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October 17, 2013
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SpongeBob&Patrick
Get Tough on Local Forests
Does SquarePant's know something we don't?
A Problem in our Local Forests?
An open letter to Patrick Star
from SpongeBob SquarePants
Dear Patrick,
While I understand that you live under a rock, I’m sending you this letter because I need your help because I’m frustrated with the way our forests are being managed in the rural areas of British Columbia and the fact that the residents of Bikini Bottom are unaware of what’s happening.
Gary and I have discussed this matter in great detail and have decided that we need your help so that we can expose the shell game that’s happening within the BC forest inventory. I am cc’ing Sandy Cheeks so that she can help gain greater public awareness because the problem is very sinister in nature.
Perhaps you know all of this already. Nevertheless, here’s why the inventory is a guessing game, I will describe what’s happening in a series of steps or points as follows:
1. A large forest company has a tree farm license they manage for the crown. They have this license for an endless period of time. They present to the government and the public a five year plan which then might be considered being part of a larger 20 or 30 year management plan.
2. The company harvests a certain allocation which then coincides with the crown harvesting targets over that same five year period.
3. The company implements a reforestation strategy that seeks to replenish the forest over 20-30 years. At the same time it manages land-use within that same period in order to nurture that forest so future harvesting can occur. Ideally, harvesting happens appropriately over this timeframe.
From this point things are going amiss.
4. Let’s pretend that the Tree Farm License is a pie, and the pie has 12 slices each representing a large cut block.
5. In their management plan 6 slices are to be left alone – this considers habitat protection and balance in the forest.
6. The other 6 slices are to be harvested according to their management plan over the course of 20-30 years and within 5 year harvesting plans.
7. But – the company does not harvest 6 slices over 20-30 years – instead they harvest 4 slices over 5-10 years.
8. After that 5-10 years the crown conveniently negotiates an exchange with the company. Offering that company a wider supply of timber elsewhere. Within a trade, the crown takes back all or part of that Tree Farm License which now has 2 slices of pie worth harvesting and 6 slices to be retained for habitat. The company receives prime value within such a trade, and this exchange should be audited by the public – but presently its not.
9. The crown then offers for sale the Tree Farm License (the pie) making it available to perhaps a new licensee, or small business operator, woodlot operator or even a Community Forest. But instead of making available the 2 slices which were originally deemed as timber to be harvested, the crown makes available 6 slices of pie – which leaves only 2 slices remaining for habitat – yet another practice that should be audited.
This “informal” arrangement the crown has with large companies does a number of things:
- It moves mature timber from habitat protection to marketable, thus increasing stumpage volumes for the crown.
- Expedites a greater volume of timber at a more rapid rate for companies.
- Relieves companies of the long-term management and responsibility of the land-base once they have removed the lion’s share of the marketable timber.
- It’s causing us to run out of trees.
- It’s causing fewer trees to be planted in relationship to the rapid harvest.
I’m supplying this information to you in hopes that you will confirm this and ask the questions that need to be asked in Victoria. Neither the crown, nor big forest companies will confirm this; they will hide behind statistical analysis and platitudes.
At this point I do not believe that the present audit addresses the practice that I have just outlined – but perhaps it does.
I discovered this practice by examining Tree Farm Licenses and overlaying maps which identified cut blocks from one tenure holder to another. I was able to see how cut blocks disappeared as the area passed from one tenure holder to another. There will be times when both the government and companies will blame the Mountain Pine Beetle – dig deeper and you will find this will not be true in most cases.
I hope that you can help Gary and I spread the word.
Your bestest friend in the whole world.
SpongeBob SquarePants
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