Local Port Alberni Activist

Land swaps could protect watersheds, official says

/in /by

Read the Times Colonist article here

Logging on hillsides such as McLaughlin Ridge inevitably affects the water supply of surrounding communities and the province should do more to help protect watersheds, says the chairman of the AlberniClayoquot Regional District.

Glenn Wong is planning to ask Forests Minister Steve Thomson about the possibility of swapping Crown land for private managed forest lands at the Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting in Victoria next week. If the proposal were accepted, forestry companies could cut in Crown land areas instead of in the watershed.

“I know that what you do in the hills has an impact on water quality,” he said. “We have two water improvement districts and the [Port Alberni] water supply, and we don’t have much of a say in what is happening in our watersheds.”

Smaller communities such as Port Alberni, which is surrounded by private managed forest land, cannot afford to buy their watersheds, so must look for other ways to increase protections, Wong said.

Port Alberni Mayor John Douglas said the emphasis is on talking to forestry companies.

“We have a pretty good dialogue going,” he said.

But Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser, who obtained documents showing strong disagreements between the province and Island Timberlands over protection on McLaughlin Ridge, said logging done so far in the area shows little concern for environmental or watershed values.

Logging this year took place around the periphery of the ridge. The core has not yet been harvested.

“It’s not just a matter of the deer or the water,” Fraser said. “It’s a unique biosystem.”

Jane Morden, spokeswoman for the WatershedForest Alliance in Port Alberni, said the ridge has “scary steep slopes” and harvesting is likely to affect both the water supply and wildlife habitat – even if selective logging techniques are used.

“It was supposedly protected to begin with,” she said. “If anything is going to be left, at least leave this.”

China Creek, the main source of Port Alberni’s water, already has sediment problems, but recent turbidity has cleared very quickly – a sign that the creek is rushing because of erosion higher up, Morden said.

McLaughlin Ridge is made up of old-growth coastal Douglas fir, with a good canopy, hanging lichens and small meadows, making it excellent wildlife habitat, Morden said.

Forests Ministry spokeswoman Vivian Thomas said ministry staff have met with Port Alberni officials about the water.

“There are pre-existing seasonal water turbidity issues in China Creek; however, to this point, no evidence suggests that logging activity in the area is the cause,” she said. “This turbidity has existed for many years and is one reason why Port Alberni also draws water from Bainbridge Lake, particularly when turbidity levels are high in China Creek.”

Minutes of meetings in the documents obtained by Fraser document concerns about public perception.

“Selling this to the public is a real concern for [Island Timberlands],” say the minutes.

Bill Waugh, Island Timberlands’ forestry manager, warned ministry staff that the only way to protect the area in perpetuity would be for the province to buy it.

However, Thomas said the ministry has no interest in buying the ridge.

British Columbia Magazine: Ancient cedars saved

/in /by

In an ethereal valley near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island, more than 100 remarkable Douglas-fir and red cedar trees have held their ground for centuries. Members of the Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance came upon the gnarled titans – some over 60 metres tall and more than four metres in diameter – in December 2009. Soon after, they learned the area was slated for harvest and launched a campaign to save “Avatar Grove.” Earlier this year, the provincial government expanded an existing old-growth management area, where logging and mining is prohibited, to 59.4 hectares, encompassing the grove in its entirety.

Avatar Grove has “some of the most bizarre and beautiful giant cedars known,” says Ken Wu of AFA. “It’s definitely a place of superlatives.”

TOMORROW LUSH "Charity Pot" Celebration Day with the Ancient Forest Alliance

/in /by

TOMORROW LUSH “Charity Pot” Celebration Day with the Ancient Forest Alliance!

A Mossy Maple Hug and “thank you” to LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics for choosing the Ancient Forest Alliance to participate in their Charity Pot initiative.  This fundraising initiative offers grants to environmental groups through the sale of their “Charity Pot” Hand and Body Lotion, and will benefit and boost the Ancient Forest Alliance’s campaign for the protection of BC’s endangered old-growth forests.

To celebrate the Charity Pot and the Ancient Forest Alliance, LUSH is hosting a party at the downtown location at 1003 Government St. in Victoria TOMORROW, Saturday, September 15th from Noon until 6pm where you can pick up an Ancient Forest Alliance “Charity Pot”, hear more about the AFA’s campaigns, enter a draw for a spectacular print by forest campaigner and photographer TJ Watt, or pick up a selection of our greeting cards ($3.00) or a Big Tree Poster ($10 each or 3 for $25).

LUSH Cosmetics
1003 Government St., Downtown Victoria
250-384-5874

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LUSHGovtSt
LUSH website: https://www.lush.ca/

Flagging tape marked "falling boundary" recently discovered in the Upper Castle Grove.

Action Alert! Canada’s Finest Grove of Old-Growth Cedars under Threat – Speak Up!

/in /by

Canada’s Finest Grove of Old-Growth Cedars under Threat – Speak Up!

Citizens are still waiting for a promised new “Legal Tool” to protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves – let’s start with the Castle Grove!

Recently, survey tape for logging was discovered in the Upper Castle Grove in the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island – that is, in Canada’s finest stand of monumental old-growth red cedar trees.  The Castle Grove is an extensive stand of densely-packed enormous cedars which includes the “Castle Giant”, a 16 foot (5 meter) diameter cedar in the Lower Castle Grove that is one of the largest trees in Canada. The flagging tape for the potential logging comes to within 50 meters of the Castle Giant.

The Grove is jam-packed with wildlife and species at risk and is “ground zero” for the ancient forest movement on southern Vancouver Island.

It must not be logged! Please speak up to defend the best of the best ancient forests in Canada!

See the recent Times Colonist and Vancouver Sun articles at: https://www.canada.com/news/Markers+stir+fears+Walbran+logging/7158575/story.html and https://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Survey+tape+sparks+logging+concerns+Vancouver+Island+oldgrowth/7158428/story.html

See new, incredible PHOTOS of the Castle Grove and the “falling boundary” survey tape at: https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/castle-grove/ and a beautiful photogallery of the Walbran Valley at: https://16.52.162.165/our-work/old-growth-campaigns/central-walbran-valley/

So far the logging licensee, Teal-Jones, has not applied for a cutting permit for the surveyed cutblock, but if they do it will be a relatively quick “rubber stamp” from the Forest Service before they can log the Upper Castle Grove.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC Liberal government to protect the area using a long-promised (but as yet unrealized) “legal tool” to protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves.

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)

SPEAK UP for CANADA’s FINEST ANCIENT FOREST!!  WRITE to the BC Liberal Government and to the NDP Opposition!

Cc your email to:

Please tell the above politicians that you want them to commit to:

– Use their promised new “legal tool” to protect the Castle Grove in the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island, including the Upper Castle Grove that is currently flagged for logging and other exceptionally grand old-growth groves in BC.

– Implement a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will protect the remaining old-growth forests in regions of the province where old-growth forests are now scarce, such as on Vancouver Island, in the Lower Mainland, the southern Interior, etc.

– Protect BC forestry jobs by ensuring the sustainable logging of second-growth forests and by ending raw log exports to foreign mills.

***Be sure to include your full name and your home mailing address so they know you’re a real person! Thank you!

MORE BACKGROUND INFO

The Castle Grove (Lower and Upper) is the most impressive stand of unprotected monumental ancient red cedars in Canada. The Grove is in the Walbran Valley and is ‘Ground Zero’ for the ancient forest movement on southern Vancouver Island – both historically and today. Because it’s Canada’s finest stand of endangered old-growth red cedars, it has been the focal area for ancient forest campaigns for decades. The Walbran Valley was the focus of early protests against old-growth logging in 1991 and 1992, playing an important role in the build-up towards the massive Clayoquot Sound protests near Tofino on Vancouver Island in 1993.

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. So far BC citizens have waited for over a year and a half for the BC Liberal government to implement this legal tool. Of all places, the Castle Grove is THE place where such a legal designation would make most sense. Otherwise the BC Liberals’ rhetoric has been as empty as a clearcut.

To date, the BC Liberal government under the new Minister of Forests Steve Thomson has not publicly followed through with this promise, although sources within the ministry have indicated that the BC government is now looking at using existing legal tools, namely provincial Recreation Sites and Old-Growth Management Areas, to fulfill this function.

It doesn’t matter 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 start identifying and designating such areas for protection, otherwise it was simply an empty promise for PR purposes at the time, and hollow promises like that won’t go unnoticed by the conservation movement during this pre-election period. More 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.

Ecological surveys done in the Castle Grove have revealed the presence of threatened marbled murrelets, screech owls, Queen Charlotte goshawks, red-legged frogs, cougars, black bears, and black-tailed deer in the Upper Castle Grove, while steelhead and coho salmon spawn in the Walbran River below the Castle Grove.

On southern Vancouver Island south of Barkley Sound and Port Alberni, satellite photos show that over 87% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged (the rest mainly being second-growth forests now and some urban/agricultural areas). See maps and stats here.

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 inventory and 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 on the BC Liberal government to ensure 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.

Old-growth forests are vital to sustain endangered species, the climate, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations.

 

San Juan Sitka Spruce

On the big tree trail on Vancouver Island

/in /by

Fifteen minutes down a winding gravel logging road outside of Port Renfrew, we spot the telltale flagging tape marking a tree branch and pull over into a small pullout. Across the road, a laminated sign nailed to a tree says “Upper Avatar Grove,” with an arrow pointing up into the forest.

This is it – the reason we’ve driven two hours west of Victoria along Vancouver Island’s rugged west coast to the outskirts of this small former logging town. Stepping into the forest, we take hold of a rope to help us up a steep embankment and onto the makeshift trail, outlined by pink flagging tape.

As we make our way through the rainforest’s undergrowth, ancient red cedars appear almost immediately. The largest trees are 13 metres around and would have been upward of 250 years old when Captain James Cook first set foot on Vancouver Island in 1778. They are the remnants of an ancient forest that once covered much of southern Vancouver Island; it’s estimated only 10 per cent of this ancient forest still remains.

Continuing into the woods, we cross a creek and head up a hillside, passing five or six large cedars as we go. And then, about 20 minutes in, there it is: the piece de resistance, “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree” – a massive red cedar with a bulbous, three-metre burl and serpent-like roots. This is the tree most responsible for sparking a tourism rush in a town once better known for cutting down trees than marvelling at them.

When Ancient Forest Alliance photographer T.J. Watt discovered this stand of ancient cedars in 2009, many of the largest ones were tagged for logging. In a clever marketing move, the alliance dubbed the trees “Avatar Grove,” after the blockbuster James Cameron movie, drawing massive public attention to the trees and ultimately leading to their protection.

These days, visitors to Port Renfrew can pick up a map to the area’s largest trees and set out to explore what’s been coined the Big Tree Capital of Canada. While some of Canada’s largest trees are out of reach of a typical rental car, there are still plenty of accessible giants – aided by the recent paving of the Pacific Marine Circle Route, which allows travellers to drive across the interior of the island and pop out on the east coast near Duncan, rather than doubling back along the same route to Victoria.

After visiting both upper and lower Avatar Grove, which has become such a popular destination that work on a boardwalk is set to begin any day now, we continued on the circle route. About 15 kilometres outside of Port Renfrew, we turn right down a logging road for a few kilometres before reaching the San Juan Spruce, Canada’s largest Sitka spruce tree, standing taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa at 62.5 metres, with a circumference of 11.6 metres. This tree is so big that if it fell prey to a chainsaw, it could provide enough wood for 333 telephone poles. Thankfully, these days, it’s seeing more camera lenses than chainsaws.

A little further along the circle route, the Harris Creek spruce is the most easily accessible big tree in the area and towers above the forest. As we drive, it’s impossible not to notice the clear cuts that border right on the highway. It is, after all, an old logging road, so the band of trees normally left to hide clear cuts from view wasn’t originally deemed necessary. While not the prettiest sight, it serves to bring the juxtaposition of the area’s past and future into clear view.

“TimberWest owned all the houses in Port Renfrew at one time. It was a logging town,” says Jon Cash, original creator of the “Tall Tree Tour” map and owner of Soule Creek Lodge.

Indeed, most of the forest around Port Renfrew has been logged two or three times – which is precisely why ancient trees that have avoided disease, fire and logging companies for up to 1,000 years have attracted so much attention.

“Last year there was a dramatic increase in tourism. It was my best year ever,” says Cash, who was a chef in Toronto before moving to Port Renfrew 11 years ago. “I don’t think anyone ever expected this amount of people to go through Avatar Grove.”

The discovery of Avatar Grove, combined with the paving of the Pacific Marine Circle Route, has also boosted business at Coastal Kitchen Café, a hip Port Renfrew eatery.

“It’s bringing a different type of clientele. We always attracted a fishing community. But now we’re attracting more Europeans and families,” says cafe owner Jessica Hicks.

It’s the type of crowd that jumps at the opportunity to stay in one of Soule Creek Lodge’s luxury yurts perched high on the San Juan Ridge overlooking the area’s ocean and mountains. The lodge is a homey place where guests take their shoes off at the door and checkout happens at the kitchen counter.

The night before our big tree adventure, we checked into a yurt before heading out to check out the tide pools at Botanical Beach just a few kilometres outside of Port Renfrew. Botanical used to be the town’s main tourist attraction and it’s easy to see why with the sandstone outcroppings, rocky cliffs and colourful tide pool inhabitants, including starfish, sea anemones and urchins.

After hiking the three-kilometre loop trail and exploring the tide pools, we’d worked up an appetite and, luckily, had a three-course gourmet dinner in store back at the lodge – featuring local salmon and crab bought right off the town’s dock. Not only is it one of the best meals we’ve had in years, but it’s also a chance to meet other guests – half of whom Cash estimates come to Port Renfrew specifically to see big trees. “This will have dividends for years to come,” Cash says, while inching his way back to the kitchen.

Down at Coastal Kitchen Café, Hicks also sees the preservation of the area’s big trees as a long-term boon. “In the first two years there were at least 10 people a day asking for Avatar Grove whereas before there was nobody,” she says. “I can see that it’s the future of the community.”

In a town of 200 people, 10 new visitors a day is a big deal. And if you’re one of those 10, you get the thrill of visiting somewhere long before the crowds discover it – but half a millennium after some of Canada’s largest trees laid down roots here.

How to get there

Instead of heading back to Victoria after cutting across Vancouver Island on the Pacific Marine Circle Route, you might want to continue on to Tofino. Here are two more great places to check out big trees:

– On Highway 4, between Parksville and Port Alberni, you’ll find Cathedral Grove, which became a provincial park in 1947 after being donated by well-known forester H.R. MacMillan. Home to ancient red cedar and Douglas-fir trees, some more than 800 years old, Cathedral Grove is one of the most accessible stands of old-growth forest on Vancouver Island, attracting more than one million visitors per year.

– From Tofino, you can take a 15-minute water taxi across to Meares Island and walk the Big Tree Trail, which features spectacular red cedars along a boardwalk, including one known as the “Hanging Garden” tree. In the late ’80s, Meares Islands was the site of Canada’s first logging blockade in what would become known as the “War of the Woods.” In the summer of 1993, 12,000 protesters blocked logging in Clayoquot Sound – the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.

If you go:

– WestJet and Air Canada both fly direct to Victoria several times a day. From Victoria airport, leave yourself at least 2.5 hours to drive to Port Renfrew.

– Plan to go between May and October because many Port Renfrew establishments close between November and April.

– Port Renfrew receives twice as much rainfall as Vancouver, so even in the dry season be prepared for muddy conditions.

– Big trees love the rain, but so do mosquitoes. Pack bug spray!

– Pick up the “Tall Tree Tour” map at Soule Creek Lodge or Coastal Kitchen Café.

– Rates at Soule Creek Lodge include breakfast and range from $110 a night for a room in the lodge in the low season to $215 a night for a 450 square foot yurt in the high season.

– Check out ancientforestguide.com for more information on Avatar Grove and the San Juan Spruce.

– Get off the tall tree trail with a trip to Botanical Beach, just five minutes from Port Renfrew. Go at low tide for the best view of Botanical’s spectacular tide pools.

Read more:  https://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/story.html?id=7211566

Hikers walk past a giant Douglas-fir in the Lower Avatar Grove.

Avatar Grove Boardwalk Update

/in /by

Hello AFA friends,

As many of you are aware, the AFA has been planning for several months to build a boardwalk in the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew. Our goal is to ensure the ecological integrity of this recently protected area, and to enhance visitor safety by building boardwalk on the more sensitive parts of the existing trail. So far we have been steadily working to complete the requisite applications and numerous studies, reviews and stakeholder consultations in order to obtain approval from the BC government for the boardwalk’s construction. We have also been working hard to secure the needed supplies, some of the needed funds, expert advisors and partners to make this happen. It has been a lot of work and there have been many hurdles to get through!

Currently we are awaiting our final approvals from several levels of government in order to begin work, which we expect could be within the next several weeks. Our original goal was to begin construction earlier this summer, so we are eager and excited commence as soon as we obtain the final permissions. We thank you for your generous support and patience as we move forward with this. Please watch for future updates regarding possible volunteer opportunities and the project’s status.

 

Photo by TJ Watt

Letter to the Editor – Pine beetle claims refuted

/in /by

Re: Kieran Report, Aug. 23-29

In his attempt to blame the NDP government of the 1990s for the pine beetle epidemic in B.C.’s forests, Brian Kieran claims that the “infestation was first detected in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and could have been contained there if forest companies had been permitted to go into the park and selectively log infested areas” — an argument that has been roundly refuted by everyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of the issue. Even the Liberal government acknowledges that while there was a beetle infestation at Tweedsmuir, there were concurrent infestations throughout the Interior, from the Kootenays and the Chilcotin to the Central Interior. Teaching Grants For College Students

The same government scientists point out that the biggest culprit in the spread of the beetle was lack of cold winters. In other words, even clear-cutting the park — which was being advocated by some — would have had no actual impact on the overall pine beetle outbreak.

Unfortunately, the ultimate response in the face of the unstoppable outbreak was to allow the forests to degrade. Rather than be up front about the state of the forests, the B.C. Liberals stopped doing forest inventories and drastically reduced the amount of treeplanting and silviculture work necessary for long-term forest sustainability.

Only by investing in the natural infrastructure can we ensure the stability of the industry. Doing so will require us to start from a factual, scientific basis — not disproved arguments placing blame where none exists

Read more:  https://www.mondaymag.com/opinion/letters/167871685.html

Photo by TJ Watt

Long-Term Vision for Forest Management and Forest Economy Missing

/in /by

The Special Committee on Timber Supply’s report raises questions about both the Liberals’ and the NDP’s commitment to a long-term forest strategy, says the Independent MLA for Cariboo North.

“These recommendations will not support sustainable change,” said MLA Bob Simpson. “What I see in this report are politicians on both sides passing the buck to local communities with no long-term strategy for success. They’re willing to let communities decide whether to log their protected forests, but what happens when those are gone? The politicians will have moved on, leaving affected communities holding the bag.”

Simpson says there are five areas in particular that need attention:

1. Reforestation programs must be directed at growing healthy forests that will be adaptable to climate change. “I am pleased to see the Committee highlighted silviculture as an area that needs more attention, but the focus needs to be on managing for healthy, resilient forest ecosystems, rather than simply growing more timber,” said Simpson.

2. A thorough review of the Beetle Action Coalitions (BACs) is necessary. “Before there is any more investment in these BACs, they need to be completely audited for effectiveness and restructured,” said Simpson.

3. Act on the recommendations of the Future Forest Ecosystems Scientific Council. The FFESC report recommends looking at all aspects of forestry and land use planning through the lens of climate change. “Their recommendations must be implemented immediately,” said Simpson. They include promoting resilient forests and developing hardwood management strategies.

4. Prioritize new economic opportunities. “Minister Thomson has said that utilizing bio-energy and biomass will be an important part of mitigating the upcoming economic impacts. What we really need is for the Minister, or someone in Cabinet or even in the Opposition, to lead and be a champion for an aggressive bio-economy strategy,” Simpson said. “The government has several reports sitting in front of them outlining progressive strategies, but they haven’t acted on them.”

5. Do not rebuild the Babine Forest Products mill. “From everything I’ve seen and heard, that mill cannot be rebuilt without sacrificing forest health and putting other communities at risk,” said Simpson. The report and background documents indicate that half of the fibre that Hampton needs to rebuild is not currently available and must be sourced from marginal volume stands, old growth management areas, and areas set aside for Visual Quality Objectives.

Simpson noted there were some positives in the report, including a clear synopsis of the concerns heard throughout the consultation process, and a commitment to re-inventory BC’s forests.

The Independent MLA for Cariboo North noted that John Rustad, Chair of the Committee, has acknowledged that a 20 per cent drop in mature timber over the next few years will potentially mean supply shortages for eight other mills in the region.

“The bottom line, and the Committee report confirms this, is that we’re going to see a dramatic timber reduction in the near term,” said Simpson. “Up to this point the government’s mountain pine beetle strategy has been to log as much as possible. This report essentially recommends continuing on that path in order to support the status quo. What we need instead is a bold, long-term provincial forest strategy that takes into account climate change and a changing economy. Unfortunately, you won’t find it in this report.”

The FFESC’s report is available here: https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/ftp/HFP/external/!publish/Web/FFESC/reports/FFESCsynthesisJune7.docx

The Bio-Economy Committee report is available here: https://www.gov.bc.ca/jti/down/bio_economy_report_final.pdf

Media Release: Canada’s Finest Cedar Grove Marked for Logging

/in /by

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is bracing for a potential, major escalation in BC’s “War in the Woods” as survey tape marking the “falling boundary” for logging has been recently discovered in the finest, unprotected stand of monumental old-growth western redcedar trees in Canada:the “Castle Grove” in the unprotected Upper Walbran Valley west of Lake Cowichan on southern Vancouver Island. 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.

See new, spectacular PHOTOS of the Castle Grove and the“falling boundary” survey tape at: https://16.52.162.165/photos.php?gID=21#1

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

The Ministry of Forests has so far failed to confirm whether the logging licensee, Teal-Jones, has applied for an application for a cutting permit in the Upper Castle Grove, although the survey tape clearly denotes the company’s interest in potentially logging the grove. The Upper Castle Grove sits on unprotected Crown (public) lands within Tree Farm License 46.Unfortunately it is not protected within the nearby Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park nor in any forest reserve designations such as Old-Growth Management Areas, Ungulate Winter Ranges or Wildlife Habitat Areas.

The Victoria-based conservation organization, the Ancient Forest Alliance, is calling on the BC Liberal government to protect the area using a long-promised (but as yet unrealized) “legal tool” to protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves. A letter has been sent to all BC Liberal MLA’s on Vancouver Island and to various cabinet ministers requesting the protection of the Castle Grove through the promised legal designation.

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) https://16.52.162.165/b-c-looking-for-new-ways-to-protect-ancient-trees/

The Castle Grove (Lower and Upper) is the most impressive stand of unprotected monumental ancient redcedars in Canada. The Grove has been featured in numerous media reports on BC’s old-growth forests for over two decades, including the front pages of the Victoria “Times Colonist” and in the “Vancouver Sun”. The Walbran Valley in which the Castle Grove is found was the focus of early protests against old-growth logging in 1991 and 1992, playing an important role in the build-up towards the massive Clayoquot Sound protests near Tofino on Vancouver Island in 1993.

“The Castle Grove in the Walbran Valley is ‘Ground Zero’for the ancient forest movement on southern Vancouver Island – both historically and today. Because it’s Canada’s finest stand of endangered old-growth redcedars, it has been the focal area for ancient forest campaigns for decades. To try log it will only escalate the ‘War in the Woods’ to a whole new level,”stated Ken Wu, the executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “We’ve waited for over a year and a half for the BC Liberal government to implement their promised ‘legal tool’ to protect BC’s largest trees and monumental groves and so far we’ve still seen nothing. Of all places, the Castle Grove is THE place where such a legal designation would make most sense. Otherwise the BC Liberals’ rhetoric has been as empty as a clearcut.”

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. To date, the BC Liberal government under the new Minister of Forests Steve Thomson has not publicly followed through with this promise, although sources within the ministry have indicated that the BC government is now looking at using existing legal tools, namely provincial Recreation Sites and Old-Growth Management Areas, to fulfill this function.

“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 start identifying and designating such areas for protection, otherwise it was simply an empty promise for PR purposes at the time, and hollow promises like that won’t go unnoticed by the conservation movement during this pre-election period,” stated Wu. “More 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.”

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt found flagging tape marked “Falling Boundary” in the Upper Castle Grove earlier this month, less than 50 meters from the “Castle Giant”, one of the largest western redcedars in the world at over 16 feet (5 meters) in diameter. The Castle Giant has graced the front page of many BC newspapers and grows on the adjacent flats in the Lower Castle Grove.

“We’ve been waiting for several weeks now to get an answer from the Ministry of Forests on whether the company has applied for a cutting permit yet in the Upper Castle Grove,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer. “Perhaps they haven’t yet, in which case the Castle Grove is simply an ‘area of interest’ for the company which they’re contemplating to log, as indicated by their flagging tape. But if they’ve already applied for the cutting permit, then it looks like we may be headed for a major conflict.”

Ecological surveys done in the Castle Grove have revealed the presence of threatened marbled murrelets, screech owls, Queen Charlotte goshawks, red- legged frogs, cougars, black bears, and black-tailed deer in the Upper Castle Grove, while steelhead and coho salmon spawn in the Walbran River below the Castle Grove.

On southern Vancouver Island south of Barkley Sound and Port Alberni, satellite photos show that over 87% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged (the rest mainly being second-growth forests now and some urban/agricultural areas). See maps and stats at: htt p://15.222.255.145//old-growth-maps.php

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 inventory and 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 on the BC Liberal government to ensure 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.

Old-growth forests are vital to sustain endangered species, the climate, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations.

Markers stir fears of Walbran logging

/in /by

The Vancouver Island old-growth forest that, over the decades, has sparked bitter confrontations over logging is again in the spotlight after survey tape was found near a grove of massive western red cedars.

Members of the Ancient Forest Alliance found the tape in the Upper Walbran Valley, near Castle Grove, which contains the Castle Giant, a western red cedar with a five-metre diameter. The tree is listed in the provincial big tree registry as one of the widest in Canada.

“Castle Grove is ground zero for the ancient forest movement on southern Vancouver Island, both historically and today,” said Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “To try and log it is insanity — it will only escalate the war in the woods to a whole new level,” he said.

The logging tape, marked “falling boundary,” is less than 50 metres from the Castle Giant, said Alliance campaigner TJ Watt who discovered the tape.

However, the Forests Ministry said in an emailed response to questions that no activity is planned in Castle Grove, although some logging is planned in the area further south.

“The area in question could be partly protected by the park, an old-growth management area and ungulate winter range,”  the email said. “Ministry staff were not able to confirm without better mapping information from AFA.”

Teal Jones Group of Surrey holds the licence for the area, but spokesman John Pichugin said that he could not say whether the company has applied for a cutting licence in the area until he has seen a map.

Wu, who took part in the 1991 protests that resulted in the lower half of the Walbran Valley and the Upper Carmanah Valley being added to Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park in 1995, said it is time the province came up with its promised “legal tool” to protect B.C.’s largest trees and monumental groves.

“Of all places, Castle Grove is the place where such a legal designation would make most sense. Otherwise the B.C. Liberals’ rhetoric has been as empty as a clearcut,” Wu said.

The e-mailed response from the ministry said there are legal mechanisms to provide protection to unique or special trees and all British Columbians finding special trees are encouraged to register them on the Big Trees Registry.

“The ministry continues to look at other ways that may provide stronger pro-active protection,” it said.

After the lower half of the Walbran, consisting of about 5,500 hectares, was included in the park, environmentalist continued to push for protection of the valley’s remaining 7,500 hectares.

In 2003 more protests erupted over logging in the area that resulted in the arrest of elderly environmental activist Betty Krawczyk.

Read more: https://www.canada.com/news/Markers+stir+fears+Walbran+logging/7158575/story.html