A man in a red jacket lays on a monumental western redcedar among hundreds of other fallen old-growth trees in a clearcut on northern Vancouver Island.

Clearcutting of Grove of Forest Giants on Northern Vancouver Island – Photos and Videos Document the Destruction

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For Immediate Release
May 10, 2023

Shocking photos and drone footage reveal the destruction of rare, big-tree old-growth forests on northern Vancouver Island in Quatsino Sound, highlighting the urgent need for dedicated funding to enable both temporary logging deferrals and permanent, Indigenous-led protected areas initiatives.

Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance have documented with photos and video the clearcutting of a magnificent ancient forest in Quatsino Sound and are urging the BC government to immediately commit funding for old-growth protection to help prevent further loss of the most endangered old-growth forests in BC, plus identify at-risk old-growth forests for deferral that were missed due to mapping errors in the original process.

Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) members TJ Watt and Ian Thomas came across the fallen remains of a grove of enormous western redcedars — some measuring upwards of 10 feet (3 metres) wide, on a field expedition in 2022. The 25-hectare old-growth cutblock, an area equivalent to over 50 football fields, is located on public lands in Tree Farm Licence 6, which is held by logging company Western Forest Products in Quatsino territory.

AFA’s TJ Watt provides some scale by lying down on the trunk of an old-growth western redcedar tree recently cut by Western Forest Products in Quatsino Sound.

“This was a superlative ancient forest,” stated AFA photographer and campaigner, TJ Watt. “I was floored by the sheer number of monumental redcedars that had been cut down. It was the most shocking example of industrial old-growth logging I’ve witnessed since the logging in the Caycuse and Nahmint Valleys. Dozens of centuries-old trees littered the ground, trees that were taller on their side than I was standing beside them. Some of them were alive earlier that day. After more than a century of high-grade logging in BC, groves of unprotected giants like these are extremely rare to find. To lose another one as special as this is heartbreaking.”

In November 2021, the BC government agreed to implement temporary logging deferrals in 2.6 million hectares of the most at-risk old-growth forests in BC. These priority deferrals were identified by an independent old-growth science panel, the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), to prevent irreversible biodiversity loss while long-term land use plans are developed. To date, about 1.2 million hectares, or 46%, of priority deferral areas have been agreed upon by First Nations (whose consent and support are a necessity for any new deferrals or protected areas). More than half the areas recommended are still open to logging.

Despite being home to scores of giant trees, many of which would have been 500+ years old, this particular grove — and likely hundreds of others — was not included in the TAP’s original deferral recommendations due to the forest being incorrectly labelled as 210 years old in the province’s forest inventory database (40 years younger than the province’s 250-year-old threshold for being considered old-growth on the coast and to be included in deferral mapping).

A massive old-growth redcedar tree logged on Vancouver Island in Quatsino Sound

The TAP specifically mentioned the issue of inventory errors in their report (see pages 9, 10, 13), making clear recommendations to the BC government that on-the-ground assessments should be used to identify and defer big-tree old-growth forests that were missed in their preliminary analysis. Thus far, it appears the BC government has only used field verification to remove deferral areas that don’t meet the TAP criteria (which are to then be replaced with those that do) in order to facilitate logging, but they are not actively working to identify key old-growth stands that were missed during the TAP analysis due to mapping or inventory errors.

“Knowing that this irreplaceable ancient forest could potentially still be standing today if the BC government was using field verification to identify and defer old-growth forests missed due to mapping errors is a punch in the gut,” stated Watt. “We’ve continually raised this issue with the BC government but so far our concerns have been brushed aside. They only want to subtract old-growth from the priority most-risk category and not add any, even when it is their mistake. Citizens and scientists should be able to submit the locations of old-growth forests that meet the criteria for priority deferral but that have been missed for various reasons. Forest companies should also be obligated to field-verify cutblocks against the TAP deferral criteria before getting approval for logging. These images highlight the devastating impacts on the landscape due to provincial policy and funding gaps.”

A man in a blue jacket stands inside the base of a logged western redcedar in the middle of a massive clearcut on northern Vancouver Island.

AFA’s Ian Thomas stands inside a nearly 10 ft (3 m) wide stump of a fallen western redcedar.

Conservationists argue that without significant funding, it will be nearly impossible to secure the full suite of priority old-growth logging deferrals and their eventual permanent protection, especially in the highest-value old-growth forests with the biggest trees that are most coveted by industry.

“The BC government must come to the table with immediate funding, both in the short and long term, for the deferral and protection of old-growth forests,” explained Watt. “At least $120 million in ‘solution space’ funding is needed immediately to help facilitate logging deferrals by ensuring that First Nations communities aren’t forced to choose between setting aside at-risk old growth and generating revenue for their communities. In the longer term, at least $300 million in conservation financing is needed from the province and another $300 million more from the feds, as well as hundreds of millions more from private donors, to support First Nations’ sustainable economic development, stewardship jobs, and creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) linked to protecting the most at-risk old-growth forests and ecosystems. This can include new land-use planning, Indigenous guardians programs, and the development of sustainable economic alternatives to old-growth logging such as tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood harvesting, non-timber forest products, and value-added, second-growth forestry.

A man in a red jacket stands among towering western redcedars in Quatsino Territory.

TJ stands beside a massive redcedar tree growing unprotected adjacent to the cutblock in Quatsino Sound.

Under pressure, the province recently committed to creating a new conservation financing mechanism by the end of June to be filled with philanthropic and private contributions but has yet to publicly commit any of its own funding towards the initiative. The long-awaited BC Canada Nature Agreement and the recent multi-billion dollar provincial budget surplus provide excellent avenues for securing the estimated $800-$1B+ in overall funding necessary to protect the majority of endangered old-growth ecosystems across BC

The Quatsino region on Vancouver Island has historically been hit hard by industrial logging, with less than 25% of its productive (big tree) old-growth forests remaining. Conservation biologists agree that when ecosystems fall below 30% of their original extent, they are at high risk of irreversible biodiversity loss. Despite this ecological emergency, nearby old-growth groves, including some forests specifically recommended for deferral are currently flagged for logging

“Driving to this ancient forest, one must pass through mile after mile of industrial tree farms that have replaced the once magnificent old-growth rainforests of Quatsino Sound. This grove was one of the last fragments of rich old-growth forest remaining in the area, a crucial reservoir of biodiversity and ecological resilience in a damaged landscape,” stated Watt. “Witnessing the disappearance of the last unprotected stands of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island leaves one with a profound sense of ecological grief. The BC government can and must use its vast resources to help pave the path toward the protection of what still remains.”

The BC government has committed to protect 30% of BC’s land area by 2030, to develop a conservation financing mechanism to support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas by the end of June, and to target protection for the most biodiverse areas — major commitments that the Ancient Forest Alliance commends. However, missing still is the immediate funding to facilitate deferrals among First Nations, provincial funding for conservation financing (not just a commitment to seek philanthropic funds), and ecosystem-based protected areas targets that include forest productivity distinctions.

This series of images and video is part of work Watt has created with support from the Trebek Initiative, a grantmaking partnership between the National Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society that supports emerging Canadian explorers, scientists, photographers, geographers, and educators with a goal of using storytelling to ignite “a passion to preserve” in all Canadians. Watt was among the first round of grant recipients in 2021 and was named a National Geographic Explorer and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer.

Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, First Nations cultures, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and tourism. Under BC’s current system of forestry, second-growth tree plantations are typically re-logged every 50–60 years, never to become old-growth again.

An aerial image of a patchwork of clearcuts in Quatsino Territory.

25 hectares (roughly 50 football fields) of prime old-growth forests were clearcut here in total by Western Forest Products.

 

 

 

Motion for Old-Growth Fund & Export Ban Introduced by MP Patrick Weiler

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For Immediate Release
May 5, 2023

MP Patrick Weiler Introduces Motion to Launch the $82 million Old-Growth Protection Fund ($164 million with BC matching funds) and to End Old-Growth Log and Wood Product Exports

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) and the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) give great thanks to Member of Parliament Patrick Weiler (West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country) for his new motion to help protect old-growth forests in BC and Canada.

Weiler has crafted a motion, introduced into federal Parliament yesterday, calling for the $82 million BC Old-Growth Protection Fund (increased from $50 million previously, and contingent on matching BC funding that would bring it to $164 million), to end the international export of old-growth raw logs and wood products from across Canada as quickly as possible (and by no later than 2030), and to protect old-growth on federal lands on Department of National Defense and National Park lands from any destructive infrastructure developments.

If implemented, these motions will be significant contributions to help protect old-growth forests in BC and across Canada, where the main “War in the Woods” over old-growth forests has taken place over half a century.

“We welcome this motion by MP Patrick Weiler. $82 million dedicated to old-growth protection in BC, when matched by the province for a total of $164 million, is no small sum. It would result in a major leap forward to protect old-growth forests here, along with a much larger federal-provincial BC Nature Agreement fund — as would a rapid phase-out on the export of old-growth wood products across Canada with an emphasis on second- and third-growth wood products instead. We commend Weiler for taking the initiative here to help keep the ball rolling for old-growth protection,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner & photographer TJ Watt stands beside a giant old-growth redcedar growing unprotected on northwestern Vancouver Island in Quatsino territory.

“The Biden administration in the US is now creating a pathway that could end old-growth logging on their federal public lands across the country, and BC and Canada need to do the same. MP Patrick Weiler is starting this process, and I hope his positive motion pushes the province to really get on track — as the province is directly in charge of provincially-managed Crown lands where the vast majority of old-growth forests stand, along with the local First Nations whose unceded territories it is. Premier Eby’s recent move to embrace the 30% by 2030 target and to undertake a conservation financing mechanism to fund First Nations IPCA plans should be applauded. However, there is still significant space for spin and sophistry to keep the status quo of old-growth forest liquidation safeguarded as new provincial policies are being developed. I can see many of the same old actors from the old-growth timber industry and old timber bureaucracy at work in this regard right now, and they are both pervasive and clever,” stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director.

There are elements in the provincial government that appear to be employing a number of different strategies in an attempt to contain change and extend the life of the destructive status quo of old-growth liquidation, including efforts to minimize the centrality of fully protected areas — and instead to emphasize better old-growth logging rather than no logging of old-growth as the first consideration, as well as “conservation” areas that keep the door open for commercial old-growth logging. Other apparent strategies include minimizing ecosystem-based protected areas targets, including failing to distinguish between big-treed vs small-treed old-growth forests (forest productivity distinctions); minimizing the role of science and scientists in developing ecosystem-based targets in conjunction with Traditional Ecological Knowledge holders; and making conservation financing primarily about capacity and stewardship funding rather than about sustainable economic development funding to supplant the old-growth logging dependency in many First Nations communities.

Ancient Forest Alliance Campaigner & Photographer TJ Watt stands atop the stump of an old-growth redcedar tree cut in 2022 the Klanawa Valley on Vancouver Island in Huu-ay-aht territory.

The federal government has been offering significant funding for years of several hundred million dollars, contingent on an agreement for matching funds from BC — to drastically expand the protected areas system across the province as part of Canada’s commitment to protect 25% of the country’s land area by 2025 and 30% by 2030 (BC has committed to the latter target). Currently 15% of BC is in legislated protected areas. Negotiations over a BC Nature Fund between the federal and provincial governments have been ongoing for two and a half years (since January of 2021), and now include First Nations, and an agreement is expected in the not distant future.

Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director Ken Wu stands beside a giant old-growth redcedar tree growing unprotected on Nootka Island in Mowachaht/ Muchalaht territory.

The provincial government has also stated that they will have a conservation financing mechanism in place by the end of June, and the EEA and AFA are encouraging the province to ensure that they bring in both provincial and federal contributions into that fund (not just private donations) which can be used to help ensure both old-growth logging deferrals and protected areas, including by providing the needed funds to First Nations for their capacity, stewardship, and sustainable business development needs linked to new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (typically legislated via Provincial Conservancy and various Protected Areas designations provincially).

The original sum of $50 million for a BC Old-Growth Fund has now been increased by MP Weiler and his colleagues to $81.9 million. If matched by provincial funds, it would be $164 million to help First Nations and other parties to specifically protect some of the grandest and most endangered old-growth forests in BC, with an emphasis on protecting Coastal and Inland old-growth rainforests and Interior Douglas-fir forests. Weiler also noted that additional federal protected areas funds are available from the $2.3 billion in terrestrial protected areas funding, as well as from the several billion dollar Nature Smart Climate Fund, that would also help protect old-growth forests in BC as part of the overall effort to expand protected areas in the province and across the country.

Old-growth forests across BC are on the unceded territories of diverse First Nations, whose consent is a legal necessity for the establishment of new protected areas on Crown/unceded First Nations lands (ie. the provincial government cannot unilaterally just protect old-growth forests in BC — the support of the local First Nations is needed, and the province should undertake the policy framework and provide key funding as part of the “enabling conditions” to facilitate interested First Nations to establish new protected areas). Across BC, many or most First Nations have a major economic dependency on timber revenues and jobs, including on old-growth forestry.

Land Guardian Domonique Samson with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band stands beside an old-growth Douglas-fir tree on a property recently purchased by the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation to be given back to the band with a conservation covenant.

“Conservation financing” refers to funding from governments and private sources for the development of sustainable economic alternatives in First Nations and other communities that enable the development of Indigenous businesses and jobs in eco- and cultural tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood, non-timber forest products (eg. wild mushrooms) and other industries, linked to the establishment of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs). In the Great Bear Rainforest, Haida Gwaii, and currently in Clayoqout Sound, major conservation financing funds from the federal and provincial governments, environmental groups, and carbon offset projects have enabled high levels of forest protection and conservation to move forward. The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and the Ancient Forest Alliance, with our partner organization the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation, are now moving ahead with similar conservation financing projects to support old-growth protection initiatives and new IPCAs by the Kanaka Bar Indian Band near Lytton and the Salmon Parks initiative of the Mowachaht/ Muchalaht First Nation.

Over 80% of the medium to high productivity forest lands (places that typically grow the largest trees the fastest) in BC are now second-growth. With appropriate government incentives and regulations, old-growth forests can be protected while forestry employment levels could be enhanced with the development of a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry. This is particularly true if the extensive second-growth harvest (which currently is also unsustainable), which already contributes most of the cut in BC, is turned into higher end wood products in the province, rather than being shipped out as raw log exports. Eby is now starting to provide funding for a value-added transition for industry to manufacture smaller diameter (ie. mainly second-growth) logs, and we encourage him to continue this trajectory, while the federal government is also starting to support the value-added sector.

Old-growth forests are typically defined by the BC government as stands older than 250 years on the Coast and older than 140 years in BC’s Interior, although old-growth characteristics (canopy gaps, well-developed understories, multi-layered canopies, large woody debris) can develop in significantly younger stands in many areas.

Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, the climate, tourism and recreation, clean water, wild salmon, and diverse First Nations cultures whose unceded territories it is. Old-growth forests have unique characteristics that are not replicated in the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with. Because they are re-logged every 50 to 60 years on BC’s coast and every 80 to 100 years in the Interior, they never become old-growth again. As a result, old-growth logging is not a sustainable activity under BC’s and Canada’s system of forestry but is more similar to “forest mining”.

A logging truck loaded with old-growth logs passes through the Klanawa Valley on Vancouver Island.

 

About 200 people listening intently as renowned forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon presents about old-growth forests vs. second-growth tree plantations

Earth Week Event 2023

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We’re still buzzing after such a well-attended Earth Week event in late April at St. Mary’s Church in Metchosin, where close to 200 of you joined us for an evening of knowledge-sharing, insight, and community-building with presentations from renowned forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon and AFA photographer & campaigner TJ Watt. Together, we raised almost $2000 through donations and sales, all of which will go toward protecting the remaining endangered ancient forests of BC!

Andy gave attendees a breakdown of the intricacies of an old-growth forest vs. the uniformity of a second-growth tree plantation, speaking to the value that BC’s endangered old-growth forests bring to overall ecosystem health and how they affect the planet’s well-being as well as our own.

Afterward, TJ gave the crowd a behind-the-scenes look into the trials and tribulations that accompany his trips out in the field documenting remote stands of old-growth forests as well as clearcuts in his presentation, “Exploring & Photographing Ancient Forests in BC”.

We’d like to give a special thank you shout-out to those who helped make the night a success: Janet Gray, organizer and refreshment-maker extraordinaire; harpist Allison Marshall, who greeted folks as they filed in with her beautiful music; poet Dan MacIsaac, who started the evening with his moving poem titled, “The Log in the Woods”; Heloise Nicholl for emceeing; five-year-old Margaret MacKinnon who is selling her crayon art and donating all proceeds to AFA; and Nicole Perron, Steve Gray, Wally Emer, and all the volunteers at St. Mary’s Parish for helping the evening run so smoothly.

We had such a great time connecting with everyone in person, and were reminded of what a generous, curious, and kind community we have standing with us! Couldn’t make it to the event but would still like to support our work? Click here to donate, Send a Message to the BC government using our online take-action tool, or visit our online store.

Devil’s Club

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Devil’s club is one of the most dreaded banes of the coastal bushwhacker. Towering to over 16 feet (5 metres) high, this plant sports huge, maple-esque leaves and wicked spines coated in irritating oils. Many bushwhackers would prefer to climb into a grizzly’s den than wade through a dense thicket of devil’s club.

This plant is, however, prized by bears who feast on its bright red berries, undeterred by the vicious spines. Related to ginseng, devil’s club is also highly valued by coastal First Nations for its myriad medicinal properties.

Devil’s club is also associated with old-growth forests due to the fact that it’s slow to spread, and so has trouble recolonizing areas that have been logged. It loves moist, nutrient-rich sites, the same environments that create big trees, and therefore its presence can be an indicator of nearby forest giants; for ardent big-tree hunters, devil’s club can be the dragon which guards the treasure they came to seek.

 

Happy Earth Day from the AFA!

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Happy Earth Day from AFA! ?

The global theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in Our Planet”. For years, the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) and our supporters have been calling on the province to “invest in our planet” by committing significant funding toward the protection of endangered old-growth forests in BC through conservation financing.

This approach has already proven successful in the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii, where conservation financing has supported the creation of 123 Indigenous-led businesses, invested $122 million in local sustainable infrastructure, and diversified First Nations economies, all while creating over 1,200 jobs and infusing $63 million into local communities as salaries (see the recent Coast Funds report here).

The emergence of these conservation economies has allowed First Nations communities to transition away from resource-extractive industries like old-growth logging toward sustainable forms of employment and revenue. Additionally, these funding mechanisms provide the resources for Indigenous-led stewardship of their unceded territories.

Conservation Economy: A New Way Forward

Recent studies have shown there is greater economic value to endangered old-growth forests in BC when they’re left standing than when they’re cut down, as seen in our report on the Economic Value of Old-Growth Forests near Port Renfrew BC.

The concept of a “nature economy” is growing as well, which Global News explains in this new interactive article highlighting success stories, such as Indigenous tourism, and featuring a number of AFA photos and videos as well.

The Ancient Forest Alliance has been leading the years-long push to get the province to invest in protecting old-growth ecosystems, and we’re beginning to see the framework for success appear.

On the ground, AFA, alongside our partners at the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and Nature-Based Solutions Foundation, are supporting Indigenous communities to protect approximately 355-square kilometers of highly-endangered old-growth forests through collaborations with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band to support their Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area proposal, and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation to support their Salmon Parks Initiative.

Under pressure, the BC government has now committed to creating a new conservation financing tool within the next six months that can be used to protect old-growth forests elsewhere in BC. However, thus far, the province has not allocated any of its own funding toward it.

We’re committed to doing everything in our power to invest in our planet and its old-growth ecosystems. But we can’t do it alone. If you haven’t already, please consider donating to the AFA or take one minute and send an instant message to the BC government calling on it to invest in our planet by providing funding for old-growth protection!

Earth Day is every day ?

An old-growth grove is pierced by sunbeams coming through the trees

How a new ‘nature economy’ is transforming the fight for BC’s ancient forests

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Check out this interactive article by Global News, which highlights a new economic model that has allowed First Nations communities to begin transitioning away from resource-extractive industries like old-growth logging toward sustainable forms of employment and revenue, as well as providing the resources for the Indigenous-led stewardship of their unceded territories. For text-only viewing, continue reading.

April 20, 2023
Global News
By Kamyar Razavi and Daniel Nass

Have you ever seen a tree so big it would take 10 people to wrap their arms around its trunk – and that still wouldn’t be enough? A tree as tall as a downtown office building?

These trees exist and, in British Columbia’s coastal rainforests, are measured and even tracked by the people fighting to protect them.

There are powerful forces that want to log them. And with insufficient regulation, that has happened.

But there is a new frontier in the fight to save these trees. It’s an economic model that argues that leaving them standing is more profitable than cutting them down.

It’s called the ‘nature economy,’ and it relies on conservation and stewardship to promote economic growth.

One example of this new model in action is Indigenous ecotourism.

It’s a growing industry, worth nearly $2 billion pre-pandemic. Tourists visit communities to learn about Indigenous ways of life, including stewardship practices. It all depends on a healthy ecosystem.

This is the business model of the Klahoose Wilderness Resort, among many others. It’s in an isolated corner of the BC coast.

Another way a ‘nature economy’ is finding a foothold is through talent acquisition. Scott Sinclair, whose company, SES Consulting, retrofits buildings to move them off fossil fuels, says having a nature-first mindset baked into the business model attracts innovative young minds who grew up with the environment front and centre – as well as clients.

“It’s just, I think, an incredible business opportunity,” he says.

For some environmentalists as well, this work is about combining environmental action, long associated with protesters blocking roads and affixing themselves onto trees, with the idea of promoting business.

Though still niche, it’s starting to happen.

‘Valuing’ Nature

To understand the economic value of their natural assets, some communities are putting a price on them.

The District of West Vancouver is one of the first in Canada to do so.

There are some rare strands of urban, old growth trees left standing in the city’s Lighthouse Park. In a walk through the park, District officials Matthew MacKinnon and Heather Keith explained the uniqueness of the old growth forest. They told Global News how these ancient trees, some over 500 years old, maintain an extremely biodiverse ecosystem in the park, while offering people a break from the hustle and bustle of city life.

“There are trees here that have lived longer than any person that’s alive right now,” says Heather Keith, the senior manager of climate action and environment for the District.

The municipality has determined the idea has value in dollar figures. It’s one of the first places in Canada to take this approach, estimating its natural assets – forests, waterways, parks – to be in the ballpark of $3.2 billion, with forests providing up to $1.8 billion in ‘services.’

They’ve estimated that to be the cost of ‘replacing’ those assets, which provide immeasurable ecological and health benefits to the community, Keith says.

Many Indigenous communities are also charting a clear path forward toward that new nature economy.

One model that’s proven successful is called Coast Funds. It’s an investment strategy created by coastal First Nations to pool money to help local communities shift from extraction – logging old growth trees, for example – and toward protection. This means keeping those vital resources intact and leveraging them to make them profitable – ecotourism, carbon credits or guardianship programs.

“We understood that 500-year-old trees don’t just grow up overnight,” says Dallas Smith, the president of Nanwakolas Council, a group of six First Nations that’s part of the Coast Funds initiative.

The broader financial and business communities have realized that the costs of environmental inaction are far greater – and are starting to move toward a sustainable direction, too.

Adam Scott is an analyst whose group, Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, monitors how credible Canadian pension funds are when it comes to climate action. In January, Shift released a report arguing there’s a long way to go. But at least there is a recognition that things need to change.

“The smart players in the financial industry have understood that […] the financial performance of their institutions is based on having a climate strategy,” he said.

Unfortunately, the moves are largely voluntary and without teeth, says Tom Rand, a managing partner with ArcTern Ventures. In other words, he insists, there’s a long way to go before a nature economy becomes the norm.

“If you’re asking if the broad swath of economic actors are understanding that we can make money preserving nature, absolutely not.”

But big trees are offering an inspiration for change. People name them. They trek through the forest to see them, and in the case of photographer TJ Watt, to document them before they’re gone.

A man stands next to an ancient redcedar among a foggy forest

“These are some of the most enchanting and beautiful ecosystems on all of Planet Earth,” says Watt, who represents the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“They’re really some of our oldest friends.”

Tracking giants

When author and book editor Amanda Lewis set out to write a book about big trees, she thought she’d focus on the dwindling, majestic resources nestled in the coastal forests of BC.

But, solo expedition after solo expedition hiking through various groves in search of the biggest of the big led her to another, more optimistic conclusion – “I wanted to focus on what we have left” and not so much on “what we’ve lost.”

The pandemic was a catalyst for Lewis – and, it seems, for many other Canadians too.

At the forestry department of the University of British Columbia, researchers are ‘logging’ BC’s coastal giants in an online database called the BC BigTree Registry. The project documents hundreds of conifer and broadleaf trees across the province, with entries stretching back to the 1980s.

The registry is the work of a small but mighty community of big tree aficionados.

But this is by no means an exclusive group.

“Anybody can nominate a tree,” says UBC Forestry PhD student Ira Sutherland. Submissions spiked during the pandemic as people got out in nature and started noticing big trees around them.

Some of the more vivid descriptions in the BigTree registry come from Terry Nelson, a retired engineer in the Interior BC city of Fernie, and an “amateur” tree hunter.

“With its candelabra of branches spreading out in all directions, this tree seems like it should have a pride of lions hanging out with it.”

—Entry from Terry Nelson on the BC BigTree Registry

Nelson spent months trudging through the forests of the Interior to make a point: big trees aren’t just a coastal phenomenon.

“There’s a certain energy there,” Nelson says of the forest. “If I can lightly use the ‘respecting your elders’ phrase, well that’s really what it’s all about.”

Perhaps no other tree in Canada captures the debate around a new nature economy better than Big Lonely Doug. It’s a giant Douglas Fir ‘spared’ in a massive clear cut around Port Renfrew BC in 2011.

It’s become a tourist attraction of sorts, as has Port Renfrew, a community on the West Coast of Vancouver Island known as Canada’s Tall Tree capital.

“There’s a reason we call them cathedrals.”

—Harley Rustad, author of “Big Lonely Doug”

Harley Rustad, who wrote a book about Big Lonely Doug, grew up amid the ancient forests of coastal BC.

“They not only kind of look like (cathedrals), with great spires and dark corners and very quiet sounds,” he said. “But they also provoke a kind of reverence when we walk through them – you’re walking up along a path to a final altar that rises above you, stretches to the heavens.”

Longtime environmentalist Ken Wu is a big proponent of breaking out of what he calls the environmental “echo chamber,” and working with the business community to protect nature. It’s where you get “huge prosperity,” he says.

He shares photos of a secret grove he’s fighting to protect – and he’s convinced business wants that too.

The grove is dotted with moss-covered giants, branches twisting and turning into the air in scenes described as ‘charismatic,’ or straight out of a Tolkien novel.

Their ‘charisma’ isn’t just in their sheer size, but also in how rare and old they are, having withstood centuries of wind, rain, sun, fire – not to mention the advance of the chainsaw.

In an era of climate crisis – forest fires so massive they’re ‘swallowing’ some of the biggest trees, Lewis says – there’s a sense of meaning associated with that experience, and more people are seeking it out – even giving names to trees.

“I think people now are looking at trees as one of our last, best hopes.”

 

Deer Ferns

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Deer fern is abundant in the coastal rainforest. This delicate little plant has two distinct forms: its sterile fronds are evergreen and lie flat on the ground, and its fertile fronds produce spores, they appear only in the spring and stand straight up from the forest floor. True to its name, deer fern is an important source of winter forage for our coastal blacktailed deer.

Big-tree hunters with the AFA have also noticed that some of the most magnificent groves of giant cedars on the coast are densely populated with lovely beds of deer fern. Cedars are unique among our coastal giants in that they are, like ferns, symbiotically linked to arbuscular mycorrhizae (Douglas-firs and Sitka spruces are connected to another group of fungi called ectomycorrhizae), this means that the mammoth pillars of ancient cedars are intimately connected with the delicate fern gardens that grow in their shadow.

A man with grey hair and a beard stands in front of a massive old-growth tree wearing a puffy Patagonia vest and neon green t-shirt. Beside him on the right is a photo of another man with red hair and a beard wearing a teal Ancient Forest Alliance t-shirt, also standing in an old-growth forest.

Earth Week Event with Andy MacKinnon & TJ Watt – Wed. April 19th

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Are you curious to learn about biodiversity and old-growth ecosystems in BC, what they can teach us, and how you can help see them protected?

Then please join us for a free night of insightful presentations and a special photo show on Wednesday, April 19th from 7–9pm (doors at 6:30pm) at St. Mary’s Church in Metchosin, BC (4125 Metchosin Rd.)!

Dr. Andy MacKinnon, renowned forest ecologist, educator, and co-author of Plants of Coastal British Columbia, among other publications, will speak to the connections between old-growth ecosystems and biodiversity and how they affect the planet’s well-being as well as our own.

TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance’s award-winning conservation photographer, will present on Exploring & Photographing Ancient Forests in BC, giving a behind-the-scenes look into how his images are captured, new updates on the old-growth campaign, and how people can help move it forward!

A man in a red jacket stands beside a massive old-growth cedar tree.

Arrive at 6:30pm to enjoy a few refreshments while viewing TJ’s photos, which will be on display for this event. TJ’s photography will be on display for public viewing April 20th, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 27th, and 29th from 1–3 pm, April 21st and 28th from 6-8 pm, April 25th from 10–12 pm. The event is free, but donations to the Ancient Forest Alliance are welcome!

Click here to register for the Earth Day event. We look forward to seeing you!

 

 

A group of western skunk cabbage plants begins to show their yellow flowers.

Western Skunk Cabbage

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A sure sign of spring on the coast is the emergence of the spectacular western skunk cabbage. These magnificent plants, with their gargantuan leaves, flourish in wet, swampy areas in the rainforest and are among the earliest flowering plants to grace our forests. Their pungent odour is the chemical equivalent of birdsong, though instead of attracting a mate of the same species, the skunk cabbage’s olfactory music lures in flies and beetles to pollinate its dense column of flowers called a spadix.

Bears relish skunk cabbage, feasting on it after they emerge from hibernation in the early spring when other food resources are scarce. If you come across a skunk cabbage garden in the forest, look for bear tracks in the mud and pits where the hungry animals have dug up their swamp salad. Don’t be tempted to follow their example though, as the leaves of skunk cabbage contain crystals of calcium oxalate, the same substance that makes rhubarb leaves toxic.

Also called a swamp lantern because of its bright yellow spathe, encountering dozens of these bright “lanterns” glowing in the shadow of ancient cedars on a cool spring morning, while varied thrushes and pacific wrens pour out their music, is one of the quintessential pleasures of the coastal rainforest.

A turquoise ocean splashes against craggy rocks with lush, green old-growth forest and blue-hued mountains in the background.

Earth Month Contest: Prints for Forest Protection!

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Earth Month Contest Alert! ?

To honour Earth Month, we’re hosting a PRINT GIVEAWAY to help protect endangered ancient forests in BC! All you need to do to enter is Send a Message to the BC government calling for funding to help protect old-growth forests using our recently UPDATED take-action tool! Help us reach 15,000 messages by sharing the link with friends and family as well.

*Note, those who have already sent a message to the BC government using our updated tool (since March 30, 2023) will automatically be entered into the draw. If you sent messages prior to that, you can send a NEW one today.

Send a Message to Enter!

Included in the prize is a signed 20”x30” fine art print from Ancient Forest Alliance photographer, TJ Watt, and an “I ? Ancient Forests” tote bag.

The winner will choose their print from a number of picturesque scenes including the Brooks Peninsula, Avatar Grove, Caycuse Valley, Nootka Island, Great Bear Rainforest, Big Lonely Doug, and more. See them here or browse the gallery below.

Speaking up really does make a difference!

Thanks, in part, to the tens of thousands of letters sent in by people like you over the past few years, we’re seeing many of our main campaign requests materialize, such as the BC government’s recent commitment to protect 30% of the province by 2030, which will double the amount of area currently under legislated protection; creating a conservation financing mechanism to help protect old-growth forests through the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (this is huge!); prioritizing biodiverse areas for protection and creating a new BC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework; investing in a transition to a lower-volume, higher-value forest industry that focuses on processing smaller diameter trees; and more.

However, we’re not there yet

There are still a few major provincial policy and funding gaps to be filled to make sure the government’s commitments lead to protecting the most endangered old-growth forests while supporting the sustainable economic diversification of First Nations communities, whose unceded lands these are and who have the final say in what gets protected — or not.

So please, add your voice to the thousands of individuals and hundreds of businesses who are also calling on the BC government to fund old-growth protection!

Send a Message to Enter

The contest will close at 11:59pm on Earth Day (April 22, 2023) and is open to residents of Canada. The winner will be announced the following Monday (April 24, 2023). We will contact the winner by email, so be sure to add Ancient Forest Alliance to your contacts, so it doesn’t end up in your junk/spam folder.

To keep track of news, photos, and future contests, be sure to follow Ancient Forest Alliance on Instagram and Facebook, and tag your friends in our giveaway post so they can get involved, too!

For the forests,

The AFA team