Caycuse Before & After Old-Growth Logging

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This is not a series I ever hoped to complete but the following are before and after images of giant ancient cedars cut in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht territory on southern Vancouver Island. Earlier this month I revisited a magnificent grove that I had explored and photographed earlier this year, only this time it was the stumps of those same trees that would be my focus. Gone were the vibrant flourishes of red, green, and gold. Instead, a bleak, grey landscape lay before, utterly unrecognizable from what I remembered. Heart wrenching as they are, I hope these images stand as stark example of what is still happening everyday across BC everyday and what needs to end now.

We need everyone to SPEAK UP!! Contact Premier John Horgan and demand that the BC NDP show they're serious about saving old-growth by immediately halting logging in the most endangered forests and allocating funding in Budget 2021 for Indigenous protected areas and economic alternatives to old-growth logging.

• Email John Horgan here: premier@gov.bc.ca or here: www.ancientforestalliance.org/send-a-message
• Phone him at: 250-387-1715

• CBC News: Conservationists demand fast action from B.C.'s new forestry minister on protection for old-growth trees
• The Guardian: Photography campaign shows the grim aftermath of logging in Canada's fragile forests
• The Narwhal: In photos: see old-growth go from stand to stump on B.C.’s Vancouver Island
• Outside Magazine: Forest Selfies Are Helping Save BC’s Old-Growth Trees
• Treehugger: Photos Raise Alarm Over Old-Growth Logging in British Columbia

MEGA Wave Day - Round II

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The forces of nature once again aligned and unleashed a mind-blowing display of raw power and beauty along the west coast of Vancouver Island this past Sunday. A 6.5m/20ft+ swell combined with a king tide to produce waves of enormous size that thundered and roared against the rocks. This day was on par with the huge waves I photographed earlier this year in January. Never thought I would see something so impressive again! Humbling to say the least. Fine art prints available at: www.tjwatt.com/prints or email prints@tjwatt.com if you don’t see the one you’re looking for.

* The photos are now reaching the news! See a CTV article here and KOMO News article here.

BC government Releases Old Growth Strategic Review Panel’s Report - Takes First Small Step Towards Potential Big Changes for Old-Growth

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BREAKING: The BC government has released the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel’s report and announced it will immediately defer logging in nine areas, including the famous Clayoquot Sound and the intact McKelvie Valley near Tahsis, and protect up to 1,500 of BC’s biggest trees while it works to develop a new provincial approach to old-growth management. More deferrals are also expected after further discussions with First Nations.

These first steps are an encouraging start and the result of concerned people like you speaking up! Thank you!!

But more work still needs to be done. The vast majority of productive big tree ancient forests, of which only 3% remain in BC, are still at-risk. There are also no funding commitments yet for the transition to sustainable, second-growth forestry, for new Indigenous Protected Areas, or for the economic diversification of First Nations communities.

The panel’s report is a blueprint for a complete paradigm shift in how BC manages old-growth forests. Now, the province must commit to fully implementing all 14 recommendations.

• Read our Ancient Forest Alliance press release below for details and our full response: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/bc-old-growth-panel-report-announcement/

• See the BC government's announcement here: https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2017-2021/2020FLNR0058-001711.htm

• Read the Old Growth Strategic Review panel's report here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/563/2020/09/STRATEGIC-REVIEW-20200430.pdf

An aerial view of old-growth forests in Clayoquot Sound, part of a 260,578 ha temporary deferral that will prohibit logging in this area.

Winner in HippyTree's 52 Weeks of Nature Photo Contest!

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Thanks to everyone who voted for my eagle photo from the Great Bear Rainforest! It's the winner of week 32 in HippyTree's #52weeksofnature photo contest🥇See the article here for a brief Q&A: https://www.hippytree.com/blog/52weeksofnature-photo-contest-week-32-2020-winner/ Limited edition t-shirts also available here: https://www.hippytree.com/…/52weeksofnatu…/heather-charcoal/

Anderson Lake Hike - Walbran Valley

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Spent the weekend in the Walbran and hiked out to Anderson Lake for a swim. In the 15 years I've been going out there now, somehow I’ve never made it all the way to the lake! Thanks to recent trail improvements though by rockstar volunteers, it's much easier to find the way there now. Still a decent trek though - about a 10km round trip that includes a log jam crossing - but nice to take a dip in the lake as a reward! The Sitka spruce are hugely impressive as well and thankfully protected within the provincial park, unlike the endangered cedar groves growing nearby. Maxine’s Tree, one of Canada’s largest sitka spruce trees, is a wonder to behold. It grows about 3/4 of the way along to the trail to Anderson Lake. GPS coordinates for the tree: 48.669953, -124.598958. Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/37aoMxodcJtKYPyg9

Maxine's Tree, one of Canada's largest spruce trees! 265ft tall and 13.2ft wide. A true giant!

Raft Cove Getaway

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Went camping at Raft Cove on the north island for the first time earlier this month ~ such a wild and beautiful place! Friends, fires, sun, wind, rain, wildlife, surf, trees, paddling, games, and relaxation time. A muddy hike in and 1200km round trip but worth every bit! 👌🏼

Independent Report Reveals BC Government Misleading Public on Status of Old-Growth Forests

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On my birthday last week, an independent report titled "BC's Old Growth Forest: A Last Stand for Biodiversity" was published revealing the dire state of productive old-growth forests in BC (see below).

Despite the brutal reality this research has highlighted, I still consider it one of the best presents ever in that it unequivocally dispels the misleading statistics and tricks peddled by the BC government that try to make it seem like there is no crisis in the woods. They can't hide from this one though and it's already making an impact. My deepest gratitude extends to the report's authors, Dr. Rachel Holt, Dr. Karen Price, and Dave Daust for their most important work on this.

Below are some of the key findings of the report:

1. The BC government maintains there are 13.2 million hectares of old-growth in BC, but fails to acknowledge that only 400,000 ha (or 3%) of those old forests are capable of growing big trees.

2. Highly productive forests with the potential to grow very large trees (like the ones we feature in our photos) cover less than 3% of the province. 97.3% of this 3% has been logged and only 2.7% remains as old-growth.

3. Most (over 75%) of the fraction of remaining high productivity old-growth forests are slated for logging.

4. The province's old-growth protection levels are grossly inadequate, placing most higher productivity forest ecosystems across the province at "high risk" of species loss and losing ecological integrity.

The report's authors, Ancient Forest Alliance, and other conservation groups are calling on the Province to:

1) Enact immediate logging moratoria in:
- all endangered forest types with less than 10 percent old-growth remaining;
- all high productivity old and mature forests;
- landscape units (i.e. clusters of watersheds) at "high risk" of losing ecological integrity;
- very old, irreplaceable forests; and
- remaining intact areas or old-growth ‘hotspots’ like Vancouver Island's Central Walbran Valley.

2) Set legislated, science-based old-growth protection targets for endangered old-growth across the province.

More to come on this but in the meantime you can always contact your MLA to voice your concerns around protecting old-growth (Look them up here: https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members) or send a message to the BC Government here: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/send-a-message.

Media Coverage:

• The Narwhal: B.C. old-growth data ‘misleading’ public on remaining ancient forest: independent report 
• Vancouver Sun: Scientists conclude B.C.'s count of old-growth forest greatly overestimated
• CBC News: B.C. vastly overestimates size of its old-growth forest, independent researchers say
• Victoria News: Big old trees almost gone forever in B.C., scientists warn
• CKPG Today (with TV news piece): Old growth forests logged to ecological limits: Report

Before & after of BC’s 9th widest known Douglas-fir tree, cut down by BC Timber Sales in the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni.