Posts

Feb 26 2016

Old-Growth Momentum Grows as Businesses, City Councils, and Naturalists Speak Up & Renowned Filmmaker Comes to Port Renfrew

Interest and concern for the fate of Vancouver Island’s endangered old-growth forests is on the rise, as a renowned filmmaker and his crew arrived earlier this week from the US to do a piece about the old-growth forests around Port Renfrew. In addition, a growing and diverse base of businesses, municipal councils, and natural history associations have joined the chorus of concerned citizens calling on the province to protect the endangered old-growth forest in the Central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew.

Read more
Feb 23 2016

Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature) join call to protect Central Walbran Valley

Thanks to the Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature), who have joined multiple Chambers of Commerce and municipal councils calling for the protection of the endangered Central Walbran Valley. The federation consists of 53 naturalist clubs representing 6000 members in British Columbia, including biologists, ecologists, and various natural history enthusiasts. The federation has sent a letter of support for the Cowichan Valley Naturalists in their call to the province requesting protection of the Central Walbran Ancient Forest. The 500 hectare Central Walbran Valley is threatened with potential logging by Teal-Jones, and is the most intact part of a 2600 hectare Special Management Zone. The Ancient Forest Alliance is working with diverse partners calling for the region's protection, along with legislation to protect endangered old-growth forests across BC and new policies to ensure a sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.  See the Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature) online at: www.bcnature.ca

Read more
Feb 3 2016

Hope on Vancouver Island following historic Great Bear Rainforest agreement

After years of protests, boycotts, and negotiations, the Sierra Club of BC, ForestEthics, and Greenpeace, working to protect the northern rainforest of BC (the Great Bear Rainforest) have now succeeded in getting 85% of the forests there off-limits to logging through legislation (conservancies and parks) and regulatory protections (forest reserves, ecosystem-based management). Now it's time to get the southern rainforest (ie. Vancouver Island and the SW Mainland coast), where only 8% of the productive forests are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas/ Wildlife Habitat Areas/ Ungulate Winter Ranges (forest reserves), protected with modern, science-based, expanded protections. Here's a CHEK TV piece where the AFA's Ken Wu talks about the endangered Central Walbran Valley and Vancouver Island.

Read more
Avatar Grove
Feb 3 2016

Avatar Grove Ecotourism

Here's a new piece by Shaw TV about the importance of old-growth forests of Port Renfrew for the tourism economy, focused on the Avatar Grove and the Walbran Valley, and featuring Dan Hager, president of the local Chamber of Commerce, and the AFA's Ken Wu and TJ Watt.

Read more
Jan 29 2016

Ground zero for Walbran

WildCoast Magazine on the endangered Central Walbran Valley: "What we’re looking at across this wide valley is a messy forest – the indication it is old-growth. In the valley bottom is Castle Grove, one of the finest remaining examples of ancient red cedar stands. It and the surrounding old growth on the lower slopes make up one of the largest intact chunks of endangered, unharvested forest remaining on Vancouver Island. It’s a rare view. On Vancouver Island south of Barkley Sound, about 90 percent of the original forest has been logged, along with about 95 percent of the lowland old growth. 'What we’re really down to is the last remnants of the classic giants and it’s the best of the classic giants because it’s literally in the Carmanah-Walbran-San Juan-Gordon River, these four southern valleys where you get the very best growing conditions in the entire country. If you go north it gets colder, as you go east it gets drier,' says Ken Wu, a campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance."

Read more
Jan 29 2016

Islands in the Sky: Chopping Ancient Walbran Valley Forest Spells Extinction for Treetop Species

Check out the new Desmog Article on the endangered Central Walbran Valley: “By taking these trees down or by causing disruption you are committing species to go extinct… . Who would feel good about species going extinct just because we have mismanaged a resource? That’s the bottom line.” The province has granted Surrey-based Teal Jones Group a permit for a 3.2-hectare cutblock east of Carmanah Walbran Park. The cutblock is in the 500-hectare Central Walbran where, unlike the valley further south which is tattered with cutblocks, there is contiguous old-growth. “It’s where our forests reach their most magnificent proportions,” said Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance. "These are the classic giants. The biggest and the best — and some of the largest remaining tracts and finest old growth western red cedars are in areas such as Castle Grove, together with old-growth dependent species such as the Queen Charlotte goshawk and marbled murrelet,” Wu said, emphasizing the importance of these areas for tourism as well as biodiversity.

Read more
Jan 14 2016

‘The Ecology and Status of the Central Walbran Ancient Forest’ by the AFA’s Ken Wu and TJ Watt

When: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, 7:00 pm Where: The HUB, 2375 Koksilah Road, Cowichan Station (south of Duncan) Learn about the old-growth forest ecology, wildlife, relevant policies, and conservation status of the Central Walbran Valley's old-growth forests in the context of southern Vancouver Island. Discussion to follow. Find out what you can do to help protect the area's ecology and to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry jobs Free. Donations appreciated to cover hall rental. Questions: cvns@naturecowichan.net

Read more
Jan 10 2016

Old Growth Walbran – Shaw TV Victoria

Check out the news report by Shaw TV on the endangered Central Walbran Valley! TJ Watt and Ken Wu from the Ancient Forest Alliance talk about their goal of legislation to protect all of BC's endangered old-growth forests and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry, and Dan Hager of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce talks about the local business community's interest in seeing the Central Walbran protected for tourism.

Read more
Jan 8 2016

Walbran Valley logging buffer-zone injunction extended

Unfortunately the court injunction has been extended in the Walbran Valley - see this article from the Vancouver Sun.

Read more
Dec 31 2015

NEW! 2016 Ancient Forest CALENDARS & Cards, Posters, Stickers, Certificates, and other Merchandise!

Make the Ancient Forest Alliance your Holiday-Giving Priority by picking up some of our beautiful AFA merchandise and/or donating! • To order products online visit: www.ancientforestalliance.org/store.php • To donate visit: https://ancientforestalliance.org/donations.php We’re proud to present the Ancient Forest Alliance’s 2016 CALENDAR! It features many of the special places on British Columbia’s coast that we’ve explored as we work to secure provincial legislation to protect our endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. It includes beautiful photos of Avatar Grove, Big Lonely Doug, Central Walbran Valley, Nootka Island, Cameron Valley, Mossy Maples, wildlife, and more! See here for a full list of items and details on how to purchase/donate!

Read more