port renfrew

Fairy Creek Headwaters in the Snow

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A gigantic, ancient yellow cedar tree dubbed ‘Titania’ in the unprotected headwaters of Fairy Creek near Port Renfrew. Logging company Teal-Jones is looking to clearcut this forest.

The magical ancient forests of Fairy Creek in the snow. These giant yellow cedars - which can live to be upwards of 2000 years old - are what logging company Teal-Jones is after.

Road construction into the headwaters of this unlogged valley near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory in August 2020 sparked what has now become the longest running blockade movement in BC’s history.

Today the RCMP announced they will be moving in to forcibly remove people who are not only standing up for the protection of Fairy Creek but all of BC’s endangered old-growth forests.

Premier John Horgan and the BC NDP must stop this escalation of the War in the Woods by deferring logging where their own report says they should (the high productivity and at-risk old-growth); committing significant funding for the sustainable economic development of First Nations communities as an alternative to old-growth logging; allocating funding to support workers and communities to transition to a value added, second-growth forest industry; and creating a dedicated Natural Lands Acquisition Fund to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands.

The polarization of this issue as a jobs vs. environment must end for the sake of both the people and our planet.

MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD! Use our Contact Decision Makers page here: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/contact-decision-makers/

The Weather Network: Big Lonely Doug & Old-Growth Forests

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Last week I took The Weather Network out to Port Renfrew to chat about old-growth conservation at Big Lonely Doug and the Eden Grove. See the video here: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/meet-big-lonely-doug-and-the-many-other-historic-trees-that-need-saving-in-bc/

Mia Gordon of The Weather Network at the base of Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree.

Mossome Grove Tree Climb

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Wow - what an experience!! Our good friends over at Expedition Old-Growth recently helped us ascend, measure, and document the tallest Sitka spruce tree in Mossome Grove near Port Renfrew! This incredible tree, which measures over 10ft wide at the base, came in at 246.5ft (75m) tall - as tall as a 23 story building! Its huge trunk splits in two about a third of the way up as well, creating two impressive and towering stems. Add in the mosses, ferns, and lichens and it was a beauty to behold! The experience of being high up in these ancient trees is virtually indescribable. Magical, exhilarating, and humbling might be a start. If this looks cool to you, be sure to check out www.expeditionoldgrowth.com and see when they're leading their next public tours. And while you're at it, be sure to ask the NDP government to implement old-growth protection policies that ensure places like this remain standing for generations to come: www.ancientforestalliance.org/send-a-message

Drone Video - Climbing Big Lonely Doug: Round 2

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Today I'm excited to have launched a new video which I filmed and edited featuring the Ancient Forest Alliance and Arboreal Collective's second climb up Big Lonely Doug, Canada's 2nd largest Douglas-fir tree! Doug has become the educational mascot of BC’s endangered old-growth forests - his massive size highlights their grandeur, while the dramatic contrast of the surrounding clearcut highlights the threat to them posed by industrial logging. The drone footage, captured using the DJI Phantom 3 Pro, of tree climbers (thanks to Matthew, Aaron, and Elliot!) in this sobering setting will help us raise the public awareness needed to pressure the BC government to protect what remains of the adjacent Eden Grove and endangered old-growth forests across British Columbia, and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry instead.

Snapshot: Amazing Rainbow near Port Renfrew

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While filming with a documentary crew in Port Renfrew last week, we saw one of the most incredibly vibrant rainbows that any of us had seen before. It appeared to be emanating right from the heart of the ancient forests on Edinburgh Mountain, the largest intact area of old-growth forest in the region, which we took as a sign of hope and good fortune. It doesn't get much more magical than that!