Fairy Creek

B.C. Supreme Court applications to expand or curb RCMP powers of enforcement at the Fairy Creek old-growth blockades are moving forward this week.

A rare species of lichen recently discovered around Fairy Creek could hold keys to stopping old-growth logging in the area — and show us how nature creates wet zones that halt wildfires.

The Fairy Creek protests over old-growth logging on Vancouver Island are quickly becoming the face of a much broader conflict between environmental goals and economic forces. How did it get to this point?

In the year since the first camp was set up to prevent old-growth logging around the Fairy Creek watershed on southern Vancouver Island, an expert in Canadian environmental movements says the protests have made a mark on politics and public discourse.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission has received 91 complaints tied to RCMP enforcement at the Fairy Creek and will launch investigations into 21 cases.

As activists opposed to old-growth logging were dragged and pepper-sprayed by the RCMP in Fairy Creek over the weekend, the federal Liberal Party promised to protect old-growth forests in British Columbia.

Carrie Saxifrage ventures seven kilometres down a logging road to see the last remaining camp at Fairy Creek and witness the Bridge of Matriarchs, a structure where four women in their 70s have chained themselves.

Rainbow Eyes, as Angela Davidson has come to be known at the Fairy Creek protest camp, says it is her calling to protect B.C.'s old-growth forests.

The RCMP trucks pull up, a flurry of slammed doors. As at least 15 officers form a phalanx, facing the protesters, the singing is over and the mood feels adrenalin-soaked, militaristic.

Police have arrested more than 500 activists camped out to protest old-growth logging at Fairy Creek. But arrests Monday morning mark the first time police have cracked down on the camp headquarters.

After a two-day hearing outlining the ways RCMP have restricted media access at Vancouver Island’s Fairy Creek blockades, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled in favour of journalists.

A coalition of news organizations, including Canada's National Observer, made initial arguments to a B.C. judge Wednesday to bar RCMP from interfering with media access at Fairy Creek.

Under the shade of Douglas fir and western hemlock, Jagmeet Singh pulled up to Burnaby Central Park one day last week to greet constituents and gear up for his first campaign-style tour of the summer.

The new panel will ensure the province is using the best science and data available to identify at-risk old-growth ecosystems and prioritize the areas slated for old-growth logging deferrals, said Forests Minister Katrine Conroy.

More than 100 celebrities and prominent voices — both national and global — have joined the battle to save B.C.'s old growth. But the Ministry of Forests says their efforts aren't going to work.