If reviews could save old growth, British Columbia would have the healthiest forests on Earth. Instead, the province has produced a stack of reports as tall as an ancient Douglas fir. Their wording may differ, but their conclusion does not: BC’s forestry system is broken. 

Fixing it will not be easy or quick, but instead of acting, the government continues to produce new reports to delay tough decisions — especially when those decisions mean standing up to large logging companies that profit most from the status quo. 

Rather than using the reports to inspire action, the BC government is hiding behind them.

September 2020: Old Growth Strategic Review

The current wave of reports began in 2020 with the landmark Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR). It called for a fundamental shift in how BC manages old-growth forests — urging the province to recognize their value beyond timber.

The foreword used similar reviews and commitments from the 1990s as a cautionary tale against talk-and-log; had those been fully implemented, the report noted, the province would not be facing the same crisis today. 

At the time, the review offered much-needed clarity and direction and the government committed to implementing all 14 of the authors’ recommendations within three years. Two recommendations were particularly important: immediately deferring logging in the most at-risk old growth forests and enacting a law that prioritizes biodiversity and ecosystem health in all government decision-making across all sectors. Nearly six years later, BC has produced more reports, frameworks and action plans than completed recommendations from the one that matters most. 

2021: Modernizing policy and mapped deferrals

In June 2021, BC released another report: BC Forest Policy Modernization, laying out broad proposals to reshape the province’s forest sector. Once again, it acknowledged the obvious, noting the current system is “inadequate to address today’s challenges.” It reaffirmed the province’s commitment to implement the Old Growth Strategic Review, yet focused only on tweaks to policy and law instead of facilitating the systemic change outlined in the OGSR. 

But the province has largely failed to implement even its more practical ideas, such as stronger action against poor logging practices. Months later, the Technical Advisory Panel on Old Growth Deferrals identified 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old growth for immediate deferral as part of OGSR implementation. Their recommendations were clear, but the response was not. Deferrals have never been fully implemented, and the province’s current forests minister has acknowledged he has yet to fully read the TAP report.

Logging has continued in some of the very areas flagged for protection. That same year, BC faced devastating and deadly landslides. Nearly a third of those landslides were triggered by logging-related activities. 

November 2023: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework

In late 2023, the government released a draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework.

Instead of working to fully implement the OGSR, BC created an interim step through this framework. It repeats their commitment to prioritizing biodiversity in government decision-making and outlines pathways for doing so. It is yet another example of the government preferring planning to doing. 

Today, the framework is still a draft. It has not been finalized, let alone implemented. Reports calling for the right thing aren’t getting enough priority to be finalized. 

May 2024: Old Growth Action Plan

In a moment of unintentional satire, the government released the Old Growth Action Plan, called “From Review to Action.” It was meant to report progress toward achieving the OGSR and outline next steps for full implementation. However, it largely restates earlier promises and extends timelines. Another report to add to the pile. More taxpayer dollars spent on rehashing the problem instead of fixing it.

February 2026: From conflict to care

Nearly six years into BC’s OGSR commitment, we now have a sixth report added to the list. Earlier this year, a government-commissioned group called the Provincial Forest Advisory Council released a report called From Conflict to Care. It again concluded that systemic reform is needed in the province’s forestry regime. 

Each report has a different cover but acknowledges the same truth: what we’re doing isn’t working.

Yet the status quo continues. Irreplaceable old growth is lost and communities face uncertainty. 

We have so much to gain from a transformed forestry sector: clean air, flood and wildfire mitigation, sustainable jobs, community stability. 

At some point, we must ask: how many reviews does it take to protect a forest?

BC does not suffer from a lack of analysis. It suffers from a lack of political will. This government has pledged to protect old growth and prioritize biodiversity. Now is the moment to prove it.

Sarah Korpan is government relations and campaign manager at Ecojustice.

© National Observer