Welcome to the Last Stand Legal Defence Fund  

THE FIGHT FOR OLD-GROWTH IS FAR FROM OVER

The BC NDP government has failed to take swift action to protect threatened old-growth forests across the province. Despite promises of both deferrals and permanent protections, ancient forests are still being clear-cut every day.  The research is clear: Moving slowly is no longer an option if we hope to have any ancient forests left for the future. 

WHO ARE WE?

We’re a small group of volunteers in a larger grassroots collective that has become known as the “ Fairy Creek Blockade .”  Over the past two years, we’ve operated as a collective of small groups and individuals under this banner. During this time over a thousand people have been arrested trying to protect old-growth forests from being clear cut and destroyed. 

Going forward, our tactics have to evolve - the BC NDP are still not listening and the trees are continuing to fall at an unprecedented rate. 

Our mission is to continue to protect old growth. To do so, we must continue to raise money to support legal campaigns associated with Fairy Creek. We will continue to seek legal justice for those arrested, for First Nations people and for the forests themselves. This is why donors like you are the real heroes!

DONATIONS TO THIS CAMPAIGN WILL SUPPORT:

• Legal Representation - We’re ensuring that the people who stood up to corporate greed, unjust laws, and colonial systems of oppression have the legal support they need throughout the court process    UPDATE - 150 defenders have gone through the court system over the last 12 months and have received penalties  of community service, fines, and up to 10 days jail time. This year 270 defendants face their charges starting on  January 3rd, 2023,  and on going well into the summer of 2023.  Legal aid options for some are all but used up and the year ahead  holds expanded financial burdens for those who find themselves facing the colonial court system.

• Supporting Elder Bill Jones' Aboriginal Rights Case  
• Ongoing education, outreach and legacy work as part of the broader movement to protect old-growth forests. We believe that the fight for old-growth forests calls for both peaceful, non-violent civil disobedience and committed thoughtful legal action. 

•  We’ve set a goal to raise $200,000 dollars for our legal defense FUND. With your help, we’ll keep fighting on the #legalfrontlines! 

 WHAT’S AT STAKE? 

Former Premier John Horgan promised permanent protection of old-growth forests but provided no money or alternative resource plans - which has put First Nations in an impossible position. We must keep the pressure upon the B.C. government to provide adequate funding for Indigenous Nations and forestry workers to move to sustainable forestry practices, now. Otherwise, BC’s ancient forests will be lost within a decade. 

Old-growth trees vary in size and age. The province defines coastal forests to be old growth if they contain trees that are more than 250 years old, while forests in B.C.'s Interior are considered old growth if the trees are at least 140 years old.

The most common image is of a massive moss-covered tree stretching 60 meters or more into the sky. The trunks of these trees are covered in dense bark and support a biodiverse undergrowth of lichen, fungi and flora.

Conservationists and loggers both say it's significant when trees like this — such as yellow cedars, Sitka spruce or Douglas firs — are discovered in forests. Science has proven these forests are vital to the health of our water and air and that deforestation is a driver of the climate crisis. Industry sees value in terms of short-term gains: a handful of jobs and a few hundred million to private companies (far less to First Nations).

We believe these trees are worth more standing. We also believe it is our collective responsibility to leave old-growth forests and ancient ecosystems standing and growing for generations to come. 

Thank you for helping us support the brave forest defenders and our efforts to stop old-growth logging.

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