The BC Conservatives take an extreme, anti-nature protection stance and will "absolutely axe" BC's protected areas plans to save 30% by 2030 of the province's land area and would turn all 22 million hectares of BC's unprotected, productive forests (including old-growth) into guaranteed logging zones. They promote gross misinformation about protected areas expansion and about the state of BC's forests.
Read moreThe BC Election and Conservation - Where do the parties stand?
As we approach a BC election (October 19th - BC residents please register to vote at: https://elections.bc.ca/), where do the political parties stand on protecting nature? Safeguarding nature is vital for our health and well-being (even breathing in the air in nature is shown by science to boost our immune systems through plant compounds known as “phytoncides”), for the economy (protected areas attract and support a large diversity of industries and skilled labour to surrounding communities), for the climate, and for the diversity of life on Earth.
Read moreEndangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) Summer Fundraising Goal!
Help us raise $50,000 by September 10th!
Read moreBiggest Old-Growth Protected Areas Victory in Years: Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and BC NDP Government Declare protection of 76,000 hectares in Conservancies in Clayoquot Sound.
Conservationists are applauding the leadership of the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and BC NDP government for yesterday declaring the protection of 76,000 hectares of land – an area about the size of Manning Provincial Park - in new conservancies in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino. Most of the lands committed for protection are comprised of some of the grandest and most intact coastal old-growth temperate rainforests on Earth, and the new protected areas will represent the largest old-growth forest protected areas victory in BC since the Great Bear Rainforest conservancies were announced in 2006. The historic milestone also includes major support from provincial, federal and conservation sources to facilitate sustainable economic development opportunities for the communities to facilitate their economic and social well-being.
Read moreNew protected areas law a ‘game-changer’ for nature and biodiversity protection
OTTAWA, ON - Today, conservation and environmental groups are applauding the federal environment Minister’s introduction of the Nature Accountability Bill, in keeping with commitments under the United Nations Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
This first-of-its-kind law would, if passed, enshrine Canada’s biodiversity protection targets into law, including its commitment to protect 30% of lands and water by 2030. There is clear evidence that nature and biodiversity is in crisis, with a million species at risk of extinction over the next few years, according to scientists. Without action, nature will remain in a dangerous decline.
Read moreThe Narwhal: Did B.C. keep its old-growth forest promises?
It’s been four years since a pair of professional foresters hired by the BC NDP government urged the province to take a radically new approach to old-growth forests.
In their strategic review, Garry Merkel and Al Gorley said the government should manage B.C.’s old forests as ecosystems rather than a source of timber. They also called for an immediate deferral of logging in old-growth forests in B.C. at risk of irreversible biodiversity loss.
Read moreMedia Release: BC Old-Growth Policy Update Adds Little New To Current Commitments
Conservationists note the latest BC government plan doesn’t include much action beyond its previous commitments, with the updated plan lacking specificity and objectives around old-growth protection, but the mention of a science advisory group is much welcomed. Key deferral funding and ecosystem-based targets are still missing. Existing commitments to protect 30% of BC by 2030 with over $1 billion in provincial-federal funding are moving protected areas progress forward, as the province has been in discussions with dozens of First Nations across BC on their Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) proposals.
Read moreThe Narwhal: BC Conservative Leader says his party would kill ‘nonsense’ plans for new protected areas
As the BC Conservatives surge in the polls, party leader John Rustad — kicked out of the BC Liberal caucus for promoting a tweet spreading misinformation about climate change — says he would scrap the province’s pledge to create new conserved areas
Read moreMedia Release: International Day of Forests: Conservation groups alarmed that BC is backsliding on Old-Growth Forest Policy Progress
Today, on International Day of Forests, the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) and Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are expressing serious concerns that the British Columbian government is backsliding on its previous policy progress to ensure an ecological paradigm shift regarding its management of old-growth forests across BC.
Read moreForest Productivity and the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework
Learn about forest productivity distinctions in BC.
Read moreWhat is BC's Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework? Info Panel Explainers
Here is a series of info panels to help you understand BC's proposed Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework - the greatest chance to ensure that the most endangered and least represented ecosystems in BC are prioritized for protection. Please write a letter to the public input process by January 31st - use the guide here.
Read moreHa-Shilth-Sa: Mowachaht/Muchalaht awarded $15 million to protect old growth and salmon
A project to protect a significant portion of Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory has been pledged $15-million from the federal government, fueling an initiative to save old growth and salmon populations in Nootka Sound over the next generation.
On Oct. 30 Canada’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change sent a letter to Eric Angel, project manager for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation’s Salmon Parks initiative. This confirmed over $15 million in funding for the project, payable up to March 31, 2026.
Read moreCampbell River News Mirror: First Nation creating new Salmon Parks to protect fragile ecosystems
Over 650 square kilometres of forest, rivers, old growth and shoreline are in the process of being protected by the Mowachaht / Muchalaht First Nation on western Vancouver Island.
Read moreThe Importance of Recognizing Progress and Giving Thanks in Environmental Campaigns
Photos (Clockwise from top left): Mule deer in the badlands of Alberta; Beautiful Blue Lake in the Ponderosa pine forests of the South Okanagan in BC; Hardwood swamp near Lac St. Pierre in Quebec; Beautiful golden tamarack's in the fall in Quebec's Laurentian Mountains; Tiny newly hatched snapping turtle in the Carolinian ecosystems of Norfolk County in southern Ontario. Photos by Ken Wu.
The Importance of Recognizing Progress and Giving Thanks in Environmental Campaigns
An essay by Ken Wu
Executive Director, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance
Read moreNational Observer: The U.S. is banning old-growth logging. Why can’t we? (national Observer)
The U.S. has pledged to ban old-growth logging, but protecting Canada's ancient forests won't be as simple, stakeholders say.
Read moreBiodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework - Public Input Guide
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework - Public Input Guide
The following info will help you write your own submission to the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework public input process, which is due by January 31st, 2024. Send your submission in your own words to the
Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (Ministry of WLRS): biodiversity.ecosystemhealth@gov.bc.ca
Read moreSEND a MESSAGE: Protect BC's Old-Growth Forests and Endangered Ecosystems - "Ecosystem-Based Targets" are Vital!
To protect BC's diverse ecosystems, BC needs "Ecosystem-Based Targets" that are sufficiently refined and stringent to guide the forthcoming expansion of its protected areas system.
Speak up directly through the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework process by writing your own feedback at biodiversity.ecosystemhealth@gov.bc.ca by January 31st, 2024 and SEND a MESSAGE!
Read moreThe Narwhal (Opinion): Is B.C. finally getting real about protecting nature? (The Narwhal)
A historic turning point in how the province prioritizes conservation over industry profits also shows Indigenous Rights and protecting biodiversity go hand-in-hand
Read moreGlobe and Mail: ‘Salmon parks’ in traditional First Nations territory aim to save habitats by stopping old-growth logging
Celina Starnes, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance’s Operations and Outreach Director, looks up at the big-leaf maple grove of the Burman River valley, which lies within the Mowachaht/Muchalaht salmon-park system. Photo Credit: TJ Watt
New plan from the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, aided by the B.C. and federal governments, signals a shift in Indigenous-led conservation across the province
Backed by a $15.2-million commitment from the federal government, a First Nations community on the west coast of Vancouver Island intends to buy out forestry tenures to stop old-growth logging in selected watersheds around Nootka Sound.
Read moreGlobal TV: Draft policy could be a game-changer for B.C. old-growth protection, conservationist says
This draft policy is being described as a "game changer" in efforts to protect B.C.'s old growth forests. As Paul Johnson reports, conservationists are welcoming a draft plan from the provincial government that would not only consider the economic but also the ecological value of our forests.
Read more