Fraser Valley Spotted Owls Win Eight Day Logging Reprieve
© Environment News Service (ENS) 2001
June 26, 2001
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, June 26, 2001 (ENS) - A Fraser Valley timber company is barred from logging a forest inhabited by endangered spotted owls for another eight days.
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge ruled today that there is enough evidence to support the arguments of conservationists that irreparable harm may befall the endangered species if logging proceeds.
The Western Canada Wilderness Committee is applying for a judicial review of the Chilliwack District Forest Manager's decision to grant Cattermole Timber a cutting permit in critical spotted owl habitat.
The ruling by Mr. Justice Bud Cullen follows arguments by Sierra Legal Defence Fund lawyers acting on behalf of Vancouver based Western Canada Wilderness Committee. They faced off with lawyers for Cattermole Timber and the provincial government.
The reprieve was immediately hailed by conservationists who say ongoing logging could lead to the loss of one of only 22 known breeding pairs of spotted owls in British Columbia.
"If we lose and that forest is cut down, it will be the first known localized extinction of a spotted owl in Canada since the B.C. government unveiled its Spotted Owl Management Plan. That's what the Ministry of Environment is telling us. It would be a cause of shame for all Canadians if we allow the owls to be killed," said Joe Foy, campaign director for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.
"We look forward to being back in court next week," said Sierra Legal lawyer Devon Page. "We intend to argue that the Ministry of Forests' district manager in Chilliwack failed to properly consider Ministry of Environment objections to Cattermole's logging plans."
"Environment officials have repeatedly told the company and government forestry officials that this forest is inhabited by an endangered species," Page added. "We hope the court will agree with us that the Ministry of Forests must consider the plight of endangered species before deciding whether or not to approve logging plans."
In order to get the injunction, the Wilderness Committee had to agree to be liable for damages to Cattermole Timber if the court decides in the timber company's favor.
Arguments will resume in court July 4. Page said Justice Cullen found that there is enough written evidence before the court to show that Ministry of Environment officials had legitimate concerns about the fate of the owls.
The Northern spotted owl is listed in Canada as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and is red listed by the British Columbia Provincial Wildlife Branch. The species is red listed by the B.C. Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks, but there is no current legal designation as "endangered" under the Provincial Wildlife Act.
Conservationists say that logging of old-growth forests and the resulting loss of spotted owl habitat has resulted in a 45 percent decline in Canada's spotted owl population in the last nine years.