Elphinstone Logging Focus Society (ELF) is a non-profit, B.C.-based environmental group that provides information to the public on proposed logging in important forest lands. The organization’s mission is to ‘Protect Key Forests and Habitat’ in order to conserve ecosystems and support recreation, tourism, and community resilience. ELF examines the forest industry’s 5-year plans for due diligence covering wildlife, archaeological, recreational, and hydrological assessments. By conducting field studies prior to logging, we can be proactive in achieving our goals. Our foremost goal is to protect provincial forests for their long-term ecological functioning. Since older forests (250+ years) have evolved to be a fundamental part of the earth’s life-support system, a large percentage (at least 30%) needs protection. Intact forests provide many key services including oxygen production, slope stability, water quality and flow control, fish and wildlife habitat, a stable gene pool, carbon sequestering, wild-crafting, recreation/tourism, and spiritual nourishment.
Although ELF is not opposed to ‘harvesting’ of second-growth forests using partial-cut techniques, it stands against industrial-style logging and seeks a ban on clearcut logging since this destroys ecosystems.
We believe that short-term logging revenues pale in comparison to the longer-term environmental services that old-growth forests generate for present and future generations.