Lək̓ʔəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA, B.C. — Leader of the BC Greens and candidate for Saanich North and the Islands, launched the BC Greens’ plan to address the crisis facing B.C.’s forestry sector.
“British Columbia’s forest ecosystems and forest economy are both in crisis. Harvest levels have declined, mills have closed, communities have lost hundreds of jobs, and decades of mismanagement has left our forests and workers in a dire situation,” said Lowan. “We have cut too much, for too long. A lasting forestry economy cannot be built by trying to return to the harvest levels of the past.”
The economic returns from the government’s current approach have also collapsed, with provincial forest revenue providing just $397 million in 2025/26. Direct forest revenue now falls short of the operating cost of the Ministry of Forests.
The BC Greens reject the BC NDP’s proposed Working Forest Model, which would raise the annual harvest to 45 million cubic metres and lock B.C.’s most productive forests, including old growth, into industrial logging.
“You don’t decide how much wood to cut, then bend our forests around that number,” said Lowan. “B.C. forestry is already changing, and forestry communities are already living through mill closures and job losses. We can plan for it, or we can let this crisis continue. We should start with what each landscape needs to stay healthy, and build a forest economy that lasts for future generations of workers, communities, and forests.”
The BC Greens will:
- Reject the “Working Forest Model” and set sustainable harvest levels through regional, area-based forest planning.
- End raw-log exports and close loopholes that allow minimally processed or rough-sawn wood to leave British Columbia without meaningful processing.
- Permanently protect big-treed old growth and large second-growth forests from logging, fully implement all 14 recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review in partnership with First Nations, and provide conservation financing to support Indigenous-led protection and replace foregone forestry revenues where needed.
- Shift forestry toward partial harvesting, selective logging, commercial thinning, longer rotations and other practices that maintain more forest structure and better reflect the ecology of each landscape.
Please find our full Forestry policy brief below.
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Media contact
Prym Goodacre, Media & Campaigns Officer
+778 650 0597
newsroom@bcgreens.ca
The BC Greens believe that healthy forests and thriving forestry communities both depend on
planning for the long term. Decisions about how much we harvest should begin with what our
forests, watersheds and communities can sustainably support, so that our forests remain
healthy for generations.
British Columbia’s forest ecosystems and forest economy are both in trouble. Harvest levels
have declined, mills have closed, communities have lost jobs, and decades of management
focused heavily on timber volume have damaged our ecosystems and left difficult ecological
and economic choices for the next generation. We have cut too much, for too long. A lasting
forestry economy cannot be built by trying to return to the harvest levels of the past.
The economic returns from the government’s current approach have also collapsed, with
provincial forest revenue providing just $397 million in 2025/26.
1 Direct forest revenue now falls
short of the operating cost of the Ministry of Forests. After decades of intensive harvesting on
public land, this is not an economically or ecologically sustainable model for the future.
For this reason, the BC Greens oppose the NDP’s proposed Working Forest Model. This model
starts with a target of increasing the annual harvest by over 40% to 45 million cubic metres and
seeks to secure the land base needed for that target. This will lock much of BC’s most
productive, lower-elevation forests into industrial logging, including old growth and areas
important for ecological health and watersheds. The proposed “no net loss” policy will also limit
future conservation by fixing the amount of land available for timber production. Protecting
additional areas will then require other land areas to be opened up into working forest
zones.This starts in the wrong place. We should not decide how much timber we want to cut
and then organize our public forests around supplying it.
Instead, regional forest planning should begin by identifying what each landscape needs to
sustain ecosystem health, biodiversity, cultural values, watersheds, wildfire resilience and
healthy communities. A sustainable fibre supply can then emerge from those plans, providing
workers and businesses with a long-term forest-economy based within ecological limits.
That also means protecting forests that should no longer be part of the timber supply. We will
permanently protect big-treed old growth and old second-growth forests from logging and invest
in conservation financing to support First Nations and communities in protecting these forests.
We will fully implement the Old Growth Strategic Review in partnership with First Nations,including its call to make ecosystem health and biodiversity an overarching priority in forest management.
BC forestry is already changing, whether we plan for it or not. The forests available for harvest
are different than they were a generation ago, and many forestry communities are already living
through mill closures and job losses. Our focus is on building a forest economy that can last for
future generations. That means getting more value and supporting more jobs from the fibre we
can sustainably harvest, expanding community and First Nations forestry, changing how we
harvest, and helping each region build a sustainable economy around the forests it will have for
generations to come.
The BC Greens will:
● Permanently protect big-treed old growth and large second-growth forests from logging,
fully implement all 14 recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review in
partnership with First Nations, and provide conservation financing to support
Indigenous-led protection and replace foregone forestry revenues where needed.
● Reject the proposed Working Forest Model, including the 45 million cubic metre harvest
objective and “no net loss” approach, and instead determine sustainable harvest levels
through regional, area-based forest planning.
● End conventional clearcutting across BC’s public forests. Work with First Nations, forest
communities, workers and the industry to transition away from conventional clearcutting
and toward forestry that maintains forest structure and reflects the ecology of each
landscape.
● Expand community and First Nations forestry by increasing the number and size of
community forests, removing requirements that force them to maintain the Annual
Allowable Cut, and working toward dedicating 20 per cent of the AAC to community
forests.
● Reform forest tenure so that more tenure is held by First Nations, communities and
smaller operators rather than concentrated among a small number of large companies.
● Shift forestry toward partial harvesting, selective logging, commercial thinning, longer
rotations and other practices that maintain more forest structure and better reflect the
ecology of each landscape.
● Dedicate substantially more of BC’s available fibre to value-added production, with a
short-term goal of directing 30 to 50 per cent of available volume toward higher-value
manufacturing and prioritizing small and independent producers.
● Diversify milling and secondary manufacturing so BC gets more jobs and economic
value from every cubic metre harvested, including investment in facilities capable of
using smaller-diameter and lower-quality fibre.
● End raw-log exports and close loopholes that allow minimally processed or rough-sawn
wood to leave British Columbia without meaningful processing here.
● Share a greater portion of forest-resource revenues directly with First Nations,
municipalities and regional districts so communities that host forestry receive more of its
economic benefits.
● Ban the use of glyphosate and other chemical herbicides.
● Support forestry workers through the transition with dedicated retraining, upskilling and
employment supports.
● Improve forest transparency and accountability by publishing current maps, harvest data
and planning information, and strengthening government monitoring and enforcement of
forest-management rules.
● Amend the Private Managed Forest Land Act to ensure basic ecological and cultural
protections on private land.