Archive for month: August, 2010

While the provincial government has sectioned off thousands of hectares to protect old-growth forests, none are located in the Alberni Valley. The government sectioned off two types of old-growth forest on Crown land to preserve the natural trees and forestation. On the east side of the Island, about five kilometres were sectioned off to preserve the Coastal Douglas Fir Ecosystem, which is a rare type of ecosystem that only covers a small portion of the Island. Other parts of the Island in the northern central area and southern areas were also protected from future logging and land management.

The message is simple "Hands off the last of the Coastal Old Growth in BC". On Friday morning, Young "Avatars" (giant blue folk - like in the recent movie) will storm Bay Street in a flash mob protest against the logging of the last of the coastal old growth in BC. The protest has caught the eye of MTV and will be featured in an upcoming documentary on the hit show The Buried Life.

It's the best, worst-kept secret on Vancouver Island. A 100-hectare forest wonderland: pristine, untouched and about a thousand years old. But there are real and imminent fears this space may not be long for this world. It is de facto owned by logging company Teal Jones. The firm hasn't applied to the provincial government for a logging permit yet, but activists with the Ancient Forest Alliance claims the company is making plans to cut.

To the provincial government, which says enough old-growth trees have been protected in the area between Sooke and Port Renfrew. That does not bode well for the trees in an area near Port Renfrew, nicknamed Avatar Grove, which are under threat of a harvest. The Forests Ministry says 24 per cent of the grove will be protected, and that is enough.

The BC Ministry of Forests and Range recent rejection of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce's and the Sooke Regional Tourism Association's request that the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew be spared from logging has the Ancient Forest Alliance preparing for a ramped-up battle. The organization already has over 2000 members on its “Save the Avatar Grove” Facebook Group and 7000 members on its main Facebook Groups, and will be working to ramp-up membership in the Avatar Grove Group in preparation for a future “Ancient Forest Week of Action” of protests, events, and rallies (dates to be announced) at various BC government offices in numerous communities.

Big trees would bring more money into Sooke and Port Renfrew than logging a unique, old-growth grove, community groups have told the provincial government. But the province is refusing to budge from its position that sufficient old growth has already been protected in that area.