A rare photo of a cougar captured in the endangered Walbran Valley through the front window of AFA photographer TJ Watt's car.

Rare cougar sighting – Mother and juvenile filmed and photographed in the Walbran Valley’s endangered old-growth forest

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For Immediate Release
August 4, 2016
 
Rare cougar sighting – Mother and juvenile filmed and photographed in the Walbran Valley’s endangered old-growth forest
 
At a rare encounter earlier this week, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt filmed and photographed two cougars, a mother and a juvenile, in the endangered old-growth forest of the Walbran Valley on southwestern Vancouver Island. Activists continue to push for the valley’s full protection.
 
See the photograph of the large cougar here: https://16.52.162.165/pic.php?pID=122
 
See the video of the juvenile cougar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7QbQHE6Nv0
 
 
Port Renfrew, Vancouver Island – This past weekend in the Walbran Valley’s endangered old-growth forest, conservation photographer TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance captured a photograph and video of a rare cougar encounter – two cougars in fact, a large and smaller one, likely a mother with her juvenile offspring. In the brief encounter, the large adult cougar casually bounded across the road, pausing in one instant long enough for Watt to get a somewhat blurry photo through his front window, while the juvenile meandered for about 20 seconds along the road, allowing Watt to capture several seconds of shaky video. Watt had been returning in his van with a group of volunteers after giving a workshop at the Walbran Valley Convergence, a celebration organized by the Friends of Carmanah-Walbran of the 1991 environmental protests in the valley. He was driving through a section of old-growth forest near a steep canyon in the endangered “Special Management Zone”, an area that is still being logged by licensee Teal-Jones.
 
“I’ve always dreamed of seeing a cougar, let alone photograph and film one! I’ve spent over a decade exploring the old-growth forests of Vancouver Island several times a week, and I grew up here – but I never saw a cougar until this past weekend. It was a very brief encounter, which explains the shaky photo and video – but certainly breathtaking and magnificent all the same! To see these elusive large carnivores is rare – few people, including those who spend a lifetime working in or exploring the woods on Vancouver Island, get to see them, let alone photograph or film them! I feel lucky, but the sighting underscores the great need for the BC government to protect the remaining old-growth forests of the Walbran Valley – and across the province – before it is turned into a sea of stumps,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer.
 
Research of cougars on Vancouver Island show they tend to avoid clearcuts, while old-growth forests provide cover for them and wintering habitat for their main prey, black-tailed deer.  Estimates for cougars on Vancouver Island have ranged from roughly 300 to 800 individuals. The Walbran and adjacent Carmanah Valley’s old-growth forests are also home to wolves, black bears, Roosevelt elk, and spawning coho, chum and steelhead in the river, as well as species at risk that are associated with old-growth forests, like the marbled murrelet, northern goshawk, Vaux’s swift, long-eared bats, and hundreds of new species of arthropods (insects, spiders, mites) found in the mossy old-growth canopy.
 
“The old-growth forests in the endangered Central Walbran Valley are the grandest in the country, akin to being the ‘Redwoods of Canada’! Not only are they home to gargantuan red cedars, Sitka spruce, and Douglas-fir trees 500 to a thousand years old, they sustain charismatic large carnivores, herbivores, and many old-growth dependent species. Industrial encroachment into Vancouver Island’s last old-growth forests like the Walbran Valley is jeopardizing the wildlife,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “It’s time the BC Liberal government update the 22 year old Vancouver Island Land Use Plan to protect the remaining old-growth forests, and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry instead.”
 
More Background Info:
 
40% of the Walbran, the Lower Valley, was protected in 1994 in the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park, while the other 60% in the Central and Upper Valley was left outside of the park and is the centre of much environmental concern and controversy about the old-growth logging taking place there. The total Walbran watershed is 13,000 hectares, while the protected Lower Walbran Valley is about 5500 hectares, the Central Valley is 500 hectares and the Upper Valley is 7000 hectares. 2600 hectares including the Central Valley and part of the Upper Valley is a “Special Management Zone” – which still allows for major old-growth logging and fragmentation through smaller but more numerous clearcuts. The cougar was spotted in the Special Management Zone, an area which has seen environmental protests and blockades over the past year. The most intact portion of the Special Management Zone is the 500 hectare Central Walbran, which includes the largest tracts of contiguous old-growth forests and many of the largest trees and groves, including the Castle Grove, Castle Giant, Tolkien Giant, and Karst Giant.
 
Logging licensee Teal-Jones has 8 cutblocks planned for the Central Walbran Valley, of which one, Cutblock 4424, has been granted a cutting permit by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. The company has stated that they are not pursuing logging plans in the Central Walbran Valley for now, a positive step forward at this time. The company has been logging in other parts of the Special Management Zone, an activity condemned by the conservationists. The Walbran Valley is in the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht band in Tree Farm Licences 44 and 46 on Crown lands.
 
Over the past few months, resolutions for the protection of the Walbran Valley and/or the old-growth forests of Vancouver Island have been passed or supported by major business associations and local governments, including the BC Chamber of Commerce, representing 36,000 BC businesses; local Chambers of Commerce in Port Renfrew, Sooke, and the WestShore (Langford, Colwood, Metchosin, Highlands, View Royal); the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), representing 53 municipal, town, and regional district councils; the district councils of Victoria, Metchosin, and Tofino; and by Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature), representing 53 naturalist clubs with over 6000 members.  See a media release: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1010   and an article: www.timescolonist.com/news/local/b-c-chamber-of-commerce-hugs-old-growth-trees-1.2267701
 
Port Renfrew, formerly a logging town, has been transformed in recent years into a big tree tourism destination as hundreds of thousands of tourists have come from around the world to visit some of Canada’s largest trees in the nearby Avatar Grove, the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir tree), Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree), San Juan Spruce (until recently Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree – its top broke off in a recent storm unfortunately), the Harris Creek spruce (one of the largest Sitka spruce trees in Canada), and the Central Walbran Valley.
 
On BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and the southwest mainland), 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. 3.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests once stood on the southern coast, and today 860,000 hectares remain, while only 260,000 hectares are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Second-growth forests now dominate 75% of Vancouver Island's productive forest lands, including 90% of southern Vancouver Island, and can be sustainably logged to support the forest industry. See maps and stats at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php 

Rare Lowland Old-Growth Forest at Risk – Road-building and Logging Surveys Underway at Echo Lake, the World’s Largest Night-Roosting Site for Bald Eagles, east of Vancouver

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Road-building is scheduled to begin this week and preliminary logging surveys of the old-growth redcedars are underway by Echo Lake, an extremely rare, lowland old-growth forest about 2 hours east of Vancouver between Mission and Agassiz. Echo Lake is part of the drinking watershed for local people, is home to the largest night-roosting site for bald eagles on Earth, and harbours much wildlife including bears, cougars, bobcats, wintering black-tailed deer, osprey, numerous bats, and various Species at Risk. Local landowners and conservationists are redoubling efforts to convince the BC government to protect the endangered north and west sides of the lake.

Mission, BC – Local landowners and conservation groups are dismayed at road-building and old-growth logging plans that are underway in a community watershed at Echo Lake, an extremely rare and endangered, lowland old-growth forest between Mission and Agassiz, famous for its monumental cedars and Douglas-firs, wildlife, and hundreds of roosting bald eagles during the fall salmon run (see the Vancouver Sun https://www.vancouversun.com/Province+urged+protect+Harrison+eagles/7371025/story.html).

Landowners Stephen and Susan Ben-Oliel, who own a private land parcel on one side of the lake, and who draw their drinking water there, were informed on Monday by consultants hired by C&H Forest Products that the logging company is planning to begin construction this week of a 1400 metre long logging road in their Community Watershed. The planned road on Crown lands leads to stands of old-growth redcedars and Douglas-firs on the northwest side of Echo Lake. The couple have also discovered a series of recently flagged and spray-painted old redcedars alongside the main trail by Echo Lake in preparation for logging. Over a thousand people have now hiked the trail around Echo Lake since 2013, when the Ancient Forest Alliance began organizing guided tours through the area.

Last year, Forest Minister Steve Thomson stated that there were no logging plans for Echo Lake – See Global TV at: https://globalnews.ca/news/1906359/clear-cutting-threatens-echo-lake-eagle-colony/

However, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource operations recently approved C&H Forest Products’ road building plans, although they have not approved any cutting plans at this time. Conservationists are concerned that once major sections of road are constructed, the company will be in a strengthened position to obtain approval for their logging plans in order to recuperate their costs. C&H Forest Products have a Woodlot Licence on the unprotected north and west sides of Echo Lake, while a 55 hectare Old-Growth Management Area protects the south side of the lake.

“Judging by their flagging tape and the route of their planned logging road, it appears the licensee intends to log the spectacular stands of monumental old-growth redcedars by Echo Lake – which is sort of like shooting a herd of endangered rhinos, as giant redcedars like these are almost all gone in this region,” stated landowner Stephen Ben-Oliel. “The company has informally stated that they might leave some of the individual old-growth Douglas-firs and maples, but their assurances lack detail, leave out the old-growth cedars, are purely verbal, and are not backed up by any legally-binding government regulations or laws. In addition, the risks posed by road-building and logging in the community watershed where where we and other families draw our drinking water from are also a cause for alarm.”

“Echo Lake is a globally significant area that should be a no-brainer for full government protection, especially considering how small it is, a hundred or so hectares in total size. It’s the world’s largest night-roosting site for bald eagles – that alone should make full protection of the forests in the ‘bowl’ surrounding the lake a given, not even factoring in its importance for much more biodiversity,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “We need the BC government in this election year to step forward and protect all of Echo Lake’s old-growth and mature forests on Crown lands.”

See the media release from 2013: https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=565

See spectacular images of Echo Lake Ancient Forests at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/echo-lake/

See a Youtube Clip at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPstV14oZ6s&feature=youtu.be

See various news media articles about Echo Lake from the Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, Global TV etc. at the bottom of the campaign page at: www.ProtectEchoLake.com

“The BC government needs to work with the local Woodlot Licensee, First Nations, the adjacent private land owners like myself, and conservationists to ensure the area’s legal protection. This could entail shifting the Woodlot License boundaries into an area of second-growth forest with an equivalent timber value and then expanding the Old-Growth Management Area around all of Echo Lake,” stated Susan Ben-Oliel.

More Background Info

Echo Lake is the largest night-roosting site for bald eagles on Earth, where as many as 700 bald eagles roost in the ancient Douglas-fir and cedar trees around the lake at night during the fall salmon runs. Along the nearby Chehalis and Harrison Rivers, as many as 10,000 bald eagles come to eat the spawning salmon during some years, making the area home to the largest bald eagle/ raptor concentration on Earth.


In 2013 after a campaign by local landowners and the Ancient Forest Alliance, the BC government protected 55 hectares of the old-growth forests on the Crown lands on the south side of Echo Lake in an Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA). However, they left out a similar amount of old-growth and mature forests from the OGMA on the north and west sides of the lake within a Woodlot Licence where the ancient trees can still be logged.

The area is in the traditional, unceded territory of the Sts’ailes First Nation band, who run the Sasquatch EcoLodge and whose members run eagle watching tours nearby.

Several biological surveys or “bioblitzes” have been organized by the Ancient Forest Alliance that have helped to inventory the area’s large diversity of flora and fauna. Many species at risk such as various species of bats, frogs, snails, dragonflies, and mosses have been found by biologists and naturalists. The data has been submitted to the BC Ministry of Environment’s Wildlife Species Inventory. 174 species of plant, 55 vertebrate, 153 invertebrate, and 38 fungi species were found during the two days of the 2014 bioblitz, while the 2015 bioblitz data is still being compiled. See the 2014 bioblitz media release at: https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=868

The Ancient Forest Alliance is also calling for a larger provincial plan to protect the remaining endangered old-growth forests across BC while ensuring sustainable second-growth forestry jobs.

In the Lower Mainland, about 80% or more of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including about 95% of the high productivity, valley bottom ancient forests where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity is found. See before and after maps for BC’s southern coast (Southwest Mainland and Vancouver Island) at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

“How many jurisdictions on Earth still have trees that grow as wide as living rooms and as tall as downtown skyscrapers? What we have here is something exceptional on the planet. Our ancient forests make British Columbia truly special – while we still have them,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner. “More than ever we need the BC government to have the wisdom to protect our incredibly rare and endangered old-growth forests like at Echo Lake”.

Port Renfrew is home to some of the finest ancient forests and largest trees in Canada

Historic Leap for Old-Growth Forests – BC Chamber of Commerce Passes Resolution for Expanded Protection

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Media Release: Historic Leap Forward for Old-Growth Forest Conservation – BC Chamber of Commerce Passes Resolution Calling on the Province to Expand Old-Growth Forest Protections
 
The BC Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution at its annual general meeting in Kelowna yesterday calling on the provincial government to increase protection for the province’s old-growth forests. The resolution calls on the province to: “Support the increased protection of old-growth forests in areas of the province where they have or can likely have a greater net economic value for communities if they are left standing for the next generation and beyond.”
 
 
The resolution, passed almost unanimously, is a historic shift in the politics of old-growth forests in the province, where in years past the protection of old-growth forests was often thought to be detrimental to the economy and rural communities by much of the business community. The BC Chamber of Commerce’s resolution is part of a growing momentum among various Chambers of Commerce, including the Port Renfrew, Sooke, and WestShore Chambers of Commerce, and various town councils including the Victoria, Metchosin, and Tofino councils and the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), representing 51 coastal cities, towns, and regional districts, all calling for the protection of old-growth forests in recent months. See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1001
 
This shift in the business community in favour of protecting old-growth forests – inconceivable a decade ago in the province –  may be fostered by several factors:  A growth in old-growth forest tourism in the province; the rapid expansion of the “green business” sector (eco-tourism, clean tech, organic agriculture, etc.); the increasing economic dominance of second-growth forests for the logging industry while old-growth forests have become scarce; closer cooperation between the environmental movement and tourism businesses; and a general growth in environmental awareness among consumers and business owners alike.
 
The BC Chamber of Commerce is the largest and most broadly-based business organization in British Columbia. Representing more than 125 Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade, and 36,000 businesses of every size, sector and region of the province, the BC Chamber of Commerce considers itself as the primary voice of business in BC.
 
“The publicity about old-growth forests near Port Renfrew in recent years has brought in a flood of visitors from Europe, the USA, Canada, and diverse countries. This has especially been true since the protection of the Avatar Grove in 2012. Big tree tourism has increased the total flow of dollars spent in Port Renfrew, in our rental accommodations, restaurants, grocery stores, and businesses in general. It has also greatly increased the property values in town. Along with sport fishing, old-growth forest tourism has become a staple of our local economy,” states Dan Hager, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce which sponsored the resolution. “Visitors from around the world are also coming to see old-growth forests throughout much of the province. Given that the monumental stands of old-growth trees are a scarce commodity today for tourism, it makes business sense to protect them across the province in areas where they will benefit local communities.”
 
 “The BC Chamber of Commerce’s resolution calling on the province to increase protection of old-growth forests is a tectonic shift in the province’s land use politics – it would’ve been inconceivable a decade ago. Times are changing, and so is the economy. Thanks to communities like Port Renfrew and Tofino, the narrative is quickly shifting from the belief that protecting old-growth forests is detrimental to rural communities, to the realization that protecting nearby old-growth forests greatly enhances and secures the economic future of communities”, stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance.
 
“Tourists are coming to see old-growth forests in BC, not clearcuts or tree plantations. Next only to the redwoods of California, the old-growth forests of British Columbia are the grandest forests on planet Earth, with trees as wide as living rooms and as tall as downtown skyscrapers. But time is running out and we need the province to break from their status quo policy of old-growth forest liquidation and to instead develop a new plan to protect our remaining old-growth forests to support tourism, endangered species, clean water, wild salmon, climate stability, and First Nations cultures, while ensuring a sustainable second-growth forest industsry”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner.
 
MORE BACKGROUND INFO:
 
• See photos of some of BC’s largest old-growth trees at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=1
 
• See spectacular photos of the Walbran Valley at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=7
 
 
 
• See a recent Youtube clip using drone footage over the Central Walbran at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyMPXHOjlK0
 
• See “before and after” maps and stats of the southern coast’s old-growth forests at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php  
 
(*** Note: News media are free to reprint and repost all photos, maps, and videos. Photo credit to “TJ Watt” if possible)
 
Port Renfrew, formerly a logging town, has been transformed in recent years into a big tree tourism destination as hundreds of thousands of tourists have come from around the world to visit some of Canada’s largest trees in the nearby Avatar Grove, the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir tree), Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree), San Juan Spruce (until recently Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree – its top broke off in a recent storm unfortunately), the Harris Creek spruce (one of the largest Sitka spruce trees in Canada), and the endangered Central Walbran Valley.
 
Across the province, tourists are coming to see old-growth forests such as Clayoquot Sound by Tofino (including Meares Island, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Flores Island), Cathedral Grove near Port Alberni, Avatar Grove by Port Renfrew, the Koksilah Ancient Forest near Duncan, the Carmanah and Walbran Valleys near Lake Cowichan, Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail near Port Hardy, the Nootka Trail near Gold River, the Elaho Valley near Squamish, Cheakamus Lake near Whistler, Sumallo Grove near Hope, the Giant Cedar Trail near Revelstoke, the Ancient Forest Trail near Prince George, the south end of Chilliwack Lake, Capilano Canyon in North Vancouver, and Stanley Park in Vancouver. Numerous other old-growth forests are on the chopping block but have tremendous economic potential if they were left standing
 
While over 60% of the province is forested, most of the province’s forests are considered to be of low to no commercial value due to the small, stunted trees growing at high elevations, on steep rocky slopes with minimal soil, in vast coastal bogs and muskeg, and in far northern cold landscapes. The productive forests with the larger trees and where most conservation battles have occurred constitute a minority fraction of the province in the warmer valleys and lower elevations – while productive old-growth forests constitute an even smaller subset of these forests after a century of high-grade harvesting.
 
On BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and the southwest mainland), 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. 3.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests once stood on the southern coast (with an additional 2.2 million hectares of bog, subalpine forests, and other low productivity old-growth forests of low to no commercial value with stunted trees), and today only 860,000 hectares remain, while only 260,000 hectares are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Second-growth forests now dominate 75% of the southern coast’s productive forest lands, including 90% of southern Vancouver Island, and can be sustainably logged to support the forest industry.  See “before and after” maps and stats of the southern coast’s old-growth forests at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php   
 
Much of the recent momentum for protecting old-growth forests has been driven by concern over the fate of the Central Walbran Valley near Port Renfrew. The Central Walbran Valley’s old-growth temperate rainforest has long been an area of public interest since hiking trails were built in the valley in 1990. In 1994, the BC government protected the Lower Walbran Valley, about 5500 hectares, as part of the larger Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park, but left out the Central Walbran Valley (500 hectares) and the Upper Walbran Valley (7,000 hectares) from the park. Since then, most of the Upper Walbran has been heavily tattered by logging, but the Central Walbran remains largely intact. However, eight new cutblocks are planned in the Central Walbran, of which one (cutblock 4424) has been approved by the province. The Central Walbran Valley lies on Crown (public) land in the territory of the Pacheedaht band in Tree Farm Licence 46 held by licensee Teal-Jones.
Ancient Forest Alliance

The WestShore Chamber of Commerce Supports Port Renfrew’s Call for the Protection of the Central Walbran Valley’s Old-Growth Forest

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For Immediate Release
May 19, 2016

Media Release: The WestShore Chamber of Commerce Supports Port Renfrew’s Call for the Protection of the Central Walbran Valley’s Old-Growth Forest

The WestShore Chamber of Commerce (https://westshore.bc.ca/), representing almost 400 businesses in the western suburbs of Victoria and across the Capital Regional District, is supporting the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce’s call to the province to protect the Central Walbran Valley’s old-growth forests. In addition, the Sooke Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) representing 51 cities, towns, and regional districts, and the councils of Victoria, Metchosin, and Tofino, have also joined the call to protect the Central Walbran Valley and/or Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests.

Victoria, British Columbia – Conservationists are delighted that the WestShore Chamber of Commerce, representing almost 400 businesses in the western suburbs of Victoria has issued a letter in support of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce’s request to the province of British Columbia that it protect the Central Walbran Valley from old-growth logging.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists have come from across Canada, Europe, the USA, and jurisdictions around the world in recent years to visit some of Canada’s largest trees on southern Vancouver Island, near the town of Port Renfrew. Visitors are coming to see the Avatar Grove, Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir tree), Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree), San Juan Spruce (until recently Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree – its top broke off in a recent storm unfortunately), Harris Creek spruce (one of the largest Sitka spruce trees in Canada), and the Central Walbran Valley.

The growing numbers of visitors coming to see ancient forests are supporting local businesses as they pay for meals, accommodations, transportation, entertainment, and services, including in the Victoria region, on their way to and from Tall Tree hotspots.

• See spectacular photos of the Walbran at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=7

And https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.886074168153838.1073741889.823970554364200&type=3

And https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.973573459403908.1073741896.823970554364200&type=3

• See a recent Youtube clip using drone footage over the Central Walbran at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyMPXHOjlK0

• See this 2012 video when a similar attempt to log near Castle Grove was held off, only to return recently: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHnG_sC4oms

“Our understanding is that old growth forests represent a vital part of our multi-billion dollar coastal tourism industry, and the Walbran Valley is a key area for preservation due to its spectacular beauty, gigantic trees, and accessibility. Every year tourists are attracted to the area from around the world to explore the wild west coast, including some of the tallest trees in the world. This increasing eco-tourism generates revenue every year and directly supports local businesses throughout the region as visitors pay for meals, accommodations, transportation, and entertainment on their way to and from Tall Tree hotspots. We fully expect that West Shore businesses are currently benefiting from this tourist traffic,” stated Joshua Schmidt, Projects & Relations Manager for the WestShore Chamber of Commerce.

“Our temperate coastal rainforests are home to about the greatest per hectare biomass and some of the biggest trees in the world. As old growth forests continue to be logged worldwide the local forests we preserve will only increase in demand and value. Our belief at the WestShore Chamber is that the ecological and economic value of protecting these last old growth forests far exceeds the monetary value of its lumber.”

The Central Walbran Valley’s old-growth temperate rainforest has long been an area of public interest since hiking trails were built in the valley in 1990. In 1994, the BC government protected the Lower Walbran Valley, about 5500 hectares, as part of the larger Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park, but left out the Central Walbran Valley (500 hectares) and the Upper Walbran Valley (7,000 hectares) from the park. Since then, most of the Upper Walbran has been heavily tattered by logging, but the Central Walbran remains largely intact. However, eight new cutblocks are planned in the Central Walbran, of which one (cutblock 4424) has been approved by the province. The Central Walbran Valley lies on Crown (public) land in the territory of the Pacheedaht band in Tree Farm Licence 46 held by licensee Teal-Jones.

On BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and the southwest mainland), 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. 3.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests once stood on the southern coast, and today 860,000 hectares remain, while only 260,000 hectares are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Second-growth forests now dominate 75% of Vancouver Island’s productive forest lands, including 90% of southern Vancouver Island, and can be sustainably logged to support the forest industry. See maps and stats at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

Over the past few months, the Port Renfrew, Sooke, and WestShore Chambers of Commerce have spoken up for the protection of the old-growth forests in the Walbran Valley, while the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) and the councils of Victoria, Metchosin, and Tofino have also passed resolutions for the protection of the Walbran or all of Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests.

Old-Growth Momentum Grows as Businesses, City Councils, and Naturalists Speak Up & Renowned Filmmaker Comes to Port Renfrew

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The Port Renfrew and Sooke Chambers of Commerce, the town councils of Metchosin, Victoria, and Tofino, and the Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature) have joined conservation groups in calling on the BC government to protect Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests in the Walbran Valley. In addition, renowned two-time Sundance filmmaker Joe Callander whose documentaries have been featured in the New York Times is on Vancouver Island to do a story about the old-growth forests around Port Renfrew.

Interest and concern for the fate of Vancouver Island’s endangered old-growth forests is on the rise, as a renowned filmmaker and his crew arrived earlier this week from the US to do a piece about the old-growth forests around Port Renfrew. In addition, a growing and diverse base of businesses, municipal councils, and natural history associations have joined the chorus of concerned citizens calling on the province to protect the endangered old-growth forest in the Central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew.

Two-time Sundance filmmaker Joe Callander has been in Port Renfrew, Lake Cowichan, and Duncan this past week with the Ancient Forest Alliance and various forestry workers, business leaders, and scientists to document the endangered old-growth forests and forest industry in the area. Callander’s award-winning documentary work has been shown at over 30 festivals globally, as well as being featured in the New York Time’s Op-docs section on NYTimes.com. The New York Times has the largest circulation of any metropolitan newspaper in the USA, as well as over one million paying digital-only subscribers for its online content.

The Sooke and Port Renfrew Chambers of Commerce, the Metchosin, Tofino, and Victoria councils, and the Federation of BC Naturalists (the umbrella organization representing 53 naturalist clubs, encompassing 6000 members) have all joined the call for the BC government to protect the endangered old-growth forests of the Central Walbran Valley. The Metchosin council resolution calls on the BC government to amend the 1994 Vancouver Island Land Use Plan to protect the remaining old-growth forests across Vancouver Island, which would include the Walbran Valley.

Near Port Renfrew, the 500 hectare Central Walbran Ancient Forest is part of the 13,000 hectare Walbran Valley, of which about 5500 hectares of the valley is protected within the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park and 7500 hectares of the watershed lies outside of the park. About 2600 hectares lies in a “Special Management Zone” (including the 500 hectare Central Walbran), where the size of clearcuts is smaller but which still allows for most of the old-growth forests to be logged. The Central Walbran is the last, largely intact portion of the valley outside of the park, while much of the rest has been highly fragmented and tattered by clearcuts to different degrees. Teal-Jones has 8 cutblocks planned for the Central Walbran Valley, of which one, Cutblock 4424, has been granted a cutting permit by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. The company recently stated that they will defer logging plans in the Central Walbran Valley for now, a welcome step forward. The company is actively logging in other parts of the Special Management Zone at this time and protesters have sporadically been blockading their logging operations in recent months. The Walbran Valley is in the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht band in Tree Farm Licences 44 and 46 on Crown lands.

Port Renfrew, formerly a logging town, has been transformed in recent years into a big tree tourism destination as hundreds of thousands of tourists have come from around the world to visit some of Canada’s largest trees in the nearby Avatar Grove, the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir tree), Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree), San Juan Spruce (until recently Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree – its top broke off in a recent storm unfortunately), the Harris Creek spruce (one of the largest Sitka spruce trees in Canada), and the Central Walbran Valley.

• See spectacular photos of the Walbran.

• See the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce’s statement for the Walbran here.

• See the Sooke Chamber of Commerce’s Walbran statement here.

• See the Victoria city council motion for the Walbran here.

• See a recent Youtube clip using drone footage over the Central Walbran.

“The publicity about the old-growth forests near Port Renfrew in recent years has brought in a flood of visitors from Europe, the USA, Canada, and diverse countries to visit Port Renfrew. This has especially been true since the protection of the Avatar Grove in 2012. Big tree tourism has increased the total flow of dollars spent in Port Renfrew, in our rental accommodations, restaurants, grocery stores, and businesses in general. Along with sport fishing, old-growth forest tourism has become a staple of our local economy,” states Dan Hager, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. “Recently, increasing numbers of visitors are heading through town to visit the Central Walbran Valley to see its old-growth forest. If the Central Walbran were to be protected, it would be a great addition to our town’s repertoire of big tree attractions.”

“The Central Walbran is one of the most magnificent places that anyone could visit. With its gargantuan trees, emerald-coloured swimming holes, amazing waterfalls, and perfect camping areas, in all of my experiences the Walbran is virtually unmatched for recreational and scenic grandeur in the world. To riddle the whole area with clearcuts and giant stumps would be the lowest, worse use of a place like this,” states Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director.

“The Central Walbran Valley is truly exceptional in so many ways. It has the most extensive, densely-packed groves of old-growth western redcedars in the country – including some of the near-largest on record, such as the Tolkien and Castle Giants,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner. “Not only are old-growth forests important for the climate, but also for tourism, endangered species, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.”

“The old growth forests of the Walbran Valley are very important biologically for the great variety of plants and animals living there – some of which are at risk such as the Queen Charlotte Goshawk and Marbled Murrelet. The second growth forests which replace the old growth lack much of the biodiversity present in old growth”, stated Eric Marshall, president of Cowichan Valley Naturalists.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigners recently located and measured two huge western redcedar trees, one of which makes it into the top 10 widest redcedars in BC according to the BC Big Tree Registry, in the Central Walbran Valley – the 4.6 metre (15 feet) wide “Tolkien Giant” and the “Karst Giant”. See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=944

The recent agreement in BC’s northern coastal rainforest, the Great Bear Rainforest, where 85% of the old-growth forests will be protected in a combination of legislated parks, conservancies, and forest reserves (through Ecosystem-Based Management), sets a science-based precedent to increase protection now for BC’s southern rainforest – on Vancouver Island and the southern Mainland Coast, where only 8% of the original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and conservancies (6%) and Old-Growth Management Areas (2%).

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the province to protect its endangered old-growth forests, ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry, and end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills in order to support BC forestry jobs. An Old-Growth Protection Act has been developed by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre for the Ancient Forest Alliance. See: https://www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/An-Old-Growth-Protection-Act-for-BC_2013Apr.pdf

On BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and the southwest mainland), 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. 3.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests once stood on the southern coast, and today 860,000 hectares remain, while only 260,000 hectares are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

Port Alberni Watershed Forest-Alliance's Jane Morden stands amongst old-growth Douglas-fir trees in the Cameron Valley Firebreak

Support Grows Among Major Conservation Groups for a Provincial Fund to Buy New Parks

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For Immediate Release – January 21, 2016

Support Grows Among Major Conservation Groups for a Provincial Fund to Buy New Parks

16 major conservation and recreation organizations call on the BC government to establish a $40 million/year fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands.

Momentum is growing as 16 major BC conservation and recreational groups have now signed onto the call for the BC government to establish a dedicated provincial fund that can be used to purchase and protect endangered private lands of high environmental and recreational significance.

A variety of proposed funding mechanisms for a BC Natural Lands Acquisition Fund (aka “Park Acquisition Fund”) are detailed in a recently released report (www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FindingMoneyForParks-2015-02-08-web.pdf) prepared for the Ancient Forest Alliance by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre (ELC), which calls on the province to establish an annual $40 million fund.

The organizations signed on include:

  • Ancient Forest Alliance
  • BC Nature
  • Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC Chapter
  • Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society
  • Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC
  • ForestEthics Solutions
  • Friends of the Nemaiah Valley
  • Habitat Acquisition Trust
  • North Columbia Environmental Society
  • Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance
  • Sierra Club of BC
  • Skeena Wild Conservation Trust
  • Trails Society of BC
  • Wilderness Committee
  • Wildsight
  • Valhalla Wilderness Society

The report, Finding the Money to Buy and Protect Natural Lands, provides a “menu” of possible ways that funds can be allocated or generated for a dedicated fund to purchase vital green spaces and natural areas from willing sellers of private lands. These mechanisms include:

  • $10 to $15 million per year by simply recapturing the windfall that the beverage industry enjoys when consumers fail to redeem container deposits, an approach nicknamed “pops for parks”.
  • Many millions more could be raised by emulating the most important mechanism for park funding in the US – a special tax on non-renewable resources like oil and gas. Numerous North American governments have ruled that it is fair to require industries using up non-renewables to compensate future generations – and permanently protect other natural resources.
  • Funds from a tax on real estate speculation. Currently Vancouver real estate is becoming unaffordable, in part because of speculation in the housing market. Some are proposing a specially designed tax to curb speculation. Fortuitously, such a tax could provide generous funding for acquisition of natural areas – areas which will be needed to serve our growing population.

The above initiatives could be combined with one or more of the many other proven mechanisms for park funding. This could include: dedication of funds from the sale of Crown lands, property transfer taxes, income tax check-offs, sales of environmental licence plates, gas taxes, sales taxes, taxes and fines on environmentally harmful products and actions, and a variety of other fees and taxes.

About 5% of British Columbia’s land base is private, where new protected areas require the outright purchase of private lands from willing sellers, while 95% is Crown (public) lands where new protected areas are established by government legislation. However, a high percentage of BC’s most endangered and biologically diverse and rich ecosystems are found on private lands – which tend to be found in temperate lower elevations and valleys where most humans live. As a result, private lands are disproportionately important for conservation efforts in BC. In particular, southeastern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast, and the Okanagan Valley contain much of the private lands in BC, the greatest concentrations of endangered species, and the most heavily visited natural areas, and would benefit the most from such a fund.

“Many regional districts in BC already have dedicated land acquisition funds to protect green spaces, such as the Capital Regional District in the Greater Victoria region”, stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “The BC government should do its part and step forward with a fund to purchase endangered ecosystems, old-growth forests, drinking watersheds and areas of high recreational and scenic value on private lands for future generations of British Columbians. While private citizens, land trusts, and environmental groups can help, they simply don’t have enough funds to purchase enough of the lands at risk in a timely manner before their demise, in most cases. Only governments have those kinds of funds.”

“We’ve outlined a menu of practical funding options that are used by governments across North America to purchase private lands for conservation. Some mechanisms don’t even require additional taxes — such as the so-called ‘pops for parks’ funding which simply captures a current industry windfall from unredeemed beverage container proceeds,” stated Calvin Sandborn, Legal Director of the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre. “Such a fund could remedy many land-use disputes and environmental concerns — while permanently enhancing the tourism economy and quality of life for all British Columbians.”

A $40 million fund to expand conservation lands would amount to less than one tenth of 1% of BC’s $40 billion annual provincial budget (ie. 1/1000th). Studies have shown that for every $1 invested by the government in BC’s provincial park system, another $9 is generated in the provincial economy as visitors spend their funds in local restaurants, campsites, motels, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.

The provincial Natural Lands Acquisition Fund would be similar to the park or land acquisition funds of various regional districts in BC which are augmented by the fundraising efforts of private citizens and land trusts. The Land Acquisition Fund of the Capital Regional District of Greater Victoria has been foundational in helping to protect endangered ecosystems and lands of high recreational and scenic value. The fund generates about $3.7 million each year and has contributed approximately $35 million dollars to the purchase of almost 4500 hectares of land around Victoria since its establishment in the year 2000. The CRD’s funds are raised through an average $20-per-household levy each year and has been pivotal for protecting lands of high environmental and/or recreational value at Jordan River, the Sooke Hills, Sooke Potholes, adjacent to Thetis Lake Park, and on Mount Maxwell on Salt Spring Island. See: https://www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/parks-pdf/summary-of-2014-regional-parks-land-acquisition-fund.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce Calls for the Protection of the Central Walbran Valley’s Old-Growth Forest

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Port Renfrew, BC – Conservationists are delighted that the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, representing 73 businesses in the region, has issued a statement to the provincial government requesting that it protect the Central Walbran Valley from old-growth logging. Port Renfrew, formerly a logging town, has been transformed in recent years into a big tree tourism destination as hundreds of thousands of tourists have come from around the world in recent years to visit some of Canada’s largest trees in the nearby Avatar Grove, the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir tree), Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree), San Juan Spruce (until recently Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree – its top broke off in a recent storm unfortunately), the Harris Creek spruce (one of the largest Sitka spruce trees in Canada), and the Central Walbran Valley.

• See the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce's statement for the Walbran here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qjstakjrvbf8jsh/PRChamberToProtectWalbran.pdf?dl=0
• See spectacular photos of the Walbran at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=7
• See a recent Youtube clip using drone footage over the Central Walbran at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyMPXHOjlK0
• See 2012 video (when a similar attempt to log by the Castle Grove was held off…only to return) at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHnG_sC4oms

“The publicity about the old-growth forests near Port Renfrew in recent years has brought in a flood of visitors from Europe, the USA, Canada, and diverse countries to visit Port Renfrew. This has especially been true since the protection of the Avatar Grove in 2012. Big tree tourism has increased the total flow of dollars spent in Port Renfrew, in our rental accommodations, restaurants, grocery stores, and businesses in general. Along with sport fishing, old-growth forest tourism has become a staple of our local economy,” states Dan Hager, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. “Recently, increasing numbers of visitors are heading through town to visit the Central Walbran Valley to see its old-growth forest. If the Central Walbran were to be protected, it would be a great addition to our town’s repertoire of big tree attractions.”

The Central Walbran Valley’s 500 hectare tract of lush old-growth temperate rainforest has long been an area of public interest since hiking trails were built in the valley in 1990. In 1994, the BC government protected the Lower Walbran Valley, about 5500 hectares, as part of the larger Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park, but left out the Central Walbran Valley (500 hectares) and the Upper Walbran Valley (7,000 hectares) from the park. Since then, most of the Upper Walbran has been heavily tattered by logging, but the Central Walbran remains largely intact. However, Teal-Jones is planning eight new cutblocks in the Central Walbran, of which one (cutblock 4424) has been approved by the province. The Central Walbran Valley lies on Crown (public) land in the territory of the Pacheedaht band in Tree Farm Licence 46 held by Teal-Jones.

“The Central Walbran Valley is truly exceptional in so many ways. It has the most extensive, densely-packed groves of old-growth western redcedars in the country – including some of the very largest on record, such as the Tolkien and Castle Giants,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner. “I've personally brought tourists to see the rainforests of Central Walbran Valley who had flown all the way from Europe to see these specific ancient trees. It’s truly one of the grandest old-growth forests on planet Earth and it's time for it to be fully protected.”

“The Central Walbran is seriously one of the most scenic and spectacular places anybody could visit. With its gargantuan trees, emerald-coloured swimming holes, amazing waterfalls, and perfect camping areas, in all of my experiences the Walbran is virtually unmatched for recreational and scenic grandeur in the world. It’s just the perfect place to visit, and to riddle the whole area with clearcuts and giant stumps would be the lowest, worse use of a place like this,” states Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigners recently located and measured two huge western redcedar trees, one of which makes it into the top 10 widest redcedars in BC according to the BC Big Tree Registry, in the Central Walbran Valley – the 4.6 metre (15 feet) wide “Tolkien Giant” and the “Karst Giant”. See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=944

About 75% of the original productive old-growth forests have been logged on southern Vancouver Island, including over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow, while about 8% is protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. See maps and stats at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to protect our endangered old-growth forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, end the export of raw logs, and assist in the retooling and development of sawmills and value-added facilities to handle second-growth logs.
 

Conservationists Call for Innovative Fund to Buy New Parks

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Victoria, BC – Conservationists are calling on the BC government to establish a Natural Lands Acquisition Fund. In a new report prepared for the Ancient Forest Alliance, the UVic Environmental Law Centre (ELC) is calling on the Province to establish an annual $40 million Natural Lands Acquisition Fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands.

The report, Finding the Money to Buy and Protect Natural Lands, provides a “menu” of possible ways that funds can be allocated or generated for a dedicated fund to purchase vital green spaces and natural areas from willing sellers of private lands. These mechanisms include:

  • $10 to $15 million per year by simply recapturing the windfall that the beverage industry enjoys when consumers fail to redeem container deposits, an approach nicknamed “pop for parks”.
  • Many millions more could be raised by emulating the most important mechanism for park funding in the US – a special tax on non-renewable resources like oil and gas. Numerous North American governments have ruled that it is fair to require industries using up non-renewables to compensate future generations – and permanently protect other natural resources.
  • Funds from a tax on real estate speculation. Currently Vancouver real estate is becoming unaffordable because of speculation in the housing market. Some are proposing a specially designed tax to curb speculation. Fortuitously, such a speculation tax could provide generous funding for acquisition of natural areas – areas which will be needed to serve our growing population.

The above initiatives could be combined with one or more of the many other proven mechanisms for park funding. This could include dedication of funds from the sale of Crown lands, property transfer taxes, income tax check-offs, sales of environmental licence plates, gas taxes, sales taxes, taxes and fines on environmentally harmful products and actions, and a variety of other fees and taxes.

“Many regional districts in BC already have dedicated land acquisition funds to protect green spaces,” says Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “The BC government should do its part and step forward with a fund to purchase endangered ecosystems, old-growth forests, drinking watersheds and areas of high recreational and scenic value on private lands for future generations of British Columbians. While private citizens, land trusts, and environmental groups can help, they simply don’t have enough funds to purchase enough of the lands at risk in a timely manner before their demise, in most cases. Only governments have those kinds of funds.”

“We’ve outlined a menu of practical funding options that are used by governments across North America to purchase private lands for conservation. Some mechanisms don’t even require additional taxes — such as the so-called ‘pops for parks’ funding which simply captures a current industry windfall from unredeemed beverage container proceeds,” stated Calvin Sandborn, Legal Director of the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre. “Such a fund could remedy many land-use disputes and environmental concerns — while permanently enhancing the tourism economy and quality of life for all British Columbians.”

A $40 million fund to expand conservation lands would amount to less than one tenth of 1% of BC’s annual provincial budget (ie. 1/1000th) of $40 billion. Studies have shown that for every $1 invested by the government in BC’s provincial park system, another $9 is generated in the provincial economy as visitors spend their funds in local restaurants, campsites, motels, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.

The provincial Natural Lands Acquisition Fund would be similar to the park or land acquisition funds of various regional districts in BC which are augmented by the fundraising efforts of private citizens and land trusts. The Land Acquisition Fund of the Capital Regional District of Greater Victoria has been foundational in helping to protect endangered ecosystems and lands of high recreational and scenic value. The fund generates about $3.7 million each year and has spent over $35 million dollars to purchase over 4500 hectares of land around Victoria with its partners since its establishment in the year 2000. The CRD’s funds are raised through an average $20-per-household levy each year and has been pivotal for protecting lands of high environmental and/or recreational value at Jordan River, the Sooke Hills, Sooke Potholes, adjacent to Thetis Lake Park, and on Mount Maxwell on Salt Spring Island. 

Some endangered ecosystems and/or forests on private forest lands that a BC Natural Lands Acquisition Fund could help protect right now include:

  • Mount Horne, the mountainside above the world-famous Cathedral Grove, Canada’s most famous old-growth forest. Island Timberlands has roaded the mountainside above the park in preparation for potential logging.
  • McLaughlin Ridge, an endangered old-growth forest in the drinking watershed of Port Alberni, home to the endangered Queen Charlotte goshawk and considered the finest deer wintering range on southern Vancouver Island. Owned by Island Timberlands.
  • Muir Creek’s old-growth forest, near Sooke, and the Koksilah River old-growth forest near Shawnigan Lake, owned by TimberWest.
  • The Stillwater Bluffs and Day Road Forest, owned by Island Timberlands, on the Sunshine Coast.

…and hundreds of other significant natural areas on private lands across the province.

About 5% of British Columbia’s land base is private, where new protected areas require the outright purchase of private lands from willing sellers, while 95% is Crown (public) lands where new protected areas are established by government legislation. However, a high percentage of BC’s most endangered and biologically diverse and rich ecosystems are found on private lands – which tend to be found in temperate lower elevations and valleys where most humans live. As a result, private lands are disproportionately important for conservation efforts in BC.

AFA's Ken Wu measuring the Tolkien Giant in the Central Walbran Valley. It appears to come in as the 9th widest western redcedar in BC

Conservationists Measure Near Record-Size Cedar in the Endangered Central Walbran Valley

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For Immediate Release – Dec. 4, 2015
Conservationists Measure Near Record-Size Cedar in the Endangered Central Walbran Valley 
Ancient Forest Alliance calls on Premier Clark to Counteract Climate Change by Protecting Old-Growth Forests
Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance have located and measured two huge western redcedar trees, one of which makes it into the top 10 widest redcedars in BC, in the endangered Central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island. The “Tolkien Giant” comes in as the 9th widest western redcedar in BC, according to the BC Big Tree Registry: https://bigtrees.forestry.ubc.ca/bc-bigtree-registry/ and has been tentatively measured at 14.4 metres (47 feet) in circumference or 4.6 meters (15 feet) in diameter, and about 42 meters (138 feet) in height. Another tree, the “Karst Giant” has been tentatively measured at 12.1 meters (40 feet) in circumference or 3.9 meters (13 feet) in diameter (no height measurement yet) and although it does not make the top 10, it is still an exceptional tree.
“In the giant trees and in the soil, the old-growth temperate rainforests on Vancouver Island store more carbon per hectare than even tropical rainforests do – and massive amounts of carbon are released when they are logged and converted into second-growth tree plantations, which will take 200 years of growth to re-sequester the lost carbon,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “Poor forest management and destructive logging are one of the largest greenhouse gas emissions sources in the province and at a time when Christy Clark is touting her climate change record in Paris, the province needs to come up with a science-based Old-Growth Protection Plan to save the endangered ancient forests of Vancouver Island and beyond.”
“Not only are old-growth forests important for the climate, but also for tourism, endangered species, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer. “The Central Walbran Valley includes the grandest ancient redcedar forests in all of Canada, in large part because the region has the finest growing conditions in the country. But its days may be numbered unless the BC Liberal government wakes up.”
The Tolkien Giant lies within a narrow and tenuous forest reserve (an Old-Growth Management Area), but logging is planned in the old-growth forest on the adjacent slope, including in the grove where the Karst Giant is found. The Karst Giant is found exactly on the boundary of a proposed cutblock and it is unclear whether or not it will be cut or left standing (but even if left standing, it  would be exposed to being blown down by the fierce winter winds through the adjacent clearcut).
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the province to protect its endangered old-growth forests, ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry, and end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills in order to support BC forestry jobs. An Old-Growth Protection Act has been developed by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre for the Ancient Forest Alliance. See: https://www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/An-Old-Growth-Protection-Act-for-BC_2013Apr.pdf
BC’s official greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 were 64 megatons of carbon dioxide, whereas destructive logging practices were responsible for the release of an average of 49.5 megatons of carbon dioxide annually over a 10 year period between 2003-2012 (not counted as part of official emissions) – see https://sierraclub.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Forest-Emissions-Detailed-Backgrounder_June22.pdf  Only a minor fraction, as low as 15%, of the carbon from logging BC’s old-growth forests ends up in solid wood products – most of it ends up relatively quickly into the atmosphere within a few years. Old-growth forests on BC’s coast store about twice the carbon per hectare as the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with – logging them releases vast amounts of carbon that would take 200 years to re-sequester, but only if forests were allowed to grow that long (which they don’t under the 50 to 80 year rotation age on BC’s coast). Contrary to the timber industry’s PR-spin, old-growth forests continue to sequester significant amounts of carbon even as they age: www.nature.com/nature/journal/v455/n7210/abs/nature07276.html
On BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and the southwest mainland), 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. 3.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests once stood on the southern coast, and today 860,000 hectares remain, while only 260,000 hectares are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php
“Over the past 30 years thousands of people have come to marvel at the ancient trees of the Central Walbran Valley. With its complex structure and rare biodiversity it is renowned as one of the grandest and most beautiful forests in the world. Considering how little old-growth remains on southern Vancouver Island, and also considering the fact that ancient forests are globally significant carbon dioxide sinks – the absolute best use of this contiguous old-growth gem is not more logging and landscape fragmentation, but rather keeping these last giants standing for the climate, wildlife, tourism, wild salmon, and the health of future generations,” stated Erika Heyrman of the Friends of Carmanah-Walbran.
The 500 hectare Central Walbran Valley is part of the 13,000 hectare Walbran Valley, of which about 5500 hectares of the valley is protected in the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park and 7500 hectares of the watershed lies outside the park. The Central Walbran is the last, largely intact portion of the unprotected part of the Walbran watershed as the rest has been highly fragmented and tattered by clearcuts. Teal-Jones has 8 cutblocks planned for the Central Walbran Valley, of which one, Cutblock 4424, has been granted a cutting permit by the Ministry of Forests. At this time, the company has not moved to log Cutblock 4424, but is actively logging other areas near the park boundary.
A loose alliance of conservation groups and activists are pushing to protect the Central Walbran, with groups of protesters turning around logging trucks in recent weeks while an information/awareness camp has been established in the heart of the Central Walbran. Independent forest activists are planning a gathering at the camp this Saturday (tomorrow) at 12 noon at the main bridge in the Central Walbran. The Walbran Valley is in the territory of the Nuu-cha-Nulth Pacheedaht band in Tree Farm Licences 44 and 46 on Crown lands near Port Renfrew.
The Tolkien Giant was found by a Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) volunteer in 2002 and was nicknamed the Tolkien Giant by Ken Wu, the WCWC Victoria chapter’s executive director at the time (now with the AFA). However, while noted as a big tree then, it has not been accurately measured until now, in part due to the fact it could not be accurately measured until a large section of shrubs, soil, and hemlock trees that grew on its lower base were ripped off during a storm. The Karst Giant was found by Ancient Forest Alliance activists TJ Watt and Ken Wu on a trip to the Walbran last week in a remote proposed cutblock, an area also known for its heavy karst features (see a recent Globe and Mail article about this area at: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/karst/article27519264/ ) Another giant western redcedar, the Castle Giant, has not been officially measured yet but may still be the largest tree in the valley.
Screenshot from the new video clip which used drones to helped capture footage in the Central Walbran Valley

Drones used in BC’s Old-Growth Forest Campaigns – Walbran Valley conflict escalates

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For Immediate Release
September 22, 2015
Conservationists use Drones as BC’s Old-Growth Forest Conflict Escalates: New Technology enables Surveillance and Aerial Video Footage in Remote areas as Logging Threat Encroaches on Canada’s Grandest Old-Growth Forest, the Central Walbran Valley
SEE a new VIDEO CLIP of the Central Walbran Ancient Forest that includes recent HD DRONE FOOTAGE here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyMPXHOjlK0
A logging permit for the first of eight proposed cutblocks in the Central Walbran Valley was issued last Friday by the BC government to Surrey-based logging company Teal-Jones. The Central Walbran is Canada’s most spectacular old-growth forest, near Port Renfrew, and one of the largest unprotected old-growth forests left on southern Vancouver Island. Conservationists prepare for an escalation in the conflict.
Port Renfrew –  Conservationists are employing a new tool in the battle to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests – remotely-piloted drones. The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is using a small drone equipped with a GoPro camera to monitor and document the endangered old-growth forests of the Central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island. This has allowed the organization to capture aerial video footage of old-growth forests threatened by logging on steep, rugged terrain that otherwise would take hours to hike to. Helicopter-based logging, or heli-logging, is expected for several of the eight proposed cutblocks in the Central Walbran Valley, including the first approved Cutblock 4424 (approved last Friday by the BC Forest Service), due to the difficulty of road access in the mountains.
“Drones are a new tool in the tool box that are helping us raise the environmental awareness about remote endangered areas that are normally out of the public spotlight, where companies believe they can log with little scrutiny. Plus it allows us to get some spectacular footage of our magnificent but endangered old-growth forests from vantage points rarely seen”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner who shot the Walbran videos.
The AFA’s drone cost just over one thousand dollars and has been used by Watt half a dozen times to explore and document ancient forests since he purchased it late last year. Other conservationists are also starting to use them to help document endangered areas.
“Teal-Jones and the BC government have committed themselves to an intense battle by aggressively moving to log southern Vancouver Island’s most contentious ancient forest. The logging companies have already clearcut the vast majority of the richest and grandest old-growth forests on Vancouver Island – over 90% – and now they’re complaining that they’re running out of options. They’ve boxed themselves into a corner through their own unsustainable history of overcutting the biggest and best old-growth stands – and now they’re contending that it’s the conservationists’ fault and that they must log the last unprotected lowland ancient forests to survive. The one thing the BC government must not do is to reward unsustainable practices with more unsustainable practices – but that’s just what they’ve done by granting the first cutting permit to Teal-Jones in the Central Walbran Valley. It’s a myopic government facilitating the demise of an ecosystem for a company intent to go just about to the very end. Instead they need a quick transition or exit strategy to get completely out of our last ancient forests and into a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director.
The 500 hectare Central Walbran Valley is one of the largest contiguous tracts of unprotected old-growth forest left on southern Vancouver Island (south of Barkley Sound) where about 90% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged. It is home to the Castle Grove, perhaps the most extensive and densely-packed monumental western redcedar groves in Canada. The upper reach of the Castle Grove is threatened by several of the proposed Teal-Jones cutblocks. Species at risk include Queen Charlotte Goshawks, marbled murrelets (several of which were recorded by AFA campaigners near the Castle Grove in June: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=906), screech owls, and red-legged frogs, while coho salmon and steelhead trout spawn in the rivers.
The Central Walbran is popular for hikers, campers, anglers, hunters, and mushroom pickers, and is located on public (Crown) lands in Tree Farm Licence 46 near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht Nuu-chah-Nulth territory. About 5500 hectares of the Lower Walbran Valley were included in the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park in 1994, while about 7500 hectares in the Central and Upper Walbran Valleys were left unprotected.
Conservationists are escalating pressure on the BC government and the company through protests and public awareness campaigns, calling on the company to back off and the BC government to protect the two ancient forests. Teal-Jones Group is a Surrey-based company that logs and sells endangered old-growth forests – including ancient redcedar trees – for pulp, paper, and solid wood products.
Environmentalists are calling on the BC government to protect these areas from logging through expanded Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMAs), core Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs), and Land Use Orders (LUOs).
On BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and SW Mainland), satellite photos show that about 75% of the original, productive (moderate to fast growth rates, forests of commercial value) old-growth forests have been logged, including over 91% of the valley bottoms and high-productivity, lowland forests where the largest trees grow. Only 8% of the original, productive old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. See maps and stats on the remaining old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php
In a recent Vancouver Sun and Province article (see www.theprovince.com/news/walbran+logging+permit+could+rekindle+woods+vancouver+island/11377140/story.html) the Teal-Jones spokesperson was quoted as claiming that “only 11,080 hectares of [the] 59,884-hectare tree farm licence…can be logged” – while failing to mention that tens of thousands of hectares have already been logged and thousands more are on low productivity sites (small trees) of little to no commercial value or inoperable conditions. In addition, the article stated that “…the company gave up more than 7,000 hectares to create the Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park”. In fact, the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park was established in 1994, while it wasn’t until 2004 that Teal-Jones acquired Tree Farm Licence 46 (where the park is) from TimberWest – 10 years after the park’s creation and for a price that already reflected the deduction of timber from the park. In addition, the province has stated that the 500 hectares in the Central Walbran is small compared to the 16,000 hectares within the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park – failing to provide the context (a common PR-spin technique) that about 670,000 hectares of about 760,000 hectares of the original, productive old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island (south of Barkley Sound) have already been logged.
In addition, the BC government itself, in order to placate public fears about the loss of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, typically over-inflates the amount of remaining old-growth forests in its PR-spin by including hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal, low productivity forests growing in bogs and at high elevations with smaller, stunted trees, lumped in with the productive old-growth forests, where the large trees grow (and where most logging takes place). “It’s like including your Monopoly money with your real money and then claiming to be a millionaire, so why curtail spending?” stated the Ancient Forest Alliance’s Ken Wu.
“The Walbran Valley was the birthplace of the ancient forest protest movement in Victoria decades ago. Logging there has repeatedly triggered protests, beginning in 1991 and flaring up regularly for more than a decade thereafter. Thousands of British Columbians love the ancient forests of the Castle Grove, Emerald Pool, Bridge Camp, Summer Crossing, and Fletcher Falls in the Central Walbran Valley,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “Both the province and the company will be held accountable for what happens in these areas.”
“Because of the ideal growing conditions in the region, Canada’s temperate rainforests reach their most magnificent proportions in region of the Walbran Valley. It’s Canada’s version of the American redwoods. Given this fact – and that virtually all of the unprotected ancient forests are either clearcut or fragmented by logging today on southern Vancouver Island – it should be a no-brainer that the grandest and one of the largest contiguous tracts here, the Central Walbran, should be immediately protected”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer.
Old-growth forests are vital to sustain endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations.
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to implement a comprehensive science-based plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests, and to also ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.
MORE BACKGROUND INFO
The Walbran Valley is about 13,000 hectares in size, with about 5500 hectares of the Lower Walbran Valley protected within the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park and about 7500 hectares of the Upper Walbran Valley remaining unprotected. The unprotected Upper Walbran Valley is divided into two “Tree Farm Licences” (TFLs): TFL 46, held by Teal Jones, and TFL 44, held by Western Forest Products, on Crown lands in the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht Nuu-Cha-Nulth people.
The Central Walbran’s old-growth western redcedar, Sitka spruce, and hemlock forests have long been proposed for protection by the environmental movement since the early 1990’s, when the valley was “ground zero” for protests by southern Vancouver Island’s environmental movement. The early Walbran protests played an important role in supporting the build-up towards the massive Clayoquot Sound protests near Tofino on Vancouver Island in 1993.
While most of the Upper Walbran Valley has been heavily fragmented by old-growth logging, two major tracts of ancient forest remain largely unlogged there: The Castle Grove (Canada’s finest ancient redcedar forest) and the greater Central Walbran Ancient Forest (currently under potential logging threat) which abuts against the boundary Carmanah/Walbran Provincial Park, spanning about 500 hectares in extent.
While small sections of the Central Walbran Ancient Forest are protected within Riparian Reserves, an Ungulate Winter Range, and Old-Growth Management Areas, the vast majority of the area is open for logging. The Central Walbran Ancient Forest is a popular and heavily used area by recreationalists, where the main boardwalk trails for hiking, riverside camping area, Emerald Pool swimming area, and the spectacular Fletcher Falls are found.
The Central Walbran Ancient Forest, Castle Grove, and adjacent unprotected forests were designated as a “Special Management Zone” (SMZ) by the BC government in 1994. The SMZ is supposed to be managed to maintain its environmental and biodiversity values – however, numerous destructive clearcuts have tattered much of the SMZ over the past 20 years.