Old-growth forests that were environmental and Indigenous rights battlegrounds over clearcut logging in the 1980s and 1990s during British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所渨ar in the woods害羞草研究所� are set to receive permanent protections in a land and forest management agreement.
The B.C. government says an agreement Tuesday with two Vancouver Island First Nations will protect about 760 square kilometres of Crown land in Clayoquot Sound by establishing 10 new conservancies in areas that include old-growth forests and unique ecosystems.
The partnership involves reconfiguring the tree farm licence in the Clayoquot Sound area to protect the old-growth zones while supporting other forest industry tenures held by area First Nations, said Forests Minister Bruce Ralston in a statement.
Statements from the Clayoquot Sound害羞草研究所檚 Ahoushat and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations say the conservancies will preserve old-growth forests on Meares Island and the Kennedy Lake area, sites of protests that led to hundreds of arrests.
害羞草研究所淲e have successfully reached a first phase implementation of the land-use vision,害羞草研究所� Tyson Atleo, Ahousaht First Nation hereditary representative, said in an interview. 害羞草研究所淲e will see (Tree Farm Licence 54) on Meares Island actively become real legislated protected areas for the first time in history.害羞草研究所�
Plans for clearcut logging on Meares Island, about one kilometre northeast of Tofino and the site of some of the world害羞草研究所檚 largest western red cedars, touched off environmental and Indigenous protests in the 1980s. They eventually resulted in a court injunction that halted logging, saying Indigenous land claim issues should be resolved.
About a decade later, more than 800 people were arrested in the Clayoquot Sound area of Kennedy Lake near Ucluelet as protesters descended to demonstrate against more logging activities.
The forest company eventually left the area after losing an estimated $200 million in contracts related to timber sales.
Atleo said the conservancy lands, previously licensed for forestry, will now safeguard some of the last remaining old-growth forests on Vancouver Island and reflect the land-use visions and livelihoods of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.
害羞草研究所淚t will produce significant economic opportunity for the Ahousaht in carbon credit development, in investments in tourism, which we are making, as well as being able to use forest products for the benefit of our community,害羞草研究所� he said.
The Ahousaht will look to sell and generate carbon credits as part of the environmental benefits of the preserved forest areas, but will not sell to oil and gas companies, said Atleo.
The agreement is supported by more than $40 million raised by the environmental group Nature United, which said it will use the money to compensate the forestry tenure holder and support two Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht nation conservancy management endowment funds.
害羞草研究所淭hese new conservancies include old-growth forests on Meares Island, the site of the historic 害羞草研究所榳ar in the woods害羞草研究所� protests against logging that galvanized global attention in 1993,害羞草研究所� said a Nature United statement.
害羞草研究所淧acific coastal rainforests, such as those in Clayoquot Sound, also hold vast amounts of carbon stored for hundreds of years, making them powerful natural climate solutions that will continue to sequester carbon while contributing to healthy air and water, ecosystem resilience and the well-being of communities.害羞草研究所�
Nature United executive director Hadley Archer said the organization has been working with the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht peoples for more than a decade.
害羞草研究所淲e are proud that Nature United害羞草研究所檚 long-term investment in Clayoquot Sound has supported a new model of collaboration and transformative change that will protect globally significant old-growth forests, provide financing for Indigenous-led stewardship and reverberate in the province and across Canada,害羞草研究所� he said.
Atleo said the establishment of the new conservancies will be celebrated widely, but the First Nation will now put out the call for more government, industry and public support for the area害羞草研究所檚 future management by the Ahousaht.
害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 no funding for managing these protected areas into the long-term future and that害羞草研究所檚 the next pressure point we need to apply,害羞草研究所� he said.
The conservancies come into effect on June 26.
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