[BCMA] Royal BC Museum's newest book examines historical conflicts in BC forests

Tue Nov 1 13:02:57 PDT 2016

November 1, 2016

New publication by the Royal BC Museum
probes how to see the forest for the trees

Victoria, BC-The Royal BC Museum's newest book, The Sustainability Dilemma, is a riveting read exposing the tensions lurking in BC's forests, the historic battleground for groups as diverse as government, big industry, small-community loggers, First Nations, environmentalists and anglers.

In The Sustainability Dilemma, historians Robert Griffin and Richard A. Rajala delve into one of the most controversial issues faced by British Columbians over the past 60 years-the management of our forest industry and its impact on our freshwater ecosystems.

The book sets the historical stage for the "War in the Woods" and many other conflicts that divided the province as British Columbians struggled to define the most sustainable approaches to their forests.

"I focused on the Stellako River and Riley Creek stories to draw attention to the political, cultural and scientific dimensions of British Columbia's environmental history," says author Dr. Richard A. Rajala. "I was particularly intrigued by the way these episodes reveal the resistance of rural British Columbians to practices that subjected local ecosystems to abuse."

"Faced with the overwhelming task of implementing sustained yield in British Columbia's forests, the BC Forest Service developed ways of coping with the situation," says author Dr. Robert Griffin.  "Lumbermen, also faced with new and complex regulations, sought ways to meet the challenge.  This book takes on these issues in a fresh way using new and important information to analyze each situation."

Historic and contemporary images illustrate the colourful stories about key players and issues in the forestry industry. These range from the proposal and implementation of sustained-yield policies in the 1930s and 1940s to the two fish-forestry conflicts that captured province-wide attention in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Sustainability Dilemma is the sixth book released by the Royal BC Museum in the past two years. The museum began publishing in 1891, making it the oldest operational publisher in BC. The books range from helpful field guides to kids' books to essential BC histories like The Sustainability Dilemma.

The Sustainability Dilemma is available at the Royal BC Museum shop, online (shop.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/product/the-sustainability-dilemma/<https://shop.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/product/the-sustainability-dilemma/>) and at your local bookstore.

To learn more about Royal BC Museum books, visit royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/publications<http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/about/publications/about-publications>.

About Dr. Robert Griffin
Griffin served as history curator at the Royal BC Museum for more than 30 years and wrote many articles on the forest and mining industries. Since his retirement he has co-authored two books for the Royal BC Museum: Feeding the Family: 100 Years of Food and Drink in Victoria (with Nancy Oke; RBCM 2011) and Stewards of the People's Forests: A Short History of the British Columbia Forest Service (with Lorne Hammond; RBCM 2014).

About Dr. Richard A. Rajala
Rajala teaches history at the University of Victoria. His previous publications have won the Forest History Society's Charles A. Weyerhaeuser, Theodore C. Blegen and Ralph W. Hidy awards. As a research associate at the Royal BC Museum he provided a comprehensive history of logging from Bella Coola to the Nass River in Up-Coast: Forest and Industry on British Columbia's North Coast, 1870-2005 (RBCM 2006).

About the Royal BC Museum

The Royal BC Museum explores the province's human history and natural history, advances new knowledge and understanding of BC, and provides a dynamic forum for discussion and a place for reflection. The museum and archives celebrate culture and history, telling the stories of BC in ways that enlighten, stimulate and inspire. Looking to the future, the Royal BC Museum will be a refreshed, modern museum, extending its reach far beyond Victoria as a world-class cultural venue and repository of digital treasures.

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Media contact:
Royal BC Museum Media Inquiries
250-387-5051
news at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca<mailto:news at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca>

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