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Conservationists locate what may be Canada’s most magnificent and photogenic old-growth forest on Vancouver Island

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The Ancient Forest Alliance’s campaigner and photographer TJ Watt by BC’s ninth widest bigleaf maple, the Woolly Giant, completely draped in hanging moss and ferns, in the Mossome Grove (short for “Mossy and Awesome” Grove) near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

The “Mossome” Grove (short for “Mossy and Awesome” Grove) consists of giant, prehistoric-looking, shaggy bigleaf maples with tall, straight Sitka spruce, and is found near Port Renfrew

Conservationists in British Columbia have recently located what may very well be the most magnificent and awe-inspiring old-growth forest in the country on Vancouver Island. The spectacular, largely unprotected grove, with several near record-size trees, highlights the need for new policies by the BC government to protect BC’s biggest trees, grandest groves, and old-growth forest ecosystems. The BC government has recently stated that they are currently developing a new set of policies to manage BC’s old-growth forests but have not revealed any details yet.

The 13 hectare grove of immense old-growth Sitka spruce and bigleaf maples draped in hanging mosses and ferns, nicknamed the “Mossome Grove” (short for “Mossy and Awesome” Grove), was initially located in October and explored again in late December by conservationists Ken Wu of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and TJ Watt, Andrea Inness, and Rachel Ablack of the Ancient Forest Alliance. The grove is located on Crown land in the San Juan River Valley near Port Renfrew on southern Vancouver Island in the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation band. Most of the grove is unprotected, with a small portion, about four hectares, lying within an Old-Growth Management Area and in the riparian reserve along the San Juan River.

“This is perhaps the most magnificent and stunningly beautiful old-growth forest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve explored a lot of old-growth forests in my time,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and former executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance and the Wilderness Committee’s Victoria office, who has 28 years’ experience exploring and campaigning to protect BC’s old-growth forests. “This is the first time in Canada we’ve located a prominent stand of this rare forest type, with old-growth spruce and maple trees growing together. The combination of giant Sitka spruce, as tall and straight as Roman pillars, and huge, ancient, bigleaf maples draped in hanging mosses and ferns, resembling prehistoric shaggy monsters, makes this perhaps the most photogenic forest in the country. Hollywood could not make a more stunning, picture-perfect forest than this one. This is the best example of ‘charismatic megaflora’ that I’ve ever seen. Of all of BC’s ancient forests, this one deserves protection not only due to the scarcity of its ecosystem type, but because of its sheer unique beauty.”

The Mossome Grove stands on Crown lands in the operating area of BC Timber Sales, with a portion within a Woodlot Licence allocated to the Pacheedaht band and the rest under the regulatory authority of BC Timber Sales. BC Timber Sales is the notorious BC government logging agency which has come under fire across the province for auctioning off old-growth forests to be clearcut in such places as the Nahmint Valley and Schmidt Creek on Vancouver Island, as well as in Manning Provincial Park’s “donut hole”.

Several of the Mossome Grove’s largest trees are near record-sized, including a Sitka spruce that would rank the ninth widest in comparison to those currently listed on the BC Big Tree Registry (with a diameter of 3.1 meters or 10 feet & 1 inch) and a bigleaf maple that would rank the ninth widest on the registry (with a diameter of 2.29 meters or 7 feet & 6 inches). The massive maple, nicknamed the “Woolly Giant”, also may very well have the longest horizontal branch of any tree in British Columbia, measuring 23.1 meters (76 feet) long – more than the height of many second-growth trees – and is covered in thick mats of hanging mosses and ferns, resembling a prehistoric monster.

The Ancient Forest Alliance’s campaigner Rachel Ablack by a huge Sitka spruce among then sword ferns in the Mossome Grove (short for “Mossy and Awesome” Grove) near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

Along with its “charismatic megaflora”, the Mossome Grove is also home to “charismatic megafauna”, including significant numbers of Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, black bears, wolves, and cougars, who inhabit the productive San Juan River Valley. Old-growth forests on Vancouver Island in the area are also important habitat for the marbled murrelet, northern goshawk, pygmy owl, screech owl, Vaux’s swift, and long-eared bats.

Old-growth Sitka spruce and bigleaf maple stands are best known in the Hoh, Queets, and Quinault Valleys in the Olympic National Park in Washington State, where millions of tourists visit to marvel at the mossy giants. In Canada, such ancient spruce/maple stands are essentially unknown by the conservation movement and tourism industry for the simple reason they are virtually non-existent here, except for this newly-identified stand and possibly a few small patches scattered around southwestern Vancouver Island. At the time of European colonization in BC, there would have been more extensive but still limited old-growth Sitka spruce and bigleaf maples stands in the San Juan, Nitinat, and Fraser Valleys. However, virtually all have been logged or converted to agriculture or urban sprawl (in the case of the Fraser Valley where Vancouver stands today).

“This is like a combination of the monumental Sitka spruce stands of the Carmanah Valley and the gorgeous bigleaf maples of the Mossy Maple Grove that we popularized a few years ago near Lake Cowichan. The two combined are essentially the apex of the grandeur and beauty that could exist in a forest”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer. “Photogenically, this grove should be a new poster child for BC’s endangered ancient forests – and the urgent need to protect their beauty. We need old-growth protection at all spatial scales at this time, to save the biggest trees, grandest groves, and old-growth forest ecosystems on a vaster scale.”

Due to its limited size, the scarcity of this forest type, and the fact that there are no trails, the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and Ancient Forest Alliance are not publicly revealing the Mossome Grove’s location at this time until it can be safeguarded from excessive trampling, and most importantly, from future commercial logging.

The Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development since 2012 has been working to develop a “Big Tree Protection Order”, a policy originally aimed at protecting the largest trees and grandest groves in BC. Successive governments, including the NDP, have dragged out the policy’s development and implementation and appear to be leaving out the most important facets of the proposed policy, that is, to include buffer zones around the largest trees, to include the grandest groves (concentrations of exceptionally large trees), to make the threshold sizes for protection reasonable (instead of protecting only the very few largest trees), and to make the policy legally-binding rather than voluntary. Currently the policy is being piloted in selected parts of Vancouver Island and also in areas managed by BC Timber Sales, where it is called the “Coastal Legacy Tree” policy. The Coastal Legacy Tree policy recently failed to protect the ninth widest Douglas-fir tree in BC in the Nahmint Valley. See: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/old-growth-logging-1.4689648

“Without buffer zones to surround and protect the largest trees, and without also protecting the grandest groves, the BC government’s currently proposed big tree protection policy is essentially a ‘Big Lonely Doug policy’ that will leave a few sad giants standing alone in clearcuts scattered around Vancouver Island,” stated Andrea Inness, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner, referring to Canada’s 2ndlargest Douglas fir, nicknamed ‘Big Lonely Doug’ by AFA campaigners who identified the tree in 2014. “The largest trees and grandest groves are like the ‘icing on the cake’, while protecting old-growth ecosystems on a larger scale, that is, saving the ‘rest of cake’, is ultimately the most important task. But it would be a shame to lose the icing…without it, a cake is not quite the same.”

More background info

While an effective Big Tree Protection Order would be particularly important in cases like the Mossome Grove, more important would be science-based legislation to protect BC’s remaining old-growth forest ecosystems on a much more comprehensive scale. While new legislation and updated land use plans are being developed, moratoria on the most intact and highest conservation value old-growth forests like at the nearby Edinburgh Mountain and Upper Walbran Valley need to be implemented in places, while the BC government needs to also implement incentives and regulations for the development of a value-added, sustainable second-growth forest industry.

Conservation financing support from the provincial and federal governments is also needed for BC’s First Nations communities to help foster sustainable businesses and jobs in the communities based on eco- and cultural tourism, clean energy development, non-timber forest products (e.g. wild mushroom and berry harvests), sustainable seafood harvesting, and value-added second-growth forestry.

To ensure the protection of all ecosystem types, federal and provincial “Endangered Ecosystems Acts” are also needed to establish science-based protection and recovery targets for all ecosystems across Canada, including rare plant communities such as old-growth Sitka spruce and bigleaf maple groves like Mossome Grove.

In the interim, the federal government has committed to protecting 17% of Canada’s land and freshwater ecosystems by 2020 and must greatly step up its prioritization and activity to achieve this target (currently Canada is at 10.6% protection). In particular, most of the provinces, including British Columbia, must still commit to meeting the 17% target, and conservation groups will be lobbying the province to adopt this target shortly.

Old-growth forests are vital to sustaining unique endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. On BC’s southern coast, satellite photos show that at least 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Old-growth forests, with trees up to 2,000 years old, are a non-renewable resource under BC’s system of forestry, where second-growth forests are re-logged every 50 to 100 years, never to become old-growth again.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to implement a comprehensive, science-based plan to protect all of BC’s remaining endangered old-growth forests while also ensuring a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry.

Due to the popularity of nearby old-growth forests for large numbers of visitors from across the world, the former logging town of Port Renfrew has rebranded itself in recent years as the “Tall Trees Capital of Canada.” Not only is the town located near Mossome Grove, but is also near many of the province’s most popular ancient forest destinations including the Avatar Grove, Central Walbran Valley, Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir), Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir), Harris Creek Spruce (an enormous Sitka Spruce), San Juan Spruce (previously Canada’s largest spruce until the top broke off last year), Eden Grove, and Jurassic Grove. These ancient forests and trees attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world, strengthening the economy of southern Vancouver Island. Environmental groups encourage visitors to stay in local accommodations, buy food and groceries in local stores, and camp in the Pacheedaht-run campground to help boost the local economy with eco-tourism dollars.

Various chambers of commerce, starting with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, have called for increased protection of BC’s ancient forests. The BC Chamber of Commerce, BC’s premier business lobby representing 36,000 businesses, passed a resolution in May of 2016, calling on the province to expand protection for BC’s old-growth forests to support the economy, after a series of similar resolutions passed by the Port Renfrew, Sooke, and WestShore Chambers of Commerce. See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1010

Both the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), representing the mayors, city and town councils, and regional districts across BC, and Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), representing Vancouver Island local governments, passed a resolution in 2016 calling on the province to protect Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests by amending the 1994 land use plan. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-ubcm-passes-old-growth-protection-resolution/

The Private and Public Workers of Canada (PPWC), formerly the Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada, representing thousands of sawmill and pulp mill workers across BC, passed a resolution in 2017 calling for an end to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. See: https://16.52.162.165/conservationists-applaud-old-growth-protection-resolution-by-major-bc-forestry-union/

See maps and stats on the remaining old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

In order to placate public fears about the loss of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, the BC government’s PR-spin typically over-inflats the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal, low productivity forests growing in bogs and at high elevations with smaller, stunted trees, in with the productive old-growth forests, where the large trees grow (and where most logging takes place). See a rebuttal to some of the BC government’s PR-spin and stats about old-growth forests towards the BOTTOM of the webpage: https://16.52.162.165/action-alert-speak-up-for-ancient-forests-to-the-union-of-bc-municipalities-ubcm/

Photo: Ancient Forest Giftpack (calendar

New! 2018 Ancient Forest Calendars & Cards, Posters, Stickers, Certificates, and other Merchandise

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Make the Ancient Forest Alliance your holiday-giving priority by picking up some of our beautiful AFA merchandise and/or donating to our historic campaign mobilization

• Order products online HERE
• Donate HERE

We’re proud to present the Ancient Forest Alliance’s 2018 CALENDAR!

The calendar features many of the special places throughout British Columbia that we’ve explored as we work to protect our endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. It includes beautiful photos of the Central Walbran Valley, Carmanah Valley, Jurassic Grove, Parthenon Grove, East Creek, Echo Lake, Cameron Firebreak, wildlife, and more!

AFA 2018 Calendars: $25 | 3 or more $20 each

Cards: $5 each | 6 for $25 | 12 for $40

  • Choose from our specially selected 6-card sets – Big Tree Bundle, Grand Grove Set, Serenity Set, Wild Wonders. Or choose a variety pack of 6 or 12 cards

Posters: $10 each | All 3 for $25

  • Choose from Avatar Grove’s Gnarly Tree, San Juan Spruce, and Canada’s Largest Tree the Cheewhat Giant

Stickers: Bumper Stickers $6 | Logo Stickers & Tree Stickers $4

Certificates: Dedicate to anyone!

  • Adopt-A-Tree Minimum $50 donation
  • Adopt-A-Grove Minimum $100 donation
  • Ancient Forest Defender Minimum $100 donation
  • Ancient Forest Protector: Minimum $200 donation

Ancient Forest Gift Pack: $70

  • 2018 Calendar, 12 pack of cards, all 4 stickers

Donate to our Pivotal Campaigns!

Right now, with the election of a new NDP government, we have the greatest chance in BC’s history to protect endangered old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable, second-growth forestry industry. But we need your support more than ever to mobilize a powerful movement to get the job done. Your donation to the AFA will help us host a exciting rally/info night in Victoria on November 28th; build new signage for the Avatar Grove boardwalk; reach 20 000 households with a new educational brochure; build alliances with First Nations, business, union, faith and political leaders; and expand our online mobilization through instant messages to decision-makers at BCForestMovement.com.


How to purchase gifts and donate:

  • Online: Order gifts via our Online Store and pay via PayPal or credit card. You can also Donate online here.
  • By Phone at 250-896-4007 to specify your order or donation amount and to pay with your credit card. We will ship product orders you (with an additional shipping cost added).
  • By Email (for product orders) at: sales@15.222.255.145
  • In-Person at our Holiday Booths in Victoria and Vancouver (see details below)

IN VICTORIA:

  • Visit our office in the Central Building (620 View St, 3rd floor #303):
  • Nov 1- Dec 21: Tues, Weds & Thurs 11:00am-4:30pm

IN VANCOUVER:

  • Click here for the dates, times, and locations of our holiday booths in Vancouver.

**cash, cheques & credit cards accepted at all locations**


Thank you for your dedicated support!

AFA's Campaigner and Photographer

Conservationists thank the Pacheedaht First Nation for extending protection over 18 hectares of “Jurassic Grove” near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island

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The Ancient Forest Alliance is thanking the Pacheedaht First Nation band for proposing expanded protection for an 18 hectare portion of the stunning “Jurassic Grove”, a monumental old-growth forest of giant redcedars, Douglas-fir, and Sitka spruce trees located a 90 minute drive west of Victoria between Jordan River and Port Renfrew. The proposed expansion in the new management plan of Tree Farm Licence 61, partly owned by the Pacheedaht band, would protect about 30% of the 61 hectares that are still unprotected in the Jurassic Grove (total grove size is 130 hectares). The spectacular grove stands on Crown lands adjacent to the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, in the unceded traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation. See the original media release about Jurassic Grove, identified earlier this year as an exceptional old-growth grove by the Ancient Forest Alliance at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/jurassic-grove/ and a Times Colonist piece at: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/avatar-grove-the-sequel-introducing-jurassic-grove-1.18540489

“We want to thank the Pacheedaht First Nation for proposing the new protection, this is good news. This is an important step forward for the protection of Jurassic Grove, encompassing 18 hectares of some of the grandest ancient forests left on planet earth. Saving rare giants like these thousand year old trees is like protecting a herd of endangered elephants or rhinos these days – it needs to happen”, stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director.

“We encourage the Pacheedaht and the province to consider protecting the remaining portion of Jurassic Grove, as the additional 43 hectares includes the finest, most accessible parts of the grove on the flatter and gentler terrain – the areas that tourists would be able to readily visit. As many people know, we believe the long-term, sustainable economic future for the Port Renfrew region lies in large part in eco-tourism, which the region has greatly embraced in recent years, currently centred around the Avatar Grove – and perhaps the Jurassic Grove in the future”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner.

“Lowland old-growth groves on southern Vancouver Island with the classic giants like this are about as rare as finding a Sasquatch these days, with over 95% of them having been logged on the South Island. This is one of the most magnificent unprotected groves in the world, and it’s even easier than the Avatar Grove to get to, along a major paved highway”, stated Andrea Inness, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.

The new management plan for Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 61, licenced to Pacheedaht Andersen Timber Holdings LP, shows a series of newly proposed Old-Growth Management Areas totaling about 18 hectares of the unprotected portions of the Jurassic Grove. The Jurassic Grove is an old-growth forest that is about 130 hectares in total size, with 70 hectares protected in a pre-existing Wildlife Habitat Area (for the threatened marbled murrelet, a seabird that only nests in old-growth trees), another 18 hectares of newly proposed protections by the Pacheedaht band, and another 43 hectares remaining on unprotected Crown lands which the Ancient Forest Alliance would also like to see protected through new Old-Growth Management Areas (and perhaps one day added to the adjacent Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, at which time “Jurassic Grove” will become “Jurassic Park”). Public comments for the Management Plan close on November 15.

The Ancient Forest Alliance believes that the Pacheedaht would greatly benefit from developing a cultural/eco-tourism industry that showcases ancient forests like the Jurassic Grove, which is one of the grandest (with trees that are 16 feet or 5 metres wide) and most accessible (near the main highway, near Jordan River, with key sections on gentle flat terrain) old-growth forests in Pacheedaht territory. Earlier this year, the Pacheedaht band expanded and upgraded their ocean-front campground where many visitors to the Avatar Grove stay, and they have now completed construction of a new gas station in Port Renfrew which just opened yesterday (see https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/new-port-renfrew-gas-station-promotes-community-growth/ and https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/jack-knox-port-renfrew-community-reborn-and-it-s-a-gas-1.23090134) and which the Ancient Forest Alliance is encouraging all “tall tree tourists” who visit the area to gas-up at.

In the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii, conservation groups along with the provincial and federal governments have been helping to finance the sustainable economic development and diversification of First Nation communities to develop tourism and other businesses compatible with the expanded protection of old-growth forests in those regions, with about $120 million in conservation financing provided along with millions of dollars of additional carbon offsetting funds. The AFA and other BC environmental groups are asking that the BC government also look at conservation financing options for other First Nations in BC who may be interested in expanding protection for old-growth forests in their territories.

The Ancient Forest Alliance has been discussing conservation and access issues regarding the Jurassic Grove with the Pacheedaht First Nation band. While the dialogue is underway, the organization is not yet encouraging the public to try visiting the grove, most of which has no trails, has an extremely dense understory, and which is punctuated with steep ravines that are treacherous to traverse.

Jurassic Grove’s easy to access location makes it a potential first rate ancient forest attraction that can help to raise the awareness of all endangered old-growth forests and bolster the regional eco-tourism industry. Port Renfrew, historically a logging town that now promotes eco-tourism and has been dubbed the “Tall Trees Capital of Canada” in recent years due to its proximity to the Avatar Grove, Central Walbran Valley, Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2ndlargest Douglas-fir), Eden Grove, Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir), Harris Creek Spruce (an enormous Sitka spruce), and San Juan Spruce (previously Canada’s largest spruce until the top broke off last year), now has the Jurassic Grove as potentially another first rate addition to its roster of big tree attractions. Thousands of tourists from around the world now come to visit the old-growth trees around Port Renfrew, hugely bolstering the regional economy of southern Vancouver Island. The Ancient Forest Alliance is encouraging people who visit the area to stay in local accommodations, buy food and groceries in local stores, buy gas from the new Pacheedaht-owned gas station in town, and camp in the Pacheedaht campground to help boost the local economy with eco-tourism dollars.

The Ancient Forest Alliance calling on the BC government to implement a comprehensive science-based plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests, and to also ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.

The Green Party, which holds the balance of power for the NDP minority government, is in favour of protecting BC’s endangered old-growth forests, while the NDP’s 2017 election platform states that “In partnership with First Nations and communities, we will modernize land-use planning to effectively and sustainably manage BC’s ecosystems… forests and old growth…We will take an evidence-based scientific approach and use the ecosystem-based management of the Great Bear Rainforest as a model.” (see page 61 of their platform at: https://action.bcndp.ca/page/-/bcndp/docs/BC-NDP-Platform-2017.pdf). If taken literally and seriously, this would almost certainly result in the protection of the remaining endangered old-growth forest on BC’s southern coast and in the BC Interior, where old-growth forests are far scarcer and more endangered than in the Central and Northern Coast (Great Bear Rainforest) where 85% of the forests (including the vast majority of the old-growth) were set aside in protected areas and under the ecosystem-based management.

More Information on Old-Growth Forests

In recent times, the voices for old-growth protection have been quickly expanding, including numerous Chambers of Commerce, mayors and city councils, forestry unions, and conservation groups across BC who have been calling on the provincial government to expand protection for BC’s remaining old-growth forests.

BC’s premier business lobby, the BC Chamber of Commerce, representing 36,000 businesses, passed a resolution in 2016 calling on the province to expand protection for BC’s old-growth forests to support the economy, after a series of similar resolutions passed by the Port Renfrew, Sooke, and WestShore Chambers of Commerce. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-historic-leap-for-old-growth-forests-bc-chamber-of-commerce-passes-resolution-for-expanded-protection/

Both the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), representing the mayors, city and town councils, and regional districts across BC, and Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), representing Vancouver Island local governments, passed a resolution last year calling on the province to protect the Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests by amending the 1994 land use plan. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-ubcm-passes-old-growth-protection-resolution/

The Private and Public Workers of Canada (PPWC), formerly the Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada, representing thousands of sawmill and pulp mill workers across BC, passed a resolution earlier this year calling for an end to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. See: https://16.52.162.165/conservationists-applaud-old-growth-protection-resolution-by-major-bc-forestry-union/

The Ahousaht First Nation band north of Tofino in Clayoquot Sound announced earlier this year that 82% of their territory will be off-limits to commercial logging. They now need provincial legislation and funding to help make their vision a reality.

Old-growth forests are vital to sustain unique endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. On BC’s southern coast, satellite photos show that at least 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Old-growth forests – with trees that can be 2000 years old – are a non-renewable resource under BC’s system of forestry, where second-growth forests are re-logged every 50 to 100 years, never to become old-growth again.

See maps and stats on the remaining old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

In order to placate public fears about the loss of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, the logging industry’s PR-spin typically over-inflates the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal, low productivity forests growing in bogs and at high elevations with smaller, stunted trees, lumped in with the productive old-growth forests where the large trees grow (and where most logging takes place), while at the same time failing to include vast tracts of cut-over corporate-owned forest lands (which were managed as if they were public lands until recent years) which along with other private lands constitute about 800,000 hectares or ¼ of Vancouver Island, in their stats. See a rebuttal to some of the industry PR-spin and stats about old-growth forests towards the BOTTOM of the webpage: https://16.52.162.165/action-alert-speak-up-for-ancient-forests-to-the-union-of-bc-municipalities-ubcm/

The Ancient Forest Alliance calling on the BC government to implement a comprehensive science-based plan to protect all of BC’s remaining endangered old-growth forests, and to also ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.

Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce President Dan Hager checking out the ancient trees in the Lower Avatar Grove.

Avatar Grove Boardwalk Completed – High Quality Boardwalk Showcases One of Canada’s Most Magnificent Old-Growth Forests!

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After 4 years of hard work, with the support of hundreds of volunteers and supporters, the Avatar Grove boardwalk near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island has finally been completed by the Ancient Forest Alliance. The boardwalk protects the tree roots and vegetation from excessive trampling, enhances visitor safety, and supports the booming eco-tourism economy in the region by providing public access to one of the grandest old-growth forests in North America.
 
Port Renfrew, British Columbia – After 4 years of hard work, the Avatar Grove now has a high quality, one kilometre-long trail and boardwalk that includes extensive stairs, steps, walkways, bridges, and viewing platforms. Located only 20 minutes from Port Renfrew, the Avatar Grove is home to one of the most spectacular and easily accessible stands of monumental old-growth trees in BC and has become among the province’s most popular old-growth forest tourism destinations, featured in numerous national and international media pieces. The completion of the boardwalk enhances the public’s ability to explore the incredible ancient forest that helped the town rebrand itself as the “Tall Trees Capital of Canada.”
 
See attached photos (captions at bottom) and also photo galleries showcasing the boardwalk construction from the past two weekends: https://bit.ly/2vkskEN and https://bit.ly/2urzSGt (media are free to reprint photos. Credit to 'TJ Watt' when possible)
 
“We’re really excited to have finally completed the Avatar Grove Boardwalk after years of hard work involving hundreds of volunteers. This was a major undertaking for a small organization like ours but for many of those involved, it has become a labour of love. We now have a kilometre-long trail with sections of high quality boardwalk for visitors with diverse abilities to enjoy one of Canada’s most magnificent ancient forests,” stated Avatar Boardwalk Coordinator TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “We are grateful to the Pacheedaht First Nation, who donated the first batch of wood, followed by the support of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, hundreds of volunteers and donors, and many generous sponsors.”
 
“The massive trees at Avatar Grove have become iconic and tourists from around the world are making Port Renfrew a ‘must see’ destination. This boardwalk will give many of our visitors and guests up close and personal access to ‘be’ with these trees, where before the terrain may have been too much of a challenge for some of them”, stated Dan Hager, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce.
 
“Avatar Grove” is a popular nickname for the Nuu-cha-nulth Pacheedaht name of “T’l’oqwxwat” and is in the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation. It was protected by the BC government in 2012 after an intense two-year public awareness campaign led by the AFA in partnership with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce.
 
The Ancient Forest Alliance began construction of the boardwalk in 2013 to protect the tree roots and understory vegetation from foot traffic, enhance visitor safety and access, and support the local eco-tourism economy.  The organization’s plan was to finish construction by the fall of 2016, but hurricane force winds during an October 2016 storm knocked down dozens of trees, damaging the trail and boardwalk. Since then, the AFA has been working to clear and fix the boardwalk, and has made improvements upon its original design.
 
Since the Avatar Grove was protected and its boardwalk constructed, it has allowed visitors from all over the world to discover BC’s unique and magnificent old-growth forests.
 
“The Avatar Grove’s real significance is that it serves as an example to other communities that protecting old-growth forests benefits the economy by hugely bolstering local businesses and jobs”, Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance stated. “In helping to revitalize Port Renfrew’s economy, it has clearly counteracted the old, false narrative that saving old-growth forests harms the local economy. The Avatar Grove and its boardwalk have been the most important catalyst for BC’s ancient forest movement in recent times and have helped to shape the fate of endangered forests across the province.”
 
Avatar Grove has prompted the former logging town of Port Renfrew to rebrand itself for old-growth forest tourism, landing the town its nickname the “Tall Trees Capital of Canada.” The town is also located near the province’s most popular ancient forest destinations including the Central Walbran Valley, Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir), Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir), Harris Creek Spruce (an enormous Sitka Spruce), San Juan Spruce (previously Canada’s largest spruce until the top broke off last year), Eden Grove, and Jurassic Grove.  They attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world, strengthening the economy of southern Vancouver Island. The Ancient Forest Alliance is encouraging people who visit the area to stay in local accommodations, buy food and groceries in local stores, and camp in the Pacheedaht-run campground to help boost the local economy with eco-tourism dollars.
 
The Ancient Forest Alliance would like to thank the Pacheedaht First Nation, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations (Recreation Sites and Trails Division), Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Patagonia Elements, Sitka Society for Conservation, Public Conservation Assistance Fund, Port Renfrew Marina & RV Park, and the hundreds of individual donors and volunteers for their support in building the boardwalk!
 
More information on BC’s Old-Growth Forests
 
Old-growth forests are vital to sustaining unique endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. On BC’s southern coast, satellite photos show that at least 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Old-growth forests – with trees up to 2,000 years old – are a non-renewable resource under BC’s system of forestry, where second-growth forests are re-logged every 50 to 100 years, never to become old-growth again.
 
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to implement a comprehensive, science-based plan to protect all of BC’s remaining endangered old-growth forests and to also ensure a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry.
 
Ultimately driven by Avatar Grove’s economic significance, various chambers of commerce, starting with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, have called for increased protection of BC’s ancient forests. The BC Chamber of Commerce, BC’s premier business lobby representing 36,000 businesses, passed a resolution last May, calling on the province to expand protection for BC’s old-growth forests to support the economy, after a series of similar resolutions passed by the Port Renfrew, Sooke, and WestShore Chambers of Commerce. See: www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1010
 
Both the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), representing the mayors, city and town councils, and regional districts across BC, and Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), representing Vancouver Island local governments, passed a resolution last year calling on the province to protect Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests by amending the 1994 land use plan. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-ubcm-passes-old-growth-protection-resolution/
 
The Private and Public Workers of Canada (PPWC), formerly the Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada, representing thousands of sawmill and pulp mill workers across BC, recently passed a resolution calling for an end to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. See: https://16.52.162.165/conservationists-applaud-old-growth-protection-resolution-by-major-bc-forestry-union/
 
See maps and stats on the remaining old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php
 
In order to placate public fears about the loss of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, the previous BC Liberal government’s PR-spin typically over-inflated the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal, low productivity forests growing in bogs and at high elevations with smaller, stunted trees, in with the productive old-growth forests, where the large trees grow (and where most logging takes place). See a rebuttal to some of the BC government’s PR-spin and stats about old-growth forests towards the BOTTOM of the webpage: https://16.52.162.165/action-alert-speak-up-for-ancient-forests-to-the-union-of-bc-municipalities-ubcm/
One of several monumental western redcedars located in Jurassic Grove

Ancient Forest Alliance Featured in Vancouver Island’s Chinese-Language Newspaper

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Vancouver Island's Chinese-language newspaper has run a story about the Ancient Forest Alliance, the Jurassic Grove, and our campaigns to protect old-growth forests, including using our big tree and stump photos. Take note that our Mandarin old-growth ecology walks are just getting underway in the Lower Mainland for the half a million Chinese-language speakers there, but sometime in the future, we hope to get it going on Vancouver Island too.

See the article: https://issuu.com/viweekly/docs/vi_weekly_170524_-_015_-_online_ver

One of several monumental western redcedars located in Jurassic Grove

Stunning grove of unprotected old-growth trees located near Port Renfrew

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The Ancient Forest Alliance has discovered an unknown old-growth forsts near Jordan River.

The forest contains a stunning and impressive grove of unprotected, monumental old-growth trees along a three-kilometre stretch between Jordan River and Port Renfrew. It lies mainly on Crown lands adjacent to Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Provincial Park and its popular coastal hiking trail not far from Highway 14 in the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht band.

“Lowland old-growth groves on southern Vancouver Island with the classic giants like this are about as rare as finding a Sasquatch these days – over 95 per cent of the forests like this have been logged on the South Island,” said Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director.

“For now we’ve nicknamed this tract of old-growth forest as the ‘Jurassic Grove,’ which could become ‘Jurassic Park’ one day if it is protected. Of course, there may be more traditional names for the area, which we’ll be happy to use”.

The Ancient Forest Alliance’s TJ Watt had explored and identified the area as an old-growth forest of high conservation significance in recent years but came across a particularly accessible grove of giant trees while bushwhacking a few weeks ago.

“This area is like another Avatar Grove – it’s easy to get to, it includes some parts with gentle terrain, and is filled with amazing trees. When we can disclose the exact location when it’s appropriate for wider public access, the Jurassic Grove will undoubtedly become a major source of inspiration and environmental awareness for thousands of people,” Watt said.

While most of Jurassic Grove’s 130 hectares of old-growth is protected within a marbled murrelet wildlife habitat area is off-limits to logging, about 40 hectares is on unprotected Crown lands without any regulatory or legislated protection.

There are no approved or proposed logging plans on these lands, according to the B.C. Forest Ministry. The Ancient Forest Alliance plans to meet with Ministry of Forests officials, B.C. Parks, and Pacheedaht council to discuss conservation and access issues regarding the area.

Jurassic Grove’s easy to access location makes it a potential first rate ancient forest attraction that can help to raise the awareness of all endangered old-growth forests and bolster the regional eco-tourism industry, said Wu.

Wu pointed out while thew Ancient Forest Alliance found Jurrasic Grove others groups have used the area for years, and for the Pacheedaht, thousands of years.

“We were the ones who located and identified this area for its conservation significance regarding old growth,” Wu said.

See the original article at: https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/stunning-grove-of-unprotected-old-growth-trees-located-near-port-renfrew/

See our media release about the Jurassic Grove: https://16.52.162.165/conservationists-thank-the-pacheedaht-first-nation-for-extending-protection-over-18-hectares-of-aeoejurassic-groveae%C2%9D-near-port-renfrew-on-vancouver-island-ae-stunning-old-growth-forest/

One of several monumental western redcedars located in Jurassic Grove.

Stunning Grove of Unprotected Old-Growth Trees Located near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island – Conservationists Hope “Jurassic Grove” will become “Jurassic Park” one day!

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For Immediate Release

VICTORIA – The Ancient Forest Alliance has located an impressive grove of unprotected, monumental old-growth trees only a 90 minute drive west of Victoria between Jordan River and Port Renfrew.

Spanning a 3 kilometer stretch alongside a portion of the 48 kilometre Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Provincial Park, it lies mainly on Crown lands adjacent to the provincial park and its popular coastal hiking trail not far from Highway 14 in the traditional unceded territory of the Pacheedaht band.  The Ancient Forest Alliance’s TJ Watt had explored and identified the area as an old-growth forest of high conservation significance in recent years but came across a particularly accessible grove of giant trees while bushwhacking a few weeks ago.

“Lowland old-growth groves on southern Vancouver Island with the classic giants like this are about as rare as finding a Sasquatch these days – over 95% of the forests like this have been logged on the South Island. This is one of the most magnificent unprotected groves in the world, and it’s even easier than the Avatar Grove to get to. It will help to bolster the public’s interest to see the BC government enact legislation to protect the remaining old-growth forests on Vancouver Island”, stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “For now we’ve nicknamed this tract of old-growth forest as the ‘Jurassic Grove’, which could become ‘Jurassic Park’ one day if it is protected. Of course there may be more traditional names for the area, which we’ll be happy to use”.

“This area is like another Avatar Grove – it’s easy to get to, it includes some parts with gentle terrain, and is filled with amazing trees – but it’s even closer to Victoria! When we are able to disclose the exact location when it’s appropriate for wider public access, the Jurassic Grove will undoubtedly become a major source of inspiration and environmental awareness for thousands of people”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer. “It’s hard to fathom that at one time the highway between Victoria to Port Renfrew could’ve been lined with ancient forests like this. Now it remains in just a few patches, like the Jurassic Grove, underscoring the need to protect what’s left of our old-growth forests.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance has requested meetings with the Ministry of Forests, BC Parks, and Pacheedaht council to discuss conservation and access issues regarding the area. Until then, the organization is not yet encouraging the public to try visiting the grove, most of which has no trails, has an extremely dense understory, and which is punctuated with very steep ravines.

While most of Jurassic Grove’s 130 hectares of old-growth is protected within a Marbled Murelet Wildlife Habitat Area that is off-limits to logging, about 40 hectares is on unprotected Crown lands without any type of regulatory or legislated protection.

There are no approved or proposed logging plans on these lands, according to Ministry of Forests data on the BC government’s iMAPBC website.

As it abuts against a popular provincial park for hiking, it would be a natural addition to the park and as a buffer to the Juan de Fuca trail – and ultimately as a star attraction for visitors around the world.

“We should make it clear that we did not ‘discover’ this forest, in the sense of being the first humans to see it, of course. People have lived in the area for thousands of years, and hikers mushroom pickers, hunters, surfers, biologists, and loggers (who logged to the edge of this forest several decades ago…and of course who would’ve surveyed it as well) have all traversed the area. What we’ve done is located and identified the old-growth grove here for its high conservation and recreation value”, stated TJ Watt, AFA campaigner and photographer. “However, the days of identifying such unprotected monumental groves are coming to an end, because in a few short years these forests will either be in protected areas, or gone. This area needs legislated protection”.

Jurassic Grove’s easy to access location makes it a potential first rate ancient forest attraction that can help to raise the awareness of all endangered old-growth forests and bolster the regional eco-tourism industry. Port Renfrew, historically a logging town that now promotes eco-tourism and has been dubbed the “Tall Trees Capital of Canada” in recent years due to its proximity to the Avatar Grove, Central Walbran Valley, Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2ndlargest Douglas-fir), Eden Grove, Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir), Harris Creek Spruce (an enormous Sitka spruce), and San Juan Spruce (previously Canada’s largest spruce until the top broke off last year), now has the Jurassic Grove as another first rate addition to its roster of big tree attractions. Thousands of tourists from around the world now come to visit the old-growth trees around Port Renfrew, hugely bolstering the regional economy of southern Vancouver Island. The Ancient Forest Alliance is encouraging people who visit the area to stay in local accommodations, buy food and groceries in local stores, and camp in the Pacheedaht campground to help boost the local economy with eco-tourism dollars.

To the south the BC government has just bought up the 7 parcels of second-growth private forest lands, totalling 180 hectares, from a developer and intends to increase the width of the provincial park to buffer the trail along its first several kilometres, while lands outside the buffer will go to the Pacheedaht First Nation band in Port Renfrew as part of the treaty settlement process. To the north, the Crown land old-growth forests of the Jurassic Grove could also be a natural addition to buffer the trail, whether as an extension of the existing park or as a tribal park/conservancy.

More Information on Old-Growth Forests

Over the past year, the voices for old-growth protection have been quickly expanding, including numerous Chambers of Commerce, mayors and city councils, forestry unions, and conservation groups across BC who have have been calling on the provincial government to expand protection for BC’s remaining old-growth forests.

BC’s premier business lobby, the BC Chamber of Commerce, representing 36,000 businesses, passed a resolution last May calling on the province to expand protection for BC’s old-growth forests to support the economy, after a series of similar resolutions passed by the Port Renfrew, Sooke, and WestShore Chambers of Commerce. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-historic-leap-for-old-growth-forests-bc-chamber-of-commerce-passes-resolution-for-expanded-protection/

Both the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), representing the mayors, city and town councils, and regional districts across BC, and Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), representing Vancouver Island local governments, passed a resolution last year calling on the province to protect the Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth forests by amending the 1994 land use plan. See: https://16.52.162.165/media-release-ubcm-passes-old-growth-protection-resolution/

The Private and Public Workers of Canada (PPWC), formerly the Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada, representing thousands of sawmill and pulp mill workers across BC, recently passed a resolution calling for an end to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. See: https://16.52.162.165/conservationists-applaud-old-growth-protection-resolution-by-major-bc-forestry-union/

The Ahousaht First Nation band north of Tofino in Clayoquot Sound recently announced that 82% of their territory will be off-limits to commercial logging. They now need provincial legislation and funding to help make their vision a reality. See: (Link no longer available)

The Ancient Forest Alliance calling on the BC government to implement a comprehensive science-based plan to protect all of BC’s remaining endangered old-growth forests, and to also ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.

Old-growth forests are vital to sustain unique endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. On BC’s southern coast, satellite photos show that at least 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas. Old-growth forests – with trees that can be 2,000 years old – are a non-renewable resource under BC’s system of forestry, where second-growth forests are re-logged every 50 to 100 years, never to become old-growth again.

See maps and stats on the remaining old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

In order to placate public fears about the loss of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, the BC government’s PR-spin typically over-inflates the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal, low productivity forests growing in bogs and at high elevations with smaller, stunted trees, lumped in with the productive old-growth forests, where the large trees grow (and where most logging takes place). See a rebuttal to some of the BC government’s PR-spin and stats about old-growth forests towards the bottom of the webpage: https://16.52.162.165/action-alert-speak-up-for-ancient-forests-to-the-union-of-bc-municipalities-ubcm/

One of several monumental western redcedars located in Jurassic Grove.

Avatar Grove, the sequel: Introducing Jurassic Grove

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Towering more than 30 metres high, an ancient red cedar’s heavy branches fork skyward above massive burls dusted in moss.

The 500- to 1,000-year-old tree is at the centre of what the Ancient Forest Alliance says is an exciting find — an old-growth stand between Jordan River and Port Renfrew that could become the region’s next attraction.

“The whole area is a lowlands, spectacular ancient forest,” said Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

Jurassic Grove, as the group is calling it, covers an area of about 130 hectares near the mid-section of the Juan de Fuca Trail, between Lines Creek and Loss Creek. It’s about a 90-minute drive from Victoria and 20 minutes from Port Renfrew.

While most of the trees are protected as part of a marbled murrelet wildlife habitat area, about 40 hectares are vulnerable to logging on unprotected Crown lands.

There are no approved logging plans for the area, but that could change at any moment, Wu said.

“Virtually everywhere we find a grove like this, fairly soon it is flagged for logging,” he said.

Wu said the Ancient Forest Alliance isn’t the first to discover the area, which lies in the traditional Pacheedaht territory and has likely been a destination for mushroom hunters and other forest fans.

But it identified the area as a potential conservation zone by studying aerial maps and exploring off trails.

As a self-described “big-tree hunter,” co-founder T.J. Watt’s first clue was a large cedar along a path used by surfers between Jordan River and Port Renfrew.

“I figured if there was one big cedar, there would likely be more,” Watt said.

He made his way through thickening brush, passing ancient trees, one by one, “until this giant revealed itself.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance says its first priority is getting the vulnerable 40 hectares protected. If successful, Wu says, it could be the next Avatar Grove. The group won protection for the area in 2012, and it has become a destination for visitors to the Port Renfrew area.

Jon Cash, former president of the Port Renfrew chamber of commerce, said it wasn’t easy to win support for Avatar Grove’s protection.

“It was difficult to be in a very small town with one general store, where half the people are loggers,” he said.

But Cash said the economic benefits have proven real. As co-owner and operator of Soule Creek Lodge, Cash said his clients are happy to have an accessible destination to visit.

“The more things people can do while they’re there, the longer they stay. So getting people to stay from one night to two is like doubling your income,” he said.

Avatar Grove draws local and international visitors, he said, having been covered in more than 100 media stories, from the Times Colonist to Al Jazeera. It joins attractions such as Big Lonely Doug, a lone Douglas fir that stands in a clear-cut area.

Port Renfrew now bills itself as the Big Tree Capital of Canada and distributes a tall-tree map to visitors through the town brochure.

As of 2012, about nine per cent of high-productivity, old-growth trees remained on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

Wu said about one-third of that is protected.

Vicky Husband, a spokeswoman for Commons B.C. who helped create an animated map showing the disappearance of Vancouver Island old-growth since 1900, said protecting ancient forests should be a priority.

“In my lifetime, we’ve pretty well lost this forest, and I think most people understand now that it’s not a renewable resource,” Husband said.

“Yes, we can make fibre farms and forests for logging, but we can’t recreate these hundreds — if not thousand-year-old — forests. What we’re saying, is protect what we have left.”

She said forestry policy should focus on sustainable second-growth forestry and creating jobs by keeping mills local.

Wu said high-productivity, old-growth stands such as Jurassic Grove store more carbon, support more species and take hundreds of years to restore, compared with young forests.

“This area should be a high priority for protection,” he said. “It has the classic hallmarks of what attracts tourists, of what houses a lot of biodiversity — marbled murrelets and endangered species live in these endangered forests — and we have a second-growth alternative.”

See the original article at: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/avatar-grove-the-sequel-introducing-jurassic-grove-1.18540489

One of several monumental western redcedars located in Jurassic Grove.

CHEK TV News on the Jurassic Grove

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See the CHEK News report to read more and watch the TV coverage: https://www.cheknews.ca/newly-discovered-old-growth-forest-vancouver-island-312417/

Media Release: Conservationists Relieved as Forest Company Backs Away from Logging Canada’s Finest Old-Growth Cedar Grove, Vancouver Island’s "Castle Grove" in the Upper Walbran Valley

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For Immediate Release

November 30, 2012

Conservationists Relieved as Forest Company Backs Away from Logging Canada’s Finest Old-Growth Cedar Grove, Vancouver Island’s “Castle Grove” in the Upper Walbran Valley

BC government also moving forward with a “legal tool” to potentially protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves in spring of 2013 – but more comprehensive “ecosystem-level” old-growth protection also needed

See spectacular PHOTOS of the Castle Grove at: https://16.52.162.165/photos.php?gID=21

(NOTE: Media are free to reprint any photos, photo credit to “TJ Watt” if possible.)

Conservationists are breathing a sigh of relief as Canada’s finest stand of old-growth redcedar trees appears to have been spared the axe – for now. The Castle Grove in the Upper Walbran Valley on southern Vancouver Island (west of Lake Cowichan) had been flagged for logging in August by the Teal-Jones Group and subsequently was the focus of an intense environmental campaign by the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org). In addition, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations has recently indicated that they intend to follow through on a 2011 promise to create a “legal tool” to potentially protect the province’s largest trees and monumental groves, which the AFA would like to see used to protect the Castle Grove.

“We’re happy that the logging company has given some breathing room for Canada’s finest old-growth redcedar grove – now we need the BC Liberal government to follow up with some legal protection so we don’t ever have to refight this again,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance. “We’re also pleased to hear that the BC government is finally moving forward with the potential legal protection for BC’s largest trees and monumental groves – whether this actually happens, what legal form it takes, where the protections are located, and how extensive the protections are, won’t be known until the spring. Most importantly however, we need much more comprehensive ‘ecosystem-level’ protection for BC’s endangered old-growth forests, which are vital to sustain endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures. Sustainable, value-added second-growth forestry is also needed to support BC forestry jobs, as most of our forests in southern BC are second-growth now.”

In several recent emails to the Ancient Forest Alliance, the Ministry of Forests stated that while the forest company, the Teal-Jones Group, is still actively pursuing old-growth logging in other areas in the region, the company has backed down from their logging plans in the Castle Grove. The email stated:

“There is no cutting permit application for the Upper Castle Grove area. Apparently the company did some preliminary work, hence the tape, but has decided not to pursue any harvesting in that area.”

Another email stated:

The Ministry…is currently conducting policy analysis and stakeholder consultation around legal tool(s) that could specifically protect the big trees we are already aware of. The ministry is also exploring the feasibility of a legal mechanism that could protect big trees that have not yet been located …Options are currently being identified and will be thoroughly analyzed…conclusions and recommendations will be brought forward by the spring of 2013. “

For the past several months the Ancient Forest Alliance had been bracing for a major escalation in BC’s “War in the Woods” as survey tape marking the “falling boundary” for logging had been discovered in August in Upper Castle Grove. Subsequently, the organization began a public awareness campaign that included media coverage (see the Vancouver Sun and Times Colonist article), photography and video expeditions, slideshow tours, and a major letter-writing campaign among thousands of environmental supporters.

“Not all old-growth forests are created equal – the Castle Grove tops all remaining ancient cedar forests that we know for its combined qualities of grandeur, geographic size, and intactness. It’s a real life Jurassic Park-type landscape, a global treasure that must absolutely be protected,” stated TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Of all places, the Castle Grove is THE place where a legal designation to protect our monumental ancient groves would make the most sense. The existing so-called ‘Special Management Zone’ in the Upper Walbran Valley has resulted in the area’s old-growth forests being turned into Swiss cheese, punctured with major clearcuts throughout.”

The Castle Grove is an extensive stand of densely-packed enormous redcedars, including the “Castle Giant”, a 16 foot (5 meter) diameter cedar that is one of the largest trees in Canada. It sits on unprotected Crown (public) lands within Tree Farm License 46 in the Upper Walbran Valley. Unfortunately much of the grove is not protected by any forest reserve designations such as Old-Growth Management Areas, Ungulate Winter Ranges or Wildlife Habitat Areas. The Walbran Valley has been the focus of protests against old-growth logging for years, and early protests in 1991 there played an important role in the build-up towards the massive Clayoquot Sound protests near Tofino on Vancouver Island in 1993. Most of western Vancouver Island, including the Walbran Valley, is in unceded Nuu-cha-nulth First Nations territory.

See a beautiful photogallery of the Walbran Valley at: https://16.52.162.165/photos.php?gID=7

In February, 2011, former Minister of Forests Pat Bell promised that the BC Liberal government would implement a new legal tool to protect the largest trees and associated groves after a Forest Practices Board report that investigated the logging of an exceptionally grand stand of ancient redcedars near Port Renfrew showed a deficiency in protection levels for productive stands over 400 years in age. The BC government has indicated that they may be looking at using existing legal tools, namely provincial Recreation Sites and Old-Growth Management Areas, to fulfill this function.

See the BC government’s announcement in February, 2011, about creating a new legal tool to protect BC’s largest trees and groves:

Vancouver Sun and Times Colonist: “B.C. looking for new ways to protect ancient trees” (Feb.16, 2011)

“We don’t care if the BC Liberal government uses new or old tools to protect our endangered ancient groves like the Castle Grove. The main thing is they need to actually designate such areas for protection, otherwise it was simply an empty promise for PR purposes at the time,” stated Ken Wu. “Most importantly, the BC Liberal government needs to implement a much more comprehensive Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect old-growth ecosystems on a much larger scale across BC.”

The BC government’s PR-spin inflates the amount of remaining old-growth forests by including hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal, low productivity forests growing in bogs and at high elevations with smaller, stunted trees, lumped in with the productive old-growth forests (where most logging takes place). “It’s like including your Monopoly money with your real money and then claiming to be a millionaire, so why curtail spending?” stated Ken Wu.

These low productivity forests are extensively protected and are disproportionately represented in parks and regulatory-protections compared to the productive, big-treed forests. The government’s statistics also fail to reveal the context of the remaining old-growth forests, that is, how much of these forests once remained across Vancouver Island, including on the vast corporate-owned private lands on eastern Vancouver Island that until recent years were managed as public lands (until the Tree Farm Licenses were removed, thus deregulating the lands) and where about 95% of the old-growth forests have been logged.

On Vancouver Island, satellite photos show that about 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley-bottom ancient forests where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity resides. Only about 10% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s). Of 2.3 million hectares of original, productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island, about 1.7 million hectares have now been logged. Of the remaining 600,000 hectares of productive old-growth forests, just over 200,000 hectares are protected in parks and regulatory protections like OGMA’s.

See maps and stats at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government and the NDP Opposition to commit to implementing a BC Old-Growth Strategy that will protect old-growth forests wherever they are scarce (such as on Vancouver Island, in the Lower Mainland, in the BC Interior, etc.). The AFA is also calling for the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which constitute most of the forests in southern BC, and to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills and value-added wood manufacturers by ending the export of raw logs to foreign mills.