New era: Sound logging without harm

That’s the goal of the merger between the Clayoquot first nations with Ecotrust Canada
[Canada] After a decade of silence in the rainforests of Clayoquot Sound, logging is back, igniting a new debate over how much timber can be removed without harming the ecosystem, and what benefits will it bring to the sound’s communities. Corlazzoli was the faller who cut that first tree on a clear August morning in 2000 after Ahousaht singer Percy Campbell had prayed before it. As the cedar hit the ground, assembled environmental leaders broke into applause. It marked the end of the Clayoquot environmental wars, and what was supposed to be the beginning of new prosperity for first nations who, for the first time, had control over a significant piece of the forest wealth within their territory. Iisaak — named after the Nuu-chah-nulth word for “respect” — is a unique and innovative response to the clash of values between industrial forestry, first nations and a society that views the West Coast rainforest as a global treasure. In the seven years since it was founded, it has struggled to extract economic wealth through a harvesting model that places more value on how much of the forest the loggers leave rather than what they take.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org