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May 9th – Artists for Ancient Forests – A Silent Auction Benefit for the AFA!

May 9 2012/in Announcements

Wednesday, May 9th from 7 to 9pm
St. James Community Square, 3214 W 10th Ave (at Trutch Street) in Kitsilano
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/365776090134820/

• By donation (suggested $10 regular, $5 students)

Come out and support the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.ancientforestalliance.org) at our upcoming silent auction fundraiser!

View and bid on artwork donated by BC artists (see featured artists below), embark on our slideshow journey through BC’s ancient forests, and try some local drinks from BC wineries and breweries, and hobnob with local tree-huggers!

Proceeds raised during this evening will go to support the Ancient Forest Alliance’s work to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. See some of our recent media coverage and photogalleries at: www.AncientForestAlliance.org

• Silent Auction 7:00-8:45pm
Starting at 7pm, view and bid on a selection of artwork from BC artists—see below for a list of featured artists.

• Slideshow 7:30-8pm—‘A Journey through the Landscapes, Ecology and Politics of BC’s Ancient Forests’ by Ken Wu & TJ Watt

• Wrap-up 8:45-9:00pm
Bidding will close at 8:45pm and winning bidders will be announced.

Including artwork donated by:

Mark Hobson: www.markhobson.com
Anne Hansen: https://oystercatchergirl.blogspot.ca/
TJ Watt: www.utopiaphoto.ca
Ingrid Koivukangas: https://www.ingrid-koivukangas.com/
Monica Carpendale: https://www.kutenaiarttherapy.com/
Karen Cooper: karencooperphotography.com
Briony Penn: https://www.brionypenn.com
Andrew Anderson (Absorb): [Original article no longer available]
Alicia LaRue: https://www.greenstylegallery.com/Home.html
Troy Moth: www.mammothandcompany.com
Adam Huggins: www.sunfishmoonlight.wordpress.com
Leejay Levene: www.leejaylevene.com/
Patty Dowler
Margaret Jones
Diego Emilio
Nicky Morgan
Juli Nelson
& more!
BC wine and beer, and appetizers donated by:

Kermode Wild Berry Wines: https://www.kermodewildberry.com/
Blue Heron Fruit Winery: [Original article no longer available]
and more!

Appetizers donated by:
La Baguette & l’Echalote: www.labaguette.ca

We hope you will join us to celebrate past achievements and help us continue our important work!

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/365776090134820/

To RSVP, please contact hannah@15.222.255.145

Permission to build Avatar Grove boardwalk requested by the Ancient Forest Alliance from the BC Ministry of Forests

May 8 2012/in Announcements

For Immediate Release

May 8, 2012

Permission to build Avatar Grove boardwalk requested by the Ancient Forest Alliance from the BC Ministry of Forests

Port Renfrew, BC – Yesterday the Ancient Forest Alliance submitted a request to BC’s Ministry of Forests to build an official trail and boardwalk in the famed “Avatar Grove,” a monumental stand of old-growth redcedars and Douglas firs that was recently protected near the town of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island. The proposal has the backing of the local Chamber of Commerce of Port Renfrew, who have sent in a letter of support for the project to the Ministry.

“A boardwalk is vital to increase visitor safety and to protect the Avatar Grove’s ecology by minimizing impacts to the understory vegetation and tree roots,” stated TJ Watt, the Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner who found the Avatar Grove over 2 years ago. “The Avatar Grove is a heavily visited old-growth forest and has quickly become like BC’s second Cathedral Grove. Already large numbers of tourists have been visiting the Grove this spring. We need to get this boardwalk done before the summer rush begins in July and August.”

A heavily used and well-worn “unofficial” trail already exists as a result of thousands of tourists who have hiked the Avatar Grove over the past two years. The Ancient Forest Alliance is requesting permission to build a boardwalk and steps in limited sections (ie. wet areas, steep areas, and at the base of the most popular trees) and erect some signs telling visitors to stay on the official trail and to pack out all litter to minimize damage to the area’s ecology. The estimated combined distance of the trail and boardwalk in the Upper and Lower Avatar Groves is estimated to be approximately 1 kilometer.

“An Avatar Grove boardwalk will help to bring more tourists into Port Renfrew, whose economy is diversifying and increasingly relying on ‘big tree tourism’ as an important revenue stream for local businesses,” stated Rose Betsworth, President of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. “Visitor access and safety will increase significantly with a boardwalk and steps in the most difficult sections, such as the steep entry points into the Upper and Lower Avatar Grove from the road.”

The boardwalk will be engineered by qualified experts to match the safety standards of other heavily used ancient forest boardwalks on Crown lands, such as the Meares Island Big Trees Trail where tens of thousands of tourists hike each year and the boardwalk along the Wildside Trail on Flores Island which was partly funded by the Ministry of Forests.

The Avatar Grove was protected by the BC government in a 59 hectare Old-Growth Management Area in February after an extended 2 year campaign spearheaded by the Ancient Forest Alliance and the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, it is illegal to build trails on Crown lands without permission from the Forest Service.

See PHOTOS of the Avatar Grove at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=6

See an earlier Youtube clip at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw

Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island Forests under Threat by Island Timberlands! NEW Photo Galleries

May 4 2012/in Announcements

Forests across the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island are currently under threat by logging giant Island Timberlands, the second largest private land owner in BC. Local activists in nearby communities are doing everything they can to hold off the company from logging nearby endangered forests until the lands can be purchased for protection. They need your help! The Ancient Forest Alliance has recently been touring and photographing these endangered areas to help bolster their campaigns. See the beautiful photo galleries below, learn what makes each area special, and find out who to link up with to help protect them!

Stillwater Bluffs

New Photo Gallery: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/stillwater-bluffs/
Local Activists: Friends of Stillwater Bluffs. Email: friendsofstillwaterbluffs@gmail.com Web: https://fosb.blogspot.ca/

This 48 hectare dry maritime forest south of Powell River contains an exceptionally scenic, dramatic stretch of coastline as well as enormous old-growth veteran Douglas-fir and redcedar trees. It is accessible to the public and offers hiking trails, rock climbing, and important wildlife habitat that is perfect for a potential nature park. Local citizens are pushing the Powell River Regional District and the provincial government to assist in funding the area’s purchase, while Island Timberlands in 2012 continues to move forward towards logging this precious area in the near future .

Powell River Peak news articles: Bluffs receive high-profile focus, Hike raises awareness of bluffs

Lower Sunshine Coast

Day Road Forest

New Photo Gallery: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/day-road-forest/
Local Activists: Elphinstone Logging Focus in Roberts Creek. Email: loggingfocus@gmail.com Web: www.loggingfocus.org

This beautiful second-growth forest includes important stands of old-growth veteran Douglas-firs and redcedars, a gorgeous waterfall, a beautiful box canyon, and extensive mature Douglas-fir stands. Cougars, deer, bears, red-legged frogs, and ensatina salamanders roam the forest. The area is heavily used by local hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers, and as an area for environmental education for local children and youth. Island Timberlands owns these lands and is planning to log the area’s recovering mature forests, to the chagrin of local citizens and property owners.

Wilson Creek Forest (*note – this area is not on Island Timberlands’ private land but is on unprotected Crown lands)

New Photo Gallery: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/elphinstone-logging-focus-wilson-creek-forest-under-threat/
Local Activists: Elphinstone Logging Focus in Roberts Creek. Email: loggingfocus@gmail.com Web: www.loggingfocus.org

This beautiful old-growth and mature forest near Roberts Creek on the Lower Sunshine Coast is proposed by local residents for protection in an expanded Mount Elphinstone Provincial Park. This area has never been logged. A forest fire swept through the area over a century ago, but significant stands of old-growth trees survived the fire and still grow throughout the forest. The area is on Crown lands and is one of the only low elevation ancient forests remaining on the Sunshine Coast and is home to cougars, bears, deer, and the threatened red-legged frog. The Wilson Creek Forest is threatened to be logged by the local Community Forest, which unfortunately at this time lacks a strong conservation vision which in a Community Forest in particular should include protection of the highest conservation-value lands like the Wilson Creek Forest.

Vancouver Island

Cameron Valley Firebreak

New Photo Gallery: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/cameron-valley-firebreak/
Local Activists: Port Alberni-based Watershed-Forest Alliance. watershedforestalliance@gmail.com

The Cameron Valley Firebreak is a beautiful 150 hectare old-growth forest on Vancouver Island that is a 20 minute drive from the town of Port Alberni, and several kilometres upstream from the world-famous Cathedral Grove. In late April, 2012, Island Timberlands began logging this ancient forest of extremely high recreation and ecological value – filled with ancient coastal Douglas-firs (99% of which have been logged), wintering elk and deer, and Culturally Modified Trees. The area is heavily used by Roosevelt elk and was formerly intended for protection as an Ungulate Winter Range by the BC government for elk – until the land was removed from the Tree Farm License in 2004, and planned protections were never implemented.
Ancient Forest Alliance: Press release
Alberni Valley Times: Groups make appeal to save forest
Times Colonist: Environmental groups decry logging near Cathedral Grove

Some Other Forests Threatened by Island Timberlands

Cathedral Grove Canyon: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/cathedral-grove-canyon/
McLaughlin Ridge: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/our-work/old-growth-campaigns/mclaughlin-ridge/
Cortes Island: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/the-ancient-forests-of-cortes-island-2-the-carrington-bay-childrens-forest/

TAKE ACTION

Here are a few things you can do right now as the campaign snowballs to protect the endangered forests on Island Timberlands lands:

1. WRITE A LETTER TO ENVIRONMENT MINISTER TERRY LAKE:

5 minutes is all it takes to write a short letter requesting that the provincial government establish a BC Park Acquisition Fund of at least $40 million per year, raising $400 million over 10 years, to purchase old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems on private lands across the province.

Send your letter to: terry.lake.mla@leg.bc.ca (*Be sure to include your full name and address so you they know you’re a real person!)
or phone him at: 1.250.387.1187
or ask him on Twitter: @terrylakemla

2. SIGN AND CIRCULATE OUR ONLINE PETITION TO SAVE BC’S ANCIENT FORESTS AND FORESTRY JOBS:

ancientforestalliance.org/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/

Also sign the Friends of Stillwater Bluffs petition at: https://www.change.org/petitions/island-timberlands-ltd-of-nanaimo-five-year-moratorium-on-any-logging-of-stillwater-bluffs

3. SUPPORT THE LOCAL ACTIVISTS WORKING TO PROTECT FORESTS THREATENED by ISLAND TIMBERLANDS:

Stillwater Bluffs
Friends of Stillwater Bluffs near Powell River: friendsofstillwaterbluffs@gmail.com Website: https://fosb.blogspot.ca/

Lower Sunshine Coast
Elphinstone Logging Focus in Roberts Creek: loggingfocus@gmail.com Website: www.loggingfocus.org

Cameron Valley Firebreak, McLaughlin Ridge
Jane Morden of the Watershed-Forest Alliance in Port Alberni: watershedforestalliance@gmail.com

Cathedral Grove, Cathedral Grove Canyon
Annette Tanner, Wilderness Committee Mid-Island Chapter in Qualicum Beach: wcwcqb@shaw.ca

Cortes Island
Zoe Miles or Sabina Leader-Mense of Wildstands at: wildstands@gmail.com Website: wildstands.wordpress.com

Announcements

Help AFA raise $250,000 by December 31st – we’re over halfway there!

Dec 15 2025

Support the protection of old-growth forests in BC through Indigenous-led conservation, science, and public action. Donate to help safeguard ancient forests.

Announcements

An aerial of a BCTS cutblock in the Nahmint Valley

News Coverage

Chek News: Document reveals approval to harvest remnant old-growth in B.C.’s northwest

Dec 8 2025

BC Timber Sales has ended a policy protecting remnant old-growth in northwest B.C., citing First Nations’ positions, sparking concerns from ecologists and residents.

News Coverage

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Thank You to Our Silent Auction business Donors!

Dec 8 2025

Thank you to these local businesses for generously donating items and experiences to our first-ever online Silent Auction!

Announcements

Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaign director TJ Watt stands beside the fallen remains of an ancient western redcedar approximately 9 feet (3 metres) wide, cut down by BC Timber Sales in the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni in Hupačasath, Tseshaht, and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation territory. (2024)

Announcements

Statement on the Provincial Forest Advisory Council’s Interim Report – AFA & EEA

Nov 21 2025

The Provincial Forest Advisory Council’s (PFAC) interim report falls short of addressing the root causes of BC’s forestry crisis or outlining the bold, decisive actions needed to reverse it, warn the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) and Endangered Ecosystem Alliance (EEA).

Announcements