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Vancouver Island’s own Avatar world under threat

Mar 25 2010/in News Coverage

Get ready to visit the world of Avatar — for real.

On Sunday, March 28, the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is taking volunteers, community members, media and anyone interested to visit Vancouver Island’s own “Avatar Grove,” a special old-growth forest located near Port Renfrew.

Because of its “spectacular and accessible” newly-identified old-growth red cedars and Douglas-firs, the site has been named after the magical environment of the 2009 hit film Avatar.

Yet the site has come under recent attention as some of the trees have been freshly marked for logging. Now, AFA hopes some untraced exposure will help keep this resource protected for generations to come, as they prepare to compete with a Surrey-based logging company and the provincial government.

“There has been logging around Avatar Grove, which has left the surrounding area as second growth now. Yet the grove itself has remained standing. It’s a little gem out in the middle of Port Renfrew left behind,” said Katrina Andres, operations director with AFA. “One of our missions is to expose wilderness areas to people who would never be able to see them on their own. It can be so special.”

AFA is a new B.C. organization “working to protect the endangered old-growth forests of B.C. and to ensure sustainable forestry jobs in the province,” states their website.

The group was created this past January by former Western Canada Wilderness Committee activist Ken Wu and others.

Andres says that, while the Wilderness Committee was restricted by its “charitable organization” status, AFA splintered off as a non-profit — meaning it has the freedom to speak out against the governmental moves it disagrees with.

“Because we’re a non-profit society, not a charity, we have freedom that the Wilderness Committee lacked,” Andres said. “For example, the Liberal government does not have good policies on old-growth forest development, so we can finally come straight out and say that.”

The group has been busy since its inception. For those who want to get more involved with AFA, the organization is holding the “Rally for Ancient Forests and Forestry Jobs” at 12 noon on Saturday, March 27.

While the rally is in Vancouver by Canada Place, the group hopes many will come out to “send a message to the B.C. Liberal government that they need to protect our ancient forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests and ban raw log exports to protect forestry jobs.”

If support is in question, the group’s nearly 7,000 Facebook members could be a good indication that people really do care. And while Sunday’s road trip is a RSVP-only event, AFA has almost 50 people signed up so far. The group plans to meet at UVic by Cinecenta early morning Sunday, then make the two-and-a-half-hour trek out to Port Renfrew. After the day hike, they plan on returning to campus by about 5:30 p.m.

“It’s great to care about the forest missions, but it’s definitely important for people to get out there and see real old-growth forest for themselves,” said Andres. “Nothing gives you the perspective that truly being out there and seeing it can. It’s incredible. Until you see those trees marked down, nothing can hit you quite so hard.”

To join the Avatar voyage, contact Andres at uvicwilderness@gmail.com. For more information on the group, visit ancientforestalliance.org or search for them on Facebook.

The gnarliest tree in Canada found in the endangered Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Mar 25 2010/in News Coverage

A new Canadian environmental organization, the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.ancientforestalliance.org), is claiming to have found what may be the “gnarliest tree in Canada” in the endangered “Avatar Grove” on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Set amidst a hundred or so of some of Canada’s largest old-growth trees in the extraordinarily spectacular but threatened Avatar Grove temperate rainforest, the tree with what may be the largest and most contorted burl (wooden lump) in Canada was located in mid-February on a bushwacking expedition by TJ Watt and Ken Wu, both co-founders of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA). The incredible and unique old-growth western redcedar measures 37 feet or 11 meters in circumference (12 feet or almost 4 meters in diameter) near the base of its trunk. The burl, created by a non-lethal fungal infection that causes the tree trunk to grow giant contorted lumps, is about10 feet or 3 meters in diameter. An image of the tree and of the various other endangered old-growth redcedars and Douglas firs in the Avatar Grove have been uploaded onto a new Facebook Group at:
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=photos&gid=480609145246

The release of the Avatar Grove images, taken in February, also coincides with the upcoming “Rally for BC’s Ancient Forests and Forestry Jobs” in Vancouver this Saturday, March 27 (12:00 pm Protesters meet at Canada Place, 12:30 pm March begins, 1:00 pm Arrive at Vancouver Art Gallery for speeches by Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance, Stephanie Goodwin of Greenpeace, Jens Wieting of the Sierra Club, Dr. Judith Sayers former chief of the Hupacasath First Nation, and others). The rally will have an Avatar-theme, with participants encouraged to dress in blue and put on tails like the “Na’vi” rainforest humanoids in the film.

“This could very well be Canada’s gnarliest tree, if you consider both the enormous size and crazy shape of its burl. The bizarre shape of its burl may resemble various creatures, such as a Nightmare Rabbit with a Cane, Jabba the Hut, or some say Elvis – everyone has their own take on what they can see in the tree’s burl. The official name for the tree will be determined by an online competition and vote in the future,” states Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “But 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.”

Named after James Cameron’s blockbuster, environmentally-themed movie which has become history’s highest grossing film at the box office, the exceptionally spectacular and accessible stand of old growth redcedars and Douglas firs, typically with trunks 6 to 13 feet in diameter and often covered in giant contorted burls and hanging mosses as in an alien rainforest, is about 10 kilometers north of Port Renfrew in the Gordon River Valley in Tree Farm License #46 (the Teal-Jones Group based in Surrey has logging rights there). It was located in early December last year by Vancouver Island photographer and “big tree hunter” TJ Watt and a friend. In a return visit in February by Watt and Wu, both co-founders of the new Ancient Forest Alliance, the Avatar Grove was found to be slated for logging, with many of its trees spray painted and bearing falling-boundary flagging tape, while road location ribbons have been strung throughout the entire area. Small portions of the Grove are tenuously protected in an Old-Growth Management Area, but the vast majority of its largest trees are unprotected and marked for logging.

“This area is just about the most accessible and finest stand of ancient trees left in a wilderness setting on southern Vancouver Island,” stated TJ Watt, AFA photographer. “All other unprotected old growth stands near Victoria are either on steep, rugged terrain far along bumpy logging roads, or are small isolated stands surrounded by clearcuts and second-growth and near human settlements. This area is a wild region on vast Crown lands, in a complex of perhaps 1500 hectares of old-growth in the Gordon River Valley – only 5 minutes off the paved road, right beside the main logging road, and on relatively flat terrain. This could become a first rate eco-tourism gem if the BC government had the foresight to spare it. We’ll be putting in a formal request that they enact a Land Use Order to protect it quickly before it falls.”

Old-growth forests are important for sustaining species at risk, tourism, clean water, and First Nations traditional cultures. Avatar Grove is in close proximity to the Gordon River, home to steelhead and salmon runs, and evidence of cougars and elk were apparent in the Grove.

Based upon an analysis of satellite photographs, about 88% of the original, productive old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island (south of Barkley Sound and Port Alberni) have already been logged, including 95% of the productive old-growth on low, flat terrain. Across the Island as a whole, about 75% of the original productive old-growth forests have been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Avatar Grove is one of the very few flat, valley-bottom old-growth forests left on the entire South Island.

With so little of our ancient forests remaining, the Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government to:

· Immediately protect the most at-risk old-growth forests – such as those on the South Island where only 12% remains and on eastern Vancouver Island where only 1% remains.
· Undertake a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will inventory the old-growth forests across the province and protect them where they are scarce through legislated timelines to quickly phase-out old-growth logging in those regions (ie. Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, southern Interior, etc.).
· Ensure that second-growth forests are logged at a sustainable rate of cut
· End the export of raw logs in order to create guaranteed log supplies for local milling and value-added industries.
· Assist in the retooling and development of mills and value-added facilities to handle second-growth logs.
· Undertake new land-use planning initiatives based on First Nations land-use plans, ecosystem-based scientific assessments, and climate mitigation strategies involving forest protection.

“Tourists come from all over the world to visit the ancient forests of BC and Avatar Grove stands out as a first rate potential destination if the BC Liberal government doesn’t let it fall. But if the government chooses to allow this rare and impressive area to be logged, they will need to re-write the tourism business plan for the area to say ‘ideal location for world class Provincial Park…in 500 years time’ ,” stated TJ Watt.

Please Support the Ancient Forest Alliance!

Mar 23 2010/in Take Action

Please Support the Ancient Forest Alliance!

Help the fledgling organization take the campaign to save BC’s old-growth forests and to ban raw log exports to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!

Fundraising goals:
$10,000 by Earth Day, April 22
$10,000 by Summer Solstice, June 21

Donate online at: https://donate.ancientforestalliance.org/

Or send a cheque made out to the “Ancient Forest Alliance” to AFA, 706 Yates Street, PO Box 8459, Victoria, BC V8W 3S1

During our first 2 months, the Ancient Forest Alliance has made quite a splash. We’ve:

– Garnered a huge amount of media coverage for our campaigns (see https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/recent-news/) including in Maclean’s Magazine and the Vancouver Sun
– Directly engaged hundreds of people through old-growth hikes and slideshows
– Attracted over 6000 new supporters on Facebook
– Are now organizing a major rally in Vancouver for March 27 that will draw hundreds of people into the streets to mount pressure on the BC Liberal government over their backwards forestry policies… (see https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=27)

With YOUR support, we will take the campaign to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL…

We are organizing a new campaign for ancient forests and forestry jobs NEVER BEFORE SEEN in this province, including:

– Organizing in BC “swing ridings” mass awareness and mobilization campaigns. Of 85 provincial electoral ridings, only a dozen or fewer actually determine the outcome of most BC elections. That’s because in swing ridings the race is tight between the BC Liberals and the NDP – the rest of the ridings are pretty safe for either party (ie. have a large margin of support for the party candidates). There is a disproportionately strong influence on government policies from the electorate in swing ridings.

– Proliferating the number of new activists and “core organizers” in the forest protection movement by training and guiding activists to establish new “Ancient Forest Committees” (activism teams) to organize campaigns in key swing ridings and in other areas.

– Enlisting many “non-traditional allies”, particularly among faith groups and in the business community, as well as among unions, scientists, municipal councillors, and First Nations band councils. Some of these groups hold a disproportionate amount of influence on the BC Liberal government as funders or being part of their core constituencies.

-Exploring and documenting many new endangered areas filled with giant trees – or that have been recently destroyed by clearcutting. We will show the world through the first rate work of AFA photographer and “big tree hunter” TJ Watt (see photogallery at: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=464212940556) what’s at stake and is being destroyed in this spectacular province…

And much more!

The sad fact is, if we let the status quo rage onwards without a major, politically hard-hitting challenge – which we are positioned to undertake with YOUR support – we will end up with the demise of numerous species at risk such as the spotted owl (literally only 6 left in BC’s wilds), marbled murrelet, Vancouver Island wolverine (not seen since 1992), numerous southern steelhead and coho runs, and many other life forms; ruined scenery and tourism/recreational opportunities; vast amounts of greenhouse gas emissions from the clearcutting of ancient forests; muddied watersheds and salmon streams as clearcuts and logging roads erode into them; and the collapse of most coastal forestry jobs and forestry-dependent communities.

So we’re determined that if the BC Liberal government continues along its current forest policy path for southern BC, which can be summarized as:

– Liquidate the remaining unprotected old-growth forests.
– Close the old-growth dependent mills as the old-growth stands are depleted.
– Liquidate the maturing second-growth at breakneck speeds.
– Export the raw logs to foreign mills.
– Convert the cutover lands to residential developments.

…then we’ll have them thrown out of office in 3 years time.

On the other hand, if they move to protect our endangered ancient forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and end the export of raw logs, we will be glad to give credit where credit is due. It’s only fair. We truly hope they do good and right.

To build the strongest campaign we need just a fraction of the funds typically used by the larger environmental groups. Dollar per dollar we’ll guarantee that your funds will go farthest with us to build a most powerful movement and ancient forest campaign. We need funds to pay for minimal core staff requirements, travel costs, phone bills, web work, room bookings, printing costs, and more.

Our goal is to raise $20,000 by June 21. Can you help us?

Here’s how:

1. Please directly DONATE to us, whether $20 or $2000, it all adds up!

Online with your credit card through Paypal (secure) at: https://donate.ancientforestalliance.org/

You may also send cheques made out to the “Ancient Forest Alliance” at:
Ancient Forest Alliance
706 Yates Street
PO Box 8459
Victoria, BC V8W 3S1

***Note: Donations to the Ancient Forest Alliance are not tax deductible. The Ancient Forest Alliance is a registered BC non-profit society (# S0056367) but does not have charitable status (thus allowing us to be more political and effective…)

2. Get your FAMILY (parents? rich relatives?) or close FRIENDS to do the same. Send them this email and really encourage them!

3. Organize a simple fundraiser for us. This could include:
– Holding a yard sale/ garage sale.
– Selling your unneeded items on E-Bay or Craigslist and donating us the proceeds.
– Holding a benefit house party for us (charge a fee or by donation…)

THANK YOU so much for your consideration! With your help we will ensure a most powerful campaign for our ancient forests and forestry dependent communities.

For the Wild,

Ken Wu, TJ Watt, Katrina Andres, Michelle Connolly, Tara Sawatsky, Brendan Harry
Ancient Forest Alliance

Visit the Ancient Forest Alliance website at:
https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/

Join us on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=464212940556