MicroArk Project Invitation

An interesting comment was left here a few days ago. I am posting it to reach a wider audience because it sounds like an amazing opportunity to imagine and implement projects to make a difference. 

MicroArks! I love the sound of that.

Hi there! 

I'm lucky enough to have access to quite a number of native tree seedlings on an East Sooke property. The ones easiest to transplant are between 1-4 yrs old.

There are Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Hemlock, Spruce, Alder,and Broad Leaf Maple in various quantities.

Also, Salal, Oregon Grape, Huckleberries, Ocean Spray, Salmon and Thimble Berries,and more.

At a Victoria location there are Garry Oaks, Arbutus, and Snowberries. 

There's also some duff infused with Mycorrhizal fungus and epiphytic moss, lichen and liverworts to innoculate the replanting sites. 

I'd really like to find carefully considered locations for replanting and long term care.

I transplanted about 50-60 with a small group of mostly kids a year ago but a repeat didn't happen due to Covid 19.

I'm hoping to connect with any people interested in some small scale, responsible, replanting collaborations in the next few months. Or even to simply discuss the concepts and processes involved.

I feel we need to establish some "MicroArks" consisting of groups of trees and their associated flora and fauna that are carefully considered and cared for.

They will provide examples to be replicated thus beginning the regrowth of truly natural forests for perpetuity.

Thanks for your interest!

Paul Winstanley

Spectrafocus

20/1/21

paul@spectrafocus.ca 250-899-9285 

The Man Who Saved Big Lonely Doug

Dennis Cronin standing in front of the giant tree he saved.
Photo credit: Lorraine Cronin

In 2014, just as I was moving from Vancouver Island, BC to Nova Scotia, the tree which has become to be known as Big Lonely Doug was discovered by big tree protectors in a former stand of old growth not far from Port Renfrew. 

The giant Douglas fir tree was not hard to find - it was the only tree left in a clear cut block that used to be an ancient grove, and it was hard to miss.

As it turns out, the tree still stands due to the efforts of Mr. Cronin, an industry engineer, that may have been the first person to ever see it. 

To read the fascinating story of how this amazing specimen, the second largest fir in Canada, was saved, click here.

The only Douglas fir tree larger is the Red Creek Fir. This is another significant tree that was also destined for destruction, but was preserved by a logging crew that could not bring themselves to cut such a gigantic tree down.

There goes the neighbourhood.
This is why Big Lonely Doug is so lonely. 
But, better lonely than dead.
Photo credit: TJ Watt

I have never seen the tree that Dennis Cronin, who after decades in the woods and marking untold numbers of giant Pacific Forest trees for removal, decided to save. But the next time I am in Canada's big tree country again, I will.

And when I do, I will think about the man who chose to save Big Lonely Doug, one of the tallest trees (70.2 metres, 230 ft - the height of an 21 story building) he had ever seen, and I will give thanks for his decision.

On a final note, Mr. Cronin died shortly after retiring from his forestry job. By that time he could see that the end of the big trees had come. 

Perhaps his signature tree was one small (or big, depending on how you look at it) way of making amends.



Click here to see the Ancient Forest Alliance Big Trees Map "created with driving directions to Avatar Grove (home to Canada’s “Gnarliest Tree”), Big Lonely Doug (Canada’s 2nd largest Douglas-fir), the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas-fir tree), San Juan Spruce (one of Canada’s largest spruce trees), Harris Creek Spruce (another giant sitka spruce), and more!"

Big Coastal Christmas Trees

One of the big conifers in the distance is decorated with two bald eagles at the top

Note: originally posted December 18, 2011.

I went for a walk today to look for Christmas and it was nowhere to be seen. There was no snow or hanging icicles, and it was sunny and a balmy +9 degrees Celsius. However, we do have some of the largest Christmas trees in the world growing here, and I discovered some nice ones.

Conifers are the traditional Christmas trees of choice, and the Pacific coastal forest is dominated by conifers. Douglas-fir is the second most popular Christmas tree sold in North America. Young trees have a nice conical shape, and the needles are sweet smelling when crushed. But if you like your trees big, and alive, this is the place to see them. We are at the edge of coastal Douglas-fir territory in Sooke.

The biggest Douglas-fir in the world grows near here in the woods close to Port Renfrew. You would need a lot of tinsel for that behemoth, which is 73.8m (242') in height, 13.3m (43.7') in circumference, and 4.2m (14') in diameter. But I wasn't looking in Port Renfrew for big trees as I wanted to stick closer to home.

Big Sitka spruce overlooking beach

The place I went exploring for giant conifers was in the Wiffen Spit neighbourhood. There I found a right of way leading to a set of stairs down to the beach. It is a great place to see big trees on the top of the high banks, as well as those that have fallen below or washed in off the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

We celebrate trees and their importance this time of year when we hack one out of the forest and bring it into our homes to dry up and die. Then they are unceremoniously dumped at the curbside. Here in clear cut territory, it seems like an extravagant waste.

If you go without the traditional indoor dead tree this year, and you are in the Sooke region, Wiffin Spit is the place to go to see a live tree that is anonymously decorated every year.

The Wiffin Spit tree is a short hike from the parking lot, and is now the most notable live decorated tree in town since town council grinches gave the green light about a year ago to remove two beautiful, completely healthy heritage Douglas-fir trees right in the center of town. Read about their sad demise here.

Biggest Christmas tree on Vancouver Island until being
unceremoniously cut down by The Grinch

The 150 year old Douglas-fir trees were replaced by two 2m tall exotic Norway spruce. I noticed the other day that one was decorated, but it just doesn't measure up to the giant it replaced.

Happy holidays.

Witty Beach Road Trail Closure

Two large Douglas-fir trees greet visitors to the parking lot at the end
of Witty Beach Road in Metchosin, BC.

Following the short, but scenic Witty Beach Road in the rural Vancouver Island community of Metchosin, takes you to a small parking lot by the ocean. For most people the beach is the destination, and a beautiful one it is, but there are other attractions.


While beach access from this spot has been restricted recently by a closed set of crumbling stairs, my favourite features remain - two large, old Douglas-fir that dominate the area.

Witty Beach can still be accessed via the main parking lot
 at Witty's Lagoon Regional Park.

Access stairs in better times. The steep slope they were
anchored on is unstable.

There are not many big Douglas-fir left, let alone ones you
can drive right up to like these.

Officials are uncertain as to when the beach access at Witty Beach Road will reopen. For the time being it is worth a drive to visit the trees before going to the main parking lot down the road to access the beach.

Canada's 2nd Biggest Douglas-fir Tree Identified in Recent Clear Cut

Big Lonely Doug, the second largest known Douglas-fir tree in Canada.
Photo by TJ Watt

The second largest known Douglas-fir tree in Canada was recently discovered by big tree defenders on Vancouver Island. Named "Big Lonely Doug" by the Ancient Forest Alliance members that found it, this magnificent tree has been left stranded in the middle of a 2012 clear cut by forest liquidators Teal-Jones.

But don't be distressed by the sad scenes depicted in TJ Watt's amazing photos of this notable tree that had a close brush with death in 2012, or its surroundings. Teal-Jones, the logging company that share the responsibility for this tragic mess with negligent MLAs in the BC Liberal Party, assure us on their website that

"There is virtually no waste in manufacturing wood products".

Thank goodness people like those at Ancient Forest Alliance are out doing the work in the woods to try and stop the waste, not to mention the extinction of the primal forests that remain on Vancouver Island.

If you want to help them help us, please consider donating to this worthy organization of hard-working big tree campaigners.

12 meters (39 feet) in circumference or 4 meters (13 feet) in diameter, and 69 meters(226 feet) tall.
Photo by TJ Watt

The following information is from the AFA Facebook page:

Port Renfrew - Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance have found and measured what appears to be Canada’s second largest recorded Douglas-fir tree, nick-named “Big Lonely Doug”, standing by itself in an area clearcut in 2012. 

Preliminary measurements of the tree taken yesterday found it to be about 12 meters (39 feet) in circumference or 4 meters (13 feet) in diameter, and 69 meters(226 feet) tall. Big Lonely Doug is estimated to be about 1000 years old, judging by nearby 8 feet wide Douglas-fir stumps in the same clearcut with growth rings of 500-600 years. 

Big Lonely Doug’s total size comes in just behind the current champion Douglas-fir, the Red Creek Fir, the world’s largest, which grows just one valley over. 

Big Lonely Doug grows in the Gordon River Valley near the coastal town of Port Renfrew on southern Vancouver Island, known as the “Tall Trees Capital” of Canada. It stands on Crown lands in Tree Farm Licence 46 held by the logging company Teal-Jones, in the unceded traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation band. 

The fact that all of the surrounding old-growth trees have been clearcut around such a globally exceptional tree, putting it at risk of being damaged or blown down by wind storms, underscores the urgency for new provincial laws to protect BC’s largest trees, monumental groves, and endangered old-growth ecosystems. 

The days of colossal trees like these are quickly coming to an end as the timber industry cherry-picks the last unprotected, valley-bottom, lower elevation ancient stands in southern BC where giants like this grow.

It will take a thousand years or more to replace this clear cut old growth forest.
Photo by TJ Watt

Vancouver Observer - Canada's 2nd Largest Douglas-fir Found: "The vast majority of BC's remaining old-growth forests are at higher elevations, on rocky sites, and in bogs where the trees are much smaller and in many cases have low to no commercial value. 

It's the valley-bottom, low elevation stands where trees like the Big Lonely Doug grow that are incredibly scarce now. 99 per cent of the old-growth Douglas-fir trees on BC's coast have already been logged. 

It's time for the BC government to stop being more enthusiastic about big stumps than big trees, and for them to enact forest policies that protect our last endangered ancient forest ecosystems." 

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/canadas-second-largest-douglas-fir-discovered

While trees are a renewable resource, with current logging practices and regulations,
 forests older than about 80 years are not. 
Photo by TJ Watt

"...while trees are harvested the effects are only short term as reforestation follows."

- from the Teal-Jones logging company website, that fails to realize that the destruction of thousand year old trees is not a "short term effect".

Witness to the on-going destruction of our ancient forests, with Canada's
 second largest known Douglas-fir in the background. What a magnificent, lonely tree…
Photo by TJ Watt

Snow In The Rainforest

No snow at sea level, but accumulations at elevation in the Sooke Hills.

A bit on the ground at Sooke Potholes Park, but not enough for
skiing or snowshoeing.

Heavier snow in the trees on the hilltops.

Conditions are good for revealing individual big trees on the hillside that normally
 blend into the forest and are harder to spot.

The falls on Sooke River are highlighted by a dusting of snow.

One Of The Last Of Its Kind

Question: Was this photo taken in 1814 or 2014?
Photo credit: TJ Watt, AFA

The following was taken from the Ancient Forest Alliance Facebook page.

Question: Was this photo taken in 1814 or 2014?

Answer: Sadly, just last week.

AFA's TJ Watt snapped this quick self portrait beside a near-record-size Douglas-fir tree that was left standing alone in an old-growth clearcut not far from Port Renfrew on southern Vancouver Island. Giant stumps litter the surrounding area.

Less than 1% of the original old-growth Douglas-fir trees remain on Vancouver Island after a century of logging and this may be one of the mightiest left of its kind - now left highly vulnerable to blow down.

What BC needs are ancient forests, not ancient policies, like those which allow for the destruction of these last endangered areas. But we'll need your help getting there.

You can start by signing and sharing our petition at www.AncientForestPetition.com or sending a letter to BC politicians here www.ancientforestalliance.org/write-letter.php and then be prepared for a very busy 2014!

Thank you!!

Phillips Road Big Trees, Sooke

The tiny vehicle gives scale to this tall line of trees marching down Phillips Rd in Sooke.
The column consists of older Douglas fir and Sitka spruce.

Only eight years ago when I first moved to Sooke, upper Phillips Road (which runs along the west side of the Sooke River) was still like an entrance to the old forest. Here were some of the largest trees remaining within the municipal boundary.

At that time two massive Douglas fir elders stood on either side of the road creating a narrow bottle neck that I knew would need to go some day when development came farther up the road.

The centuries old trees were so close on either side of the pavement that they had large scars on their bark from multiple contacts with vehicles trying to squeeze through.

There has been development in this area since the earliest days of European settlement, but it was mostly limited to small farms along the Sooke River.

I was happy when these trees were spared during roadway upgrading in this developing area.
The empty field in the foreground is now a thriving community garden.

Now the Sunriver neighbourhood has added hundreds of new homes and the treescape has been dramatically and permanently altered. Eventually the two large trees guarding the entrance to the old forest on upper Phillips Rd. became impediments to development, and were taken down. The stumps were pulled and an upgraded roadway was put in.

Other spectacular trees survived the on-going transformation of this part of Sooke, including the tall row of trees across Phillips Rd. from the community garden. There are others to be found here and there along the Sooke River that runs along the eastern edge of this new neighbourhood.

And The Wind Said

"And the wind said,

May you be as strong as the Douglas fir,

yet as flexible as the cedar.

May you stand as tall as the Redwood,

live gracefully as the willow,

and may you always bear fruit

all your days on this Earth."

Sooke's Ancient Douglas-firs Almost Gone

This 1925 view shows Ed and Jack Phillips with double bitted axes
undercutting a small Douglas-fir.

There used to be big Douglas-fir trees in the Sooke area. Really, really big. Trees 10 feet wide, and 300 feet tall were common. But the big trees have been almost completely removed from the region.

Some ancients still exist in these parts, but they are usually individual lonely trees rather than groves or forests of them. Phillips Road, which runs up the west side of the Sooke River, is one such place that some of the last holdouts remain, so it is an area in which I am interested.

Sooke historian, Elida Peers, recently published an article in the local newspaper about one particularly large Phillips Rd. Douglas-fir that lived just up the bank of the river for hundreds of years. Until about 10 years ago. Peers writes:

"Almost a decade ago, I was one of a group standing watching the falling of the seven-foot diameter Douglas-fir that stood as a sentinel at the entrance into the beginnings of the Sun River development on the old Phillips farm.   

Years ago, a team of fallers would have used a two-man crosscut saw to fell a tree of such a size, but with the use of power saws in recent times, this stately Douglas-fir presented a different sort of challenge. 

Troy Lovbakke was one of the fallers given the task, and he worked in tandem with Lance Lajeunesse and Bud Beam. The men started with 33” bars on their Husqvarna saws, moving on finally to saws with 52” bars. 

The belts of the high riggers could not encircle the bulk of the tree but they managed to get a steadying anchor cable in place to secure it from falling across Phillips Road.   

A pneumatic jack was used as well but could not withstand the weight. Finally two 40-ton screw jacks were required for the tree to be laid down safely in an area so near to a public road and houses. 

It was near nightfall by the time the gigantic tree came down with a resounding crash."

Oh, how many times that "resounding crash" has been heard on the south island. And despite having lived through the European occupation thus far, ancient trees like these continue to fall in Sooke, a town without a big tree policy (unlike some neighbouring communities).

A large Douglas-fir that still stands
up the Sooke River... for now.

Although I arrived in Sooke after the tree in Peers' article was brought down, two other huge, old Douglas-fir trees remained just past the 'new' intersection of Phillips Rd. and Sunriver Way. They stood on either side of the road directly across from each other.

So narrow was the passageway created by these wrinkly-barked woody columns that both trees had large scrapes and gouges in the thick bark, evidence of tussles with passing vehicles. I realized at the time that such beautiful specimens were not compatible with plans for a more modern (but less interesting) roadway through the trees and beyond.

Sure enough, within a few years these two Phillips Rd. holdouts were also removed in the ongoing development of the controversial Sunriver neighbourhood, and newer projects farther up the road.

Areas along the Sooke River on both sides still contain some of the biggest, tallest Douglas-fir trees in town. Most of them grow on private property and are inaccessible to the public. If you currently own some of these big Sooke River trees, I would love to hear about them.

Even the Sooke town centre twin Douglas fir trees, which were over a hundred years old, couldn't escape the fallers chainsaw. The trees were unceremoniously removed and replaced with two Norway spruce, a non-native species.

Considering the considerable contribution that the ancient Douglas-firs have made to the development of Sooke, you would think that we would show them some respect and save a few. Perhaps the time has come for a perspective shift, and the introduction of a tree protection bylaw for this growing community.

Douglas-fir Stumps Healed By Helpful Neighbours

A capped Douglas-fir stump in an old growth forest

One of the curiosities of Vancouver Island's Douglas-fir forests are stumps that have healed over completely such as the one shown above. These capped stumps make one wonder how a dead tree can continue to grow in this way. If you could peer into the darkness underground you would find answers,  because it is all about the roots.

Several species of trees produce root grafts including Douglas-fir and the true firs. Grafting happens when the root systems of two trees come into contact and grow together. Trees joined in such a way become in effect one organism.

This scenario is common in Douglas-fir forests, and stumps adjacent to live trees may grow over and heal completely in a strange mushroom-like bark cap.

Douglas-fir roots graft together where they cross each other

In the Douglas-fir forest, a single tree could be connected with most of its neighbours. When a tree is cut or broken off, adjacent trees treat the stump as if it was a part of themselves and will send help through their connected roots.

This starts with resin soaking into the exposed wood to prevent pathogens and decay from entering, much as a tree responds to any insult to its bark or branches. Once soaked with resin, the cambium (active growth layer just under the bark) starts to form a callus in order to heal the wound. Sometimes this goes on until the stump is fully capped.

But it is not all selfless action that is occurring in the tree community. Grafted roots can also be responsible for spreading vascular diseases from one tree to another, so a cut or damaged stump can be a way for disease to enter and spread throughout the connected trees.

A damaged or cut tree can introduce disease to surrounding trees
through grafted roots

Fully capped stumps remain connected to their neighbours, and while Douglas-fir can not sprout a new tree from the stump like some deciduous trees, the capped stump can continue to increase in girth over the years. 

Sooke Hills: Parks, Peaks, and Rain Forest

Trees on rock, roots on rock, moss on rock

One of my favourite stretches of forest can be found along the Galloping Goose Trail from Sooke to the trail's northern terminus at the gold mining ghost town called Leechtown. The Goose runs along the western edge of a 12, 000 hectare protected wilderness.

In the vast expanse of wilderness covered by a patchwork of parks, one can find pockets of old growth, as well as individual old growth trees. Along the old rail right of way is no different, plus the access is excellent on the wide, flat, gently sloping trail.

In the area one can also find Roosevelt elk, wolves, black bears, bald eagles, and cougars.

Cedar, Douglas-fir, and Hemlock are major rain forest trees

"The Sea to Sea Green Blue Belt is a corridor of protected wilderness and parkland stretching from Saanich Inlet in the east to the Sooke Basin in the southwest. 

Lands extend from Saanich and Tod Inlets to Sooke Basin (north to south), and from the Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve to the Sooke River (east to west). The protected area covers approximately 11,500 hectares, making it the largest protected area in the CRD. 

It includes provincial, regional and municipal park land, including Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Goldstream Provincial Park, Sooke Mountain Provincial Park, Sooke Potholes Park, and Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve."

There are many amazing moss species that live here

A variety of peaks, such as Mount Manuel Quimper, afford the energetic hiker amazing 360 degree views of the huge protected area, plus out over the ocean. Mt. Quimper has an old forest fire lookout structure at the summit. It can be handy on a windy or rainy day.

This beautiful hike can be accessed from the Harbourview Road parking lot.

View from Mt. Quimper looking south east over the park and Juan de Fuca Strait

In the early days the rail line went all the way through to the Lake Cowichan area. It hauled equipment and supplies from Victoria in to towns and lumber camps, then turned around and hauled huge logs out.

In spring seasonal brooks are full, as is the thick, spongy moss

Along this route there are many individual old growth trees that escaped the saws that took most of their contemporaries years ago.

While there are no record-breaking trees here that I know of, there are some nice sized Douglas-fir, Western red-cedar, and Western Hemlock. Sitka spruce can be found along the ocean, and along valley bottoms closer to the sea.

Moss and lichen cling to everything, including a Western red-cedar

Any time is a good time to hike or bike into the Sooke Hills Park rain forest. Whether you are cycling the Galloping Goose Trail, or hiking up Harborview Road, there are enough parks, peaks, and rain forest areas to keep you exploring for a lifetime.

Searching For Evidence of Big Trees

One of several Balch creek giant Douglas fir. Oct, 2008 Photo by Micah

If you are here chances are you recognize and respect the importance of trees, especially the old growth. Do I have a treat for you.

In this post I am pleased to highlight a fellow tree lover and blogger that resides in the big tree state of Washington, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Essentially, we share what was once a continuous coniferous forest that ranged from northern California to Alaska.

photo by Micah

"Macleay Park-Forest Park, Portland. Sep. 2011. One of the larger trees I measured in the Balch creek canyon. 5 ft 6 inches diameter, at 4 1/2  ft. and 242 feet tall. May be one of the tallest trees in Portland, and probably over 300 years old. Forest Park was logged extensively in the 1880-1940′s, and most of the forest is only 50 to 100 years old — with pockets of 200 to 500 year old giants."

Few of the original big trees of the forest remain there, as here, but Micah has made it part of his work to seek out those last holdouts. He has also been conducting historical research to try and get a glimpse at what the forest was like prior to industrial exploitation.

He commented on VIBT recently:

"I tossed together most of the accounts I compiled in the last couple years and some photos I found on the internet and old books into one concise blog post recently-- listing all the Doug references, stories, and measurements of Doug firs from 300 feet and up I could find. There are definitely hundreds more I could add if I had access to museum archives, libraries etc. And a similar list could be compiled of Sitka Spruce, and Noble fir, Grand fir-- and the giant western red cedars. One account mentions a 407 foot cedar tree!!!...Although I am not sure how reliable it is, cool to imagine!"

photo by Micah

 "This giant tree must have originally been over 200 feet, maybe 250 before losing its top and was one of the thickest trees I saw on Whidbey Island. Mere cord wood compared to the largest giants logged in this area which topped 300+ feet. I stand beneath it for scale."

 Check out this post to see some of the results of Micah's work. Amazing trees that are just the "table scraps of a once immense forest".

East Sooke Park: Aylard Farm

Old growth Douglas-fir at Aylard Farm, East Sooke Park

At one time a mysterious consortium of European investors owned much of the land in East Sooke. They had big visions of a private luxury resort and hunting preserve that would cater to the international jet set. Fortunately for nature lovers everywhere, the exclusive domain of the rich fell into a financial and legal morass, and the landowners were forced to sell some of their extensive East Sooke land holdings.

In 1970 the Victoria Capital Regional District purchased a significant piece from the stressed landowners. The purchase price was $520,000, and East Sooke Park was born. Now everyone is welcome to enjoy this rugged 3417 acre park and its native petroglyphs, rugged coastline, sandy beaches and magnificent forest.

Aylard Farm's meadows of clover, wild rose, and blue-eyed grass

East Sooke Park can be enjoyed via 50 km of trails, including the knee-punishing 10 km Coast Trail. The park's semi-wilderness has several entrances, including the Aylard Farm access point off of East Sooke Road via Becher Bay Road.

East Sooke lies in the Western Very Dry Maritime Coastal Western Hemlock Zone. Although the forests were selectively logged decades ago, and the sea harvested for its bounty, this remains a wild land. The park visitor is advised to watch small dogs and children as cougars and black bears still populate these coastal lands.

Ocean glimpses through the trees invite the hiker to the sandy beach below

Much of Aylard Farm and the rest of East Sooke Park is covered in second growth trees 60 - 100 years old. Because it was selectively logged, rather than clear cut, old growth trees of +250 years can still be seen.

Old growth forest near the Alyard park access can primarily be found at Creyke Point. The main forest consists of large Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, and closer to the ocean, Sitka spruce.

The coastal bluffs support upland ecosystems of Garry oak, Arbutus, and the twisted, tortured Shore pine. These trees are often small as they inhabit thin-soiled areas over bedrock and are exposed to harsh winter winds and storms.

Getting There

East Sooke Park is 35 km west of Victoria. Allow about an hour to drive and be able to enjoy the ample scenery. A couple of different routes are possible.

Old Island Highway From Victoria

Take the Old Island Highway (#1A) to Sooke Road. Follow Sooke Road (#14) to Happy Valley Road, turn left and continue down Happy Valley. Turn right on Rocky Point Road, which veers right to become East Sooke Road, and leads to the park. The entrance at Aylard Farm is at the end of Becher Bay Road, and left hand turn off East Sooke Road.

Trans-Canada/Highway 1 From Victoria

Follow the Trans-Canada Highway (#1) from Victoria, and take the Colwood exit. Follow the Old Island Highway (#1A), which turns into Sooke Road (#14). From Sooke Road, turn left on Gillespie Road. Turn left on East Sooke Road, then right on Becher Bay Road to reach the park entrance.

Saanich Citizens Save 300 Year Old Tree, For Now

300 year old Douglas fir at Seaview and Telegraph Bay Rd
 in Saanich is slated for removal... but can it be saved?

"Please help save me. I am over 300 years old, and I have been condemned by Saanich Parks because I have a fungal infection, not unlike what many trees around here have to contend with. Think of it as osteoporosis. It is not deadly. It just means I am not as strong as I used to be, and Saanich is scared I may fall and do some serious harm. Saanich has risk assessment criteria and the amount of decay in the core of my trunk makes me a borderline risk. Saanich does not want to acknowledge that, statistically, my chances of surviving upcoming storms are at least as great – and possible greater – than my chances of failing in one of these upcoming storms. So, to be completely safe, Saanich Parks wants to cut me down, and they are adamantly unwilling to acknowledge that my chances of surviving future storms should be part of their calculations."

Citizens save tree, for now. See brave tree defenders stand up for a tree's right to exist, and turn away the chain saws for the time being. Video

Read more at: Save This Majestic Douglas fir.

Refugee Trees

Sooke Harbour Douglas-fir in middle of photo, with Sitka spruce lining the beach to the right 

Wherever I go my gaze is automatically drawn to the landscape, especially the trees. Big trees poke out like beacons from the past. They whisper to me of an ancient forest of which they were once a part. Today, many of these trees stand alone.

This old Douglas-fir may be the largest tree on Sooke's Whiffin Spit, and is one of the largest in town

One such tree lives at the west end of Sooke Harbour on Whiffin Spit in Sooke, BC. It is another one of those refugees that dot the land, standing alone surrounded by younger trees and in this case, residential development.

Standing at 30 meters (98 ft) plus, this ancient entity has been here longer than the Europeans who have exploited the original forest to near-extinction.

Sooke is an excellent place to fill your tree spotting life list as it sits in a transitional zone between Vancouver Island's two major ecosystems. To the east and up the inside coast is the dry Coastal Douglas-fir ecozone, and to the west and north is the wetter Western Hemlock ecozone. It is a big tree spotting paradise.

Metchosin's Largest Tree

Is this Metchosin's largest tree? Photo: Utopia Photo-Blog

Some say that this magnificent specimen is "Metchosin's largest tree". The old-growth Douglas-fir measures 8.69 metres (28.5ft) in circumference, and 2.74 meters (9ft) in diameter. It grows on a hillside near Matheson Lake, east of Sooke.


Matheson Lake Park has several large, scattered, old growth trees that escaped the ecocide that took their contemporaries.

Log Booms Past And Present

Log boom off Clover Point in Victoria, July 04, 2012

Log booms were once a common sight on Canada's west coast. During Vancouver Island's logging heyday in the 1950s, giant log booms transported the big trees from the Douglas-fir forests of the east coast to mills up the Fraser River. The rafts, like long puzzles assembled in protected booming grounds, held millions of board feet of prime timber.

The Strait of Georgia was a salt water highway for the industry, and tugs towed rafts hundreds of meters long in an often perilous journey. Quickly changing weather, fog, strong tides, and rocks were constant threats, and many a log were lost on the trip.

Up until recently, the only log booms in transit I have witnessed were along the Sunshine Coast on Georgia Strait. Therefore, I was surprised to see a large boom off Clover Point during a recent visit to Victoria. Judging by the crowd that was gathered to see the tugboat maneuver the boom along the shore, it is indeed a rare sight these days.

Prior to the late 1980s, log booms entering Sooke Harbour destined for the old mill on Goodridge Island could be seen frequently.

Log booms at Sooke Forest Products mill, Goodridge Island, in the 1970's
Photo: Sooke News Mirror

The decades after WWII were boom years for logging on southern Vancouver Island as the industry creamed out on the best trees that will ever grow here. The Sooke Forest Products mill cut Douglas-fir into railway ties destined for the UK, and milled Douglas-fir and Hemlock into lumber for industrial and home construction. In the 1970s the mill began to process only Western red-cedar, the wonder wood of the west coast.

The Sooke Forest Products mill closed its doors for good at the end of the 1980s, which signaled the end of the logging era in the small coastal town.

As the most lucrative old growth becomes increasingly rare, logging is in decline. You are more likely to see a bulk whole log carrier shipping second and third growth trees overseas, than tugs towing booms along the salt water highway. 

Urban Big Trees: Sooke Giant Douglas-firs

Big Douglas-fir veterans behind new development on Phillips Road, Sooke, BC

At one time the traditional lands of the T'Sou-ke Nation grew some of the largest trees in the world. That all changed when Vancouver Island was first opened to settlement by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1849. Walter Grant became the first settler when he bought 200 acres of land on the current site of the town of Sooke.

Grant must have been pleased with the trees on his new property. It would have been a sight unparalleled anywhere in the world - 300-400 foot Douglas-fir ancients approaching 1000 years old were probably fairly common in the area.

New houses  - old trees

One of the first buildings that Grant built was a sawmill. It was a move that signaled the beginning of the end for the primal forest on T'Sou-ke lands, and over most of Vancouver Island.

Amazingly, some of the ancient giants still stand in the ex-logging town of Sooke. After 163 years of near-total transformation, the remaining big tree survivors face a different threat today - booming residential development, and a lack of a tree protection bylaw.

Other municipalities in the region have given a nod to the historical importance of trees by instituting bylaws to protect heritage trees, and other trees of significance. The largest two trees shown in the photos above would most certainly be covered by such legislation.