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From The Discourse, Cowichan area based independent media. Please take the #survey if you care about access to #wilderness areas. Mosaic is one of the worst ecocide corporations in BC & they're responsible for much #deforestation on #VanIsle & surrounding islands.

Mosaic published a survey earlier this month to gather public input on responsible recreation. The company says it will use the survey results to guide the company’s “commitment to responsible #ForestStewardship — balancing public recreation with #environmental protection.”

If you’d like to let Mosaic know what you think about opening up the gates to the private land it manages, the survey is open until May 23.

https://www.mosaicforests.com/news-views/mosaic-seeks-public-input-on-responsible-recreation

The Discourse published an article by reporter Rowan Flood covering the ongoing battle between outdoor recreation groups and Mosaic Forest Management. Mosaic manages huge swaths of land on #VancouverIsland and tightly controls access to what one outdoor enthusiast called the most impressive and “jaw-dropping” parts of the Island. I was completely floored to learn that nearly 600,000 hectares of #unceded land on the Island is privately owned and is managed by a single company.

https://thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/vancouver-island-outdoor-enthusiasts-want-authorities-to-open-the-gates

#BCForestryReform #BCpoli #BCNDP #BCNewDeathParty #CorporateGreed #GreedKills #PublicAccess #CDNpoli #PublicInput #BanCorporateLobbyists #StopDeforestation #StopEcocide #ProtectForests #PacificNorthwest #PNW #PublicTransparency

Dead #trees are not wasted timber dollars - they are sources of food for literally thousands of beings in a #forest #ecosystem, from tiny microscopic beings to insectivorous birds. Standing dead trees are known as snags, while a fallen dead trees are nurse logs. A cut or natural stump can serve the same #ecological function as a #NurseStump.

Nature wastes nothing. If there is a nutrient source to be had, there is a being to benefit from it. Nurse logs, standing snags & nurse stumps play hosts to all sorts of mosses, lichens, fungi, insects & arthropods, many hidden deep inside, as well as other living beings that prey on them.

Nurse #stumps are still deeply rooted; new plant, tree & fungi life grows out of their tops. Nurse stumps & dead stumps that have no new growth atop are like anchor systems for living trees growing in forests. You destabilize the ecosystem when you remove them from their natural #environment.

#NaturalistNotes #Educational #VancouverIsland #nature #wilderness #GetOutside #photography #PacificNorthwest #PNW #Cascadia #VanIsle #mosstodon #Wsanec #CommunityForest #ForestStewardship #ForestProtection #Saanich #VictoriaBC #VancouverIsland #YYJ #ProtectTrees #SaveForests #StopDeforestation #StopEcocide #BCForestryReform #Degrowth

"The increasing severity of #wildfires and #drought highlights that reforming #ForestStewardship – taking better care of the forests, including safeguarding #OldGrowthForests – is one of our best hopes to protect communities across B.C.

Harmful #forestry practices like #clearcutting and #unsustainable #IndustrialLogging make extreme heat and wildfires worse. #Clearcuts are #tinderboxes, more prone to creating embers because dead trees and branches dry out in the hot sun and become more #flammable. Tree plantations and improperly tended young forests also increase wildfire risk: Younger trees have thinner bark and low-hanging branches that can act as ladder fuels, and the trees are often planted too close together, making it easy for fire to spread.

Fortunately, intact and properly managed #forests are more resilient to the worsening wildfires and heatwaves. For example, #OldGrowth #rainforests have dense canopies which provide cooling shade that resists fire. They are cooler and wetter than young forests, acting as giant sponges. Old-growth trees in the drier interior have thick bark, high branches and are widely spaced which all reduce #WildfireRisk.

#SierraClubBC #BCpoli #StopEcocide #BritishColumbia #Environmental #SaveOldGrowth #ClimateCrisis #BCNDP #BanCorporateLobbyists #Wildfires #floods #ClimateEmergency #BCwildfires #BCfloods #NaturalDisasters #ClimateMitigation #StopDeforestation #JustStopOil #DoTheRightThing #OneEarth #BCForestryReform