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A large group of hikers crowd around the massive redcedar dubbed "Canada's Gnarliest Tree" during an Ancient Forest Alliance led public hike to the Avatar Grove in summer 2010.

Eco-tourism in Port Renfrew

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Port Renfrew, long a logging town, has realized they can capitalize on the protection of their natural assets to keep the community alive.

The Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Ancient Forest Alliance, the advocacy group that leads tours of the majestic ‘Avatar Grove’, to funnel more tourists into the area and feed the local economy.

The two organizations launched an info centre Thursday, July 14 that will hopefully be a hub for visitors looking for information about Avatar Grove and a boom for local businesses.

“What we used to rely on to sustain Port Renfrew was logging, but the tables have turned,” said Rosie Betsworth, chamber president.

She said while the partnership with an environmental group initially raised eyebrows among area residents, the forest alliance isn’t a “radical” group, instead one that aims to educate people gently about the importance of protecting old-growth forests.

“Their application is soft and it works.”

And it is working. The Ancient Forest Alliance holds tours once a month through the grove, and an average of 50 people show up each time, many from across Canada and Europe. TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer for the alliance, said thousands have come through the grove since he first discovered it in late 2009.

“There are five, six, seven cars there on an average day,” he said. The maps available in the info centre provide directions on how to reach the grove, a 20-minute drive from the village centre and then a 15-minute hike. It features the world’s biggest Douglas fir and Canada’s gnarliest tree, covered with a 10-foot wide burl at its base. Watt estimates the oldest tree in the grove is 500 years old.

Betsworth said the flow of visitors coming to see the grove is translating into real growth for the village, and she can understand why.

“The town is small, unique, green and clean,” she said. Everywhere you turn there’s something else to see.”

The community now has its first strip mall- a row of businesses with a restaurant, a market and the info centre, as well as a growing list of accommodations, eateries and eco-tourism opportunities.

She admits that the quality of the West Coast highway needs to be improved, and the switchbacks need to be gentler.

“The pressure is on” to keep the Pacific Rim Circle Route, a logging road which connects Port Renfrew to Lake Cowichan, maintained.

Watt thinks local businesses are on-board with this new tourism strategy.

“I find that most business owners have made the connection between protecting the earth and raising funds,” he said.

However, he’s not yet assured that the tourists will be able to visit Avatar Grove indefinitely.

On Watt’s second visit to the grove in February 2010, he noticed surveyor tape around some of the trees. Since then, it’s been “a long, drawn-out battle for the last year and a half” to get the grove protected. The government is currently consulting with Teal-Jones Group, which has logging rights. Watt thinks that with the frenzy of people coming in to see the trees, it would be in the government’s best interest to

“It’d be way too backwards to cut it down at this point.”

 

Link to Sooke News Mirror article: https://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/sookenewsmirror/lifestyles/125824828.html

Ancient Forest Alliance

Camping in Port Renfrew? Try the Pacheedaht Campground and RV park!

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Next time you’re in Port Renfrew visiting Canada’s largest trees, the Avatar Grove, or any of the other great recreation opportunities around town and you need a place to camp, we recommend the Pacheedaht First Nations Campground and RV. It’s location, along the long sandy beach of Port Renfrew’s bay, is incredible to say the least! Ocean front views, wildlife viewing, and fishing are just some of the things you can enjoy.

To get to the campground from Victoria take West Coast HWY #14 and turn RIGHT onto Deering rd immediately upon reaching Port Renfrew. Cross the single lane bridge over the San Juan River and once on the other side there is camp parking on both the left and right hand side of the road. An individual will come by each day to collect camping fees.

Rates are $10-$20 a night.

For inquiries please phone 1.250.647.0090

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Ancient Forest Alliance

CHEK TV News clip featuring Port Renfrew’s new Tourist Information Centre and the Avatar Grove

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The Ancient Forest Alliance along with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce launched the new Tourist Information Centre today which will serve to funnel thousands of visitors into the town’s surrounding old-growth forests, raise awareness of the need to protect them, and help create a vibrant eco-tourism based economy.

Direct link to video: https://bcove.me/p0rti00i

Flagging tape marked "Falling Boundary" in the lower Avatar Grove when the forest was initially surveyed for logging.

Ancient Forest Alliance and Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce cooperate to Protect Old-Growth Forests and Avatar Grove through new Chamber Info Centre

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Port Renfrew, BC – The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is supporting the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce during the launch of a new visitor information centre that will help bolster tourism in the region as well as funnel thousands of visitors into the town’s surrounding ancient forests.

The info centre will play host to a media press conference today, Thursday, July 14 at 12:00 noon, followed by a tour of the nearby unprotected Avatar Grove. Port Renfrew Chamber President Rosie Betsworth and Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and photographer TJ Watt will discuss their cooperative efforts to promote and protect the Avatar Grove and other nearby old-growth forests.

Since the locating of Avatar Grove on Crown lands near Port Renfrew by Watt in late 2009 and shortly afterwards its demarcation with survey tape for logging, “Avatar Grove Fever” has hit Port Renfrew, drawing in thousands of new visitors from far and wide who have come to the see the Grove’s gigantic, burl-covered redcedar trees and rare old-growth Douglas-firs. The Grove has also attracted national and international media including Al-Jazeera TV last March.

In the coming weeks the AFA will continue to pump up the number of visitors to Port Renfrew by telling thousands of its supporters to visit the new info centre and to spend their dollars in town to ensure that the financial benefits of old-growth forest recreation and their eventual protection are reflected in the local economy.

“This is a new, revolutionary approach to conservation for an environmental group to forge a cooperative relationship with a Chamber of Commerce and the small business community to protect the environment and bolster the local economy at the same time,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.

“Port Renfrew’s economy will greatly benefit from the promotion and protection of the Avatar Grove and local old-growth forests. We are positioned to attract tourists from across Canada, the US, Europe and elsewhere who will come to see some of the largest, most magnificent trees in the world here. Our new info center will be a central hub to direct tourists where to go once they arrive,” stated Rosie Betsworth, Chamber of Commerce president. “Our cooperation with the Ancient Forest Alliance has already resulted in thousands of new visitors to our town over the past year.”

In March of 2011 the AFA helped raise over $5,000 for the Port Renfrew Chamber to help cover staffing costs at the new centre. The fundraiser, held at the Sooke Harbour House, drew a crowd of mostly business owners from the Sooke and Port Renfrew region who recognize the economic and environmental benefits of promoting and protecting BC’s world renowned ancient forests.

Port Renfrew has bragging rights as the “big trees capital of Canada”. The world’s largest Douglas-fir tree, the Red Creek Fir, Canada’s largest Sitka spruce, the San Juan Spruce, and the giant, gnarly trees of the Avatar Grove all grow right on its door step. Just a couple of hours drive north grows Canada’s largest tree, the Cheewhat Giant. A “Tall Trees Tour” map of the Port Renfrew area which features photos, driving directions and background information is now available to hand out to tourists.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests, ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, ban raw log exports, and assist in the retooling and development of second-growth mills and value-added facilities.

According to satellite photos, about 90% of the original, productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have been logged south of Barkley Sound, including about 96% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. Only about 6% of the Island’s original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks.

See “before” and “after” old-growth forest maps at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/  

See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s Youtube Clips of Port Renfrew’s (Canada’s) largest trees at:

– World’s Largest Douglas Fir – the Red Creek Fir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfBWLVj-Xjg  

– Canada’s Largest Spruce – the San Juan Spruce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lql9_hWuFLA&NR=1  

– Canada’s Gnarliest Tree – Save the Avatar Grove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw  

See spectacular photogalleries of the Avatar Grove and Canada’s largest trees at:

https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/  
 

Guests attend the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce fundraiser at the Sooke Harbour House.

Port Renfrew Chamber News

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The March 17 Ancient Forest Alliance and Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce fundraiser was a very big success. I would like to thank the Sooke Harbour House, The Ancient Forest Alliance and  Adriane Carr for making the event all possible.

I would also like to thank Paul George and Vicky Husband  and all of the folks who came out to support our endeavor.

We raised $6,100 in pledges and cash donations, and made new friends who own companies who are able to give a hand in other areas.

All in all we could not have asked for anything better. Thank you one and all.

We are right on target for opening May 1 and look forward to a very busy season. Please come up for a visit.

On another note, Port Renfrew has also entered the Ultimate Fishing Town competition.

As everyone else, we too feel we have the best fishing in the world.

Good luck to all everyone and may the best town win.

Rose Betsworth – Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce President

Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce President Rosie Betsworth makes her speech during the AFA hosted fundraiser at the Sooke Harbour House.

Port Renfrew aided by donations

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Once the phrase “Avatar Grove” was coined, the flood gates opened out at Port Renfrew.

Avatar Grove refers to the stand of old growth forest just outside Port Renfrew and features the “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree,” a giant red cedar with a 12-foot wide contorted burl located just five minutes past the end of the paved road.

Perhaps it was because of the popular movie, perhaps it was the incredible tree itself but, in any case, efforts by the Ancient Forest Alliance are paying off and the trees in the grove are one step closer to being protected.

At a fundraiser on March 17 at the Sooke Harbour House, local area business people and interested conservationists came together to raise funds for an information centre in Port Renfrew.

“The Ancient Forest Alliance became an integral part of our community and the chamber of commerce and our campaign to protect these forests,” said Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce president Rosie Betsworth.

Ken Wu, of the Ancient Forest Alliance, spoke of small towns in Canada trying to attract tourists with the “biggest something.” He said Port Renfrew is a small village with a population of 200 and it has the biggest trees in Canada.

“It’s the real deal, the biggest fir tree on the planet and the gnarliest tree in the country in the Avatar Grove. It is a rallying point for people who want to save the old growth forest,” said Wu.

He said Avatar Grove is still unprotected although the logging company has stated it is not interested in logging in the grove.

“It is a magnificent forest for future generations. The increasing number of people will ramp up the total visitor-ship of the entire region,” said Wu.

Jon Cash was pointed out as the first person to push for increased protection of old growth in Port Renfrew. He said that with an adult population of 75 voters politicians aren’t there for you.

“The Ancient Forest Alliance has given us a voice and the chamber of commerce a voice… it is rebranding the whole town,” said Cash. “We are hugely affected by this campaign.”

He said people came to the area expected to see big trees and this “special place” needs to be treated as such.

Photographer  TJ Watt said he has seen a shift in people’s willingness to protect those ancient trees.

“It was not by ranting and raving to save the trees,” he said.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is working to get the government to establish an old-growth management area where trees will be valued and protected.

“If we don’t succeed it will be the ‘Biggest Stump Capital of BC’,” said Watt.

By May 1, the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce wants to have its information centre up and running.

Adrianne Carr of the Green Party led the pledge auction which raised $6,100 in cash and in-kind services for the chamber of commerce.

Click here to view the original article

Ancient Forest Alliance

Al Jazeera Reports on Ancient Forest Alliance’s Campaign to Save Old-Growth Forests and the Avatar Grove

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Here is the news clip from Al Jazeera, one of the largest TV news networks on Earth that reaches 220 million homes in over 100 countries, who have just featured the Ancient Forest Alliance’s campaign to protect British Columbia’s endangered old-growth forests and the Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island.

Direct link to news clip on Al Jazeera website (and FORWARD to friends and SHARE on Facebook) at:

https://english.aljazeera.net/video/americas/2011/03/201136225519703638.html

 

Or on Youtube at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azIKMhsDMoo

 

See the long version on Youtube  at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1ZNSo0-prI

 

Please Help Us!

 

SIGN and CIRCULATE our PETITION (ie. FORWARD to email contacts and SHARE on FACEBOOK, and POST on blogs…).

https://16.52.162.165/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/ 

 

WRITE a LETTER –  Do letters help? YES!!!!!

 

Letters are ways for politicians – who are elected or tossed out by voters, and who are also concerned about the province’s international reputation – to track how popular or unpopular their policies are. Each letter you write represents HUNDREDS of people who feel a similar way but didn’t take time to write! College Grants For Graduate Students [Original article no longer available]

 

Please WRITE to BC’s politicians to let them know that you want them to:

 

–          Protect the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew.

–          Commit to a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to ban and quickly phase-out old-growth logging in regions where they are now scarce (Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, southern Interior, etc.)

–          Ensure a transition to sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which now constitute the vast majority of the forested lands in southern BC.

–          Ban raw log exports to foreign mills and provide incentives for a value-added, second-growth wood manufacturing industry.

 

Write to:

 

BC’s new Premier Christy Clark at premier@gov.bc.ca

 

Forests Minister Pat Bell at pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca

 

NDP leadership candidates:

John Horgan: info@horganforbc.caMike Farnworth: info@mikefarnworth.ca

Adrian Dix: info@adriandixforbc.ca

Nicholas Simons: nicholas@nicholassimons2011.ca

Dana Larsen: info@votedana.ca

 

ALSO if you live in BC, look up and write your own BC MLA, who you can find by entering your postal code in the “MLA look-up tool” here:

 

*** BE SURE to include your HOME MAILING ADDRESS so they know you are a real person!!

And stay tuned for more calls to action – rallies, slideshows, hikes, and various events…

 

Some more info:

See a spectacular video clip (and please forward and share) about the Avatar Grove at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw

 

75% of Vancouver Island’s ancient forests have already been logged, including 90% of the largest trees that grow in the valley bottoms, according to satellite photos. See “before” and “after” maps at: https://16.52.162.165/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/

 

Old-growth forests are important for sustaining endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, and many First Nations cultures.  See SPECTACULAR photos of Canada’s largest trees and stumps at:

https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/

 

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 Support the Ancient Forest Alliance!

 

We are a new organization and GREATLY need YOUR support.  

DONATE at:  https://16.52.162.165/donations.php

 

Visit the Ancient Forest Alliance at:

https://16.52.162.165/

Email: info@16.52.162.165

Petition: https://16.52.162.165/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ancientforestalliance/

 

Avatar Grove

Al Jazeera to report from front lines of B.C.’s old-growth logging issue

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B.C.’s old-growth logging issues, which have long been the focus of North American and European media, are about to reach a far broader audience.

A film crew from the Toronto office of Al Jazeera visited southwestern Vancouver Island recently to report on old-growth logging issues for the English version of the Arabic news network.

 “This will be the biggest international news hit for the old-growth campaign in a long time,” Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance said Thursday. “There is a strong international market for environmental issues, particularly one that is very charismatic.”

The Al Jazeera crew recently visited the so-called Avatar Grove, a stand of about 100 old-growth cedars and Douglas firs near Port Renfrew named after Canadian James Cameron’s blockbuster movie. They also visited nearby the San Juan Spruce — largest of its species in Canada — and clearcut stumps.

“They were blown away,” Wu said. “International audiences will be stunned to see not just trees with trunks as wide as living rooms … but that the government endorses logging of these endangered stands.”

One particularly gnarly cedar at Avatar Grove measures 11 metres in circumference near the base of its trunk, its distorted look attributed to a non-lethal fungal infection.

Forests minister Pat Bell has asked the province’s chief forester to review existing regulations for protecting trees that, because of their age, have values that make them worth preserving.

The alliance is fighting to save not just the grove, but remaining old-growth stands on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland region. “This is one of the few jurisdictions where it’s still the norm to cut down centuries-old trees.” said Wu, noting the Al Jazeera report will broadcast on Saturday.

Click here to view the original article

Ancient Forest Alliance

Forest Practices Board Report – BC’s Ancient Forests Need More Protection

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(direct link to video: https://youtu.be/CLbVbn2iIc0 )

In response to a complaint filed about ancient redcedars up to 16ft in diameter being logged near Port Renfrew, BC, the Forest Practices Board, a third party government-appointed watchdog, has concluded that there is ‘strong public interest’ in seeing giant trees and unique stands of old-growth forest protected and that the BC government has the tools to do so.

The report also states in regards to the endangered Avatar Grove (see photo gallery here: https://16.52.162.165/… 75% of which is open for logging (25% is protected within Old-Growth Management Areas or “OGMA’s”), that “current options to protect the unprotected part of the area include creation of a new park or other reserve, or expansion of the existing OGMAs” and that “If further protection is warranted for Avatar Grove, government has available policy and procedures to guide potential amendment of its land-use objective” to protect the area.

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Please SIGN the PETITION at https://16.52.162.165/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/ to help SAVE BC’s ANCIENT FORESTS!

Standing beside a massive 16ft diameter redcedar stump is Hans Tammemagi

Call for Port Renfrew Foresters not to chop down ancient trees

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B.C.’s independent forest watchdog has sided with an environmental studies professor who filed a complaint last summer about a logging company that razed several huge, ancient trees in an area zoned for logging near Port Renfrew.

The Forest Practices Board (FCB) said the trees in question, cut by logging company Teal-Jones, were between 500 and 1,000 years old. Logging the trees was legal, but the board in a report released Thursday called for foresters and land managers to get “creative” about conserving trees of exceptional size, form, age or historical significance.

“Having withstood the ravages of time over many centuries, [ancient trees] can inspire awe and reverence, a sense of spirituality and connection to past events,” the report reads.

“This complaint highlights the strong public interest in seeing more ancient trees and forest stands preserved to live out their natural lives and functions, and managed as a social, economic and ecological asset to the public and surrounding communities,” said board chair Al Gorley.

Hans Tammemagi, an adjunct professor of environmental studies at the University of Victoria, said he was “appalled” last summer to find about a half-dozen stumps of freshly cut ancient trees in an area north of Port Renfrew known as the “Gordon landscape unit.”

“I stood on top of a stump that you could have built a house on,” he said. “It was huge. It almost brought tears to my eyes.

“. . . When they come across trees like this [I would like to see them] stop, and either cut around them or consult with the local community.”

He said his entreaties to Teal-Jones, a 65-year-old family-run logging company, fell on deaf ears when he phoned to complain.

“They really didn’t want to talk to me,” he said. “They were pretty adamant that they were doing everything legally, which they did.”

Darlene Omen, spokesperson for the FCB, said the recommendations released in Thursday’s report are not legally binding, but are meant to “highlight” the issue.

Tammemagi was encouraged, but not entirely satisfied by the board’s response.

“It’s positive, but it’s a bit on the weak side,” said Tammemagi. “I had hoped they’d come out with some stronger recommendations.”

Meanwhile, environmentalists as well as the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce continue to lobby Teal-Jones and the Forests Ministry to protect another ancient grove in the area known as Avatar Grove, which is considered a prime ecotourism destination.

Three quarters of Avatar Grove — home to what some say is the “world’s gnarliest tree” — remains vulnerable to Teal-Jones’ saws. The other quarter is legally protected.

“I would really like to see Teal Jones say voluntarily that they will not log Avatar Grove,” said Tammemagi.

Teal-Jones did not return The Province’s call Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the Association of B.C. Forest Professionals (ABCFP), the organization responsible for registering and regulating foresters, said its members are required under the Foresters Act to attempt to balance environmental, economic and social values when creating timber harvest plans.

“We will be raising this [report] with our members,” she said.