Ancient Forest Alliance

VIDEO: Fight to save local landmark going international

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It’s the best, worst-kept secret on Vancouver Island.

A 100-hectare forest wonderland: pristine, untouched and about a thousand years old.

But there are real and imminent fears this space may not be long for this world.

It is de facto owned by logging company Teal Jones.

The firm hasn’t applied to the provincial government for a logging permit yet, but activists with the Ancient Forest Alliance claims the company is making plans to cut.

The alliance, local government, and tourism associations have been asking the BC government to protect this area, so far without success.

But is the fight to preserve a local landmark about to get international profile?

That’s the plan according to cast of “The Buried Life,” an MTV show about tying up life’s loose ends, featuring four guys from Vancouver Island.

The show’s producers are promising a flash-mob protest in Toronto on Friday, near another national landmark – the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame.

More Avatar Grove videos:

Thumbs up/ thumbs down

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To the provincial government, which says enough old-growth trees have been protected in the area between Sooke and Port Renfrew. That does not bode well for the trees in an area near Port Renfrew, nicknamed Avatar Grove, which are under threat of a harvest. The Forests Ministry says 24 per cent of the grove will be protected, and that is enough.

"Canada's gnarliest tree" grows in Avatar Grove

Avatar Grove, the Cathedral Grove of Port Renfrew, under increasing threat due to BC Government intransigence

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The BC Ministry of Forests and Range recent rejection of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce’s and the Sooke Regional Tourism Association’s request that the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew be spared from logging (see https://www.vancouversun.com/travel/chops+down+protect+Avatar+Grove/3361175/story.html) has the Ancient Forest Alliance preparing for a ramped-up battle. The organization already has over 2000 members on its “Save the Avatar Grove” Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=480609145246#!/group.php?gid=480609145246&v=wall) and 7000 members on its main Facebook Groups, and will be working to ramp-up membership in the Avatar Grove Group in preparation for a future “Ancient Forest Week of Action” of protests, events, and rallies (dates to be announced) at various BC government offices in numerous communities.

“The Avatar Grove is like the Cathedral Grove of Port Renfrew. It is the most easily accessible of the monumental, endangered old-growth stands on the South Island. If the Avatar Grove falls, Port Renfrew and southern Vancouver Island won’t get another chance like this for another thousand years,” stated Brendan Harry, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner. “The BC government could quickly protect the Avatar Grove by enacting a Land Use Order that would make the area off limits to logging. The existing Old-Growth Management Area covers only a small fraction of what is a small area to begin with, and it excludes the vast majority of the largest trees.”

The Avatar Grove grows in the Gordon River Valley about a 15 minute drive from Port Renfrew, only a couple minutes past the end of a paved road, on gentle terrain. It is full of large numbers of giant, ancient redcedars and some Douglas firs, including “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree”, an old-growth redcedar with an enormous, contorted burl. The area is within Tree Farm License 46 and is threatened with being logged by the Teal-Jones Group. The Minister of Forests and Range states that one-fourth of the Grove is protected in an Old-Growth Management Area. The Grove enjoys widespread support, including from local Liberal MP Keith Martin (who is proposing the area’s inclusion in his proposed expansion of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve), local NDP MLA John Horgan, and many businesses and community groups in Port Renfrew and Sooke.

See photos of the Avatar Grove (photos can be reprinted with credit to TJ Watt) at:
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=480609145246#!/group.php?gid=480609145246&v=photos

and in the new photogallery (along with other big tree photos from southern Vancouver Island) at:
https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/

“Why would the BC Liberal government jeopardize millions of dollars in potential tourism revenues and long-term local jobs for a few weeks of logging work for maybe half a dozen people? The vast majority of the forests on the South Island are second-growth now, they should be sustainably logging and value-adding them instead of trying to cut down the last tiny remnants of old-growth here,” stated Harry.

On Vancouver Island, there were over 2.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests at the time of European colonization – only 600,000 hectares remain unlogged today. About 200,000 hectares of this has been protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas, while another 400,000 hectares remain unprotected. The BC government recently announced the protection of 39,000 hectares of old-growth forests on northern and central Vancouver Island, which the Ancient Forest Alliance is commending them for – however, the protections do not extend to southern Vancouver Island and still exclude 90% of the endangered ancient forests.

In percentages, about 75% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive ancient forests have been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow, and 87% of the productive ancient forests on the South Island south of Port Alberni. Less than 10% of the original, productive ancient forests on Vancouver Island are protected.

Old-growth forests are important for tourism, wildlife, the climate, clean water, and many First Nations cultures.

“We have so little old-growth forests left. The BC government needs to undertake a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will protect our remaining endangered ancient forests across Vancouver Island and BC, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and end the export of raw logs to foreign mills.”

A waterfall cascades through the old-growth redcedars in the endagered Avatar Grove.

B.C. chops down bid to protect ‘Avatar Grove’

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Big trees would bring more money into Sooke and Port Renfrew than logging a unique, old-growth grove, community groups have told the provincial government.

But the province is refusing to budge from its position that sufficient old growth has already been protected in that area.

The Sooke Regional Tourism Association and Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce wrote to the province asking that the area just outside Port Renfrew, nicknamed Avatar Grove, should be saved and that the Teal-Jones Group, which has cutting rights, should be offered a replacement piece of Crown land.

“Tourism would contribute more value and benefit many more people than cutting old-growth sites located in accessible tourism development areas,” tourism association president Neil Flynn said in a letter to Forests Minister Pat Bell.

But the reply from the ministry says 24 per cent of the grove is in an old-growth management area, meaning no cutting is permitted.

“I think it is important to mention that not all old-growth forests can be protected. A certain amount must be harvested to provide a viable and sustainable wood supply to the forest industry, which is an important component of the provincial economy,” says the letter from the ministry’s field operations staff.

Teal-Jones has not yet applied for a cutting permit in Avatar Grove, but a land swap would not be possible as the entire land base of TFL 46 is already under tenure, said company spokesman John Pichugan.

An example of the Coastal Douglas fir ecosystem as seen in Francis King regional park near Victoria

BC Government Commended for Protecting 1600 Hectares of Extremely Endangered Coastal Douglas Fir Ecosystem

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The Ancient Forest Alliance is thanking the Ministry of Forests and Range, the Integrated Land Management Bureau, and Forest Minister Pat Bell for protecting 1600 hectares of public (Crown) lands within the Coastal Douglas Fir biogeoclimatic zone on southeastern Vancouver Island.

The five parcels of Crown lands between Nanaimo and Courtenay have been made off limits to logging through new Land Use Orders. These new additions have increased protection in the Coastal Douglas Fir zone from 7600 hectares to 9200 hectares.

“This is a major leap forward in protection for one of Canada’s most endangered ecosystems, much of which today lies underneath the cities of Victoria, Nanaimo, and Duncan. The protected areas include pockets of old-growth Douglas firs and a large array of rare and sensitive habitats,“ stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance campaign director. “Today we’re giving great thanks to the BC government for starting to rekindle some forest protection policies on Vancouver Island. We hope they will continue along this trajectory, because so much more needs protecting and so little time remains in an area under intense development pressure.“

The Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem is considered to be among the top four most endangered ecosystems in Canada, along with the Tallgrass Prairie in Manitoba, the Carolinian Forest in southern Ontario, and the “Pocket Desert“ near Osoyoos in southern BC. Only 1% of the original old-growth forests remain in the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem, and about 50% of the entire ecosystem has already been completely eliminated by agriculture and urbanization. The ecosystem is characterized by its mild, Mediterranean-like climate, trees like the Douglas fir, Garry oak and arbutus, and large numbers of species at risk such as the alligator lizard and sharp-tailed snake.

Less than 10% of the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem lies on public (Crown) lands while over 90% is privately owned. In order to establish an ecologically viable protected areas network in the Coastal Douglas Fir zone, the Ancient Forest Alliance advocates the protection of all of the Crown land parcels within the zone and the establishment of a joint provincial-federal parkland acquisition fund of at least $40 million/year ($20 million from each level of government) to purchase private lands for the establishment of new protected areas.

“While the BC government has taken a great step forward in moving to protect this ecosystem, they are taking a destructive stance in regards to the Nanoose Bay old-growth forest. They seriously need to change their direction about the site – there needs to be an immediate ban on all logging of the last 1% of old-growth forest in the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem, it really should be a no-brainer,“ stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer.

The Nanoose Bay old-growth forest, or cutblock DL-33, is a 60 hectare tract of old-growth and second-growth Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem imminently threatened by logging. Local citizens are working hard to save the stand, but the Ministry of Forests and Range currently insists that the logging will take place.

Example of spectacular temperate rainforest on Vancouver Island contrasted with nearby logging of old-growth forest.

Ancient Forest Alliance commends the BC Government and Forests Minister Pat Bell for taking a step forward to protect some of Vancouver Island’s Old-Growth Forests

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Ancient Forest Alliance commends the BC Government and Forests Minister Pat Bell for taking a step forward to protect some of Vancouver Island’s Old-Growth Forests
Legislated End to Logging of Endangered Old-Growth Forests Still Needed

Yesterday the BC government announced the protection of 38,000 hectares of old-growth forests on central and northern Vancouver Island in a series of Old-Growth Management Areas.  On Vancouver Island there are 400,000 hectares of productive old-growth forests outside of protected areas, with another 200,000 hectares in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas.

On Vancouver Island there was once 2.3 million hectares of productive old-growth forests at the time of European colonization, of which 1.7 million hectares have now been logged (leaving 600,000 hectares of productive old-growth). In addition, there are 700,000 hectares of low productivity or marginal old-growth forests of stunted, smaller trees in bogs, subalpine landscapes, and on rocky slopes, most of which still remain.

“The Ancient Forest Alliance commends the BC government and Forest Minister Pat Bell for taking an important step forward to protect some of the endangered old-growth forests on central and northern Vancouver Island,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance campaign director. “The new protections encompass up to 10% of the remaining, endangered ancient forests on Vancouver Island – we encourage them to save the other 90%, because so little remains now. They also need to extend protections to southern Vancouver Island in the Upper Walbran Valley, San Juan Valley, Gordon Valley, Avatar Grove, and other areas. Most importantly, they need to create a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will enact timelines to ban or phase-out old-growth logging in regions where the old-growth forests are now scarce, such as Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and throughout southern BC.”

Old-growth forests are important for wildlife, tourism, the climate, and many First Nations cultures.

The Ancient Forest Alliance has created a SPECTACULAR, new photogallery of Canada’s largest trees and stumps on Vancouver Island taken by Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner TJ Watt at:  https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/

Old-Growth Management Areas are often considered to be “softer” protective designations because they can be created or removed by Cabinet (unlike provincial parks, conservancies, or ecological reserves that are created by the Legislative Assembly), they do not show up on any major maps (and therefore are not in the public’s consciousness should the Cabinet decide to eliminate any of them), and sometimes include marginal or low productivity stunted forests that can’t be logged. However, many of them also protect important tracts of big tree ancient forests.

“How many jurisdictions on Earth have trees that are 1000 years old and that can grow as wide as a living room and as tall as a skyscraper? We’ve already lost 75% of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forests, and only about 8% of what was once here are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. While this is an important step forward which we thank the BC government for, they need to protect the last remnants of Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests because so little remains, and ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests which now constitute the vast majority of the landscapes in southern BC,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.

Overview map of new old-growth management areas recently created on the central and north coast of Vancouver Island.

Old-growth protection boosted

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The province is almost doubling the amount of Vancouver Island old-growth forest protected from logging and development.

More than 38,700 hectares on northern and north-central Vancouver Island will be designated as old-growth management areas, meaning the trees cannot be cut.

“We have been working to identify critical areas that represent the ecosystem and these are some pretty significant areas,” said Forests Minister Pat Bell.

“We felt it was important to expand old-growth representation in the area.”

The protected patches are north of Campbell River and Sayward and west of Port Hardy and Port McNeill.

The increase will mean 83,600 hectares in old-growth management areas on Vancouver Island, in addition to 438,000 hectares of park and protected areas, some of which include old-growth.

Simultaneously, the province has brought in a land-use order to protect almost 1,600 hectares of endangered coastal Douglas fir ecosystem, but has not included a parcel near Nanoose Bay that residents and local governments have fought to save.

The Snaw-naw-as First Nation has been issued a forest licence to log a 64-hectare block of coastal Douglas fir which is home to endangered plants and animals.

Bell said he revisited the decision because of the controversy. “I have had another good look at District Lot 33 because there were some mixed views on whether it was particularly high-value coastal Douglas fir and the conclusion was that it wasn’t,” he said.

Environmentalists like the additional protection, but say it is not enough and want to see more old-growth protection on southern Vancouver Island.

There are concerns about the government’s piecemeal approach to old-growth and fears that many of the areas protected are swamp or high-altitude scrub instead of big, old trees in valley bottoms.

There are also worries that old-growth management areas are set by regulation, rather than legislation, so can be removed at the whim of government.

“It’s definitely a step forward, but it’s not nearly enough and I would encourage them to go a lot further,” said Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

Out of the original 2.3 million hectares of old-growth on Vancouver Island, 1.7 million hectares have already been logged and much remaining old-growth is stunted alpine trees or bogs, Wu said. “We want an overarching policy to protect what remains.”

Less than one per cent of the remaining coastal Douglas fir ecosystem is protected and the Nanoose parcel must be included, Wu said.

“There’s no room to leave pieces out,” he said.

Tria Donaldson of Western Canada Wilderness Committee said there are many examples of government scrapping or moving old-growth management zones. Also, because allowable cut in the area remains the same, logging often becomes more intense in adjacent areas, she said.

“Old-growth is one of the key draws on Vancouver Island, but old-growth management zones don’t offer long-term protection. We are asking for no old-growth logging, full stop. So, this is far away from what we need.”

Environmentalist Vicky Husband said she doubts whether the new management zones are large, prime areas of old tree forest.

“Are they adjacent to intact or protected areas, are they south-facing slopes [that are] so important for wildlife and winter range?” she asked.

“So little is left and almost no prime valley bottom habitat.”

Bell said it is positive that old-growth management areas are flexible as it allows government to respond to changing situations.

The newly protected areas represent a mixture of land types, Bell said.

“This is not just about big trees. It’s about good representation of an ecosystem,” he said.

Article by Dr. Keith Martin

Saving Our Forest Giants

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Saving our Forest Giants

 

Port Renfrew is the furthest outpost of my riding. It is a land of extraordinary beauty with mountains that hug a rugged coastline, rivers that run through deep valleys, and a land that harbours significant biodiversity. This area also contains some of the oldest and most majestic living things on our planet. In the area of the Gordon River Valley and further north in the upper Walbran Valley are some of the largest trees on the planet. A few weeks ago, I went into this remote area with a small team from the Ancient Forest Alliance to document these giant Western Red Cedars, Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir that jut out of the surrounding valley floors like spires from cathedrals.

These trees are very important as they harbour a wide variety of plants and animals when alive, and when they fall, they also provide homes for everything from black bear to fungi. As standing behemoths or fallen giants, they are integral parts of their ecosystems.

However, my trip was also a race against time. For as you read this article, these giants of the forest are being cut down. As I stood in the middle of a clear-cut, I could hear the sharp crack as another tree was being cut down. Less than one kilometer away, I could see the top of a mountain being clearcut. In this clear-cut I stood atop a stump of a recently fallen tree that was at least 6 metres in diameter. Looking at the tightly packed rings of the tree showed that it was more than a thousand years old, yet it would have taken only minutes to cut it down.

Beyond the obvious loss of these magnificent giants is the tragedy that we can do better; cutting down these trees provides a short term benefit and a much larger,

long term loss. We can save these trees and in fact get more money from them alive than dead. Ecotourism walks to see these giants and their habitats with informed guides can provide much more revenue and jobs than cutting these trees for lumber and paper. Secondary growth could still be harvested. This would provide employment in an area that has had chronically high unemployment and low incomes. In many communities,

aboriginal and non aboriginal people have created businesses to guide people through the beautiful areas they live in. It is especially valuable when ethnocultural tours are provided. The region from Sooke to Port Renfrew is an ideal area for ethno-cultural tourism. Only two and a half hours from Victoria, it is a much shorter drive than to go to

Cathedral Grove up island, and is much more impressive.

Let’s work to stop the clear-cutting of old growth trees on South Vancouver Island. If we do this then we will provide long term economic opportunities and save these giants forever. These trees are more valuable to tourism and to the ecosystem than as lumber.

by Dr. Keith Martin, MP

Ancient Forest Alliance

Seymour Valley Old-Growth Forest Hike

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Seymour Valley Old-Growth Forest Hike–Sunday, August 1st!

Join the Ancient Forest Alliance and Ancient Forest Committees to see an amazing stand of old-growth forests (including massive Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and redcedar), next to the Seymour River in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve!

The trip will be on Sunday August 1st. We will be meeting at JJ Bean (Commercial Drive at E 6th Ave) at 10am and heading up to the Seymour Valley from there (across the Second Narrows bridge, then following the signs for Lillouet Rd., continuing to the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve parking lot and gate). We will be driving 11km up a gravel road that follows the Seymour River up to Squamish Creek, then hiking 5-10 minutes downslope towards the river. The trail into the grove is only somewhat established and is fairly steep in places. As this is old-growth forest, be prepared for unstable ground! Bring good walking shoes, rain gear, food and water (and a camera!). We will plan to eat lunch at the Seymour River and aim to be back before 3pm.

Please RSVP to Michelle Connolly at ancientforestcommittee@gmail.com if you would like to come. We are depending on drivers to make this trip possible, so all those who can offer rides please let us know how many extra passengers you can take! We have a limit of 5 cars to get in to the site, so please reply promptly, as we will determine rides on a first come first serve basis! The latest date to respond will be Wednesday July 28th.

Hope to see you there!

Hannah Carpendale, Michelle Connelly and Tara Sawatsky — Lower Mainland Ancient Forest Alliance

Lower Avatar Grove

Avatar Grove Hike – Sunday July 25

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On Sunday, July 25, join the Ancient Forest Alliance’s forest campaigner + photographer TJ Watt and communications director Brendan Harry to visit the magnificent but endangered “Avatar Grove”. The grove is home to dozens of ancient redcedar trees, many of which are at least 13 feet across, centuries old, and covered in massive alien-shaped burls! Rare old-growth Douglas fir trees, of which 99% of have been logged, are also found in the grove. Avatar Grove is currently flagged for logging despite its potential to become a major tourism destination, the “Cathedral Grove of Port Renfrew”, and important ecological value.

For information about this magnificent but endangered grove, visit: www.ancientforestalliance.org

To see images of the area, visit: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=480609145246&v=photos#!/group.php?gid=480609145246&v=photos&so=0

!!! To participate, please RSVP by TODAY Thursday, July 22nd to: katrina@15.222.255.145 !!!

We will meet in Port Renfrew at the Coastal Kitchen Cafe at 12:00 noon. The drive from Victoria to Port Renfrew takes approximately 2 hours. We will leave from Port Renfrew for Avatar Grove at 12:30 pm. Avatar Grove is another 15 minutes’ drive from Port Renfrew. Upon arrival, everyone will be able to stay for as long as they choose. Participants must bring their own lunch & snacks, water, rain gear, hiking boots, and wonderful attitude!

Directions and a Google map to the area can be found at: https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=68

***NOTE: Gas is not always available in Port Renfrew, so be sure to fill up in Sooke.

***NOTE: Only those with a solid sense of balance and good hiking experience may come on this particular trip. The hike requires bushwhacking through rugged and irregular terrain, climbing over giant logs, and scaling some steep embankments. All participants will be required to sign a waiver form. Vehicles should be in good mechanical order and carrying a spare tire. Four-wheel drive is not necessary as most of the roads are paved.