Old-Growth Momentum Grows as Businesses, City Councils, and Naturalists Speak Up & Renowned Filmmaker Comes to Port Renfrew

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The Port Renfrew and Sooke Chambers of Commerce, the town councils of Metchosin, Victoria, and Tofino, and the Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature) have joined conservation groups in calling on the BC government to protect Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests in the Walbran Valley. In addition, renowned two-time Sundance filmmaker Joe Callander whose documentaries have been featured in the New York Times is on Vancouver Island to do a story about the old-growth forests around Port Renfrew.

Interest and concern for the fate of Vancouver Island’s endangered old-growth forests is on the rise, as a renowned filmmaker and his crew arrived earlier this week from the US to do a piece about the old-growth forests around Port Renfrew. In addition, a growing and diverse base of businesses, municipal councils, and natural history associations have joined the chorus of concerned citizens calling on the province to protect the endangered old-growth forest in the Central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew.

Two-time Sundance filmmaker Joe Callander has been in Port Renfrew, Lake Cowichan, and Duncan this past week with the Ancient Forest Alliance and various forestry workers, business leaders, and scientists to document the endangered old-growth forests and forest industry in the area. Callander’s award-winning documentary work has been shown at over 30 festivals globally, as well as being featured in the New York Time’s Op-docs section on NYTimes.com. The New York Times has the largest circulation of any metropolitan newspaper in the USA, as well as over one million paying digital-only subscribers for its online content.

The Sooke and Port Renfrew Chambers of Commerce, the Metchosin, Tofino, and Victoria councils, and the Federation of BC Naturalists (the umbrella organization representing 53 naturalist clubs, encompassing 6000 members) have all joined the call for the BC government to protect the endangered old-growth forests of the Central Walbran Valley. The Metchosin council resolution calls on the BC government to amend the 1994 Vancouver Island Land Use Plan to protect the remaining old-growth forests across Vancouver Island, which would include the Walbran Valley.

Near Port Renfrew, the 500 hectare Central Walbran Ancient Forest is part of the 13,000 hectare Walbran Valley, of which about 5500 hectares of the valley is protected within the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park and 7500 hectares of the watershed lies outside of the park. About 2600 hectares lies in a “Special Management Zone” (including the 500 hectare Central Walbran), where the size of clearcuts is smaller but which still allows for most of the old-growth forests to be logged. The Central Walbran is the last, largely intact portion of the valley outside of the park, while much of the rest has been highly fragmented and tattered by clearcuts to different degrees. Teal-Jones has 8 cutblocks planned for the Central Walbran Valley, of which one, Cutblock 4424, has been granted a cutting permit by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. The company recently stated that they will defer logging plans in the Central Walbran Valley for now, a welcome step forward. The company is actively logging in other parts of the Special Management Zone at this time and protesters have sporadically been blockading their logging operations in recent months. The Walbran Valley is in the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht band in Tree Farm Licences 44 and 46 on Crown lands.

Port Renfrew, formerly a logging town, has been transformed in recent years into a big tree tourism destination as hundreds of thousands of tourists have come from around the world to visit some of Canada’s largest trees in the nearby Avatar Grove, the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir tree), Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree), San Juan Spruce (until recently Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree – its top broke off in a recent storm unfortunately), the Harris Creek spruce (one of the largest Sitka spruce trees in Canada), and the Central Walbran Valley.

• See spectacular photos of the Walbran.

• See the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce’s statement for the Walbran here.

• See the Sooke Chamber of Commerce’s Walbran statement here.

• See the Victoria city council motion for the Walbran here.

• See a recent Youtube clip using drone footage over the Central Walbran.

“The publicity about the old-growth forests near Port Renfrew in recent years has brought in a flood of visitors from Europe, the USA, Canada, and diverse countries to visit Port Renfrew. This has especially been true since the protection of the Avatar Grove in 2012. Big tree tourism has increased the total flow of dollars spent in Port Renfrew, in our rental accommodations, restaurants, grocery stores, and businesses in general. Along with sport fishing, old-growth forest tourism has become a staple of our local economy,” states Dan Hager, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. “Recently, increasing numbers of visitors are heading through town to visit the Central Walbran Valley to see its old-growth forest. If the Central Walbran were to be protected, it would be a great addition to our town’s repertoire of big tree attractions.”

“The Central Walbran is one of the most magnificent places that anyone could visit. With its gargantuan trees, emerald-coloured swimming holes, amazing waterfalls, and perfect camping areas, in all of my experiences the Walbran is virtually unmatched for recreational and scenic grandeur in the world. To riddle the whole area with clearcuts and giant stumps would be the lowest, worse use of a place like this,” states Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director.

“The Central Walbran Valley is truly exceptional in so many ways. It has the most extensive, densely-packed groves of old-growth western redcedars in the country – including some of the near-largest on record, such as the Tolkien and Castle Giants,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner. “Not only are old-growth forests important for the climate, but also for tourism, endangered species, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.”

“The old growth forests of the Walbran Valley are very important biologically for the great variety of plants and animals living there – some of which are at risk such as the Queen Charlotte Goshawk and Marbled Murrelet. The second growth forests which replace the old growth lack much of the biodiversity present in old growth”, stated Eric Marshall, president of Cowichan Valley Naturalists.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigners recently located and measured two huge western redcedar trees, one of which makes it into the top 10 widest redcedars in BC according to the BC Big Tree Registry, in the Central Walbran Valley – the 4.6 metre (15 feet) wide “Tolkien Giant” and the “Karst Giant”. See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=944

The recent agreement in BC’s northern coastal rainforest, the Great Bear Rainforest, where 85% of the old-growth forests will be protected in a combination of legislated parks, conservancies, and forest reserves (through Ecosystem-Based Management), sets a science-based precedent to increase protection now for BC’s southern rainforest – on Vancouver Island and the southern Mainland Coast, where only 8% of the original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and conservancies (6%) and Old-Growth Management Areas (2%).

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the province to protect its endangered old-growth forests, ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry, and end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills in order to support BC forestry jobs. An Old-Growth Protection Act has been developed by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre for the Ancient Forest Alliance. See: https://www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/An-Old-Growth-Protection-Act-for-BC_2013Apr.pdf

On BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and the southwest mainland), 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. 3.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests once stood on the southern coast, and today 860,000 hectares remain, while only 260,000 hectares are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature) join call to protect Central Walbran Valley

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Thanks to the Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature), who have joined multiple Chambers of Commerce and municipal councils calling for the protection of the endangered Central Walbran Valley. The federation consists of 53 naturalist clubs representing 6000 members in British Columbia, including biologists, ecologists, and various natural history enthusiasts. The federation has sent a letter of support for the Cowichan Valley Naturalists in their call to the province requesting protection of the Central Walbran Ancient Forest. The 500 hectare Central Walbran Valley is threatened with potential logging by Teal-Jones, and is the most intact part of a 2600 hectare Special Management Zone. The Ancient Forest Alliance is working with diverse partners calling for the region's protection, along with legislation to protect endangered old-growth forests across BC and new policies to ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.

See the Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature) online at: www.bcnature.ca

Tall trees turning Port Renfrew into tourist hot spot

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The discovery of a grove of massive and unusual cedar trees six years ago has slowly been attracting more and more tourists from around the world to the tiny community of Port Renfrew.

And now the business community says it’s better for the local economy to move on from logging, and set its sights instead on ecotourism.

Port Renfrew is a two hour drive from Victoria, along Vancouver Island’s west coast.

“To be able to drive somewhere, and to be able to immerse themselves in an environment that looks the same, is the same, the way it was perhaps 1000 years ago, is a wonderful experience,” said Dan Hager, President of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce.

A short drive from the centre of Port Renfrew brings you to Avatar Grove.

TJ Watt discovered the unusual and massive cedars while exploring the area with a friend in 2009.

“We found these incredible gigantic trees that are covered in these amazing burls,” said Watts.

Watt’s group the Ancient Forest Alliance along with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce campaigned to have the area saved and in 2012 the provincial government declared Avatar Grove a protected area and word of it’s unique beauty started to spread.

“Avatar started to bring a lot of people, and they started coming and every year they came more and more and more,” said Hager.

In the peak of summer, it’s estimated up to 200 people will visit the “gnarly” trees each day, many from Europe, and the United States.

“There’s been a massive influx of tall tree tourism and the town has re-branded itself as the Tall Tree Capital of Canada,” said Ken Wu with the Ancient Forest Alliance.

But the Tall Tree Capital was actually built on falling trees and signs of the forest industry dot the hills all around.

“Logging really has the origins of Port Renfrew, the reason the road is there because of logging, but we can bring more people and more revenue into Renfrew through tourism than from logging, taking the trees out,” said Hager.

Hager says you can see the impact ecotourism is having on the tiny community of 250 as developers build cabins and cottages for people from around the world who want a closer view of Vancouver Island’s raw beauty.

One of the most iconic tall trees in the Port Renfrew area is affectionately known as “Big Lonely Doug”.

The second largest douglas fir in Canada, it is nearly four meters wide and 67 meters tall, and estimated to be roughly 1000 years old.

It was saved as a wildlife tree when the area was logged a few years ago.

And it is just one more reason local business and environmental groups say the remaining ancient forests in the region need to be protected.

“Giant douglas firs, big red cedars, these are primeval forests, sort of Jurassic Park type landscapes that really deserve protection there’s so little left,” said Wu.

But for many in the area the tall trees remaining are a sign of transformation, for a town ready to cut ties with its logging roots and plant a new seed for a future in tourism.

Port Alberni, Vancouver Island’s Forestry Capital – Sustainability Champion?

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In recent years, there has been considerable public concern in Port Alberni over logging in its China Creek drinking watershed, in particular over McLaughlin Ridge’s magnificent old-growth Douglas-firs which shelter wintering deer and is also home to endangered species.

 

Additional concerns have also erupted over proposed logging along “The Hump’s” forested highway buffer, at the “Lookout”, on Mount Horne above Cathedral Grove, and at the Cameron Valley Firebreak – which is akin to a “second Cathedral Grove” with its rare ancient Douglas firs and herds of Roosevelt elk. All of these stands are owned by Island Timberlands.

 

McLaughlin Ridge, the Cameron Valley Firebreak, and Mount Horne were all intended to be protected as Ungulate Winter Ranges for wintering deer and/or elk until negotiations between the B.C. government and Island Timberlands fell apart, subsequent to the lands’ removal in 2004 from their Tree Farm Licence (TFL). These lands, along with another 78,000 hectares, were once regulated to stronger public standards within their TFL’s – their removal thereby deregulated most of the environmental laws that otherwise would have protected the scenery, riparian zones for water quality and wild salmon, deer and elk winter ranges, endangered species habitats, and many old-growth stands, as well as restrictions on raw log exports.

 

However, hundreds of Port Alberni residents have attended public forums in recent years to speak out about the fate of these forests, and hundreds more have attended rallies against raw log exports where forestry workers and conservationists have stood together in solidarity. The Port Alberni city council has also passed a resolution calling for the protection of McLaughlin Ridge in the drinking watershed and has met with Island Timberlands over the past year seeking a conservation solution. During the same period, Island Timberlands seems to have taken pause at McLaughlin Ridge and has indicated that they are open to potential buyers – for how long, we don’t know.

 

The fact that so many Port Alberni residents are standing up for both environmental protection and sustainable forestry jobs today seems quite incredible if you remember the early 1990’s. During the era of the Clayoquot Sound protests, Alberni had a reputation among environmentalists as the town to avoid while hitch-hiking to Tofino. Today, Port Alberni has become a major centre of environmental concern for forests. For those who’ve experienced the history, it may seem quite remarkable – but not if you realize that it’s in the interest of forestry workers to ensure a sustainable industry that retains jobs, and for environmentalists to support sustainable forestry jobs in order to transform the economic and political forces causing the environmental destruction.

 

Port Alberni in the 1970’s was reputed to have the highest per capita income of any town in Canada due to numerous high-paid, unionized forestry jobs based on the “green gold” – vast stands of accessible, valley-bottom giant Douglas firs, Sitka spruce, and red cedars in the region. By 2014, with the best old-growth stands long since depleted, Port Alberni was ranked at the bottom of MoneySense magazine’s annual list of the best places to live in Canada. Port Alberni residents have been understandably irked by the label, given the down-to-earth kindness of many of the local people and the area’s natural beauty.

 

The situation in Port Alberni, from extreme economic prosperity to significant collapse, has been shared by many of B.C.’s coastal communities over the past two decades – and in fact, by communities around the world as a result of the pattern of unsustainable, high-grade resource depletion.

 

B.C.’s forest industry was historically built on logging the biggest and best old-growth stands in the valley bottoms and lower slopes. Over time, the remaining trees have become smaller in size, lower in value and more expensive to reach on steep slopes at high elevations, far away in valley headwaters. Today on Vancouver Island, over 90% of the productive, valley-bottom old-growth forests that historically built the forest industry have now been logged. This has resulted in diminishing returns for the forest industry as expenses have gone up and revenues have declined, resulting in the closure of old-growth dependent sawmills everywhere and the loss of thousands of forestry jobs. In the mid 1990’s almost 100,000 people were directly employed in B.C.’s forest industry – today, about 60,000 remain.

 

Around the world – whether one looks at fishing down the food chain or old-growth logging – this pattern of high-grade resource depletion of taking too much, too fast of the biggest and best, has resulted in the collapse of both ecosystems and of resource dependent communities. Not only do we lose the biodiversity – and water quality in this case – we lose the jobs.

 

The decline in forestry employment has particularly been exacerbated as the B.C. Liberal government has largely deregulated the forest industry, removing the local milling requirement in 2003 that – had it remained – would have mandated that companies convert their old-growth mills to handle the maturing second-growth stands. Instead, as the original mills shut down, there has been a mass exodus of raw, unprocessed logs leaving the province for foreign mills, facilitated by the B.C. government which has been marketing our logs and last old-growth stands in China.

 

However, the people of Port Alberni are speaking up today for their drinking watershed, their last old-growth stands, and for sustainable, second-growth forestry jobs. An individual of particular note is Jane Morden, the coordinator of the Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance, and her team of concerned residents who have worked hard to bring these issues to the forefront of municipal and provincial attention in recent years. Over the past year there have been talks between the municipality and the company towards a possible resolution for McLaughin Ridge – although nothing is ever certain until there is legislation and funding, which will require provincial leadership now.

 

In a move that could bolster the local momentum, 16 major conservation and recreation organizations, including the Port Alberni Watershed Forest Alliance and the Ancient Forest Alliance, signed a statement in January calling on the B.C. Liberal government to establish a $40 million/year Natural Lands Acquisition Fund that would help to purchase and protect private lands of high environmental value – for example, McLaughlin Ridge and Mount Horne by Port Alberni.

 

In other words, there is hope – Port Alberni, long known as the forestry capital of Vancouver Island, could become the forest sustainability capital of Vancouver Island if we all keep working for a better future.

Read more: https://www.albernithrive.com/#!Port-Alberni-Vancouver-Island?s-Forestry-Capital-?-Sustainability-Champion/cjds/56c1e29d0cf2fc0bb780741a

Metchosin supports stopping old-growth logging

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While it’s not quite a New Years resolution, Metchosin resolved to prevent any more logging of old-growth forest on provincial Crown Land on Vancouver Island.

The resolution will see a letter go to the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities, seeking its support for a request to amend the Vancouver Island Land Use Plan to protect all remaining old-growth forest.

“The amount of old growth remaining on southern Vancouver Island is a small fraction of what it used to be, and old growth has all sorts of value – economic, social and environmental value,” said Metchosin Coun. Andy MacKinnon. “We thought it was timely to create a resolution to save the remaining old growth for ourselves and future generations.”

The longtime forester and biologist said such trees at Avatar Grove, and Big Lonely Doug – left standing in the middle of a clearcut, it’s considered the second-largest Douglas fir tree in Canada – attract visitors to the area. He pointed to an estimate showing that only 13 per cent of old-growth forest on southern Vancouver Island remain.

“These are some of the largest trees on the planet, some of the largest living organisms that have ever existed on earth,” MacKinnon said. “And some people visit to view these stands, so there is an important economic resource even if you don’t log them.”

The Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities is one of six regional groups under the umbrella of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. It deals with issues and concerns of the 51 municipalities and districts it represents on the Island.

MacKinnon said it’s inevitable that the logging of old-growth forests will stop.

“This will happen when all the old-growth forest outside of protected areas has been logged and the logging will transition to second growth,” he said. “The halt to logging old growth will happen sooner rather than later; this resolution calls for an immediate halt.”

THANK YOU to our 2015 Business, Artist & Organization Supporters!

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Thanks to the generous support of donors, the Ancient Forest Alliance has quickly grown to become BC’s leading organization working for comprehensive legislation to protect endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs across the province.

In the past several years since the AFA was founded, local and sustainable businesses along with artists and other organizations have bolstered the AFA’s important work through many fundraising initiatives including direct donations, yoga studio Karma Classes, gift raffles, ‘Haircut not Clearcut’ salon fundraisers, in kind donations, proceeds from products or services to music festivals, concerts and special event benefits.

We look forward to working with many more such supporters in 2016 and beyond as we pursue our ambitious goal of ensuring legislated protection for endangered old-growth forests across the province!

For more information on supporting the AFA as a business or organization, visit our Business and Organization Support page.

For a FULL LIST of ALL businesses, artists and organizations that have supported the AFA since our founding in 2010, see here.
Thanks to our 2015 Donors!

In 2015, the AFA received significant support from a variety of granting programs and creative fundraisers. We are very grateful for the major support provided by Mountain Equipment Co-op’s Community Contributions Grants and MEC Victoria’s vote of preferred organizations, LUSH Handmade Cosmetics’ Charity Pot program, Patagonia‘s Grassroots Environmental Grants program, and Patagonia Victoria – Elements’ 1% for the Planet contributions.

We would like to also extend our deepest gratitude to Nick Temos of the Pacific Northwest Collective for piloting four incredible aerial flights over Vancouver Island this year that helped us document remote ancient forests and old-growth logging from above.

We are very excited to be a new beneficiary of True North Goods, an outdoor goods and apparel company showing their dedication to protecting the outdoors for future generations to explore by donating a portion of all proceeds to the AFA! Michael Green Architecture has also supported us greatly as part of its 1% for the Planet contributions.

Eternal Abundance Organic Vegan Grocery & Cafe and Banyen Books & Sound in Vancouver as well as MEC Victoria are all generously hosting ongoing sales of AFA merchandise in their stores.

Early in 2015, Innerlife Health Services supported the AFA through their Community Clinic offering BodyTalk sessions, and Climbing Arborist and the Mat Fernandez Project along with Roadside Films organized a fundraising film screening. Hemp & Company, in addition to continued support through the printing of AFA shirts and other clothing items, and through merchandise sales at their store, also awarded the AFA’s TJ Watt with an Eco-Hero Award!
Many supporters contributed to the AFA’s 5 Year Anniversary Sustainable Dinner & Celebration in April. Generous contributors included chef Landon Crawford and his team, including front house coordinator Gaby Bolanos, with music by acclaimed Vancouver Island singer-songwriter Shauna Janz, event sponsors Patagonia Victoria, Megson Fitzpatrick Insurance Services, Truffles Catering, Pedersen’s Rentals and Hemp & Company, food and drink donations from Hope Hill Farm, Michell’s Farm, Sun Trio Farm, Hoyne Brewing, Sea Cider, Tugwell Creek Honey Farm & Meadery, and a wide selection of door prizes from Hemp & Company, Sitka, Sol Integrative Healing, Harmony Belly Dance, Lifestyles Markets, Moksha Yoga Westshore, Patagonia Vancouver, SeaFlora Wild Organic Seaweed Skincare, Harmony Herbal Teas, Cafe 932, Nezza Naturals, Kermode Wildberry Winery, Pathfinders Design & Technology, Quoia, Bahnmann Timber, Evan Patterson Contracting, Platinum Energy Systems, Inspire Hair Design, West Coast Greens, Andy Mackinnon, Robin Esrock/Canadian Bucket List, and Al Carder.

This summer, Tall Tree Music Festival once again came to Brown Mountain near Port Renfrew and lent its support to the AFA’s work to protect old-growth forests near Port Renfrew and beyond.

This holiday season, Heartwood Community Café, Patagonia Vancouver, MEC Victoria and Hudson Public Market generously offered space in their stores for the AFA’s holiday fundraising booths.  Cordial Wildcrafted Consumables, Bon Macaron Patisserie and Gather Victoria donated food and gift basket items to our year end events, and Patagonia Vancouver generously hosted a film screening and presentation fundraiser!

Thank you all!

Avatar Grove

Avatar Grove Ecotourism

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Here's a new piece by Shaw TV about the importance of old-growth forests of Port Renfrew for the tourism economy, focused on the Avatar Grove and the Walbran Valley, and featuring Dan Hager, president of the local Chamber of Commerce, and the AFA's Ken Wu and TJ Watt.

See video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85ZbPbd0R2Q

Hope on Vancouver Island following historic Great Bear Rainforest agreement

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It was an historic moment 20 years in the making.

Today it was announced an agreement has been reached between the province, 26 First Nations, environmental groups and the forest industry to protect 85% of BC’s Great Bear Rainforest from logging.

“It preserves land with cultural, ecological and spiritual ties vitally important to the people who have lived there for millennia,” said BC Premier Christy Clark at a press conference in Vancouver.

“I stand here today proud, happy, but still a little bit upset that it’s taken this long for us to find that balance that we were looking for for the last 20 years,” said Dallas Smith, President of the Nanwakolas Tribal Council.

The Great Bear Rainforest covers 6.4 million hectares and is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world.

The best known species to call it home is the Spirit, or Kermode, bear.

20 years ago the battle to protect it began with protests and blockades — that was followed by an international campaign against BC forest products, which cost millions of dollars in contracts.

“International pressure was definitely key to bring the parties together to collaborate,” said Richard Brooks, Greenpeace Canada’s Forest Campaign Coordinator.

There will still be logging in the remaining 15%, but the parties involved say it will be under some of the strictest regulations in North America.

Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance, says now that BC’s northern rainforest is protected, it’s time to focus on Vancouver Island.

“We actually have the most significant or grandest ancient forests remaining,” said Wu.

“These are Jurassic Park-type landscapes, primeval ancient landscapes and we only have 6% of our productive forests under protection.”

Wu says if nothing is done to protect places like the Walbran Valley from logging, old growth-dependent species here will eventually go extinct.

But he hopes with today’s unprecedented agreement, it will never come to that.

“This basically changes the political dynamic in terms of forests in this province, in fact, in this country, so it’s a huge leap forward,” Wu said.

[Chek News article no longer available.]

Ancient Forest Alliance

Most of B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest protected

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VANCOUVER – A jewel in the crown of British Columbia’s magnificent landscape — the Great Bear Rainforest — has been largely protected from logging in a landmark agreement between First Nations, forest companies, environmental groups and the government, Premier Christy Clark said Monday.

The land-sharing deal 20 years in the making will protect 85 per cent of the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, located on B.C.’s central coast about 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

The Great Bear Rainforest, stretching from the Discovery Islands northwards to Alaska, is 6.4 million hectares, and more than half the region is covered by ancient forests. The agreement ensures 85 per cent of the forests — 3.1 million hectares — are permanently off limits to logging.

“This is what Vancouver used to look like,” said Clark as images of vast forests were displayed on screens during a news conference at the University of B.C.

“It is proof of what we can do if we decide to find common purpose,” she said.

Clark’s government will introduce legislation this spring that enshrines the deal and includes benefits-sharing agreements with area First Nations.

Twenty six First Nations, environmental groups, coastal forest companies and the government reached the agreement after more than a decade of negotiations.

The agreement also ends the commercial grizzly bear hunt and protects habitat for the marbled murrelet, northern goshawk, mountain goat and tailed frog.

Coastal First Nations spokeswoman Chief Marilyn Slett said reaching the pact was not an easy task but the eco-based management pact is the “modern term to describe what we’ve always done. Our leaders understand our well-being is connected to the well-being of our lands and waters.”

Coast Forest Products Association chief executive officer Rick Jeffery said the deal involved complex talks between groups with opposing points of view, but compromise and success was achieved over time.

“It’s unprecedented in the history of our province,” said Jeffery. “It’s a unique solution for a unique area.”

Environmentalist Richard Brooks said 95 per cent of the area was open to logging 20 years ago, but protests, blockades and ensuing negotiations resulted in Monday’s agreement that ensures most of the forests will not be logged.

“Each of us took tremendous risks to step into the unknown and bridge the huge divide,” said Brooks, describing the collaboration. Three environmental groups, Greenpeace, Forest Ethics and Sierra Club of B.C., are part of the deal.

Jens Wieting of the Sierra Club said logging in the remaining part of the forest will be tightly controlled.

“There is certainty for forestry, 15 per cent of the region’s rainforest will remain open for forestry under very stringent logging rules, the most stringent that you can find in North America.”

The area was officially named the Great Bear Rainforest by then-premier Gordon Campbell in 2006. Environmentalists had given the area the name years before that in an effort to protect the central coast from logging.

The area is also home to the kermode or sprit bear and is where nine area First Nations declared bans on bear hunting in their traditional territories.

Wieting said those involved in the agreement realized the region is globally important because there are so few temperate rain forests left on the planet.

“It is larger than the Netherlands or Belgium or Switzerland and it is really a global responsibility to find solutions to protect the ecological integrity and support communities in this region.”

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/2489812/most-of-b-c-s-great-bear-rainforest-protected/