Activists Destroy British Columbia Research Trees
11/8/99
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Title: Activists Destroy British Columbia Research Trees
Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 8, 1999
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, November 8, 1999
(ENS) - Police are searching for activists who have
claimed responsibility for the destruction of 1,500 trees
and seedlings at two British Columbia research facilities.
Reclaim the Genes, an underground group opposed to genetic
engineering, said they orchestrated the killing of 500
evergreen saplings at Silvagen Inc.'s research center at
the University of British Columbia last week. A similar
group called the Genetix Goblins claim they destroyed
1,000 cedar, Douglas fir and other evergreens on Halloween
night at Western Forest Products' Saanich forestry center
near Victoria.
"The action occurred in conjunction with a U.S. day of
action against genetic engineering," the groups said in a
news release to the "Calgary Herald." The companies were
intending on replacing temperate rainforests with
"genetically mutilated Frankenforests," they said.
Yet Silvagen is only studying propagation techniques to
improve the trees, not genetic manipulation, a company
spokesman said.
Silvagen was founded by British Columbia Research Inc. to
commercialize patented and proprietary somatic
embryogenesis and related technologies. These techniques
permit large volume production of commercial tree seeds
and seedlings with selected superior traits such as pest
and disease resistance, faster growth, increased wood
fiber and better quality wood.
Somatic embryogenesis is a new technology that enables
commercially valuable seed to be multiplied efficiently
and rapidly to facilitate its incorporation into
operational forestry.
The process involves placing elite seeds in a sterile
growth medium and proliferating cells from the seed to
establish an embryogenic - embryo forming - culture.
Embryogenic cultures can then be stored frozen for later
use, or transferred to a different medium to produce large
numbers of plant embryos similar to the original seed.
Dried embryos are germinated and somatic seedlings grown
in a nursery in the same way as normal seedlings.
Western Forest Products' Saanich Forestry Centre produces
genetically superior seed and stock for reforestation on
managed forest lands. The tree improvement programs
include developing pest resistant stock with improved
productivity using traditional crop breeding techniques.
Saanich Forestry Centre maintains three coastal Douglas
fir tree farms, two western hemlock plantations, one
western red cedar plantation, one yellow cypress tree
farm, one Sitka spruce and one western white pine
plantation. As well, a cuttings production area and a "B"
class yellow cypress seed production area are maintained.