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Bell, who has previously emphasized that B.C. has ample protection for old-growth trees, said the change is driven by the public mood.

Super, natural British Columbia is awesome, with more than 4,373 known forms of life. At more than double the size of the state of California, B.C. is breathtaking.

"Certainly we have been hearing the message for some time from different organizations that we should be considering some tools, perhaps new tools that we could use when particularly unique trees are identified. They may be individual tees or small areas like the Avatar Grove that provide incremental value over and above the timber resource value," Bell said.

Voluntary efforts by forest companies answerable to shareholders aren't enough, but the report is a start toward real protection for trees with historic significance every bit as real as ancient ruins.

Forests Minister Pat Bell’s statements comes on the heels of a new Forest Practices Board report released on Thursday that calls on the BC government and industry to seek “creative ways” to save ancient trees, that the land-use policy framework exists for the BC government to readily protect the Avatar Grove

The forest practices board made a recommendation that BC should find creative ways to protect monumental trees and ancient forest stands. This is the government's watchdog. They appointed the body to review forestry in BC and now their own watchdog is saying we need to move farther to save our old growth forests

This report brings the welcome conclusions that there is 'strong public interest' in protecting our extremely rare, monumental stands of coastal ancient forests like the Avatar Grove, and that the BC government has the legal mechanisms to quickly protect them – if they have the political will

"This complaint highlights the strong public interest in seeing more ancient trees and forest stands preserved to live out their natural lives and functions, and managed as a social, economic and ecological asset to the public and surrounding communities," said board chair Al Gorley.

The minister's acknowledgment that more needs to be done to protect monumental trees is not exactly a revelation. Environmental groups, particularly the Ancient Forest Alliance and the Wilderness Committee have been pushing for it for years.