Mary Vasey stands beside the largest old-growth bigleaf maple in the Mossy Maple Grove.

Mossiest forest in Canada creating buzz in Lake Cowichan

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Environmentalists with the Ancient Forest Alliance on Vancouver Island have recently discovered what is being dubbed as “Canada’s mossiest rainforest.” And it’s extremely close to Lake Cowichan.

Located near Honeymoon Bay, roughly a 40-minute drive from Lake Cowichan, Mossy Maple Rainforest supports two different growth sites. These stand close together and are surrounded by second-growth maples, red alders and conifers. One section is located on private land and the is found on Crown land, both in unceded territories of the Hul’qumi’num.

Previously the area had been owned by TimberWest until the company sold its private lands last summer to two public sector pension funds, the B.C. Investment Management Corporation and the federal Public Sector Pension Investment Board without consulting the Hul’qumi’num people.

Nicknamed Fangorn Forest, in reference to the deciduous forest featured in the second Lord of the Rings film, Mossy Maple Rainforest truly is a magical place.

Moss covers nearly everything here. Growing all the way up to the top of most trees, the moss provides a thick fuzzy green layer up these twisted giants. Getting so thick, collections of gigantic moss clumps have fallen and now carpet the ground of Mossy Maple Rainforest. Upon inspection, some of these masses weigh several pounds.

Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance helped discover Mossy Maple and said the deciduous trees bark is rich in calcium, which moss loves and is why it thrives here.

Diverse mosses, licorice ferns and lobaria “lettuce” lichens and more fauna grows on the trees in Mossy Maple. According to Wu, Mossy Maple hosts more plants growing on trees than any other trees in North America. The area is also home to bears, cougars, elk and a host of other wildlife.

Wu believes the area will soon put the Lake Cowichan-area on the map and is hopeful that Mossy Maple can transform into the Canadian-equivalent of Olympic National Park in Washington, which also boasts stunning old-growth deciduous forests.

“The potential for tourism is massive here,” explained Wu.

The maple syrup industry is also beginning to thrive in B.C.. Boasting a more milder flavor than maple syrup from Eastern Canada, the supply for B.C. maple syrup far surpasses its demand. This could also be economically beneficial to the area without destroying the forest’s majestic beauty.

“This type of forest is new to most conservationists and to the general public, few of whom are aware of old-growth deciduous rainforest. It’s sort of like spotting a wooly rhinoceros among a regular herd of endangered rhinos. Big leaf maples support First Nations cultures, abundant wildlife, salmon streams, B.C. maple syrup and important scenery. The last ancient stands must be protected,” said Wu.

Wu noted that a walking will need to be erected through the Mossy Maple site, so as to prevent damage to the area caused by people traffic.

It’s unknown what the future holds for Mossy Maple Rainforest. Old growth big leaf maples are important commodities to the logging industry for their strong, dense wood. Wu said no current logging plans exist for this area as of yet. However, he also highlighted that no protective measures have been proposed yet either. Wu was quick to state logging can help promote the growth of second-growth maples.

“Logging helps to spread young second-growth maples by reducing competition. It also eliminates the old-growth maples. Our goal is to protect the old-growth forests,” said Wu.

Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group chief negotiator, Robert Morales is worried about Mossy Maple’s future.

“Our culture and our identity as Hul’qumi’num people are tied to our land. The large scale clearcutting on our unceded territories is an assault on our culture and on our human rights. The Hul’qumi’num land use plan calls for the protection of the last old-growth remnants in our territories. The B.C. government failed to consult with us regarding the sale of TimberWest lands to the two pension funds and they still refuse to negotiate compensation for the give-away of over 80 per cent of our territories to private interests through the E&N land grant over a century ago,” said Morales.

Big leaf maples can grow up to three metres or 10 feet in trunk diameter and can live to upwards of 300 years, making them one of the most gigantic deciduous trees in North America.

Arvid Charlie, an elder with the Cowichan Tribes has an extensive knowledge of the traditional uses of plants and resources, especially big leaf maples.

“Big leaf maples because of their hard wood was used by our people to make many things, especially paddles, while the large variety of understory plants are still used for many types of medicines and foods. The herds of elk and the remaining salmon have always been vital foods to our culture,” said Charlie.

Ancient Forest Aliance co-founder and photographer, T.J. Watt has also come under the hypnotic spell of Mossy Maple.

“These ancient maple rainforests are some of the mossiest and awesome — or ‘mossome’ as we like to say — forests on Earth. If done sensitively, they could support a significant eco-tourism and cultural tourism industry that would benefit the local economy, much as the famous big leaf maple rainforests of the Hoh Valley in Washington’s Olympic National Park do,” said Watt.

[Link to Lake Cowichan Gazette article no longer available]

Scientific American: Designate a species with your name or your pooch’s

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If you discovered a new species, what would you name it? Some scientists go the descriptive route: Bambiraptor is a little raptor. Others try to make a joke – Aha ha is a species of Australian wasp named in 1977 by the entomologist Arhold Menke as a joke (Menke also used the name for his vanity license plate). Others are just sort of odd: Myzocallis khawaluokalani is an aphid whose name supposedly translates from Hawaiian to “you fish on your side of the lagoon and I’ll fish on the other, and no one will fish in the middle.” There are species named after famous people: Strigiphilus garylarsoni is a louse named after the cartoonist Gary Larson. And after the scientists themselves: Linnaeus named Linnea borealis after himself. But in the past ten years a new trend has emerged in species names: selling them to the highest bidder.

This time, if you’re willing to cough up the cash, you can have your very own horsehair lichen named for whoever, or whatever your desire (sorry, Polemistus chewbacca is already taken by a wasp). Trevor Goward, a Canadian botanist, discovered the lichen in British Columbia, where it grows in hairy mats along the branches of trees. The proceeds of the bidding go to the Ancient Forest Alliance, a non-profit conservation group in British Columbia working to conserve the old growth forests in the area. Bidding on the name, organized by charitybuzz, ends tonight.

This isn’t the first time scientists have put their discoveries up for auction. In 2008, Purdue University auctioned off the names to seven bats and two turtles. In 2007 the names for ten new species brought in $2 million for conservation projects in Indonesia, and in 2009 Steven Colbert harnessed the power of his viewers to win him the rights to Agaporomorphus colberti – a Venezuelan diving beetle.

So, if you had the bucks, what would you name the lichen? After you dog? Your husband? Your favorite Twilight character? Think carefully, because whatever it is, it will most likely last far longer than you will.

Read the article in the Scientific American: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/12/14/liken-yourself-to-a-lichen-designate-a-species-with-your-name-or-your-poochs/

Lichen auction closes Dec. 15

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Two “name that lichen” auctions organized by Upper Clearwater naturalist Trevor Goward will end on Thursday, Dec. 15.

As of press-time late last week, the highest bid on an auction to name a new species of crottle lichen was $7,000 from an individual named Robert Pirooz.

The highest bid to name a new species of horsehair lichen was $3,500 from a Don McKay of Ontario.

“This is as Canadian as it gets,” said Goward. “With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to Canada and at the same time honor a loved one – or a favorite hockey team – by naming a Canadian lichen after them.”

“Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear; and where would Santa Claus be then?” he asked.

The crottle lichen auction is being done through the Land Conservancy of BC. The money raised will be used for the organization’s campaign to establish a wetlands and wildlife corridor in Upper Clearwater.

The corridor would create a connection between two lobes of Wells Gray Park. It also would protect over 130 acres, including 67 acres of wetlands and a 10-acre meadow that is home to Canada’s most diverse population of moonwort ferns (Botrychium spp.).

The crottle lichen or Parmeli whose name is being auctioned consists of strap-like lobes, pale grayish above and black below. It inhabits the branches of trees in B.C.’s inland rainforests such as the Clearwater Valley

The second lichen name auction is being done through the Ancient Rainforest Alliance.

The money raised in the second auction would be used to help protect B.C.’s rainforests, especially on public land.

The new species of Bryoria or horsehair lichen forms elegant black tresses on the branches of trees in old-growth forests.

An online auction in 2005 for the naming of a new species of monkey in Bolivia netted $650,000. Money raised by that auction went to protecting the monkey’s habitat.

“It’s been almost three centuries since Carolus Linnaeus invented the modern biological classification system; and even now the names of the people he honored in the name of various plants and animals are still with us,” said Goward. “With any luck, your name will last at least as long as Canada does.”

Further information and a chance to bid are at Land Conservancy (TLC) of British Columbia (https://blog.conservancy.bc.ca/) and the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) (www.staging.ancientforestalliance.org/) websites.

Lichens are small organisms that are cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture. Check out Goward’s website at www.waysofenlichenment.net/ for more lichen information.

Renowned lichenologist Trevor Goward stands beside the new species of Bryoria or "horsehair lichen" he discovered. To place a bid for the naming rights to this species visit: https://www.charitybuzz.com/categories/43/catalog_items/272986

Taxonomy – The name of the lichen

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     A few years ago, a fellow lichenologist named a new species of lichen after Trevor Goward. Ramboldia gowardiana features maraschino-red buttons protruding from a silvery white crust. Toby Spribille’s reasoning was that Goward “added local colour to lichenology in western North America.” The curator of lichens at the University of British Columbia, Goward has himself discovered, described and named more than 20 species of lichen, but the naming privileges to his most recent finds will probably go to strangers.

     Goward is working with a pair of conservation organizations in British Columbia to auction off the right to name his two new species. The Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance, which is dedicated to protecting and advocating for the province’s old-growth forests, is soliciting bids for Bryoria, a “horsehair lichen” that cascades over tree branches in long, black strands. Goward hopes that the auction money will help the organization “make its voice heard in coming elections.” The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC), meanwhile, is selling the naming rights to Parmelia, a leafy, branch-clinging “crottle” lichen marked by slender, pallid grey lobes. Proceeds from the winning bid will go toward the purchase of private land to create a wildlife corridor between two sections of Wells Gray Provincial Park, in east-central British Columbia.

     A Google satellite view of the Wells Gray region reveals widespread logging; a patchwork of scarred land surrounds the park’s borders. Between the park’s southern points lies a jumble of crown land and private property, as well as migration paths used by black and grizzly bears, cougars and moose. About two kilometres wide, the proposed wildlife corridor will protect these routes, which merge with land set aside for researchers from Thompson Rivers University, in Kamloops. Goward has donated his adjacent four hectares of property to the project and persuaded a neighbouring couple to donate 27 hectares.

     Both auctions are scheduled to wrap up by late December. As of press time, the leading bids were in the $5,000 ballpark and the auctions had attracted high-profile bidders such as National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence Wade Davis. “We’re hoping that this auction really captures someone’s imagination,” says Barry Booth, TLC’s northern region manager. “This is such an innovative way to commemorate someone’s life and to raise funds for the Wells Gray project. This could be a model for future fundraising.”

     Goward’s ambitions go even further. Roughly 18,000 new organisms are described by taxonomists worldwide every year (although most are much smaller than lichens), and he plans to call upon his peers to participate in the “taxonomic tithing” movement by sharing some of their naming rights with environmental causes. His pitch to potential bidders: “Somebody in the world will always know the name of that species, and because the naming will have a story, it will have more resonance.”

For an update on the lichen auctions, visit www.staging.ancientforestalliance.org and  blog.conservancy.bc.ca. For more information on “taxonomic tithing,” go to www.waysofenlichenment.net

 Read the article in the Canadian Geographic:  https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/dec11/lichen_taxonomy.asp

Lichen names up for auction

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The Land Conservancy and Ancient Forest Alliance are hoping to bank in on lichens.

After discovering two new lichen species in the southern Interior, lichenoligist Trevor Goward decided to donate the naming rights to raise money for conservation causes.

He passed on the naming rights to be auctioned off to help TLC and the AFA. The deadline for both auctions is Dec. 15.

When biologist Andy McKinnon, from Metchosin, heard his friend Goward, of 30 years, discovered two new lichen species, he was thrilled and bid $3,000 on each auction. But he has been out bid on both. Currently the bids are sitting at $3,500 and $6,000.

“I would love this to attract some major efforts to donate to the cause,” Goward said. “At the moment the bids are absurdly low.”

The money raised for TLC will go towards purchasing a land corridor between two pieces of Wells Grey Park in the southern Interior of B.C.

“We want to create a corridor for the wilderness to cross through,” said TLC northern region manager Barry Booth. He explained currently the wildlife such as grizzly bears and moose already cross through the area which is currently privately owned.

For this project TLC needs to raise more than $350,000.

This project hits close to home for Goward who donated 10-acres of property within the corridor. His neighbour has also donated 62 acres of his property to the cause. Now to secure the corridor TLC needs to purchase an additional 28 acres.

“As the place gets built up (and developed) the animals still need to get from one place to another,” Goward said explaining one side of the park is where the animals spend the winter and the other is their summer range.

The AFA doesn’t have a specific project it will use the money on but has several projects in the works, said Ken Wu AFA executive director.

“A lot of lichens grow in old growth forests, when those forests are gone the lichen will disappear,” Goward said. “I’ve been watching these places disappear my whole life. I feel (the AFA) will make a difference. ”

Some of the projects where the money could be used include, creating a series of educational brochures, covering travel expenses to focus on other areas of B.C., and to help build a campaign in swing ridings across the province to help protect old-growth forests.

Other than raising awareness for the AFA, Wu said he hopes this type of auction gains attention and sparks up other auctions across the world for conservation efforts.

“This is a model. If it’s successful it can stimulate other campaigns,” Wu said.

While the auction is designed to help both conservation groups, it can also make the winning bidder remembered forever.

“The point is you could name it parmelia charlaensis,” McKinnon said siting my name. “This is one of the very few ways you can achieve immortality. If you truly love someone you can immortalize them.”

As an example McKinnon sited Archibald Menzie.

The Douglas fir tree’s scientific name is pseudotsuga menziesii. It was named after Archibald Menzie, who was appointed to be the surgeon and naturalist on the world trip with Captain George Vancouver.

“Today we look at that tree and we remember Archibald Menzie,” said McKinnon. “If you name the lichen 200 years later people will think of you.”

There are already lichens named after Barrack Obama and Sponge Bob Square Pants.

The option for naming the two species is limitless and McKinnon explained it’s open to anyone, including businesses.

“You could name it after a business, you could call it bryoria Wal-Martia,” McKinnon said.

Of the two lichens discovered, one was is bryoria and one is a parmelia.

“The bryoria looks like lustrous brown hair,” McKinnon said adding it is very shiny and can grow up to 10 inches long. “The parmelia looks more like a leaf and is reddish brown.”

Bryoria lichens are a common winter food for the endangered mountain caribou among other animals.

“Without bryoria lichens the mountain caribou would disappear form B.C. and possibly this earth,” McKinnon said.

The parmelia lichens are commonly used as dye for tweed fabrics. Hummingbirds also use it to disguise their nests.

“Lichens are not an organism, it’s a couple living together,” McKinnon said explaining a lichen is made up of about 95 per cent fungus and five per cent alga.

Alga is plant similar to seaweed. It lives inside the fungus and provides the food for the fungus to grow.

“Together they live happily ever after,” McKinnon said.

Goward wants people to step up and help him in is conservation efforts.

“Take a look at Google earth and see what we’ve done,” Goward said.

“In the end it doesn’t matter (about the names) we want to raise funds for habitats for lichens and everything else that lives in the B.C. wildlife places,” McKinnon said.

To bid on the TLC auction call 1-877-485-2422. To place a bid through the Ancient Forest Alliance email info@staging.ancientforestalliance.org or call 250-896-4007. The deadline is Dec. 15.

[Original Goldstream News Gazette article no longer available]

 

Hul'qumi'num Chief Treaty Negotiator Robert Morales and and HTG Executive Assistant Rosanne Daniels under the mossy maples.

‘Canada’s mossiest rainforest’ needs protection, Island groups say

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Old-growth forests come in all shapes and sizes and the province should be taking steps to protect that diversity, says Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

The Alliance and Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group have earmarked two stands near Cowichan Lake of giant old-growth bigleaf maple trees, which they’re describing as “Canada’s mossiest rainforest,” and want the provincial government to buy the stands from TimberWest.

“To protect old-growth bigleaf maples on private lands, the government needs to allocate funds to systematically buy up these stands for conservation purposes,” Wu said.

Most of B.C.’s better-known protected old-growth is made up of coniferous trees.

“This type of forest is new to most conservationists and to the general public, few of whom are aware of old-growth deciduous rainforests,” Wu said.

However, forests ministry spokeswoman Jennifer McLarty said big leaf maples are common on southern Vancouver Island in many parks and protected areas.

“There are 862,125 hectares of old-growth forests on Crown land on Vancouver Island and, of that, 225,216 hectares are fully protected in parks, protected areas and old-growth management areas,” McLarty said.

The two stands of maples are on traditional territory of bands belonging to Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group. Chief negotiator Robert Morales said their land-use plan calls for protection of the last old-growth remnants.

“The large-scale clearcutting on our unceded territories is an assault on our culture and on our human rights,” Morales said.

TimberWest did not respond to questions Monday.

Link to full article not currently available, but visit the Times Colonist site here.

Protect McLaughlin Ridge YouTube Clip (1min)

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Direct link to YouTube clip (1min): www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZiO1wAKwE

Help us protect the old-growth forests of McLaughlin Ridge near Port Alberni!

Conservationists are calling on the BC government to protect a 500 hectare tract of ancient Douglas fir forest near Port Alberni that biologists have classified as both critical habitat for wintering deer and nesting endangered Queen Charlotte goshawks. Conservationists would like the BC government to protect the old-growth forest on private land on McLaughlin Ridge by purchasing it from Island Timberlands.

See the photo gallery here: www.staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=10

The land was formerly intended for protection as an Ungulate Winter Range (UWR) for black-tailed deer and as a Wildlife Habitat Area (WHA) for the endangered goshawk until 2004 when the BC Liberal government removed 88,000 hectares of land now owned by Island Timberlands from their Tree Farm Licenses (TFL’s), thus removing most existing environmental protections on those lands and failing to implement other planned protections. Island Timberlands began logging the 500 hectare tract of old-growth forest a year ago, clearcutting 100 hectares or more from both sides of the Grove, while about 400 hectares of the core area still remains – for now.

Local Port Alberni activist Jane Morden stands beside the McLaughlin Giant - an old-growth Douglas-fir measuring 23.5ft in circumference / 7.5ft in diameter.

Chainsaw buzz stirs up once-protected old growth

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Environmentalists want the province to buy a tract of previously protected old-growth forest near Port Alberni that is now being logged by Island Timberlands.

McLaughlin Ridge was classified as critical habitat for wintering deer and endangered Queen Charlotte goshawks until 2004, when the province allowed it to be removed from a tree farm licence.

Different regulations governing private managed forest land mean part of the 500-hectare forest is now being logged.

“Here’s another major example of the serious havoc wreaked by the BC government’s TFL-removal scheme,” said Ken Wu, cofounder of the Ancient Forest Alliance. “The BC government created this mess by largely deregulating these forest lands and now they need to clean it up by protecting the previously protected old-growth forests, deer winter range and endangered species habitat.”

The area is used by black-tail deer, which feed on lichen hanging from old-growth trees when snow is on the ground.

“These are not deer that live at sea level, where there is rarely snow, or urban deer that feed on your flowers and garden veggies,” Wu said.

“The deer rely on old-growth forests like McLaughlin Ridge for winter shelter and lichens, which are lacking in clearcuts and second-growth stands.”

Endangered Queen Charlotte goshawk nest in the area, which is considered by government biologists to be one of the most ecologically significant sites in BC, said Jane Morden, coordinator of the Port Alberni-based Friends of McLaughlin Ridge.

“To let the whole thing get logged would be a travesty,” she said.

However, Island Timberlands spokeswoman Morgan Kennah said logging in McLaughlin Ridge is based on information the company receives from consulting biologists.

“We maintain an inventory of the goshawk nests because they are a species of critical importance and we modify our practices if nests are found in the area,” she said.

In keeping with the rules guiding logging on private managed forest land, critical wildlife habitat is protected by changing patterns of logging or volume, Kennah said.

Forests Minister Steve Thomson, who is on a trade mission in China, could not be contacted Monday.

[Direct link to the Times Colonist article no longer available]

Columbia Blacktail Deer

Critics insist logging harms wildlife

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Environmentalists are raising the alarm about the logging of old-growth Douglas firs taking place near Port Alberni.

They are calling on the provincial government to protect a 500hectare tract of old-growth forest they say biologists have classified as critical habitat for wintering deer and nesting endangered Queen Charlotte goshawks.

Island Timberlands owns the area in question on McLaughlin Ridge, southeast of the city.

Two local groups are asking the government to purchase the land from IT in order to protect it.

Members of the Ancient Forest Alliance and Friends of McLaughlin Ridge say the land was formerly protected as a winter feeding area for black-tailed deer and as a known nesting area for the endangered goshawk.

In 2004, the B.C. government removed 88,000 hectares of land now owned by Island Timberlands from their Tree Farm Licenses.

Of the 500-hectare tract, the groups say 100 hectares have already been logged, but the core portion of the stand remains intact.

Ancient Forest Alliance spokesperson Ken Wu said he hopes the logging has stopped for the winter, to buy some time to try to save what remains.

He added 99% of the coastal old-growth Douglas firs have already been logged on Vancouver Island.

“It’s pretty crazy we have to fight over the last 1%,” Wu said. He explained the area is covered in lichens, which are a vital winter food source for deer. The trees also provide shelter, he added. Bed Bath and Beyond Wedding Registry

This concerns environmentalists because they say the black-tailed deer population is in decline, in large part due to the destruction of their winter habitat.

Less deer, Wu said, means less food for wolves, cougars, bears and subsistence hunters.

The Queen Charlotte goshawk, a bird of prey, is “red” – listed and considered endangered, with only about 300 nesting pairs known to exist, he said.

McLaughlin Ridge is a known nesting area for these birds.

Wu said any recovery plan for this species should include protection of one of their few remaining known nesting areas. The groups contend Victoria created “this mess” by largely deregulating these forest lands.

“We will be asking Island Timberlands to show good will to the community by putting their logging plans for McLaughlin Ridge on hold until funds are put forward to protect this critical old-growth habitat,” said Jane Morden, coordinator of the Port Alberni-based Friends of McLaughlin Ridge.

IT spokesperson Morgan Kennah could not confirm whether logging in the area will continue this winter, although she said IT does have harvest plans across that general area, and has completed some “clear-cutting with variable retention levels” there.

“IT has not received a formal proposal to purchase that area and actions will not be stalled indefinitely for a proposal that may or may not come to fruition,” she said.

Kennah acknowledged the area is considered suitable habitat for deer and the Queen Charlotte goshawk, and IT does alter its helilogging when young of the latter species are hatching to reduce the noise impact.

“Wildlife procedures are in place that dictate modified practices,” she said, adding that logging in areas identified as wildlife habitat are planned in consultation with a registered biologist.

As for IT’s critics, Kennah said residents can learn more about the company’s logging plans by attending the next West Island Woodland Advisory Group meetings on Dec. 8 at the AlberniClayoquot Regional District office.

Direct link to Alberni Valley Times article:  https://www2.canada.com/albernivalleytimes/news/story.html?id=d7fe1099-d963-4e1a-b9ef-d878c7eefeef

Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance stops to look at Canada's Gnarliest tree in the Avatar Old Growth Forest near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island

Welcome to Avatar forest in B.C.

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PORT RENFREW, B.C.—Pink ribbons knotted to tree branches at the side of a gravel logging road mark the entry to an amazing earthly experience, something so different from anything most people have experienced it might be on another world.

The air is cool, damp and even smells green. Look up and there is no blue sky, just scraggy branches and the tops of 60-metre trees, that allow sunlight to hit the mossy ground only in broken beams of light.

This is Avatar Grove, a 50-hectare piece of untouched old-growth forest, about 110 kilometres northwest of Victoria.

Through a karma-like convergence, natural-born enemies, environmentalists, business leaders and politicians are joining hands to protect it from logging and create a nature-lover’s paradise.

It’s as if the happy-ending script is writing itself at Avatar Grove — a sequel of sorts to the Hollywood blockbuster, unfolding in the few remaining dark, moody and ancient big-tree forests on southern Vancouver Island.

“When we came across the area, it was at the same time the movie ‘Avatar’ was released,” said Ken Wu, co-founder of the Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance. “‘Avatar’ was about saving old-growth forests, albeit on an alien moon.

“We wanted people to make the connection that here on earth we have real spectacular old growth (forests) that are endangered and that need protecting,” he said, standing near a huge cedar marked in spray paint with the number five, signifying that it once faced a chainsaw death.

Wu said choosing the name Avatar Grove, courting the business community in nearby struggling Port Renfrew and getting the ear of the B.C. government has sparked a groundswell to declare the rugged coastal area the Big Trees Capital of Canada.

The Ancient Forest Alliance spent the summer taking busloads of tourists into Avatar Grove to see the mysterious forest, especially the alien-shaped western red cedar, nicknamed Canada’s gnarliest tree for is Volkswagen-sized burl that makes it look like something out of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels.

“Port Renfrew really is the biggest trees capital of Canada,” said Wu. “The fact is the largest Douglas fir tree on earth is near town. The biggest spruce tree in Canada is also near town. The biggest tree in Canada, the Cheewaht cedar, is also north of town.

“And we’ve got the gnarliest tree at the Avatar Grove,” he said. “It’s an exceptional place for big-tree tourism and I think this is the year people are starting to recognize that and are coming to see them.”

Rosie Betsworth, Port Renfrew’s Chamber of Commerce president, agrees with Wu and the Ancient Forest Alliance that the big trees are something to see. It’s also offering a tourism boost to the community that, until recently, considered logging and fishing its lifeblood.

“The majority (here) can see the value of tourism dollars,” she said. “And now that there’s probably a handful of loggers left in this community, it is no longer a logging town.”

Betsworth said environmentalists like Wu and photographer T.J. Watt, who discovered Avatar Grove in 2009 while scouting the area’s few remaining old-growth stands, convinced locals that there is money in saving trees as opposed to cutting them down.

“For a small group of very broke guys, my God, they’ve made so much movement,” she said.

Steve Thomson, B.C.’s minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources, said the government halted planned logging of Avatar Grove and is awaiting the results of a public consultation process on the area’s future.

But he suggested it already appears logging is no longer a viable option.

“The province has published its intent to adjust the old-growth management area to protect that grove,” he said.

Watt said Avatar Grove and the other huge trees in the Port Renfrew area, where many hillsides are scarred from clear-cut logging, are living examples of Mother Nature’s majesty that are located steps from easily accessible roads.

“Right away we knew we had something special because I couldn’t think of anywhere else where you could see trees of this size and get there in something like a Honda Civic.”

Direct lin to article: https://www.thestar.com/travel/northamerica/article/1080406–welcome-to-avatar-forest-in-b-c