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The stump of a 14ft diameter old-growth redcedar freshly cut in 2010 found along the Gordon River near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

Companies urged to conserve ancient trees

Feb 11 2011/in News Coverage

The Forest Practices Board is encouraging the government and forestry companies to get creative to save trees of exceptional size or form, age or historical significance.

The recommendation comes out of an investigation into a public complaint about logging of particularly large trees near Port Renfrew on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, the board said in a news release.

“This complaint highlights the strong public interest in seeing more ancient trees and forest stands preserved to live out their natural lives and functions, and managed as a social, economic and ecological asset to the public and surrounding communities,” said board chair Al Gorley.

“These significant trees can be from 500 to over 1,000 years old. Having withstood the ravages of time over many centuries, they can inspire awe and reverence, a sense of spirituality and connection to past events,” the release states.

The report found that the licensee in question complied with legislation, and did retain some trees of similar size and age to those harvested.

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A giant 14ft diameter old-growth redcedar stump sits among dozens more in the clearcut near Port Renfrew

Watchdog wants big trees protected

Feb 11 2011/in News Coverage

Creative ways should be found to protect the ancient giants in B.C.’s forests, says the Forest Practices Board.

The watchdog board investigated a complaint about massive old-growth trees being cut near Port Renfrew and concluded that, although the forest company — Teal Cedar Products Ltd. — did nothing wrong, government and forest companies should pay more attention to trees of exceptional size, form, age or historical significance.

“This complaint highlights the strong public interest in seeing more ancient trees and forest stands preserved to live out their natural lives and functions and managed as a social, economic and ecological asset to the public and surrounding communities,” said board chairman Al Gorley.

The report says such trees “can inspire awe and reverence, a sense of spirituality and connection to past events.”

Public awareness of special trees -often between 500 and 1,000 years old -is increasing as forest areas become more accessible, Gorley said. “From a public relations point of view, for the logging companies it’s sometimes going to make more sense to leave [the trees] there,” he said in an interview.

But the board stopped short of recommending hard and fast rules and, instead, is suggesting voluntary co-operation.

Forest companies could incorporate special trees into leave-alone areas, roads and landing areas could be planned to protect big trees or logging boundaries moved so big trees are not in the cutting area, Gorley said.

Some giant trees are protected through old-growth management areas and parks, but no one knows whether the most valuable and unusual sites are protected because B.C.’s forestry inventory and policies do not differentiate between forest stands 250 years old and those 500 years or older, the report says.

“A result is that the discovery of ancient, exceptional and irreplaceable trees often occurs with the onset of harvest planning. This situation can lead to public uncertainty and a sense of urgency and conflict in considering whether, in the circumstances, such trees should be protected,” it says.

Gorley said he does not know whether voluntary measures are enough to protect special trees.

“Time will tell. If over time we find we are losing them, then maybe government will feel it has to actually enact more specific rules,” he said.

The giant stumps near Port Renfrew were discovered close to a grove of huge trees, nicknamed Avatar Grove by the Ancient Forest Alliance, a group pushing for oldgrowth protection.

After photographs of the grove and the stumps were made public, an increasing number of hikers and tourists visited the area.

Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance said government needs to immediately expand the number of oldgrowth management areas and sites such as Avatar Grove should be given full protection.

Standing beside a massive 16ft diameter redcedar stump is Hans Tammemagi

Call for Port Renfrew Foresters not to chop down ancient trees

Feb 11 2011/in News Coverage

B.C.’s independent forest watchdog has sided with an environmental studies professor who filed a complaint last summer about a logging company that razed several huge, ancient trees in an area zoned for logging near Port Renfrew.

The Forest Practices Board (FCB) said the trees in question, cut by logging company Teal-Jones, were between 500 and 1,000 years old. Logging the trees was legal, but the board in a report released Thursday called for foresters and land managers to get “creative” about conserving trees of exceptional size, form, age or historical significance.

“Having withstood the ravages of time over many centuries, [ancient trees] can inspire awe and reverence, a sense of spirituality and connection to past events,” the report reads.

Hans Tammemagi, an adjunct professor of environmental studies at the University of Victoria, said he was “appalled” last summer to find about a half-dozen stumps of freshly cut ancient trees in an area north of Port Renfrew known as the “Gordon landscape unit.”

“I stood on top of a stump that you could have built a house on,” he said. “It was huge. It almost brought tears to my eyes.

“. . . When they come across trees like this [I would like to see them] stop, and either cut around them or consult with the local community.”

He said his entreaties to Teal-Jones, a 65-year-old family-run logging company, fell on deaf ears when he phoned to complain.

“They really didn’t want to talk to me,” he said. “They were pretty adamant that they were doing everything legally, which they did.”

Darlene Omen, spokesperson for the FCB, said the recommendations released in Thursday’s report are not legally binding, but are meant to “highlight” the issue.

Tammemagi was encouraged, but not entirely satisfied by the board’s response.

“It’s positive, but it’s a bit on the weak side,” said Tammemagi. “I had hoped they’d come out with some stronger recommendations.”

Meanwhile, environmentalists as well as the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce continue to lobby Teal-Jones and the Forests Ministry to protect another ancient grove in the area known as Avatar Grove, which is considered a prime ecotourism destination.

Three quarters of Avatar Grove — home to what some say is the “world’s gnarliest tree” — remains vulnerable to Teal-Jones’ saws. The other quarter is legally protected.

“I would really like to see Teal Jones say voluntarily that they will not log Avatar Grove,” said Tammemagi.

Teal-Jones did not return The Province’s call Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the Association of B.C. Forest Professionals (ABCFP), the organization responsible for registering and regulating foresters, said its members are required under the Foresters Act to attempt to balance environmental, economic and social values when creating timber harvest plans.

“We will be raising this [report] with our members,” she said.

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