Four per cent of the submissions (including the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and the Shuswap Environmental Action Society) call for an immediate allowable annual cut reduction for the following reasons:
• future forests depend on sustainable resource management and the protection of forests, biological diversity, water quality and aesthetics. These long-term values should take precedence over short-term economics, employment concerns and the commodity approach to forests
• the Forest Service timber supply analyses are vague, outdated and based on incorrect assumptions regarding forestry jobs, sustainability of forests, protection of biodiversity and harvesting methods. The assumption in these analyses that clearcutting will continue as the primary harvesting method is questioned
• the forest industry needs to diversify and be innovative regarding labour-intensive harvesting practices, silviculture and value-added products. A lower allowable annual cut would provide an incentive for this innovation
