2,500 hectares of old growth forest is being deferred as part of the Old Growth Strategy

Members of the Nanwakolas Council and Western Forest Products have come to an agreement to defer around 2,500 hectares of forest on Vancouver Island.

This is part of the Old Growth Strategy that was announced back in November 2021.

“We have had feedback from 161 First Nations on the next steps they want to take in this process,” said Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy.

Conroy noted that deferrals take time, and said these things won’t happen overnight.

“We deferred all of the BC timber sales announcements across the province. Of that, that covers almost 600,000 hectares.”

Conroy noted that there’s no timeline of when other deferrals will be coming to other areas of the province, but said there are some imminent announcements on the way.

The province is aiming to defer 2.6 million hectares of old growth forest, and said that these temporary logging deferrals are being put in place until better management can be put in place.