Nahmint Valley

Status

Partially Deferred

Location & Territory

Central Vancouver Island (near Port Alberni). Hupacasath, Tseshaht, and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nations.

Size

N/A

Land Tenure

Public – BC Timber Sales

Photo Gallery 1

Photo Gallery 2

About Nahmint Valley

Home to monumental ancient trees, diverse wildlife, and significant salmon and steelhead runs, the Nahmint Valley is one of the largest tracts of old-growth forest remaining on Vancouver Island outside of Clayoquot Sound. A popular destination for hikers, campers, and anglers, and hosting remarkable ancient forests, lakes, rugged peaks, and swimming holes with gorgeous turquoise water, the area is widely considered to be one of the most scenic places in BC. Long recognized for its outstanding ecological and recreational values, the Nahmint watershed was designated in the 1990 Vancouver Island Land Use Plan as a Special Management Zone to safeguard its exceptional biodiversity.

On an expedition to the Nahmint in May 2018, AFA campaigners were shocked to find the rapid and widespread destruction of some of Canada’s finest old-growth forests and near-record-sized trees, including the felling of Canada’s ninth-widest known Douglas-fir tree. The logging sparked public outrage and criticism of BC Timber Sales (BCTS), the BC government’s own logging agency responsible for auctioning off cutblocks in the valley, and garnered local, national, and international media attention. Following our expedition to the Nahmint, the Ancient Forest Alliance filed a complaint with the Ministry of Forests about the destructive logging practices that violated the valley’s high biodiversity emphasis designation under the Vancouver Island Land Use Plan.

In September 2019, we finally received the results of an investigation undertaken by the Ministry, which found that BC Timber Sales was failing to comply with the province’s already inadequate old-growth protection standards for the Nahmint Valley. The investigation found that too much old-growth has been logged in the Nahmint — even by the BC government’s standards — and not enough of it has been retained to avoid biodiversity loss. Read the Forest Practices Board investigation here.

At the end of 2021, some of the most ecologically important old-growth forests in the Nahmint Valley were deferred from logging as recommended by the BC government’s Technical Advisory Panel. Much of the valley still remains open to logging though and planned cutblocks still threaten some of the valley’s last strongholds of old-growth forests.

In the spring/summer of 2024, shocking photos revealed ‘old-growth carnage’ as a stand of monumental redcedar and Douglas-fir trees were cut in the Nahmint by BC Timber Sales.

The AFA is calling for the BC government to halt logging in endangered ancient forests like the Nahmint Valley and use its control over BCTS to quickly phase out old-growth timber sales altogether.

Take action! Send a message to the BC government today.

Take Action

Donate

Support the Ancient Forest Alliance with a one-time or monthly donation.

How to Give

Send a Message

Send an instant message to key provincial decision-makers.

Take Action

Authorized by Ancient Forest Alliance, registered sponsor under the Election Act, 250-896-4007.

╳

Status

Location & Territory

Size

Land Tenure

About Nahmint Valley

Take Action

Donate

Send a Message

Get in Touch

Phone

Address

Resources

Who We Are

Nahmint Valley

Status

Location & Territory

Size

Land Tenure

About Nahmint Valley

Take Action

Donate

Send a Message

Get in Touch

Phone

Address

Resources

Who We Are

Get Ancient Forest Updates!