Leaked report claims B.C. timber harvest is vastly overestimated: Report challenges government model for estimating how many trees can be cut.

The article discusses a leaked report indicating that British Columbia (B.C.) is approving logging at nearly double the sustainable rate, raising concerns about the long-term health of its forests. The report, prepared for a group of First Nations, critiques the province's flawed methods for calculating timber availability, suggesting that unrealistic assumptions about forest growth and environmental impacts lead to overestimations of the annual allowable cut (AAC). The findings highlight potential negative effects on wildlife and Indigenous rights, as well as the implications for forestry practices across the province. The collaboration between the First Nations and the Ministry of Forests ended abruptly when the report's conclusions began to challenge official figures, prompting calls for greater transparency and a public inquiry into forestry practices in B.C. [Extracted from the article]