Seen here is the San Juan Spruce tree. It is Canada's largest spruce tree and the second largest in the world! It grows on Vancouver Island alongside the San Juan River about 35 minutes from Port Renfrew, BC. The towering tree measures 38.3' in circumference, reaches 205' tall, and has an incredible wood volume of 333 telephone poles!
Despite all of this the tree and surrounding forest has not been afforded any legislated protection from the BC Liberal government. We are calling on the province to protect the area of forest, both old-growth and second growth, from the San Juan Spruce to the nearby Red Creek fir.
ANCIENT FOREST ALLIANCE CALLING FOR BAN ON EXPORT OF RAW LOGS TO CHINA
B.C.'s new Minister of Forests, Mines, and Lands, Pat Bell, leaves tomorrow for a trip to China to talk lumber. Not everyone though sees the potential business as good for our province. Co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance, Ken Wu, sees problems ahead.
Canada’s Largest Spruce Tree – The San Juan Spruce!
Seen here is the San Juan Spruce tree. It is Canada's largest spruce tree and the second largest in the world! It grows on Vancouver Island alongside the San Juan River about 35 minutes from Port Renfrew, BC. The towering tree measures 38.3' in circumference, reaches 205' tall, and has an incredible wood volume of 333 telephone poles! Despite all of this the tree and surrounding forest has not been afforded any legislated protection from the BC Liberal government. We are calling on the province to protect the area of forest, both old-growth and second growth, from the San Juan Spruce to the nearby Red Creek fir.
Clearcuts blamed in First Nation flooding
Clearcut logging and a receding glacier were pinpointed Tuesday as probable contributors to a devastating flood which swept through the remote First Nations community of Kingcome Inlet last month.
Losing legacies in the cut block
“They aren’t logging old-growth anymore, are they?” This is one of the most common questions I hear when I talk to people about protecting B.C.’s endangered ancient forests. The sad reality is that here in B.C., we are still cutting down trees that started growing at the time of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and were already 500 years old when Columbus “discovered” North America. B.C.’s ancient forests — on crown, or public land, and in the most critical ecosystem types and wildlife habitat — are still being devastated by logging.
Ancient Forest Alliance seeks support
“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.
Common Ground: Newsbytes
On September 16, in a seemingly unlikely event, the Ancient Forest Alliance stood in solidarity with members of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada and the United Steelworkers union in Nanaimo as part of the ongoing fight to ban raw log exports in BC. AFA forest campaigner TJ Watt spoke alongside union officials Nanaimo MLA Leonard Krog and Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA Doug Routley to the hundreds of workers in attendance, denouncing the export of raw logs and calling for the protection of BC’s threatened forestry jobs.
Activists make “Avatar” pitch
Ken Wu and TJ Watt are committed to preserving as much of the natural environment as they can. The two colleagues are key members of an outfit called the Ancient Forest Alliance.
CHEK News: Avatar Grove Sees Visit From Provincial NDP Politician and Regional Representitives
The following CHEK TV clip covers a trip with the Ancient Forest Alliance and MLA John Horgan and CRD Director Mike Hicks to the Avatar Grove and the San Juan Spruce (the largest spruce tree in Canada, second largest on Earth). Note that in the clip a giant cedar is mistakenly shown in the place of the […]
The battle to save Avatar Grove
The Ancient Forest Alliance wants the Ministry to make Avatar Grove and the surrounding 90 hectares off-limits to logging. The Avatar Grove presents the finest opportunity for the public to easily gain access to world class old-growth forest, in a wilderness setting on flat gentle terrain, says Watt.
Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) Launches the “100,000 Strong for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” Campaign
The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) launched a campaign today to get 100,000 British Columbians to sign a petition (see ancientforestalliance.org/ways-to-take-action-for-forests/petition/) calling on the BC government to protect the province’s endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. The “100,000 Strong for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” public education and mobilization campaign will be the largest grassroots mobilization effort undertaken by BC’s ancient forest movement since the Clayoquot Sound campaign of the early 1990’s.