Joe Foy is the national campaign director of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, an environmental organisation with over 40,000 members. Foy began volunteering with the Wilderness Committee in 1984. Since then, he has led successful campaigns to establish Pinecone Burke Provincial Park and protect the Stein, Carmanah, and upper Walbran valleys in British Columbia. Currently, the Wilderness Committee is working to protect the old growth forest at Elk Creek, near Chilliwack in the traditional territory of the Pilalt Tribe. Last week, it was announced that several hundred logs harvested from an Elk Creek logging site had been spiked with metal rods. Foy publicly condemned the tree spiking, and vowed to not give up until the forest is preserved. Seven Oaks interviewed Foy about Elk Creek and environmentalism in B.C.

1. Why do you oppose the logging at Elk Creek?

There's many, many reasons. There's five different endangered species identified in that forest area. Two of them are some of the most endangered we have. The spotted owl - the northern spotted owl is the most endangered bird in the country. Also, we've got the marbled murrelet, an old growth-dependent, endangered seabird that uses the area. When these birds were identified, the Forest Service - rather than sending up government biologists to confirm and find out more about their use of the forest - simply gave permission to the logging company to log.

The forest itself has some of the tallest Douglas firs remaining in the Lower Mainland - over 240 feet tall, many of them. Local residents who live down-slope of the logging are concerned that for years now that they'll have to worry about landslides. The local First Nations people consider it a sacred area, and they go there for some of their spiritual practices.

2. Now that logging is already underway, do you think it's possible to stop it and protect the ecosystem?

Well, the entire Elk Creek area's about 3,000 hectares, and this logging operation is about a hundred and some odd hectares. So, in these current hundred and some odd hectares, the logging is virtually completed. Now they have to pull the logs out. But the rest of the 3,000 hectares is very much worth protecting. So, this fight's going to carry on for some time.

3. Why should environmentalists condemn the recent tree spiking at Elk Creek?

Environmentalists are part of society in general. The kinds of things we look at are ecological. But we all are part of and live in society. So, it doesn't do us much good if we protect the ecology and end up with a society where it's okay to endanger each other's lives; it wouldn't be a very nice place to live. So, we all have a responsibility to speak out and to keep each other safe - especially our opponents.

4. What tactics do you support and employ?

Well, there's the tactics that we do, and there's the tactics that we see have a place in Canadian society. So, the Wilderness Committee employs all sorts of legal tactics. We believe that Canadians have a wide variety of legal tactics left open to them, including anything aimed at the ballot box. The Wilderness Committee will employ court cases; we'll take governments and companies to court. Public education is the main thing that we do - take people for hikes into the forest, learn about the forest.

One tactic we don't do, which has a very special place in Canadian society and all democratic societies, is peaceful, non-violent civil disobedience. There's certainly a place for that in Canada. We wouldn't have many of the rights we now enjoy - the right for women to vote for instance. We believe that that's an acceptable tactic as well.

5. What are the greatest threats to the environment in B.C.?

Where we're at, it's a great power that industrial forestry has with our government. The biggest donors to the B.C. Liberal Party are the mining and logging companies. Therefore, the damage that they cause - whether it be through elimination of habitat through clear cutting or the pollution of water systems through acid mine drainage - these are huge problems for the biodiversity of the province.

6. Have there been any recent environmental victories in B.C.?

Yes, there has. The Liberal government promised to protect the Burns Bog. They have certainly protected a large piece of it - 5,000 acres, which makes it the largest urban wilderness in Canada. There are additional areas - about 500 acres - we'll need to fight for. But we should recognise that by getting that 5,000 acres, that is a tremendous victory.

7. Why is it important for environmentalists to work in solidarity with First Nations?

I think it's important for all citizens to do that. First Nations have a very important place in the history of environmental successes in the province of British Columbia. So many areas that are protected today would not have been protected had not First Nations stepped in. The Haida Nation was the group that protected Haida Gwaii, South Moresby. The Nuu-chah-nulth on Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound. The Squamish Nation came forward when the Elaho fights were heating up. Just over and over again, First Nations have really made a huge difference in the province.

Home Features David and Goliath Stop smirking, Bettman Books this week Essays & Reviews The Big Sellout Operation Filmmaker Salud!