Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt stands beside a giant old-growth Douglas-fir tree he located in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew. The tree measures over 31ft in circumference

Media Release: Christy Clark Grove

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For Immediate Release
April 20, 2012

Ancient Forest Alliance identifies Canada’s 8th widest known Douglas fir, the “Clark Giant”, found in the unprotected Christy Clark Grove.

Victoria, British Columbia – In honour of Earth Day this Sunday, the Ancient Forest Alliance is naming a recently found grove of unprotected, near record-size old-growth trees on Vancouver Island the “Christy Clark Grove” after BC’s premier. The group hopes the new name will motivate Premier Clark to protect the grove and develop a plan to protect endangered old-growth forests across BC instead of supporting their continued destruction. Federal College Grants

See spectacular images at:https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=16

“We’re hoping that Christy Clark won’t let the Christy Clark Grove get cut down, and will show some leadership by creating a plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner, and discoverer of the Christy Clark Grove. “Already 75% of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forests have been logged, including 90% of the biggest trees in the valley bottoms. Why go to the end of an ecosystem when there is an extensive second-growth alternative now to sustain the forest industry?”

The newly found grove is on unprotected public (Crown) lands not far from the town of Port Renfrew in the Gordon River Valley on southern Vancouver Island, just a half an hour drive from the famous Avatar Grove that was recently protected due to public pressure.

The Christy Clark Grove includes a near record-size Douglas-fir tree 10 feet wide in trunk diameter (31 feet circumference), making it Canada’s 8th widest known Douglas fir tree in relation to the trees listed in the BC Big Tree Registry (see https://bigtrees.forestry.ubc.ca/files/2011/11/Big_Trees_Register.pdf). The enormous tree has been dubbed the “Clark Giant”. The Grove also includes a huge burly redcedar over 13 feet wide, nicknamed the “Gnarly Clark”, as well as many other ancient trees.

Last week the BC government released its “BC Forest Strategy” (https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/mof/forestsectorstrategy/Forest_Strategy_WEB.PDF) that essentially continues the existing, generally destructive status quo policies. Increasing wood exports to China, including massive raw log exports and logs from old-growth hemlock-amabilis fir stands (ie. “hem-bal” stands, once considered to be of low value), seems to be the BC government’s central forestry strategy. Without further restrictions on raw log exports, the BC government is ultimately risking losing BC’s milling jobs as China ramps up its wood manufacturing capacity over the next few years, which will likely lead to diminishing lumber exports from Canadian mills as China rejects our lumber with its higher labour costs in favour of their own cheaper lumber – milled from BC’s raw logs.

“BC’s Forest Strategy continues the generally unsustainable status quo – what we really need is a BC Old-Growth Forest Strategy. The coastal forest industry’s twenty year decline is essentially driven by unsustainable resource depletion, where the biggest, best valley-bottom ancient trees have been largely logged-off, leaving the industry with diminishing returns as the trees get smaller and more expensive to reach high up the mountainsides,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner. “We need the BC government to show real leadership and end the War in the Woods by saving our endangered old-growth forests and facilitating a sustainable, value-added second-growth forestry transition.”

Most disturbing in the BC Forest Strategy report is reference to maintaining the timber supply for BC interior mills reeling from the industry’s unsustainable expansion in recent years to take advantage of the pine beetle infestation – but now afflicted by declining timber volumes due to overcutting and decomposing beetle-killed trees. A leaked cabinet report last week revealed that in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region the BC government is now considering the possibility of opening protected old-growth forests (Old-Growth Management Areas), wildlife protections (Wildlife Habitat Areas) , scenic protections (Visual Quality Objectives) and other forest reserves for logging to keep supplying the interior logging industry at an unsustainable pace.

See articles in the Vancouver Sun and The Tyee.

“There’s no bloody way the BC Liberal government is going to open up protected wildlife habitat, scenic corridors and old-growth forest reserves for logging without a hell of a fight from BC’s conservation movement and tourism industry,” stated Wu. “That’s an absolute no-go for us.”

In addition, one year ago the BC government promised to create a new legal tool to protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves – so far nothing has materialized. Such a tool could be used to protect the Christy Clark Grove. See: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=198

More importantly, the BC government has so far failed to undertake any new province-wide plans to systematically protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests, but instead continues to use highly misleading statistics that lump-in vast tracts of marginal, stunted “bonsai” forests in bogs and on subalpine mountain tops (not under threat of logging in general) with BC’s productive (ie. large trees, faster growth rates, where logging occurs) but endangered old-growth forests in order to inflate the amount of old-growth forests remaining.

“Releasing stats that combine stunted, marginal forests in bogs and high altitudes with our endangered, productive old-growth forests where the giant trees grow is like including your Monopoly money with your real money and then claiming to be a millionaire,” stated TJ Watt, AFA co-founder.

Both Quebec and Ontario have committed to protecting 50% of their boreal forests, which constitute the vast majority of the land in those provinces.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to undertake a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and to ban raw log exports to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills. Old-growth forests are important to sustain endangered species, BC’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry, clean water, the climate, and many First Nations cultures.

“We’re still waiting on the BC government to show some leadership to create a conservation legacy in BC for our endangered old-growth forests, and to end raw log exports. We’re ready to give credit where credit is due. We want to give credit for good things. But we’re also prepping for a potential major battle in the lead-up to the BC election where there will be no prisoners taken, if need be”, stated Wu.

Cathedral Canyon

Environmentalists Call for a BC Park Acquisition Fund and for Island Timberlands to Back Off until Contentious Lands can be Purchased for Protection

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Conservationists are standing in solidarity today calling on coastal logging giant Island Timberlands to back off from their plans to log forests with high recreational and environmental values, including old-growth forests and sensitive ecosystems, while calling on the BC government to help purchase the company’s contentious private lands.

At McLaughlin Ridge near Port Alberni, on Cortes Island near Campbell River, at Stillwater Bluffs by Powell River, at Cathedral Grove Canyon adjacent to McMillan Provincial Park, and at the Cameron Valley Firebreak near Port Alberni, Island Timberlands’ corporate private lands include some of the most contentious forests of high conservation value in British Columbia – old-growth forests, sensitive ecosystems, and mature second-growth forests of high recreational value.

Conservationists are calling on the provincial government to establish a BC Park Acquisition Fund of at least $40 million per year, raising $400 million over 10 years, to purchase old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems on private lands across the province. The fund would be similar to the park acquisition funds of various regional districts in BC which are augmented by the fundraising efforts of private citizens and land trusts.

“Christy Clark’s BC Liberal government must step forward with a funding solution, a BC Park Acquisition Fund similar to those of many regional districts, to purchase old-growth forests, sensitive ecosystems, and other important areas on private lands for protection – particularly Island Timberlands’ contentious lands,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “At the same time, Island Timberlands needs put the brakes on their plans to log the last old-growth stands and contentious areas until those lands can be purchased for protection.”

“There has been an incredible amount of public pressure about the situation on Cortes, which I think is a major factor in Island Timberlands’ recent decision to postpone their logging plans for 6months,” says forest activist Zoe Miles, who grew up on Cortes Island. “It’s a temporary victory, but it does give us more time to raise funds for land purchase. If Island Timberlands is genuinely willing to consider land sale at fair market value, then it’s the responsibility of our provincial government to listen to its electorate and help make that happen.”

“Stillwater Bluffs has been identified as a priority parcel for protection as a regional park by the Powell River Regional District. It contains sensitive ecosystems and veteran old-growth trees and is a popular area used by local people for recreation,” said Jason Addy of the Friends of Stillwater Bluffs. “It is a no-brainer for a new park and Island Timberlands needs to stay away until the lands can be purchased at fair market value.”

Many regional districts in BC, such as the Capital, Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley, Strathcona, and Powell River Regional Districts have park acquisition funds to protect lands of high ecological and recreational value. The Capital Regional District’s (CRD) Land Acquisition Fund has spent over $34million dollars to purchase over 4500 hectares of land around Victoria since its establishment in the year 2000.

See https://www.crd.bc.ca/parks/preservation/newparks.htm and https://www.crd.bc.ca/media/2010/2010-01-13-land-acq-fund.htm . The CRD fund is raised through an average $14-per-household levy (increasing to $20-per-household by 2015) each year, raising roughly $3 million per year between 2010 to 2019, and has been pivotal for protecting lands of high environmental and/or recreational value at Jordan River, the Sooke Hills, the Sooke Potholes, lands adjacent to Thetis Lake Park, and at Burgoyne Bay on Salt Spring Island.

Island Timberlands (IT) is the second largest private landowner in BC, owning 258,000 hectares of private lands (https://www.islandtimberlands.com/our-company/our-present.htm)mainly on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and Haida Gwaii.

Some of the most contentious sites on Island Timberlands’ private lands include:

Cortes Island – IT owns about 1000 hectares of land on this northern Gulf Island, including the Children’s Forests, Whaletown Commons,and extremely rare old-growth “dry maritime” forests at Basil Creek and the Green Valley. As a result of community pressure, the company has temporarily backed off from plans to log on the Island until September, while the community submits ecological inventory information and proposals to the company. For more info contact Zoe Miles at wildstands.press@gmail.com  See the spectacular photo gallery at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

Stillwater Bluffs – IT owns a 48 hectare dry maritime forest by Powell River which contains a rugged stretch of dramatic coastline. It is accessible to the public and offers rock bluffs, hiking trails, and unspoiled wildlife habitat that is perfect for a nature park. It is heavily used by local people and could be the local residents’ version of West Vancouver’s famous Lighthouse Park. The parcel, known as DL 3040, includes sensitive ecosystems of arbutus/rocky outcrops, second-growth Douglas fir and cedar of high community recreation and scenic value, and scattered old-growth “veteran” trees. The Powell River Regional District has expressed an interest in protecting the Stillwater Bluffs as a park. Local citizens say that Island Timberlands has committed to not log the Stillwater Bluffs within the next 6 months, but plan log it within 2 years. Formore info contact Jason Addy at jasonaddy@hotmail.com

McLaughlin Ridge – IT owns about 500 hectares (about 100 hectares of which they’ve logged in recent years) of critical old-growth wintering habitat for black-tailed deer and nesting and foraging habitat of the endangered Queen Charlotte Goshawk in this section of the China Creek water shed near Port Alberni. This area was previously planned to become a Wildlife Habitat Area and Old-Growth Management Area until the BC Liberal government removed Weyerhaeuser’s (now Island Timberlands) private forest lands on Vancouver Island from their Tree Farm License in 2004. So far IT is still planning to move ahead and log this area in the near future. For more info contact Jane Morden at janemorden@gmail.com See the spectacular photo gallery of photos by the AFA’s TJ Watt at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/mclaughlin-ridge/

Cathedral Grove Canyon and the Cameron Valley Firebreak – IT owns old-growth and second-growth forests adjacent to the famed Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park near Port Alberni, including the spectacular Cathedral Grove Canyon along the Cameron River where giant old-growth Douglas firs and red cedars stand. A public outcry about the marking of these old-growth trees for potential logging seems to have put a hold on the company’s logging plans. Further up the Cameron Valley is the “Cameron Valley Firebreak”, one of the last major tracts of old-growth forest left in the valley that local communities recently learned is also being targeted for logging by IT. For more info contact Annette Tanner at wcwcqb@shaw.ca See an incredible photo gallery of Cathedral Grove Canyon at:

https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/cathedral-grove-canyon/

The Ancient Forest Alliance is also calling on the BC government to implement a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, and to ban raw log exports to foreign mills.

Canada's Gnarliest Tree in Avatar Grove

Protection of Avatar Grove will boost tourism

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Ken Wu called it a “campaign on steroids,” and Rose Betsworth called it a “soft approach,” but whatever it was called, the provincial government listened.

On Feb. 16, Steve Thomson, Minister for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, announced that all of Avatar Grove is now protected from harvesting.

Wu, co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance, said he would like to commend the B.C. government for protecting this key old growth forest.

“Eventually we would like to see it as a legislated park or conservancy,” said Wu.

Rose Betsworth, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce is understandably pleased. For her community it means Avatar Grove will be made more accessible with upgrades to the trails and tidying up the area leading to increased tourism to the area.

“Now we can make it better for everybody… we can put a trail in and do upkeep,” said Betsworth.

She said the Ancient Forest Alliance had the right approach which was a soft one where they educated people and gained respect out of that. The AFC included forestry workers and the small business community’s comments and concerns in their efforts to save the grove.

“They’re not a bunch of radicals,” said Betsworth in referring to the way the AFA conducted their campaign.

The campaign led to a public review and comment period during the fall of 2011, where 232 out of 236 comments expressed support for preservation of the grove.

The unique stand of old-growth cedar, 15 minutes from Port Renfrew, is now protected in an expanded old-growth management area, totaling 59.4 hectares,

TJ Watt, the other co-founder of AFA, came across the grove in December 2009, popularized it and began the goal of preserving the monumental stand of valley-bottom ancient red cedars and Douglas fir.

“We commend the B.C. government for protecting this key tract of extremely rare valley bottom ancient forest – virtually all of the valley bottoms on southern Vancouver Island where the biggest trees grow have been logged, literally 95 per cent of them, ” stated TJ Watt. “At the same time, thousands of hectares of old-growth forests are being logged every year on Vancouver Island, and millions of hectares of old-growth forests are endangered across B.C. Our main goal is to see a new provincial plan to protect all of B.C.’s endangered old-growth forests and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry instead.”

To fulfil the province’s obligation to Teal-Jones Group, which holds the logging rights for Tree Farm Licence 46 where Avatar Grove is located, the boundaries of other old-growth management areas were adjusted by removing 57.4 hectares. They were compensated with 30 hectares of second-growth forests and 27 hectares of old-growth.

“We’re opposed to compensation for the company, as they don’t own the land or the trees on Crown lands – all they have are access rights to the resource through their license. If government enacts conservation regulations to protect deer or trout in areas where their populations are down, those with hunting or fishing licenses don’t get compensation for not being able to take all the deer or trout in those areas. Neither should logging companies on publicly-owned Crown forests,” said Ken Wu.

The province states in their press release, “Of the 862,125 hectares of old-growth forests on Crown land on Vancouver Island, it’s estimated that over 520,000 hectares will never be harvested.”

Read the article in the Sooke News Mirror:  https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/139871533.html

 

AFA supports Avatar Grove’s protection, calls for provincial old-growth plan

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Today’s announcement by the BC government to legally prohibit logging of the Avatar Grove by including it in 59.4 hectares of Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA) was met with happiness by the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), the BC environmental group that identified and popularized the monumental stand of valley-bottom ancient redcedars and Douglas fir near Port Renfrew two years ago. Of 236 public comments, during the public input process from September through November 2011, 232 comments were in favour of Avatar Grove’s protection.

“We commend the BC government for protecting this key tract of extremely rare valley bottom ancient forest – virtually all of the valley bottoms on southern Vancouver Island where the biggest trees grow have been logged, literally 95% of them, ” stated TJ Watt, the Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder who came across the Avatar Grove in December of 2009. “At the same time, thousands of hectares of old-growth forests are being logged every year on Vancouver Island, and millions of hectares of old-growth forests are endangered across BC. Our main goal is to see a new provincial plan to protect ALL of BC’s endangered old-growth forests and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry instead.”

The Avatar Grove is an easy 15-minute drive mainly along paved roads from the town of Port Renfrew on southwestern Vancouver Island. Over the past two years, thousands of people have visited the Grove. The AFA has held countless hiking tours and slideshows to thousands of people, taken media from across the country on tour, organized rallies and protests, and worked with the local businesses of Port Renfrew through the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce to ensure the protection of the Avatar Grove. The Grove was surveyed and flagged for logging when the campaign began in February 2010.

See a Youtube Clip of Avatar Grove at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw
See a photo gallery of TJ Watt’s incredible Avatar Grove photos: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/avatar-grove/

“This Avatar Grove campaign has been an ancient forest campaign on steroids – with thousands of people from across BC and around the world coming for a visit, and international media like Al-Jazeera covering the issue. This is a great day for the tourism businesses of Port Renfrew, Sooke, Lake Cowichan, and Victoria, and for the wildlife of Avatar Grove. The next step is to get this area legislated as a park or conservancy,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “But it’s important to note that the Avatar Grove was always a springboard for our provincial campaign to protect all of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, and 2012 will be a year when we wage a relentless campaign to that end.”

The Avatar Grove has some of Canada’s largest trees, including scores of giant western redcedars – some over 4 meters (15 feet) wide, including “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree” with its 3-meter (10 feet) wide burl. The Grove itself is found on gentle terrain in the valley bottom, almost all of which have been logged on southern Vancouver Island. Virtually all other remaining old-growth stands are also far along bumpy logging roads, on steep slopes. It is home to Vancouver Island’s largest wildlife species: wolves, cougars, black bears, elk, and deer.

Unfortunately, the BC government has also compensated the licensee, the Teal-Jones Group, in Tree Farm License 46 where the Avatar Grove is found, with 30 hectares of second-growth forests and 27 hectares of old-growth (57 hectares). “We’re opposed to compensation for the company, as they don’t own the land or the trees on Crown lands – all they have are access rights to the resource through their license. If the government enacts conservation regulations to protect deer or trout in areas where their populations are down, those with hunting or fishing licenses don’t get compensation for not being able to take all the deer or trout in those areas. Neither should logging companies on publicly-owned Crown forests,” states Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder.

On Vancouver Island, over 600,000 hectares of productive old-growth forests (ie. old-growth stands with moderate to fast growth growing conditions, where most logging occurs) remain, out of 2.3 million hectares of such forests originally (ie. about 1.7 million hectares have been logged). About 200,000 hectares are protected in parks or off-limits to logging through Old-Growth Management Areas. In addition, another 700,000 hectares of Vancouver Island consists of low-productivity old-growth forests (ie. stunted bog and subalpine forests with small trees and slow growth rates, most of which are unprofitable to log). In percentages, about 75% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including about 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow, and about 95% of the valley bottoms on the South Island (south of Barkley Sound).

See maps and stats at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

The Ancient Forest Alliance is coming up to its two-year anniversary. The organization was officially registered as a not-for-profit society in British Columbia on February 24, 2010.

The horsehair lichen – which Hansen says resembles Kock's beard – will be known as Bryoria kockiana.

Media Release: “New Species Conservation Auction” closes with renowned BC artist Anne Hansen Winning Bid

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For Immediate Release
Friday, December 16, 2011

“New Species Conservation Auction” closes with renowned BC artist Anne Hansen (aka “Oystercatcher Girl”) making winning bid of $4000, with proceeds to the Ancient Forest Alliance

A unique conservation fundraiser, the “New Species Conservation Auction”, came to an end yesterday with the winning $4000 bid coming from renowned Victoria artist Anne Hansen, whose nickname “Oystercatcher Girl” is derived from her famous paintings of oystercatchers and other birds (see https://oystercatchergirl.blogspot.com/ ).  Hansen won the naming rights to a newly discovered species of lichen from BC’s inland rainforest, which she plans to name in honour of her late husband. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org), a new non-profit organization working to protect BC’s old-growth forests and forestry jobs.

In June, Trevor Goward, curator of lichens at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia, loaned a new species of lichen he discovered, a Bryoria or “horsehair” lichen (see a photo at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/news-pic.php?ID=233 Note: media are free to reprint the photo), as a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

According to scientific protocol, the right to give a new species its scientific name goes to the person who scientifically describes it. However, the online auction has earned the highest bidder, Anne Hansen, the right to name the new lichen species. The scientific species name could last centuries or millenia, enshrined in the scientific nomenclature as a legacy for environmentally-concerned individuals long after they have passed away.

The new lichen’s scientific name will be Bryoria kockiana, as Hansen has decided to name the species after her late husband, Henry Kock, horticulturist and author. Kock, who passed away in 2005, was the public face of the Arboretum at the University of Guelph for 20 years and author of Growing Trees from Seed.

Hansen states:

“Henry was a tireless champion of biodiversity and inconspicuous species like toads, lichens and sedges.  Organic gardening became his life’s work after an unfortunate early vocational exposure to pesticides.  Many native gardens throughout Ontario owe their existence to Henry’s classes at the Arboretum and his travelling presentations to nature clubs. His own garden, which he transformed from lawn to forest, was dubbed the Hotel of the Trees…I feel like I got a bargain! 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.  Naming a species after a beloved forest defender is my idea of a fabulous solstice celebration.  I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard!”

See Hansen’s full statement at:  https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=342

Trevor Goward states:

“I’m delighted if the loan of one my undescribed lichens has contributed to such an effective grassroots organization as the Ancient Forest Alliance – a group definitely to watch!…In the event, we couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate benefactor for this new initiative. I salute B.C. Nature artist Anne Hansen for her efforts to make a positive difference in the world through her beautiful art work and now, in addition, through her contribution to the Ancient Forest Alliance. It gives…me real pleasure to name this new hair lichen in honour of Anne’s late husband, the horticulturist and author Henry Kock, whose work as a conservationist really deserves to be recognized. From this day forward, Henry’s name will be remembered in Bryoria kockiana – a name I expect to last as long as our civilization does.”

See Goward’s full statement at:  https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=343

Conservationists are hoping that this first trial run of “taxonomic tithing” in Canada will inspire similar taxonomic tithing initiatives for conservation organizations working to protect diverse ecosystems and endangered species. “Taxonomic tithing” is a term coined by Goward whereby a biological researcher who describes a new species donates its naming rights for conservation purposes (see  https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/tithe/home).

“We’re most grateful to Trevor Goward and Anne Hansen for this enormous boost of funding for our small organization,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “We’ve run this organization on a shoestring with very limited resources, so this will be an infusion of funding that will allow us to build some key pieces of the campaign in 2012 to save the last of BC’s endangered old-growth forests.”

B.C.’s old-growth forests are home to numerous species at risk that require old-growth forests to flourish, including mountain caribou, spotted owls, marbled murrelets, Vaux’s swifts, and many species of lichens. After old-growth forests are logged, they are replaced by tree plantations that lack the structural diversity and ecological characteristics that support these unique species. These plantations are to be re-logged every 30 to 80 years before they can become old-growth forests again. About 80% or more of the old-growth forests in southern British Columbia have already been logged and converted to second-growth tree plantations, farmland, and cities. See spectacular images of Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests at:   https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

Lichens are small organisms often mistaken for plants, but perhaps better thought of as cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is a new British Columbian environmental organization established in 2010 working to protect BC’s remaining old-growth forests and to ensure sustainable forestry jobs. It works through research and public education to promote the establishment of new laws and policies to protect old-growth forests.

Goward also donated the naming rights of another new species of lichen to The Land Conservancy, a major land trust organization in BC working to purchase private lands across the province, including parts of the Clearwater Valley to make a wildlife corridor near Wells Gray Provincial Park. The winning bid for The Land Conservancy’s lichen came in at a whopping $17,900 last night. Visit https://www.printablesme.com for your bed bath and beyond coupons

Naming rights for this new species of Bryoria or “Horsehair Lichen”

“New Species Conservation Auction” – Unique Conservation Fundraiser to help counter the Biodiversity Crisis, closes this Thursday

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­­­For Immediate Release
Monday, December 12, 2011

“New Species Conservation Auction” – Unique Conservation Fundraiser to help counter the Biodiversity Crisis, closes this Thursday

Conservationists hope trial run of “taxonomic tithing” in British Columbia to protect old-growth forests becomes a model for protecting diverse ecosystems around the world

A public auction for the naming rights to a recently discovered species of lichen in British Columbia’s  temperate rainforest will close at 3 pm EST on Thursday, December 15.  The new species was discovered by botanical researcher Trevor Goward, the curator of lichens at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia. Funds from the highest bidder will benefit a new B.C. conservation organization, the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.staging.ancientforestalliance.org) working to protect the province’s endangered old-growth forests.

Conservationists are hoping that this first trial run of “taxonomic tithing” in British Columbia will provide a successful model that inspires similar taxonomic tithing initiatives around the world for conservation organizations working to protect diverse ecosystems and endangered species. “Taxonomic tithing” is a term coined by Goward whereby a biological researcher who describes a new species donates its naming rights for conservation purposes (see  https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/tithe/home).

“Thousands of new species are described every year,” notes Goward.  “If our auction is successful, it could inspire taxonomists around the world to get involved in auctions of this kind: a whole new niche for conservation fundraising! My dream is that Canadians will lead the way on this initiative!”

According to scientific protocol, the right to give a new species its scientific name goes to the person who scientifically describes it. However, an online auction will earn the highest bidder the right to name the new lichen species – whether after loved ones, themselves, or whomever they choose. Groups can also pool their money to make bids. The scientific species name could last centuries, enshrined in the scientific nomenclature as a legacy for environmentally-concerned individuals long after they have passed away. Recently a new species of lichen was named by a researcher after US President Barack Obama. The small lichen is named Caloplaca obamae (see https://www.livescience.com/3524-newfound-lichen-species-named-obama.html).

“We’re excited about this taxonomic tithing trial run in B.C. not just because it could greatly help fund our campaign to protect endangered old-growth forests here, but also because it could be applied just about everywhere else,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “Taxonomic tithing holds great potential as a creative conservation fundraiser:  it connects species to efforts to protect the ecosystems in which they were discovered; it focuses media and public attention on the need to protect these ecosystems; and it’s a creative way to raise greatly needed funds for conservation groups across the planet as new species are still being found almost everywhere on Earth.”

Currently, about 18,000 species of animals and plants are scientifically described each year on Earth, with less than two million species having been described in total. The latest research estimates the number of species on Earth at about 8.7 million species (see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110823180459.htm), meaning most have not even been discovered, described and named. Ecologists believe the Earth is now experiencing its sixth mass extinction event, the greatest extinction crisis since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago – only this time the extinction crisis is due to one species, humans. Scientists estimate that up to half of the Earth’s species could go extinct this century due to human modification of the environment – logging, climate change, exotic species introductions, agriculture, urbanization, mining, etc.

B.C.’s old-growth forests are home to numerous species at risk that require old-growth forests to flourish, including mountain caribou, spotted owls, marbled murrelets, Vaux’s swifts, and many species of lichens. After old-growth forests are logged, they are replaced by tree plantations that lack the structural diversity and ecological characteristics that support these unique species. These plantations are to be re-logged every 30 to 80 years before they can become old-growth forests again. About 80% or more of the old-growth forests in southern British Columbia have already been logged and converted to second-growth tree plantations, farmland, and cities. See spectacular images of Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests at:   https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

“With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to the Earth and at the same time honour a loved one by naming a new species after them,” states Goward. “It has been almost three centuries since Carolus Linnaeus invented the modern biological classification system; and even now the names of the people he honoured in the name of various plants and animals are still with us. With any luck, your name will last at least as long as our civilization exists.”

Lichens are small organisms often mistaken for plants, but perhaps better thought of as cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/.

The lichen being donated to the Ancient Forest Alliance is a “Horsehair Lichen” or Bryoria, which forms elegant black tresses on the branches of trees. “These are the lichens that provide winter food for the Mountain Caribou, British Columbia’s version of Santa’s reindeer,” says Goward. “Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear; and where would Santa Clause be then?”

The Ancient Forest Alliance is a new British Columbian environmental organization established in 2010 working to protect BC’s remaining old-growth forests and to ensure sustainable forestry jobs. It works through research and public education to promote the establishment of new laws and policies to protect old-growth forests. Goward is also donating the naming rights of another new species of lichen to The Land Conservancy, a conservation organization working to purchase parts of the Clearwater Valley to make a wildlife corridor near Wells Gray Provincial Park in British Columbia.

To make a bid, visit the Ancient Forest Alliance’s website www.staging.ancientforestalliance.org or go directly to Charity Buzz at  https://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/272986 or phone 250-896-4007. The auction closes on December 15 at 3 pm EST.

  

Hul'qumi'num Chief Treaty Negotiator Robert Morales and and HTG Executive Assistant Rosanne Daniels under the mossy maples.

Media Release: Canada’s Mossiest Rainforest

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Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.staging.ancientforestalliance.org) on Vancouver Island have come across what they are calling “Canada’s Mossiest Rainforest”, a forest of enormous old-growth bigleaf maple trees – some up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide – completely draped in gardens of mosses and ferns. Unlike other spotlighted old-growth forests in British Columbia that have all been “coniferous” or needle-leaf trees (fir, cedar, spruce, etc.), this is an old-growth “deciduous” or broad-leaf forest. The “Mossy Maple Rainforest” is found near Cowichan Lake on southern Vancouver Island in Hul’qumi’num First Nations territory.

See an incredible photogallery of the “Mossy Maple Rainforest” at:

https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-sub.php?sID=2

Within the “Mossy Maple Rainforest” are two different old-growth stands several hundred meters apart, surrounded by second-growth maples, red alders and conifers:

– The “Mossy Maple Grove” is the densest and mossiest old-growth stand with specimens up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) in trunk diameter. It is also nicknamed “Fangorn Forest” in reference to the ancient deciduous forest in the second “Lord of the Rings” series. It is located on private forest lands that until recently were owned by TimberWest until the company sold its private lands last summer to two public sector pension funds, the BC Investment Management Corporation (BCIMC) and the federal Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB), without consulting the local Hul’qumi’num First Nations. The luxuriant understory is filled with a large diversity of herbaceous plants, and is frequented by elk and bears.

– The “Mossy Maple Gallery” is a more open, park-like stand of scattered giant maples and some enormous cedars and Douglas firs growing on Crown lands north of Mossy Maple Grove. Giant Devils Club with their brutally spiny stems, and legions of elk, deer, wolves, cougars, and black bears make this area home as evidence by their abundant tracks and scat. This area is known to local hunters.

“This type of forest is new to most conservationists and to the general public, few of whom are aware of old-growth deciduous rainforests. It’s sort of like spotting a woolly rhinocerous among a regular herd of endangered rhinos,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “Bigleaf maples support First Nations cultures, abundant wildlife, salmon streams, BC maple syrup, and important scenery. The last ancient stands must be protected.”

The Mossy Maple Rainforest is in the unceded territory of the Cowichan people who are part of the Hul’qumi’num First Nations group ( https://www.hulquminum.bc.ca/).

“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,” stated Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group chief negotiator Robert Morales. “The Hul’qumi’num land use plan calls for the protection of the last old-growth remnants in our territories. The BC 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% of our territories to private interests through the E&N land grant over a century ago.”

Currently there are no known logging plans – nor protective designations – for either of the two old-growth maple groves. Old-growth bigleaf maples are highly sought after by the logging industry for their extremely strong, dense wood, and most old-growth stands are now long gone.

“Bigleaf 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,” stated Arvid Charlie, an elder with the Cowichan Tribes with an extensive knowledge of the traditional uses of plants and resources.

In recent years farmers and woodlot owners on Vancouver Island have begun tapping bigleaf maples for their syrup, which is milder and different in flavour than syrup from sugar maples in eastern North America. Currently demand for BC maple syrup far surpasses the supply.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests through a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy and through implementing First Nations land use plans, and to ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests. To protect old-growth bigleaf maples on private lands, the government needs to allocate funds to systematically buy up these stands for conservation purposes.

“These ancient maple rainforests are some 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 bigleaf maple rainforests of the Hoh Valley in Washington’s Olympic National Park do,” stated TJ Watt, AFA co-founder and photographer.

BACKGROUND INFO on BIGLEAF MAPLES

Bigleaf or broadleaf maples (Acer macrophyllum) can grow to 3 meters (10 feet) in trunk diameter and to over 300 years old, making them among the largest deciduous trees in the temperate world. Most old-growth bigleaf maple stands have been logged over the past century, along with the original giant Sitka spruce that they often grow with along rivers and streams.

Bigleaf maples are naturally found along the lower elevation rivers and streams of Vancouver Island and the southern Mainland coast, in many cases on private lands. They naturally grow on old river terraces along streams and rivers and other naturally disturbed sites in wet areas and are sometimes succeeded after several centuries by taller conifers – Sitka spruce, redcedar, western hemlock, Douglas fir.

In recent years, some Vancouver Island farms and woodlots, particularly in the Cowichan and Comox Valleys, have begun tapping bigleaf maple stands to make BC maple syrup, which could become an economic incentive to keep bigleaf maples groves standing. Currently the demand for bigleaf maple syrup far outstrips the supply.

Logging of conifers can assist the spread of second-growth bigleaf maples up slopes and mountainsides in areas where they would normally be at a competitive disadvantage to conifers. Old-growth bigleaf maples tend to be found at lower elevations on flatter land and near streams and rivers where they established themselves long before European colonists arrived.

Bigleaf maple wood is heavily sought after for making furniture and musical instruments, and bigleaf maple commercial logging and even tree poaching is a common problem in BC.

Their bark is ideal for the growth of diverse mosses, licorice ferns, and lobaria (“lettuce”) lichens, harbouring more “epiphytes” (plants growing on trees) than any other trees in North America.

Over time soil accumulates underneath the decomposing mosses and ferns on the tree branches. Researchers in the 1980’s discovered that the maples actually send aerial roots from their branches into these canopy soils to tap the extra nutrients!

Bigleaf maple groves often have rich soils that support a luxuriant and diverse understory layer of herbaceous plants and shrubs, giving some stands a semi-tropical feel in summer time.

The edible young maples, shrubs and diversity of herbaceous plants often attract elk and deer, and hence their predators, cougars and wolves.

Bigleaf maples provide shade, woody debris, leaf litter nutrients, and stream bank stabilization that help to support salmon and trout.

Bigleaf maple wood was used by coastal Salish people to make paddles, spindle whorls, bowls, spoons, hairpins, combs, adze handles, cedar bark shredders, and fish lures (Plant Technology of First Peoples in British Columbia, Dr. Nancy Turner, 1998) while the large variety of understory plants are used for numerous medicines and foods.

Columbia Blacktail Deer

Old-Growth Logging of Forest Lands Formerly Intended for Protection on Vancouver Island Threatens Deer Winter Range and Endangered Goshawk Habitat

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Conservationists are calling on the BC government to protect a 500 hectare tract of old-growth forest near Port Alberni that biologists have classified as both critical habitat for wintering deer and nesting endangered Queen Charlotte goshawks. Conservationists would like the BC government to purchase the forest on private land on McLaughlin Ridge from Island Timberlands.

See new photos of the endangered McLaughlin Ridge at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/mclaughlin-ridge/

See a new Youtube clip about McLaughlin Ridge at:  https://youtu.be/XsZiO1wAKwE

The land was formerly intended for protection as an Ungulate Winter Range (UWR) for black-tailed deer and as a Wildlife Habitat Area (WHA) for the endangered goshawk until 2004 when the BC Liberal government removed 88,000 hectares of land now owned by Island Timberlands from their Tree Farm Licenses (TFL’s), thus removing most existing environmental protections and exempting the area from other planned protections on those lands. Island Timberlands began logging the 500 hectare tract of old-growth forest a year ago, clearcutting 100 hectares or more from both sides of the Grove, while about 400 hectares of the core area still remains – for now.

“McLaughlin Ridge is a provincially-significant site and easily the most important deer winter range and goshawk habitat on southern Vancouver Island – to let the whole thing get logged would be a travesty,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Port Alberni-based Friends of McLaughlin Ridge. “We will be asking Island Timberlands to show good will to the community by putting their logging plans for McLaughlin Ridge on hold until funds are put forward to protect this critical old-growth habitat.”

“Here’s another major example of the serious havoc wreaked by the BC government’s TFL-removal scheme. The BC government created this mess by largely deregulating these forest lands – now they need to clean it up by protecting the old-growth forests, deer winter range, and endangered species habitat previously protected or intended for protection, including purchasing McLaughlin Ridge for protection,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder.

The removal of Weyerhaeuser’s private forest lands (later sold to Island Timberlands) from TFL’s 44 and 39 in 2004 also led to the removal of numerous environmental protections and exempted the area from other planned environmental protections on 88,000 hectares of deregulated land on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and Haida Gwaii. This included thousands of hectares of planned protection for endangered species (Wildlife Habitat Areas), deer and elk winter habitat (Ungulate Winter Ranges), and old-growth forests (Old-Growth Management Areas), as well as riparian forest protections for salmon and trout, controls on the rate of logging, prohibitions against real estate development, and provincial restrictions on raw log exports.

McLaughlin Ridge is considered by government biologists to be one of the most ecologically significant sites in BC of extremely high conservation value. It is a south-facing (ie. warmer, sunnier) stand of extremely rare old-growth coastal Douglas firs – 99% of which have been logged – and hemlocks covered in lichens that serve as food for deer in times of heavy winter snowfalls and provides them shelter against the elements. Vancouver Island’s black-tailed deer population declined from over 200,000 animals in 1980, to an estimated 55,000 animals by the turn of this century in large part due to the destruction of their mid-elevation old-growth wintering habitat.

“Take note these are not deer that live at sea level where there is rarely snow or urban deer that feed on your flowers and garden veggies. These are high altitude deer populations that live in mountainous regions of Vancouver Island where there is a massive amount of snow in winter – like over 10 feet deep in places – and no veggie gardens to eat,” stated Wu. “The deer rely on old-growth forests like McLaughlin Ridge for winter shelter and lichens for food, which are lacking in the clearcuts and second-growth stands. Fewer deer mean less food for wolves, cougars, bears, First Nations, and non-First Nations hunters.”

The Queen Charlotte goshawk subspecies found on Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii is a bird of prey that is “red”-listed (ie. endangered) by the provincial government. The McLaughlin Ridge is considered to be one of the finest sites for nesting and foraging Queen Charlotte goshawks left. Queen Charlotte goshawks live in coastal old-growth and mature forests, feeding on squirrels and birds. Only a few hundred nesting pairs are known to exist. Several nests have been found on McLaughlin Ridge in years past. Canada’s inadequate Species At Risk Act (SARA) requires that the provincial government develop a recovery plan to rebuild the populations of endangered species, which the province has not completed yet for the Queen Charlotte goshawk. An effective recovery plan should surely require the protection of the goshawk’s most important old-growth habitat, including the McLaughlin Ridge.

The original logging rights on public (Crown) lands on Vancouver Island were granted to logging companies for free earlier last century on condition that the companies include their private forest lands within the regulatory designation known as Tree Farm Licenses in order to control the rate of cut, ensure wood went to local mills, and ensure environmental standards. Allowing companies to keep their Crown land logging rights while removing their private lands from the TFL’s (thus allowing them to log forests previously protected or intended for protection, to export raw logs, and to sell-off forest lands to developers) has been considered by many to be a breach of the public interest.

The Hupacasath First Nation band in Port Alberni won a Supreme Court ruling in 2008 stating that the provincial government failed to consult and accommodate their interests in allowing the removal of 77,000 hectares of TFL 44 lands. The band is currently in negotiations with the BC government to seek redress for this failure.

“99% of the coastal old-growth Douglas firs have already been logged on Vancouver Island – it should be a no-brainer now that no more should be logged,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder and photographer. “Why are we being forced to fight over the last 1% still? This is nuts!”

Conservationists call for the Protection of Endangered Ecosystems on Department of National Defence (DND) Lands

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Ancient Forest Alliance worries about potential sell-off of unused DND lands for real estate development and calls for federal government to let Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada, the provinces, regional districts, and First Nations protect unused DND lands.

The potential sell-off of Department of National Defence (DND) lands reported by the Ottawa Citizen and the Canadian media recently is causing concern for conservationists who fear some of Canada’s most endangered ecosystems could be jeopardized by real estate development.

Instead the Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the federal government to protect the endangered ecosystems and exceptional natural areas on unused DND lands through:

– the Canadian Wildlife Service as new National Wildlife Areas

– Parks Canada as new National Parks

– transferring unused DND lands to the provinces for new Provincial Parks, Provincial Conservancies (in BC), or Ecological Reserves

– to Regional Districts in BC as new Regional Parks

– to First Nations as treaty settlement lands under agreement to become new First Nations protected areas where subsistence, cultural, and spiritual uses will continue

The Department of National Defence controls 800 parcels of federal public lands totalling 2.25 million hectares (about two-thirds the size of Vancouver Island) in Canada for military use, although vast areas are unused and remain in excellent ecological condition. From endangered coastal old-growth forests to prairie grasslands to Carolinian deciduous forests in southern Ontario to large intact boreal forests, Canada’s least disturbed ecosystems are often in the unused portions of the DND’s lands.

“It might be surprising to most Canadians, but in many cases the ecosystems in the best ecological condition in Canada are on DND lands. Much DND land is unused, and in other areas the occasional bullets and bombs still often have lower impacts than the large-scale industrial resource extraction, clearcutting, strip-mining, oil drilling, agriculture, and suburban sprawl that impact other lands in Canada,” stated Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “We’re demanding that the federal government show environmental leadership by protecting the endangered ecosystems and key natural areas on DND lands through new National and Provincial Parks, National Wildlife Areas, and Ecological Reserves rather than selling them off for suburban sprawl.”

In the Capital Regional District around Victoria, the DND controls over 4000 hectares of public lands, which include the very finest old-growth Coastal Douglas Fir forests and Garry oak ecosystems left in Canada in places like Rocky Point and Mary Hill in Metchosin, and DND lands behind the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre, adjacent to Fort Rodd National Historic Park, and at Royal Roads University (which leases their lands from the DND) in Colwood.

“40% of the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem is now underneath the pavement of Victoria, Nanaimo, and Duncan, or converted to agriculture, and 99% of its old-growth forests are already logged. The finest remnants of the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem are here on the DND lands,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer. “It’s a first rate national conservation priority to get them protected. It’s time for everyone to speak up!”
 

This label will be coming to a liquor store near you next month

Ancient Forest Alliance wins Benefit Brew competition of Phillips Beer

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For Immediate Release
October 1, 2011

Ancient Forest Alliance wins “Benefit Brew” competition of Phillips Beer

The Ancient Forest Alliance is the winner of an online voting competition to become the recipient of a new benefit microbrew beer made by local Victoria company, Phillips Beer. “Ancient Brown Ale” will be the new microbrew beer to be released next month into select private liquor stores, with full sales proceeds going to the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“We’re very pleased to win the Benefit Brew competition. $10,000 is huge for us, equivalent to about 25% of our funding this year. We’re a new organization with very limited funds, but we’ve been working extremely hard to save ancient forests – and we promise proceeds from the Benefit Brew will go far with us,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner. “I’m also sure that among the Ancient Forest Alliance’s beer drinking supporters there are a lot of Phillips Beer fans, which is a local company that is renowned for its tastiness and quality.”

The Benefit Brew competition was narrowed down to 10 applicant charities and non-profit organizations on September 9, followed by a two-week online vote on Phillips Beer’s website which ended on September 23. It’s expected the sales proceeds will total up to $10,000 for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is a Victoria-based, registered charitable environmental organization founded in 2010, working to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. The organization organizes hikes, slideshows, rallies, and public education campaigns, calling on the BC government to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry. The organization’s campaign to protect the Avatar Grove near the town of Port Renfrew has had a particularly high profile with the public and in the media. See the organization’s spectacular photo and video gallery here.

Phillips Beer was founded by Victoria brewer, Matthew Phillips, over a decade ago. From the company’s humble beginnings, originally financed on Phillip’s multiple credit cards with deliveries made from his 1985 Subaru station wagon, Phillips Beer has become recognized as one of the foremost brewing companies in Canada, winning numerous provincial and national awards for their diverse, quality microbrews.

“The Ancient Forest Alliance is grateful for the great amount of support we’ve received from the small business community of Victoria and Vancouver Island. Phillips Beer’s Benefit Brew will be a major infusion of support that will help us build a stellar ancient forest campaign this fall,” stated Ken Wu, co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Not only will the funds be extremely helpful, but the beautiful and informative labels on the bottles themselves will help to raise awareness about the need to protect old-growth forests! We want to thank thousands of our supporters for voting for us and Phillips Beer for supporting the non-profit and charitable community of BC.”