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Avatar worth exploring

Apr 8 2010/in News Coverage

I had the pleasure March 28 of joining 80 other members of the Ancient Forest Alliance to experience the small grove of old growth trees near Port Renfrew known (informally) as Avatar Grove. This amazingly rare site, which comprises an area approximately 10 square hectares, holds some of the oldest and largest trees remainig on Vancouver Island, some of which are more than 30 feet around and stand over 100 feet tall. My friends and I gazed up at these monstrous trees in amazement, realizing that many of them were 500 to 800 years old. We were shocked and deeply saddened to see survey tape surrounding the grove, including tape which indicated proposed new logging roads as well as cut lines.

We feel that it is extremely important that this small grove of trees is preserved, as it is one of the last such stands of ancient, old growth trees on the Island, 99 per cent of which have been destroyed by 150 years of industrial logging. Logging has left most hillsides and valley bottoms on the island devoid of much, if any life and what were once very rich and diverse eco-systems are now nothing more than sterile tree farms, assuming they have been fortunate enough to be re-planted. It’s amazing to me that the very few old growth trees which remain haven’t been protected from the chainsaws which have devastated our once verdant forests.

With the recent decline in fishing, Port Renfrew is in serious need of additional sites which will attract tourism. The Avatar Grove would be an ideal addition to what they currently offer the travelling public. Acquiring this grove of trees would be a win for all concerned, especially our children who we are forcing to live in a world greatly diminished in nature. This is our very last chance to preserve the Avatar Grove and the few remaining sites like it.

Avatar worth saving

Apr 8 2010/in News Coverage

As one of the 80 hikers who visited Avatar Grove on March 28 with the Ancient Forest Alliance, I find it somewhat ironic that the Vancouver Olympics showcased the natural beauty of B.C.’s old-growth forests.

Majestic cedar trees, salmon and orca whales were all images seen in the Opening Ceremonies. How is it that we can value and promote these wonderful aspects of our province to the entire world, while at the same time allowing the fast-paced destruction of our natural ecosystems?

The logging of old-growth forests continues every day at unprecedented rates. We must make a transition into sustainable second-growth logging, ban raw log exports and re-tool B.C. mills to provide and ensure forestry jobs in perpetuity.

Ending old-growth logging and forestry jobs can co-exist in B.C. Old-growth forests, such as the Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island (part of Teal Jones’ TFL 46), are not only a part of our heritage in B.C., but they also provide habitat for animals of all shapes and sizes: bacteria, fungi, insects, amphibians, fish, birds, and land and ocean mammals. These forests provide carbon storage, are important to First Nations cultures and are evidently fundamental for B.C.’s tourism industry (as witnessed in the promotional imagery of the Olympics). Let’s end old-growth logging for the well-being of all British Columbians.

Monday Hits The Road To See Avatar Grove

Apr 4 2010/in News Coverage

Last weekend, Monday hit the road with environmentalist Ken Wu and the Ancient Forest Alliance (along with 80 other curious community members) to pay a visit to what the AFA is calling “Canada’s gnarliest tree.” The giant Western Red Cedar is found about 10 kilometres north of Port Renfrew in the Gordon River Valley. The tree itself has a diameter of 12 feet at its base, while the giant burl that makes it a truly “gnarly” tree is about 10 feet in diameter. The tree is located among a stand of about 100-or-so ancient Western Red Cedars. Discovered by AFA members in February, a return visit a few weeks later showed the area is slated for logging, with many of the trees spraypainted, and the boundaries of what the AFA calls “Avatar Grove” marked off with flagging tape. Far easier to reach than the few other remaining old growth stands on the South Island, the Ancient Forest Alliance is calling for protection of the grove, and pushing its marketability as an eco-tourism destination. “The most important thing right now is to ensure that the Avatar Grove is not turned into a sea of giant stumps in the near future. The BC Liberal government needs to take action to protect this incredible ancient grove and the remaining endangered old-growth forests in southern BC before they are destroyed. British Columbia’s old-growth temperate rainforests, with their four meter wide ancient trees draped in moss and ferns and its incredible wildlife, are the real Pandora here on Earth,” says Wu.