AFA is Now a Registered Charity!

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We’re elated to announce that Ancient Forest Alliance is officially a registered charity!

When Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) was originally founded as a non-profit society in 2010 by Ken Wu and TJ Watt, we chose to forgo charitable status as laws at the time would have constrained our freedom of speech and critical advocacy work, limiting the effectiveness of the organization.

However, changes in legislation since then mean that we’re now able to become a charity while remaining as effective as before, except with the added bonus that we can now issue tax receipts for donations!

We know that every dollar counts these days and we hope that this new milestone will make it easier to support us as we lead the push to protect endangered old-growth forests in BC. We thank the many thousands of you who have supported us right from our humble beginnings.

Make a tax-deductible donation today!

And, thanks to 13 years of relentless pressure fueled by your generous support, our campaign efforts are paying off.

The BC government is currently developing a number of new policies that have the potential to vastly expand the protection of old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems in BC. Many of these, such as the commitment to create a conservation financing fund, are a direct result of AFA’s work.

It’s still possible that the BC government’s promised paradigm shift could fall short of its full potential though as some old-school timber bureaucrats and politicians try to constrain change in favour of the destructive status quo. That is why we still need your help at this most critical time.

Still needed from the province is funding for First Nations’ sustainable economic development linked to new protected areas, developing protection targets for all ecosystems, and maintaining strong protected areas standards.

These measures will ensure that the most endangered ecosystems are protected while sustainable, conservation-based economies are established that support prosperous communities and vibrant cultures.

We will get there with your support!

All Donations Made in 2023 are Tax Deductible!

Our charitable status (charity #82123 3657 RR0001) came into effect this summer, however, all donations made to AFA in 2023 will receive a tax deduction receipt, so if you donated from January 1, 2023 onward, your receipts will be consolidated and distributed by early 2024. In order to stay as paper-free as possible, please ensure we have your updated email address. Please note that AFA merchandise is not tax-deductible.

Ancient Forest Alliance relies on the generosity of our community in order to carry out our most important work and we’re incredibly grateful to the broad base of individuals, businesses, and organizations who have chosen to contribute to the cause since our inception.

From securing the protection of Avatar Grove in 2012 to bringing about the major changes in forest policy and protection we see on the horizon, we’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve together. Thank you most gratefully.

For the forests,

The Ancient Forest Alliance team

(left to right) Nadia Sheptycki, Joan Varley, TJ Watt, Kristen Bounds, Coral Forbes, and Ian Thomas

The Independent: Rare tree hunter in Canada finds ‘freak of nature’ 1,000-year-old cedar

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October 8, 2023
By Josh Marcus
The Independent UK

BC government has vowed to protect old-growth forests, but logging is on the rise

An explorer who focuses on location and preserving old-growth trees has encountered what is one of the oldest old-growth trees ever documented in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Last summer, TJ Watt was bushwhacking through a remote forest in Flores Island, part of Clayoquot Sound, in the territory of the Ahousaht First Nation off the west coast of Vancouver Island, when he came upon a magnificent site.

A massive red cedar appeared, whose trunk seemed to grow wider the farther up it went.

“It was incredible to stand before it,” he told The Washington Post. “I’d describe it as a freak of nature because it actually gets wider as it gets taller. As I looked up at it, I felt a sense of awe and wonder.”

“I’ve found thousands and thousands of trees, and I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of photos of old-growth forests,” he added. “But I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one.”

Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt beside the gargantuan redcedar on the day he first found it.

After happening upon the tree, he consulted with members of the Ahousaht, who have lived in the territory for thousands of years. As part of the nation’s plans to protect over 80 per cent of their Clayoquot Sound lands as Ahousaht Cultural and Natural Areas, the Ahousaht will protect the giant tree Mr Watt experienced.

The western red cedar measures 151 feet tall and 17 feet wide, and is thought to be over 1,000 years old. Its exact location is being kept secret to protect its sensitive habitat from overuse.

“People would have seen this tree for hundreds of years — my people would have interacted with it for as long as it’s been here,” Tyson Atleo, a representative of the nation, told the Post. “Today we covet these large trees because there are so few of them left.”

Old-growth forests are key reserves of biodiversity and resilience in the face of the climate crisis.

In 2020, the government of British Columbia embarked on what it promised would be a paradigm-shifting new approach to managing these vital forests.

The following year, it consulted with 204 First Nations on whether they supported deferring logging of these forests for the next two years while officials formulated “a new approach to sustainable forest management that prioritizes ecosystem health and community resiliency.”

Critics argue the effort to preserve the forests hasn’t been adequately funded and implemented thus far.

Outlets like Mongabay have documented clear-cutting on Vancouver Island forests slated for protection.

According to analysis of public data, logging of these forests actually increased between 2020 and 2021 by around 13 per cent, CBC reports.

“These are the most resilient forests we have left with a fighting chance to withstand climate change like drought, fire and flooding,” Sierra Club’s Jens Wieting told the outlet. “If we continue to nibble away at the last old-growth we will be left defenceless.”

Read the original article.

The Washington Post: ‘Freak of nature’ tree is the find of a lifetime for forest explorer

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October 8, 2023
By Cathy Free
The Washington Post – Read the original article.

Tree Hunter TJ Watt found the cedar in British Columbia standing 151 feet tall and about 17 feet in diameter

TJ Watt has spent half his life as a forest explorer, a self-described “tree hunter” in British Columbia. He wades deep into endangered forests to find pristine towering trees that are hundreds of years old and massively wide but have never been photographed or documented.

He draws attention to the enormous old-growth trees to show the importance of saving the natural wonders from logging.

The day he approached a gargantuan western red cedar he’d been trekking with a friend for several hours in a remote area on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound in Ahousaht territory off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

“After bush whacking for a while in the woods, we started to see some really large cedars, then suddenly, up ahead, we could see the looming trunk of this giant tree,” he said. “It was so large that at first, we almost thought we were looking at two trees.”

As he drew closer to the tree, Watt said he was overcome with disbelief: He was dwarfed by a tree standing 151 feet tall and 17 and a half feet in diameter.

The tree, believed to be more than 1,000 years old, was the find of a lifetime. It’s one of the largest old-growth cedars ever documented in British Columbia, Watt said.

“I feel humbled every time I think about it,” said Watt, 39. “I nicknamed it ‘The Wall,’ because it can only be described as a literal wall of wood.”

An aerial view over the old-growth forests of Flores Island in Ahousaht territory, Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia. (TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance)

He said this was a first in his 20 years of tree hunting.

“I’ve found thousands and thousands of trees, and I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of photos of old-growth forests,” he said. “But I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one.”

Watt felt humbled by the discovery.

“It was incredible to stand before it,” he said. “I’d describe it as a freak of nature because it actually gets wider as it gets taller. As I looked up at it, I felt a sense of awe and wonder.”

He found the tree in June 2022, but he didn’t alert the public about it until the end of July this year because he wanted to make sure the tree was thoroughly documented, and also wanted input from Ahousaht First Nation members who have lived in the territory for thousands of years.

“It was decided that we should keep the tree’s location a secret because these are sensitive areas, and everything could get pretty trampled if word got out where to find it,” Watt said.

The Ahousaht First Nation has about 2,400 members, with 1,100 living on Flores Island, said Tyson Atleo, a hereditary representative for the nation, someone who is a caretaker of the nation’s cultural traditions and history.

Atleo said he didn’t know about the colossal cedar until Watt took him to see it.

Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt and Ahousaht hereditary representative Tyson Atleo with the ancient western red cedar tree that is among the largest ever documented in British Columbia. (TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance)

“The tree leaves you with a sense of wonder about the natural world and the universe,” said Atleo, 37. “There is so much about that tree and the life it upholds that we will never understand. When you look at it, it hits you like that.”

He said the Ahousaht people would have admired it over the ages.

“People would have seen this tree for hundreds of years — my people would have interacted with it for as long as it’s been here,” he said. “Today we covet these large trees because there are so few of them left.”

Canada’s largest tree, widely recognized as the Cheewhat Giant, was first documented in 1988 measuring about 19 feet in diameter and 182 feet in height, according to the Ancient Forest Alliance. It’s located in the protected Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

While it is protected, about 80% of the original, productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have been logged, satellite photos show, according to the Ancient Forest Alliance.

Too many old-growth trees have been cut down for timber rather than being recognized for their value providing habitat for wildlife and storing vast amounts of carbon, Atleo said. An old-growth forest is typically described as a forest containing trees that have developed over hundreds of years, with unique characteristics that are not found in younger forests.

British Columbia has a plan to protect its old-growth forests, but many conservationists have found government implementation of the plan to be slow, said Watt.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” he said.

Atleo said his nation now operates an eco-cultural tour company to showcase some of the territory’s old-growth trees (the tree found by Watt won’t be included), and his community is working to get financing to save more ancient forests. The nation has protected 80 percent of its Clayoquot Sound lands on Vancouver Island’s western coast, and the nation will now protect the large tree that Watt documented, he said.

Tyson Atleo is a hereditary representative of the Ahousaht First Nation. (TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance)

“We need to acknowledge that our community is reliant on some [logging] employment in the forest sector, but we are envisioning doing it in a better and new way,” Atleo said. “TJ’s work is helping raise public awareness and inspiring people to feel connected to these forests.”

Watt said he undertook the Flores Island tree-hunting expedition as an explorer for National Geographic and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, through a grant provided by the Trebek Initiative, a group that funds photographers and others who contribute to Canadian wildlife projects.

Watt shares photos of the giant trees on social media and his Ancient Forest Alliance website.

“I was excited to post the photos because I knew people would be as blown away by the tree as I was,” he said, adding that he also shared some of his first photos of the enormous cedar with the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

These 2020 photos show TJ Watt with a giant red cedar tree before and after it was cut down by loggers in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht First Nation territory on southern Vancouver Island. The tree was close to 150 feet tall and 10 feet wide in diameter, Watt said, adding that he hopes to save other old-growth trees from the same fate through his conservation photography work. (TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance)

Watt lives in Victoria, where he grew up in the small town of Metchosin, climbing trees and playing in the woods, he said.

“It was a lush place with forested hillsides — you had the fog rolling through the forest, sunbeams coming in and moss hanging off everything,” he said.

Watt honed his photography skills, he said, and in 2010 he co-founded the Ancient Forest Alliance nonprofit to both document the trees and try to preserve them.

He said he’s now in the woods every chance he gets to explore and photograph some of the most rugged landscapes in British Columbia.

“I look at maps and study satellite imagery of forests to pick an area, then I pack my bags with cameras and communication gear and that’s when the fun starts,” Watt said.

He is often exploring for days at a time and usually takes somebody with him.

“We’ll drive on the back roads, then get out and walk into the woods, and that’s the magic of it,” he said.

TJ Watt grew up with forests in his backyard, and he now spends most of his time documenting old-growth trees. (TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance)

Although he’d visited Flores Island before, he said he was looking forward to exploring more of the island’s 96 square miles of forests. He’s still stunned by what he found there.

“I know I’m not the first person to see this big tree — the Ahousaht people have inhabited this area since time immemorial,” he said. “But I feel honored in modern times to be the first to notice and document it.”

San Jo’s Smiley, Canada’s Largest Sitka Spruce Tree

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Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree stretches toward the night sky as a full moon rises over northern Vancouver Island. Located near the San Josef River outside of Holberg in Quatsino territory, the San Josef Spruce, aka “San Jo’s Smiley,” measures 255 ft (77.8 m) tall and 14.3 ft (4.36 m) in diameter. Standing at the base of the tree is akin to being a bug beside the foot of a giant elephant (Ian pictured here is 6’4 for scale). Apart from the region’s high annual rainfall and relatively mild year-round climate, the tree in part owes its monumental size to the limestone or ‘karst’ substrate it grows on. Karst ecosystems are commonly more productive than similar forest sites growing on different kinds of bedrock (such as granite), due to the well-drained soils and nutrient cycling associated with limestone.

Sadly, the forests that would have once supported the growth of the very biggest trees in the country have now been reduced to single-digit percentage points after more than a century of overcutting, with the fragile karst forests being especially hard-hit. This particular tree grows on private lands managed by Western Forest Products and currently has no legal protection (though the company has a voluntary big tree policy that should leave it standing). A significant portion of the surrounding old-growth forest was cut in 2012 though, fragmenting what would have been one of the most impressive remaining stands of monumental Sitka spruce in BC. And given that these trees and forests can take upwards of a millennium or more to grow, we get one chance and one chance only to keep them standing. The small town of Port Renfrew on the coast of southern Vancouver Island is a great example of how big tree tourism can majorly bolster the local economy, providing a path for other coastal communities to follow.

So, take a moment to reflect on the significance of our forest friends and send an instant message calling for their protection.

Photo of Canada’s largest spruce tree by AFA’s TJ Watt, using a Canon 5D MKIV, with a 15mm fisheye, 30-second exposure, headlamp + moonlight, and a little bit of magic.

A man in a blue jacket who is 6'4" stands beside a towering Sitka spruce. The spruce is lit up by a torch at its base and stands against a background of other dark green trees and a magnificent starry sky.

AFA’s Ian Thomas (who is 6’4″!) stands beside Canada’s largest Sitka spruce — the San Josef Spruce.

Thank You to Our Wholesalers!

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As a business, there are a number of ways to support Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), one of which is selling our merchandise. Thank you to these local businesses who sell everything from cards and stickers, to totes and shirts!

We’re grateful to Russell Books, The Papery, Bolen Books, and Patagonia in Victoria, and Banyen Books and Sound in Vancouver!

And next time you’re around any of these locations be sure to pop in, check out their store, and scoop up some AFA gear.

If you’re a business owner and are interested in becoming a wholesaler and selling AFA merchandise, please reach out to us at info@16.52.162.165 or (250) 896-4007.

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

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For Immediate Release
Monday, Sept 11th, 2023

Today on the three-year anniversary of the BC government’s September 2020 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, the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) and Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are urging the BC government to hurry up and close the gaps in old-growth protection in BC.

The McKelvie Valley near Tahsis in Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory where 2231 hectares (1852 hectares of old-growth) are now deferred from logging.

“The BC government under Premier Eby has taken some great steps forward in policy commitments: pledging to double protected areas from 15% to 30% of BC’s land area over the next seven years (it took over a century to protect the first 15%), bring major conservation financing support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and to target protection for biodiverse areas, which would naturally include the productive old-growth forests with big trees. Premier Eby started off strong nine months ago with these commitments, and now he needs to pick it up and close the remaining gaps to secure old-growth logging deferrals in all of the most at-risk old-growth forests and to ensure that funding and protection go to the right areas,” stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director.

Those gaps include:

  • Providing critical funding to First Nations to offset any lost revenues (from their own logging operations and from revenue-sharing agreements with companies) to enable them to implement old-growth logging deferrals with the province in the most at-risk old-growth stands. The lack of funding from the province for a “solutions space” related to old-growth logging deferrals for First Nations has so far been their greatest failure in the development of effective old-growth policies in BC. This lack of funding has resulted in less than half of the 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk unprotected old-growth stands recommended for deferral by the government’s own Technical Advisory Panel being accepted for deferral by First Nations.
  • Ensuring that the forthcoming conservation financing mechanism and the BC Nature Fund (a potential $1.2 billion in federal-provincial funding) and BC Old-Growth Fund ($164 of federal-provincial funding) currently under development and negotiation (between the federal, provincial, and First Nations governments) includes economic funding for Indigenous-owned sustainable businesses (eg. in tourism, sustainable seafood, clean energy, non-timber forest products like wild mushrooms, value-added second-growth forestry, etc) linked to new protected areas, as alternatives to economic dependency on old-growth timber revenues and jobs. So far the BC government has indicated they will fund the needs of First Nations regarding community capacity (eg. land-use planning), stewardship jobs, data collection, monitoring, and enforcement regarding old-growth protection, but has not said yet whether the funding will support Indigenous sustainable businesses that are necessary to provide the long-term revenues to permanently supplant income from old-growth logging — the fundamental barrier for many First Nations protecting old-growth forests.
  • Ensuring “ecosystem-based protection targets” for all types of ecosystems (not just an overall target of 30% by 2030 for BC’s total land area) that includes forest productivity distinctions (ie. the sites that produce large old-growth trees like well-drained valley-bottoms and lower elevations, versus small old-growth trees, like in bogs, on steep rock faces and at subalpine landscapes). Without ecosystem-based protection targets that include forest productivity distinctions, the BC government will continue to protect the sparsely treed alpine and subalpine ecosystems, while the larger old-growth stands continue to fall.
  • Closing the protection gaps in the “forest reserve system”, that is, remove the ability of the Ministry of Forests to readily shift boundaries of and/or log in Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s) and Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHA’s) and other such regulatory conservation designations, that, along with legislated protected areas such as Provincial Conservancies, are vital for the forthcoming protection of old-growth forests.
  • Allowing for the addition of unmapped old-growth stands into deferral consideration that meet the Technical Advisory Panel’s criteria for at-risk old-growth, but were missed in the initial mapping exercise due to data errors. Currently, misidentified stands can be removed from deferral if they do not meet the criteria, but there is no mechanism to identify stands that were missed — a blatant and outrageous bias toward the old-growth logging industry. The actual deferral of any stands will always be contingent on First Nations acceptance.
  • Include greater information transparency on where, how much, and in what categories old-growth logging deferrals and cutblocks are taking place.

Old-growth recommended for priority deferral in the Klanawa Valley currently under thread from road construction and logging.

In BC, successive court rulings regarding the government authority of First Nations on land use changes in their territory mean that the provincial government cannot unilaterally “just protect the old-growth forests” without the support of the local First Nations. First Nations have to consent to old-growth forest protection in their unceded territories if the province is going to establish any legislated protected areas. The province has also taken a position that First Nations support is necessary for any temporary deferrals on logging in their territories. Our organizations have heard from several First Nations that this is an important step to creating the goodwill needed for future negotiations over subsequent potential legislated protected areas in their territories.

However, many or most First Nations have an economic dependency on timber industry jobs and revenues in their territories, including in old-growth logging — a dependency facilitated and fostered by successive BC governments. Hence, government and private funding is vital to help finance First Nations’ sustainable economic alternatives (in industries such as eco-tourism, sustainable seafood, clean energy, non-timber forest products, etc.) to this old-growth logging dependency. Such “conservation financing” initiatives have resulted in the protection of major tracts of old-growth forests in the Great Bear Rainforest (Central and North Coast), Haida Gwaii, and increasingly in Clayoquot Sound. Recently alongside our partners, the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation and the Endangered Ecosyems Alliance, the Ancient Forest Alliance has begun working to bring conservation financing directly to the Kanaka Bar Indian Band and other First Nations to support their Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) initiatives.

Under relentless pressure from the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance, Ancient Forest Alliance, and various First Nations, the BC government since David Eby came to power has agreed to develop a provincial conservation financing mechanism to fund Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), and several major funding agreements are currently being negotiated with the federal government and First Nations that will result in likely several billion dollars or more to expand the protected areas system in BC soon.

“It’s critical that the BC government expedites conservation funding — both in the short and long term — for the deferral and protection of old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems,” notes TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance. “In the immediate term, ‘solution space’ funding is needed to help facilitate logging deferrals by ensuring that First Nations communities aren’t forced to choose between setting aside at-risk old growth and generating revenue for their communities. In the longer term, large-scale funding is necessary to support First Nations’ sustainable economic development, stewardship jobs, and creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) linked to protecting the most at-risk old-growth forests and ecosystems. This can include new land-use planning, Indigenous guardians programs, and, most importantly, the development of sustainable economic alternatives to old-growth logging such as tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood harvesting, non-timber forest products, and value-added, second-growth forestry. We continue to find scores of old-growth stumps from freshly fallen trees, some measuring more than 10ft/3m wide, on our field expeditions, underscoring the permanent impacts these funding gaps have on the landscape.”

AFA’s TJ Watt sits a top a giant redcedar stump in a recommended deferral area logged by Teal Jones in the Caycuse Valley, Ditidaht territory.

Eby has also committed to doubling the protected areas system from 15% now to 30% by 2030 of the province’s land area, that is, to do in seven years what took about 100 years to do to reach the first 15%. He has also committed to targeting ‘biodiverse areas’ for protection, launching a Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework that potentially could include the office of a Chief Ecologist who develops science-based protection targets for all ecosystems with Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees.

A month ago, EEA developed a small video series outlining the situation with old-growth forests in BC:

  1. Summary of BC’s Old-Growth Policy Development — Overview in early August 2023
  2. Why is Conservation Financing Vital? Video #1 and Video #2.
  3. Why are Ecosystem-Based Protection Targets Vital?

Many of these gaps in old-growth protection are elaborated upon in the EEA’s submission to the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework.

“The public is losing patience — and rightly so — over a lack of on-the-ground protection thus far, and the only way to speed this up is for the BC government to provide the enabling conditions — the critical funding for deferrals and protected areas, and the needed policy framework including ecosystem-based targets — to enable First Nations whose unceded lands these are to move forward more readily with logging deferrals and protected areas initiatives,” stated Ken Wu, EEA executive director.

Building a Broad-Based Movement: Thank You to These Non-Traditional Allies!

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Building a broad-based movement to protect old-growth forests by engaging non-traditional allies, such as businesses, unions, outdoor recreation groups, chambers of commerce, tourism associations, faith groups, and more, is the hallmark of our work at Ancient Forest Alliance. Of these diverse non-traditional allies, there are a number who’ve recently shown their support with generous gifts to AFA, and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank them!

Thank you to:

Living Forest Campground and Burnaby Central Secondary School’s WISH Club for their generous donations to the old-growth campaign.

Botanical Bliss for their monthly contributions to the AFA since 2022.

Ethos Imagery, who donated for the second time this year in their mission to allocate 1% of all sales to AFA.

And Dirty Freehub podcast, whose donation acted as a thank you to members of AFA and their assistance with Dirty Freehub’s READ & RIDE program for Big Lonely Doug, working to inspire cyclists to get involved with the campaign to protect ancient forests in BC. Check out Dirty Freehub’s podcast featuring episodes with AFA’s TJ Watt and Endangered Ecosystem Alliance’s Ken Wu!

Are you a business owner or a member of an organization and curious about joining this ever-growing movement and taking action for old-growth forests? Check out our Building Alliances page and have your business/organization sign a resolution or contact info@16.52.162.165 for more information!

Massive red cedar resembling rock wall discovered in Ahousaht territory

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August 3, 2023
Ha-Shilth-Sa
By Karly Blats

Ahousaht, BC
It was like nothing Ahousaht’s Tyson Atleo had ever seen before.

Giving the illusion of a rock wall, a massive western red cedar tree in Ahousaht territory near Tofino in Clayoquot Sound has been named one of Canada’s most impressive trees by conservationists on Vancouver Island.

Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) photographer and campaigner TJ Watt identified the remotely located tree on Flores Island while exploring with a friend.

The huge tree measures more than 17 feet (five metres) wide near its base, and its trunk gets even wider going upwards more than dozens of meters. According to a press release from the AFA, the tree stands 151 feet (46 metres) tall and is assumed to be well over a thousand years old given its size.

According to the AFA, the tree could have the largest or near largest timber volume of any tree in Canada for about the first 50 feet of its trunk—the part you see and experience from the ground.

“After nearly two decades of photographing, exploring and searching for big trees in old-growth forests across BC, no tree has blown me away more than this one,” said Watt in a press release. “It’s a literal wall of wood. Your brain can’t compute the scale when you stand below it. The first time I arrived, from a distance I thought it had to be two trees because of how wide the trunk and limbs are. It defies words. As an avid big tree hunter, it’s a highlight of my life to find something as spectacular as this.”

According to the BC Big Tree Registry, the tree would currently rank as the sixth largest known red cedar in the country. The registry’s largest red cedar is the Cheewhat Giant, which is located in Ditidaht territory southeast of Nitinat Lake.

The record-sized tree on Flores Island has so far garnered the nickname ‘The Wall’, or ‘ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis’, meaning ‘big red cedar’ in the Nuu-chah-nulth language. It grows on unprotected Crown/public lands in the unceded territory of the Ahousaht First Nation.

No logging plans exist for the area and the Ahousaht First Nation’s Land Use Vision, currently in the late stages of negotiations with the BC government, includes the protection of the forest where this tree is found.

“It was unlike anything I had ever seen before,” said Ahousaht First Nation Hereditary Representative Tyson Atleo. “When TJ first contacted me to go visit the tree, I was assuming it was like many I had experienced across different territories on the Island including in Ahousaht – but this one was obviously quite special. It really does look like a rock wall when you’re hiking up towards it and then you actually realize it’s a tree. It’s just breathtaking.”

Old-growth forests are culturally significant to the Ahousaht people, Atleo said, because they provide the nation with everything they need to survive, from shelter to transportation to clothing.

Aerial view over the ancient forests of Flores Island in Ahousaht territory in Clayoquot Sound, BC.

“The forest provides for every aspect of our wellbeing in addition to being home to our food sources,” Atleo said. “Everything that we need to survive is there, and not only physical survival but it’s a place representative of natural law. So it’s also our place for spirituality, for learning everything we need to know about being good humans on this planet.”

The Ahousaht First Nation’s Land Use Vision calls for the protection of 80 per cent of Ahousaht territory through the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), encompassing most of the old-growth forests in their territory, to be legislated as Provincial Conservancies by the province.

“The 2017 Land Use Vision that we’re working on implementing builds off thousands of years of stewardship and more recently decade’s worth of efforts by some of our late leaders and current leaders,” Atleo Said. “Efforts that include stopping clear-cut harvesting in Ahousaht territories.”

Atleo said the large red cedar is currently within the boundaries of a tree farm license, and that the objective is to transition that tree farm license into new protected areas and a new forest tenure for Ahousaht.

The Ahousaht First Nation is keeping the location of the tree private at this time, but Atleo said they may take visitors there in the future.

See the original article here.

1,000 year old tree found on Flores Island to be protected

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July 28, 2023
CHEK News
By Kori Sidaway

Watch CHEK’s video coverage here.

Nearly two decades into his hunt for B.C.’s biggest trees, it takes a lot to blow away Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and National Geographic explorer TJ Watt.

A tree on Flores Island has done just that. Five metres (17 feet) wide at its base, even wider as it goes up, reaching more than 150 feet tall, the western red cedar is likely more than 1,000 years old.

“When I first saw it I thought, initially, it was a rock wall,” said Watt.

It’s a sprawling fortress of tree limbs which Watt has dubbed, “Canada’s most impressive tree.”

“It’s just the most mind-blowing thing I’ve seen in nature,” said Watt.

Though currently unprotected, Ahousaht First Nation plans to protect this tree and 80 per cent of other trees in their territory.

“I believe firmly that we do need to protect from ourselves, from extraction and exploitation,” said Tyson Atleo with Ahousaht First Nation. “We need to put a pause on harvesting. We need to put a pause on exploitation so we can re-calibrate that relation. I know we can and Ahousaht is leading that way right now.”

Ahousaht’s approach for a successful conservation-based economy is one that Atleo believes other First Nations could model after.

The next step as Watt sees it, is the province working to ensure it’s an easy process to get there

“[B.C. Premier] David Eby needs to step in to make sure ministries are doing everything in their power to reduce barriers to old growth conservation, stop heel-dragging on conservation financing, provide funding to support old growth deferrals and ensure the oldest and best trees in B.C. Are being protected,” said Watt.

Protected, so generations to come can stand under or see, something that’s been here for more than a millennium. The biggest, Watt is sure, is still yet to come.

“Where that tree might be, who knows, so the hunt continues,” said Watt.

View the original article here.

 

BC big tree hunter documents grandest old-growth tree he’s ever seen

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July 29, 2023
CBC News
By Chad Pawson

TJ Watt says Western red cedar near Tofino is a 46-metre-tall leviathan of a biodiverse ecosystem.

For 20 years, Victoria’s TJ Watt, 39, has trekked through the province’s vast and verdant landscape seeking out giant, old trees to document them and make a case for their conservation.

Now, at a time when exceptionally large trees have dwindled due to logging, he’s recorded what he calls the tree of his lifetime.

“No tree has blown me away more than this one,” he said. “It literally is a wall of wood.”

Watt photographed the tree, a Western red cedar, in 2022 on Flores Island in fabled Clayoquot Sound on Ahousaht First Nations territory while on a field trip as a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society explorer. (The species is also spelled redcedar because it’s not deemed to be a true cedar.)

It’s estimated to be 46 metres tall and five metres wide at its base. The old-growth tree, part of forests that store carbon and support many species of plants and animals, is estimated to be at least 1,000 years old, according to Watt.

Its dimensions put it at the very top of the biggest and oldest trees in the province and across Canada.

“Unlike most other trees, it actually gets wider as it goes up,” said Watt. “It’s really the highlight of my life to come across something this spectacular.”

Watt and the Ahousaht First Nation have now revealed images and details of the tree to the public — although keeping its location secret — to show it as an example of the importance of the province meeting commitments to overhaul forestry to balance harvesting with ecological values.

“It’s representative of a healthy, intact, coastal, temperate ecosystem,” said Tyson Atleo, 36, a hereditary representative of the Ahousaht First Nation. “We don’t see a lot of trees that size anymore.”

The tree has been nicknamed “The Wall” or “ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis,” meaning “big redcedar” in the Nuu-chah-nulth language. It’s in a type of forest that’s in danger of disappearing from BC’s landscape due to a history of intense logging.

“Forests like this have just been reduced to a tiny, tiny fraction of their original extent today,” said Watt. “We need to be doing everything we can in our power to ensure that they remain standing, especially given the climate and biodiversity crisis.”

The tree is not currently in danger of being logged as it’s in an area where old-growth logging is being deferred as part of work between First Nations and the province to protect old-growth forests at risk of permanent biodiversity loss.

Aerial view over the ancient forests of Flores Island in Ahousaht territory in Clayoquot Sound, BC.

The Ahousaht First Nation, whose territory spans Clayoquot Sound, a globally recognized biosphere reserve, is at the forefront of work to keep significant trees in biodiverse forests standing while finding other ways, such as tourism, to replace lost revenues.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to share … who we are as the Ahousaht, what our values and principles are, but also help [visitors] experience the magic of our territories as is exemplified by this incredible tree,” said Atleo.

Ahous Adventures, an Ahousaht-owned and operated eco-cultural tour company in Tofino, won’t be taking visitors to the tree in order to keep the area protected but does other tours to show off the region’s other impressive trees.

‘An ecosystem unto itself’

Nations like the Ahousaht are hoping for more conservation funding from the province to be able to develop alternative economic opportunities in their territories that will allow for trees like ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis, to remain standing.

In order to raise funds on its own, the Ahousaht has established a voluntary stewardship fee for its territories, much like BC Parks’ day-use passes.

Meanwhile, others also making careers of trying to locate and document massive old-growth trees that still exist, say coming across trees like The Wall is akin to a religious experience.

“You feel so small, and you realize it is so incredibly important what these things are. They represent so much more than just a tree. It’s an ecosystem unto itself,” said Colin Spratt, a conservation photographer who takes people on tours of Vancouver’s Stanley Park to show off old-growth trees there.

View the original article here.