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Lichen auction closes Dec. 15

Dec 8 2011/in News Coverage

Two “name that lichen” auctions organized by Upper Clearwater naturalist Trevor Goward will end on Thursday, Dec. 15.

As of press-time late last week, the highest bid on an auction to name a new species of crottle lichen was $7,000 from an individual named Robert Pirooz.

The highest bid to name a new species of horsehair lichen was $3,500 from a Don McKay of Ontario.

“This is as Canadian as it gets,” said Goward. “With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to Canada and at the same time honor a loved one – or a favorite hockey team – by naming a Canadian lichen after them.”

“Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear; and where would Santa Claus be then?” he asked.

The crottle lichen auction is being done through the Land Conservancy of BC. The money raised will be used for the organization’s campaign to establish a wetlands and wildlife corridor in Upper Clearwater.

The corridor would create a connection between two lobes of Wells Gray Park. It also would protect over 130 acres, including 67 acres of wetlands and a 10-acre meadow that is home to Canada’s most diverse population of moonwort ferns (Botrychium spp.).

The crottle lichen or Parmeli whose name is being auctioned consists of strap-like lobes, pale grayish above and black below. It inhabits the branches of trees in B.C.’s inland rainforests such as the Clearwater Valley

The second lichen name auction is being done through the Ancient Rainforest Alliance.

The money raised in the second auction would be used to help protect B.C.’s rainforests, especially on public land.

The new species of Bryoria or horsehair lichen forms elegant black tresses on the branches of trees in old-growth forests.

An online auction in 2005 for the naming of a new species of monkey in Bolivia netted $650,000. Money raised by that auction went to protecting the monkey’s habitat.

“It’s been almost three centuries since Carolus Linnaeus invented the modern biological classification system; and even now the names of the people he honored in the name of various plants and animals are still with us,” said Goward. “With any luck, your name will last at least as long as Canada does.”

Further information and a chance to bid are at Land Conservancy (TLC) of British Columbia (https://blog.conservancy.bc.ca/) and the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) (www.ancientforestalliance.org/) websites.

Lichens are small organisms that are cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture. Check out Goward’s website at www.waysofenlichenment.net/ for more lichen information.

Renowned lichenologist Trevor Goward stands beside the new species of Bryoria or "horsehair lichen" he discovered. To place a bid for the naming rights to this species visit: https://www.charitybuzz.com/categories/43/catalog_items/272986

Taxonomy – The name of the lichen

Dec 7 2011/in News Coverage

A few years ago, a fellow lichenologist named a new species of lichen after Trevor Goward. Ramboldia gowardiana features maraschino-red buttons protruding from a silvery white crust. Toby Spribille’s reasoning was that Goward “added local colour to lichenology in western North America.” The curator of lichens at the University of British Columbia, Goward has himself discovered, described and named more than 20 species of lichen, but the naming privileges to his most recent finds will probably go to strangers.

Goward is working with a pair of conservation organizations in British Columbia to auction off the right to name his two new species. The Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance, which is dedicated to protecting and advocating for the province’s old-growth forests, is soliciting bids for Bryoria, a “horsehair lichen” that cascades over tree branches in long, black strands. Goward hopes that the auction money will help the organization “make its voice heard in coming elections.” The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC), meanwhile, is selling the naming rights to Parmelia, a leafy, branch-clinging “crottle” lichen marked by slender, pallid grey lobes. Proceeds from the winning bid will go toward the purchase of private land to create a wildlife corridor between two sections of Wells Gray Provincial Park, in east-central British Columbia.

A Google satellite view of the Wells Gray region reveals widespread logging; a patchwork of scarred land surrounds the park’s borders. Between the park’s southern points lies a jumble of crown land and private property, as well as migration paths used by black and grizzly bears, cougars and moose. About two kilometres wide, the proposed wildlife corridor will protect these routes, which merge with land set aside for researchers from Thompson Rivers University, in Kamloops. Goward has donated his adjacent four hectares of property to the project and persuaded a neighbouring couple to donate 27 hectares.

Both auctions are scheduled to wrap up by late December. As of press time, the leading bids were in the $5,000 ballpark and the auctions had attracted high-profile bidders such as National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence Wade Davis. “We’re hoping that this auction really captures someone’s imagination,” says Barry Booth, TLC’s northern region manager. “This is such an innovative way to commemorate someone’s life and to raise funds for the Wells Gray project. This could be a model for future fundraising.”

Goward’s ambitions go even further. Roughly 18,000 new organisms are described by taxonomists worldwide every year (although most are much smaller than lichens), and he plans to call upon his peers to participate in the “taxonomic tithing” movement by sharing some of their naming rights with environmental causes. His pitch to potential bidders: “Somebody in the world will always know the name of that species, and because the naming will have a story, it will have more resonance.”

For an update on the lichen auctions, visit www.ancientforestalliance.org and blog.conservancy.bc.ca. For more information on “taxonomic tithing,” go to www.waysofenlichenment.net

Read the article in the Canadian Geographic: https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/dec11/lichen_taxonomy.asp

“Name that Lichen” auction closes 15 December!

Dec 5 2011/in Announcements

“Name that Lichen” auction closes 15 December. Researcher challenges Canadians to give something back to Canada and at the same time honour a loved one – or favourite hockey team – in the name of a native species: the perfect Canadian Christmas gift.

Public auctions for naming rights to two recently discovered lichens will close on 15 December, with proceeds going to two B.C. environmental groups: The Land Conservancy (TLC) of British Columbia ( www.conservancy.bc.ca/), working to create a much-needed wildlife corridor for Wells Gray Provincial Park; and the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) ( https://ancientforestalliance.org/), gearing up to protect B.C.’s remaining oldgrowth forests.

The two lichen species were discovered in B.C.’s rainforests by botanical researcher Trevor Goward. According to scientific protocol, the right to give a new species its scientific name goes to the person who describes it. However, an online auction running on each organization’s website since June will earn the highest bidders the right to name these lichens – whether after loved ones, themselves, or whomever they choose.

“This is as Canadiana as it gets,” says Trevor. “With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to Canada and at the same time honour a loved one – or a favourite hockey team – by naming a Canadian lichen after them”. “It’s been almost three centuries since Carolus Linnaeus invented the modern biological classification system; and even now the names of the people he honoured in the name of various plants and animals are still with us. With any luck, your name will last at least as long as Canada does. Not even Stephen Harper could hope for more than that.”

Lichens are small organisms often mistaken for plants, but perhaps better thought of as cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/ .

The lichen being donated to the Ancient Forest Alliance is a “Horsehair Lichen” or Bryoria, which forms elegant black tresses on the branches of trees. “These are the lichens that provide winter food for the Mountain Caribou, British Columbia’s version of Santa’s reindeer,” says Trevor. “Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear; and where would Santa Clause be then”?

For the Land Conservancy, Trevor chose an undescribed “Crottle Lichen,” or Parmelia, consisting of strap-like lobes pale greyish above and black below. Hummingbirds use Crottle Lichens to camouflage their tiny nests, fastening it to the outside using strands of spider web. It too inhabits the branches of trees, and grows in the Clearwater Valley, where Trevor is working with TLC Goward on a Christmas present for BC Parks: a wildlife corridor linking the two southern lobes of Wells Gray Provincial Park: https://waysofenlichenment.net/wells/corridor project. TLC and its partners need to raise $350,000 for this project.

Recently Trevor decided to auction off the naming rights to some of his newly discovered species in an initiative he calls “taxonomic tithing”: www.waysofenlichenment.net/tithe/home . “Thousands of new species are described every year,” notes Trevor. “If our auction is successful, it could inspire taxonomists around the world to get involved in auctions of this kind: a whole new niche for conservation fundraising! My dream is that Canadians will lead the way on this initiative!

“I whole-heartedly support efforts to set aside biologically critical portions of B.C.’s forestlands. Putting my new species up for auction for two highly-deserving environmental organizations – one working to protect public lands and the other private lands – allows me to give something back to my home province,” says Goward. “Lately Canadians haven’t been very good at looking after their country. I believe we can do better. What better time to begin than at Christmas”?

Goward is an internationally acclaimed lichenologist who has described about two dozen species and genera of lichens, mostly in western Canada. He is curator of lichens at the University of British Columbia and author of more than 100 scientific papers and several books. His work can be found at: https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/portal. Goward lives in the Clearwater Valley near Wells Gray Provincial Park north of Kamloops, B.C.

To make a bid, visit the Ancient Forest Alliance’s website https://ancientforestalliance.org/ or phone 250-896-4007, or contact The Land Conservancy at www.conservancy.bc.ca/ or phone 1-877-485-2422. The auction closes on 15 December.

2025 Activity Report & Financials

Apr 30 2026

2025 was a milestone year for the Ancient Forest Alliance and the old-growth campaign. Despite the BC government's backsliding on many of its old-growth commitments, there was still much work to be proud of, including celebrating our 15th year working to protect ancient forests. Check out our 2025 Activity Report & Financials to see the impact YOU made on 2025, plus, find out what we have in store for 2026!

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