Ancient Forest Alliance's Ken Wu stands alongside a 14ft wide redcedar stump from an old-growth tree cut down on Edinburgh Mountain near Port Renfrew.
May 4 2017

Time Lapse Forest Cover Map Shows the Progressive Demise of Vancouver Island’s Old-Growth Forests over the past Century

For Immediate Release VICTORIA – A time lapse map of Vancouver Island has been released showing the demise of the Island’s old-growth forests over a century of industrial logging. Well over 90% of the original, high productivity, low elevation old-growth forests on Vancouver Island with the biggest trees have already been logged, according to the data analysis, while over 75% of the moderate to high productivity old-growth forests (ie. the commercially valuable old-growth forests) have been logged. Conservation groups, businesses and chambers of commerce, forestry workers and unions, naturalist clubs, city and town councils across BC, and many First Nations are calling on the provincial government to expand protection for BC’s endangered old-growth forests. Instead, a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry would support and enhance employment for BC’s forestry workers. See the time-lapse map sequence here: https://youtu.be/c9hTF2oxLjo

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Ancient Forest Alliance Campaigner & Photographer
Apr 27 2017

Logging Battle Looms as New Road is Pushed into one of Greater Vancouver’s last Lowland Old-Growth Forests – Echo Lake east of Mission

For Immediate Release Conservationists and local landowners are reacting with alarm as a new logging road by C&H Forest Products has progressed over a kilometer into the contentious old-growth and second-growth forests north of Echo Lake as a precursor to logging three planned cutblocks there. Echo Lake includes some of the last unprotected lowland old-growth forests in the Lower Mainland. It is renowned as the world’s largest night-roosting site for bald eagles, with hundreds of eagles roosting in the old-growth trees around the lake on some nights during the fall salmon run, and is home to much wildlife and several species at risk. The area is also part of a Community Drinking Watershed for local residents and is in the traditional, unceded territory of the Sts’ailes First Nation band, who run the Sasquatch EcoLodge and whose members run eagle watching tours nearby. See a recent drone video taken at Echo Lake: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfLbzncf9Us And the original campaign video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPstV14oZ6s

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Ancient Forest Alliance's campaigner TJ Watt and executive director Ken Wu and Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC) president Arnold Bercov with a giant cedar tree at the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew
Mar 1 2017

Conservationists applaud Old-Growth Protection Resolution by major BC forestry union

Victoria - Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are applauding today’s resolution by the Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), representing thousands of forestry workers across BC, calling on the BC government to protect Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests, while ensuring a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry, an end to raw log exports, and support for First Nations community development. The major forestry union joins thousands of businesses (BC Chamber of Commerce), mayors and city councils (Union of BC Municipalities), First Nations, and conservation groups across BC in calling on the provincial government to increase protection for BC’s endangered old-growth forests. See the resolution at: www.ppwc.ca/ppwc-statement-old-growth-logging-vancouver-island/

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Dec 8 2016

New Drone Video of the Endangered Echo Lake Ancient Forest released

Today the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) has released a new HD video that includes spectacular drone footage in the endangered old-growth forests around Echo Lake, between Mission and Agassiz, east of Vancouver.

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A section of boardwalk damaged in the Lower Grove by a falling hemlock tree.
Oct 28 2016

Avatar Grove Boardwalk damaged by windstorm – Completion launch delayed until Spring

Damage to the famed Avatar Grove Boardwalk in the Lower Grove due to the hurricane-force winds during the October 15 storm has delayed the completion launch of the Avatar Grove Boardwalk until next spring. The Ancient Forest Alliance had literally just completed the boardwalk a week before the storm, after 3 years of hard work involving a hundred volunteers, and was about to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to announce its completion – but now the launch will be delayed until the boardwalk can be repaired and the trail cleared, which will take several months due to the wet winter weather. The winter storm resulted in at least 30 trees crashing down over the Avatar Grove Trail in the Lower Grove, damaging sections of the boardwalk. Luckily none of the grove’s famed giant redcedars or Douglas-firs fell during the storm.

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Metchosin Councillor Andy Mackinnon (left) with AFA's TJ Watt and Ken Wu at Big Lonely Doug.
Sep 28 2016

UBCM Passes Old-Growth Protection Resolution

Conservationists are celebrating as the members of the Union of BC Municipalities, representing cities, towns, and regional district councils across the province, has passed a resolution with a substantial majority today at their AGM calling on the BC government to amend the 1994 Vancouver Island Land Use Plan to protect the Island’s remaining old-growth forests, which have been decimated from a century of industrial logging.

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Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer & Campaigner TJ Watt stands atop an 8ft wide old-growth redcedar stump in a recent clearcut by Teal-Jones on Edinburgh Mt near Port Renfrew.
Sep 22 2016

Old-Growth Clearcutting Fragments “Big Lonely Doug’s Mountain” as Calls for Protection Expand during National Forest Week and before UBCM Annual General Meeting

New clearcuts and roads are fragmenting Edinburgh Mountain, one of the largest contiguous blocks of old-growth forest left on southern Vancouver Island, home to the spectacular Eden Grove ancient forest (aka “Christy Clark Grove”) and Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree. In addition, the mountainside above Eden Grove and Big Lonely Doug are threatened with two new planned clearcuts. Conservationists are renewing their call for the provincial government to protect Vancouver Island's old-growth forests during National Forest Week (Sept.18 to 24) and before the Union of BC Municipalities AGM (Sept.26 to 30) next week. 

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A screenshot from the new Climbing Big Lonely Doug: Round 2 drone video filmed by the Ancient Forest Alliance.
Aug 14 2016

New Spectacular Drone Video of Tree Climbers Scaling Canada’s 2nd Largest Douglas-fir Tree, “Big Lonely Doug”

Today the Ancient Forest Alliance is releasing a spectacular new HD drone video of tree climbers scaling the second largest known Douglas-fir tree in Canada, “Big Lonely Doug”, in a clearcut on Vancouver Island. Remotely-piloted drones equipped with high definition video cameras are a new tool being used by conservationists like the AFA to monitor and document endangered ecosystems such as Vancouver Island’s old-growth temperate rainforests.

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A rare photo of a cougar captured in the endangered Walbran Valley through the front window of AFA photographer TJ Watt's car.
Aug 4 2016

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

This past weekend in the Walbran Valley’s endangered old-growth forest, conservation photographer TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance captured a photograph and video of a rare cougar encounter – two cougars in fact, a large and smaller one, likely a mother with her juvenile offspring. In the brief encounter, the large adult cougar casually bounded across the road, pausing in one instant long enough for Watt to get a somewhat blurry photo through his front window, while the juvenile meandered for about 20 seconds along the road, allowing Watt to capture several seconds of shaky video.

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Jul 7 2016

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

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

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