Earlier this year, the AFA team visited the town of Tahsis on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island to explore the nearby McKelvie Valley and learn first-hand from local residents why this rare, intact watershed needs protecting.
Located in Nootka Sound in Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation territory, the McKelvie Valley features endangered ancient forests, rich wildlife habitat, and McKelvie Creek, a salmon spawning ground and the community’s source of drinking water.
Despite community opposition, Western Forest Products plans to blast a road into the McKelvie Valley and clearcut its pristine old-growth forests, putting Tahsis' tourism economy, water quality, salmon and other wildlife at risk.
But there is an innovative conservation solution that the BC government can support to protect the McKelvie Valley instead. Three Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations are championing the creation of a network of "Salmon Parks" in the Nootka Sound region with the goal of protecting and restoring forests and salmon streams, including in the McKelvie Valley.
The AFA is calling on the BC government to halt logging in old-growth forest "hotspots" like the McKelvie Valley and to support this and other proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas for the sake of BC's ancient forests, salmon, local economies, and Indigenous cultures.
Негізгі бет Tahsis: McKelvie Watershed At-Risk
Пікірлер: 7