Springtime in the luscious Mossy Maple Grove west of Lake Cowichan in Hul’q’umi'num territory. This rare and spectacular grove is home to super shaggy old-growth bigleaf maple trees adorned with thick mats of hanging moss. Bigleaf maple trees have the unique ability to tap into nutrient-rich soil that develops over time in the canopy through aerial roots that sprout from their branches.
The forest is home to wildlife such as Roosevelt-elk, cougars, wolves, bears, deer, and more, while diverse plants carpet the forest floor. Due to its fantasy-like appearance, the grove has also been nicknamed ‘Fangorn Forest’ after the forest in The Lord of the Rings.
The Ancient Forest Alliance first drew attention to the need to protect this grove, which is found on private lands, in 2011. Most recently, the forest was deferred from logging for at least 25 years through logging company Mosaic’s BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative - a good step forward.
Now it’s up to the BC government to create a Provincial Land Acquisition Fund to help purchase and protect these scarce and valuable old-growth forests found on private lands in perpetuity.
