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AFA Condemns Cantelon’s Endorsement of Old-Growth Logging

Sep 9 2010/in Announcements

AFA Condemns Cantelon’s Endorsement of Old-Growth Logging

I read with dismay that BC Liberal MLA Ron Cantelon’s office has been invoking the Ancient Forest Alliance’s name to insinuate that we somehow support logging of the Nanoose Bay old-growth forest (block DL-33) because we support their decision to keep 1600 hectares of Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem off-limits to logging through a new Land Use Order. That’s like saying “because you like the new rain jacket I got you, you’ll like me dumping this bucket of cold water on your head, too.” Support for one initiative does not somehow mean support for everything else they do, particularly their backwards, destructive decisions. The Coastal Douglas fir zone is among the top four most endangered ecosystems in Canada. Almost half of it is already gone under asphalt and farmland, and only 1% of it remains in its old-growth state. We’ve always been clear that it should be a no-brainer that the BC Liberal government has the obligation to protect the last old-growth remnants in this ecosystem immediately, it is ridiculous to have to fight over the last 1%. And its a sleazy tactic for Cantelon to try to link the Ancient Forest Alliance, the loudest voice in BC against logging of endangered old-growth forests, with the government’s backwards decision to allow logging of endangered old-growth forests in Nanoose Bay.

Ken Wu
Ancient Forest Alliance
Victoria, BC

Shaw Daily: Avatar Grove and Canada’s Gnarliest Tree

Sep 1 2010/in News Coverage

The Shaw Daily local news program ran a great feature on the popular Avatar Grove last week! Click the video to watch some footage of the giant gnarly redcedars the grove is now famous for and to hear some excellent commentary from Liberal MP Keith Martin on the need for more old-growth forest protection in BC! *note – the end of the clip includes a statement from the BC Government that 24% of the grove is within an old-growth management area and therefore will not be cut. Unfortunately, the 24% does not include most of the biggest and best trees and flat accessible areas where people have so far enjoyed hiking but instead covers only the steep sided banks of Baird Creek. If logging were allowed to proceed, the most spectacular areas of the Avatar Grove are what would be lost. Please take a moment to write a letter to Premier Gordon Campbell: premier@gov.bc.ca and Minister of Forests Pat Bell: pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca letting them know you would like to see the entire Avatar Grove protected!

Background: The Avatar Grove and “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree” was discovered by Ancient Forest Alliance activists in December, 2009. It is home to some of the largest and strangest shaped ancient redcedars on the Island! There are also rare large Douglas firs found here as well. It has the potential to be the “Cathedral Grove of Port Renfrew” due to its ease of accessibility and giant trees. Most of the Avatar Grove is currently under threat of logging and road development, with flagging tape strung up and paint on the biggest trees! No cutting permits have been issued yet by the Ministry of Forests and Range but the BC Government has recently (July 2010) stated that it is not interested in protecting the site despite requests from the public and local tourism boards. Support continues to grow though and the fight is not over yet!

For directions visit: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/ancient-forests/directions-to-avatar-grove/
Sign the petition at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/

World's biggest Douglas-fir tree, the Red Creek Fir.

Logging near the largest Douglas fir in the world angers environmentalists

Aug 27 2010/in News Coverage

VICTORIA — Active logging operations are creeping closer to the largest Douglas fir in the world and environmentalists fear the 1,000-year-old tree will be left vulnerable to blowdown and its value as a tourist attraction will be degraded.

“We are extremely angry and frustrated to see this logging nearby what is clearly one of the natural wonders of the world,” said Joe Foy, national campaign director for Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

Foy wants the Red Creek fir and surrounding forests included in an expanded Pacific Rim National Park, as suggested by Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Keith Martin.

TimberWest owns land adjacent to the pocket surrounding the Red Creek fir, 15 kilometres east of Port Renfrew. However, the company is currently logging on Crown land, under a timber sale licence administered by the province, said TimberWest spokeswoman Sue Handel. “The harvest is not taking place on TimberWest-owned land,” she said.

The licence is mainly for second-growth hemlock and harvesting is in an area farther from the giant tree than the private land. The Red Creek fir is not at risk from the TimberWest logging, said ministry spokeswoman Vivian Thomas. “It is in an old-growth management area and forest recreation site. It is in no danger of being logged,” she said.

The nearest cutblock boundary is about 500 metres from the Red Creek fir, Thomas said, noting the tree is so tall that surrounding trees wouldn’t offer wind protection anyway.

At almost 74 metres tall and 13.3 metres in girth, the fir has become a destination for tourists in Port Renfrew looking for big trees.

TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance, who has been campaigning for government to buy nearby private lands and protect more Crown land in the area, said it is short-sighted to allow adjacent clearcuts.

“If someone is going to see the biggest Douglas fir in the world, it’s not the greatest entrance to walk next to a clearcut,” he said.

The San Juan spruce, Canada’s largest sitka spruce tree, is in the same area, and it makes little sense to allow logging between the two giant trees, Watt said.

He added the government doesn’t seem interested in promoting big trees as a tourist attraction. Local tourism boards have put up their own signs directing tourists to the tree. The Ancient Forest Alliance replaced the smashed provincial sign identifying the Red Creek fir, he said.