caycuse

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

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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

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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/

Red Bull: Protecting Our Elders - Interview & Photo Essay

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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

Shortlisted for the 2021 Earth Photo Exhibition

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Excited to share that my before and after images have been shortlisted for the 2021 Earth Photo exhibition! Here’s an interview I did with the Royal Geographical Society in London in the lead up to the show’s launch next week.

Your photos were taken in British Columbia, would you like to share any thoughts regarding the current heatwave and fires there?

The current heatwave and fires in British Columbia (BC) are devastating examples of what runaway climate change looks like on our planet. Temperatures in one town hit 49C. It burned to the ground later that day. Despite this, our provincial government has its proverbial head in the sand, saying on one hand how they take climate change seriously, while at the same time approving clearcut logging in some of the best-remaining stands of endangered old-growth forest. Old-growth temperate rainforests are the greatest carbon storehouses of any ecosystem on Earth and are BC's best natural defense against global warming. The answer then is simple: leave them standing.

Are you aware of the picture below (only viewable in the original article), which is part of the Society’s Collections? Did you draw inspiration from it for your shortlisted photos? If not, any thoughts on this historic image?

Wow! What an amazing image and an incredible tree! No, I had not seen that photo before, though I am a big fan of another photographer from that era named Darius Kinsey who captured amazing large-format images of big trees and old-growth logging in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s. If it wasn’t for those historical photos, we would have virtually no visual record of what were truly Earth’s grandest forests, now replaced with cities, farmland, or tiny tree plantations. If I had a time machine, I would certainly go back just to marvel at the magnificence of those towering trees.

How does it feel to be shortlisted?

I’m very grateful to have been shortlisted for the Earth Photo exhibition! The loss of old-growth forests in BC due to logging is an issue of global significance but since it takes place in such remote regions, it’s very hard for the public to see what’s going on. Shining an international spotlight on this issue will only help to add to the political pressure necessary to achieve science-based legislation that finally protects these endangered ecosystems.

Is there anything else you want us to know about your image and the story it tells?

BC's ancient forests are home to some of the largest living organisms on Earth. Trees here can grow to be over 300ft (90m) tall, reach more than 20ft (6m) in diameter, and live to be upwards of 2,000 years old. Despite this, they're still being cut down at an alarming rate - roughly 10,000 football fields on Vancouver Island alone each year. Now, after 150 years of logging, more than 97% of BC's 'big tree' old-growth forests have been logged with companies still targeting the best of what little remains. Time is running out and we need everyone to speak up! You can Send-a-Message to the BC government using our take-action tool.

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Caycuse Logging From Above

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Aerial images captured near the start of this month highlight the brutal impact of old-growth logging in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht territory. The original 33 hectare clearcut from Teal-Jones, where the now-famed ‘before & after’ images were taken, stands out in shocking scale. Fresh old-growth logging can be seen in a number of adjacent cutblocks as well, which were approved earlier this year by the BC NDP despite its own panel’s recommendations to defer logging in endangered areas.

The BC government must step up and support real solutions, such as providing funding for First Nations and forest-dependent communities to expand protected areas, diversify their economies, and rapidly transition to a more sustainable, value-added second-growth forest industry.

Every day that John Horgan delays taking immediate action, centuries-old forests, and the complex web of life found amongst them, are disappearing forever.

SPEAK UP! Send your message to government today: https://www.endangeredecosystemsalliance.org/news/bc-protected-areas

BC government’s forestry announcement fails to address old-growth crisis

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An 800-year-old redcedar logged by Teal-Jones in the Caycuse Valley.

An 800-year-old redcedar logged by Teal-Jones in the Caycuse Valley.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is highly critical of yesterday’s announcement by John Horgan and the BC NDP government of its intentions to modernize BC’s forest policies while at the same time failing to address the ongoing old-growth crisis. See the press release and articles below for further details.