Latest Updates
Action Alert for Imperial Metals AGM in Coquitlam
*GREATER VANCOUVER ACTION ALERT FOR THURSDAY, MAY 25th, 2017* Imperial Metals is engaging in genocidal mining practices and operations that are in direct opposition to the protocols and inherent rights and title of the Secwepemc, Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, Wet'suwet'en, and Tahltan Nations. Come stand with Friends of Clayoquot Sound as we support Indigenous Land Defenders & Water Protectors of Imperial No More in banning Imperial Metals from destructive mining in their territories. Together...
FOCS is Hiring a Summer Student!
SUMMER OUTREACH COORDINATOR Position Start Date: Beginning in June, concluding at the end of August. Position Details: 20-30 hours/week with essential occasional weekend and evening work. Position Location: Tofino, working in traditional territories of the Tla-o-qui-aht, Ahousaht, and Hesquiaht First Nations. Position Wage: $13/hour. Friends of Clayoquot Sound (FOCS) stands to promote the wellbeing of the ecological and cultural diversity through education, research, and advocacy to sustain...
25 International Environmental Organizations Call for Urgent Action for Vancouver Island’s Rainforest and Communities
Photo credit: T. J. Watt Twenty-five international environmental organizations are calling for immediate action to protect and restore Vancouver Island’s endangered old-growth rainforest and its species diversity, carbon storage and benefits for a diverse economy including forestry, tourism and wild salmon in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities on Canada’s west coast. Globally, the loss of primary forests – characterized by ecological processes largely undisturbed by human activity – is...
Tla-o-qui-aht Members Seek Alternative to Colonial Logging Systems
Tsimka Martin and Gisele Martin wrote the following statement on behalf of the Tla-o-qui-aht Initiative for Interconnected Community Health. TIICH is a group of Tla-o-qui-aht members committed to upholding ancestral values. “Tiich” is also a Tla-o-qui-aht word meaning “alive.” Nuu-chah-nulth people, since time immemorial, have always maintained respectful relationships with ancestral lands and waters. These relationships are the foundation of Nuu-chah-nulth cultural life — ways carefully...
“The Yes Man Are Revolting” film screening at the Tofino Film Festival
Bring a friend and share a laugh to promote cultural change! Hosted by Friends of Clayoquot Sound Do you enjoy comic documentaries about pressing current events? This latest Yes Men film documents activist-pranksters doing outrageous stunts designed to draw awareness to climate change. The latest film by the Yes Men will play as part of the Tofino Film Festival on Friday, February 17th, 7 pm in the Clayoquot Sound Theatre. Through humour and play, The Yes Men movies tell tales of defeating...
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS APPLAUD AHOUSAHT LAND USE VISION
Wednesday, January 25, 2017 (All day) Clayoquot Sound Conservation Alliance supports Ahousaht leadership in conservation and community development goals announced today TOFINO — This afternoon, the Ahousaht Hawiih (hereditary chiefs) publicly announced their nation’s new comprehensive Land Use Vision for their territory, which sits within the heart of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Representatives of the Clayoquot Sound Conservation Alliance (CSCA) (comprised of Greenpeace,...
Kinder Morgan Pipeline Will Never Operate Despite Trudeau’s Foolish Approval
Tofino, Clayoquot Sound - The approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline by Prime Minister Trudeau breaks his commitments to Indigenous rights, while declaring a war on the climate and coastal ecosystems. The Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker project would release 100 million tonnes of carbon annually, negating climate commitments of the Liberal government. The pipeline would also bring another 400 tankers a year, putting communities and ecosystems at much greater risk of catastrophic oil...
Fall/winter 2016 newsletter now available
The fall/winter 2016 edition of our twice-yearly newsletter is out. Articles include: A promise of environmental protection: Welcoming home Weeping Cedar Woman Clayoquot Salmon Festival Wrap Up Warriors for Yaakswiis Tla-o-qui-aht members seek alternative to colonial logging systems Plus updates on our campaigns, and action items for you to take forward. Take a read and please share! Follow this link: focs-winter-16 to view and download the full Newsletter. You can find print copies at many...
Remembering Julie Draper
Julie Draper, a Friends of Clayoquot Sound activist, passed away on October 21st, 2016, at the age of 58. Although she moved away from Tofino almost 20 years ago, all who knew her here remember her strong spirit, deep kindness and quick wit. Julie was a core member and a spokesperson for our organization from 1988 through the 1990s. She was arrested at the Sulphur Pass logging blockade in 1988. For that non-violent civil disobedience she was sentenced to six days in the already condemned...
Clayoquot Salmon Festival Wrap-up
Over 300 people joined Friends of Clayoquot Sound at the Clayoquot Salmon Festival to celebrate the return of wild salmon to the Pacific Northwest. From October 12th to the 19th, the Festival provided residents and visitors with the opportunity to reflect upon, and build an active appreciation for, the irreplaceable value of salmon in Clayoquot Sound. In this spirit, Clayoquot Salmon Festival prioritized celebrating the return of the salmon by hosting two events at Jack’s Waterfront Pub....
The Summer 2016 FOCS Newsletter is here
The Summer 2016 edition of our twice-yearly newsletter is here now. Articles include: Wild Salmon Paddle Launches Big Wins of 2015 Tribal Parks FOCS Community Space Plus updates on our campaigns, and action items for you to take forward. Take a read and please share! Click this link to download. You can find print copies at many outlets in Tofino and around BC.
Friends Of Clayoquot Sound 2016 AGM
Kalilah Rampanen is FOCS new Summer Student!
Please join me in welcoming Kalilah Rampanen to the FOCS team as our new summer student and the Earth Keepers Organizer! Kalilah Rampanen ~ hassatuk (nuučaan̓uł) Kalilah's heritage stems from Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, Cree and Finnish ancestry. She is an established musician, songwriter and performer that is actively involved with raising awareness about Indigenous rights, way of life and the environment. She has been raised with a close connection to the land and ocean of her ancestors and...
Imperial No More Holds Imperial Metals President, Executives, and Big Shareholders Accountable
On Friday May 27th, 2016 Imperial Metal shareholders gambled and lost, by holding their annual general meeting at the River Rock Casino in Richmond BC. The Imperial Metals CEO, shareholders, and executives were confronted at their AGM by the Imperial No More activist network of Indigenous land defenders and allies. With representation from the Secwepemc Women's Warrior Society, No One Is Illegal, Mining Justice Alliance, and Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Imperial No More rallied took action at...
Steve Lawson was a warrior for the wilderness
Written by Mark Hume for the Globe and Mail Steve Lawson, environmental activist, master boatman and perhaps one of the few people who has ever looked into the eyes of both a cougar and a killer whale, was usually way out front. When he died recently, surrounded by his family at his home on Wickaninnish Island near Tofino, an important voice in the wilderness was silenced. In 1984, nearly a decade before he and some 800 others were arrested for blockading logging in Clayoquot Sound, Mr. Lawson...
