Shaw Daily: Avatar Grove and Canada’s Gnarliest Tree

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/