First Nation creating new Salmon Parks to protect fragile ecosystems

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December 8, 2023
By Marc Kitteringham
Campbell River Mirror

Original article here.

Over 650 square kilometres of Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory to be protected

Over 650 square kilometres of forest, rivers, old growth and shoreline are in the process of being protected by the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation on western Vancouver Island.

The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation — located in the Tahsis, Nootka Island, and Gold River region — is working to protect the area of their unceded territory with the goal of protecting old-growth forests and salmon habitats. The locations include 311 square kilometres of old-growth forests.

“We’re trying to protect the most important salmon habitat that’s left in the watersheds in the Nation,” said Eric Angel, project manager for the Salmon Parks project. “We figured out sometime ago that if we looked after about 20 per cent of the core salmon watersheds, we we backstop 90 per cent of the salmon productivity that is dependent on the land and the freshwater ecosystem.”

When they’re established, the parks will both be on land and will extend into the ocean to protect the salmon habitat there. Angel said that the old growth forest in the area is “central to the salmon’s habitat and family life cycle.

“We’re going to move out into the into the marine environment and protect estuaries and the important migration routes that salmon have to take into the open ocean. The idea is to really be doing what we can to look after our salmon throughout their life cycle … we want to eventually restore those populations to the kind of abundance that we saw say 50 or 100 years ago.”

Though they are not the first First Nation to undertake this kind of work, the idea is new enough that Angel says they’re still trying to figure out how it will all work. They are in talks with the province about establishing legal protections for the area, and will be protecting it under Nuu-chah-nulth law as well.

“Ideally … there is going to be a joint designation where the province and First Nation will come together,” Angel said. “Then we together we create a management plan for the area and then we start bringing in all the other folks who’ve gotten interests will be talking to the forestry industry into the recreational fishing industry into tourism operators and the local communities Gold River and Campbell River and Tahsis … just making sure that everyone’s on board and there’s a common commitment and understanding of how we go about doing this.”

Something else that’s needed when establishing a new park is funding. Putting land into conservation necessarily means an immediate loss of economic opportunity, however groups like the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation exist to fill “critical gaps that are essential for creating new protected areas.”

“We we set up this new organization to directly work with land-embedded communities — most significantly First Nations — but also at some point ranchers on the Prairies Trappers and Métis communities and Southern Boreal woodlot owners,” said Ken Wu from Nature-Based Solutions Foundation. “These land-embedded communities are vitally important in to establish protected areas on Crown lands and unceded First Nations lands.

“A barrier for a lot of First Nations is that if they’re gonna forego all the resource opportunities in those territories … then there needs to be support for building sustainable alternatives,” he said.

Part of that funding solution also comes from government.

“There’s been some huge announcements this fall from the feds and the province,” said Angel, referring to “The Tripartite management agreement with Canada, BC and their first Nations Leadership Council.

“There’s an old growth nature fund that the feds are putting up the money for but the province is gonna be dispersing that, there’s a conservation financing mechanism the province announced month and a half ago that’s going to help, conservation initiatives, access to kind of long-term sustainable financing.”

One of those initiatives was for projects that help sequester carbon emissions. The Salmon Parks received $15 million from the federal government to do that.

“It’s it’s an amazing area for carbon storage because I’ll go for us sequester more carbon than almost anywhere on planet Earth,” Angel said, adding that getting the funding “was life-changing. I was just in the community last night and presenting to about 60 people and there’s so many young people out there who are so excited about it … it’s for those kids that are gonna be growing up with this. It’s really exciting for them.”

Despite the immediate economic setback of not being able to harvest trees, both Wu and Angel say there is a much greater economic long-term benefit available.

Angel says that there are job opportunities for community members as well.

“We’re setting up a Guardians program,” he said. “Creating employment within the community and giving people opportunities to be participating in this is going to be really important because it’s super critical that this is a holistic vision … it represents not just looking after nature well, but it also means restoring lives for people.

A man in a yellow jacket stands beside a massive Douglas-fir tree in an ancient Douglas-fir grove.

Old-growth Douglas-fir forest in the Burman River valley. Proposed Salmon Park, Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory.

 

AFA’s Recommendations for the BC Government’s Draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework

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Submitted by Ancient Forest Alliance
January 2024

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) commends the BC government for developing a draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) that intends to achieve a major paradigm shift to make ecological health central to decision-making in BC. If done with integrity, the Framework could upend the traditional approach in BC, which has sought to minimize the effect of conservation on the available timber supply for logging, leaving the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems open to industrial extraction.

This transformation cannot come soon enough, as many of our richest and most biodiverse ecosystems are in a state of ecological emergency.

The draft Framework already has several key components that must be retained in the final form, including a commitment to establish an Office of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health within the BC Public Service to oversee, implement, and enforce the Framework in collaboration with First Nations, the incorporation of updated science for the management of specific ecosystems, the acknowledgment of the need for protection of the most threatened ecosystems, and the acknowledgment of the need to maintain the natural range of variation in native ecosystems. Each of these represents key policy commitments that AFA has advocated for and are critical to ensure a true paradigm shift in the management and protection of ecosystems in BC. However, the language around threatened ecosystems and the need to maintain the natural range of variation is currently vague and needs to be strengthened and explicitly linked to the achievement of BC’s 30% by 2030 protection goals through the enshrining of ecosystem-based protection targets that incorporate distinctions in forest productivity.

As the Framework is developed, it must expand and codify its reference to the need to protect threatened ecosystems and maintain ecosystem function across all native ecosystems by:

  1. Enshrining Ecosystem-Based Protection Targets (i.e. protected areas targets for all ecosystems) devised by science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees. These targets must not only be “aspirational”, but legally binding and overseen by the proposed Office of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health. These ecosystem-based protection targets must represent the full diversity of ecosystems, capturing critical distinctions in ecological communities and forest productivity. Ensuring forest productivity is incorporated into protection targets is absolutely critical, as productive, large-tree, old-growth forests have been so heavily excluded from protection and are now reduced to far below natural levels. These targets must also ensure long-term ecological health by employing the principles of conservation biology in reserve design.
  2. Ensuring these Ecosystem-Based Targets guide BC’s expansion of the protected areas system to protect 30% by 2030 (i.e. the targets must inform a much-needed “BC Protected Areas Strategy”), including the allocation of the funding from the BC Nature Agreement and BC’s new conservation financing mechanism.
  3. Emphasizing rigorous protection standards and the permanency of protected areas using strong, legislated protected-area designations to safeguard ecosystems, rather than relying solely on conservation reserves that are more tenuous and filled with loopholes that continue to allow resource extraction or boundary shifts. The loopholes in these conservation reserves must be closed.
  4. Establishing clear, legally binding targets, timelines, and milestones to ensure accountability and transparency.

Expanded Recommendations

 

1. Ecosystem-Based Protection Targets

 

“Ecosystem-Based Protection Targets” are an essential tool to ensure the full range of BC’s diverse ecosystems and most threatened areas are safeguarded from further degradation.

Historically, environmental protection in BC (and worldwide) has focused on preserving the landscapes and ecosystems least coveted by industry, which tend to be the less productive and biodiverse areas such as mountains, bogs, and the far north. Meanwhile, the richer, valley-bottom and southern ecosystems that are the most biodiverse are left open for industrial extraction. The BEHF must identify this key issue and correct it by making Ecosystem-Based Protection Targets with forest productivity distinctions — a foundation that would truly put ecological health ahead of industrial profit. Otherwise, protection will continue to skew toward ecosystems with mainly rock, ice, and small trees.

This pattern of skewing protection to certain ecosystems is starkly evident with the current distribution of parks in BC. The areas with the highest level of protection include the treeless ecosystems of alpine tundra, the spruce-willow-birch ecosystem of the far north, and mountain hemlock zones in the heights of the snowy Coast Mountains, which are all areas of comparatively lower biodiversity and biological productivity. The Coastal Western Hemlock zone and the Interior Cedar Hemlock zone, which are home to Canada’s largest and oldest trees, have only about 20% and 10% protection, respectively, with much of the protection in the Coastal Western Hemlock zone being in low-productivity forests with smaller trees — hence the need to establish targets for all site series with forest productivity distinctions. Protection rates are even lower for the Interior and Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems, which both have only 5% under legislated protection. Of course, all native ecosystems are important, but some are currently woefully under-protected and gravely imperilled. This pattern will continue to play out unless the province commits to representing all ecosystems in its 30% by 2030 protection plan.

In addition to broad ecological categories, the province needs to incorporate forest productivity distinctions into its 2030 protection targets. Forest productivity refers to the overall rate of tree growth in a forest. In “high-productivity” forests, trees will grow faster eventually reaching enormous sizes, whereas in “low-productivity” forests, such as in rocky or boggy areas with nutrient-poor soils, growth is stunted and trees may take centuries to get as large as those in high-productivity sites will get in just a few decades, never achieving monumental size. All of the monumental old-growth forests that are so inspiring to people around the world, such as Cathedral Grove, Avatar Grove, Eden Grove, and the Meares Island Big Tree Trail, are examples of high-productivity, old-growth forests. Productivity is connected to seasonal temperatures but also reflects the richness of the soil, drainage, and bedrock.

Frequently, the highest-productivity forests exist as little pockets or ribbons along valley bottoms, surrounded by lower-productivity forests. Traditionally, logging has high-graded out these high-productivity groves (like someone eating all of the chocolate chips from a trail mix), leaving behind only the lower-productivity forests (the raisins). Without targets that account for productivity distinctions, protection will again be skewed toward low-productivity environments with small trees, while the large trees so coveted by industry continue to fall. Less than 10% of the original productive, old-growth forests of Vancouver Island and the south coast of BC are safeguarded under legislated protection, and across the province, less than 5% of the most productive old-growth forests with the largest trees remain.

Independent research has demonstrated that the most productive, big-tree forests have been reduced to a tiny fraction of their original extent across the range of BC’s forested ecosystems. Big-tree forests are also disproportionately important for biodiversity and wildlife habitat. These forests continue to be aggressively targeted for logging and have been historically underrepresented in protected areas.

Therefore, old-growth protection must prioritize protecting the best of what remains: the most productive old-growth forests in BC — starting with deferrals and followed by permanent legislated protection. The heart of BC’s 30×30 protection goals and the BEHF must be the protection of big-tree forests and other at-risk ecosystems.

2. Guiding the Protected Area Plan and the Application of the Conservation Financing Fund

 

BC has pledged to protect 30% of its total land area by 2030 — an ambitious conservation goal that would double existing protected areas across the province. To support this goal, BC has signed a nearly $1.1 billion nature agreement with the federal government that includes a $300-million conservation financing fund to support Indigenous conservation. But so far, the province has not announced any formal “protected areas strategy”. Instead, the province has signalled that it will take a passive role in distributing funding and support for protected areas as they are brought forward rather than actively identifying gaps in the protected areas system and using conservation financing to enable Indigenous-led protection of the most threatened ecosystems. The BEHF must be the roadmap that guides the province’s 30×30 commitments within the context of a sorely needed BC Protected Areas Strategy, setting the vision that these vast resources can be harnessed to achieve, and providing legal targets to represent all ecosystems in BC’s protected area expansion. Otherwise, the overall target of protecting 30% by 2030 will likely default to protecting vast areas with mainly rock, ice, and small trees, while the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems are again underrepresented.

3. Enshrine Rigorous Protection Standards

 

The Framework must identify legislated protected areas as foundational to maintaining ecological health. These areas must not have moveable boundaries and must have the standards and permanency to exclude commercial logging, mining, and oil and gas activities. We are concerned that the province is emphasizing weaker conservation reserves, such as Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMAs), where boundaries can be moved under timber industry lobby efforts, and Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs), where logging in some areas can occur.

Genuine legislated protection, such as Provincial Conservancies and various Protected Area designations, that exclude commercial logging, mining, and oil and gas development while protecting First Nations subsistence, co-management authority and rights and title, are essential tools for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem health in the larger and central core areas of highest conservation value.

OGMAs and WHAs will remain vital parts of the conservation reserve system to pick up the pieces of remaining old-growth and vital habitat in managed landscapes, but they are no substitute for landscape-level protected areas. Loopholes must be closed so that these conservation reserves actually permanently safeguard the ecosystems they ostensibly protect.

We are also concerned that the province may develop a new legislated protected area designation that will have weak minimum standards that still allow for commercial logging. Any new protected area designations must include minimum standards that forbid commercial logging (as opposed to the cutting of individual trees by First Nations for cultural purposes, such as monumental redcedar used for dugout canoes, longhouses, and totem poles), mining or oil and gas development within them.

4. Ensure Accountability

 

To ensure ecological health and the representative application of the 2030 protection targets, there must be an implementation committee of independent policy experts tasked with developing the protection plan that incorporates First Nations, stakeholders, NGOs, and public engagement to achieve the provincial targets set by specialized science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees. The province must prepare a report setting out the provincial strategy and implementation efforts necessary to achieve the targets and table it in the legislature. This report shall be updated and tabled on an annual basis and reviewable at least every three years. These measures are aimed at ensuring clear accountability and responsibility for reaching ecosystem-based targets, which are critical to the successful protection of biodiversity in BC.

In summary, we are recommending that the province:

 

  1. Retain the current goal of establishing an Office of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health within the BC Public Service to oversee, implement, and enforce the Framework. This office must have the necessary authority and resources to enforce the transition to ecosystem health across all sectors, including developing independent science teams to devise ecosystem-based targets, ensuring that land-use planning and decisions are done in a manner consistent with the goals of the Framework and counterbalance the overwhelmingly industry-centric priorities that have so far guided land management.
  2. Ensure that the BEHF explicitly guides BC’s commitment to protect 30% of the province by 2030 through ecosystem-based targets that protect all seral stages, productivity classes, and ecosystem types down to the site series level based on their natural range of variation across the province. As the most productive ecosystems in BC have been so extremely depleted, the BEHF must enshrine the protection of the most at-risk and productive old-growth forests and ecosystems where the biggest trees grow and richest biodiversity resides instead of areas of less commercial and ecological value that are currently overrepresented in the protected areas system.
  3. Guide the application of the newly announced $300-million conservation financing fund and the $1-billion BC Nature Agreement funding to link the support of First Nations’ sustainable economic development to the protection of the most at-risk old-growth forests and ecosystems. It is imperative that conservation financing is directed toward the ecosystems that need it most and not provided on an ad-hoc, first-come-first-served basis.
  4. Enshrine fully legislated protection with rigorous standards and permanency as foundational to the Framework using models that incorporate Indigenous leadership, co-management and traditional use and still retain the standards and permanency necessary to prevent industrial activity. Provincial Conservancies are a good model for meeting protection goals while respecting First Nations rights and title. The Framework, however, must adhere to the centrality of legislated protected areas as foundational to prioritizing ecosystem-based health. Overemphasis on developing even more stringent methods to practice industrial extraction in threatened ecosystems instead of identifying the areas most in need of full protection will continue to see the erosion of BC’s irreplaceable ecosystems. As this Framework is finalized, we will need to see Ecosystem-Based Protection Targets focused on the most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems such as productive old-growth forests. Without these protection targets to safeguard areas from industrial extraction, we will continue to see these ecosystems further chipped away at and degraded.
  5. Enforce accountability and transparency through legally binding milestones, objectives, and timelines set out by independent science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Holder panels, with dedicated regional committees that implement provincial biodiversity directives.

 

 

What are “Forest Productivity Distinctions”?

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“Forest Productivity Distinctions” and “Ecosystem-based Targets” are two phrases you’ve heard us use a lot, but what do they mean? And, why are they important regarding the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) and the greater conservation of BC’s natural spaces as a whole? Read on to learn more!

Ecosystem-based protection targets ensure the full diversity of ecosystems in BC receive the protection they need, rather than concentrating protection in certain ecosystems and largely excluding others.

“Forest Productivity” refers to the capacity of the forest to produce large trees, with the endangered, higher productivity forests generally featuring the giant ancient trees that BC is famous for.

High-productivity forests, as well as lower elevation forests, grasslands and wetlands in general, have the greatest concentrations of biodiversity, species at risk, salmon and fish-bearing streams, and areas of greatest cultural value to First Nations in the province. However, these same ecosystems have been disproportionately excluded from protection at the behest of industry.

Ecosystem-based targets used in conjunction with forest productivity distinctions ensure the ongoing expansion of protected areas in BC prioritizes the endangered, big-tree forests, rather than focusing protection on the boggy, subalpine, and tundra ecosystems of the province. The latter of which has been the status quo for decades.

The proposed BEHF is a first-rate opportunity to ensure these high-productivity forests get the protection they need and deserve.

If you haven’t yet, please send an instant message to political decision-makers (while the January 31st deadline to make a technical submission to the bureaucrats has passed, the elected BC Cabinet — the Premier and Ministers — ultimately decides the final version) to support strong ecosystem-based targets with forest productivity distinctions.

Flip through these slides to get a break-down of forest productivity distinctions and why they’re so important! And, visit our Instagram for more educational resources!

All About the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health Framework

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BC’s proposed Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) is the greatest chance in BC’s history to direct the expansion of its protected areas system in the right direction.

If done right, the new biodiversity framework could usher in a major paradigm shift that safeguards the most endangered ecosystems in BC rather than primarily protecting areas with low timber value and which are less coveted by industry. These endangered ecosystems include “high productivity” old-growth forests with classic forest giants, such as the ones you see in all our photos, along with diverse valley bottom and low-elevation ecosystems.

The current draft has many promising components that should be retained, such as creating a Provincial Biodiversity Officer, but is still missing key pieces to give it the teeth it needs to be transformational.

“Ecosystem-based protection targets” devised by science and informed by Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees that incorporate all ecological communities and forest productivity distinctions (distinguishing between sites that tend to grow small vs large trees) are needed to guide the expansion of the protected areas system and the expenditure of conservation funding in BC.

The standard and permanency of new protected areas must also be upheld while enforcing accountability and transparency of the framework through legally binding milestones, objectives, and timelines.

Please join us in calling on the BC government to ensure this new framework results in the protection of old-growth forests and other threatened ecosystems across BC! Send an instant message to decision-makers using our newly updated Take-Action Tool here.

And read through these slides to learn more about this potentially history-making framework!

A man in a yellow jacket stands beside a massive Douglas-fir tree in an ancient Douglas-fir grove.

Thank You to Our Business Supporters!

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We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the following businesses for kindly supporting the old-growth campaign:

Pacifica Nurseries for their generous contribution and supportive words about why they donate to old-growth forests in BC:

“I love to contribute to the AFA because the forests in BC are such a special place and are not something that can be replaced. BC logging is such a huge business though and cannot just stop, so it’s nice that you also support sustainable second-growth logging. I also love that you involve First Nations as they deserve to be involved in the future of this land. Many thanks.”

—Nicole Widdifield, Horticulture Manager, Pacifica Nurseries

Spring Activator for their kind contribution and words of support:

“Protecting old-growth forests is a cause close to many of our hearts on the Spring team and in our community. We look forward to continuing to support your work through our 1% for the Planet commitment. Thank you for all you do.”

—Caroline von Hirschberg, Spring Co-CEO

Chris Sterry, who contributed more than half of the proceeds from his landscape paintings and urban sketches to AFA and other charities.

And Camp Wolf Willow, for their generous monthly gifts to AFA.

Your support makes our important work possible and we’re extremely grateful!

Biodiversity And Ecosystem Health Framework – Public Input Guide

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The BC government is currently accepting public input on its draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework. The following info will help you write your personalized submission. Submissions are due by January 31st, 2024.

Send your submission in your own words to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (Ministry of WLRS): biodiversity.ecosystemhealth@gov.bc.ca

Be sure to include your first and last name, home address, email, and any organization affiliation you are submitting on behalf of.

Key information

The BC government recently released a draft policy, the “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework”. If done well, it could place ecosystem integrity first to guide all land-use, forestry, and conservation policies to ensure an ecological “paradigm shift” – as called for by BC’s appointed Old-Growth Strategic Review panel’s recommendations in 2021.

To be finalized in the spring, it could result in vastly increasing the protection of BC’s most endangered ecosystems – those most impacted by industry and least included in the protected areas system, such as productive old-growth forests and lower elevation, valley bottom forests, grasslands, wetlands, and other at-risk ecosystems.

That is, a strong Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) would up-end the status quo in conservation policy in BC that has always sought to minimize the impacts of conservation policies on resource extraction industries (in particular, to minimize the impacts of protected areas on the available timber supply for logging) and for the first time could place ecological integrity first. In turn, this will exert pressure on BC industries to operate with greater efficiency and to increase their processing operations within the province, such as fostering a modernized, value-added, second-growth forest industry.

While BC has adopted the national target to protect 30% of the land area in the province by 2030, there are currently no specific targets to ensure the protection of all of the diverse ecosystems in BC. Without legally binding “ecosystem-based targets”, protected areas will continue to emphasize the protection of ecosystems with the lowest value for logging – typically alpine, subalpine, and far northern ecosystems with low to no timber values (i.e. no trees or small trees in cold climates) – and minimize protection for the most endangered and least protected ecosystems, typically at lower elevations in southern BC where most biodiversity, species at risk, and endangered ecosystems are located, and which are most coveted for logging, development, and human settlement.

Please consider the following points to guide your written input:

We need the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) to result in policies and legislation that:

  • Ensures ecosystem-based protection targets (ie. protected areas targets for all ecosystems) devised by science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees. These targets must not only be “aspirational” but legally binding. The province’s proposal to appoint a Chief Biodiversity Officer would be a major step in the right direction, especially if tasked to oversee such a scientific process.
  • Ecosystem-based targets must represent the full diversity of ecosystems and ensure their long-term persistence. That is, ecosystem-based targets must be:
    • Sufficiently “fine filter” to include all ecological communities (site series) and, just as importantly, to include forest productivity distinctions (sites that tend to grow small trees vs. medium vs. large trees). Forest productivity distinctions are vital and are the greatest glaring gap in BC’s conservation and protected areas policies – and not by accident due to the dominant paradigm that seeks to minimize protection of the high and medium-productivity forests with the largest trees to benefit the timber industry.
    • Sufficiently stringent to ensure the long-term persistence of all ecosystems by employing the latest conservation biology science to ensure a low risk to each ecosystem of losing their biodiversity and ecological integrity over time.
  • Ensures that ecosystem-based targets must guide both the expansion of the protected areas system (i.e. it must guide a much-needed “BC Protected Areas Strategy”, including the expenditure of the BC Nature Agreement and Conservation Financing funds), and guide the expansion of the conservation reserve network like Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMAs) and Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs).
  • Upholds protected areas integrity, that is, ensures strong protection standards and the permanency of protected areas moving forward.
  • Loopholes must be closed in conservation reserves such as Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMAs) which can be moved around under timber industry lobby pressure (i.e. to log the big trees and swap them for sites with smaller trees instead) and in Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs) which in many cases allow logging to continue (for example, the iconic Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s second-largest Douglas-fir, stands in an old-growth clearcut that is within a WHA). Any forthcoming, new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) designation must include minimum standards that forbid commercial logging (as opposed to cutting of individual trees by First Nations for cultural purposes, such as monumental cedar for community use such as dugout canoes, longhouses, and totem poles), mining or oil and gas development within them.
  • Emphasizes the establishment of provincial conservancies and other strong, legislated protected area designations, rather than primarily relying on conservation reserves that are designated via regulations (ie. not through a vote in the provincial legislature) that are more tenuous and filled with loopholes that continue to allow resource extraction or boundary shifts.
  • That ensures protection targets are legally binding, with accountability and transparency on the progress towards meeting overall and ecosystem-based protection targets. Independent advisory committees of ecologists and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Holders should develop the overall ecosystem-target methodology, followed by specific targets for each ecosystem. Policy implementation committees of policy and legal experts including First Nations should develop implementation plans on how the province can reach those targets. Independent audits of how well the government meets these targets must occur and be publicly reported, and the province must develop plans to remedy any shortfalls.
  • If done well, the resulting legislation and policies of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF) would make BC a global leader in conservation – or it could be a squandered opportunity.

Send your submission in your own words to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (Ministry of WLRS) by January, 31st, 2024: biodiversity.ecosystemhealth@gov.bc.ca

Additional Resources:

See the AFA and EEA’s media release in response to the draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework.

Happy holidays from the AFA

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Happy Holidays from the AFA!

We hope you and your loved ones have a safe and healthy holiday season and find some time to spend in nature. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of standing in the presence of ancient giants; a wave of wonder, serenity, and calm washes over you. The healing nature of these ecosystems has never been more important to our personal and planetary well-being.

As 2023 comes to a close, we want to extend our deepest thanks for the support you’ve shown over this past year. Together, we have achieved so much. We look forward to all that’s still to come.

For the forests,
The Ancient Forest Alliance team

2023 Holiday Office Closure

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Hello Ancient Forest Friends! Please take note:

The AFA Office in Victoria will be closed from Friday, Dec. 22nd to Monday, Jan. 1st. We will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 2nd with regular business hours. Any AFA merchandise orders received during this time will be shipped on or after Wednesday, Jan. 3rd.

Thank you for your support and wishing you a healthy and joyous holiday season!

Best of 2023 — AFA’s top photos, videos, news & campaigns!

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As 2023 comes to a close, we want to extend our deepest thanks to you for helping us achieve so much this year. We’re seeing some of the most significant progress towards nature conservation in Canadian history with the potential to keep ancient forests standing for generations to come. Read on to see our highlights from 2023, and if you’re able, please make a tax-deductible donation to help us keep the momentum going in 2024! Thank you!

Top 5 Campaign Highlights of 2023

1. Over one billion dollars announced for nature conservation in BC through the BC Nature Agreement.

We always joked that if we had a billion dollars, we could finally see ancient forests get the protection they deserve. Well, in November, that funding arrived! This is the largest provincial funding package in Canadian history for nature conservation and will be vital to support Indigenous-led conservation initiatives and deal with all the various costs of establishing new protected areas, particularly in contested landscapes. What a major victory!

2. $300-million conservation financing fund launched by the province.

We did it! After more than five years of campaigning for this specific goal, in November, the province launched its $300 million conservation financing fund to help protect old-growth forests through the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas while supporting sustainable economic alternatives to old-growth logging. We probably asked you to send a message calling for conservation financing about 300 million times, but our collective efforts truly paid off!

3. $100-million BC Old-Growth Fund launched to save the most at-risk old-growth forests.

Thanks to the work of MP Patrick Weiler, this federal-provincial funding pot (set to increase to at least $164 million) is now available to help protect anywhere from 400,000 hectares to 1.3 million hectares of the grandest, rarest, and oldest stands in the Coastal and Inland Rainforests and the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone. These areas include the spectacular forests you see in all of our photos! What an incredible leap forward!

4. Premier David Eby commits to protecting 30% of lands in BC by 2030.

The year started strong shortly after this commitment was made by Premier David Eby, which will double the current extent of legislated protected areas across BC (an additional area of about four times the size of Vancouver Island). It took over a century to get to the first 15%, now we’re set to double that in just seven years!

5. Draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework is released.

2023 ended with the BC government releasing its draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework, which, if done correctly, will open the door for a major paradigm shift in conservation: prioritizing saving the most endangered ecosystems via “ecosystem-based targets”. The draft framework aims to prioritize ecological values above timber extraction and other industrial activity across all ministries. It’s incredible to see this language being used when compared to where we were five years ago! Stay tuned for calls to action on this piece soon.

Ancient Forest Alliance photographer & campaigner, TJ Watt, beside an enormous old-growth Sitka spruce growing unprotected west of Lake Cowichan in Ditidaht territory.

Ancient Forest Alliance photographer & campaigner, TJ Watt, beside an enormous old-growth Sitka spruce growing unprotected west of Lake Cowichan in Ditidaht territory.

Biggest News Stories of 2023

This year we were once again able to garner multiple international news stories, twice making the top story on Apple News! Here are a few of the year’s top stories below.

1. The Washington Post — ‘Freak of Nature’ is the find of a lifetime for forest explorer

2. The Guardian — Canada: images of felled ancient tree a ‘gut-punch’, old-growth experts say

3. The Independent UK — Rare tree hunter in Canada finds ‘freak of nature’ 1,000-year-old cedar

4. Canadian Press — Poor data hinders BC old-growth logging deferrals, advocates say

5. CHEK News — BC signs ‘historic’ $1B agreement to protect lands and waters

Thanks to your generous support, we continue to embark on field expeditions to explore and document the beauty and destruction of endangered old-growth forests in BC, which often results in the coverage you see here.

Top 3 Photos of 2023

Professional photography continues to be one of our greatest communication tools. Below are three of TJ’s photos that gained the most attention this year!

A man in a red jacket stands in front of a massive ancient redcedar.

The most impressive tree in Canada.
Flores Island cedar, Ahousaht territory.

A man in a blue jacket who is 6'4" stands beside a towering Sitka spruce. The spruce is lit up by a torch at its base and stands against a background of other dark green trees and a magnificent starry sky.

The largest spruce in Canada, San Jo’s Smiley.
Northern Vancouver Island, Quatsino territory.

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.

Fallen giants.
Northern Vancouver Island, Quatsino territory.

Our Favourite Video of 2023

Bringing ancient forests to life through video is one of our favourite ways to share our explorations with you. This spectacular video showcases the most impressive tree in Canada growing on Flores Island in Ahousaht territory!

Supporting Indigenous-led Old-Growth Protection

Together with our partners Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and Nature-Based Solutions Foundation, Ancient Forest Alliance continued its support for two exciting Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area proposals.

We have partnered with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band in the Fraser Canyon to help support their T’eqt’aqtn Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) which will protect some of the most diverse old-growth ecosystems found anywhere in BC, including 42 species at risk.

We have also partnered with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation in Gold River to support their incredible Salmon Parks Initiative, which is now backed by a $15.2-million commitment from the federal government!

These Indigenous-led conservation initiatives will eventually see over 43,000 hectares (430 km2) of combined old growth protected — an area about four times the size of Vancouver!

We’ll continue to expand our efforts with other key First Nations in 2024.

A man in a yellow jacket stands beside a massive Douglas-fir tree in an ancient Douglas-fir grove.

Old-growth Douglas-fir forest in the Burman River valley. Proposed Salmon Park, Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory.

On top of what was one of the most action-packed years in the history of our organization, we also received charitable status this year! If you’re inspired by the progress you see above, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us launch into 2024.

A sincere thank you to all those who contacted decision-makers, donated, organized a fundraiser, purchased AFA gear, met with your elected representatives, signed a resolution, shared our photos and news articles, or simply cheered us on. British Columbians and people from across the globe continue to demonstrate that they will stand up for the protection of endangered old-growth forests. Collectively, we are changing the world.

We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in 2024!

For the forests,
The Ancient Forest Alliance team

 

(L-R) Nadia Sheptycki (Victoria Canvass Director), Joan Varley (Administrative Director), TJ Watt (Campaigner & Photographer), Kristen Bounds (Communications Coordinator), Coral Forbes (Donor Relations & Administrative Associate) and Ian Thomas (Research & Engagement Officer)

Nature photographer discovers ancient ‘freak-of-nature’ tree hiding in plain sight: ‘I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one’

/in /by

December 15, 2023
The Cool Down
By Jeremiah Budin

A nature photographer in British Columbia discovered one of the largest old-growth cedars ever documented off the coast of Vancouver Island — and he’s not telling you or anyone else how to find it.

TJ Watt, a co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance, a charitable organization that works to protect endangered old-growth forests, waited more than a year after first happening across the massive tree, which he nicknamed “The Wall,” to even tell the world about its existence, according to The Washington Post.

During that time, Watt consulted with members of the Ahousaht First Nation, who have lived in the area for thousands of years.

“It was decided that we should keep the tree’s location a secret because these are sensitive areas, and everything could get pretty trampled if word got out where to find it,” Watt told the Post.

He also took time to thoroughly measure and document The Wall. It is believed that the massive tree is over 1,000 years old, standing 151 feet tall and 17 and a half feet in diameter.

“I’ve found thousands and thousands of trees, and I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of photos of old-growth forests,” Watt told the Post. “But I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one.”

“It was incredible to stand before it,” he continued. “I’d describe it as a freak of nature because it actually gets wider as it gets taller. As I looked up at it, I felt a sense of awe and wonder.”

Canada’s largest documented tree, a humongous red cedar known as the Cheewhat Giant, is located in the protected Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and stands 182 feet tall and 19 feet in diameter, per the Post.

Old-growth forests play an essential role in wildlife habitat, species diversity, carbon storage, and other crucial ecological processes. However, like so many parts of the natural world, they are threatened by pollution, the effects of human-caused extreme weather events, and the logging industry.

Although trees such as the Cheewhat Giant are protected, per the Post, 80% of the original old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have already been logged, according to the Ancient Forest Alliance. That’s why it is essential that The Wall stays protected and its location unreleased.

Read the original article.