Tag Archive for: Pacheedaht First Nation

“This may very well be the most significant big tree discovery in Canada in decades. This is a tree with a trunk as wide as a living room and stands taller than downtown skyscrapers,” said TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) photographer and campaigner, who first noticed the exceptional tree several months ago before returning to measure it with AFA co-founder Ken Wu yesterday, in a press release from AFA to Vancouver Observer.

Here's more on the discovery of Canada’s second largest recorded Douglas-fir tree from the press release:

Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) have found and measured what appears to be Canada’s second largest recorded Douglas-fir tree, nick-named “Big Lonely Doug”. Preliminary measurements of the tree taken yesterday found it to be about 12 meters (39 feet) in circumference or 4 meters (13 feet) in diameter, and 69 meters(226 feet) tall. Ministry of Forests staff will visit the site and take official measurements of the tree in early April. Big Lonely Doug is estimated to be about 1000 years old, judging by nearby 8 feet wide Douglas-fir stumps in the same clearcut with growth rings of 500-600 years.

“This may very well be the most significant big tree discovery in Canada in decades.This is a tree with a trunk as wide as a living room and stands taller than downtown skyscrapers,” stated TJ Watt, AFA photographer and campaigner, who first noticed the exceptional tree several months ago before returning to measure it with AFA co-founder Ken Wu yesterday. “Big Lonely Doug’s total size comes in just behind the current champion Douglas-fir, the Red Creek Fir, the world’s largest, which grows just one valley over.”

“The fact that all of the surrounding old-growth trees have been clearcut around such a globally exceptional tree, putting it at risk of being damaged or blown down by wind storms, underscores the urgency for new provincial laws to protect BC’s largest trees, monumental groves, and endangered old-growth ecosystems,” stated Ken Wu, AFA executive director. “The days of colossal trees like these are quickly coming to an end as the timber industry cherry-picks the last unprotected, valley-bottom, lower elevation ancient stands in southern BC where giants like this grow.”

Big Lonely Doug grows in the Gordon River Valley near the coastal town of Port Renfrew on southern Vancouver Island, known as the “Tall Trees Capital” of Canada. It stands on Crown lands in Tree Farm Licence 46 held by the logging company Teal-Jones, in the unceded traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation band.

Big Lonely Doug stands alone among dozens of giant stumps – some 3 meters (10 feet) wide – of old-growth western redcedars, Douglas-firs, and western hemlocks, in a roughly 20 hectare clearcut that was logged in 2012. Its largest branch was recently torn off in a fierce wind/snow storm a few weeks ago, with a 50 centimeter wide base (the size of most second-growth trees) and still fresh needles lying on the ground adjacent to the tree.

The world’s largest Douglas-fir tree is the Red Creek Fir, located just 20 kilometers to the east of Big Lonely Doug in the San Juan River Valley. The Red Creek Fir has been measured to be 13.28 meters (44 feet) in circumference or 4.3 meters (14 feet) in diameter, and 73.8 meters (242 feet) tall.

The University of British Columbia runs a “BC Big Tree Registry” which lists the 10 largest trees of each species based on circumference, height, and crown spread.

Judging by the registry of the top 10 largest recorded Douglas-fir trees in BC, Big Lonely Doug has the 2nd-largest timber volume (ie. overall size), the 2nd largest circumference/diameter, and is the 7th tallest for its kind in BC.

Big Lonely Doug was likely left behind as a seed tree or through a logging practice known as “variable retention harvesting”, where companies claim they are “not clearcutting” the forest because they “retain” varying amounts of trees (in this case, two trees, including Big Lonely Doug) in each cutblock. The tree might have also been used as a cable anchor to yard other trees for the logging operation across the clearcut, judging by the long horizontal lines scarred into its bark.

The stand of ancient trees in which Big Lonely Doug grew was part of a 1000 hectare tract of provincially-significant, largely intact old-growth forest on Edinburgh Mountain, home to species at risk including the red-listed or endangered Queen Charlotte Goshawk.

While some of the area has been reserved as a core Wildlife Habitat Area for the goshawk and as an Old-Growth Management Area, about 60 per cent of the forests there – including the finest, valley-bottom stands with the largest trees, such as the stand where Big Lonely Doug once grew in – are open to clearcut logging.

This area was nicknamed the “Christy Clark Grove” in 2012 after BC’s premier as a strategy to put her on the spot and in the spotlight to have to take responsibility for the fate of this spectacular ancient forest. So far, the premier has failed to ensure the area’s full protection. See photos of this nationally-significant but threatened forest here.

Government data from 2012 show that about 75 per cent of the original, productive old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast (Vancouver Island and Southwest Mainland) have been logged, including over 91 per cent of the highest productivity, valley bottom ancient stands where the largest trees grow. 99 per cent of the old-growth Douglas-fir trees on BC’s coast have also been logged. See recent “before and after” maps and stats here.

The BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations is currently working on following up on a 2011 promise by then-Forests Minister Pat Bell to develop a new “legal too” to protect the province’s biggest old-growth trees and grandest groves. Such a legal mechanism, if effective and if implemented, would be a greatly welcome step forward towards protecting BC’s finest stands. More comprehensive legislation would still be needed to protect the province’s old-growth ecosystems on a larger scale, to sustain biodiversity, clean water, and the climate, as the biggest trees and monumental groves are today a very small fraction of the remaining old-growth forests.

BC’s old-growth forests are important to sustain numerous species at risk that can’t live or flourish in second-growth stands; to mitigate climate change by storing two to three times more atmospheric carbon than the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with; as fundamental pillars for BC’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry; to support clean water and wild salmon; and for many First Nations cultures who use ancient cedar trees for canoes, totems, long-houses, and numerous other items.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to protect our endangered old-growth forests, ensure the development of a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry (second-growth forest now constitute the vast majority of productive forest lands in BC), and to end the vast export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills.

“The vast majority of BC’s remaining old-growth forests are at higher elevations, on rocky sites, and in bogs where the trees are much smaller and in many cases have low to no commercial value. It’s the valley-bottom, low elevation stands where trees like the Big Lonely Doug grow that are incredibly scarce now. 99 per cent of the old-growth Douglas-fir trees on BC’s coast have already been logged. It’s time for the BC government to stop being more enthusiastic about big stumps than big trees, and for them to enact forest policies that protect our last endangered ancient forest ecosystems,” stated TJ Watt.

Read more: https://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/canadas-second-largest-douglas-fir-discovered 

The streets of Toronto were lit up by burning police cars on the weekend of June 26. But back on the Island, music fans were lighting other things as they danced to the music of Jon and Roy, Current Swell, the Racoons, DJ Tedder, Listening Party and other local acts at the first ever Tall Trees Music Festival.

Taking place in Port Renfrew, located on Pacheedaht First Nations territory, the festival was a perfect example of local bands playing for local fans, all in front of a backdrop of tall trees and eagles silhouetted against the West Coast sunset.

Tall Trees offered fans a chance to see some of the best up-andcoming musicians the area has to offer in the loose musical region of surf, folk, rock, and drum and bass/mash up DJ’s

“This festival is a beauty; one hell of a time. It was pretty bang on and I think it should be an annual thing. Just epic,” said Scottie Stanton of Victoria’s Current Swell. “There’s a lot of local talent. And you know there is that festival vibe that you just cannot pay enough for. It’s the best feeling in the world to be around a bunch of people that have the greatest energy.”

DJ Tedder, who moved to Victoria from South Africa when he was 10, agreed.

“It’s a great vibe out here, everyone is happy and friendly, good hope for next year. The setting makes all the difference. It’s a total B.C. vibe.” For Patrick Codere of Mindil Beach Markets, Tall Trees was a bit of an educational experience.

“There is so much to learn from watching other bands,” he said.

“The vibe in Victoria’s music scene is awesome. If you go to a bill of three bands at least one of them is going to be good.”

The band, who hail from the Sunshine Coast and Victoria, felt right at home tucked away amongst the trees playing folkfunk- reggae inspired music with a touch of Jurassic 5.

The festival was put on by Radio Contact, a promotional companycollective based in Victoria. Three Point Property group asked Radio Contact if they would promote and put on an event on an ocean-view bluff set for development by the company. The site, previously a campsite, was eloquently located in the belly of the San Juan Valley.

“The festival grounds seem to speak for themselves. The venue is so awesome, I love it out here. Pretty much everything I’ve heard this weekend I’ve enjoyed,” said Jon Middleton of Jon and Roy, who will be playing at Rifflandia in Victoria this fall.

As Middleton and I stood on the boardwalk talking about Victoria’s growing music scene, the hillside to the west was blanketed with beautiful first and second growth forest, while the eastern hills were juxtaposed with massive clear-cut logging. It’s a paradoxical combination of landscapes that small town B.C. culturally navigates in order to have a prosperous province. The balance between conservation and industry is an act that Port Renfrew is historically familiar with, and one that was represented well at the Tall Tree Music Festival in the contrast between the development work of Three Point Properties, and the conservation work of the Ancient Forest Alliance, who will be receiving most of the proceeds from the festival.

“Everything that we do, we try to have an benefit aspect to,” said Mike Roma of Creative Design/Radio Contact. “And in this case the Ancient Forest Alliance is interested in preserving and protecting a great portion of Port Renfrew.”

“Not only do we want to have a festival here to promote music, but also to promote the community. I think it’s been a massive success, surpassing all our expectations.” Katrina Andres, Operations Director for the Ancient Forest Alliance, said the festival was very positive.

“I had a great time and it seemed like a really successful event. I hope Radio Contact can do it annually,” she said.

Many of the musicians who performed at Tall Trees came not only to make music, but to support the area as well.

“I signed the Ancient Forest Alliance petition,” said Roy Vizer of Jon and Roy. “It’s nice that this sort of [show] brings awareness to the issues in the area. It brings a lot of money to the cause.”

Singer-songwriter Vince Vaccaro moved to Victoria from Montreal when he was 12. His music is a dreamy hybrid of folk and Xavier Rudd earth-tones. The combination of Montreal’s artistic blood, with a Zephyr muse is one worth paying attention to.

Vaccaro believes that we have a responsibility to keep our environment and our economy working together sustainably.

“Our province is our garden, and if we don’t manage it well, our jobs and industries are going to collapse,” he said. “If we don’t find a way to make logging sustainable, then we aren’t doing ourselves any favors in logging for our short-term gains.”

Vaccaro put his money where his mouth is, stepping in to help the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“I’m going to grab the Ancient Forest Alliance clip board and try and sign people up on the petition. There are only two of them, and they are really trying to not be in people’s faces too much, which is good. People are here to party,” he said smiling.