News Coverage

A newly discovered lichen resembling “tree beards” will carry the name of a late University of Guelph horticulturist, author and master gardener.

The new species of horsehair lichen will be called Bryoria kockiana for Henry Kock, former interpretive horticulturist at the U of G Arboretum and a leading authority on native woody plants. He died in 2005 of brain cancer. His wife, Anne Hansen, purchased the scientific naming rights to the lichen this week.

The new species was discovered in a British Columbia rainforest by lichenologist Trevor Goward. He organized an auction for naming rights for two of his recent finds to benefit two B.C. conservation groups.

“With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to Canada,” he said, explaining why he created the online auction.

The auction closed Dec. 15. Proceeds from Kock’s newly named lichen will benefit the Ancient Rainforest Alliance, a Victoria-based group that helps protect old-growth forests.

Hansen said buying the naming rights was the perfect holiday gift.

“Many people go into debt in December for toys and gadgets that will soon be obsolete. Lichens have been around since ancient biological times. If we do something fast about climate change, lichens will be here far into the future,” she said.

“And I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard,” said Hansen, who moved from Guelph to B.C. in 2007.

A combination of fungi and algae, lichen provide critical winter food for mountain caribou and black-tailed deer.

Goward said, “Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear, and where would Santa Claus be then?”

“We couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate benefactor,” he said, adding that Kock’s “work as a conservationist really deserves to be recognized.”

Kock joined U of G in 1981. He led interpretive walks and educational programs at the Arboretum and spoke regularly to gardeners and naturalist groups. He helped organize U of G’s first Organic Agriculture Conference in 1982.

He established gene banks for rare plants and launched the province’s Elm Recovery Project. Kock received the Governor General’s Award for Forest Stewardship in 1998 and was named one of Canada’s most outstanding gardeners in 2004. His book, Growing Trees from Seed, was completed by botanist colleagues after his death.

Time is running out to have a treasured name live on in a lichen species. The contest to name two new species of lichen found in British Columbia’s rainforests closes December 15, so get brainstorming and start bidding.

The two species of lichens were discovered by researcher Trevor Goward who has donated his dibs on naming rights (which, under scientific protocol, usually go to the person who describes it). Instead, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia and the Ancient Forest Alliance are holding online auctions for the public to bid for the right to name the lichens. All proceeds will go to the two environmental groups. Goward refers to the auction of the naming rights as “taxonomic tithing,” and encourages other researchers to do the same.

Make a bid on the respective lichen species by visiting the websites of The Land Conservancy (1-877-485-2422) or the Ancient Forest Alliance (250-896-4007).

Link to original article:  https://www.beautifulbc.ca/blogs/2011/12/06/lichen-contest-closes-soon/

Environmentalists with the Ancient Forest Alliance on Vancouver Island have recently discovered what is being dubbed as “Canada’s mossiest rainforest.” And it’s extremely close to Lake Cowichan.

Located near Honeymoon Bay, roughly a 40-minute drive from Lake Cowichan, Mossy Maple Rainforest supports two different growth sites. These stand close together and are surrounded by second-growth maples, red alders and conifers. One section is located on private land and the is found on Crown land, both in unceded territories of the Hul’qumi’num.

Previously the area had been owned by TimberWest until the company sold its private lands last summer to two public sector pension funds, the B.C. Investment Management Corporation and the federal Public Sector Pension Investment Board without consulting the Hul’qumi’num people.

Nicknamed Fangorn Forest, in reference to the deciduous forest featured in the second Lord of the Rings film, Mossy Maple Rainforest truly is a magical place.

Moss covers nearly everything here. Growing all the way up to the top of most trees, the moss provides a thick fuzzy green layer up these twisted giants. Getting so thick, collections of gigantic moss clumps have fallen and now carpet the ground of Mossy Maple Rainforest. Upon inspection, some of these masses weigh several pounds.

Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance helped discover Mossy Maple and said the deciduous trees bark is rich in calcium, which moss loves and is why it thrives here.

Diverse mosses, licorice ferns and lobaria “lettuce” lichens and more fauna grows on the trees in Mossy Maple. According to Wu, Mossy Maple hosts more plants growing on trees than any other trees in North America. The area is also home to bears, cougars, elk and a host of other wildlife.

Wu believes the area will soon put the Lake Cowichan-area on the map and is hopeful that Mossy Maple can transform into the Canadian-equivalent of Olympic National Park in Washington, which also boasts stunning old-growth deciduous forests.

“The potential for tourism is massive here,” explained Wu.

The maple syrup industry is also beginning to thrive in B.C.. Boasting a more milder flavor than maple syrup from Eastern Canada, the supply for B.C. maple syrup far surpasses its demand. This could also be economically beneficial to the area without destroying the forest’s majestic beauty.

“This type of forest is new to most conservationists and to the general public, few of whom are aware of old-growth deciduous rainforest. It’s sort of like spotting a wooly rhinoceros among a regular herd of endangered rhinos. Big leaf maples support First Nations cultures, abundant wildlife, salmon streams, B.C. maple syrup and important scenery. The last ancient stands must be protected,” said Wu.

Wu noted that a walking will need to be erected through the Mossy Maple site, so as to prevent damage to the area caused by people traffic.

It’s unknown what the future holds for Mossy Maple Rainforest. Old growth big leaf maples are important commodities to the logging industry for their strong, dense wood. Wu said no current logging plans exist for this area as of yet. However, he also highlighted that no protective measures have been proposed yet either. Wu was quick to state logging can help promote the growth of second-growth maples.

“Logging helps to spread young second-growth maples by reducing competition. It also eliminates the old-growth maples. Our goal is to protect the old-growth forests,” said Wu.

Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group chief negotiator, Robert Morales is worried about Mossy Maple’s future.

“Our culture and our identity as Hul’qumi’num people are tied to our land. The large scale clearcutting on our unceded territories is an assault on our culture and on our human rights. The Hul’qumi’num land use plan calls for the protection of the last old-growth remnants in our territories. The B.C. government failed to consult with us regarding the sale of TimberWest lands to the two pension funds and they still refuse to negotiate compensation for the give-away of over 80 per cent of our territories to private interests through the E&N land grant over a century ago,” said Morales.

Big leaf maples can grow up to three metres or 10 feet in trunk diameter and can live to upwards of 300 years, making them one of the most gigantic deciduous trees in North America.

Arvid Charlie, an elder with the Cowichan Tribes has an extensive knowledge of the traditional uses of plants and resources, especially big leaf maples.

“Big leaf maples because of their hard wood was used by our people to make many things, especially paddles, while the large variety of understory plants are still used for many types of medicines and foods. The herds of elk and the remaining salmon have always been vital foods to our culture,” said Charlie.

Ancient Forest Aliance co-founder and photographer, T.J. Watt has also come under the hypnotic spell of Mossy Maple.

“These ancient maple rainforests are some of the mossiest and awesome — or ‘mossome’ as we like to say — forests on Earth. If done sensitively, they could support a significant eco-tourism and cultural tourism industry that would benefit the local economy, much as the famous big leaf maple rainforests of the Hoh Valley in Washington’s Olympic National Park do,” said Watt.

[Link to Lake Cowichan Gazette article no longer available]

Two “name that lichen” auctions organized by Upper Clearwater naturalist Trevor Goward will end on Thursday, Dec. 15.

As of press-time late last week, the highest bid on an auction to name a new species of crottle lichen was $7,000 from an individual named Robert Pirooz.

The highest bid to name a new species of horsehair lichen was $3,500 from a Don McKay of Ontario.

“This is as Canadian as it gets,” said Goward. “With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to Canada and at the same time honor a loved one – or a favorite hockey team – by naming a Canadian lichen after them.”

“Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear; and where would Santa Claus be then?” he asked.

The crottle lichen auction is being done through the Land Conservancy of BC. The money raised will be used for the organization’s campaign to establish a wetlands and wildlife corridor in Upper Clearwater.

The corridor would create a connection between two lobes of Wells Gray Park. It also would protect over 130 acres, including 67 acres of wetlands and a 10-acre meadow that is home to Canada’s most diverse population of moonwort ferns (Botrychium spp.).

The crottle lichen or Parmeli whose name is being auctioned consists of strap-like lobes, pale grayish above and black below. It inhabits the branches of trees in B.C.’s inland rainforests such as the Clearwater Valley

The second lichen name auction is being done through the Ancient Rainforest Alliance.

The money raised in the second auction would be used to help protect B.C.’s rainforests, especially on public land.

The new species of Bryoria or horsehair lichen forms elegant black tresses on the branches of trees in old-growth forests.

An online auction in 2005 for the naming of a new species of monkey in Bolivia netted $650,000. Money raised by that auction went to protecting the monkey’s habitat.

“It’s been almost three centuries since Carolus Linnaeus invented the modern biological classification system; and even now the names of the people he honored in the name of various plants and animals are still with us,” said Goward. “With any luck, your name will last at least as long as Canada does.”

Further information and a chance to bid are at Land Conservancy (TLC) of British Columbia (https://blog.conservancy.bc.ca/) and the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) (www.ancientforestalliance.org/) websites.

Lichens are small organisms that are cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture. Check out Goward’s website at www.waysofenlichenment.net/ for more lichen information.

The Land Conservancy and Ancient Forest Alliance are hoping to bank in on lichens.

After discovering two new lichen species in the southern Interior, lichenoligist Trevor Goward decided to donate the naming rights to raise money for conservation causes.

He passed on the naming rights to be auctioned off to help TLC and the AFA. The deadline for both auctions is Dec. 15.

When biologist Andy McKinnon, from Metchosin, heard his friend Goward, of 30 years, discovered two new lichen species, he was thrilled and bid $3,000 on each auction. But he has been out bid on both. Currently the bids are sitting at $3,500 and $6,000.

“I would love this to attract some major efforts to donate to the cause,” Goward said. “At the moment the bids are absurdly low.”

The money raised for TLC will go towards purchasing a land corridor between two pieces of Wells Grey Park in the southern Interior of B.C.

“We want to create a corridor for the wilderness to cross through,” said TLC northern region manager Barry Booth. He explained currently the wildlife such as grizzly bears and moose already cross through the area which is currently privately owned.

For this project TLC needs to raise more than $350,000.

This project hits close to home for Goward who donated 10-acres of property within the corridor. His neighbour has also donated 62 acres of his property to the cause. Now to secure the corridor TLC needs to purchase an additional 28 acres.

“As the place gets built up (and developed) the animals still need to get from one place to another,” Goward said explaining one side of the park is where the animals spend the winter and the other is their summer range.

The AFA doesn’t have a specific project it will use the money on but has several projects in the works, said Ken Wu AFA executive director.

“A lot of lichens grow in old growth forests, when those forests are gone the lichen will disappear,” Goward said. “I’ve been watching these places disappear my whole life. I feel (the AFA) will make a difference. ”

Some of the projects where the money could be used include, creating a series of educational brochures, covering travel expenses to focus on other areas of B.C., and to help build a campaign in swing ridings across the province to help protect old-growth forests.

Other than raising awareness for the AFA, Wu said he hopes this type of auction gains attention and sparks up other auctions across the world for conservation efforts.

“This is a model. If it’s successful it can stimulate other campaigns,” Wu said.

While the auction is designed to help both conservation groups, it can also make the winning bidder remembered forever.

“The point is you could name it parmelia charlaensis,” McKinnon said siting my name. “This is one of the very few ways you can achieve immortality. If you truly love someone you can immortalize them.”

As an example McKinnon sited Archibald Menzie.

The Douglas fir tree’s scientific name is pseudotsuga menziesii. It was named after Archibald Menzie, who was appointed to be the surgeon and naturalist on the world trip with Captain George Vancouver.

“Today we look at that tree and we remember Archibald Menzie,” said McKinnon. “If you name the lichen 200 years later people will think of you.”

There are already lichens named after Barrack Obama and Sponge Bob Square Pants.

The option for naming the two species is limitless and McKinnon explained it’s open to anyone, including businesses.

“You could name it after a business, you could call it bryoria Wal-Martia,” McKinnon said.

Of the two lichens discovered, one was is bryoria and one is a parmelia.

“The bryoria looks like lustrous brown hair,” McKinnon said adding it is very shiny and can grow up to 10 inches long. “The parmelia looks more like a leaf and is reddish brown.”

Bryoria lichens are a common winter food for the endangered mountain caribou among other animals.

“Without bryoria lichens the mountain caribou would disappear form B.C. and possibly this earth,” McKinnon said.

The parmelia lichens are commonly used as dye for tweed fabrics. Hummingbirds also use it to disguise their nests.

“Lichens are not an organism, it’s a couple living together,” McKinnon said explaining a lichen is made up of about 95 per cent fungus and five per cent alga.

Alga is plant similar to seaweed. It lives inside the fungus and provides the food for the fungus to grow.

“Together they live happily ever after,” McKinnon said.

Goward wants people to step up and help him in is conservation efforts.

“Take a look at Google earth and see what we’ve done,” Goward said.

“In the end it doesn’t matter (about the names) we want to raise funds for habitats for lichens and everything else that lives in the B.C. wildlife places,” McKinnon said.

To bid on the TLC auction call 1-877-485-2422. To place a bid through the Ancient Forest Alliance email info@16.52.162.165 or call 250-896-4007. The deadline is Dec. 15.

[Original Goldstream News Gazette article no longer available]