Logging of massive, ancient cedars in Caycuse watershed signals urgent need for provincial action and funding for old-growth

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Shocking before-and-after photos reveal destruction of irreplaceable ancient redcedars in Vancouver Island’s Caycuse watershed and highlight urgent need for immediate protection of at-risk old-growth and funding to support First Nations’ protected areas and economies.

See full photo gallery here

AFA Campaigner & Photographer TJ Watt surveys old-growth before and after clearcutting by Teal-Jones in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht Territory on southern Vancouver Island. 

Unceded Lekwungen territories/Victoria, BC – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance are urging the BC NDP government to immediately halt logging in BC’s most at-risk old-growth forests and commit funding for old-growth protection following the destruction of some of Vancouver Island’s grandest ancient forests along Haddon Creek in the Caycuse River watershed. 

On an exploration to the area earlier this month, Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) campaigner and photographer TJ Watt visited and photographed the fallen remains of a grove of ancient redcedars he’d first explored and documented in April while still standing. The expeditions resulted in shocking before-and-after images of the once-towering giants. 

“It was truly an incredible and unique grove,” stated Watt. “I was stunned by the sheer number of monumental redcedars, one after another, on this gentle mountain slope. Giant cedars like these have immense ecological value, particularly as wildlife habitat, and important tourism and First Nations cultural value. Yet, the BC government continues to allow irreplaceable, centuries-old trees to be high-graded for short-term gain while they talk about their new old-growth plan.”

AFA Campaigner & Photographer TJ Watt examines an ancient redcedar stump measuring 12ft/4m in diameter that was cut down by logging company Teal-Jones in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht Territory on southern Vancouver Island.

Located southwest of Cowichan Lake and east of Nitinat Lake in Ditidaht First Nation territory, the Caycuse watershed hosts some of the grandest forests on the South Island, rivalling the renowned Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew or the Walbran Valley.

The now clearcut grove was part of a 33.5-hectare cutblock near Haddon Creek, located in Tree Farm Licence 46, which is held by logging company Teal Jones Group. New roads are also being built into adjacent old-growth, which will see more of BC’s iconic big tree forests logged.

AFA Campaigner & Photographer TJ Watt looks up at an ancient redcedar tree more than 10ft in diameter before and after logging by Teal-Jones in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht Territory on southern Vancouver Island.

Earlier this year, the BC government appointed an independent panel to conduct a strategic review of BC’s old-growth management policies. The final report, released in September, contains 14 recommendations including immediate steps to protect BC’s most endangered old-growth ecosystems within six months and a paradigm shift in the province’s forest management regime that prioritizes biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. On the campaign trail in October, the BC NDP promised to implement all 14 recommendations in their entirety.  

As a first step, the province also announced two-year logging deferrals in nine areas covering 353,000 hectares; however, only 3,800 ha or about one percent of the deferred areas consist of previously unprotected, productive old-growth forest.

“With less than three percent remaining of BC’s original, big-tree old-growth forests, the NDP government must work quickly – as soon as Cabinet is sworn in this week – to engage Indigenous Nations, whose unceded lands these are, and enact further deferrals in critical areas while a comprehensive old-growth strategy is developed,” stated AFA campaigner Andrea Inness.

AFA Campaigner & Photographer TJ Watt surveys a sprawling old-growth clearcut totalling 33.5ha (more than 33 football fields) in size. Further old-growth logging is planned on the adjacent slopes as well.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is also calling for significant funding to be allocated in Budget 2021 to facilitate negotiations with First Nations on additional deferral areas and to support Indigenous Protected Areas, Indigenous-led land-use planning, and economic diversification in lieu of old-growth logging, as well as the purchase and protection of old-growth forests on private lands.

First Nations leaders, including the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), are also demanding the BC government work with Indigenous Nations to expand deferrals in threatened old-growth forests and provide First Nations with dedicated funding to protect and steward their lands while pursuing conservation-based businesses and economies, as outlined in a UBCIC resolution passed in September.

AFA Campaigner & Photographer TJ Watt leans against an ancient redcedar tree before and after logging by Teal-Jones in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht Territory on southern Vancouver Island.

“The BC NDP has promised sweeping changes by implementing all of the Old Growth Panel’s recommendations,” stated Inness. “Now they need to put their money where their mouth is by fully funding Indigenous-led old-growth conservation and the transition to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry. Otherwise we can expect more irreplaceable groves like the one in the Caycuse watershed to be destroyed.”

Background information

Old growth forests are integral to British Columbia for ensuring the protection of endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. At present, over 79% of the original productive old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow.  Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original old growth forests are protected in parks and Old Growth Management Areas. 

See the Old Growth Strategic Review panel’s report, A New Future for Old Forests, released in September: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/STRATEGIC-REVIEW-20200430.pdf

See the Union of BC Indian Chiefs September 2020 resolution on old-growth forests: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/UBCIC-Resolution-2020-23.pdf

The AFA is calling on the BC NDP government to protect the ecological integrity of BC’s old-growth forests while maintaining jobs and supporting communities by: implementing a science-based plan to protect endangered old-growth forests; providing financial support for First Nations’ sustainable economic development as an alternative to old-growth logging and formally recognizing First Nations’ land use plans, tribal parks, and protected areas; creating a provincial land acquisition fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands; and curbing raw log exports and providing incentives for the development of value-added, second-growth wood manufacturing facilities to sustain and enhance forestry jobs.

Conservationists welcome old-growth panel report and positive first steps by BC government to address old-growth crisis

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Victoria BC – The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is celebrating the BC government’s announcement today that it will defer logging in nine areas, including world-famous Clayoquot Sound, and protect some of BC’s biggest trees while it works to develop a new provincial approach to old-growth management. But they say much more work urgently needs to be done to protect BC’s at-risk old-growth forests while supporting BC forestry workers and First Nations communities.

The announcement coincides with the long-awaited release of a report, entitled A New Future for Old Forests, by an independent Old Growth Strategic Review panel, comprised of professional foresters Garry Merkel and Al Gorely, which contains 14 recommendations on how BC can better manage its endangered old-growth forests based on feedback gathered from thousands of British Columbians last fall and winter.

In addition to accepting and implementing the panel’s first recommendation to increase First Nations’ involvement in old-growth management, the BC government announced it will immediately defer logging in nine areas totaling almost 353,000 ha of forest across BC – 200,000 ha of which is old-growth.

The temporary deferrals include the entire unlogged McKelvie Valley near Tahsis in Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory on Vancouver Island, the Incomappleux Valley in Ktunaxa territory in BC’s Inland Temperate Rainforest, and over 250,000 ha in Clayoquot Sound, the largest intact area of old-growth forest on Vancouver Island, located in Tla-o-qui-aht, Ahousaht, and Hesquiaht territories.

“This is a positive first step, especially for Clayoquot Sound, which is home to some of BC’s most spectacular ancient forests,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness. “Now, the province needs to uphold its commitment to work with First Nations in the region to further the implementation of their visions towards securing a future for their people and the old-growth forests in their territories.”

The province also announced a Special Tree Protection Regulation would be introduced to protect 1,000 to 1,500 of BC’s exceptionally large trees with one-hectare buffer zones around them.

Tahsis Mayor Martin Davis stands beside a giant old-growth Douglas-fir tree in the McKelvie Valley, part of a 2,231 ha temporary deferral that will prohibit logging in this area.[/caption]

 

“We welcome the BC government’s decision to protect more of BC’s biggest trees,” stated AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “We hope to see the Special Tree Protection Regulation expanded to capture additional trees as well as the province’s grandest groves.”

“More importantly, the BC government has signaled that it recognizes that fundamental changes are needed in the way old-growth forests are managed in BC. The panel’s report is a blueprint for a complete paradigm shift. The province now needs to commit to starting a process, based on science, to implement the Old-Growth Strategic Review panel’s recommendations over the three-year timeframe they suggest.”

“The immediate steps announced today are an encouraging start. However, they still leave out the vast majority of BC’s most endangered ecosystem types and highest productivity old-growth stands, which are of the greatest value to industry and species at risk. While the province has committed to working with First Nations leaders to identify and implement additional deferrals, they need to ensure these are located in BC’s highest risk ecosystems.”

According to a recent analysis by independent scientists, referenced in the panel’s report, only 2.7% of BC’s high productivity, big tree old-growth forests remain today and many of BC’s forest ecosystem types have very little old-growth remaining, leading to a high risk of permanent loss of biodiversity across much of BC. One of the panel’s recommendations to the province is to place logging deferrals in ecosystems and landscapes with very little old-growth forest remaining while a new strategy is implemented.

“We need to hear the BC government embrace both reports’ findings, make a strong commitment to put ecosystem health and biodiversity ahead of timber values, and set higher, science-based, legislated targets to protect old-growth forests, which the panel also recommends.”

“We also support the province’s commitment to work with First Nations leaders, governments, and organizations on old-growth management solutions – something the NDP government promised it would do in its 2017 election platform, but has only just begun,” stated Inness. “However, without funding for Indigenous-led land-use planning and sustainable economic alternatives for First Nations communities tied to old-growth protection, the main economic option being provided by the province for First Nations is old-growth logging.”

“A core part of the province’s strategy must include funding for the creation and stewardship of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), First Nations’ sustainable economic development based on things like cultural and ecotourism, clean energy, and value-added wood manufacturing, and the purchase and protection of endangered old-growth forests on private lands.”  

The BC government has stated that more work needs to be done to study the socio-economic impacts of the panel’s recommendations. To that end, the province has committed to undertaking an engagement process with conservation groups, stakeholders, labour unions, industry, and communities.

“Where there are socio-economic impacts, there needs to be economic support for First Nations, workers, and forest-dependent communities,” stated Inness. “This includes funding to support the transition to sustainable, second-growth forestry and away from logging old-growth, as recommended by the BC government’s own Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in their Budget 2021 consultation report released last month. Without funding for these critical pieces, comprehensive old-growth protection cannot be achieved.”

“Today’s announcement could signal the start of a positive, new, science-based approach to old-growth management in BC. But it could just as easily signal the start of further delays and long, drawn-out consultation processes with few meaningful results. BC’s endangered ancient forests, communities, and at-risk species can’t afford to wait while the province decides which of the panel’s recommendations to implement and when. They need and expect action now.”

 

Facts about old-growth in BC:

  • The total area of old forest in BC is ~13.2 million hectares.
  • The vast majority of this forest (80%) consists of small trees.
  • In contrast, only a tiny proportion of BC’s remaining old forest (3%) supports large trees: ~380,000 hectares have a site index 20 –25m, and only ~35,000 hectares of old forest have a site index greater than 25m
  • These types of forests match most people’s vision of old growth. They provide unique habitats, structures, and spiritual values associated with large trees. 
  • Old forests on these sites have dwindled considerably due to intense harvest so that only 2.7% of this 3% is currently old.
  • These ecosystems are effectively the white rhino of old growth forests. They are almost extinguished and will not recover from logging. 
  • Over 85% of productive forest sites have less than 30% of the amount of old expected naturally, and nearly half of these ecosystems have less than 1% of the old forest expected naturally. This current status puts biodiversity, ecological integrity and resilience at high risk today.

Source: https://veridianecological.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/bcs-old-growth-forest-report-web.pdf

Massive old-growth yellow cedars, including Canada’s ninth-widest, under threat in one of Vancouver Island’s last intact valleys

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Rare old-growth trees in Fairy Creek headwaters near Port Renfrew, where protesters have been blockading Teal-Jones’ road building efforts since Monday, at risk of logging unless BC government intervenes.

Victoria, BC – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) have identified spectacular, near record-sized ancient yellow-cedars at risk of logging by Teal-Jones Group in the headwaters of Fairy Creek, the last unlogged old-growth valley on southern Vancouver Island (outside of parks), located northeast of Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory.

AFA campaigners explored the unprotected headwaters – the site of an ongoing logging blockade – over the weekend and documented the massive trees, which appear to be within a proposed cutblock. One of them measured 9.5 feet in diameter, making it wider than the ninth-widest yellow-cedar in Canada, according to the BC Big Tree Registry. The group also located a number of exceptionally large western hemlocks as well. (See full photo gallery here)

A monumental old-growth yellow-cedar tree in the at-risk headwaters of Fairy Creek measuring 9.5ft in diameter, making it the 9th-widest known yellow cedar according to the BC Big Tree Registry.

“These are some of the biggest, most remarkable yellow-cedars we’ve ever seen,” stated AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “Yellow-cedars are the longest-lived life forms in Canada, with the oldest one, located on the Sunshine Coast and cut down in 1993, recorded as being 1,835 years old. At 9.5 feet wide, the largest one we measured in the Fairy Creek headwaters could very well be approaching 2,000 years in age.”

Teal-Jones Group recently began building roads along the ridgeline above Fairy Creek, about four kilometres up from the popular Fairy Lake. The company also has approved permits to build roads extending down into the headwaters and on the ridgeline on the opposite side of the upper valley. While there are currently no pending or approved cutblock applications at this time, falling boundary tape found within the valley headwaters indicates that it could be part of their future plans.

New roads recently constructed by Teal-Jones reaching the ridgeline of the Fairy Creek watershed, the last unlogged, intact valley on southern Vancouver Island (south of Bamfield) outside of parks

“Blasting these roads in opens the door to future fragmentation of Fairy Creek,” stated TJ Watt. “While thankfully much of the mid-valley is protected in an Old Growth Management Area and Wildlife Habitat Area for threatened marbled murrelets, it’s critical this remarkably rare, unlogged valley remains fully intact and functioning. Most of BC’s old-growth forests exist in small tattered fragments, putting biodiversity and ecosystem integrity at great risk. We can’t allow this to happen here.”

One of many giant, old-growth yellow-cedar trees at risk in the headwaters of the Fairy Creek Valley.

In response to Teal-Jones’ incursion into the Fairy Creek headwaters, a group of protestors set up a blockade on Monday to stop road-building crews and demand that the BC government intervene to protect the entire valley. The protesters, who are not affiliated with any organization, are also calling on the province to immediately release the results of its Old Growth Strategic Review. As a result, the contractor has removed their road-building machines from the site.

“This blockade, the recent two-week hunger strike by James Darling and Robert Fuller in Nanaimo, and yesterday’s protest outside Claire Travena’s MLA office in Campbell River illustrate how outraged and frustrated people are,” stated AFA campaigner Andrea Inness.

“There’s now a growing movement to pressure the NDP government to enact immediate moratoria in the high productivity, most endangered, and the most intact old-growth tracts like Fairy Creek – termed old-growth “hotspots” – while it works to develop its proposed Old Growth Strategy.”

In May, an independent panel tasked with conducting a province-wide Old Growth Strategic Review submitted their recommendations to the province on how best to manage old-growth. As the BC government stalls on releasing those recommendations and announcing its policy intentions, old-growth is becoming increasingly endangered throughout BC.

“A recent independent analysis found that only 2.7% of BC’s high productivity, big tree old-growth forests are standing today and over 75% of what remains is slated for logging in coming years,” stated Inness. “Despite these alarming statistics, the BC government has failed to embrace the study’s findings, has failed to act, and continues to allow logging in these irreplaceable ecosystems.”

The unprotected, intact headwaters of the Fairy Creek Valley near Port Renfrew, where company Teal-Jones has plans for road construction and old-growth logging

“The province needs to recognize the importance of BC’s old-growth forests for ecosystem and climate resilience, as well as human health and wellbeing,” stated Inness. “We need to hear strong commitments from the BC NDP and details of its plan to protect old-growth forests, based on recommendations from the independent panel.”

“BC’s strategy to ‘build back better’ following the economic downturn that’s resulted from COVID-19 must also include an economic plan to help forestry workers transition to a value-added, second-growth industry.”

“We’re calling on the BC government to develop a science-based plan with targets and timelines to protect old-growth forests in all forest types. It’s also vital the province commit funding to support First Nations land-use planning and development of a conservation-based economy tied to the creation of Indigenous Protected Areas and the protection of old-growth forests in their unceded territories.”

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Rare old-growth trees in Fairy Creek headwaters near Port Renfrew, where protesters have been blockading Teal-Jones’ road building efforts since Monday, at risk of logging unless BC government intervenes.

Victoria, BC – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) have identified spectacular, near record-sized ancient yellow-cedars at risk of logging by Teal-Jones Group in the headwaters of Fairy Creek, the last unlogged old-growth valley on southern Vancouver Island (outside of parks), located northeast of Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory.

AFA campaigners explored the unprotected headwaters – the site of an ongoing logging blockade – over the weekend and documented the massive trees, which appear to be within a proposed cutblock. One of them measured 9.5 feet in diameter, making it wider than the ninth-widest yellow-cedar in Canada, according to the BC Big Tree Registry. The group also located a number of exceptionally large western hemlocks as well. (See full photo gallery here)

A monumental old-growth yellow-cedar tree in the at-risk headwaters of Fairy Creek measuring 9.5ft in diameter, making it the 9th-widest known yellow cedar according to the BC Big Tree Registry.

“These are some of the biggest, most remarkable yellow-cedars we’ve ever seen,” stated AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “Yellow-cedars are the longest-lived life forms in Canada, with the oldest one, located on the Sunshine Coast and cut down in 1993, recorded as being 1,835 years old. At 9.5 feet wide, the largest one we measured in the Fairy Creek headwaters could very well be approaching 2,000 years in age.”

Teal-Jones Group recently began building roads along the ridgeline above Fairy Creek, about four kilometres up from the popular Fairy Lake. The company also has approved permits to build roads extending down into the headwaters and on the ridgeline on the opposite side of the upper valley. While there are currently no pending or approved cutblock applications at this time, falling boundary tape found within the valley headwaters indicates that it could be part of their future plans.

New roads recently constructed by Teal-Jones reaching the ridgeline of the Fairy Creek watershed, the last unlogged, intact valley on southern Vancouver Island (south of Bamfield) outside of parks

“Blasting these roads in opens the door to future fragmentation of Fairy Creek,” stated TJ Watt. “While thankfully much of the mid-valley is protected in an Old Growth Management Area and Wildlife Habitat Area for threatened marbled murrelets, it’s critical this remarkably rare, unlogged valley remains fully intact and functioning. Most of BC’s old-growth forests exist in small tattered fragments, putting biodiversity and ecosystem integrity at great risk. We can’t allow this to happen here.”

One of many giant, old-growth yellow-cedar trees at risk in the headwaters of the Fairy Creek Valley.

In response to Teal-Jones’ incursion into the Fairy Creek headwaters, a group of protestors set up a blockade on Monday to stop road-building crews and demand that the BC government intervene to protect the entire valley. The protesters, who are not affiliated with any organization, are also calling on the province to immediately release the results of its Old Growth Strategic Review. As a result, the contractor has removed their road-building machines from the site.

“This blockade, the recent two-week hunger strike by James Darling and Robert Fuller in Nanaimo, and yesterday’s protest outside Claire Travena’s MLA office in Campbell River illustrate how outraged and frustrated people are,” stated AFA campaigner Andrea Inness.

“There’s now a growing movement to pressure the NDP government to enact immediate moratoria in the high productivity, most endangered, and the most intact old-growth tracts like Fairy Creek – termed old-growth “hotspots” – while it works to develop its proposed Old Growth Strategy.”

In May, an independent panel tasked with conducting a province-wide Old Growth Strategic Review submitted their recommendations to the province on how best to manage old-growth. As the BC government stalls on releasing those recommendations and announcing its policy intentions, old-growth is becoming increasingly endangered throughout BC.

“A recent independent analysis found that only 2.7% of BC’s high productivity, big tree old-growth forests are standing today and over 75% of what remains is slated for logging in coming years,” stated Inness. “Despite these alarming statistics, the BC government has failed to embrace the study’s findings, has failed to act, and continues to allow logging in these irreplaceable ecosystems.”

The unprotected, intact headwaters of the Fairy Creek Valley near Port Renfrew, where company Teal-Jones has plans for road construction and old-growth logging

“The province needs to recognize the importance of BC’s old-growth forests for ecosystem and climate resilience, as well as human health and wellbeing,” stated Inness. “We need to hear strong commitments from the BC NDP and details of its plan to protect old-growth forests, based on recommendations from the independent panel.”

“BC’s strategy to ‘build back better’ following the economic downturn that’s resulted from COVID-19 must also include an economic plan to help forestry workers transition to a value-added, second-growth industry.”

“We’re calling on the BC government to develop a science-based plan with targets and timelines to protect old-growth forests in all forest types. It’s also vital the province commit funding to support First Nations land-use planning and development of a conservation-based economy tied to the creation of Indigenous Protected Areas and the protection of old-growth forests in their unceded territories.”

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Conservationists demand immediate logging moratoria in light of new research detailing dire state of BC’s old-growth forests

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Victoria, BC – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are renewing their calls for the BC government to immediately halt logging in endangered old-growth forest ecosystems and intact ‘hotspots’ in the wake of an alarming new report depicting the critical state of BC’s ancient temperate forests.

The report, entitled BC’s Old Growth Forest: A Last Stand for Biodiversity, was prepared by a group of independent scientists for the BC government’s Old Growth Strategic Review panel in order to counter the NDP government’s highly misleading claim that there are 13.2 million hectares of old-growth in BC, comprising about 23% of forested areas.

By analyzing provincial forestry data, the authors found the vast majority (80 percent) of BC’s remaining 13.2 million hectares of old-growth consists of small trees, including bog and subalpine forests, while only about 3 percent (about 400,000 hectares) are comprised of forests capable of growing the big trees that, in most people’s minds, typify old-growth forests. The research also reveals that these remaining, higher productivity forests have been reduced to such an extent from their natural amount that most now face high risks to biodiversity and ecological integrity, yet the majority of them are still slated for logging.

Haddon Creek – Vancouver Island. TFL 46 – Teal-Jones

In light of these significant findings, the researchers, Ancient Forest Alliance, and other conservation groups are calling on the BC provincial government to enact immediate logging moratoria in all endangered forest types with less than 10 percent old-growth remaining; all high productivity old and mature forests; landscape units (i.e. clusters of watersheds) with less than 10 percent old-growth remaining; very old, irreplaceable forests; and remaining intact areas or old-growth ‘hotspots’ and to develop a legislated, science-based plan for the permanent protection for all endangered ancient forests. 

“This research echoes what we have been witnessing first-hand here on Vancouver Island and the southern mainland for many years: that high productivity old-growth forests are critically endangered and that the BC government’s old-growth protection levels are grossly inadequate,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt. 

“It also contradicts the Province’s highly misleading PR spin that old-growth forests are plentiful, that sufficient amounts are protected, and that it’s therefore ‘sustainable’ to continue logging them.” 

“The BC government’s old-growth accounting system is problematic for several reasons,” stated Watt. “They fail to distinguish dissimilar geographic regions (e.g. the Great Bear Rainforest vs. the South Coast); they lump all forest types and productivity levels together, meaning small, stunted old-growth trees and grouped in with ancient giants; they exclude vast areas of largely cut-over private lands; and they fail to account for how much old-growth forest has already been logged since European colonization. For example, on Vancouver Island, almost 80% of original productive old-growth forests have been logged, including well over 90% of the low elevation, high-productivity stands where the largest trees grow.” 

“At best, the government’s stats are unhelpful. At worst, they’re a deliberate attempt to mislead British Columbians in order to justify the continued liquidation of remaining, endangered ancient forests.”

BC’s productive old-growth forests are highly complex ecosystems that have evolved over centuries and millennia. They are integral for ensuring the protection of endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. They have unique characteristics that are not replicated by the second-growth forests they’re replaced with and are a non-renewable resource under BC’s forest system, where forests are logged every 50-80 years, never to become old-growth again. 

“It’s well past time decision-makers faced the facts: old-growth forests are in crisis. Unless things change immediately, entire ecosystems and the species they support are at risk of being lost forever,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness.

“The BC government must acknowledge and accept these research findings and make bold commitments to address the escalating ecological and climate crises we’re facing in BC by protecting endangered old-growth.”

“While the Province works to develop its proposed Old Growth Strategy, it must immediately halt logging in the rarest ancient forest ecosystems as well as old-growth ‘hotspots’ of particularly high conservation and recreational value like the Central Walbran Valley near Lake Cowichan, the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni, and Nootka Island near Tahsis.”

“It’s then critical that the BC government use its Old Growth Strategy to develop and implement new, science-based protection targets for old-growth forests to protect biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, and climate resiliency now and well into the future.”

“The BC government must also finance First Nations’ sustainable economic development as an alternative to old-growth logging and formally recognize and support Indigenous-led land use plans and protected areas to maintain the significant cultural values of ancient forests while supporting First Nations’ communities and wellbeing.”

Logging of BC’s grandest ancient forests continues as Old-growth Strategic Review panel submits recommendations to Province

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Ancient Forest Alliance points to logging of monumental trees in the Caycuse River watershed as evidence of urgent need for NDP government to enact immediate moratoria for BC’s most endangered forest types and sweeping changes based on science to protect old-growth forests.

Speak up for ancient forests! Leave a comment on Forests Minister Doug Donaldson’s Facebook Page or tag him on Twitter using @DonaldsonDoug. Go a step further and contact your MLA to express your concerns! Also, see the full photo gallery here.

 

Victoria, BC – Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance are calling for both immediate and longer-term steps to protect old-growth following the logging of some of Vancouver Island’s grandest ancient forests along Haddon Creek in the Caycuse River watershed. The urgent call coincides with the deadline for a government-appointed panel to submit recommendations to the Province following a six-month-long Old Growth Strategic Review.

Earlier this month, Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) campaigner and photographer TJ Watt found scores of giant trees cut down in the Caycuse watershed, including monumental redcedar trees over 11 feet in diameter, some of which had previously been photographed by Watt while still standing. 

“This grove has an exceptionally large number of massive, ancient cedars,” stated AFA campaigner and photographer, TJ Watt. “Without question, it’s one of the grandest forests on the South Island, rivalling the renowned Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew or the Walbran Valley, which lies a short distance to the south. In 2020, we shouldn’t be logging globally rare ancient forests such as these and converting them to ecologically inferior tree plantations.”

The grove stands within a 33.5 hectare cutblock in Tree Farm Licence 46 near Haddon Creek, where logging company Teal-Jones is actively working. Combined with several other cutblocks nearby, a total of 71.5 hectares (more than 70 football fields) of exceptional old-growth has or will be logged along Haddon Creek and one of its tributaries.  

Located southwest of Cowichan Lake and east of Nitinat Lake in Ditidaht First Nation territory, the Caycuse Watershed was once a prime example of ancient coastal rainforest, but has been heavily logged over the past several decades. Now, as the BC government deliberates on how to better manage the province’s dwindling old-growth forests, Teal-Jones is targeting the highest-value stands remaining in the region.

“There is an extreme sense of urgency because we’re rapidly losing the small percentage of “big-tree” forest that remains unprotected on Vancouver Island,” stated Watt. “As the Province assesses the old-growth panel’s findings and decides which recommendations it may or may not implement, trees upwards of a thousand years old are being cut at alarming rates, never to be seen again. Forest Minister Doug Donaldson needs to act quickly and decisively to ensure their protection.”

Haddon Creek – Vancouver Island. TFL 46 – Teal-Jones

In response to growing pressure from British Columbians to address the mismanagement and over-exploitation of the province’s old-growth forests, in October, the BC government convened an independent, two-person panel to conduct an Old Growth Strategic Review, which included seeking public, stakeholder, and First Nations’ feedback on how BC should best manage old-growth. The panel’s report and recommendations are due to be submitted to Premier and Cabinet today, following which the BC government will undertake further consultations with the goal of developing a new provincial Old Growth Strategy.

The BC government plans to wait up to six months to publicly release the panel’s recommendations and the Province’s proposed new policy direction. 

“We look forward to seeing the panel’s report, which must be made public much sooner…time is of essence as many of the forests in question are being logged right now,” stated AFA campaigner Andrea Inness. “We expect to see strong recommendations, based on the scientific evidence presented to the panel, and are looking to the BC government to quickly implement sweeping changes to protect ancient forests before the next election.” 

“For example, the government needs to place an interim halt on logging in old-growth ‘hotspots’ and BC’s most endangered forest ecosystems while they work to develop their proposed Old Growth Strategy, which must include new or amended legislation that protects old-growth forests based on the latest science. The BC government’s long overdue Big Tree Protection Order must also be implemented to protect BC’s biggest trees with buffer zones as well as the province’s grandest groves, otherwise the greatest stands will be lost in the meantime.”

Haddon Creek – Vancouver Island. TFL 46 – Teal-Jones

“Many of the trees we located and measured in this cutblock would’ve likely qualified for protection under the BC government’s proposed Big Tree Protection Order, which they announced in July 2019 and promised would be implemented by December, 2019,” stated Watt. “So far, the BC NDP have only protected 54 of BC’s biggest trees. Much more urgently needs to be done to protect monumental trees, the grandest groves, and entire old-growth forest ecosystems.” 

“In this time of unprecedented health and ecological crises, as experts around the globe are urging governments to halt ecological destruction and biodiversity loss in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s even more critical that BC be a leader in conservation and protect what remains of our endangered old-growth forests for the benefit, health, and prosperity of all.”

Background information

Old growth forests are integral to British Columbia for ensuring the protection of endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. At present, over 79% of the original productive old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast have been logged, including well over 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow.  Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original old growth forests are protected in parks and Old Growth Management Areas. 

See maps and stats on the remaining old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-maps.php

The AFA is calling on the BC NDP government to protect the ecological integrity of BC’s old-growth forests while maintaining jobs and supporting communities by: implementing a science-based plan to protect endangered old-growth forests; providing financial support for First Nations’ sustainable economic development as an alternative to old-growth logging and formally recognizing First Nations’ land use plans, tribal parks, and protected areas; creating a provincial land acquisition fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands; and curbing raw log exports and providing incentives for the development of value-added, second-growth wood manufacturing facilities to sustain and enhance forestry jobs.

Old-Growth Logging on Mountainside Above Cathedral Grove Illustrates Urgent Need for BC Land Acquisition Fund for Protection of Endangered Private Lands

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Old-growth Douglas-fir trees are loaded onto a truck in Mosaic Forest Management clearcut on Mt. Horne, the hillside above the world-famous Cathedral Grove.

Port Alberni, Vancouver Island – Old-growth logging on private lands owned by Mosaic Forest Management (formerly Island Timberlands) on the mountainside above Cathedral Grove has put Canada’s most famous old-growth forest at risk and illustrated the urgent need for provincial funding to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands. 

Conservationists with the Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance were alarmed to discover logging of intact old-growth on the mountainside late last year and were joined by members of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) to assess and document the logging, which is now complete. 

Located east of Port Alberni in territories of the K’ómoks and Tseshaht First Nations and the Te’mexw Treaty Association, the large cutblock lies on the southwest facing slope of Mt. Horne roughly 300 metres from the MacMillan Provincial Park boundary where over half a million tourists visit annually to see Cathedral Grove’s extremely rare, ancient Douglas-fir trees, of which less than 1% remain on BC’s south coast. 

“Cathedral Grove is Canada’s most famous old-growth forest,” stated AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “And yet its ecological integrity continues to be undermined as the BC government allows clearcut logging to encroach closer and closer to the MacMillan Provincial Park boundary. The BC government needs to step in and purchase these and other private lands to protect endangered ecosystems and reduce impacts to this world-famous grove.”

The logging on Mt Horne, which conservationists consider to be an old-growth forest “hotspot” of high conservation and recreational value, will likely have numerous adverse impacts, including destroying some of BC’s last remaining endangered old-growth Douglas-fir stands; fragmenting the continuous forest cover and wildlife habitat on the slope above Cathedral Grove; reducing critical wintering habitat for black-tailed deer; and increasing siltation of the Cameron River (which runs through Cathedral Grove) during the heavy winter rains as soil washes down from the new clearcut and logging road. 

The clearcut has also already destroyed part of the Mount Horne Loop Trail, a popular hiking and mushroom-picking trail, which Mosaic has closed public access to.

“Mt. Horne has outstanding scenic and recreational value and should never have been logged,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance. “Even if the loop trail is re-opened, it will now lead through a clearcut, totally degrading the trail’s scenic values. It’s also hard to imagine that logging on Mt. Horne’s steep slopes won’t negatively impact the health and longevity of Cathedral Grove.”

Mt Horne was formerly intended as an Ungulate Winter Range to protect the old-growth winter habitat of black-tailed deer. The mountainside is part in the 88,000 hectares of privately held land that the provincial government allowed to be removed from Tree Farm License 44 in 2004 — with the agreement that critical winter habitats be protected. Both Island Timberlands (now Mosaic) and the BC government have failed to follow through on this promise. 

“This is important wildlife habitat that was once designated for protection,” stated local wildlife expert Mike Stini. “Unless the BC government steps in and protects more old-growth forests and improves forestry regulations on private lands, iconic wildlife species like elk, deer, bears, and cougars – as well as threatened species like marbled murrelet and northern goshawk – will be left with smaller and increasingly fragmented patches of old-growth habitat.”

Old-growth clearcutting by Mosaic Forest Management on Mt. Horne, the hillside above the world-famous Cathedral Grove. Second-growth forests are in the foreground.

In 2013, numerous conservation groups campaigned for the protection of Mt. Horne and the expansion of protected areas around Cathedral Grove to maintain tourism opportunities and wildlife habitat values. Their efforts garnered a massive public outcry, resulting in Island Timberlands placing a halt on their logging plans. However, due to a lack of political will and a dedicated provincial funding mechanism for the Province to purchase and protect the land, Mt. Horne remained vulnerable to future logging. 

“For years, the Ancient Forest Alliance has been calling on the BC government to re-establish a provincial Natural Lands Acquisition Fund for the purchase and protection of private lands,” stated Watt.

“Such a fund would allow for the expansion of the MacMillan Provincial Park boundaries to fully encompass the forests above and adjacent to the world-famous Cathedral Grove. This includes the old-growth forests on Mount Horne and along the Alberni Summit Highway as well as the scenic Cameron Lake and the Cameron River Canyon. With the logging on Mt. Horne now complete, we’ve lost a critical opportunity to safeguard the integrity of this world-renowned ancient forest.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance is also calling for provincial support and funding for the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) to protect places of high conservation and First Nations cultural value, including old-growth forests.

“The federal government has committed $1.3 billion to meet international protected area targets by the end of 2020, which includes funding for the private land acquisition and the creation of new IPCAs, but BC needs to come to the table with matching funding,” stated AFA forest campaigner Andrea Inness. “We were extremely disappointed that, once again, the Province failed to provide even modest funding for land acquisition and protected area expansion in its 2020 budget, despite a projected $227 million surplus and the growing urgency to protect endangered native ecosystems.” 

“Vancouver Island’s Capital Regional District recently approved a 10-year extension on its hugely popular Land Acquisition Fund, which relies on a $20 annual household levy and has protected nearly 5,000 hectares since the fund’s creation in 2000. The BC government needs to start showing the same kind of commitment to protecting BC’s lands and waters for future generations.”

Old-growth logging by Mosaic Forest Management encroaching on streams on Mt. Horne.

Last fall, the BC government commenced a provincial Old Growth Strategic Review and established an independent panel to solicit feedback from British Columbians on how old-growth management could be improved. The panel is expected to submit recommendations to the BC government by the end of April, but the Province plans to delay public release of the report by up to six months. 

“The BC NDP’s action on old-growth thus far is totally inadequate and now they’re delaying action even further,” stated Inness. “Not only is there no commitment or timeframe around the implementation of any new old-growth policies, the Forest Minister said recently he intends to consult old-growth logging proponents once again, before any recommendations from the panel are implemented.”

“Given the overwhelming public feedback calling for increased old-growth forest protection in Spring 2020 amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act and the government’s proposed Old Growth Strategy, there is no valid excuse for this delay. British Columbians want and expect action on old-growth now.” 

Background Information:

In 2004, the BC government removed 88,000 hectares of Weyerhaeuser’s private forest lands (now owned by Mosaic Forest Management) from their Tree Farm Licences, thereby deregulating vast sections of forest lands including Mount Horne, McLaughlin Ridge and Cameron Firebreak in Hupacasath territory, and Katlum Creek. A follow-up agreement with the corporate landowners was supposed to ensure protection of many of the deregulated old-growth forests (i.e. previously proposed Ungulate Winter Ranges for elk and deer and Wildlife Habitat Areas for species-at-risk), but this agreement was abandoned when the lands were transferred to Island Timberlands. 

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to establish an annual $40 million provincial land acquisition fund to purchase and protect private lands in BC. The proposed fund would rise to an annual $100 million by 2024 through $10 million increases each year and would enable the timely purchase of significant tracts of endangered private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreation value to add to BC’s parks and protected areas system.

BC’s old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures whose unceded lands these are. About 79% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged on BC’s southern coast, including well over 90% of the valley-bottom ancient forests where the largest trees grow, and 99% of the old-growth Douglas fir trees on BC’s coast. See maps and stats at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

Conservationists disappointed Budget 2020 fails to prioritize environmental protection despite climate and biodiversity emergencies

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Victoria, BC – The Ancient Forest Alliance is disappointed the NDP government’s third provincial budget, released yesterday, once again fails to allocate even modest funding for the protection of endangered old-growth forests and other ecosystems.

“Despite the ecological and climate crisis engulfing BC’s ancient forests, the NDP government’s 2020 budget is bereft of meaningful solutions that would protect forest ecosystems while supporting communities,” stated forest campaigner Andrea Inness. “For example, there is still no funding for a desperately-needed provincial land acquisition fund to protect endangered ecosystems on private lands or to support new and existing (but unrecognized) Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in BC.”

“The province also failed to increase funding for land-use planning modernization (an inadequate $16 million over three years was committed in 2018), support the economic diversification of First Nations communities, and to read and align with the environmental concerns of the times.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance, other conservation groups, and approximately a hundred thousand concerned BC residents have called on the province to take swift and meaningful action to protect old-growth forests in recent years. In addition, a recent Sierra Club BC opinion poll shows that 92% of British Columbians support increased protection of old-growth forests. 

With respect to private lands in BC, last year, 17 conservation and recreation groups and hundreds of British Columbians sent submissions to the BC government’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, calling for dedicated funding for the purchase and protection of private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreational value in Budget 2020.

“Apparently the wishes of the majority of British Columbians have fallen on deaf ears,” stated campaigner TJ Watt. “The NDP government is playing it safe in this budget and is catering to single-use special interest groups despite the urgent need for bold action on climate change, biodiversity protection, and truly sustainable economic development that upholds Indigenous rights and title.” 

In its budget, the BC government allocates $13 million over three years for the revitalization of the forest sector, including new and better forest inventory activities, improving forest management planning and stewardship in collaboration with First Nations, investing in bioenergy, and expanding economic opportunities. It falls short of a commitment to support the expedited transition to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry in BC, which is urgently needed to maintain forestry jobs, support communities, and allow for the protection of old-growth forests.

It also states that the forests ministry will be improving forest practices while providing more predictability to industry and that the government’s focus is on planting more trees and utilizing more fibre. There is no mention in the budget of any intention to increase protected areas or invest in environmental conservation in BC. 

“Making minor legislative adjustments and planting trees isn’t good enough,” stated Watt. “These measures equate to maintaining the status quo liquidation of old-growth forests and the continued loss of species and endangered ecosystems.”

“That the BC government failed to fund old-growth protection and sustainable economic development in Clayoquot Sound is particularly disappointing, especially after the federal government last year committed matching funds for the implementation of the Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht land-use visions, which set the vast majority of those Nations’ territories in Clayoquot Sound aside from industrial development,” stated Inness.

 “The NDP government has a unique opportunity right now to obtain matching funds from the federal government’s $1.3 billion investment in conservation partnerships and protected area expansion. They’re missing a golden opportunity to purchase and protect private lands and support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas.”

“The province is projecting a $227 million surplus this fiscal year. Why isn’t any of this money being used to protect natural lands while also diversifying First Nations economies?”

Background information

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to implement a series of policy changes to protect endangered old-growth forests, including a comprehensive, science-based plan similar to the ecosystem-based management approach used in the Great Bear Rainforest; a dedicated provincial land acquisition fund to protect private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreation value, including old-growth forests; conservation financing support for First Nations communities in lieu of old-growth logging; support for new and existing Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas; and regulations and incentives to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry in BC.

BC Timber Sales Continues Old-Growth Logging in Nahmint Valley Despite Government Investigation Showing Nearly Two Decades of Non-Compliance

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Victoria, BC – BC Timber Sales’ current and historic harvest plans for the Nahmint Valley have consistently failed to comply with the BC government’s own legally-binding land-use objectives, according to recently released reports from a Ministry of Forests investigation into old-growth logging in the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.

Documents obtained by the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) under a Freedom of Information request reveal that BCTS, the BC government’s own logging agency, not only misinterpreted legal objectives set out in the Vancouver Island Land Use Plan (VILUP) for the retention of old-growth forest in the Nahmint Valley, among other things, they also neglected to use readily available ecosystem data and best available science in their planning and miscalculated specific old-growth forest retention targets set out in the BC’s government’s Biodiversity Guidebook.

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness walks beside an enormous western redcedar stump in a BCTS-issued cutblock in the Nahmint Valley.

“The BC government is apparently failing to live up even to their own wholly inadequate standards for the protection of old-growth forests, which, after over a century of industrial logging, are endangered in large parts of BC, including on Vancouver Island,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner, Andrea Inness.

“As a result of BCTS’ non-compliance, too much old-growth has been and continues to be logged in the Nahmint Valley, even by the government’s own standards, and not enough of it has been protected to adequately represent the diversity of forest ecosystems in the valley or to avoid biodiversity loss. Sadly, though, this scenario is playing out in many parts of the province, even where logging is compliant, because BC’s old-growth forest retention targets are far too low. We’re therefore calling on the BC government to immediately prioritize the setting of new, science-based old-growth protection targets to protect what remains of BC’s ancient forests.”

The Forest Ministry’s investigation stemmed from a complaint filed by the AFA in June 2018 that raised concerns about the destructive logging of some of Canada’s biggest and oldest trees in the Nahmint Valley, located in Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations territory, including the felling of Canada’s ninth-widest Douglas-fir tree. The logging sparked widespread public outrage and criticism of BC Timber Sales (BCTS), the BC government’s logging agency responsible for auctioning off cutblocks in the valley.

In the 2000 Vancouver Island Summary Land Use Plan, the Nahmint Valley was identified as having particularly high biodiversity values and was thereby designated, by Ministerial Order, as a Special Management Zone in order to minimize development impacts.

“The Nahmint Valley is a unique and very special place,” stated Inness. “It was supposed to be managed differently than other forests, with emphasis placed on maintaining old-growth forests and biodiversity. These reports suggest the BC government is privileging the timber industry over biodiversity protection, recreation, wildlife and salmon habitat, and cultural heritage in the Nahmint, to the extent that they are willing to break their own rules.”

The investigation, conducted by the Forest Ministry’s Compliance and Enforcement Branch (CEB), also briefly reviewed past Forest Stewardship Plans for the Nahmint Valley and found “legacy compliance issues with timber harvesting in the Nahmint Valley” going back 18 years. As a result, and if left unresolved, the CEB asserts that “serious cumulative impacts may occur on the land base over time.”

Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt stands next to Canada’s 9th-widest Douglas-fir tree in a BCTS-issued cutblock in the Nahmint Valley, before and after it was logged

“These findings have enormous implications,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer, TJ Watt. “If this can happen in the Nahmint Valley, then it could be happening in any or all areas where BC Timber Sales operates. We just don’t know.”

Since the Nahmint investigation, the Forests Ministry has purportedly stripped the Compliance and Enforcement Branch of its authority to investigate BC Timber Sales, meaning that, while private companies can be investigated and penalized should they violate the law, BCTS will not be held to the same standard nor be accountable to the public.

In an August 2018 letter, written in response to the CEB’s initial investigation findings, BCTS argued that logging in the Nahmint Valley cannot be non-compliant with the government’s land-use objectives since the Nahmint Valley Forest Stewardship Plan was approved by a District Manager. However, as the CEB points out in its subsequent response, District Managers do not have the authority to override legal orders or government-set objectives and FSPs cannot be used as a shield to allow non-compliant logging to occur.

“This is indicative of a corrupt system,” said Watt. “BCTS clearly feel entitled to operate above the law and believe that publicly-agreed upon values and objectives for the Nahmint Valley are far less important than catering to the timber industry, no matter what the cost to BC’s ancient forests, wildlife, and communities.”

While minor changes were made to the Nahmint Valley Operating Plan following the AFA’s complaint, the CEB’s recommendations that logging in the Nahmint Valley immediately cease, that an amended Forest Stewardship Plan be prepared demonstrating how planning would adhere to VILUP in future, and that future harvesting plans be placed on hold, were all ignored by the ministry.

Meanwhile, old-growth logging in the Nahmint Valley continued throughout the investigation and carries on today, unhindered. In fact, at the time of the investigation’s conclusion in October 2018, over 400,000 cubic metres was planned to go to public tender for harvesting. The AFA has also recently analyzed BCTS’ Multi Year Development Plan for the Nahmint Valley and identified over 600 hectares of old-growth forest to be auctioned off in coming years under the current, non-compliant Forest Stewardship Plan.

The ministry also intends to legalize draft Old Growth Management Areas (OGMAs) by spring 2020, despite the ministry’s investigation having revealed the draft OGMAs are in violation of VILUP and “do not adequately address the old-growth retention targets needed to maintain landscape biodiversity.”

“Legalizing the OGMAs would essentially allow BCTS get away with years of non-compliant logging in the Nahmint Valley,” stated Inness. “But it’s not enough to ensure that future planning is compliant with BC’s outdated, pro-industry laws. There is an urgent need for sweeping changes to BC’s forest system, starting with legislation that prioritizes biodiversity and ecological integrity over timber supply.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to immediately halt logging in old-growth forest “hotspots” of high conservation value, including the Nahmint Valley; use its authority over BCTS to quickly phase out issuance of old-growth timber sales and implement conservation solutions on BCTS-controlled lands; and introduce an ecosystem-based management approach to forestry throughout BC, with science-based targets for old-growth forest protection.

The AFA is also calling on the Province to scale-up its efforts to modernize land-use planning in partnership with First Nations, to pair that process with funding for the sustainable economic development and diversification of First Nations economies in lieu of old-growth logging, and to support the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. Finally, the Province must help to diversify forest-based communities and support the transition to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest sector.

The Forest Practices Board is also undertaking its own investigation into the AFA’s complaint about old-growth logging in the Nahmint Valley. The Board has previously stated they expect their investigation will be completed by the end of the year.

 

Documents obtained under the AFA’s Freedom of Information request can be accessed here:

Document 1
Document 2

See a timeline of events and summary of the investigative findings, prepared by the AFA.

Conservationists Welcome NDP Government’s Big Tree Protection Announcement, Set Sights on More Comprehensive Old-Growth Plan

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Victoria, BC – The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) welcomes the NDP government’s announcement that it will protect 54 of the biggest trees listed on the BC Big Tree Registry with buffer zones and hopes for more comprehensive, science-based old-growth forest protection under the BC government’s proposed old-growth strategy.

“We welcome this positive step toward protecting some of the biggest and oldest trees on Earth,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness. “It’s a small step, but it may signal there’s more comprehensive action to come.”

“The BC government’s old-growth plan must now be scaled up exponentially. We need protection at all spatial scales: at the tree, grove, landscape unit/watershed, and ecosystem level.”

“We’re glad to hear the 54 trees will be protected with buffer zones, which, although small in this case at only one hectare, are vital to minimize the risk of damage due to factors exacerbated by surrounding harvesting activities, such as strong winds, and to enhance ecosystem protection and tourism value.”

“The NDP’s approach to protecting big trees should not be based only on trees listed on the BC Big Tree Registry, though, which is a small subset of BC’s biggest trees based on what some big tree enthusiasts have found. Many of BC’s biggest trees are not on the big tree registry.”

The AFA also welcomes the NDP’s commitment to change regulations later this year to protect more of BC’s biggest trees. If effective, such a legal mechanism would help protect the environmental, recreational, and cultural values of BC and could bolster BC’s tourism industry, significantly enhancing the province’s status as a preferred destination for nature-lovers far and wide.

“It’s important they get the details right, though,” stated AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “These regulatory protections must include adequate buffer zones of at least 2 hectares and must avoid loopholes that allow big trees to be logged in certain circumstances. The minimum size thresholds for protection should also be lowered, as 50% of the diameter of the widest trees found still only captures the most extremely rare, exceptionally big trees.”

“It must also be a comprehensive policy that’s rolled out across BC’s coast and expanded to the Interior.”

The AFA is hopeful the NDP’s big tree protection regulations will also be expanded to include protection of BC’s “grandest groves,” where there is an exceptional number and density of large trees, to ensure ancient forests with the greatest ecological, recreational, and scenic values are conserved for future generations to enjoy.

“BC’s biggest trees and grandest groves truly stand out as some of the province’s most spectacular natural assets and are disproportionately valuable for tourism and often for biodiversity. But much more work is needed to protect old-growth forests on a much greater scale.”

“A more comprehensive, legislated plan is still desperately needed to protect the province’s old-growth ecosystems on a larger scale in order to sustain biodiversity, clean water, and the climate,” stated Inness.

The AFA is hopeful the NDP government’s consultation process and resulting old-growth strategy result in such legislated changes, for example, through amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act in the spring of 2020.

“The next step, however, should be immediate moratoria on logging of old-growth ‘hotspots’ with the highest ecological and recreational value. Otherwise the grandest, most intact forests will continue to be whittled away while the government figures out its old-growth plan.”

“To sustain forestry jobs, the BC government must also ensure the development of a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry and end the export of vast amounts of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills.”

“Today’s announcement is like the bang of the starting gun at the beginning of the race. It kicks things off. Let’s just hope there are much more exciting things to come and that the NDP’s old-growth strategy is a sprint, not a marathon that drags on for years. Time is running out for the last of BC’s remaining productive old-growth forests and we need province-wide, science-based solutions fast.”

In the press release accompanying today’s announcement, the NDP government claimed that 55% of the old-growth on BC’s coast is protected. This figure is highly misleading for a number of reasons. The BC government is including vast areas of low-productivity sub-alpine and bog forests with little to no commercial value, which aren’t endangered, and are ignoring largely cut-over private lands, which make up almost 25% of Vancouver Island’s land base. They also lump the Great Bear Rainforest (where 85% of forests have been set aside from commercial logging) in with the south coast, where old-growth forests are highly endangered and where old-growth logging continues at a scale of about 10,000 hectares a year.

Finally, the BC government fails to mention how much old-growth has previously been logged on the south coast: almost 80% of the original productive old-growth forest and over 90% of the low elevation, high-productivity stands (e.g. the very rare, monumental old-growth stands currently being logged in the Nahmint Valley and other hotspot areas).

“By focusing only on the fraction of old-growth protected of the fraction remaining, the more old-growth forest that’s logged outside the 55% that’s protected, the higher that number rises,” stated Inness. “If all the unprotected old-growth forests are logged, the BC government could then make the claim that ‘100% of the old-growth forests on the coast are protected!’”

New Old-Growth Clearcut Mars the Scenery from the Popular Gordon River Bridge at Avatar Grove

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Before-and-After Photos Reveal Logging Destruction on Edinburgh Mountain, a “Hotspot” of Exceptional Old-Growth Forest near Port Renfrew

Port Renfrew, BC – Old-growth clearcutting approved by the NDP government has now marred the scenic view from the popular bridge over the Gordon River by the Avatar Grove, one of the most popular nature tourism destinations in BC. Before-and-after images taken by conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance highlight the destructive impacts of recent clearcut logging by the Teal Jones Group on Edinburgh Mountain, a “hotspot” of high conservation, scenic, and recreational value near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island. The photos, taken before logging commenced and then after most of the clearcutting was completed, reveal the felling of exceptional ancient forest, including giant redcedars and rare, ancient Douglas-fir trees within a 15.6 hectare cutblock.

“These images provide a glimpse into the shocking situation that’s playing out all over BC’s south coast,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt, who captured the images. “Old-growth forests once teeming with life and some of Canada’s largest trees are being destroyed, never to be seen again in our lifetime. The logging on Edinburgh Mountain adds to the approximately 75 hectares of ancient forest already logged by Teal Jones that has further fragmented what was once almost 1,500 hectares of stunning, intact ancient rainforest. Two new logging roads are also under construction on the mountain as we speak. To top it off, now they have started to mar the view from the Gordon River Bridge with their old-growth clearcutting, a bridge where hundreds of thousands of tourists view the scenery of what was previously a contiguous old-growth and second-growth forest canopy.”

The clearcutting came to within approximately 50 feet of an enormous Douglas-fir tree, tossing trees and debris around its base. The giant tree measures 33’9″ft (11.4m) in circumference or 10’8″ft in diameter, making it the sixth-widest Douglas-fir in Canada according to the BC Big Tree Registry (seventh widest when including the Alberni Giant in the Nahmint Valley), and is not protected.

Edinburgh Mountain Ancient Forest, as it’s known by conservationists, located in Pacheedaht First Nation territory, is home to Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s second largest Douglas-fir tree, which stands alone in a clearcut at the base of the mountain, and is important habitat for endangered northern goshawks and threatened marbled murrelets. It also contains one of the finest and most endangered lowland, valley-bottom, old-growth forests left on Vancouver Island: the spectacular Eden Grove.

The area is one of about two dozen old-growth forest “hotspots” on Vancouver Island identified by conservationists, which represent some of the island’s last remaining, exceptional, intact, and unprotected old-growth areas. Others include the spectacular Nahmint and Central Walbran Valleys, East Creek Rainforest, and Nootka Island.

“These hotspots are in need of immediate protection by the BC government,” stated Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner Andrea Inness. “Most of them are actively being logged and time is running out to prevent them from becoming tattered fragments, like the majority of Vancouver Island’s remaining productive old-growth. While the BC government assures British Columbians that they’re working on an old-growth strategy, they have yet to reveal any details and continue to send the wrong signals. In the meantime, failure to protect these old-growth hotspots will result in considerable losses in terms of biodiversity, ecological processes, opportunities for tourism, and First Nations cultural values, and could spark significant conflict.”

In the case of Edinburgh Mountain, significant opportunities are lost with each cutblock that’s logged, including potential tourism revenues for the nearby town of Port Renfrew, which has been dubbed the Tall Tree Capital of Canada having capitalized on the outstanding old-growth forests and record-sized trees in the region.

“It’s frustrating to see the BC government’s outdated forest policies threaten Port Renfrew’s growing tourism economy,” stated Watt. “Thousands of tourists come to see Renfrew’s spectacular old-growth forests and ancient giants each year. The destruction of Edinburgh Mountain undermines the town’s image as an eco-tourism destination, particularly because it’s so visible. While driving along the Gordon River bridge on the way to Avatar Grove, where you once saw a beautiful, fully intact old-growth forest on the mountainside, there’s now a big ugly clearcut that spoils the view. Tourists must shake their heads when they see how BC manages its globally rare old-growth forests.”

“The NDP government has an economic and ecological imperative to cultivate a forest industry for the future that supports sustainable jobs and conserves the many values ancient forests provide like biodiversity, carbon storage, cultural values, and clean water,” said Inness. “The Ancient Forest Alliance, along with other conservation groups and the BC Greens, are calling on the NDP government to take immediate action to protect old-growth hotspots while there’s still time and develop long-term, science-based solutions for BC’s endangered old-growth forests while supporting the sustainable economic diversification of First Nations communities whose unceded territories these are.”

“Meanwhile, the NDP government needs to facilitate a shift to a sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry using incentives and regulations to phase out raw log exports and support retooling of mills to handle second-growth trees.”

“We have a global responsibility to safeguard BC’s ancient forests, given the climate emergency and unprecedented global biodiversity decline that we’re faced with. A shift to a science-based approach that also maintains forestry jobs is entirely possible. It just takes political leadership.”

Background Information

Old growth forests are integral to British Columbia for ensuring the protection of endangered species, climate stability, tourism, clean water, wild salmon, and the cultures of many First Nations. They have unique characteristics that are not replicated by the second-growth forests they’re replaced with and are a non-renewable resource under BC’s forest system, where forests are logged every 50-80 years, never to become old-growth again.

The BC government often states that 520,000 hectares of old-growth forests are protected on Vancouver Island and will never be logged and that 55 percent of the old-growth on BC’s coast is protected, but these figures are misleading. These figures include vast areas of low-productivity forest – stunted, marginal forests that grow at high elevation or in bogs and are therefore at low to no risk of being logged. They also leave out enormous swathes of largely cut-over forests on private lands, which make up more than a quarter of Vancouver Island and which are largely managed under provincial authority. Finally, the BC government fails to consider how much old-growth has already been logged on Vancouver Island: almost 80% of the original productive old-growth forest and over 90% of the low elevation, high-productivity stands where the largest trees grow. Only about 8% of Vancouver Island’s original old-growth forests are protected in parks and Old Growth Management Areas.

For more information, see our December 2018 media release marking the commencement of the logging on Edinburgh Mountain by Teal Jones Group: https://16.52.162.165/new-logging-operations-underway-on-edinburgh-mountain-an-old-growth-forest-environmental-hotspot-near-port-renfrew-on-vancouver-island/