The Power of Forests Project, a BC-wide coalition of grassroots groups that want to see changes made to the province's forestry industry, will be in Prince George on the weekend for public workshops.
The event happens Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Canfor Theatre, 3333 University Way, from noon to 3:30 p.m., with veteran forester Herb Hammond and Michelle Connolly of Conservation North, a volunteer-led group in Prince George.
“The social license to log primary forest is gone, even in forestry-dependent communities, because there is so little left. We need to start imagining a different future where we can have healthy wildlife populations, natural fire control, and clean water," said Connolly in a press release announcing the event. “This is what most people want regardless of their political leanings, and it's achievable now.”
Project organizers are calling for a new provincial forestry act, the primary objective of which would be to maintain the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems while developing community-based jobs as well as local economies that would strengthen the provincial economy.
“Without new legislation, industry is not motivated to shift from an industrial model to an ecological model. By focusing on ecological integrity, BC can conserve the benefits we get from forests and create more jobs in rural communities," says Jennifer Houghton of the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society in a press release. “With 55,000 jobs lost in 20 years and all the damage being done, the current forestry system is not worth keeping. Legislation must safeguard the people and nature – our very survival depends on it.”
Registration and more information is available online at www.boundaryforest.org/pof.
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