Ancient Forest Alliance seeks support

Co-founders of the newly formed Ancient Forest Alliance Ken Wu and TJ Watt will host an informative and inspiring slideshow featuring spectacular photographs of Canada’s largest trees tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 6.

The presentation by Wu and Watt will include discussion of the stunning ecology and complex politics surrounding B.C.’s old-growth forests and forestry jobs, and slides of the Red Creek Fir, San Juan Spruce, Cheewhat Cedar and the newly discovered and threatened Avatar Grove. It will be held at Central Hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

Admission is by donation.

“Time is running out for our endangered old-growth forests and B.C.’s coastal forestry jobs,” said AFA campaign director Wu in a press release. “Salt Spring Island is famous as a hub of environmental consciousness — it may very well have the highest density of tree-huggers in North America! It’s a key place for us to build support and expand the campaign to protect our ancient forests, ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, and to ban raw log exports to foreign mills.”

The AFA says that to date, about 75 per cent of Vancouver Island’s productive old growth forest has been logged according to satellite photos, including 90 per cent of the flat valley bottoms, while only six per cent of its original, productive old-growth forests are protected in parks. Meanwhile thousands of forestry jobs are being lost as millions of cubic meters of raw logs are exported each year to foreign mills.