Swan Song for Canada's Ancient Forests
8/7/96
OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE
Following is Rainforest Action Networks August Action Alert which draws
attention to the ongoing liquidation of Canada's Old Growth forests. The
alert is written by Matt Frewer, the Canadian-born actor behind the
character Max Headroom, and details the destruction of ancient forest's
across Canada, particularly British Columbia, for items as "crude as paper
and lumber for the U.S. market." This item was posted in econet's
rainfor.general conference.
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
/* Written 3:53 AM Aug 7, 1996 by ranmedia@ran.org in igc:rainfor.genera
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/* ---------- "Singing Forest/RAN August Action Al" ---------- */
Rainforest Action Network
SWAN SONG FOR CANADA'S ANCIENT FORESTS
an appeal by Matt Frewer
British Columbia's ancient forests are among the world's last remaining
primary forests, but they are being destroyed by greedy chainsaw
executives and a compliant government, not only in Clayoquot Sound, which
you have heard about, but across the province. B.C. chainsaws chop down
another acre of primary forest every minute.
I am a Canadian myself, and I know what I'm talking about. I have been
fighting to save a 1,600 acre tract of rare thousand-year-old trees in the
Kootenays interior temperate rainforest, in southeastern British Columbia.
Even as you read this, the trees there are being cut down. It is an area
that the government's own land-use commissioner identified as a
"spiritually significant old growth forest." Local people call it the
"Singing Forest," and have been trying to protect it for years. We have
even offered to buy it with our own money.
With your support, I am certain we can save the Singing Forest before the
chainsaws finish their dirty work.
I wish everyone could see how destructive clear-cutting is. The B.C.
government is telling the world that logging is now being done
sensitively. What a cruel joke! Just look at this photograph of recent
logging and see for yourself!
As I got deeper involved in the fight to save the Singing Forest, I found
out that similar battles were being waged across British Columbia. I found
out that the government still wants to log the remaining pristine
rainforest valleys of Clayoquot Sound. I found out about the mysterious
white Spirit Bear, which is found nowhere on Earth except in the
rainforests of Princess Royal Island. That region is slated for logging
too.
The hardest thing for me to swallow is that these magnificent ancient
forests are being razed to make products as crude as paper and lumber for
the U.S. market. Even today, most telephone books are printed on paper
from ancient forest trees!
Canada has earned its reputation as "the Brazil of the North." In a word,
the government policy is to liquidate its primary forests in order to
replace them with tree farms. Just last month the government admitted
that one out of ten species of plants and animals in British Columbia is
in danger of extinction with the thickest trees and the greatest biological richness are the most
cost-effective ones to cut down.
I urge you, as concerned citizens of the Earth, to do all you can to stop
this mad destruction.
* Matt Frewer is the Canadian-born actor behind the character Max Headroom.
Mr. Frewer is leading efforts to save the Singing Forest.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The Provincial Government is considering whether parts of the Kootenays
rainforest will be protected. If we apply sufficient pressure now, the
Singing Forest may be saved forever. Write a letter to B.C. Premier Glen
Clark, in care of Legislative Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4, Canada.
Send a copy of your letter to your local telephone company, too, and ask
both to respond. Together, these simple actions can help save the
planet's remaining primary forests. U.S. postage to Canada is 45 cents.
Dear Premier Clark,
It is unacceptable that your government is threatening to log places like
Clayoquot Sound, the Singing Forest, and the home of the Spirit Bear.
It is unconscionable and insulting that primary forest pulp is used to
make throwaway products like phonebooks. This kind of practice must
stop open themselves to consumer protest and loss of customers.
I urge you to protect these areas, and to abandon your policy of logging
primary, old growth forests. British Columbia must set an example for
those very few places in the world where there are still chances to save
primary forests.