Some of the red cedars here are estimated to be over 1000 years old.

UNBC Study Recommends Northern BC’s “Ancient Forest” be named a World Heritage Site

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New research led by the University of Northern British Columbia is recommending that the area surrounding the “Ancient Forest Trail,” about 130 kilometers east of Prince George, be named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Citing the fact that these cedars have been reduced to less than four percent of the more than 130 thousand square hectare bioclimatic zone east of Prince George, the research indicates that these stands of ancient red cedars and surrounding biodiversity are “globally significant” and require the protection and status afforded other rich areas of scientific and cultural value deemed World Heritage Sites.

The comprehensive study, published in the BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management, went through extensive peer review, including by forest industry professionals. The article also points out the benefits such classification would bring, such as diversification of the regional economy by building upon a regional tourist attraction, which has already developed at the area.

“Having this published in a leading forestry journal sends a strong message of support, and should provide critical guidance to the provincial government,” says the article’s lead author, UNBC Ecosystem Science and Management Professor Darwyn Coxson. “There is much precedence to point to of ancient coastal rainforests being named World Heritage Sites, such as Haida Gwaii in BC, and Olympic National Park in Washington State, but in many scientific and cultural respects, the Ancient Forest is of even more value due to its extremely rare location so far north and so far inland.”

The Ancient Forest, accessible by trail from Highway 16, is a rainforest featuring massive western red cedars, some estimated to be over 1000 years old and home to an internationally significant diversity of lichen and fungi. The area, known for generations to First Nations and other local communities, was flagged for harvesting in 2006. UNBC students and researchers played a role in ensuring the public was notified of the cultural and scientific value of the area and the Forest was later declared off-limits to logging. Since then, multiple UNBC researchers and classes have visited the Ancient Forest Trail site to study the region’s biological systems, and their value for recreation, biodiversity, and economics.

“Many people in BC still do not realize the social and cultural value of this forest,” says Dr. Coxson, who co-wrote the study with UNBC Environmental Planning professor David Connell, and Trevor Goward of the University of British Columbia. “Becoming a Provincial Park and then a World Heritage Site will ensure the long-term protection of the ancient cedar stands, which to date, have been cared for by local community groups.”

To be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the site must first be named a provincial park. The Government of Canada must then recommend the site to UNESCO. The report recommends the BC Government extend the boundary of nearby Slim Creek Provincial Park to include the area surrounding the Ancient Forest Trail.

“UNESCO states that, for a site to be considered for World Heritage status, the area must ‘represent significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals,’” says Dr. Coxson. “We suggest that the immense cultural and biological values represented by this area meet these criteria.”

Read More: https://unbc.ca/releases/7909/ancient-forest

At Cathedral Grove

Fraser receives forest award

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Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser received a Forest Sustainability Award from conservationists and forestry workers Monday, recognizing his efforts as an MLA to protect endangered old-growth forests, to counter the deregulation of forest lands on Vancouver Island, and to restrict the export of B.C. raw logs to foreign mills.

The award was presented by Ken Wu and TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance, a non-profit environmental group working to protect old-growth forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry. The award is jointly sponsored by the Youbou TimberLess Society, former employees of the now-defunct Youbou sawmill.

The ceremony took place in Cathedral Grove, Canada’s most famous old-growth forest that is currently under threat with a planned cutblock by Island Timberlands on the above mountainside on Mount Horne.

“I’m grateful to receive this wonderful recognition for my work,” Fraser said. “Our old-growth forests are a vitally important part of this province’s identity, and a sustainable forest industry will benefit everyone. I will champion endangered old-growth protection and sustainable forestry leading up to the election and subsequent to the election whether as part of a new government or in the opposition.”

Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance, said Fraser “has been an exceptional MLA for his energy and outspokenness to protect endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. He’s one of the rare politicians who has a real connection to BC’s majestic old-growth forests – a politician who actually hikes and gets muddy in these special places. It’s clear that his advocacy has not been lip service or simply a means to score political points, but because Fraser has a genuine passion – you can feel it when he’s talking – for our old-growth forests and for a sustainable forest industry that could support future generations of forest workers in this province.

“It’s important to give credit where credit is due, and Fraser certainly deserves credit for making forest sustainability central to his role as an elected public servant in his time.”

See More: [Original article no longer available]

MLA Scott Fraser receiving his award at Cathedral Grove alongside the Ancient Forest Alliance and many other important local supporters!

MLA recognized for work to protect forests

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Alberni-Pacific Rim NDP MLA Scott Fraser received a Forest Sustainability Award from conservationists and forestry workers in a small ceremony on Monday.

The award was given to him to recognize his years of exceptional public service as an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly in British Columbia to protect endangered old-growth forests, to counter the deregulation of forest lands on Vancouver Island and to restrict the export of B.C. raw logs to foreign mills.

The award was presented by Ken Wu and TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance, a non-profit environmental group working to protect old-growth forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry. The award is jointly sponsored by the Youbou TimberLess Society, former employees of the now-defunct Youbou sawmill who continue to advocate sustainable forest policies.

“I'm grateful to receive this wonderful recognition for my work. Our old-growth forests are a vitally important part of this province's identity, and a sustainable forest industry will benefit everyone,” Fraser said. “I will champion endangered old-growth protection and sustainable forestry leading up to the election and subsequent to the election whether as part of a new government or in the opposition.”

The brief ceremony took place in Cathedral Grove, Canada's most famous old-growth forest that is currently under threat with a planned cutblock by Island Timberlands on the above mountainside on Mount Horne. Joining the award ceremony to show their support for Fraser's good work were Arnold Bercov, representing the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada – President of Local 8, Jane Morden and Mike Stini, from the Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance, and Annette Tanner, of the Mid-Island Chapter of the Wilderness Committee.

“Scott Fraser has been an exceptional MLA for his energy and outspokenness to protect endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs,” said Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “He's one of the rare politicians who has a real connection to B.C.'s majestic old-growth forests – a politician who actually hikes and gets muddy in these special places.”

He said it is clear that his advocacy has not been lip service or simply a means to score political points.

“But because Fraser has a genuine passion – you can feel it when he's talking – for our old-growth forests and for a sustainable forest industry that could support future generations of forest workers in this province,” Wu added. “It's important to give credit where credit is due, and Fraser certainly deserves credit for making forest sustainability central to his role as an elected public servant in his time.”

Ken James, president of the Youbou TimberLess Society said this past decade has been an atrocity for B.C.'s forestry workers. 

“Over 70 mills have closed and 30,000 forestry jobs have been lost,” he said. “Fraser has repeatedly gone to bat against the deregulation of B.C.'s forest industry and the massive export of raw logs that is killing current and future manufacturing jobs in this province.”

He added that the province needs MLAs like Fraser in government to champion a forest industry that will sustain both ecosystems and human communities.

Read More: https://www2.canada.com/albernivalleytimes/news/story.html?id=10a47823-3f27-4c36-ab91-bdf4a8d55066

Groups wary of logging near park

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Survey tape was discovered recently in an old-growth Douglas fir and hemlock forest 300 meters from Cathedral Grove’s park boundary and a local conservation group is now calling for stronger old-growth protection policies in B.C. to protect this land and other places like it.

“Cathedral Grove is the mascot of old-growth forests in Canada,” said Qualicum Beach resident Annette Tanner, chair of the Mid-Island Wilderness Committee.

“If we can’t ensure its ecological integrity because of the B.C. government’s inaction, or complicity‚ it really gives a black eye to B.C.’s environmental reputation in the international community.”

The planned cutblock by Island Timberlands is about 40 hectares and lies within a formerly protected Ungulate (deer) Winter Range, according to the Wilderness Commmitee. It lies on the southwest facing slope of Mt. Horne on the ridge above the park and highway.

Tanner and other conservationists said they are concerned that logging the area would further fragment the forest that is contiguous with the small park, and destroy an important wildlife corridor. They said they believe logging would also threaten eco-tourism in the area by destroying a major section of the popular hiking trail, the Mt. Horne Loop Trail, which the cutblock overlaps.

The lands are privately owned by Island Timberlands.

The Ancient Forest Alliance, based in Victoria, is also calling on the B.C. Liberals and NDP to commit to a provincial plan to protect the province’s old-growth forests, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry and to end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills, among other actions.

Calls from The NEWS to Island Timberlands seeking comment were not returned by deadline.

Torrance Coste

Group angry over old-growth clearcut in Walbran Valley

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As Torrance Coste stood beside giant stumps in a clearcut in the Upper Walbran Valley, he wondered why anyone would cut down 900-year-old trees.

“Unlogged stands and 900-year-old trees are incomparable in terms of their value in sequestering carbon,” said Coste, a campaigner with the Wilderness Committee.

“Given what we know about climate change, liquidating the last few stands of old growth for very short-term profit is extremely irresponsible.”

Coste drove into the Walbran Valley this month with a student movie crew that wanted to film giant trees.

The story they have taken back to New York will not reflect positively on B.C.’s logging practices, he said.

“I just stopped dead in my tracks. The forest was now a field of stumps. It was the worst sort of clearcut you will see anywhere.”

The area is about one kilometre from Castle Grove, which contains the “Castle Giant” — a western red cedar with a five-metre diameter, considered one of the widest trees in Canada.

The area has also been ground zero for forest protests on Vancouver Island.

Protests in 1991 resulted in the lower half of the Walbran Valley and the Upper Carmanah Valley being added to Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park in 1995.

In 2003, more protests erupted, resulting in the arrest of environmentalist Betty Krawczyk, who was 74 at the time.

Last year, after another skirmish over logging plans near Castle Grove, the company backed off and the province promised to look for new ways to protect ancient stands of trees.

“We need an old-growth logging ban right off the bat,” Coste said.

The recent logging, which took place on Crown land, was conducted by the Teal Jones Group of Surrey in late November. The company had all necessary permits and plans in place, said Forests Ministry spokesman Brennan Clarke in an emailed response to questions.

The cuts took place within a special management zone that includes 2,600 hectares along the east side of the Walbran protected area, he said. Clearcuts are limited to a maximum of five hectares and cutblocks that are selectively logged cannot be larger than 40 hectares.

“The government is still actively working on new ways to protect ancient or giant trees,” Clarke wrote. “On Vancouver Island, 46 per cent of the forest on Crown land is old growth. Of the 862,125 hectares of old-growth forest, it is estimated that over 520,000 hectares will never be harvested.”

No one from Teal Jones was available to comment on the logging because of spring break holidays.

Rob Fleming, the B.C. NDP’s environment critic, said the clearcut beside the road leading into Castle Grove shows the need to strengthen old-growth management areas.

“I think we need to look at gaps in the current laws and designated protected areas and look at why 900-year-old trees and stands are not protected,” he said.

The problems were underlined recently by auditor general John Doyle, who said B.C. is not doing enough to protect the province’s biodiversity, Fleming said.

“A patchwork doesn’t protect biodiversity,” he said.

“On Crown land there should be better opportunities to have old growth preserved. We just don’t see any proactive old-growth or conservation strategies in B.C.”

Read more: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/group-angry-over-old-growth-clearcut-in-walbran-valley-1.96796

A shot from this year's Tree Huggers Ball!! If you missed this one

Wiggle your trunk at the Tree Huggers Ball

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Note from the Ancient Forest Alliance: A huge THANK YOU to Nathaniel Glickman and members of the UVic AncientForest Committee for organizing a totally fun and successful fundraising night with a first rate line-up of local musicians (Moonshine Gang Victoria Chapter, (as the) Crow Flies, Redwood Green, Co-Captain, and DJ Rough Child) on Saturday’s 3rd Annual “Tree Huggers Ball”! The event raised a total of $4800 for our young organization that depends on grassroots support to stay afloat! Big thanks as well to Amanda Cook for donating nearly $400 in proceeds from sales of her “Stand up for the Coast” t-shirts! See you again next FALL!!

Martlet article below:

Being part of positive environmental change can be a rewarding experience, but also exhausting. For those who find themselves worn out from all the petition-signing or phone-calling, the third annual Tree Huggers Ball is being held at Felicita’s on Saturday, March 23, by the UVic Ancient Forest Committee and promises to put the fun back in fundraiser.

“The goal is about fun — we have great music from local artists, and everyone can come and have a good time,” says TJ Watt, co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA). “In the world of activism, it’s easy to be bombarded with bad news, so it’s important to put time aside for friends and dancing.” The Tree Huggers Ball will include local bands such as Redwood Green, Rough Child, Co-Captain, (as the) Crow Flies and The Moonshine Gang.

The UVic Ancient Forest Committee puts on the event as a fundraiser for the AFA. The AFA is a non-profit organization that works to protect B.C.’s endangered old-growth forests, ensure sustainable second-growth forestry (forests that have been planted in clear-cut areas) and end the export of raw logs.

“We’re pushing the B.C. Liberal government and the NDP opposition to create a new provincial old-growth policy that would protect endangered old-growth forests in B.C.,” says Watt. Watt, who grew up in Victoria, is the forest campaigner and photographer with the AFA, which just celebrated its three-year anniversary this month. Watt spends much of his time exploring valleys on Vancouver Island and documenting the state of the forests, using photos and videos to capture the oldest trees — as well as the oldest stumps. Watt won the Martlet’s inaugural photo feature contest this year with his photo of a man standing on an enormous stump in the midst of a clearcut. “We’re losing the old-growth forest ecosystems and endangered species,” he says. “They are hugely important for clean air, clean water and the climate.”

The AFA began humbly. “The Ancient Forest Alliance started out with a Gmail account,” says Watt. But the organization developed quickly as support grew for its first project: protecting Avatar Grove, a 59-hectare stand of giant old-growth Douglas fir and Western redcedar just outside Port Renfrew. One of the giant cedars in Avatar Grove has been dubbed “Canada’s gnarliest tree” due to a 12-foot-wide burl growing on its trunk. The AFA worked with the local business community and Chamber of Commerce in Port Renfrew while campaigning to raise awareness, which led to the grove’s protection in early 2012. “It was the hottest campaign for a specific old-growth forest in the past decade,” states Watt, “and our first major victory.”

Other recent achievements includes staving off logging in the Walbran Valley’s Castle Grove, protecting approximately half of the world’s largest night roosting site for bald eagles around Echo Lake on the Lower Mainland and helping stop the B.C. government’s recent plan to expand Tree Farm Licenses (TFLs) in the province through Bill 8. To do this, the AFA led media campaigns and encouraged its supporters to write letters and call representatives. “We have over 20 000 supporters,” says Watt. “That includes many students, but also small business owners and even forestry workers. We have speakers from the pulp, paper and woodworkers union and have support from various First Nations. We work to include as wide a demographic as possible and bring about change by running solutions-based campaigns.”

Despite widespread support, the AFA still faces challenges in convincing the government that old-growth forests are indeed endangered and shouldn’t be cut down. “The public is largely supportive, but the B.C. Liberal government maintains that old-growth forests are somehow not endangered, even after 150 years of logging,” says Watt.

In an effort to protect endangered private lands, the AFA is calling for the creation of a B.C. park acquisition fund that sees $40 million set aside each year with which to purchase endangered old-growth forests or areas of high recreational value.

Last year, the Tree Huggers Ball raised upwards of $3 000 with the aid of an anonymous donor who matched all other donations. Watt hopes for another successful event this year.

“We run AFA on a shoestring budget,” he says. “So an event like this really goes a long way for us, and we’re very grateful for the support.”

The funds go toward endeavours such as exploring old-growth areas, creating new maps and reports and delivering information throughout the province with slideshow tours.

Although there is no official dress code, Watt encourages people to be creative and have fun with the tree theme of the event. “We encourage people to dress up like the forest. Wear your green or wear your tree stuff. Wear branches. Be forest friendly!”

Direct link to online article: https://martlet.ca/wiggle-your-trunk-at-the-tree-huggers-ball/

MLA Awarded for Tree Saving Efforts

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CTV news clip on Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser receiving a Forest Sustainability Award from the Ancient Forest Alliance and Youbou TimberLess Society.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/vQbEH7u2Efc

Link to full media release: www.staging.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=606

Ancient Forest Alliance

Global TV News – Cathedral Grove & the NDP on Forestry

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Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/NOz232HDx3Y

Conservationists are calling for much stronger, comprehensive old-growth protection policies in BC after having discovered a major logging threat to Canada's most famous old-growth forest, Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island. Conservationists came across survey tape marked “Falling Boundary” and “Road Location” in an old-growth Douglas fir and hemlock forest only 300 meters from the park boundary.

Global TV News – Protesters Want Government to Protect Old-Growth Forests

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About 500 people protested in front of the BC Legislature on Saturday afternoon to bring awareness to the loss of B.C. endangered old-growth forests.

Organized by the Ancient Forest Alliance, the group wants the BC Liberal government and the NDP to commit to an plan that will protect B.C.’s old-growth forests, and ensure sustainable, second-growth forestry jobs.

More than 3,700 people have sent messages so far to the BC Liberal government and NDP Opposition to protect old-growth forests and ensure sustainable second-growth forestry through the organization’s website: www.BCForestMovement.com

“With an election coming up, now is the time for BC’s politicians to commit to protecting our endangered old-growth forests, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, to end the export of raw logs to foreign mills, and to implement First Nations land use plans,” said Ken Wu, the AFA’s executive director.

“The status quo of liquidating the biggest, best old-growth stands and exporting massive amounts of raw logs abroad is destroying ecosystems, jobs, and communities. Now, of all times, BC’s politicians must develop some wisdom, foresight, and a backbone for a sustainable forestry overhaul in this province. No politician or party will escape scrutiny on their forestry agenda this electoral season, we’ll see to that.”

On Vancouver Island, 75% per cent of its original ancient forests have already been logged, including 90 per cent of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow. The AFA said B.C.’s old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water, wild salmon, and many First Nations cultures.

Watch the original story on our YouTube channel here.