A CAMPAIGN is on to save the Great
Bear rainforest in Ista valley in
Bella Coola, British Columbia. Recently,
four environmental groups joined
the natives of the Nuxalk nation to
blockade logging operations in the
valley which is sacred to the Nuxalk
tribe. The campaigners included gre6n
groups like Greenpeace, Bear Watch
and Forest Action Network. They barritaded the main road which is the only
,.'access point to all road construction
and forest clearing operations of
loggers in the valley.
"When they clearcut our ancient
rainforests they are clearcutting
the Nuxalk culture and our history,"
said the Nuxalk chief Lawrence
Pootlass. "it is only by people joining
together that we have a chance to
protect the last of the world's temperate rainforest," said Tamara Stark of
Greenpeace.
A logging company, Interfor, has
already cleared large portions of
the rainforest this year and it plans to
clear 11 more areas in the next three
years. It also has the rights to log at
least seven more of the remaining
intact valleys in Nuxalk territory within
the next 10 years.
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