suggestions for resolving the access problem.
But since it’s publication the land owners have been making access more difficult, with more gates going up and convoluted access agreements with special interest groups.
WILD PLACES and GREEN SPACES – a guide to proving right to access
(link: WPGS.pdf 58 pages)
Published in 2022, this is the sequel to the EPAPOWL. In light of the worsening access problem, this document was written as a guide to help the citizens / public gain access to these important wild lands.
Written in 2 parts: part 1 describes how to do the research, and part 2 discusses the legal principles.
It points out 2 ways to prove right to access (both of which are true):
1) that public money was spent on the lands e.g. road building and/or maintenance
2) the land owners intended public access for a period of decades previously
However, recently our focus has changed. We have learned that the ownership has changed to investment corporations, which are owned by the governments and therefore we should have a right to access.
I must also point out that it is this guide (WPGS) that instigated the forming of our group (OTG). And we are ever grateful to UVIC Environmental Law Centre for this.
The E & N LAND GRAB – A Brief History
(link: A-BRIEF-HISTORY-E-and-N-LAND-GRAB.pdf 2 pages)
This is a brief 2 page version of how the E & N Land Grab came to be. (it is copied onto the “History” page on this website)
CROWN LAND GRANTS – A HISTORY of the E & N LAND GRANTS
(link: CROWN LAND GRANTS.pdf 44 pages)
Published in 1975 by the BC government, it outlines the story of the E & N land grants.
synopsis – CROWN LAND GRANTS – a HISTORY of the E & N LAND GRANTS
(link: synopsis CROWN LAND GRANTS.pdf 4 pages)
This is a condensed version of the original document published in 1975.
BRITISH COLONIST RESEARCH (spreadsheet)
(link: British-Colonist-research-24.5.27.pdf 6 pages)
The British Colonist newspaper of Victoria was the original newspaper of the colony of British Columbia and later became the Daily Colonist, and after that the Times-Colonist.
An extensive search of “public access” from 1954-1980 was done using the online archive BritishColonist.ca. This document is a list of these articles, with a note about each article.
Alec Merriman was the main Daily Colonist reporter keeping the public up to date on this public access problem from approximately 1956 to 1980. Many of the articles are from his Outdoors column.
Although “OPEN THE GATES” is only concerned with free public access to the PRIVATE wildlands on Vancouver Island, this document contains information on access to both private and government wildlands and so, is an interesting history of the struggles the citizens have faced with accessing their right to enjoy nature on Vancouver Island.
This document is meant to be a reference. Each newspaper article has a note as to it’s content. If you are interested in a certain article, refer to the date and page number on the left, and go to BritishColonist.ca to read the full article. This will give you the accurate information and context of each article.
1962.3.22 PUBLIC ACCESS committee’s REPORT to legislature
(link: ACCESS-Committee-REPORT-62.3.22-in-full-4p.pdf 4 pages)
This is the report that the logging companies feared! This report contained wording and intent that would be in the Access Act.
1963.3.21 PUBLIC ACCESS ACT – draft
(link: Access-63.3.21-ACCESS Act-DRAFT.pdf 15 pages)
And here is the draft of the PUBLIC ACCESS ACT, published one year after the Public Access Committee’s report to legislature.
BC FORESTRY OPERATIONS MAP
(link webpage: Forest Operations Map portal)
Information about forestry development is now more easily available online for public review and comment.
Previously, the public primarily learned about proposed cutblocks and roads in the local newspaper or in-person at district forestry offices, and then submitted comments by email or regular mail.
However, it is voluntary for logging companies to post on the map. Mosaic is not posting their operations at this time.
STOCKED LAKES on VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC gov 1978
(link: BC-gov-stocked-lakes-VI-1978.pdf 47 pages)
This is proof that all lakes on Vancouver Island should be open to public access!