A cutblock with a stack of logs from Salt Spring Island, in the Gulf Islands.

Islands 2050: What will the Gulf Islands look like in 25 years?

The preservation and protection of BC’s Gulf Islands “for the benefit of residents of the trust area and of the province generally” has been charged to the Islands Trust. However, recent decision-making has demonstrated that a majority of Local Trustee’s are focusing on different priorities. In February, Raincoast submitted feedback as part of a public engagement process seeking input on the Islands Trust Policy Statement in two areas: climate change and affordable housing within the Islands Trust area.

Three women standing 6 feet apart talking to each other in a Coastal Douglas-fir forest

Carbon stewardship workshop focusing on Gulf Islands forests and coasts

Later this month, Raincoast, along with partners, will be hosting a workshop exploring the feasibility of implementing carbon stewardship projects on the Gulf Islands and across the Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) zone in the Salish Sea. This workshop aims to establish a civic and Indigenous community of learners. Our goal is to collaboratively develop a nature-based climate project financed from conservation, restoration and improved ecosystem management.

Close up photo of a cedar bough.

BC’s Coastal Douglas-fir zone needs protection now

In an era where climate change is a modern reality and biodiversity is in crisis the world over, the province’s continued support of industrial logging in old growth forests is out of sync with global scientific consensus and policy objectives. This is especially true in the Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) biogeoclimactic zone, the smallest and most endangered of 16 such zones in BC…

Misty MacDuffee and Chris Genovali looking up at a very large cedar tree in a cedar grove.

The home stretch to permanently protect S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest

It was in late November when we launched our initiative to purchase and permanently protect the S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest. We determined the sale price and set our goal to raise $395,000 by April. Now, less than 2 months into our 6 month fundraising campaign, we are less than $20,000 away from meeting our target…