Stories
September Environmental News Digest
September 2026
There is so much breaking news happening every day that it’s easy to miss the environmental stories you care about. That’s why we’ve rounded up the latest forest and climate news into this monthly digest! Here you’ll find articles about our campaign progress and impactful stories we’re reading to keep you up-to-date and inspired. If you want this digest sent to your inbox each month, sign up to our newsletter here.
Photo by Mary Paquet.
Forest news coverage of Sierra Club BC
- B.C. just announced its “Working Forest Landscape Model” — what does it mean for old growth? The proposed model would zone forests into three categories: commercial forestry, multiple-use, or conservation. On the surface, that sounds like progress but without clear guardrails or clarity on how much forest will actually be zoned for conservation, this model could give industry a free pass to clearcut old growth. Read more about this in our media reaction or in one of the articles in which we were quoted, including the CBC and Radio Canada.
- As British Columbia mulls continued wolf-killing to save caribou, critics say habitat loss is the real threat. One of our reports was quoted in this article published by Mongabay.
- An AP feature that followed climate activists blockading logging roads near Port Renfrew, cited SCBC data and insight showing that Vancouver Island’s remaining forests store more carbon per hectare than nearly any forest system. The story was also picked up by the print edition of the Times Colonist and Castanet.
What we’re reading
- A recent Tyee piece looks at what happened to Skalula, Canada’s last known wild spotted owl, who disappeared in 2023 after old-growth logging wiped out her habitat. The B.C. government has promised endangered species legislation twice since 2017 and dropped it both times. Experts say that without it, more species will follow the spotted owl’s path.
- The province claims they want to bring spotted owls back into the wild. But B.C, has approved the clear cutting of old growth previously set aside as key habitat for the endangered raptor in Fire Lake. Read this confusing story in the Tyee.
- A judge has extended a temporary injunction aimed at preventing old-growth logging protesters from blocking roads in the Walbran Valley. Read more about this in Castanet.
- Budget error could cost B.C. billions in gas royalties. This means we are choosing to build a bigger deficit and ignore public health and safety issues so we can spend tax payer dollars to make gas companies more profit. Read more about it via Business in Vancouver.
- According to a new study, the fires we saw across the country this summer are more than twice as likely to occur because of fossil fuel-driven global heating. Read more about it in the Guardian.
Letters to the editor
These are some letters to the editor that have been shared with us by Sierra Club BC members:
- ‘Wildfires are resulting in tragedies and profound losses … while those producing and selling fossil fuels prosper’ Read it in the Globe and Mail.
- ‘I thought I voted for a Prime Minister who understood the threat of climate change … how wrong I was’ Read it in the Globe and Mail.
- ‘We are enduring a severe health emergency’ Read it in the Vancouver Sun.
- ‘B.C.’s wildfires and fossil fuels: We need to connect the dots’ Read it in the Vancouver Sun.
- ‘What practising medicine in B.C. teaches us about climate change’ Read it in the Vancouver Sun.
Interested in submitting your own letter? Writing in to your local paper is a good way you can help connect the dots to climate change and show your neighbours they’re not alone in their worry. We’ve put together a guide on how to get published, from finding the contact for your local paper to tips on writing. Read it Here.
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