Liberal MP Keith Martin stands on top of a massive

Forestry Watchdog Concludes Strong Public Interest for Saving Ancient Forests and that BC Government can Readily Protect Avatar Grove

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The Ancient Forest Alliance is encouraged by several conclusions from yesterday’s report by BC’s Forest Practices Board (FPB) about the Avatar Grove and a nearby clearcut of enormous stumps close to Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island [see photos in the next email – also video clips available by request for TV media].  Click here to see report The Forest Practices Board is a government-appointed, third party watchdog group on BC’s forestry practices. 
 
The report was issued yesterday in regards to a private complaint from a BC resident (a University of Victoria Environment Studies professor) regarding two old-growth areas, one logged and one still standing, in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew:  an ancient stand of near-record size redcedars – now a clearcut of giant stumps (logged in early 2010) – and the nearby Avatar Grove, still standing for now but threatened with potential logging. Both areas were found and highlighted to the media in 2010 by the Ancient Forest Alliance. 
 
“This report brings the welcome conclusions that there is ‘strong public interest’ in protecting our extremely rare, monumental stands of coastal ancient forests like the Avatar Grove, and that the BC government has the legal mechanisms to quickly protect them – if they have the political will,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and explorer who stumbled across the Avatar Grove over a year ago. “Lets hope the BC government will listen to their own appointed watchdog.”
 
The logged stand of ancient western redcedars investigated by the FPB report was among the most exceptional groves of remaining giant trees in North America until it was cut down – with several tree specimens that were 13 to 15 feet in trunk diameter. The Avatar Grove is perhaps the most easily accessible, endangered stand of monumental ancient Douglas firs and redcedars (some with remarkably giant burls, see the incredible photogallery at:  https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/ ) in BC.  Both areas are featured in the Ancient Forest Alliance’s newest video clip (1 minute), “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree – Save the Avatar Grove” on Youtube, which has had almost 4000 viewers in just two weeks. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw 
 
The report of the Forest Practices Board which investigated concerns about the “special value of trees of exceptional size or form, age or historical significance” that can be from 500 to over 1,000 years old, states that, “Having withstood the ravages of time over many centuries, they can inspire awe and reverence, a sense of spirituality and connection to past events,” and there is “strong public interest in seeing more ancient trees and forest stands preserved to live out their natural lives and functions, and managed as a social, economic and ecological asset to the public and surrounding communities.”
 
The report notes that a miniscule fraction – just 1% – of the Gordon Valley region (“landcape unit”) consists of protected stands of exceptionally large, monumental old-growth trees over 400 years in age, which the complainant to the FPB termed “ancient forests” to distinguish them from regular old-growth forests. In addition, it notes that only 15.7% of the Gordon landscape unit is protected in Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA’s).
 
The report also states in regards to the endangered Avatar Grove, 75% of which is open for logging (25% is protected within OGMA’s), that “current options to protect the unprotected part of the area include creation of a new park or other reserve, or expansion of the existing OGMAs” and that “If further protection is warranted for Avatar Grove, government has available policy and procedures to guide potential amendment of its land]use objective” to protect the area.
 
The Avatar Grove is the most easily accessible, monumental stand of endangered ancient redcedars and Douglas firs in a wilderness setting on southern Vancouver Island. It can be accessed not far past the end of a paved road, growing on relatively gentle terrain, only a 15 minute drive from Port Renfrew. Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt came across the Avatar Grove in December, 2009, while on an exploratory expedition in the Gordon River Valley. It is home to cougars, wolves, bears, elk, and deer. Support for protecting the Avatar Grove is extensive, and includes the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, the Sooke Regional Tourism Association, and elected political representatives at all three jurisdictional levels, including federal Liberal MP Keith Martin, provincial NDP MLA John Horgan, and Regional Director Mike Hicks.
 
“If the Avatar Grove falls, Port Renfrew won’t get another chance like this again for many human lifetimes,” stated TJ Watt. “The protection of the Avatar Grove – should the BC Liberal government have the wisdom and foresight – could very well become the ‘breadbasket’ for a tourism dependent community like Port Renfrew. I think most businesses in the community recognize this.”
 
The Ancient Forest Alliance is working to end the logging of endangered old-growth forests in BC, to ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests which now comprise most of southern BC’s forest lands, and to end the export of raw logs to foreign mills.
 
Old-growth forests are important for endangered species, the climate, tourism, clean water, and many First Nations cultures.
 
“Our ancient forests are as much a part of BC’s heritage as the Canucks, whale-watching, and Stanley Park,” states Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “How many jurisdictions on Earth still have trees that grow as wide as living rooms and as tall as downtown skyscrapers?  And how many still say it’s good to cut down them down? We now have a major second-growth alternative, so it’s nuts to keep logging towards the end of the old-growth resource at this stage in our history.”
 

Old-growth clearcut near the Avatar Grove in the Gordon River Valley.

Photograph of Vancouver Island clearcut wins national competition

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 A beautifully haunting photo of an old-growth clearcut on Vancouver Island has won a national photography competition.

Ancient Forest Alliance photographer T.J. Watt took first place in Outdoor Photography Canada magazine’s “Human Impact” photo contest with an image taken in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

“As a photographer working for a cause you’re always looking for that elusive shot that truly captures both the emotional and the factual aspects of the issue in one image,” Watt said in a statement.

“It’s difficult to get both together but this picture is quickly proving to have done just that. Of the hundreds of thousands of photos I have taken, as sad as it is, this is the one I am most proud of.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the B.C. government to protect the province’s remaining old-growth forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and to ban raw log exports to foreign mills.

View other photos by T.J. Watt of Canada’s largest trees and stumps at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/

Read more: https://www.vancouversun.com/Photograph+Vancouver+Island+clearcut+wins+national+competition/4227150/story.html#ixzz1D2PN2ply

Old-growth clearcut near the Avatar Grove in the Gordon River Valley.

Photo of Old-Growth Clearcut on Vancouver Island Takes Top Prize

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A raw and striking image of an old-growth tree stump in a clearcut near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island, BC, recently claimed 1st place in Outdoor Photography Canada magazine’s “Human Impact” photo contest in its latest fall/winter edition. The photo, taken by Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) photographer TJ Watt in the Gordon River Valley last March, shows a stark, foggy clearcut with a man solemnly poised on a giant stump surrounded by logging slash and a fringe of the former forest in the background. See the winning photo here: https://16.52.162.165/pic.php?pID=12  

 

“As a photographer working for a cause you’re always looking for that elusive shot that truly captures both the emotional and the factual aspects of the issue in one image. It’s difficult to get both together but this picture is quickly proving to have done just that. Of the hundreds of thousands of photos I have taken, as sad as it is, this is the one I am most proud of,” notes Watt.

 

Photography is a powerful and essential tool for raising environmental awareness and Watt feels its key benefit lies in its ability to bring remote or unseen places to the public’s eye.

 

“My images focus mainly on the threats to BC’s endangered old-growth forests and often times I am taking photos where less than and a handful of people have stood, if any at all. The rugged rainforests of Vancouver Island go largely unexplored and the clearcuts are very treacherous so it’s really important to be able to share the images from these places that few people see,” says Watt. “If you can’t bring the 4 million people in BC to the woods then you need to bring the woods to them. And now with the power of GPS mapping and Google Earth you can extend that concept to include the entire world.”

 

Watt and a hiking partner snapped the winning shot after they finished leading a public hike through the nearby endangered Avatar Grove (see Watt’s photo gallery here: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/) – a stand of easily accessible, monumental old-growth forest flagged and surveyed for logging that has caught the attention of thousands of British Columbians, elected officials, and media over the past year.

 

See other photos by TJ Watt of Canada’s largest trees and stumps at:   https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/

 

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and to ban raw log exports to foreign mills.

 

 

You can visit Outdoor Photography Canada magazine’s website here: https://www.outdoorphotographycanada.com/

The stump of a 14ft diameter old-growth redcedar freshly cut in 2010 found along the Gordon River near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

B.C.’s Best Old-Growth Forest Slideshow Visits Salt Spring

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Ancient Forest Alliance co-founders are bringing spectacular photographs of Canada’s largest trees and their presentation on B.C. ecology and forest politics to the island next week.

Ken Wu and TJ Watt will host an informative and inspiring slideshow at The Fritz cinema on Wednesday, Feb. 9 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Adriane Carr, deputy leader of Canada’s Green Party and former Wilderness Committee Clayoqout Sound campaigner, will also give a talk and host a fundraiser pledge auction to raise campaign funds for the AFA, which has just passed its one-year anniversary.

“Time is running out for our endangered old-growth forests and B.C.’s coastal forestry jobs. Salt Spring Island is famous as a hub of environmental consciousness — it may very well have the highest density of tree-huggers in North America. It’s a key place for us to build support and expand our strong campaign to protect our ancient forests, ensure sustainable second-growth forestry and to ban raw log exports to foreign mills,” states campaign director Wu.

According to the AFA, to date about 75 per cent of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forest has been logged, including 90 per cent of the valley bottoms, while only six per cent of its original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks.

Meanwhile, thousands of forestry jobs are being lost as millions of cubic metres of raw logs are exported each year to foreign mills.

The AFA plans to take their campaign to a new level in 2011 by:

• Vastly increasing the support base for its campaigns through the “100,000 Strong for Ancient Forests and B.C. Jobs” petition drive and public awareness campaign.

• Increasing cooperation among key allies by meeting and working with First Nations, politicians, businesses, unions, faith groups and many other organizations.

• Guiding monthly public hikes to the spectacular Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew and other endangered ancient forests.

• Continuing to explore and document endangered old-growth forests in B.C. through professional photography and videos.

“How many jurisdictions on Earth have trees with trunks as wide as living rooms and that grow as tall as downtown skyscrapers?” asks Watt.

“We’re so lucky to have such exceptionally magnificent forests here in coastal B.C. I am always excited to share some of the best photographs from Vancouver Island’s most incredible rainforests and hidden wild places.

original article in bclocalnews.com saltspringislanddriftwood

Liberal MP Keith Martin stands on top of a massive

Ancient forest group continues push for old-growth

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In just over a year, the Ancient Forest Alliance has collected almost 7,000 petition signatures, 18,000 supporters and fundraised more than $50,000.

Not bad for an environmental group in it’s infancy, says cofounder Ken Wu.

The non-profit organization founded in January 2010 is working to protect old-growth tree stands through B.C., including some on the West Shore.

“The western communities have some real gems of old growth,” Wu said. “On the Department of National Defence lands in Colwood and Metchosin, you’ve got some of the finest old-growth Douglas fir stands on the planet. It’s a spectacular place.”

AFA members spent the last year hunting the south Island for old-growth stands to document and photograph. It’s trying to put pressure on the B.C. government to protect old-growth stands for future generations.

“I think a lot of people realize this is a spectacular part of the world and the unfortunate thing is that the B.C. Liberal government still contends that old growth forests are not endangered on Vancouver Island, which is nuts … our old growth forests are now in tatters and are now a teeny fraction of what they once were.”

AFA’s discovery of an old-growth stand near Port Renfrew, dubbed Avatar Grove, has some of the largest trees on the Island and in Canada, Wu said. It’s in an area zoned for logging, with rights belonging to Surrey-based Teal Jones Group. The AFA is now offering guided public hikes to the area every month.

“It’ll knock your socks off,” Wu said. “It’s got Canada’s gnarliest tree. This tree’s got a burl that is 12 feet wide — something that can only happen in an old-growth forest.”

Looking forward into 2011, Wu says he’s optimistic about the upcoming leadership races for the B.C. Liberals and B.C. NDP.

“There’s great potential for new progressive environmental policies, but we’ve got to snowball the size of the movement to ensure that happens,” he said.

The AFA is trying to collect 100,000 signatures for a petition calling on the government to protect old-growth forests and forestry jobs.

One of the ways it intends to do that is through a provincewide slideshow tour. The team will be traveling across the province delivering photo presentations about the most endangered old-growth stands, including Avatar Grove, Flores Island and the upper Walbran Valley.

Wu says the AFA already enjoys tremendous support from government representatives regionally, provincially and federally. Mike Hicks, CRD Juan de Fuca regional director; John Horgan, Juan de Fuca NDP MLA; Keith Martin, Liberal MP; the Sooke Tourism Association and the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce are all calling for the protection of Avatar Grove, according to Wu.

“Ultimately, it’s up to the BC government to make a land use order to protect the Avatar Grove and eventually to establish new protective areas too. We need to protect the old-growth across Vancouver Island and throughout much of the province because it’s so endangered now.”

 

Link to original article no longer available: https://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/goldstreamgazette/news/115027064.html

Ancient Forest Alliance

CFAX Radio Interview (on Youtube): Climate and Old-Growth Forests with Sierra Club of BC’s Jens Wieting

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Link to video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXIcjHP8knE

Ancient Forest Alliance

Canada’s Gnarliest Tree – Save the Avatar Grove

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Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw

A giant old-growth redcedar with a massive,10ft diameter burl has been dubbed “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree”. It grows on Vancouver Island in the endangered Avatar Grove (see SPECTACULAR photo gallery here: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/) – a 50 hectare stand of lush old-growth temperate rainforest on public (Crown) lands near Port Renfrew that has become a major attraction due to the ease of access to its giant, alien shaped redcedars and enormous Douglas-firs.

The movement to save the Avatar Grove has also garnered political support at all levels. Federal, provincial and regional political representatives in the Juan de Fuca area have all joined the call for its protection, including federal Liberal MP Keith Martin, provincial NDP MLA John Horgan, and Regional Director Mike Hicks, who notes the Avatar Grove would make an excellent side visit for those traveling along the newly completed Pacific Marine Circle Route.

The Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce and the Sooke Regional Tourism Association have also requested that the BC government protect the Avatar Grove, recognizing the economic significance of eco-tourism in their communities.

Yet, despite virtually unanimous support, the BC government has not stepped up to the plate to ensure that the area is spared from logging by the Surrey-based Teal-Jones Group.

 

Old-growth forests store 2-3 times more carbon per hectare than the ensuing second-growth tree plantations but are still threatened by logging in BC.

Searching for the ‘sweet spot’ in the carbon debate

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In the recent global climate talks in Cancun, Mexico this past December, then Federal Minister of Environment, John Baird, said that conserving and managing our forests sustainably is “one of the most inexpensive ways to combat global warming and to see carbon reductions.” 

The valuable contribution intact forests make in conserving natural carbon stores to help in the fight against climate change has been largely overlooked in BC. Like a bank account that can store carbon away for hundreds of years, the service of keeping carbon in the ground and out of the atmosphere, is provided free of charge by our intact forests. When forests are logged, the carbon-rich soils, forest floor, and woody biomass release much of that stored carbon into the atmosphere.

The British Columbia Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report 2008 reveals that logging and slash burning – although not officially included in the accounting — were responsible for 63,246,000 tons (gross) of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. This is higher than the total greenhouse gas emissions from BC’s entire energy sector for that year — including emissions from road transportation, and fossil fuel and manufacturing industries.

Most climate change experts and conservation organizations, and a growing number of corporations and communities, agree that meeting robust targets to reduce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, as soon as possible, must be a societal priority. For many companies and communities, it will take time to reduce carbon- and other greenhouse gas-intensive infrastructure. Fortunately, BC’s coastal and other primary forests store vast amounts of carbon for us now, when we need it, not decades into the future, such as when seedlings grow into trees.

High quality forest conservation carbon offsets are one financial tool that can prevent emissions of tremendous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, thereby helping in the fight against global climate change. Used strategically, if the areas conserved are large enough and form part of a broad conservation network, these offset projects also have the potential to help protect species such as the grizzly, salmon, and birds as they struggle to survive the impacts of a changing climate. In addition, economic benefits from the sale of truly high quality forest conservation offsets flow to landowners or communities — including First Nations — which can improve human well-being and provide a conservation-based economic alternative to land degradation.

Forest offsets for carbon emissions, and carbon offsets generally, can be a greenwash marketing strategy if not coupled with concurrent measures to make ever-increasing and real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Added to that, there are ‘good’ projects that meet the intended objectives and there are others that fall flat, giving all carbon offset projects a bad rap. This is why it’s incredibly important to recognize and support ‘good’ projects. For that, we need to have standards for carbon offsets that are rigorous – so that we can trust the projects and help the climate.

BC has some of the world’s most carbon-rich forests – one needn’t look farther than western Vancouver Island and all along BC’s emerald coastline. If BC can find the “sweet spot” wherein species habitat and the ecosystem services that ensure our survival – such as natural carbon storage — can be protected, and wherein conservation of more forest can provide alternate, revenue streams for community well-being, shouldn’t that be of great interest to all British Columbians? The Tofino District Council and the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce — both of which exist and operate within the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — have recently sent in letters of support for forest carbon offset projects that conserve intact forests.

The deadline for the BC Ministry of Environment to receive public comments on the draft Forest Carbon Offset Protocol is fast-approaching. It is important that they establish rigorous standards for all forest offset projects that result in ‘real’ avoided or reduced emissions, or in robust greenhouse gas removals, and at minimum, do not cause net environmental harm.

Marlene Cummings is the BC Forest Campaigner with ForestEthics, and has a Master of Science in Environmental Planning from the University of British Columbia.

Link to original article: https://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/communityofinterest/archive/2011/01/27/searching-for-the-sweet-spot-in-the-carbon-debate.aspx

Ken James of the Youbou TimberLess Society (YTS)

Film series turns eye to Youbou closure

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It will have been 10 years on Wednesday, Jan. 26 since TimberWest’s Cowichan Sawmwill at Youbou closed.

A total of 220 families lost their jobs that day.

As is often the case in that sort of situation, many of the workers who had hung onto their jobs to the end had 25 or more years of service.

According to the Youbou Timberless Society (YTS), founded by former employees after the closure, many never found future employment.

Those that did find work in other sawmills still suffered the fate of their friends as mill after mill closed on the Island and all across B.C.

The YTS aimed both to fight against the mill closure and, going forward, to try to improve the situation of forest-dependant communities.

Its goals from 10 years ago remain strong today, according to group stalwart Ken James.

“With over 200 paid up members we continue to work with other groups, often behind the scenes now, to promote our ideas of sustainable, profitable, forestry that will leave a standing forest behind for future generations,” he said this week.

“One of the most rewarding things we have been able to accomplish was uniting groups that were previously opposing each other on forest issues. To bring most of the environmental lobby onside with forest workers, was no small accomplishment.”

Anyone interested in learning what the group is doing now, 10 years after, should attend a special evening Thursday, Jan, 20 at 7 p.m. at the United Church Hall, when the Eye Opener film series will show two short videos about log exports.

One of the films was made by graduating students from Lake Cowichan Secondary School and the other was produced by the Youbou TimberLess Society itself.

Following the showings, there will be a time for discussion and reflection of the last 10 years and what has happened to the Cowichan Valley’s once vibrant forest economy.

Ban Raw Log Exports filmmakers Travis Stock

The Death Of A Sawmill

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The tenth anniversary of closure of Timberwest’s Youbou sawmill — and its economic and family fallout — will be discussed during tomorrow’s Eye-Opener Film Series in Duncan.

The Cowichan Citizens’ Coalition will screen the documentaries Stump To Dump, and Raw Log Exports made by Lake Cowichan Secondary School students.

Discussion will involve Youbou Timberless Society members, plus Ken Wu and T.J. Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

YTS, the Tree-Huggers and Tree-Cutters Alliance, and the Citizens’ Coalition were formed after protests about the mill’s demise on Jan. 26, 2001.

It was allowed shut by Victoria after then-forests minister, Dave Zirnhelt, signed a document that removed Clause 7 linking Timberwest’s annual allowable cut to keeping the mill open.

The mill’s closure tossed some 220 workers out of jobs, sparking seven years of failed court challenges by the YTS.

Bitterness of the closure still simmers among YTS members and local families.

In the 2006 24-minute Ban Raw Log Exports, filmmakers Brent Rayner and buddies Travis Stock, Reece Docherty and Cody Lawson express their anger about what they see as corporate mismanagement of Crown timber, and raw-log exports allowed by Victoria while wood-manufacturing jobs go begging.

“The Liberals aren’t listening,” said Rayner. “They’re after the money and we’re all just numbers.”

The selective-logging fan said the 2007 disappearance of his unemployed Youbou mill-worker father, Darreld, isn’t linked to the operation’s closure.

“He wouldn’t have done that to our family.”

Stock — whose dad, Ken, works for Island Pacific Logging — said raw-log exports make no sense.

“I hope people see how our logs are sent to the states when we have families here to be employed processing those logs.”

 

Your ticket

What: Youbou mill closure films and discussion

When: Jan. 20, 7 p.m.

Where: Duncan United Church, Ingram Street

Tickets: By donation. Call 250-701-1682