British Columbia's War On Old Growth Forests

"TIMBER" - Say good-bye to BC's ancient forests

BC's coastal forest is part of a globally rare ecosystem - the temperate rain forest at its height only covered under one percent of the Earth's land surface. Over 1/2 of this unique rain forest has been logged globally in a deforestation unparalleled in human history.

BC has some of the largest tracts of original temperate rainforest left, a distinction it shares with Alaska and Chile. But, for a variety of insufficient reasons, every day that dawns in beautiful BC sees giant, old growth temperate rain forest trees cut to the ground. Massive specimens, up to a thousand years old or more, are felled to build decks and make toilet paper. 

Increasingly, BC citizens are calling for an end to the War On Old Growth Forests, and it couldn't come too soon. In the past 150 years up to 89% of the productive ancient forests of Vancouver Island have been decimated.

In the 1980s, concerned citizens blockaded logging on Clayoquot Sound's largest island. Because of their forward thinking, Meares Island still retains its near-intact original forest today. Although there is precious little remaining old growth, Clayoquot  holds the distinction of having the largest intact ancient forest left on Vancouver Island.

Clayoquot Sound old growth trees, Mark Hobson photo

In 1993 one of the largest civil disobedience events in Canadian history took place in Clayoquot Sound. 12,000 forest defenders joined together on a logging access road and proclaimed the area off limits. Nearly 1000 people, including senior citizens, were arrested protecting this natural area of global significance. They proved that the people are the only ones that can safe our forests.

However, today it remains under the threat of rapacious multi-national logging corporations, and governments that have no regard for the future or the public interest.

The logging of old growth continues, and forest defenders fight to end it before the ancient forest is extinct, along with many of the species that depend on it for survival.

On south Vancouver Island a few logging hot spots in the news recently are:

• the Old Arrowsmith trail (close to world famous Cathedral Grove)
• areas bordering world famous Pacific Rim National Park
• steep hillsides in the Cowichan Lake area and,
• Clayoquot Sound

Standing on the stump of an ancient cedar tree in 2000, a member of Hesquiat First Nation gazes over the clearcut wasteland of his ancestral territory on Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island. The deep scars of logging roads and erosion are clearly visible on the mountain in the distance, evidence of the brutal clearcutting by Interfor. Adrian Dorst photo, source

The Old Arrowsmith Trail was first built in 1912, and is the oldest trail still in use on Vancouver Island. It is located at the south end of Cameron Lake, a few kilometers east of world famous Cathedral Grove. Logging company Island Timberlands has given notice that they will be logging the area, putting in jeopardy the last foot accesses to Mount Arrowsmith Regional Park. Sections of the Lower Ralph Rousseau trail that leads from the back of Cathedral Grove are unusable since recent clear cutting there.

Pacific Rim National Park encompasses some of Vancouver Island's most spectacular scenery. Over a million people visit this ecologically significant destination every year. Unfortunately, Pacific Rim was not designed with a buffer zone, and logging has been encroaching ever since the park's inception in the 1970s. Clear cuts extend right up to the boundary lines, and often chain saws, logging trucks, and large log-lifting helicopters can be heard from your campground.

Cowichan Lake area (including Carmanah/Walbran) has been under constant and continuous logging pressure for a hundred years. The easy trees are long gone, and now increasingly desperate corporations are going after the more marginal old growth areas, like steep hillsides. This type of logging often causes massive erosion, soil loss, and sedimentation/degradation of salmon streams.

Clayoquot Sound, with the largest area of old growth forest and the only cluster of unlogged valleys remaining on Vancouver Island, is in constant threat from those who look at these valleys and see only dollar signs. Agreements and promises resulting from the '93 citizen occupation are under threat because there is big money to be made plundering this global treasure.

Former MP Keith Martin atop a recently cut, 1000 year+ redcedar stump
near Port Renfrew, TJ Watt photo

BC Forest Facts

• BC has about 1/4 of the world's remaining coastal temperate rainforest.
• Just over 1/2 of BC's coastal temperate rainforest has been cut already.
• 3/4 of the productive ancient forest on Vancouver Island has been logged already.
• 13% of the island's area is protected in parks, but this contains only 6% of the island's productive forest.
• Of 89 large primary valleys on Vancouver Island (valleys that are 5,000 hectares or larger that empty directly into the ocean), only 6 remain undeveloped (completely unlogged or less than 2% logged).

Contact your elected officials and let them know how you feel about the planned extinction of our ancient forests. It is up to us to save them. Let's end the BC government's War On Old Growth Forests.

Honourable Christy Clark, Premier
PO BOX 9041 STN PROV GOVT
Victoria BC
V8W9E1
CANADA

Canada's Tallest Timber Trestle Re-opens After Restoration Project

The restored Kinsol Trestle is now open for crossings

The Kinsol Trestle is one of the largest timber bridges in the world, and the highest timber trestle remaining in the Commonwealth at 44 metres (144 ft) high and 188  metres (617 ft) long. It was recently re-opened to the public after a year-long restoration project.

Recent History of Kinsol Trestle

Before the decision was made to save this piece of west coast timber history, the wood trestle was slated for demolition. The last train crossed the trestle in 1979, the line was abandoned, and eventually the structure was near collapse. The Kinsol Trestle, the oldest free-standing timber structure in North America, had been left to deteriorate in the wet forested valley of the Koksilah River.

The amount of heavy timbers required to support a fully loaded logging train is huge. It was expected that the proceeds of the good timber left in the structure would be significant. 80% of the 1.2 million board feet of timbers were found to be sound after core samples were taken in 2007.

The deteriorated bridge deck before restoration

Restoration of The Trestle

The giant trees felled for the original structure have long disappeared from the area. Replacements for the large, incredibly strong Douglas-fir timbers came from forests in the Alberni Valley.

The 7.5 million dollar project brought the 101 year old trestle back to its original world-class form. The international restoration firm Macdonald and Lawrence Timber Framing Ltd., the same outfit that restored the heavy timbers of England's Windsor Castle after a fire, did the work on the trestle. They are "a specialist carpentry company offering a range of services to assist private and professional clients build and conserve timber structures."

Beginning of project one year ago

The restoration replaced unsound timbers, reinforced structural piers and built a new 614-foot walkway atop the structure for hikers, runners, cyclists and equestrians. Preserving the historic characteristics of this amazing wood structure was a major goal of the project. The authenticity of the historic trestle is expected to draw more tourists to the site.



Hauling Lumber Over The Trestle

"The Kinsol is special as it features a 7 degree curve over a low level Howe truss. Immense, at 145 ft tall and over 600ft in length it is engineering at its finest.

From 1920 to 1979 it is said that 5 billion board feet of timber was brought to market from Lake Cowichan's vast reserves over the CNR trestle.

Railway lore has steam engineers getting out and walking over the trestle and waiting for the brakeman to set the trains into motion, as the bridge at times would sway under the great loads of steam engines and their cargo of massive timber atop the rail cars.The engineers would then step aboard and slow the train for the brakeman, who would follow across on foot and join up with the crew!" - source

Photo of trestle from 1950 when trains were still running

Early Kinsol Trestle Timeline

1910 -- Mackenzie and Mann, promoters of the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway, contracted to build Vancouver Island line from Sidney through Victoria to Barkley Sound.

1911 -- Sod-turning ceremony staged in February.

1914 -- By this time some 700,000 feet of timber had been cut and stacked on both sides of the Koksilah River at Mile 51.9, site of the Kinsol Trestle (named for a nearby copper mine, the King Solomon).

1918 -- Only four miles of track had been laid from Victoria, and some timber work completed on the trestle, by 1918 when the federal government resumed construction as part of the new Canadian National Railways.

1919 -- Sept. 18, 1919, the Cowichan Leader reported: "At long last a real start has been made on the Koksilah River (crossing)." 55 men (local farmers and loggers) were employed on the project.

1920 -- By April the canyon had been bridged. Built on massive concrete piers, the Kinsol Trestle was 145 feet high and 614 feet long.

1924 -- Track reached Lake Cowichan. Weekly passenger service by gas car and the transporting of lumber products was begun.  - source

Trestle Now Part Of Trans Canada Trail

The old rail line is now part of the 22,000 km Trans Canada Trail. The Kinsol Trestle is the largest of eight original bridges in the section of railroad through the Cowichan Valley. Some have compared it to southern interior BC's Kettle Valley Rail Trail before catastrophic fires destroyed some of its historic wood bridges.

The Kinsol Trestle is evidence of Vancouver Island ingenuity and determination during a time when no project was too large or too difficult. More though, it is evidence of the strength and utility of the strongest wood in the coastal forest - old growth Douglas-fir. Kilo for kilo it is stronger than steel.

This is an old map, but the directions are still accurate - click to enlage

This giant wood trestle is an engineering marvel, and a bit of a conundrum -  a huge bridge built out of massive old growth Douglas-firs so that rail cars could pass over as they hauled more massive trees to market.

The Kinsol Trestle is an interesting part of our history that eventually lead to the liquidation of 90% of south Vancouver Island's old growth forests. This is one world class timber structure not to be missed, and is about all we have to show for our efforts to subdue the deep, dark, primeval forest. Big logs passed this way.