Council of the Haida Nation: Forest Practices Board v. Ministry of Forests and Husby Forest Products
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Forest Appeals Commission, No. 2000-For-009(d)
Protecting endangered species
Husby
Forest Products is a forestry company that operates on Haida Gwaii. Their
five year logging plan for 1999-2003 (Forest Development Plan or FDP),
laid out a series of cutblocks for approval, including blocks in important
marbled murrelet habitat. The marbled murrelet is a threatened species of
sea bird that nests on mossy platforms in the old growth forests of Haida
Gwaii. The main threat to the marbled murrelet is the loss of old growth
nesting habitat. In previous logging plans, Husby had identified draft
protection measures ("Forest Ecosystem Networks” or FENS) to provide habitat
for marbled murrelets and old growth connectivity. The District Manager had
previously prohibited development in the draft FENs. The 1999-2203 FDP
removed the FENs without discussion and proposed cutblocks where the FENs
used to be marbled murrelet were not mentioned in the FDP at all. In his
approval letter, the District Manager also failed to mention the draft FENs
or the marbled murrelet.
In 2001, EAGLE intervened on behalf of the Council of the Haida Nation in a Forest Appeals Commission hearing regarding the approval of the FDP. We argued in part that the Province must adopt the "Precautionary Principle" in its decisions under the Forest Practices Code regarding FDPs. Two years after the Forest Appeals Commission heard this case, the commission gave their decision, and held that the FDP did not ensure adequate protection of the marbled murrelet. They overturned the approval of the most contentious blocks. Unfortunately, however, the most contentious block was partially logged the same day the decision came down.
Husby
Forest Products is a forestry company that operates on Haida Gwaii. Their
five year logging plan for 1999-2003 (Forest Development Plan or FDP),
laid out a series of cutblocks for approval, including blocks in important
marbled murrelet habitat. The marbled murrelet is a threatened species of
sea bird that nests on mossy platforms in the old growth forests of Haida
Gwaii. The main threat to the marbled murrelet is the loss of old growth
nesting habitat. In previous logging plans, Husby had identified draft
protection measures ("Forest Ecosystem Networks” or FENS) to provide habitat
for marbled murrelets and old growth connectivity. The District Manager had
previously prohibited development in the draft FENs. The 1999-2203 FDP
removed the FENs without discussion and proposed cutblocks where the FENs
used to be marbled murrelet were not mentioned in the FDP at all. In his
approval letter, the District Manager also failed to mention the draft FENs
or the marbled murrelet.In 2001, EAGLE intervened on behalf of the Council of the Haida Nation in a Forest Appeals Commission hearing regarding the approval of the FDP. We argued in part that the Province must adopt the "Precautionary Principle" in its decisions under the Forest Practices Code regarding FDPs. Two years after the Forest Appeals Commission heard this case, the commission gave their decision, and held that the FDP did not ensure adequate protection of the marbled murrelet. They overturned the approval of the most contentious blocks. Unfortunately, however, the most contentious block was partially logged the same day the decision came down.