Endangered Ecosystems Alliance Executive Director, Ken Wu, stands beside a giant Sitka spruce tree in an old-growth forest west of Lake Cowichan in Ditidaht territory.

BC Launches Vital Conservation Financing Mechanism to Protect Old-Growth Forests and Ecosystems

Conservationists give thanks to Premier Eby for fulfilling a key commitment on the path to protecting old-growth forests in BC.

Ancient Forests Under Threat After Being Missed for Logging Deferral Due to Government Data Errors

Ancient Forest Alliance is highlighting the urgent need for the BC government to proactively identify what are likely thousands of hectares of at-risk old-growth forests that were missed during the deferral process due to forest inventory errors.

Conservation Groups Urge BC Government to Hurry Up and Close Gaps in Old-Growth Protection

On the three-year anniversary of the BC government’s acceptance of the Old-Growth Strategic Review Panel’s 14 recommendations to ensure a “paradigm shift” in the conservation and management of old-growth forests in the province, AFA and EEA are urging the BC government to hurry up and close the gaps in old-growth protection.

Canada’s Most Impressive Tree Located by Conservationists in Clayoquot Sound, BC

Conservationists on Vancouver Island with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) have identified what may very well be Canada’s most impressive tree in a remote location in Ahousaht First Nation territory near Tofino in Clayoquot Sound, BC. The ancient redcedar measures over 17 ft (5 m) wide near its base but grows even wider as it goes up.

A man in a red jacket lays on a monumental western redcedar among hundreds of other fallen old-growth trees in a clearcut on northern Vancouver Island.

Clearcutting of Grove of Forest Giants on Northern Vancouver Island – Photos and Videos Document the Destruction

Shocking photos and drone footage reveal the destruction of rare, big-tree old-growth forests on northern Vancouver Island in Quatsino Sound, highlighting the urgent need for dedicated funding to enable both temporary logging deferrals and permanent, Indigenous-led protected areas initiatives.

Motion for Old-Growth Fund & Export Ban Introduced by MP Patrick Weiler

MP Patrick Weiler Introduces Motion to Launch the $82 million Old-Growth Protection Fund and to End Old-Growth Log and Wood Product Exports in Canada.

An aerial shot of a clearcut in the Caycuse Watershed in Ditidaht Territory.

Conservationists decry lack of funding to protect old-growth forests despite major provincial budget surplus and ecological crisis in the woods

Still needed is short-term funding for First Nations to offset lost logging revenues from accepting logging deferrals as well as long-term conservation financing to develop sustainable economic alternatives to old-growth logging linked to the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas.

Government Signals Critical Shift Toward Greater Value-Added Wood Manufacturing and Potential Old-Growth Protection

Conservation group increasingly optimistic about old-growth protection as BC government adjusts forestry regulations, invests funding in value-added forestry, and commits to a conservation financing mechanism to help establish new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas.

BC Government Commits to Doubling the Protection of Lands in BC to 30% by 2030 and Creating a New Conservation Financing Mechanism to Help Establish IPCA’s

The AFA commends the BC government for committing to protecting 30% of lands in the province by 2030, including through the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, which would double what is currently protected in legislated areas in BC. A directive has also been given to “develop a new conservation financing mechanism to support protection of biodiverse areas.”

Before COP15, Conservation Groups call on BC Government to Commit to Funding and Targets to Expand Protected Areas in BC

BC has a chance to protect the most endangered ecosystems and promote community economic, social and cultural well-being linked to nature conservation - and also to finally end the War in the Woods over old-growth forests.