Protesters defending old-growth forest in the Fairy Creek watershed near Port Renfrew have filed an appeal to have an injunction permitting their arrest and removal set aside.
The Rainforest Flying Squad and others filed a notice to appeal Wednesday. The notice said the court erred on a number of fronts, including in determining that Teal-Jones, which has a permit to log in Tree Farm Licence 46, would suffer irreparable harm had the injunction not been granted and in determining that the decision to approve the Fairy Creek watershed cutting permit outweighed the public interest “in preserving the few remaining old-growth forests in B.C.”
In a statement, Bill Jones, a protester and Pacheedaht elder, said the loss of the “ancient rainforest means the loss of our culture and traditions, our spirituality, our place of meditation. The old-growth forest is irreplaceable and I will stand forever to defend it.”
Over the past nine months, protesters from the Rainforest Flying Squad and others have been blocking access to the Fairy Creek watershed.
Teal-Jones, which has the right to log the area, estimates the blockades have jeopardized hundreds of jobs, from loggers to mill workers.
The protesters have argued Teal-Jones’ primary method of logging is clearcutting, which will harm biodiversity in the region, and say the public interest should outweigh the profit-making of a forest company and the province.
Protesters have vowed to continue their fight despite the threat of arrests.
Teal-Jones said it wants to cut what it is legally entitled to.
The company has said the Fairy Creek watershed covers 1,178 hectares, but most of its 216-hectare approved cut block is outside the watershed, and only a small amount of the watershed is available for harvesting. The rest is protected for wildlife habitat or on unstable terrain not suitable for logging, and won’t be touched, Teal-Jones said.
