The Castle Grove in the Central Walbran Valley is perhaps the most impressive stand of unprotected monumental ancient redcedars in Canada. The Lower Castle Grove includes the “Castle Giant,” an enormous 16-foot (5-meter) diameter western redcedar, and both the Lower and Upper Castle Grove are jam-packed with perhaps one of the highest densities of monumental redcedars to be found anywhere on Earth.
Marbled Murrelets, screech owls, red-legged frogs, Queen Charlotte goshawks, cougars, black bears, and black-tailed deer all live in the Castle Grove, while steelhead and coho salmon spawn in the Walbran River below. Over the years, there have been many initial attempts to log this superlative area, but public pressure from groups such as the Ancient Forest Alliance has always managed to stave off the destruction. The Castle Grove has been featured in numerous media reports on old-growth forests for over three decades, including the front pages of the Times Colonist and the Vancouver Sun.
In 2021, this area was granted temporary reprieve by the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, and Huu-ay-aht First Nations, who have deferred logging in the Central Walbran while they develop their long-term land management plans. Conservation financing directed towards protecting the biggest and rarest old-growth forests is now urgently needed to help make these deferrals permanent and finally safeguard this rainforest forever.
Take action by sending an instant message to protect old-growth forests.
Photography by TJ Watt.
