AFA Executive Director Ken Wu stands alongside a row of Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees growing in a line out of a nurse log in the unprotected FernGully Grove near Port Renfrew.

Forest advocacy group discovers grove of giant Sitka spruce trees on Vancouver Island

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A B.C.-based forest advocacy group has recently found an ancient grove, home to one of the biggest Sitka spruce trees in the country, on Vancouver Island.

A member of the Ancient Forest Alliance discovered the unprotected grove of giant Sitka spruce trees in the territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation that is near Port Renfrew, a town with the reputation of being the “tall tree capital of Canada.”

Ken Wu, the group's executive director, said he has had his eyes on the forest for many years, but it wasn't until Dec. 4 on a hike that he found the 11-foot-diameter Sitka spruce tree, which is wider than the 10 widest spruce listed on the B.C. big tree registry.

“[The grove] is one of the rarest types of old growth [and the] most beautiful forest,” Mr. Wu said on Sunday.

He said that finding a forest of unprotected giant Sitka spruce is highly significant because the vast majority of them on Vancouver Island have been logged.

The forest has been nicknamed FernGully Grove because of its dense and extensive understorey of ferns and is located on lands owned by TimberWest Forest Corp., but the advocacy group is encouraging the company to sell the land to the province for better protection.

According to a statement sent to The Globe and Mail, TimberWest said it has protected the Sitka spruce tree and the surrounding stand for many years, and it isn't planning to change its operation.

“We are committed to the responsible stewardship of our working forest, and actively solicit the input of interested stakeholders to strike the appropriate balance between ecological, social and economic interests. There are no plans to deviate from the conservation status of this grove in our inventory management,” TimberWest's spokeswoman Monica Bailey said in an e-mail.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the new BC NDP government to reimplement the provincial land acquisition fund, which was cancelled by the then-Liberal government in 2008, in order to purchase and protect private lands that have high conservation or recreation value.

“The B.C. government needs to implement a comprehensive, science-based plan to protect the remaining old-growth forests, while also supporting First Nations land-use plans and financing sustainable economic development and diversification in those communities in lieu of old-growth logging,” said Andrea Inness, a campaigner from the Ancient Forest Alliance.

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She added that the FernGully Grove area is another key reason why the new provincial government needs to take action soon.

Mr. Wu said the forest has some of the most amazing wildlife population on Vancouver Island such as elk, deer, bear and cougar, and he hopes it can be kept as an ecological reserve rather than a provincial park.

“We don't want lots of people to hike here because there is so much wildlife; they will be driven away if it becomes a tourist area.”

Sun shines through the moss and ferns in the unprotected FernGully Grove near Port Renfrew.

Towering near-record Sitka spruce located near Port Renfrew

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Port Renfrew is billed as Canada’s Tall Tree Capital, and the latest find is helping to enforce the nickname.

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) says they located an 11-foot diameter Sitka spruce tree that is the tenth widest Sitka spruce in Canada, according to the BC Big Tree Registry.

AFA says they found the massive tree in one of the last unprotected stands of old-growth Sitka spruce groves on Vancouver Island, nicknamed FernGully Grove, near Port Renfrew.

Read the original article.

From left: Ancient Forest Alliance volunteer Nathaniel Glickman

Massive near-record Sitka spruce tree found on Vancouver Island

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A forest advocacy group says it has discovered an unprotected old-growth forest that is home to a near-record sized Sitka spruce tree on Vancouver Island.

The Ancient Forest Alliance says the 3.3-metre wide tree was found on lands owned by TimberWest Corporation, near the town of Port Renfrew, also known as Canada’s tall tree capital.

According to the Big Tree Registry, the tree is the tenth widest Sitka spruce in Canada.

Now the group, which lobbies to keep old-growth forests from being logged, is petitioning B.C.’s New Democrat government to buy the land from TimberWest.

AFA executive director Ken Wu says finding a grove of unprotected giant Sitka spruce trees is significant given that the vast majority have been logged in the valley where they grow.

Wu says the area, which they have nicknamed FernGully Grove, is also home to dozens of one to two metre wide trees, giant sword ferns, and is the habitat for elk, deer, wolves, cougars and black bears. He says the grove “needs to be bought and protected by the province.”

Wu says in the past, TimberWest has held back from logging some contentious sites while negotiations for their purchase or protection have been underway.

He is hoping the company will do the same in FernGully Grove.

TimberWest and B.C.’s Ministry of Forests have been contacted with a request for information about potential plans for the area

Read the original article here.
 

Speakers and Ralliers at Ancient Forest Event

Groups demand protection of Island’s old-growth forests

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B.C.’s old-growth forests will not go down without a fight.

More than 200 people, including members of the Sooke, Port Renfrew, and West Shore chambers of commerce, First Nations, local governments and environmental groups, gathered in Victoria on Tuesday demanding the provincial government create policies to protect old-growth forests.

Old-growth forests play an important role for many reasons, including providing a home for endangered species, sustaining climate, attracting tourism, and is a large part of First Nations culture.

But 75 per cent of B.C.’s original old-growth forests have already been logged, and only eight per cent of Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests are in protected areas.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is seeking to have short and long-term policy changes implemented by the government.

The longer term policies would involve a law to protect forests, and annual funding that would allow the government to buy and protect lands of “high conservation, cultural or recreational value.”

For a more short-term solution, the alliance suggested implementing a policy that the B.C. government is almost finished developing called a Big Tree Protection Order, which would protect the biggest trees on the coast with buffer zones. They also believe the NDP should stop B.C. Timber Sales (the B.C. government’s logging agency) from cutting down any more old-growth areas.

The NDP’s 2017 election platform states: “we will modernize land-use planning to effectively and sustainable manage B.C.’s … forests and old growth. We will take an evidence-based scientific approach and use the ecosystem-based management of the Great Bear Rainforest as a model.”

“We’ve long agreed with these campaigners more needs to be done to protect the health of our vital forests, which for 16 years were left degraded by the B.C. Liberal government,” said Premier John Horgan in a statement.

“Doug Donaldson (minister of forests) met in October with the groups who held the rally Tuesday night. They shared with him a thoughtful and comprehensive analysis with what they see as the problem and offered some solutions.”

Horgan said the campaigners’ discussion paper is being analyzed by the ministry right now and they will have more to say about it once the study is complete.

If the NDP follows through with the statement, the remaining old-growth forests would be protected.

“I’m looking forward to the solutions he (Donaldson) brings forward,” Horgan said.

Ken Wu, executive director of the alliance, said Tuesday’s rally sent an unmistakable message to the NDP that B.C. citizens want to see a major change and improvement in the forestry industry.

“We look forward to seeing some concrete action in the coming months, especially during the February sitting of the legislature, where we expect the B.C. government to follow through on its 2017 election platform commitments,” Wu said.

Click here to read the original article.

From left to right: Jens Wieting (Sierra Club of BC); Andrea Inness (AFA); Dan Hager (Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce); Ken Wu (AFA); and Arnold Bercov (Public and Private Workers of Canada) by an old-growth redcedar tree in Stanley Park.

Ancient Forest Alliance Featured in Vancouver’s Chinese-Language Newspaper

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The AFA was recently featured in an article in Sing Tao – Vancouver’s Chinese-language newspaper – from our press conference Oct 10th with Jens Wieting of Sierra Club BC, Dan Hager from the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, and Arnie Bercov from the Public and Private Workers of Canada forestry union.

Our organizations came together to shine a spotlight on BC’s forestry industry during the 2017 Forest Stewardship Council General Assembly and the need for changes to protect old-growth forests and forestry jobs.

 

Some AFA staff and allies in the Lower Avatar Grove. Pictured from left to right are: TJ Watt (AFA Photographer)

Ancient Forest Alliance Featured in Latest Edition of Your Magazine

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The latest edition of Your Magazine features the Ancient Forest Alliance, with quite a bit of information on the organization’s “modus operandi”. See the article (pages 5-6) at: https://issuu.com/yourmagazinevictoria/docs/your-summer2017-web

Ancient Forest Alliance

Shaw TV: Walbran Valley Update

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Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/A3X9NEoKtpg

Check out the latest Shaw TV news piece on the Walbran Valley, Castle Grove, and Eden Grove ancient forests near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island in Pacheedaht First Nation territory, and what a new provincial government could mean for BC's endangered old-growth forests! It features an interview with the Ancient Forest Alliance's executive director Ken Wu and video footage (including drone footage) and photos taken by the AFA's photographer and campaigner TJ Watt. Thanks to Lorraine Scollan and Heather Leary of Shaw TV for covering these local old-growth forest issues again!

Ancient Forest Alliance

WATCH: Avatar Grove Boardwalk

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Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pNaEbAflsk

Check out the major new Shaw TV piece, featuring the most extensive news coverage on Avatar Grove so far, about the completion of the boardwalk and its significance for Port Renfrew and ancient forest protection! Featuring the Ancient Forest Alliance’s TJ Watt and Ken Wu, Dan Hager of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, Jon Cash of Soule Creek Lodge, Kristine Pearson and Pamela Jones of the Pacheedaht First Nation band, Matthew Varley and Scott Harris super volunteers, and Alison Sturrock an international tourist who happened to be hiking there. Thanks to Shaw TV’s Lorraine Scollan and Heather Leary for putting this piece together!

Ancient Forest Alliance

Ancient forest hot spot: Port Renfrew’s Avatar Grove now accessible to public

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See this link for CHEK News Video coverage: www.cheknews.ca/ancient-forest-hot-spot-port-renfrews-avator-grove-now-accessible-public-355742/

They are some of the most magnificent trees on Vancouver Island or even the world.

“You're going to see some of the grandest forest left not only in Canada but on planet Earth. To have these 14-15 foot wide trees here is a very rare thing, these trees can be 1,000 years old,” said Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance.
 
Once a little-known area, the 50-hectare forest outside of Port Renfrew is now easily accessible, after a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday officially opened “Avatar Grove” to the public.
 
Work on the boardwalk project started four years ago, after the Ancient Forest Alliance fought and won a battle to have the area protected.
 
It took hundreds of volunteers endless hours to transform the rugged terrain.
 
“It obviously involved tremendous effort carrying the heavy boardwalk planks and buckets of gravel to top of the hill to build these,” said TJ Watt, boardwalk co-ordinator with the Ancient Forest Alliance.
 
One of the main goals was to protect the sensitive ecosystem
 
“We wanted to first and foremost protect plants and tree roots from all foot traffic going by,” said Watt.
 
But it was also to make it a tourist draw — and it has worked.
 
On Thursday, there were dozens of visitors from Victoria, Toronto, and even Germany on the one-kilometre trail.
 
“I think it's bigger than I pictured it, the big trees and everything's so green,” said Tim Schumaker, a tourist from Germany.
 
Visitors included several families with young children, who said they found the trail, with its new boardwalks, easy to hike.
 
The popularity of Avatar Grove's ancient trees is providing a major boost to the small community of Port Renfrew.
 
“That's created a spur, a flurry of economic activity, between new employment, construction, people becoming more interested in Renfrew and making Renfrew a destination,” said Dan Hager, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce.
 
Those who fought to protect Avatar Grove, and it's unique beauty, are hoping it sends a message to the government that protecting old growth forests is more than just an environmental decision.
 
“People used to think saving old growth forest undermines rural economies, instead it shows the opposite, saving old growth forest actually brings in tremendous amounts of revenues, businesses, and jobs for rural economies,” said Wu.
 
And now people of all ages, from around the world, will have a chance to see the gentle giants up close.
Left to Right: Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) Boardwalk Coodinator TJ Watt

New pathway for ancient forest

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Volunteers have put the finishing touches on one of the region’s newest big-tree destinations.
 
The boardwalk and trail at Avatar Grove, an old-growth forest 20 minutes from Port Renfrew, is complete after four years of work.
 
“If you were to arrive at Avatar Grove, you’ll find a one-kilometre trail with hundreds of metres of high-quality boardwalk that takes you through one of the most spectacular ancient forests in the country,” said TJ Watt, Avatar Grove boardwalk co-ordinator with the Ancient Forest Alliance.
 
The boardwalk protects the tree roots and vegetation from excessive trampling and provides safe public access to the forest, he said. “It allows people to spend more time looking at the trees and less time looking at their feet.”
 
 
Avatar Grove, also known as T’l’oqwxwat, received provincial protection in 2012 after a campaign led by the Ancient Forest Alliance and the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. Port Renfrew has branded itself the Tall Tree Capital of Canada, as part of its economic shift toward tourism and away from logging.
 
The area includes Big Lonely Doug, an old-growth tree believed to be the second-largest Douglas fir in Canada and stands in the middle of a clearcut. On the road toward Port Renfrew is another old-growth forest that the Ancient Forest Alliance is tentatively calling Jurassic Park, another area it hopes will be protected.
 
Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance, said about 300 tourists visit Avatar Grove on a summer weekend afternoon. “Avatar Grove has shown that saving ancient forests benefits the local economy — businesses and jobs. And it’s changed the whole narrative from the previous way of thinking, which was that saving ancient forests would undermine rural economies,” Wu said.
 
The project was supported by the Pacheedaht First Nation, the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce and a team of volunteers at the Ancient Forest Alliance.
 
Strong winds that knocked down several trees in October 2016 delayed the boardwalk completion.