News Release

Sierra Club forest management database flunks Yukon for protected areas

May 4, 2006 – Ottawa – The Sierra Club of Canada today unveiled its new and improved National Forest Strategy database, which this year includes grades and a best practices layer. The database provides a revealing picture of forestry practices in Alberta.

The report card database documents and evaluates the progress of provincial commitments under the National Forest Strategy (NFS), a national road map for more ecologically and socially sustainable forest management. The NFS was developed by a process that included industry, small woodlot owners, academics, Aboriginal communities, environmental organizations and government.

The database also includes a best practices layer that highlights progressive provincial/territorial progressive forest management policies and industrial and small scale forest management initiatives across the country.

The Yukon fared poorly in the Completion of a Network of Protected Areas theme. “Protected areas are not a priority for the current Yukon Party government, nor apparently are they considered a valid land use. Despite the territorial government’s nominal commitment to the National Forest Strategy, which recognizes the importance of protected area networks, the only ‘new’ protected areas in the Yukon have been the result of long-standing First Nations land claims agreements and treaty negotiations,” remarked Theresa Gulliver, Forest Conservation Coordinator for CPAWS-Yukon.

“This database provides comprehensive information for Canadians to compare forest practices in their part of the country to what is going on elsewhere,” said Rachel Plotkin, the National Forests and Biodiversity campaigner for the Sierra Club and the database’s architect. “It also illustrates trends in poor forest management – for the most part, provinces and territories are falling short when it comes to developing and implementing strong policies to maintain natural species diversity and protect intact and old growth forest areas. But the best practices layer shows that progressive forestry is possible, even at the industrial scale, and we hope that industry laggards will join the leaders before too long.”

“We have a ways to go yet an excellent opportunity to get there,” concluded Gulliver. “It’s time we acted on it.”

To view the database, visit: www.sierraforestwatch.ca.

For more information, contact:

Rachel Plotkin, Forests and Biodiversity Program, Sierra Club of Canada, (613) 241-4611
Theresa Gulliver, Forest Conservation Coordinator, CPAWS-Yukon, (867) 393-8080 ext. 8