11/13/00 -- Alberta ENGO Consumer Campaign

Alberta ENGO Consumer Campaign

HEADLINE: Wilderness fight taken to U.S.: Groups want firms to boycott lumber from Castle forest

Environmentalists have launched a campaign to protect a special wilderness area in southwestern Alberta by asking large American businesses to stop buying wood from companies that log in that area.

The Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition has written 11 large U.S. lumber-sellers and home-builders, such as Home Depot, HomeBase and 84 Lumber, asking them to phase out the use of wood products from the Castle Wilderness, a 1,040-square-km area of forest immediately north of Waterton National Park.

``The coalition is engaging in this market campaign because the evidence clearly indicates that while the forests of the Castle are of national and international conservation value, chronic mismanagement by the Alberta government and over-harvesting by the forest industry are seriously threatening the integrity of these forests,'' said Mike Sawyer, the coalition's campaign co-ordinator.

``Our objective is eliminate all commercial logging from the Castle.''

The companies approached by the coalition have already bowed to pressure from a similar campaign, organized by Canadian and American environmentalists, to save old-growth rainforests in British Columbia. Under the threat of a consumer boycott, the companies agreed to stop buying wood products from forests that are endangered or of high conservation value.

The Castle-Crown coalition decided to employ the same strategy in Alberta after consulting with environmentalists who organized the successful campaign in B.C. and the U.S.

``They told me these companies had made a commitment not to purchase wood, regardless of where it comes from, if the forests are endangered or if the forests are of high-preservation value,'' Sawyer said. ``The point we're making to the American companies is that (this area) meets their criteria.''

The B.C. government is seriously concerned about the threat such campaigns pose both to the forest industry and the communities that depend on foresty for jobs.

Two weeks ago, Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said his government would work with the forest industry to promote the province's forest products and management practices in other countries.

The coalition is targeting two logging companies -- Atlas Lumber of Crowsnest Pass and Spray Lakes Sawmill of Cochrane -- which log in the area. Atlas owner John MacGarva is away on holidays. Gordon Lehn of Spray Lakes is also away until next week.

Sawyer said the coalition met with the two companies several times in an attempt to work out a way to protect the area.

``Their response was that they could not afford to lose any more forested land and still remain viable as businesses,'' Sawyer said. ``I'm not entirely convinced of that, but that is their position.

Sawyer said the Castle Wilderness, because of its unique geography, contains the most species of plants, animals, and fish in the province. The area is also crucial to a proposed wildlife migration corridor stretching from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon, he said.

The Pincher Creek-based coalition, which represents six environmental groups, has for years been trying to get the province to ban all commercial logging in the area.

Sawyer said environmentalists are frustrated because the government refuses to protect the area, despite recommendations from the province's own studies and the studies of other groups.

``This isn't just an environmental group saying this is an important place,'' he said. ``All of our assertions are backed up by several Alberta government reports. They are backed up by reports prepared for Waterton Lakes National Park.

``And they were backed up more recently by the federal Ecological Integrity Panel, which toured the country looking at national parks.''

The Castle Wilderness area falls within the province's C5 Forestry Management Area. The rules for logging in the area were set in 1984 and are supposed to be upgraded every 10 years. But there has been no action on the forest-management plan since 1984, Sawyer said.

Sawyer said if the Castle Wilderness campaign is successful, the coalition may implement it in other areas of the province. And he anticipates environmental groups from other provinces may also import the strategy.

IN A NUTSHELL

WHAT HAPPENED: A coalition of environmental groups has asked several American lumber-sellers and home-builders to stop buying wood from the Castle Wilderness north of Waterton National Park.

WHAT'S NEXT: If the companies don't agree, the environmentalists will organize a consumer boycott, similar to campaigns that have proven successful in protecting old-growth rainforest in British Columbia.

THE EFFECT: Two southern Alberta lumber companies could lose a major share of their American export market. Error: Unable to read footer file.