Island Timberlands is moving full throttle to log some of their most contentious old-growth forest lands near Port Alberni, including “Juniper Ridge”, an ungulate winter range formerly intended for protection, and Labour Day Lake, the headwaters of Cathedral Grove’s Cameron River.
See beautiful photos of the highly scenic Juniper Ridge here: https://ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/juniper-ridge/
Earlier this week, Island Timberlands began road construction into an ungulate winter range formerly intended for protection for black-tailed deer in an old-growth forest near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, an area referred to by conservationists as “Juniper Ridge”. Juniper Ridge is an increasingly rare tract of old-growth forest filled with highly endangered old-growth Douglas-fir trees, sensitive ecosystems of brittle reindeer lichens growing on open rocky outcrops, and an abundance of juniper shrubs. The area, roughly 20 hectares in size, is a one hour drive from the town of Port Alberni and is located between Ash and Turnbull Lakes. This is a popular recreational area where many Alberni locals and tourists fish, camp, canoe, and hike.
“The old-growth forest and lichen-covered rocky outcrops on Juniper Ridge are endangered and sensitive ecosystems largely growing on extremely thin soils. It would take many centuries for the old-growth forest to fully recover here after logging. Unfortunately, with the trend of harvesting smaller sized trees with shorter logging rotations, these old growth Douglas- fir ecosystems will never have the chance to return,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Watershed-Forest Alliance based in Port Alberni. “This forest is heavily used by wintering deer, and was intended to be preserved for this purpose. This area is also a popular recreation destination for locals and tourists going hiking, fishing and boating.”
The Watershed-Forest Alliance, with support from Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser, have met with and have asked Island Timberlands to stay out of all previously planned Ungulate Winter Range and Wildlife Habitat Areas. The land was largely deregulated in 2004 due to its removal from Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 44 and planned protections were never implemented. A subsequent agreement between the former licencee and the BC government was supposed to have resulted in the protection of these lands, but has not been pursued. Instead the company has chosen to simply log these high conservation value forests. Of the original 2400 hectares of lands intended for protection, only about 900 hectares remain unlogged which amounts to just over 1% of the total 74,000 hectares removed from TFL 44.
“The BC government never implemented the planned environmental protections on these lands a few years ago, putting them in jeopardy. Now they need to do the right thing and properly protect these lands, either by purchasing them or re-regulating them and putting in place the intended protections,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Watershed-Forest Alliance.
Recent logging that began in early June also threatens the old-growth subalpine forests at Labour Day Lake, not an intended Ungulate Winter Range, but a popular recreation destination not far from Port Alberni. The lake is surrounded by ancient yellow cedars and mountain hemlocks and is the headwaters of the Cameron River which flows into the famed Cathedral Grove.
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the provincial government to establish a BC Park Acquisition Fund of at least $40 million per year, raising $400 million over 10 years, to purchase old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems on private lands across the province, such as Juniper Ridge and Labour Day Lake. The fund would be similar to the park acquisition funds of various regional districts in BC which are augmented by the fundraising efforts of private citizens and land trusts.
“Island Timberlands needs to put the brakes on their plans to log any more of their forests that were formerly protected or planned for protection and other contentious old-growth forests, otherwise they’ll face increasing international markets pressure. Meanwhile Christy Clark’s BC Liberal government must step forward to protect these lands. Part of what’s needed is a BC Park Acquisition Fund, similar to those of many regional districts, to purchase endangered ecosystems on private lands for protection,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.
Island Timberlands also plans or has been logging numerous other contentious forests, including:
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The south side of Mt. Horne on the mountain above the world-famous Cathedral Grove
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McLaughlin Ridge, a prime old-growth deer winter range and important habitat for the endangered Queen Charlotte Goshawk. With trees similar in size to Cathedral grove, McLaughlin Ridge helps to protect the China Creek Watershed which is the source of drinking water for the city of Port Alberni.
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Cameron Valley Firebreak, a rare valley bottom-to-mountain top old-growth forest that the company has already logged large swaths of.
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The west side of Father and Son Lake, a popular fishing area for local Port Alberni residents.
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Pearl Lake, near Strathcona Provincial Park.
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Stillwater Bluffs near Powell River.
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Day Road Forest near Roberts Creek.
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Old-growth and mature forests on Cortes Island.
The Ancient Forest Alliance and local conservationists are calling for the protection of old-growth forests, sustainable logging in second-growth forests, and an end to the export of raw logs to foreign mills in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills.
BACKGROUNDER:
In 2004 the BC Liberal government removed 88,000 hectares of Weyerhaeuser’s forest lands, now owned by Island Timberlands, from their Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s), thus removing many environmental protections and exempting the area from many other intended protections. This includes designated protections such as Riparian Management Reserves, the prohibition against conversion of forest lands to real estate developments, and provincial restrictions on raw log exports on those lands; and planned protections such as Old-Growth Management Areas, Wildlife Habitat Areas, Visual Quality Objectives, as well as Ungulate Winter Ranges (UWR’s) at Juniper Ridge, McLaughlin Ridge, Cameron Valley Firebreak, forests by Father and Son Lake, and south Mt. Horne by Cathedral Grove.
The original logging rights on public (Crown) lands on Vancouver Island were granted to logging companies for free earlier last century on condition that the companies allowed their adjacent private forest lands to be placed into regulatory designations known as Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s), in order to control the rate of cut, ensure their logs went to local mills, and to ensure environmental standards on those private lands.
In recent times the companies (Weyerhaeuser in 2004 and Western Forest Products in 2007) greatly benefitted from the removal of their private lands from their TFL’s as it allowed them to log previously protected forests, to export raw logs, and to sell-off forest lands to developers – but meanwhile were still allowed to retain their Crown land logging rights (despite no longer upholding the conditions of the original agreement on their private lands).
This failure to uphold the original agreement is considered by many to be a breach of the public interest. Weyerhaeuser has since moved off the coast, with the company’s former private lands now owned by Island Timberlands and its Crown land logging rights held by Western Forest Products.
Salon cuts hair in support of endangered forests
/in News CoverageTime for a haircut?
If you can stave it off until Sunday (Aug. 4), you can get a cut from noted Vancouver master stylist Champ Waterhouse at the Spirit of the Sea Festival – and help protect endangered old-growth forests in B.C. in the bargain.
‘Haircuts – Not Clearcuts’ will be the theme of a special booth on White Rock’s East Beach; the latest event organized by Crescent Beach’s arts, environment and community-friendly Seventh Heaven Bio Salon.
Owner Chloe Scarf said it’s a chance to make an environmental statement and be introduced to the the latest member of her team, the cowboy-hat-wearing, six-shooter blow-dryer-wielding Waterhouse.
Half the proceeds of the regularly-priced cuts will be donated to the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), an environmental non-profit working not only to protect old-growth forests but to ensure sustainable forestry in the province.
Scarf said it will the salon’s second consecutive year participating in the festival’s celebratory atmosphere, while also helping people learn something about protecting old-growth forests. The AFA’s Hannah Carpendale will also be on site to hand out information and answer questions, she added.
Extra entertainment value will be added by Waterhouse’s sense of style and fun, she said.
“Champ’s a really, really skilled haircutter,” she commented, noting that he joined forces with Seventh Heaven about a month ago, a serendipitous alignment that coincided with Waterhouse’s desire for a change of pace following years of working at high-end Vancouver salons.
“We worked together for years on Commercial Drive,” she said. “It’s very hard to find his calibre of stylist.”
Scarf said the pseudo-cowboy outfit was Waterhouse’s own idea, shortly after he came on board at Seventh Heaven.
“Don’t ask me where he got the 1800s pistol blow dryer from,” she said, laughing. “He’s a true creative and a technician – and he’s really a character.”
“I’m totally excited about Haircuts Not Clearcuts,” Waterhouse said. “I’ve done lots of things like this in the past for different causes.”
He said he has been enjoying getting to know the White Rock and South Surrey clientele over the last month.
“It’s totally different from working in Vancouver – much more laid back,” he said.
Although ‘Haircuts Not Clearcuts’ makes an eye-catching hook, Carpendale said the organization is about more than fighting clearcuts in endangered old-growth forests, such as those on Vancouver Island, in the southwest mainland and in the southern interior.
“There is so little old-growth left at this point in some areas that any commercial practice of logging endangered old-growth (whether clearcut or other) will have a huge ecological impact…protecting (the forests) could also include restrictions on other logging practices than just clearcuts,” she said.
The organization is also working to ensure that second-growth forests are logged at a sustainable rate, she said.
Read more: https://www.peacearchnews.com/community/salon-cuts-hair-in-support-of-endangered-forests/
HAIRCUTS, NOT CLEARCUTS. Sunday, Aug. 4th
/in Announcements12185 Beecher Street Crescent Beach BC
www.seventhheavenbiosalon.com
778 292-0687
Mon. July 22, Greater Victoria’s Finest Ancient Forest Walk! Fundraiser
/in AnnouncementsNature Walk and Fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance with Victoria Natural History Society president Darren Copley and Royal BC Museum collections manager Claudia Copley, and with the Ancient Forest Alliance’s Ken Wu and TJ Watt through the Spectacular ROYAL ROADS ANCIENT FOREST!
Dogs must be leashed at all times.
Did you know that one of the most spectacular old-growth forests around is at Royal Roads University by Victoria? We often seek grandeur far away from where we live – but the ancient forests of Royal Roads are among the most magnificent in existence, one of the largest tracts left within the extremely endangered Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem (only 1% of this ecosystem remains as old-growth). Surprisingly, while many people have visited the Hatley Castle (where X-Men was filmed) few people have actually hiked through the incredible ancient forests around the university.
Join president of the Victoria Natural History Society Darren Copley (and former Goldstream Nature Centre chief interpreter) and Royal BC Museum entomology collections manager and naturalist Claudia Copley to learn about the tremendous diversity of plants, birds, trees, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, insects, and other creatures living in this incredible ancient forest. The Ancient Forest Alliance’s Ken Wu and TJ Watt will speak about the Ancient Forest Alliance’s campaign to protect the remaining endangered forests in BC.
We will walk through spectacular ancient redcedars, grand firs and Douglas firs, including visiting the 2nd largest Douglas fir tree in Greater Victoria (10 feet wide!), see some mind-blowing huge bigleaf maples and an enormous forked yew tree, and be done by 8:30 pm. You will not be disappointed!
***This event is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance which is in need of funding to continue its vital campaigns to protect BC’s ancient forests and forestry jobs and to build a boardwalk in the Avatar Grove.
Bring friends and family!
If possible, please email us at info@ancientforestalliance.org so we can get a sense of our numbers.
Hike at Avatar Grove – Boardwalk Fundraiser! Sunday, July 21st.
/in AnnouncementsJoin Darren Copley, Victoria Natural History Society president, and Claudia Copley, Royal BC Museum entomology collections manager, BC spider expert Dr. Robb Bennett, and Ancient Forest Alliance organizers Ken Wu and TJ Watt on Sunday, July 21st for a fantastic forest hike. You’ll learn about the plants and wildlife of our old-growth forests, see the progress of the boardwalk so far and find out how you can help support the completion of this important project!
PLEASE carefully read all the info below!
Funds from this hike will go towards expanding the boardwalk project in the Avatar Grove! Construction has already begun and the trail improvements are remarkable but more work is still needed many areas! A boardwalk is essential to help protect the forests’ ecological integrity and enhance visitor access and safety. For $100 you can sponsor a 1 metre section of the trail.
Donations can be made securely online at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/boardwalk-donation.php
By credit card over the phone at: 250.896.4007
Or in person at the hike!
What can you expect from the trip?
– To see some of the largest and strangest looking trees in BC, including “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree”!
– To learn to identify some of the common rainforest trees and plants.
– To learn about the wildlife
– To meet great new people and have an AWESOME TIME!
THINGS TO KNOW:
* Only those with moderate hiking abilities and who are comfortable on semi-rugged terrain, with a firm sense of balance, can attend this hike.
* All participants will be required to sign a waiver form.
* Participants must bring their own water, rain gear, hiking boots and wonderful attitude!
* Dogs must remain on a leash at all times – they can disturb wildlife including bears, elk, deer, cougars, wolves, raccoons, mink, and Sasquatch in the area.
* Be sure to support the local community by spending your dollars in Port Renfrew and Sooke!
* Be sure to fuel up in Sooke. Gas is only available at the Port Renfrew Marina from 9-5pm.
* This event is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance which is in need of funding to build an Avatar Grove boardwalk and to continue its vital campaigns to protect BC’s ancient forests and forestry jobs.
If you can, please email us at info@ancientforestalliance.org to let us know how many of you are coming so we can get a sense of our numbers.
Avatar Grove: Seeing the forest for the ancient trees
/in News CoverageFrom the logging road just outside Port Renfrew, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, there is no obvious sign that you are in the presence of megaflora.
But a small sign announcing the Avatar Grove trailhead and a few vehicles pulled over onto the dusty margin of the road make it clear this is the place to encounter ancient life.
The forest, with its thousand different shades of green, doesn’t look any different from others anywhere else on the West Coast – except for the grey spires you can see poking above the canopy. These are what are known as candelabra tops and they signify the presence of really old cedars.
It was those weathered tips that caught the attention of T.J. Watt, a member of the Ancient Forest Alliance, a few years ago as he was ending a search for old trees. He had been crisscrossing Vancouver Island without much luck – and didn’t expect to find it so close to a logging town.
“I didn’t think there could possibly be big trees that close to Port Renfrew,” he recalled.
But he pulled over to explore anyway, stopping pretty much in the same place that thousands of tourists now do. He didn’t go far off the road before he was forced to a halt, tilt back his head and say: “Wow.”
Along the Gordon River, in moist, hilly terrain, is a cluster of giant old fir and cedar trees that somehow escaped the woodsman’s axe during the past century of logging.
Shortly after that discovery, Mr. Watt and Ken Wu, the director of the Ancient Forest Alliance, started a campaign to save the trees, branding it Avatar Grove after the James Cameron science fiction movie, Avatar, that was then drawing huge crowds and which features a massive “Hometree” on the planet Pandora.
After a brief, intense campaign the environmental activists persuaded the provincial government to set the area aside from logging – and not long after that the first tree tourists started to arrive.
Mr. Wu said so many people have come that his group, together with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, has now started to build a boardwalk system to protect the tree roots and make hiking around the trees easier.
“There’s a steady stream of tourists going in there,” said a delighted Mr. Wu recently. “Actually a lot of them are coming from around the world now … It’s become the second Cathedral Grove of British Columbia,” he said.
Cathedral Grove, on the road to Port Alberni, was made into a park in 1944, at a time when there were still substantial amounts of old-growth forest left on the island.
By the time Mr. Watt laid eyes on Avatar Grove, about 90 per cent of Vancouver Island’s old growth had been logged.
Mr. Wu said he’s not surprised the increasingly rare old-growth trees have become a major tourist attraction for Port Renfrew.
“There’s so little of this lowland, monumental forest left,” said Mr. Wu. “Luckily, as a result of massive public pressure, this area was saved. It’s one of the finest groves of old growth in B.C. … and it is generating hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local economy each year.”
Jon Cash, a director of Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce and owner of Soule Creek Lodge, said the economic impact of the trees isn’t something environmentalists have dreamed up.
“It’s definitely boosted tourism,” he said. “There’s been thousands and thousands of people going there.”
Mr. Cash said Port Renfrew is a tough town to market because it is a long way off the beaten tourism path that runs through Victoria.
But he said word of Avatar Grove has spread around the world.
“I’ve probably realized tens of thousands of dollars of overnight stays just from people coming up to see the trees,” he said.
A rough trail winds through the grove and although it is a short walk, it probably should be rated as an “intermediate” rather than an easy hike.
But it’s worth it – if you want to be in a grove of trees that was standing there long before Captain Cook sailed along what is now the coast of B.C.
Globe and Mail online article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/avatar-grove-seeing-the-forest-for-the-ancient-trees/article13214516/
Stanley Park Old-Growth Forest Walk and Fundraiser! July 25th, 7:00-8:30pm
/in AnnouncementsJoin the Ancient Forest Alliance's Ken Wu, TJ Watt, and Hannah Carpendale for a guided nature walk to some of the largest old-growth redcedars, Douglas-firs, grand firs, and bigleaf maples left in the Lower Mainland! Learn about the ecology, plants, and animals that inhabit this forest.
Many people don't realize that within Stanley Park are some of the finest remnant old-growth stands and trees on the southern mainland coast of BC, with diameters of some redcedars exceeding 13 feet and a bigleaf maple over 10 feet wide. While partly disturbed by invasive species and human activity, most of the native plant species still survive in the park, and the park is also home to many species of wildlife.
This hike is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance, which is working to build a boardwalk in the Avatar Grove on Vancouver Island and is working to achieve comprehensive provincial legislation to protect the endangered old-growth forests across BC.
Find out how you can help our public education and mobilization campaigns to protect ancient forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry jobs!
Suggested donation $10 to $100
Island Timberlands to log contentious old-growth forests on Vancouver Island
/in News CoverageIsland Timberlands is moving to log some of their most contentious old-growth forest lands near Port Alberni, including “Juniper Ridge”, a formerly protected Ungulate Winter Range, and Labour Day Lake, the headwaters of Cathedral Grove’s Cameron River.
Juniper Ridge is an increasingly rare tract of old-growth forest filled with endangered old-growth Douglas-fir trees, sensitive ecosystems of brittle reindeer lichens growing on open rocky outcrops, and an abundance of juniper shrubs. The roughly 20-hectare area is a one hour drive from the town of Port Alberni and is located between Ash and Turnbull Lakes.
“The old-growth forest and lichen-covered rocky outcrops on Juniper Ridge are endangered and sensitive ecosystems largely growing on extremely thin soils. It would take many centuries for the old-growth forest to fully recover here after logging. Unfortunately, with the trend of harvesting smaller sized trees with shorter logging rotations, these old growth Douglas- fir ecosystems will never have the chance to return,” Watershed-Forest Alliance coordinator Jane Morden said in a news release.
“This forest is heavily used by wintering deer, and was intended to be preserved for this purpose. This area is also a popular recreation destination for locals and tourists going hiking, fishing and boating.”
The Watershed-Forest Alliance, with support from Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser, has reportedly met with and have asked Island Timberlands to stay out of all previously designated Ungulate Winter Range and Wildlife Habitat Areas.
The land was largely deregulated in 2004 due to its removal from Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 44. A subsequent agreement between the former licencee and the BC government was supposed to have resulted in the continued protection of these lands, but has not been pursued. Instead the company has chosen to simply log these high conservation value forests. Of the original 2400 hectares of designated lands, only about 900 hectares remain unlogged which amounts to just over 1 per cent of the total 74,000 hectares removed from TFL 44.
Recent logging that began in early June also threatens the old-growth subalpine forests at Labour Day Lake, but a popular recreation destination not far from Port Alberni.
The Ancient Forest Alliance has called on the provincial government to establish a BC Park Acquisition Fund of at least $40 million per year, raising $400 million over 10 years, to purchase old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems on private lands across the province, such as Juniper Ridge and Labour Day Lake.
The fund would be similar to the park acquisition funds of various regional districts in BC which are augmented by the fundraising efforts of private citizens and land trusts.
Island Timberlands also plans or has been logging numerous other contentious forests, including:
Read more: https://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/island-timberlands-log-contentious-old-growth-forests-vancouver-island
Activists decry planned logging of old-growth forest on Vancouver Island
/in News CoverageA Vancouver Island company is preparing to log a chunk of old-growth forest near Port Alberni that was once protected as winter range for deer, according to conservation groups.
Island Timberlands, based in Nanaimo, recently began building a road into the area and is moving “full-throttle” to log the site, says the Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance.
The contested area, covering about 20 hectares, is about a one-hour drive from Port Alberni in an area some conservationists refer to as Juniper Ridge.
“It’s not a big deal except when you’re talking about the last of that type of area,” Jane Morden, a spokeswoman for Watershed Forest Alliance, said Monday. The two groups are working together on conservation issues.
The area contains Douglas Fir, lichen-covered outcrops and juniper shrubs growing on thin soils that would take centuries to recover after logging. It is part of a group of sites that had previously been protected as a winter feeding range for species including deer and elk, Ms. Morden said.
Representatives from Island Timberlands did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Headquartered in Nanaimo, the privately held company controls about 254,000 hectares of forest lands, making it one of the major players in the industry on Vancouver Island.
The area now in question is part of a bigger patchwork of lands – about 2,400 hectares – that were protected as wildlife range until the province removed a total of 74,000 hectares from Tree Farm Licence 44 in 2004, Ms. Morden said.
A TFL is one way the B.C. government grants forestry operators rights to harvest timber on Crown land. Removing land from a TFL makes it subject to less onerous regulations and can free it up for sale or development.
A follow-up deal between the government and the former licence holder was supposed to extend protection for the 2,400 hectares that had been previously set aside but that agreement did not come about, Ms. Morden said. Since 2004, about 1,500 of the 2,400 protected hectares have been logged.
Conservation groups now want the government to buy or protect the 2,400 hectares, which are among lands now operated by Island Timberlands.
“The government removed the environmental protections on these lands – now they need to protect them,” Ms. Morden said.
In an e-mail, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Forests said the province has “no plans to buy these private lands.”
Wildlife management plans are part of certification standards implemented by Island Timberlands, the spokeswoman said, adding that there are about 10,000 hectares designated as winter feeding ranges on public forest land on southern Vancouver Island.
Watershed Forest Alliance and other conservation groups have proposed a $40-million-a-year, 10-year Parks Acquisition Fund, saying such a fund is needed to buy old-growth forests and other lands that are at risk of logging or development.
Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/activists-decry-planned-logging-of-old-growth-forest-on-vancouver-island/article13083813/
Island Timberlands Moves to Log Contentious Old-Growth Forests and Deer Winter Range Intended for Protection on Vancouver Island
/in Media ReleaseIsland Timberlands is moving full throttle to log some of their most contentious old-growth forest lands near Port Alberni, including “Juniper Ridge”, an ungulate winter range formerly intended for protection, and Labour Day Lake, the headwaters of Cathedral Grove’s Cameron River.
See beautiful photos of the highly scenic Juniper Ridge here: https://ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/juniper-ridge/
Earlier this week, Island Timberlands began road construction into an ungulate winter range formerly intended for protection for black-tailed deer in an old-growth forest near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, an area referred to by conservationists as “Juniper Ridge”. Juniper Ridge is an increasingly rare tract of old-growth forest filled with highly endangered old-growth Douglas-fir trees, sensitive ecosystems of brittle reindeer lichens growing on open rocky outcrops, and an abundance of juniper shrubs. The area, roughly 20 hectares in size, is a one hour drive from the town of Port Alberni and is located between Ash and Turnbull Lakes. This is a popular recreational area where many Alberni locals and tourists fish, camp, canoe, and hike.
“The old-growth forest and lichen-covered rocky outcrops on Juniper Ridge are endangered and sensitive ecosystems largely growing on extremely thin soils. It would take many centuries for the old-growth forest to fully recover here after logging. Unfortunately, with the trend of harvesting smaller sized trees with shorter logging rotations, these old growth Douglas- fir ecosystems will never have the chance to return,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Watershed-Forest Alliance based in Port Alberni. “This forest is heavily used by wintering deer, and was intended to be preserved for this purpose. This area is also a popular recreation destination for locals and tourists going hiking, fishing and boating.”
The Watershed-Forest Alliance, with support from Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser, have met with and have asked Island Timberlands to stay out of all previously planned Ungulate Winter Range and Wildlife Habitat Areas. The land was largely deregulated in 2004 due to its removal from Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 44 and planned protections were never implemented. A subsequent agreement between the former licencee and the BC government was supposed to have resulted in the protection of these lands, but has not been pursued. Instead the company has chosen to simply log these high conservation value forests. Of the original 2400 hectares of lands intended for protection, only about 900 hectares remain unlogged which amounts to just over 1% of the total 74,000 hectares removed from TFL 44.
“The BC government never implemented the planned environmental protections on these lands a few years ago, putting them in jeopardy. Now they need to do the right thing and properly protect these lands, either by purchasing them or re-regulating them and putting in place the intended protections,” stated Jane Morden, coordinator of the Watershed-Forest Alliance.
Recent logging that began in early June also threatens the old-growth subalpine forests at Labour Day Lake, not an intended Ungulate Winter Range, but a popular recreation destination not far from Port Alberni. The lake is surrounded by ancient yellow cedars and mountain hemlocks and is the headwaters of the Cameron River which flows into the famed Cathedral Grove.
The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the provincial government to establish a BC Park Acquisition Fund of at least $40 million per year, raising $400 million over 10 years, to purchase old-growth forests and other endangered ecosystems on private lands across the province, such as Juniper Ridge and Labour Day Lake. The fund would be similar to the park acquisition funds of various regional districts in BC which are augmented by the fundraising efforts of private citizens and land trusts.
“Island Timberlands needs to put the brakes on their plans to log any more of their forests that were formerly protected or planned for protection and other contentious old-growth forests, otherwise they’ll face increasing international markets pressure. Meanwhile Christy Clark’s BC Liberal government must step forward to protect these lands. Part of what’s needed is a BC Park Acquisition Fund, similar to those of many regional districts, to purchase endangered ecosystems on private lands for protection,” stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner.
Island Timberlands also plans or has been logging numerous other contentious forests, including:
The Ancient Forest Alliance and local conservationists are calling for the protection of old-growth forests, sustainable logging in second-growth forests, and an end to the export of raw logs to foreign mills in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC mills.
BACKGROUNDER:
In 2004 the BC Liberal government removed 88,000 hectares of Weyerhaeuser’s forest lands, now owned by Island Timberlands, from their Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s), thus removing many environmental protections and exempting the area from many other intended protections. This includes designated protections such as Riparian Management Reserves, the prohibition against conversion of forest lands to real estate developments, and provincial restrictions on raw log exports on those lands; and planned protections such as Old-Growth Management Areas, Wildlife Habitat Areas, Visual Quality Objectives, as well as Ungulate Winter Ranges (UWR’s) at Juniper Ridge, McLaughlin Ridge, Cameron Valley Firebreak, forests by Father and Son Lake, and south Mt. Horne by Cathedral Grove.
The original logging rights on public (Crown) lands on Vancouver Island were granted to logging companies for free earlier last century on condition that the companies allowed their adjacent private forest lands to be placed into regulatory designations known as Tree Farm Licences (TFL’s), in order to control the rate of cut, ensure their logs went to local mills, and to ensure environmental standards on those private lands.
In recent times the companies (Weyerhaeuser in 2004 and Western Forest Products in 2007) greatly benefitted from the removal of their private lands from their TFL’s as it allowed them to log previously protected forests, to export raw logs, and to sell-off forest lands to developers – but meanwhile were still allowed to retain their Crown land logging rights (despite no longer upholding the conditions of the original agreement on their private lands).
This failure to uphold the original agreement is considered by many to be a breach of the public interest. Weyerhaeuser has since moved off the coast, with the company’s former private lands now owned by Island Timberlands and its Crown land logging rights held by Western Forest Products.
CBC Radio Interview: New boardwalks at Avatar Grove
/in News CoverageWelcoming the world to hidden treasure. Volunteers are building boardwalks to Avatar Grove the old growth forest near Port Renfrew. We hear how popular the site is becoming.
Listen here: www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/British+Columbia/All+Points+West/ID/2388712559/