Timber Baron Wanted To Cut Cathedral Grove

Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park is an old growth wonder near Port Alberni, BC

It is a west coast old growth wonder that attracts a million visitors a year, and is known to bring experienced foresters to tears with the sheer grandeur of the setting. And yet, if British Columbia's first Chief Forester had his way, Cathedral Grove would have been cut for lumber and profit long ago.

History of Cathedral Grove

Just like George Hearst ruthlessly mined mountains for gold in the U.S., Canada's H.R. MacMillan was an opportunist that mined early Vancouver Island's primeval forests for giant Douglas firs, Western red cedar, and Hemlock.

Cathedral Grove in 1941

Despite a popular local conservationist sentiment in the early 1900s, MacMillan refused to set aside the big trees of Cathedral Grove through 15 years of constant pressure from the public.

The big tree entrepreneur acquired the logging rights to the generously forested area east of Port Alberni where the Cameron River empties into Cameron Lake. Possession was obtained through a Timber Berth, an early form of temporary forestry tenure. The seller of big trees held fast against public opinion, saying that the cutting of the grove was necessary for his company's stability.

Finally in 1944 at a meeting in Port Alberni, after a public browbeating by the gathered crowd, MacMillan relented and turned the ownership of the trees back to the province for the establishment of the park.

While many accounts attest to the 'fact' that the 136 hectares was generously donated by the timber baron, at least one account has him storming out of the public meeting in a huff while shouting, "All right, you can have the god-damn grove!"

By 1947 a park was in place, preserving these irreplaceable trees for future generations, if that is, they can endure the predations of the present.

800 year old Douglas-fir in Cathedral Grove

The Park Today

The old growth forest surrounding Cameron Lake has been a tourist attraction since the 1920s for a good reason - it is some of the most magnificent forest to be found anywhere on Earth. Here, in the Coastal Douglas-fir ecozone, ancient trees up to 9 meters in circumference and 76 meters tall grace the park. The oldest of the trees in this area are pushing 1000 years, and the forest is dripping with antiquity.

Today Cathedral Grove lies within 301 hectare Macmillan Provincial Park. The park is bisected by Hiway 4, and what remains of the old growth is deeply affected by the ongoing logging in the area.

Fallen trees are left in place in the MacMillan Park old growth forest

People Power

When we think of the majesty of Cathedral Grove we should give credit where credit is due. I give no thanks to rapacious timber barons for tossing us a few crumbs of our own forest while continuing to decimate dwindling old growth ecosystems behind the scenes. Profit pumping suits step aside.

The real heroes in this story are the forward-thinking conservationists that could see where BC's forests were headed over 100 years ago. Regular people recognizing the madness of destroying 1500 year old trees for what it is, and taking action to push for change and preservation.

There is more to be saved

Resistance is not futile! Thanks to people power, Cathedral Grove and many, many places like it over the years, have been spared from clear cutting.

Successful fights have been, and continue to be fought over unsustainable practices that benefit a few greedy folks at the expense of plant, animal, and human communities.

But even at MacMillan Park more could be done, ensuring that the fight for the remaining .1% of the old growth Douglas-fir ecozone will continue.

There are hundreds of hectares in the area, including Cathedral Canyon, that still contain ancient and mature forests, but are slated for clearcutting.

Thanks to the power of the people in the past, areas of old growth, including Cathedral Grove, can continue to inspire, and perhaps even move to tears, tree lovers from around the world. However, more work needs to be done by todays forward-thinking defenders of ancient ecosystems.

Getting There

You don't really need directions to Vancouver Island's Cathedral Grove. All you need to do is get on Hwy. #4 west of Qualicum Beach and drive until you are surrounded by giant trees and swarming tourists. You can't miss either.

MacMillan Provincial Park is on Hiway 4 next to Cameron Lake

From Port Alberni take Highway 4 East.

From Victoria or Nanaimo take Highway 19, then exit west on Highway 4 towards Port Alberni.

From Nanaimo it is about a half hour drive.

McLaughlin Ridge Old Growth

McLaughlin Ridge, which contains a small part of the 1% of the CDF old growth remaining, is being logged
photo: AFA, TJ Watt

Not far from Port Alberni and the much visited and loved-to-death Cathedral Grove, lies a 500 hectare remnant of the once mighty Vancouver Island Coastal Douglas-fir ancient forest. While visitors to MacMillan Provincial Park, (of which Cathedral Grove is a part) enjoy one of the tallest, fattest, and oldest groves of trees on earth, Island Timberlands is logging a forest just like it on nearby McLaughlin Ridge.

Location of McLaughlin Ridge (Cathedral Grove is along hiway 4 at the west end of Cameron Lake), from AFA website

When there is only 1% of the original Coastal Douglas-fir forest left untouched by industrial activity, continued destruction of this ecologically diverse ecosystem may be legal, but it definitely is not moral, or an intelligent use of the land.

This is what remains of 100 hectares of the McLaughlin Ridge old growth forest, photo: AFA, TJ Watt

Biologists classified this forest, which is on private lands, as critical habitat to several species such as wintering deer and nesting goshawks. It is also critical habitat for big trees, which are endangered here. 400 foot plus Douglas-fir, which once were common in the ancient forest, are probably already extinct.

Big Douglas-fir in the ridge old growth forest, 23.5ft in circumference, 7.5ft in diameter, photo: AFA, TJ Watt

The government tells us that Cathedral Grove park "protects and preserves an internationally significant representative example of Douglas fir old-growth forest within the East Vancouver Island and the Coastal Douglas fir Biogeoclimatic Zone."

The park is established as Class "A", Category 2, Schedule A, and "is dedicated to the preservation of its particular natural environment for the inspiration, use and enjoyment of the public".

Here, the propaganda tells us, one "can stroll through a network of trails under the shadow of towering ancient Douglas-fir trees, majestic pillars untouched by the modern world – some more than 800 years old".

Or you could drive a bit further to McLaughlin Ridge, and see a similar forest being converted into a scarred and torn wasteland.

Conservationists are calling on the provincial government to purchase the land that this old growth forest covers. After clear cut logging 100 hectares of old growth, 400 hectares remains on McLaughlin Ridge. To liquidate it, and everything else that depends on it, is delusional folly at best.

These trees do not belong to Island Timberlands, or to the pro-business government. These trees, and all old growth forests belong to the earth, and all its citizens.

We can stop the destruction by saying NO to continued old growth exploitation on McLaughlin Ridge, and everywhere else it still exists.



See the Ancient Forest Alliance website for more information, and to see beautiful (and disturbing) TJ Watt photos of the McLaughlin Ridge ancient forest.

Big Tree Art: Taralee Guild

Cathedral Grove 3, 2009

I tend not to get out into the forest as much during this time of year. With cooler temperatures and only a few hours of daylight, I am left without my regular forest fix. A rainy, dark day is a good time to stay by the fire and check out tree-related sites on the web.

In the breaks between outings, art is one thing that can fill my need for the beauty of nature. I found the paintings featured in this post on the website DeviantArt, and they immediately drew my forest-deficient gaze. To see a gallery of more of this inspirational big tree art at this site, check out here.

The artist also has a website of more stunning Vancouver Island west coast rain forest art. Check it out here, and get a winter day forest fix - you will not be disappointed.

About The Artist

Taralee Guild (1984-present) lives and works in Vancouver, BC and is originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario. She is inspired by the Canadian tradition of nature painting and the artwork of Tom Thompson, Gordon Smith, and Peter Doig. Taralee Guild will be completing her BFA in Visual Arts at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, graduating in 2010 .

- from DeviantArt

About The Art

Cathedral Grove 3 (above)

This painting is part of a small group of work that materialized from a late winter photo shoot of Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island. The area features a combination of old growth Red Cedar and Douglas Fir natural to West Coast BC. This painting looks almost straight up at these very tall trees. The sun was setting, which gave a particular kind of light which illuminated the tops of the tree canopies. Throughout the composition, broken light hits different spots of trunks and bristles.

- DeviantArt

Arbutus Trees, 2009

Arbutus Trees, 2009

Arbutus trees are quintessentially West Coast Canada, being particularly prominent on Vancouver Island. The twisting path of the branches and the peculiar bark are their main features. This painting acquired a nice sky blue for the background, whereas the warm brown bark and Hooker’s Green leaves compliment each other. The thick detail oriented trunk base becoming smoother as it goes up makes a convincing visual perspective. It is meant to feel like looking up at tall Arbutus trees on a nice spring day.

- DeviantArt

Big Tree Art: Gothic Revival

Gothic Revival, Evan Wakelin

I enjoy doing big tree research on line because you never know what kind of good stuff you might come across. I am always on the lookout for great big tree art.

While studying the coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) recently, I came across Gothic Revival by Evan Wakelin. It is a surreal image that links together, for me, the importance of trees to the development of civilization and religion.

Old groves of trees are the original cathedrals. Trees were very important to the ancient Celts and Druids. Many of their religious sites were graced with Yew trees, Britain's oldest growing conifer, and one of the longest-living trees on earth. These trees represented birth, death, immortality and the cycles of life to ancient peoples.

Christian churches and cathedrals in places like Britain were often built on the religious hot spots of the Celts and Druids. Today, sacred Yew trees are still associated with these Christianized sites.

Large majestic trees have always stirred something in humans, and still do judging by how many people visit the remaining impressive groves of the world, whether a place like the incredible Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, or smaller local groves of trees in parks everywhere.

It is interesting that the artist chose Douglas-fir and not Yew as the tree to match up with the Gothic cathedral. This might be because the Yew is a fairly short tree, whereas the Douglas-fir is potentially the tallest tree species in the world.

It is not entirely inappropriate since the Douglas-fir, according to many a logger, is the most important commercial tree on the planet. No other tree perhaps, has contributed as much to the development of our modern world.

Because of this we should treat the Douglas-fir - indeed, all trees and sacred groves - as the special entities that they are. These, the tallest of living things, are worthy of our worship and appreciation. We should be saving nature's last sacred cathedrals.