The Cameron Valley Ancient Forest (or “Firebreak”) is a beautiful 150-hectare old-growth forest on Vancouver Island. It sits a mere 30-minute drive from the town of Port Alberni and several kilometres upstream from the world-famous Cathedral Grove. The area was formerly protected by the provincial government as an Ungulate Winter Range (UWR) for Roosevelt elk and black-tailed deer until the lands were largely deregulated in 2004 when the BC Liberal government removed them from Tree Farm License 44.
In late April 2012, Island Timberlands began logging this ancient forest of extremely high recreation and ecological value — filled with ancient coastal Douglas-firs (99% of which have been logged), wintering Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, and Culturally Modified Trees of cedars with bark stripped by First Nations. Ancient Forest Alliance has continued to campaign for the protection of this area, and in spring 2022, the grove was included in a suite of private land old-growth deferrals undertaken by Mosaic Forest Management, the current landowner, as part of their BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative. Permanent protection for this incredible ancient forest is now needed.
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