Old forest matters; not only for its inherent qualities, but also because old forest retention is the Province’s principle strategy to maintain biodiversity.
In the last year, a report by Price, Holt and Daust entitled BC’s Old Growth Forests: A Last Stand for Biodiversity highlighted the very poor condition of productive old forest in BC, and recommended key actions to prevent matters from getting worse. Key recommendations include immediate deferral of harvest of the rarest forests, developing and implementing ecologically defensible targets for old forest (e.g., minimum of 30%), and improving the implementation of policy to capture the best remaining old forest and maintain functional ecosystems for the future. At the same time, an independent panel (The Strategic Old Growth Panel) wrote a report for the Minister of Forests outlining the state of old forests in the province, and they also provided 14 recommendations. This talk by Rachel Holt will bring together the findings from these reports and provide an overview of what issues are relevant to the future of old forest regionally and provincially.
Rachel Holt, Ph.D., R.P.Bio. is an ecologist, trained in the science of conservation biology and land management, and spends her days working to apply science in the land and resource management context. Her areas of expertise include technical analysis of environmental conditions and trends, working with technical and negotiation teams to solve large and small scale conservation challenges, presenting and explaining complex issues to technical and lay audiences, and scientific development of management frameworks. She has been a member of multiple versions of provincial government Old Growth Working Groups and cumulative effects teams over the last 20 plus years. She has also been a member and Vice Chair of the Forest Practices Board. Rachel lives in Nelson with her lovely family, dog and too many chickens.
2021 Webinar #2
Original Air Date:
Thursday, February 11, 2021
