Outside of my professional life, including my ten years as the MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie, my passion has been fueled by my life as an avid outdoorsman. For decades I have observed the cumulative impacts of clearcut forest harvesting in the Prince George timber supply area. Between 15 and 20 million hectares of BC forests have been clear-cut over the past sixty years, leading to a severe loss of wildlife habitat for all species, including songbirds, raptors, salmon, and ungulates. In several cases, this has caused wildlife populations to plummet by over 50% and many species, such as pine marten and goshawks, have been extirpated.

Unfortunately, clearcut logging is only the beginning of the problem. Most clearcuts were re-planted with lodgepole pine, one of the most flammable conifer trees, in densities three and four times greater than the original mixed forest. Many new forests were sprayed with glyphosate to kill all deciduous growth, including aspen, birch, cottonwood, and crucial food sources like berry and seed-producing plants critical for wildlife. I've observed these clear-cuts as they regrow, many for over forty years, and sadly, habitat is still insufficient to support most wildlife populations.

Recent work by forest hydrologists have determined the loss of forest cover, particularly in snow-dominated regions, has led to accelerated snow melt that leads to the massive spring flood events throughout our province. Once the snow has melted, the lack of a forest canopy causes a loss of ground moisture within a watershed and decreases its ability to retain moisture. By the time summer months arrive, our watersheds are often tinder dry and at high risk of wildfire events. Through research, scientists have determined that it takes at least 80 years for a conifer tree in the southern interior of BC to reach the necessary height to provide adequate protection from the sun's radiation. BC's central interior, northern areas and higher-elevation forests can take much longer. This lack of sufficient cover also affects our forest's ability to mitigate the "atmospheric river" rain events experienced across our province.

Since BC initiated clearcut logging in the 1960s, the forest industry and government's focus has been on the growth and yield of conifer trees. Current legislation has been designed around a growth and yield model and the harvesting of conifer trees every 60 years, all at the expense of wildlife populations and the hydrological integrity of our watersheds. The value of our forests is much more than mere fibre. The annual wild harvests of protein from our fish and wildlife, edible plants, berries, and mushrooms, are worth millions. Our mixed forests' ability to regulate temperature through evapotranspiration, and to mitigate flooding and wildfires, is worth billions. BC has squandered one of our most versatile and valuable resources. It will take decades to develop an ecologically based forest harvesting model for the future that can restore our forests to their true potential.

My experience as a criminal investigator, combined with years of weighing and assessing evidence as an adjudicator with the BC Health Professions Review Board and making informed decisions and recommendations to the government on newly approved medications as a member of the Drug Benefit Council, are all reflected in my desire to leave no stone unturned as I seek answers to the current state of BC's forests. Years of research have included extensive literature reviews on wildlife biology, forest ecology and watershed hydrology, and past and present forest legislation. My considerable travel through BC forests, coupled with a half-century of hunting, trapping, fishing, camping, and hiking, have assisted me in collecting the empirical evidence necessary to corroborate my findings, and provide a voice for biodiversity in British Columbia.