EDITOR'S NOTE: On Monday, March 29th, 2021, Councillor Geselbracht put forward the resolution noted below. It passed 5 to 4 at the meeting.
There was debate and the two that made the biggest impact for me were Councilors Geselbracht and Brown. If you want to hear the debate, go into the City website and watch from around the 2 hour mark onward.

Resolution Title: Call for Immediate Protection of all at-risk Old-growth Forests in BC
Submitted by: Ben Geselbracht

WHEREAS ancient high productivity (big tree) old growth ecosystems are globally one of the
most valuable climate mitigation and resiliency assets in terms of carbon storage, sequestration,
protection against wildfire, storage of water and bank of biodiversity;

AND WHEREAS, of the miniscule amount (2.7%) of the original high productivity (big tree)
old-growth forests that are left (less than 1% of BC’s total current forested area), 75% are still
slated to be eliminated through logging;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Nanaimo call on the provincial government to immediately defer logging in all high productivity, rare, oldest, and most intact old-growth forests as recommended by the Old-Growth Strategic Review, until all 14 of the panel’s recommendations have been
implemented; including deferrals in such at-risk old-growth forests as, the head waters of Fairy
Creek, the Upper Walbran Valley, Nahmint Valley, Eden Grove, Edinburgh Mountain, Upper
Tsitika Valley, East Creek, Klaskish Valley, Nimpkish Lake and the Inland Old-Growth
Temperate Rainforest.

AND THAT the City of Nanaimo formally oppose the logging of at-risk old-growth forests;

AND THAT the City of Nanaimo call on the Government of British Columbia to allocate
funding to enact deferrals in an economically just manner, in the full spirit of reconciliation and
to support the economic transition of affected First Nations and non-First Nation communities
from unsustainable old-growth logging for the development of long-term sustainable local
economies.

AND THAT the following resolution be sent to the Union of BC Municipalities and as a late
submission to AVICC