Orange flagging tape marked "Falling Boundary" ropes off massive red cedars in a section of the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew

Pandora fans feeling blue over the Earth

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What’s 12 feet tall and blue all over?

If you’ve seen the movie Avatar — and who hasn’t? — you’ll know the answer to that question is the Na’vi, the incredibly cool, nearly naked aliens with cornrows and braids who live on the incredibly cool, beautiful planet known as Pandora, all threatened by the techno-military-industrial (and little) bad guys from Earth, who lust for a metaphorical mineral called “unobtanium.”

That’s us, folks.

People have begun to notice a strange thing when they take off their 3-D glasses and re-enter the real world after a two-hour 40-minute exposure to Pandora. This beautiful place, inhabited by intelligent (and really tall) beings who have a direct link to Aywa, a.k.a. Mother Nature, is so vividly drawn that the planet we actually live on, Earth, seems like a giant slum.

Moviegoers are pouring their hearts out on blogs and chat rooms, all mourning the loss of Eden, er Earth, and wishing they were cool and connected like the Na’vi.

There’s at least one group that’s not lying around in a Pandora-induced coma. The Ancient Forest Alliance, based in Victoria, gets Avatar and understands its value in spawning a whole new generation of Na’vi-loving environmentalists. Not daunted by the anti-global warming backlash, the alliance has picked a likely forest near Port Renfrew and dubbed it “Avatar Grove.”

Sounds so much better than Tree Farm Licence No. 46.

We dare you, says the alliance, to clear-cut this little slice of Pandora on Earth. If I’m the Teal-Jones Group, which owns the licence, I’d send my PR department to the movie to take notes. Can you imagine Hollywood actresses in cornrows chained to trees, weeping for Avatar Grove? The Ancient Forest Alliance can.

It’s entirely possible the Last Battle for the Planet Earth will be played out in Canada. After all, James Cameron, Avatar’s creator, is Canadian; his art director studied the Athabasca oilsands project for its lurid images of environmental destruction.

And British Columbia is one of the last Pandora-like preserves on Earth. Its ancient forests (sounds better than old growth, no?) protect 1,600 species at risk and 60 per cent of the nation’s evergreen trees.

Even the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, once a bastion of hewers of wood, now believes the best bet for the future is to save Avatar Grove for the tourists. If you loved the movie, stay tuned for the sequel — it’s coming soon to an ancient forest near you.

Undated image from the Tahsish Valley on Vancouver Island

Old-growth logging blamed for Island wasteland

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Rare old-growth Douglas Fir trees in the threatend Koksilah River grove.

Koksilah River Old-Growth In Jeopardy

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By Lexi Bainas, The Citizen March 12, 2010
The Cowichan Valley Regional District will write to provincial Forests Minister Pat Bell and TimberWest, asking that any timber harvesting within the vicinity of the Koksilah Ancient Forest and the upper Koksilah River corridor be held in abeyance while consideration be given to other potential interests in these lands.

Warrick Whitehead, who’s been spearheading the push to save this old-growth forest beside the Koksilah River in the Shawnigan Lake area since 2007, told the CVRD’s parks committee March 10 that he’d been up to the beautiful area recently and seen new logging boundary and road location ribbons on the trail into the big trees.

“After many phone calls and emails I was again able to save this area from logging and roadbuilding, which was about to begin,” he said.

Kirk Taylor, vice-president of sales and marketing for Couverdon Real Estate, which is selling the land for TimberWest, replied to him that although they were planning to put the land on the open market, they were willing to hold off on harvesting until after the March 10 CVRD meeting.

Postponing logging was very important as no negotiations had been started, no boundaries set and no surveying done for acquisition, Whitehead told the committee March 10.

Since first hearing about the trees years ago, Whitehead has taken hundreds of people to visit the grove, which is located not far from Burnt Bridge, near but not part of the Koksilah River provincial park.

Notified of the need to protect this additional piece, the province has expressed an interest in purchasing the land for a park at some point but there is no money for that right now, he said, telling directors that immediate action is called for.

“This logging is planned in the area that is extremely important to the integrity of this whole project, the link between the Koksilah River Ancient Forest and the downstream properties that will have access to it.”

While he stopped the logging for the moment, it’s merely a postponement as he has no power to do more, Whitehead said.

“TimberWest and Couverdon will not hold on to these private lands without a positive response from the CVRD. Without your political support, we could lose this opportunity forever.”

Whitehead asked urgently for the regional district to be a leader and contact Couverdon to set up negotiations.

Once that is done, the next step will be fundraising to buy the land and Whitehead said he’s lined up retired TV exec Kim Wildfong to help generate public campaigns and negotiate matching funding from various foundations and government agencies, many of whom are already interested in the project.

“The Environment Canada Natural Areas Conservation Program has, for example, a fund of $225 million ‘to secure environmentally sensitive lands to ensure protection of our diverse ecosystems, wildlife and habitat’. This project is perfectly matched,” he said.

After hearing Whitehead’s presentation directors quickly decided to write to the Minister but wanted more time to hash out the subject in private.

However, they all liked Director Gerry Giles’ idea of a tour of the land in question.

“It’s a really majestic sight. The hike in is not severe. When you are standing in that grove, it’s far more impressive than a picture,” she said.

Saltair Dir. Mel Dorey and Malahat-Mill Bay Dir. Brian Harrison agreed that the subject must be dealt with expeditiously as the land is now at risk.

“There’s no point in buying a property if the trees have all been cut down,” Harrison said.

News Article: https://www.canada.com/business/Whitehead+urges+action+save+forest/2673585/story.html

Wu atop a red cedar stump in Upper Walbran Valley.

Ken Wu Wants to Save ‘the Avatar Grove’

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Ken Wu knows how to get attention for ancient forests.

When we met at the Bread Garden Café on Broadway in Vancouver just after the news broke a few weeks ago that he and several other tree-hugging stalwarts from Vancouver Island had splintered from the Western Canada Wilderness Committee to form the Ancient Forest Alliance, the former Victoria campaign director for WCWC mentioned how much he enjoyed the movie Avatar.

A few weeks later he’d not only shone the media spotlight at his new organization — while repeatedly resisting the opportunity to take potshots at his old one for closing down the office that has been home base for many Vancouver Island environmentalists — he’d launched a new high-profile campaign to save an ancient forest near Port Renfrew that his group has dubbed what else but “the Avatar Grove.” Also known as TFL (Tree Farm License) 46, the stand, which includes some of South Island’s largest red cedars and Douglas firs, is scheduled to be logged any second now.

If the name attracts the attention of Avatar creator James Cameron — and in the days of Twitter and Google alerts you never know (this’d be the hint for whoever reads Cameron’s press to alert him before it’s too late) — this could be the most inspired new name for a patch of endangered land since “The Great Bear Rainforest.”

I spoke to Wu about the challenges of starting a new group — their total bankroll when we met was just over $200 — his excitement at the freedom that comes with not being part of a group with charitable status and his conviction that he could build an effective new organization from scratch with the magic of Facebook and the alliance he helped build on Vancouver Island.

At press time the Alliance’s two Facebook groups already had close to 7,000 members.

Ancient Forest Alliance

No logging plans near giant fir: TimberWest

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Flagging tape in the immediate vicinity of the world’s largest Douglas fir does not mean the area will be logged in the near future, according to forest company TimberWest.

The marked cutblock, less than 100 metres from the Red Creek Fir, was found by members of the Ancient Forest Alliance who say that if surrounding trees are cut, the 74-metre tall tree will be in danger of blow-down.

The tree is 15 kilometres east of Port Renfrew.

The flagging tape is on TimberWest private land, although the Red Creek Fir is on Crown land. Company spokeswoman Sue Handel said the tape does not necessarily indicate harvesting plans.

“We use it in many ways — to determine boundaries and what we have on the land base as assets,” she said.

“We don’t have any immediate plans for harvesting in the area. In the next year or two, it’s not in our short-term harvesting plans.”
TimberWest is aware of public interest in the Red Creek Fir and is planning to improve access to the area, Handel said.

Part of the trail leading to the tree is on TimberWest land, so the company is looking at an access agreement with the province and possible “parking opportunities,” she said.

However, members of the Alliance are skeptical about the company’s long-term plans and want to see the surrounding area protected to ensure the tree survives.

“We believe it is the B.C. Liberal government’s obligation to protect the surrounding Crown lands and to purchase the adjacent private lands to protect the ecosystem where the Red Creek Fir survives,” said Ken Wu. “That would ensure the area’s integrity for biodiversity, tourism, recreation and other important values.”

Ancient Forest Alliance

Protect old grove before it’s too late

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The provincial government should not let the mostly undisturbed grove in the Gordon River Valley, nicknamed Avatar Grove, be logged. It is a gem of an ecosystem and with so little of our old-growth forests left, it is not something we can afford to lose. With its proximity to Port Renfrew, it will be very beneficial for bringing in tourists, which will support local economies.

People will not come from all over the world to see giant stumps and ugly clearcuts. Tourists come to Canada to see the natural beauty that we have left.

An immediate land-use order is needed to protect this grove of old-growth red cedar and Douglas fir trees. A provincial old-growth strategy is also needed to protect and sustainably manage the remaining old growth in our province. All logging that goes on in our second-growth forests should be sustainable so that they remain healthy for many generations to come.

Ancient Forest Alliance

World’s Largest Douglas fir Threatened by Proposed Logging in Adjacent Old-Growth Forest

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A new proposed logging cutblock near the world’s largest Douglas fir tree, the Red Creek Fir, has been identified as that of TimberWest, a BC-based logging company. The Red Creek Fir, located 15 kilometers east of Port Renfrew, is recognized as the largest Douglas Fir Tree on Earth, with enough wood to make 349 telephone poles (ie. 349 cubic meters in total timber volume – see The BC Big Tree Registry. It is 73.8 meters in height and has a trunk 4.2 meters wide (Diameter-at-Breast-Height or DBH).

In a recent conversation with Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt, a TimberWest representative confirmed that the flagging tape labelled “falling boundary” was likely laid out by the company. The BC government`s BC Timber Sales division, the only other possible source of logging activity in the area, has stated that they have no cutblocks planned immediately adjacent to the Red Creek Fir. The TimberWest representative also stated that flagging had been done “as part of an early exploratory mission” for future logging, which she stated they would “defer for one to two years”.

“It would be insane to allow a cutblock beside the largest Douglas fir tree on Earth. Not only will this ruin the experience for visitors with a new clearcut, but it will endanger the tree itself by exposing it to being blown down by strong West Coast winds. We believe that it is the BC Liberal government’s obligation to protect the surrounding Crown lands and to purchase the adjacent private lands to protect the ecosystem where the Red Creek Fir survives, to ensure the area’s integrity for biodiversity, tourism, recreation, and other important values. This should also include protection of the San Juan Spruce, just a few kilometres away, Canada’s largest spruce tree,” stated Ken Wu, co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.ancientforestalliance.org). “The Capital Regional District and federal government could also play important roles to facilitate the area’s protection. Most importantly, the BC Liberal government must commit to undertaking a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to ensure the protection of the remaining old-growth forests in BC where they are scarce, such as on Vancouver Island, around the Lower Mainland, and in the southern Interior, while ensuring the sustainable logging of second-growth stands.” 

The Red Creek Fir stands along the edge of the public-private lands divide on Vancouver Island, slightly on the public (Crown) lands side of the divide by a few dozen meters. About 20% of Vancouver Island was privatized over 100 years ago through the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (“E&N”) Land Grant to a coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, and the lands are now primarily owned by TimberWest, Island Timberlands, and Western Forest Products. The lands are public (Crown) to the northwest side of the Red Creek Fir, while lands to the southeast – literally within a few dozen meters – are privately held by TimberWest. A BC Ministry of Forests and Range spokesperson stated last week that the Red Creek Fir lies within a Forest Service Recreation Site, a tenuous designation that confers no legislated protection for the area and that can be easily removed on the whims of a Forest Service manager.

Along with establishing a comprehensive Provincial Old-Growth Strategy, the Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government to establish a Provincial Heritage Trees designation that will identify and immediately protect the 100 largest and oldest specimens of each of BC’s tree species. Currently there is no provincial legislation that specifically protects the largest or oldest specimens of BC’s world-reknowned old-growth trees.

“If we have laws that recognize and protect Heritage Buildings that are 100 years old, why don’t we have laws that recognize and protect our 1000 year old Heritage Trees? How many jurisdictions have trees that can grow as wide as a living room and as tall as a downtown skyscraper,” states TJ Watt, photographer and explorer with the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Not only do we need to save heritage trees, we need to protect the last old-growth ecosystems in southern BC where the old-growth is scarce, while ensuring sustainable second-growth forestry in appropriate places and ending the export of raw logs to protect BC forestry jobs. They’ve already logged almost 90% of the old-growth forests on the south island, including 99% of the ancient Douglas firs. It should be a no-brainer to protect what’s left of the old-growth here.”

Through BC government neglect, the old information sign at the Red Creek Fir itself has been smashed by falling branches and left to rust on the ground for several years. Members of the Ancient Forest Alliance have erected a new sign to replace the old sign. Local tourism operators in Port Renfrew last summer also erected directional signs leading to the largest trees in the area.

“One gets the impression that the BC Liberal government doesn’t want to promote the existence of BC’s magnificent old-growth trees, despite their importance for tourism, endangered species, and the climate, and despite the fact they are some of the largest trees on Earth,” states TJ Watt. “For example, there are no government signs or indications on the whereabouts of two of the largest trees in the world, the San Juan Spruce, Canada’s largest spruce tree, and the Red Creek Fir, the world’s largest Douglas Fir tree, both found on public lands near Port Renfrew. Local tourism operators from Port Renfrew had to make their own signs and erect them along the roads a few months ago.”

British Columbia is home to the world’s largest Douglas fir (the Red Creek Fir near Port Renfrew – height 73.8 meters, diameter 4.2 meters), the world’s second largest western redcedar (the Cheewhat Cedar by the West Coast Trail/ Nitinat Lake – height 55.5 meters, diameter 5.8 meters), and the world’s second largest Sitka spruce tree (the San Juan Spruce by Port Renfrew – height 62.5 meters, diameter 3.7 meters). Hundreds of other near record-size ancient trees are found throughout the province, most of which don’t have any official recognition or protection. The oldest tree found in BC was an ancient yellow cedar tree logged on the Sunshine Coast in the 1980’s; the tree was almost 1900 years old by the time it was cut down.

Logging markings in Port Renfrew.

World’s Largest Douglas-fir Under Threat

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Please Note: Keith Martin supports an expansion of Pacific Rim National Park, not necessarily the heritage trees designation as stated in the article.

The world’s largest Douglas fir tree, the famous Red Creek Fir tree, located in Port Renfrew at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, remains vulnerable to the effects of logging in an adjacent old-growth forest, claim environmentalists.

The Red Creek Fir giant, a major tourist attraction in the region, stretches more than 73.8m (242ft) in height with a trunk 4.2m (13’ 9”) wide, has environmentalists concerned that the venerable fir will loose its forest padding sheltering the enormous tree to future logging in the area.

“They’ve already logged almost 90% of the old-growth forests on the south island, including 99% of the ancient Douglas firs,” explains Ken Wu, co-founder of the newly-formed Ancient Forest Alliance.

A Ministry of Forest and Range spokesperson, in a recent Times Colonist interview, stated that British Columbia Timber Sales has no immediate plans to log in the area.

However, Ancient Forest Alliance, in conjunction with Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Keith Martin, want the British Columbia government to establish a Provincial Heritage Trees designation that will identify and protect the 100 largest and oldest specimens of each of the province’s tree species. Currently there is no provincial legislation that specifically protects the largest or oldest specimens of BC’s world-renowned old-growth trees.

“If we have laws that recognize and protect heritage buildings that are 100 years old, why don’t we have laws that recognize and protect our 1000 year old heritage trees? How many jurisdictions have trees that can grow as wide as a living room and as tall as a downtown skyscraper,” asks TJ Watt, photographer and co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

British Columbia is home to a number of record-size ancient trees including the world’s largest Douglas fir (the Red Creek Fir near Port Renfrew), the world’s second largest western red cedar (the Cheewhat Cedar by the West Coast Trail/ Nitinat Lake), and the world’s second largest Sitka spruce tree (the San Juan Spruce by Port Renfrew). The majority of British Columbia giant trees lack official recognition or protection.

world's largest Douglas fir tree
Ken Wu stands beside the Red Creek Fir tree. Image courtesy TJ Watt.

Ancient Forest Alliance

Old-growth forests could bring tourists

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The Feb. 20 Raeside cartoon is a perfect representation of the Liberal government’s stance on the fate of our world-class ancient forests. The cartoon depicts Gordon Campbell promoting the province to Olympic tourists by showing off our spectacular old-growth forests. The tourists, upon returning next summer to take photos, find a field of giant stumps.

This continues to be the fate of many of our last stands of giant trees in southern B.C. and shows a lack of understanding of what draws many people to the best place on Earth.

Vancouver Island has the potential to be the Costa Rica of the north, with a thriving eco-tourism market that brings in tourists from all over the globe to see our amazing temperate rainforests. These dynamic ecosystems clean our water, fight climate change and contain mammoth 1,000-year-old trees with trunks more than six metres wide and 90 metres tall.

The government is complacently allowing the clearcutting of these rare gems and their subsequent conversion to much smaller and ecologically simpler second-growth tree plantations.

People are not travelling from across the world to see plantations and clearcuts. The government needs to say enough is enough in regard to logging our natural old-growth heritage and protect what little we do have left, while ensuring a sustainable second-growth, value-added industry.