Documentary Reflection           A recent environmental issue in British Columbia that has been consistently present in conversations and news is the continued development of large-scale energy infrastructure. The two that this reflection will focus on are the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion and the Site C Hydroelectric Dam. Both of these projects began and moved forward with provincial approval even amidst long-standing opposition from Indigenous Nations and other environmental activists. These cases raise important points concerning how environmental decision-making works in practice, and what role civil disobedience can play when communities feel excluded from the decision making. …

            For this exercise, I looked at recent reporting on winter recreation closures in northeastern British Columbia aimed at protecting threatened caribou populations.  When I first heard about these closures, which prohibit snowmobiles from entering large areas, I did not understand how limiting access would directly benefit caribou.  However, after reading more, I learned that packed snow trails created by snowmobiles can make it easier for predators like wolves to access caribou habitat, increasing the risk to them.  Additionally, snowmobiles and people in general may force the caribou to move to less ideal habitat, where they will have more difficulty…

I believe that civil disobedience is an important, sometimes necessary strategy that works best when it is nonviolent, strategically targeted, persistent, and focused on Indigenous leadership and community objectives. A recent regional example is the Fairy Creek blockades and related actions on Vancouver Island, which used persistent civil disobedience to delay logging, generate public scrutiny, and pressure governments toward policy reviews and old‑growth protections (see coverage in The Narwhal: https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-old-growth-update-2024/). Similar to this, the Wet’suwet’en opposition to Coastal GasLink forced a nationwide debate about Indigenous title and pipeline approvals; although legal outcomes are still up for debate, the campaigns changed…

Exercise #4: Documentary Reflection — Civil Disobedience and Environmental Change Dr. Norman Fennema HIST 3991: Environmental History Kaia Golab T00755749 Sunday, March 8th, 2026 A local-to-BC environmental issue I keep seeing in the news is the ongoing conflict over old-growth logging, where people turn to civil disobedience (road blockades, protest camps, and injunction-related arrests) to try to stop logging in ecologically significant areas. In late 2025, media reports described arrests and renewed blockades connected to old-growth logging disputes on Vancouver Island (Times Colonist, 2025; Nanaimo Bulletin, 2025). These stories bring up a hard question: when formal political processes move slowly—or…

Exercise #4: Documentary Reflection Media source: The Narwhal. “Fairy Creek Old-Growth Logging Protests.” The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/topics/fairy-creek-blockade/ One major environmental issue in British Columbia today is the ongoing conflict over old-growth forest logging, especially in places like Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island. Despite public concern and scientific warnings about biodiversity loss, logging of ancient forests has continued. The Narwhal’s reporting shows how activists, Indigenous land defenders, and environmental groups have used protests and blockades to stop logging operations and draw attention to the issue. Reading about this made me reflect on where I stand: I believe that protecting old-growth forests is critical…