Independent ecologist Karen Price says there is some confusion and misrepresentation of recommendations she and her colleagues made to the Provincial government last year regarding old growth deferrals in the province, that recently came up at a committee of the whole meeting with Smithers Council last week where Forestry Industry representatives were seeking a letter of support in opposition to those deferrals.

Forestry Industry representatives expressed their concerns during the COW meeting last week saying they believe the announcement of the deferrals for 2.6 million hectares of forest are already causing issues for some forestry operators in the region.

However, Price reiterated that the recommendations she and her colleagues made to the NDP government is just that, a recommendation and that no deferrals have actually taken place on the ground except for those within the jurisdiction of BC Timber Sales.

“At the moment the province has put out the map and recommendations for areas of at risk old growth a potential deferral sites,” Price said.

“Currently BCTS are being deferred but for the rest, there are very few deferrals that are in place while the province continues its consultation process with First Nations and other stakeholders. So that’s where we are right now there are a handful of deferrals and for the rest of the province the deferrals have not yet been implemented.”

The provincial government is in the process of consulting stakeholders before moving forward with any long-term deferrals.