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TJ Watt2026-04-30 16:32:192026-04-30 16:32:192025 Activity Report & FinancialsRelated Posts
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TJ Watt2026-04-27 16:22:282026-04-27 16:23:15The Tyee: BC ‘Going Backwards’ on Ecosystem Protections
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TJ Watt2026-04-23 15:49:152026-04-23 15:51:13The Tyee: BC Must Stop Blaming First Nations for Old-Growth Logging
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TJ Watt2026-04-17 14:37:512026-04-17 14:37:51Western CoralrootTake Action
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AFA supports Avatar Grove’s protection, calls for provincial old-growth plan
/in Media ReleaseToday’s announcement by the BC government to legally prohibit logging of the Avatar Grove by including it in 59.4 hectares of Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMA) was met with happiness by the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), the BC environmental group that identified and popularized the monumental stand of valley-bottom ancient redcedars and Douglas fir near Port Renfrew two years ago. Of 236 public comments, during the public input process from September through November 2011, 232 comments were in favour of Avatar Grove’s protection.
“We commend the BC government for protecting this key tract of extremely rare valley bottom ancient forest – virtually all of the valley bottoms on southern Vancouver Island where the biggest trees grow have been logged, literally 95% of them, ” stated TJ Watt, the Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder who came across the Avatar Grove in December of 2009. “At the same time, thousands of hectares of old-growth forests are being logged every year on Vancouver Island, and millions of hectares of old-growth forests are endangered across BC. Our main goal is to see a new provincial plan to protect ALL of BC’s endangered old-growth forests and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry instead.”
The Avatar Grove is an easy 15-minute drive mainly along paved roads from the town of Port Renfrew on southwestern Vancouver Island. Over the past two years, thousands of people have visited the Grove. The AFA has held countless hiking tours and slideshows to thousands of people, taken media from across the country on tour, organized rallies and protests, and worked with the local businesses of Port Renfrew through the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce to ensure the protection of the Avatar Grove. The Grove was surveyed and flagged for logging when the campaign began in February 2010.
See a Youtube Clip of Avatar Grove at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw
See a photo gallery of TJ Watt’s incredible Avatar Grove photos: https://ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/avatar-grove/
“This Avatar Grove campaign has been an ancient forest campaign on steroids – with thousands of people from across BC and around the world coming for a visit, and international media like Al-Jazeera covering the issue. This is a great day for the tourism businesses of Port Renfrew, Sooke, Lake Cowichan, and Victoria, and for the wildlife of Avatar Grove. The next step is to get this area legislated as a park or conservancy,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “But it’s important to note that the Avatar Grove was always a springboard for our provincial campaign to protect all of BC’s endangered old-growth forests, and 2012 will be a year when we wage a relentless campaign to that end.”
The Avatar Grove has some of Canada’s largest trees, including scores of giant western redcedars – some over 4 meters (15 feet) wide, including “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree” with its 3-meter (10 feet) wide burl. The Grove itself is found on gentle terrain in the valley bottom, almost all of which have been logged on southern Vancouver Island. Virtually all other remaining old-growth stands are also far along bumpy logging roads, on steep slopes. It is home to Vancouver Island’s largest wildlife species: wolves, cougars, black bears, elk, and deer.
Unfortunately, the BC government has also compensated the licensee, the Teal-Jones Group, in Tree Farm License 46 where the Avatar Grove is found, with 30 hectares of second-growth forests and 27 hectares of old-growth (57 hectares). “We’re opposed to compensation for the company, as they don’t own the land or the trees on Crown lands – all they have are access rights to the resource through their license. If the government enacts conservation regulations to protect deer or trout in areas where their populations are down, those with hunting or fishing licenses don’t get compensation for not being able to take all the deer or trout in those areas. Neither should logging companies on publicly-owned Crown forests,” states Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder.
On Vancouver Island, over 600,000 hectares of productive old-growth forests (ie. old-growth stands with moderate to fast growth growing conditions, where most logging occurs) remain, out of 2.3 million hectares of such forests originally (ie. about 1.7 million hectares have been logged). About 200,000 hectares are protected in parks or off-limits to logging through Old-Growth Management Areas. In addition, another 700,000 hectares of Vancouver Island consists of low-productivity old-growth forests (ie. stunted bog and subalpine forests with small trees and slow growth rates, most of which are unprofitable to log). In percentages, about 75% of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests have been logged, including about 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow, and about 95% of the valley bottoms on the South Island (south of Barkley Sound).
See maps and stats at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/
The Ancient Forest Alliance is coming up to its two-year anniversary. The organization was officially registered as a not-for-profit society in British Columbia on February 24, 2010.
Avatar Grove to be protected by province
/in News CoverageA grove of giant, old-growth trees near Port Renfrew, which has brought thousands of visitors to the area over the last two years, will be protected by the province.
Avatar Grove, a unique stand of centuries-old Douglas firs and red cedars, will be included in an expanded, 59-hectare old-growth management area, Forests Minister Steve Thomson said Thursday.
That means no logging or mining, but is one step short of the legislated protection of park designation.
Surrey-based Teal-Jones Group, which holds logging rights for the area around Avatar Grove, is being compensated with 57 hectares removed from other old-growth management areas.
Much of Avatar Grove, named after the movie, was slated for logging two years ago when the Ancient Forest Alliance started campaigning for its protection.
At that time only 24 per cent of the grove was included in an old-growth management area.
Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder, applauded the move by the province, but said all old-growth forests on Vancouver Island should be protected.
“We do commend the B.C. government for protecting this tract of extremely rare old-growth valley bottom, as 95 per cent (of that ecosystem) has already been logged on Vancouver Island,” he said.
The Alliance wants to see an end to all old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and a sustainable second-growth forestry industry.
Read more: https://www.vancouversun.com/news/thewest/Avatar+Grove+protected+province/6164261/story.html
Call to write letters
/in Take ActionHello friends, there is an urgent need for your voice on numerous endangered ancient forests in BC right now! Please take a moment to assist with each area – if you commit just 30 minutes, you could help each area listed below right now: Avatar Grove, Cortes Island, the Great Bear Rainforest, Flores Island, McLaughlin Ridge, and Mossy Maple Grove:
AVATAR GROVE
GOOD NEWS! The BC government this morning declared the Avatar Grove legally off-limits to logging through a new, 59 hectare Old-Growth Management Area! We’re aiming that eventually the Avatar Grove will be protected through legislation as a park or conservancy, but this keeps out the chainsaws now! The Avatar Grove campaign has been an “old-growth campaign on steroids”. Thousands of people have visited this incredible monumental stand of extremely rare valley-bottom ancient redcedars and Douglas firs near Port Renfrew in a campaign spearheaded by the Ancient Forest Alliance. The Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce played a pivotal role by joining our call for the area’s protection. Unfortunately the logging company, Teal-Jones will be compensated with 30 hectares of second-growth and 27 hectares of old-growth (57 hectares) in the area – the AFA opposes compensation since the company does not own the land nor the trees, these are public forests. Lets remember too that THOUSANDS of hectares of old-growth forests are logged
EVERY year on Vancouver Island, tens of thousands of hectares are logged across BC, and millions of hectares remain unprotected and endangered in the province – this is a campaign to end logging of ALL endangered forests and to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry in BC.
CORTES ISLAND
Over 1000 hectares of endangered “dry maritime” forests are threatened with logging by Island Timberlands. Determined local residents on this northern Gulf Island have built different teams to undertake petition and letter-writing drives, fundraising, negotiations, mapping, and potentially blockades – which may happen shortly. BC’s Ministry of Environment has responded to our first round of letters calling on them to help protect these lands that it has “no funds available”.
Let’s ramp-up the call by targeting Premier Christy Clark now at premier@gov.bc.ca (include your full name and mailing address so they know you are a real person). Write her a quick letter to let her know it is the province’s responsibility to help purchase the endangered forests, sensitive ecosystems, and rare old-growth groves on Island Timberland’s private lands on Cortes Island. Only 1% of BC’s old-growth coastal Douglas firs remain!
GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST
The central and northern mainland coast of BC is massive, twice the size of Vancouver Island and bigger than many European countries. It is home to numerous First Nations communities and the towns of Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Bella Bella, and Bella Coola. It is also home to hundreds of ancient forest valleys with grizzlies, spirit bears, wolves, cougars, and salmon. BC made headlines six years ago when the province promised to save the largest intact temperate rainforest left on Earth. Today 50% of its forests are off-limits to logging while the rest remains at risk.
FLORES ISLAND
Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound is Heaven on Earth. It is one of the most extensive intact ancient rainforests left in southern BC. Located near Tofino in Nuu-cha-nulth territory, it is home to wolves, cougars, deer, and black bears on the land, and gray whales, humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, and sea otters in its marine waters. Unfortunately it is under threat from logging.
MCLAUGHLIN RIDGE
Near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, this 400 hectare tract of extremely rare old-growth Douglas firs and hemlocks is considered to be the finest deer wintering range on southern Vancouver Island and is critical habitat for the endangered Queen Charlotte goshawk. Island Timberlands is still intransigent and won’t commit to not logging the ridge.
MOSSY MAPLE GROVE, a.k.a. “Fangorn Forest”
This unique, newly located stand of magnificent, massive mossy maple trees near Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island is just about the most beautiful forest you could imagine – straight out of a fairy tale!
MOST of ALL please SIGN and FORWARD our online petition to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs at: ancientforestalliance.org/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/
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