September 18, 2026

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By Melody S. Wright

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• British Columbia’s permit system allows the legal harvest of irreplaceable old-growth forests despite repeated commitments to protect them.

• Old-growth forests, defined as over 250 years old on the coast and 140 years in the Interior, remain vulnerable without formal legal protection.

• Logging, wildfires, and land-use changes result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of hectares of ancient forests.

• Companies like Drax and their partners operate within the licensing framework, contributing to ecosystem erosion.

• Temporary logging deferrals and ongoing negotiations with First Nations offer some hope, but most old-growth forests are still at risk.

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Standing in the midst of ancient trees, it is hard to imagine that any government policy would legalize their harvest. Old-growth forests are more than just an older version of a managed stand. Slow-growing, complex ecosystems formed over centuries are impossible to replace. The biodiversity of BC’s coastal old-growth forests holds vast carbon stores and regulates critical water systems. Additionally, Indigenous nations attach profound cultural importance to these forests. (Mayrand, 2023; Price & Daust, 2025). Once logged, these forests cannot recover for generations, if ever.

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Despite repeated public commitments to protect remaining old-growth forests, ancient trees in British Columbia continue to be harvested. The legal framework still allows their harvest unless formally protected (Wood, 2020).

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Defining Old-Growth Without Protection

 

The BC provincial definition of old growth is 250 years in coastal regions and 140 years in the Interior. This statement of ecological reality is no guarantee of protection. Even when forests meet this threshold, they can still be logged if they are located outside of a formally protected area. (Kshatri, 2024).

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Age is simply considered information. Unless specifically designated as a park, conservancy, or legally protected area, identifying the age of the stand does not prevent its harvest. BC announced an old-growth strategy in 2021, identifying 2.6 million at-risk hectares. Temporary deferral areas pause logging in the short term while long-term discussions with First Nations continue. (Government of British Columbia, 2021).

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Figure 1. Identifying old-growth forests does not automatically protect them.

Most ancient forest areas remain vulnerable until they receive formal legal designation.

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The Scale of Old-Growth Loss Through Legal Logging 

 

One example of old-growth legal logging is Drax. This UK-based biofuel company operates wood pellet mills in British Columbia. Drax is only one buyer within a much larger system that continues to treat old-growth forests as commercial timber. Provincial and independent analyses show that hundreds of thousands of hectares of old-growth have been lost in recent years due to logging, wildfires, and land-use changes (Price & Daust, 2025).

 

Less logging in some deferral areas seems like progress, even though five years after the old-growth strategy announcement in 2021, logging is still ongoing. Some First Nations discussions have led to agreements, but negotiations continue. Permits continue to be issued (Pawson, 2025), individually seeming small. However, in aggregate, ecosystem erosion continues.

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British Columbia owns approximately 95 percent of its forest land. The Ministry of Forests manages this land through a licensing framework that grants long-term cutting rights to tenure holders within timber supply areas and to holders of tree farm licences (Government of British Columbia, 2025a). Companies like Drax do not hold most logging tenures directly. They make agreements with current tenure holders, frequently trading high-quality logs with sawmills and diverting lower-grade materials into the production of pellets (Biofuelwatch, 2024).

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When environmental investigators tracked truckloads of ancient trees from British Columbia’s coastal rainforests to Drax’s wood pellet mills, they found that every log cut was documented through provincial tracking systems and approved through valid permits. The investigation showed that Drax received wood from cutblocks where roughly 39 percent of the forest qualified as old growth. (Stand.earth, 2025).

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Deferral Gaps and the Illusion of Sustainability

 

BC’s permit system aims to balance conservation and access to timber. Deferrals require voluntary cooperation from the tenure holders and consultations with Indigenous governments to become permanent. Until then, current licences are still valid, allowing new cutting permits (Wilderness Committee et al., 2021).

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The rules governing permit approval do not change when an area is flagged for protection. Until the finalization of legal designations, ecologically significant forests continue to be treated as available inventory.

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Investigations show logging continues within proposed deferral areas, even in ecosystems recognized as the most endangered. Almost a quarter of Drax’s old-growth cuts came from deferral zones (Yunker, 2025; Biofuelwatch, 2024).

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Drax points to certification as evidence of responsible sourcing, but certifications may only improve public perception. Critics argue that this allows industrial logging in old-growth stands while trying to project an image of sustainability to regulators and consumers (Greenpeace International, 2018; Ecology Action Centre, 2022). Certainly, certification is not closing the deferral gap. Existing permissions remain, without challenging decisions that leave old growth unprotected.

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Economic Pressure and Political Caution

 

Resistance remains to system reform. Forestry industry warnings cite disruptions to rural economies from suddenly restricting logging and potential claims for compensation from changes to long-term tenure agreements. (Bennett, 2021). Political pressure makes these temporary deferrals easier than legislative changes, tenure reforms, and compensation required for permanent protection.

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Subsidies from the UK government to Drax for biomass energy made shipping from BC economically viable. When faced with reduced subsidies, Drax closed its Williams Lake pellet plant in December 2025 (Young & Chestney, 2025; Kneeshaw, 2025).

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In Summary

 

The continued logging of old-growth forests in BC is not a regulatory accident. The system prioritizes extraction unless legal protection intervenes. Drax did not rely on corruption or a failure of oversight. It operated within the system. The permits are valid. The logging is tracked. The inspectors are present. The forests are still logged.

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These are the consequences of delaying protection within a system that defaults to harvest. Until identification is paired with immediate legal safeguards, British Columbia’s old-growth forests remain vulnerable, permitted, and disappearing.

 

References

Bennett, N. (2021, November 3). B.C. old-growth ban could clear cut forest economy. Western Investor. https://www.westerninvestor.com/british-columbia/bc-old-growth-ban-could-clear-cut-forest-economy-4720094

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Biofuelwatch. (2024, February). Logging what is left: How Drax’s pellet mills are sourcing logs from British Columbia’s rarest old growth forests. https://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Drax-in-BC-report.pdf

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Ecology Action Centre. (2022, December 2). Environmental groups fight greenwashing in forestry ‘sustainability’ certification scheme [Press release]. https://ecologyaction.ca/resources-media/press-releases/environmental-groups-fight-greenwashing-forestry-sustainability

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Forest and Range Practices Act, SBC 2002, c. 69. (2025). Province of British Columbia. https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_02069_01

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Government of British Columbia. (2021, November 2). Government taking action on old-growth deferrals. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021FLNRO0068-002088

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Government of British Columbia. (2025a, November 19). Forest tenures. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/forest-tenures

 

Government of British Columbia. (2025b, November 18). Harvest Billing System (HBS). https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/harvest-billing-system

 

Greenpeace International. (2018, March 26). Greenpeace International to not renew FSC membership [Press release]. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/15589/greenpeace-international-to-not-renew-fsc-membership/

 

Kneeshaw, D. (2025, November 26). Drax pellet plant in Williams Lake to cease operations by end of 2025. CFJC Today. https://cfjctoday.com/2025/11/26/drax-pellet-plant-in-williams-lake-to-cease-operations-by-end-of-2025/

 

Kshatri, S. (2024, March 16). B.C.’s old-growth protections come under renewed scrutiny. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/old-growth-logging-for-pellets-1.7136745

 

Mayrand, Y. (2023, April 5). Current status of unprotected old growth in the forest statutory framework of British Columbia. Evergreen

Alliance. https://www.evergreenalliance.ca/journalism-loss-of-primary-forest/15/

 

Pawson, C. (2025, September 13). Conservationists decry lack of progress five years after B.C.’s old-growth logging review. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-old-growth-strategic-review-5-year-anniversary-conservation-1.7631786

 

Price, K., & Daust, D. (2025, November). Closer to the brink: The state of the forest in B.C. in 2025. Sierra Club BC. https://scbc-qa-space-hetzner.sfo3.digitaloceanspaces.com/content/uploads/2025/11/12060716/Report-Closer-to-the-brink-The-state-of-the-forest-in-BC-in-2025.pdf

 

Stand.earth. (2025, November 9). Truckloads of trees: Drax sourced wood pellets from old growth forests in B.C. in 2024, and likely 2025 – Forest Eye. https://stand.earth/forest-eye/2025/11/09/forest-biomass-research-2025/

 

Wilderness Committee, Coste, T., & Phillip, G. S. (2021, December 1). New mapping shows approved or pending logging permits in at least 50,000 hectares of BC’s target deferral area. https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/news/new-mapping-shows-approved-or-pending-logging-permits-least-50000-hectares-bcs-target-deferral

 

Young, S., & Chestney, N. (2025, February 10). UK cuts subsidies for biomass power producer Drax. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/uk-cuts-subsidies-biomass-power-producer-drax-2025-02-10/

 

Yunker, Z. (2025, November 12). How logging has sent B.C. forests into freefall. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-forests-logging-2025/