Logging

Clearcutting of Grove of Forest Giants on Northern Vancouver Island – Photos and Videos Document the Destruction

in , , ,

An ancient cedar tree lies prone amidst the destruction of an old-growth clearcut with myself on the trunk for scale. Likely 700+ years old, this tree and scores of others like it would have been standing just before we arrived that day.

However, in 2022, Western Forest Products began clearcutting 25 hectares (roughly 50 football fields) from an incredible old-growth cedar grove in Quatsino territory on northwestern Vancouver Island, BC.

I was floored by the sheer number of monumental redcedars cut down, some nearly 10 feet (3 m) wide. It’s the most shocking example of industrial old-growth logging I’ve witnessed since the logging in the Caycuse and Nahmint Valleys.

Despite being home to scores of giant trees, this particular grove — and likely hundreds of others — was not included in the BC government’s independent old-growth science panel, the Technical Advisory Panel’s (TAP) original logging deferral recommendations due to the forest being incorrectly labeled as 210 years old in the province’s forest inventory database (40 years younger than the province’s 250-year-old threshold for being considered old-growth on the coast).

The TAP made clear recommendations to the BC government that on-the-ground assessments should be used to identify and defer big-tree old-growth forests that were missed in their preliminary analysis. So far, despite requests from us and others, that has not been happening.

As the BC government moves to protect 30% of BC by 2030, it’s imperative that they set ecosystem-based targets based on science that prioritize the most at-risk old-growth forests, such as those with big trees, for protection.

They must also commit significant provincial funding and conjoin it with major federal funds to support sustainable economic alternatives for First Nations linked to deferrals and new protected areas.

Otherwise, irreplaceable ancient forests like this one will continue to fall.

This photo series was created with support from the Trebek Initiative.

SPEAK UP! SEND a MESSAGE to the BC government calling for the protection of endangered old-growth forests.

The photos and story became the TOP STORY on Apple News for a day as well as the most read article on The Guardian for 48 hours.

Before & After Photos and Need for Conservation Financing to Protect Old-Growth Forests Garners National Headlines

in , ,

The urgent need for conservation financing from the BC NDP government to help protect old-growth forests while supporting First Nations, along with my latest before and after photos, has made national headlines.

Tyson Atleo, a Hereditary Chief of the Ahousaht First Nation in Clayoquot Sound, notes, ”Conservation comes with economic costs…especially in communities that depend on forestry revenues. It must be paired with some kind of compensation or support for sustainable economic diversification.” The Ahousaht First Nation has been working to implement their Indigenous-led land-use vision for several years.

Conservation financing is the key element that enabled the large-scale protection of old-growth forests in the Great Bear Rainforest and is now needed elsewhere across BC as the province engages with First Nations to fulfill its commitment to protect old-growth forests.

Where will the money come from? Currently, the federal government has put forward $2.3 billion to expand protected areas in Canada – of which BC’s share could be between $200-$400 million - including a dedicated $55.1 million Old Growth Nature Fund, but only if the province matches this funding. In total, that means that anywhere between $600 million to $1 billion (including some likely additional funding from private and non-governmental sources) could be available to protect vital ecosystems in BC. Negotiations are currently underway to create a BC-Canada Nature Agreement, which is likely to be announced by the end of this year.

This agreement has the potential to be a game-changer for conservation in the province if it’s targeted correctly. Primarily, that means towards the sustainable economic diversification of First Nations’ communities linked to the creation of new Indigenous Protected Areas and focused on the most at-risk old-growth forests, such as those with the biggest trees in the rich valley bottoms, which have been the main target of industry.

The Ancient Forest Alliance has been central in advocating for this funding for years. If you haven’t already, please take a moment and send an instant message calling for conservation financing here:

Read the article below, as well as in the National Post, Globe & Mail, Vancouver Sun, Times Colonist, CHEK News, CBC, and more: https://www.thestar.com/politics/2022/11/27/giant-trees-still-fall-amid-old-growth-funding-lag-for-bc-first-nations.html

Canadian Geographic: Before and after photos show devastating effects of intensive logging on B.C.’s old-growth forests

in , ,

See this new article by Madigan Cotterill in Canadian Geographic featuring my latest before and after photo series of old-growth logging in the Caycuse Valley on Vancouver Island, BC: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/before-and-after-photos-show-devastating-effects-of-intensive-logging-on-b-c-s-old-growth-forests/

Aerial View of Old-Growth Logging in the Klanawa Valley

in ,

“World’s best forestry practices"?

These recent images from the Klanawa Valley highlight the brutal impacts of clearcut logging on Vancouver Island.

Until recently, this mountain was one of the last largely intact stands of unprotected old-growth in the valley. Now a sprawling 30-hectare cutblock, a web of roads from Western Forest Products scar the hillside here in Tree Farm Licence 44, north of Nitinat Lake in Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht territory. This is what ‘talk & log’ looks like.

Speak up! Send a message to John Horgan and the BC NDP, demanding they take action to protect endangered old-growth forests in BC: https://ancientforestalliance.org/take.../send-a-message/

Red Bull: Protecting Our Elders - Interview & Photo Essay

in , , ,

This spring I was super surprised and thrilled to have a chance to share my before & after images and story with Red Bull - yes Red Bull! Their magazine, The Red Bulletin, has a monthly readership of 2.2 million and getting images of both the beauty and destruction of BC’s ancient forests in front of as many people as possible is always one of my main goals. The international audience this year has been huge. John Horgan and the BC NDP, the world is watching! Read the interview here: https://issuu.com/redbulletin.com/docs/0521_uk_drucklowres/20