Lavdovsky, Natasha

Maingon, Loys

Neilson, John

The Canadian Field-Naturalist

English

The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal)

192	 The	Canadian	Field-Naturalist	 Vol. 136Without an over-arching biodiversity protection act, what protections exist for biodiversity in British Columbia? A case study of Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen (Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis)As scientists with backgrounds in monitoring and assessment	of	plant	and	animal	populations	 in	Can-ada, we are concerned with the biodiversity impli-cations	of	declines	in	old-growth	forests	on Vancou-ver Island. Our experience recounted here illustrates the practical roadblocks that scientists and the public interested	in	protecting	biodiversity	in	British	Colum-bia	(BC)	face,	and	the	lack	of	effective	mechanisms	for	 protection	 of	 at-risk	 species	 through	 legislation,	regulatory	bodies,	 “ecolabel”	certification,	or	public	pressure. We conclude with some thoughts on how conservation	objectives	can	be	better	met,	as	Canada	moves towards new models for land stewardship and reconciliation.When	 considering	 the	 highly-publicized	 poten-tial	cut	of	old-growth	forests	in	the	upper	Fairy	Creek	watershed	and	immediately	adjacent	areas	(Tree	Farm	License	[TFL]	46;	Figure	1),	we	assumed	that	 there	must have been careful biological inventories made prior to harvesting, and the results of those surveys would	be	freely	available.	Tree	Farm	License	46	was	created in 1983 and includes Pacheedaht and Ditidaht First	Nations	Territories.	The	 tenure	has	been	under	the	control	of	Teal	Cedar	working	with	the	Pacheed-aht	First	Nation. After conducting a literature search and contacting many of our professional colleagues, we concluded that we were mistaken in our assump-tion that comprehensive biological surveys were made. As we document later, the Minister responsible has	 confirmed	 that	 comprehensive	 biodiversity	 and	species surveys are not required prior to clearcutting, road-building,	and other forestry operations.Figure 1.	 South-west	Vancouver	 Island,	 British	 Columbia,	 Canada.	The	 irregular	 boundaries	 show	Tree	 Farm	License	Administrative	Boundaries,	 and	 the	 rectangle	 encompasses	 the	Fairy/Granite	Creeks	watersheds.	Created	 using	 publicly	available	mapping	tool:	Imap	BC,	https://maps.gov.bc.ca/ess/hm/imap4m/.©The	authors.	This	work	is	freely	available	under	the	Creative	Commons	Attribution	4.0	International	license	(CC	BY	4.0).2022	 News	and	Comment	 193In the absence of government or industry surveys, we initiated our own surveys with colleagues in the Fairy	Creek	area	using	iNaturalist.	In	May	2021,	we established a project page (Fairy	Creek	 iNaturalist).	Despite access issues, 326 species have been docu-mented	 by	 the	 end	 of	 2021,	 including	 70	 observa-tions of 16 species that are considered vulnerable using	the	iNaturalist	convention	(listed	in	the	Interna-tional	Union	for	the	Conservation	of	Nature	Red	lists	or	national/regional	at-risk	species	lists).Of those rare species that were documented, Old-growth Specklebelly Lichen (Pseudocyphellaria rai­nierensis)	was	of	particular	interest.	Considered	rare	by lichenologists, it is highly correlated with host trees	 within	 conifer	 stands	 older	 than	 about	 200	 to	300	years	old	(COSEWIC	2010).	Coastal	forests	that	contain	host	trees	have	existed	in	BC	for	about	4000–7000	 years	 (Hebda	 2007).	 In	 Canada,	 Oldgrowth Specklebelly	Lichen	was	assessed	as	Special	Concern	by	the	Committee	on	the	Status	of	Endangered	Wild-life	in	Canada	(COSEWIC;	COSEWIC	2010)	and	is	listed	 as	 Special	 Concern	 under	 the	 Canadian	 Spe­cies at Risk Act	(SARA;	SARA	Registry	2021a).	Can-ada	and	BC	have	prepared	a	joint	management	plan	for Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen that is publicly available	 (BC	Ministry	 of	 Environment	 2015).	 The	key	threat	identified	in	the	joint	management	plan	was	forest harvesting operations. Through our surveys conducted	in	2021	and	2022,	numerous occurrences of	 this	 unusual	 lichen	 (identifications	 confirmed	 by	lichenologists)	were	documented	in	the	upper	Gran-ite	Creek	area	(immediately	adjacent	to	Fairy	Creek;	Figure	2),	making	 this	newly-discovered	population	the	largest	in	Canada,	based	on	thalli	counts	of	670+	compared	with	a	maximum	of	524	reported	in	COSE-WIC	(2010).During	our	site	visits	in	the	summer	of	2021,	we noted	 that	 some	 host	 trees	 in	 upper	 Granite	 Creek	had been felled and damaged by new logging roads and the remaining host trees were in a planned cut block.	We	filed	 a	 complaint	 to	 the	designated	 regu-latory	body	for	forestry	operations	in	BC,	the	Forest	Practices	Board	(FPB),	in late July. We were informed that because the species in question was not one of a short list of documented species of interest that the FPB	 recognizes	 in	 southern	 Vancouver	 Island,	 the Board had no basis for intervention. We also received an acknowledgement of our complaint from the com-pany doing the logging, Teal	Cedar,	which noted in an email	communication	to	us	dated	5	August	2021	that:	Figure 2. Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen (Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis)	on	a	host	tree	in	the	Granite	Creek	area,	south-ern	Vancouver	 Island,	British	Columbia.	Felled	 trees	 in	 the	background	were	associated	with	 logging	 road	construction.	Photo: T. Lavdovsky.194	 The	Canadian	Field-Naturalist	 Vol. 136It has been brought to our attention by the Forest	 Practices	 Board	 (FPB)	 that	 you	 have	reported	sightings	of	Specklbelly	(sic)	Lichen	Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis	 in	 TFL	 46.	The	 information	 you	 provided	 to	 the	 FPB,	including locations of the sightings has been forwarded to us and we would like to thank you for providing this important information.We	 wrote	 to	 Teal	 Cedar	 requesting	 clarification	 of	what their plans were now that they knew of the lo-cation of the rare lichens, but received no response. Based on photographs of felled host trees in the Up-per	 Granite	 Creek	 area	 obtained	 after	 the	 logging	company	was	notified	of	 the	presence	of	 the	 lichen,	operations	 were	 unabated	 (Figure	 3).	 We	 also	 in-formed	 Pacheedaht	 Nation	 Council	 of	 the	 concern	for a listed species and have to date received no acknowledgement.During	the	late	summer	and	fall	of	2021,	we	con-tinued to highlight the concerns with habitat loss and impacts on previously undocumented animal and plant populations with politicians and the public at large.	For	 example,	 in	September	 2021,	we	worked	with	 the	 Wilderness	 Committee	 to	 place	 at	 our	expense a half page advertisement in The Province illustrating the issues of logging without having prior knowledge	of	the	species	occurring	there	(Figure	4).	In	that	example,	we	highlighted	our	iNaturalist	find-ings	as	well	as	 the	occurrence	of	 the	SARA	Threat-ened Western Screech Owl (Megascops kennicottii kennicottii;	 SARA	 Registry	 2021b).	 However,	 it	 is	difficult	to	determine	if	this	approach	had	an	impact	with	decision-makers	and	the	general	public	and	we	are unaware of any positive response to protect the owl or its habitat.Teal	Cedar’s products carry an “ecolabel” that is meant to certify that the production of their products is	compliant	with	the	Canadian	Standards	Association	(CSA	SFM	Z809;	https://www.csasfmforests.ca).	We	obtained	a	copy	of	the	CSA	Standard,	and	challenged	the	upcoming	recertification	of	Teal	Cedar’s products from	TFL-46	on	the	grounds	that	Teal	Cedar	was	not	respecting	the	SFM	Criterion	1	(Biodiversity)	by	not	conserving	biological	diversity	(Element	1.2)	and	fail-ing to respect areas of special biological interest within the	 area	 of	 certification	 (Element	 1.4).	The	 response	by	the	certifying	body	was	in	an	email	(S.	Ellsworth,	Director,	Risk	Assurance	Services,	Pricewaterhouse-Coopers	LLP	pers.	comm.	28	January	2021)	which	stated:Based	on	 the	current	B.C.	Conservation	Data	Centre	listing	status	of	the	Oldgrowth	Speckle-belly Lichen and the requirements under the CAN/CSA	 Z809-16	 Sustainable	 Forest	Man-agement Standard, this issue does not fall with in our	scope	as	a	certification	body,	and	as	a	result	we have closed the matter.It appears that this species, being “only” Special Concern	in	the	COSEWIC	assessment	or	SARA	list-ing,	or	being	Blue-listed	by	the	BC	Conservation	Data	Centre,	means	that	the	species	does	not	warrant	atten-tion	 from	 those	 issuing	 certification	 for	 the	 forest	industry.	Hardly	a	precautionary	approach.Figure 3.	Examples	of	felled	host	trees	with	Oldgrowth	Specklebelly	Lichen	(Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis)	in	the	Granite	Creek	area,	southern	Vancouver	Island,	British	Columbia.	Photo:	T.	Lavdovsky.2022	 News	and	Comment	 195Finally,	after	failing	to	gain	the	attention	of	deci-sion-makers	at	the	provincial	and	federal	level	through	direct communications, we collaborated with a Mem-ber	of	the	BC	legislature	(Mr.	Adam	Olsen,	Saanich	North—The	Islands)	to	ask	the	following	questions	of	the	responsible	Minister	(Ms.	Katrine	Conroy):1. Were comprehensive biodiversity surveys done prior to allowing road construction and log	ging	in	TFL	46	and	are	comprehensive	spe-cies surveys ever carried out prior to clear cut ting, road-building	and	other	forestry	operations?2.	Given	the	published	commitment	to	protect	the species and its habitat, will you immediately protect	these	rare	lichens	and	host	trees?3.	How	do	the	proposed	amendments	to	FRPA	(Forests and Ranges Protection Act)	ensure	that	endangered	species	are	identified	and	protected	prior	 to	 logging	or	road	construction—and,	 if	at-risk	species	or	ecosystems	are	found	during	these	surveys,	will	logging	or	road-building	be	halted	in	the	relevant	areas?Minister	 Conroy’s responses to the above ques-tions	to	A.	Olsen	(via	a	pers.	comm.	28	January	2021	to	 us)	 were	 revealing	 and	 confirmed	 our	 suspicion	that comprehensive biodiversity and species surveys are	 not	 required	 before	 clear-cutting,	 road-building,	and other forestry operations. Surprisingly, Minister Conroy	 further	 noted	 that	 recently	 adopted	 amend-ments	 to	 the	FRPA	do	not	 speak	directly	 to	 species	at risk and stated “the Province manages species at risk	 by	 designating	 Identified	Wildlife	Management	Areas, parks and ecological areas to conserve species and support biodiversity”. By extension, this seems to imply	that	the	province	has	no	interest	in	species-at-risk occurring in areas outside of parks or ecological reserves, unless these are on the very truncated list of species of interest in limited geographical locations under	the	BC	Wildlife Act	or	the	FRPA.During the course of our work, we followed due process and exhausted all the options available to us to provide some measure of protection for this rare lichen	 species.	 Returning	 to	 the	 question	 framed	 in	our title, we can only conclude that the current protec-tions	available	for	at-risk	species	are	inadequate	and	protect only a small number of the species considered at	risk	in	BC.How	can	we	do	better?	What	is	needed	is	an	over-arching Biodiversity Protection Act mandating that sites must be professionally surveyed before resource extraction takes place, and that management pro-tocols must be adhered to for listed species identi-fied,	including	those	species	considered	to	be	Special	Concern,	 such	 as	 Oldgrowth	 Specklebelly	 Lichen.	The need for comprehensive surveys in advance of resource	extraction	is	well-demonstrated	by	our	iNat-uralist	Fairy	Creek	Project	Page.	Oldgrowth	Speckle-belly	Lichen	is	only	one	of	16	species	identified	that	are of conservation concern.We envisage a new approach to biodiversity pro-tection that fully integrates both traditional Indig-enous knowledge and western science and provide accountability	 (Gagnon	 and	 Berteaux	 2009;	 Jones	et al.	2010;	Artelle	et al.	2021).	This	new	approach	Figure 4. Advertisement appearing in The Province,	September	2021.196	 The	Canadian	Field-Naturalist	 Vol. 136would	be	consistent	with	 the	views	of	Grand	Chief	Stewart	 Phillip	 (President	 of	 the	 Union	 of	 B.C.	Indian	Chiefs).	During	a	December	2021	Press	Con-ference	(Anon.	2021),	Grand	Chief	Phillip	noted	that	a	complete	inventory	of	forest	lands	in	BC	is	needed,	including	 water	 systems,	 and	 fisheries	 and	 wild-life. Policy and legislation would then be developed in	 an	 informed	manner.	Chief	 Phillip’s	 approach	 is	both sensible and urgently needed. If we are seri-ous about addressing climate change and biodiver-sity for future generations, then science and tradi-tional knowledge must guide new approaches that value and reward biodiversity conservation and not just resource extraction.Acknowledgements: We thank the lichen experts on	the	COSEWIC	Mosses	and	Lichens	specialist	sub-committee for reviewing an earlier draft.Literature CitedAnon. 2021. B.C.	government	falling	short	with	old-growth	forest protection, say Indigenous leaders. In Vancouver Island	Free	Daily,	2	December	2021. Accessed Septem-ber	26	2022.	https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/news/b-c-government-falling-short-with-old-growth- forest-protection-say-indigenous-leaders/.Artelle, K., M. Adams, H. Bryan, C. Darimont, J. Housty, W. Housty, J. Moody, M. Moody, D. Neasloss, C. Ser-vice, and J. Walkus.	2021.	Decolonial	model	of	envi-ronmental management and conservation: insights from Indigenous-led	 Grizzly	 Bear	 stewardship	 in	 the	 Great	Bear	Rainforest.	Ethics,	Policy	&	Environment	24:	283–317. https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2021.2002624BC (British Columbia) Ministry of Environment. 2015.	Manage ment plan for Oldgrowth Specklebelly (Pseudo­cy phel la ria rainier ensis)	 in	 British	 Columbia.	 British	Co	lumbia	Ministry	of	Environment,	Victoria,	British	Co-lumbia,	Canada.COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada).	2010.	COSEWIC	assessment	and	status report on the Oldgrowth Specklebelly Pseudocy­phellaria rainierensis	 in	Canada.	 COSEWIC,	Ottawa,	On	tario,	Canada.Gagnon, C.A., and D. Berteaux.	 2009.	 Integrating	 tradi-tional ecological knowledge and ecological science: a question	of	scale.	Ecology	&	Society	14(2):	19.	Accessed	7	 July	 2022.	 http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/ iss2/art19/.Hebda, R. 2007. Biodiversity: geological history in British Columbia.	The	Biodiversity	BC	Technical	Subcommittee	for	the	Report	on	the	Status	of	Biodiversity	in	BC.	7	Sep-tember	2007.		Accessed	26	September	2022.	http://www. biodiversitybc.org/assets/Default/BBC%20Biodiversity %20and%20Geological%20History.pdf.Glavich, D.	2013.	Conservation	assessments	for	5	species	of	lichens.	United	States	Department	of	Agriculture	Forest	Service	Region	6	and	United	States	Department	of	the	In-terior Bureau of Land Management Interagency Special Status and Sensitive Species Program. Accessed 7 July 2022.	https://www.blm.gov/or/plans/surveyandmanage/files/ca-li-5-lichens-2013-04.pdf.Jones, R., C. Rigg, and L. Lee. 2010.	Haida	marine	plan-ning:	First	Nations	as	a	partner	in	marine	conservation.	Ecology	 &	 Society	 15(1):	 12.	Accessed	 7	 July	 2022.	http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss1/art12/.SARA (Species at Risk Act) Registry. 2021a.	Species	sum-mary: Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen (Pseudocyphel­laria rainierensis).	 Government	 of	 Canada,	 Ottawa,	Ontario,	Canada.	Accessed	7	July	2022.	https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/species/126-423.SARA (Species at Risk Act) Registry.	 2021b.	 Species	summary:	 Western	 Screech-owl	 kennicotti subspecies (Megascops kenicotti kennicotti).	Government	 of	Can-ada.	 Ottawa,	 Ontario,	 Canada.	Accessed	 7	 July	 2022.	https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/species/719-101.John	NeilsonComox,	BC,	CanadaLoys	Maingon	Strathcona	Wilderness	Institute,	BC,	CanadaNatasha	LavdovskyJordan	River,	BC,	Canada

Without an over-arching biodiversity protection act, what protections exist for biodiversity in British Columbia? A case study of Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen (Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis)

John Neilson

Loys Maingon

Natasha Lavdovsky

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Without an over-arching biodiversity protection act, what protections exist for biodiversity in British Columbia? A case study of Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen (&lt;i&gt;Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis&lt;/i&gt;)

http://dx.doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i2.3105

Without an over-arching biodiversity protection act, what protections exist for biodiversity in British Columbia? A case study of Oldgrowth Specklebelly Lichen (Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis)

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