March 31, day to remember :)

The Great Bear Rainforest is the biggest intact, coastal temperate rainforest left in the world. Pretty incredible to think how close we are to history, eh? Right now we can be content that it stays the this way and doesn’t become another victim to Climate Change’s growing demand and the human greed that has transformed the world’s natural habitat into bridges, by-passes and buildings.

The Great Bear Rainforest, located between Bute Inlet on BC's south coast and the Alaskan border to the north, has fallen prey like countless other forests of our province to industrial logging, where trees were cut down, logging roads crossing watersheds and habitats destroyed.

A promise made three years ago to protect one-third of British Columbia’s especially unique Great Bear Rainforest, home to the Kermode bear (Spirit Bear) and many other biodiversities, and develop the foundations for a conservation-based economy in the region has been accomplished! ForestEthics, Greenpeace and Sierra Club BC, the three top-standing environmental groups that have worked with the B.C. government, First Nations and industry leaders to ensure the promise would be kept, must have been happy to hear the announcement made March 31st, set on the deadline. Although it will be tough to change from a resource-based economy, this is one of those “has to be done“ matters that will impact the future immensely.

Around 6 or 7 months ago, I started an eco-chick rampage. Ok, kind of dramatic there (rampage is such a strong word). I stated emailing the Japanese government about “Saving the Whales” and countless others that I thought had ignorance as their main weapon aimed against the world. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure that I am just one of the many nuisances these people and organizations had to deal with, but I also know that without the constant bombarding of their ethics and morals by masses of people, no change would happen. Any little act helps, right? I wanted to be apart of that. This whole concept is like running blind in a race (the run being the change. Not knowing where the finish line is, but confident the end prize will be worth all the trouble you’re bound to be faced with). Ok, maybe not the best parallel to use, but I’m sure you can understand where I’m coming from by this point.

Getting back to where I was going with this whole thing, Gordon Campbell was one of these people I took action on. It was more of an “assurance” that he would follow through on his promise. Bellow is the letter I wrote to him. Its something I felt pretty confident and happy about after finishing, hoping that the Universe was on my side here, and my drive of ensuring the most will come out of this whole thing wouldn’t legally come back and kick me in the ass - and so far it looks like I'm in the clear!

The Letter:

Dear Premier Gordon Campbell,
I am writing to remind you that the world expects nothing less than the full implementation of the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement by March 31st, 2009, including high-bar ecologically sound forestry practices.

With just a few months to go before the final March deadline, I am concerned that critical elements of your promise may not be implemented, putting the ecological health of the Great Bear Rainforest at risk. We both know this cannot be allowed to happen given how far we've come.

Because a promise is a promise, by March 31, 2009, British Columbians, Canadians and people around the world want to know they can trust that the Great Bear Rainforest is indeed saved.

This means:
- A regional ecosystem plan that includes a new set of logging regulations that pose low risk to the ecology of the region.
- Enabling conditions for First Nations and stakeholders to create a thriving conservation-based economy.
- Funding to provide collaborative planning and adaptive management into the future
- Ensuring that world-class protected areas are not threatened by inappropriate developments

The Great Bear Rainforest agreement has the potential to change the way the world protects its forests. Let's create a model of sustainability we can be proud of.

I urge you to honour your government's agreement and to keep a steady hand on these final stages of implementation.

One of the world's last great rainforests depends on your continued leadership at this crucial time.

Sincerely,
Melissa Pick