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Example of spectacular temperate rainforest on Vancouver Island contrasted with nearby logging of old-growth forest.

Ancient Forest Alliance commends the BC Government and Forests Minister Pat Bell for taking a step forward to protect some of Vancouver Island’s Old-Growth Forests

Jul 31 2010/in Media Release

Ancient Forest Alliance commends the BC Government and Forests Minister Pat Bell for taking a step forward to protect some of Vancouver Island’s Old-Growth Forests
Legislated End to Logging of Endangered Old-Growth Forests Still Needed

Yesterday the BC government announced the protection of 38,000 hectares of old-growth forests on central and northern Vancouver Island in a series of Old-Growth Management Areas. On Vancouver Island there are 400,000 hectares of productive old-growth forests outside of protected areas, with another 200,000 hectares in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas.

On Vancouver Island there was once 2.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests at the time of European colonization, of which 1.7 million hectares have now been logged (leaving 600,000 hectares of productive old-growth). In addition, there are 700,000 hectares of low productivity or marginal old-growth forests of stunted, smaller trees in bogs, subalpine landscapes, and on rocky slopes, most of which still remain.

“The Ancient Forest Alliance commends the BC government and Forest Minister Pat Bell for taking an important step forward to protect some of the endangered old-growth forests on central and northern Vancouver Island,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance campaign director. “The new protections encompass up to 10% of the remaining, endangered ancient forests on Vancouver Island – we encourage them to save the other 90%, because so little remains now. They also need to extend protections to southern Vancouver Island in the Upper Walbran Valley, San Juan Valley, Gordon Valley, Avatar Grove, and other areas. Most importantly, they need to create a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will enact timelines to ban or phase-out old-growth logging in regions where the old-growth forests are now scarce, such as Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and throughout southern BC.”

Old-growth forests are important for wildlife, tourism, the climate, and many First Nations cultures.

The Ancient Forest Alliance has created a SPECTACULAR, new photogallery of Canada’s largest trees and stumps on Vancouver Island taken by Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner TJ Watt at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

Old-Growth Management Areas are often considered to be “softer” protective designations because they can be created or removed by Cabinet (unlike provincial parks, conservancies, or ecological reserves that are created by the Legislative Assembly), they do not show up on any major maps (and therefore are not in the public’s consciousness should the Cabinet decide to eliminate any of them), and sometimes include marginal or low productivity stunted forests that can’t be logged. However, many of them also protect important tracts of big tree ancient forests.

“How many jurisdictions on Earth have trees that are 1000 years old and that can grow as wide as a living room and as tall as a skyscraper? We’ve already lost 75% of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forests, and only about 8% of what was once here are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. While this is an important step forward which we thank the BC government for, they need to protect the last remnants of Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests because so little remains, and ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests which now constitute the vast majority of the landscapes in southern BC,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.

Seymour Valley Old-Growth Forest Hike

Jul 28 2010/in Announcements

Seymour Valley Old-Growth Forest Hike–Sunday, August 1st!

Join the Ancient Forest Alliance and Ancient Forest Committees to see an amazing stand of old-growth forests (including massive Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and redcedar), next to the Seymour River in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve!

The trip will be on Sunday August 1st. We will be meeting at JJ Bean (Commercial Drive at E 6th Ave) at 10am and heading up to the Seymour Valley from there (across the Second Narrows bridge, then following the signs for Lillouet Rd., continuing to the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve parking lot and gate). We will be driving 11km up a gravel road that follows the Seymour River up to Squamish Creek, then hiking 5-10 minutes downslope towards the river. The trail into the grove is only somewhat established and is fairly steep in places. As this is old-growth forest, be prepared for unstable ground! Bring good walking shoes, rain gear, food and water (and a camera!). We will plan to eat lunch at the Seymour River and aim to be back before 3pm.

Please RSVP to Michelle Connolly at ancientforestcommittee@gmail.com if you would like to come. We are depending on drivers to make this trip possible, so all those who can offer rides please let us know how many extra passengers you can take! We have a limit of 5 cars to get in to the site, so please reply promptly, as we will determine rides on a first come first serve basis! The latest date to respond will be Wednesday July 28th.

Hope to see you there!

Hannah Carpendale, Michelle Connelly and Tara Sawatsky — Lower Mainland Ancient Forest Alliance

Saving Our Forest Giants

Jul 28 2010/in News Coverage

Saving our Forest Giants

Port Renfrew is the furthest outpost of my riding. It is a land of extraordinary beauty with mountains that hug a rugged coastline, rivers that run through deep valleys, and a land that harbours significant biodiversity. This area also contains some of the oldest and most majestic living things on our planet. In the area of the Gordon River Valley and further north in the upper Walbran Valley are some of the largest trees on the planet. A few weeks ago, I went into this remote area with a small team from the Ancient Forest Alliance to document these giant Western Red Cedars, Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir that jut out of the surrounding valley floors like spires from cathedrals.

These trees are very important as they harbour a wide variety of plants and animals when alive, and when they fall, they also provide homes for everything from black bear to fungi. As standing behemoths or fallen giants, they are integral parts of their ecosystems.

However, my trip was also a race against time. For as you read this article, these giants of the forest are being cut down. As I stood in the middle of a clear-cut, I could hear the sharp crack as another tree was being cut down. Less than one kilometer away, I could see the top of a mountain being clearcut. In this clear-cut I stood atop a stump of a recently fallen tree that was at least 6 metres in diameter. Looking at the tightly packed rings of the tree showed that it was more than a thousand years old, yet it would have taken only minutes to cut it down.

Beyond the obvious loss of these magnificent giants is the tragedy that we can do better; cutting down these trees provides a short term benefit and a much larger,

long term loss. We can save these trees and in fact get more money from them alive than dead. Ecotourism walks to see these giants and their habitats with informed guides can provide much more revenue and jobs than cutting these trees for lumber and paper. Secondary growth could still be harvested. This would provide employment in an area that has had chronically high unemployment and low incomes. In many communities,

aboriginal and non aboriginal people have created businesses to guide people through the beautiful areas they live in. It is especially valuable when ethnocultural tours are provided. The region from Sooke to Port Renfrew is an ideal area for ethno-cultural tourism. Only two and a half hours from Victoria, it is a much shorter drive than to go to

Cathedral Grove up island, and is much more impressive.

Let’s work to stop the clear-cutting of old growth trees on South Vancouver Island. If we do this then we will provide long term economic opportunities and save these giants forever. These trees are more valuable to tourism and to the ecosystem than as lumber.

by Dr. Keith Martin, MP