Mystery Tree

There are many fantastical things in an old forest. As evidence of this, a Vancouver Island Big Trees blog reader sent two photographs showing trees in the Victoria area. 

Their branching pattern looks more like calligraphy than anything. They dance and swing in a celebration of the temperate rainforest, one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet. But who are the dancers? 

"What kind of trees are these?" the reader asked. 

T

I have a species in mind, but am wondering what readers think. What kind of tree in the coastal forest has such a bold branching pattern? Can you solve this mystery?

You can record your educated guess in the comment section below. Or just enjoy these beautiful photos of the magical calligraphy of old, undisturbed forests. What a joy to see their dance, and hear their story.

Note: If I remember correctly, these trees were photographed in Francis King Regional Park.

Tree Art on Summer Solstice

"Summer Solstice" by Amy Giacomelli.

In this post I wanted to pay homage to beautiful tree art and the Summer Solstice, and Amy Giacomelli's far out tree painting does the trick. I am a sucker for the sacred spiral - it reminds me of tree rings.

What a glorious time of year this is in the northern hemisphere. The sun is at its zenith in the north and the days are long and warm. Deciduous trees are all leafed out, and the conifers are also growing rapidly.

Now is a great time to see the coastal forest in all its splendour, and perhaps do some en plein air painting while you are there. 

Like Amy's art, our original forests are magical. Whether you are painting or not, getting out in the open air and seeing the big trees is guaranteed to please the soul.

Happy summer. Hoping you have many great forest adventures this season.

Old Growth Trees Provide Valuable Habitat

 Pileated woodpeckers have excavated the thick bark of this old growth Douglas fir

Intact large tracts of old growth trees and forests provide irreplaceable habitat for a wide variety of living things. Many can not thrive in any other habitat, so when the trees go, so does a large part of the forest community.

The Pileated woodpecker is one of the largest
woodpeckers, and can be found in
the coastal temperate rainforest

Old Douglas fir like the one shown above can have bark up to 30 or 40 cm thick. This bark is deeply furrowed and provides habitat for feeding, nesting, and roosting animals.


Woodpeckers, like the largest species in the world, the Pileated, access insects in this cork-like bark.

Some bats roost under slabs of bark

Large slabs of bark can also harbour sleeping bats.


Bats have few predators, and human activity causes them the most harm. Some “tree bats”, such as Keen’s Long-eared Myotis, are dependant on old growth forest for roosting.


These bats, like so many other old growth residents, are endangered due to habitat loss.

Baby Spotted Owl at the nest in an old growth tree

Spotted owls also depend on large old trees for their habitat. It is estimated that there only 12 Spotted owls left in the wild in all of British Columbia.


The province has started the world's first captive breeding program for the owls, but with no habitat to return the birds to, the Spotted owl's continued survival outside of zoos is unlikely.





We don't know what is at risk when we destroy the primal forest for these forests have never been extensively studied. 

If we did a serious survey of old growth logging we would see that we are losing much more than we are gaining when we cut primal forests. When the big old trees go, so does the entire forest community, in what can only be called ecocide. 

A ransacked community means reduced biodiversity which means a less robust, less productive environment. 

We need an immediate end to industrial clear cut logging in our primal forests not just in BC, but globally. The slugs, and birds, and bats, and insects are depending on us, as are the trees.

Our own survival may depend on the outcome of the fight for maintaining ecological integrity.

No Respect For BC's Big Trees

2 homeowners hired an arborist to illegally cut or damage 35 trees
in Capilano River Park to 'improve' the view from the homes

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in their way."

BC's big trees, despite attracting thousands of tourists every year, have a hard time getting respect from some of the people who live under them. Tragically, our government still allows the logging of the last of the big original trees out in what is remaining of our wilderness, while in our cities homeowners are illegally removing park trees to "improve the view".

A tree-cutting incident in a North Vancouver park made the news recently and highlights the attitude that many have in this province. Poet William Blake summed it up long ago when he said, "The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in their way."

Standing in the way of two homeowners living on properties bordering Capilano River Regional Park were 35 trees (in the park) up to 145 years old. The homeowners, in an attempt to improve the view and increase the value of their properties, allegedly found an unscrupulous arborist in the neighbourhood that was willing to take money to remove or damage the park trees.

All three are facing charges of mischief over $5000 dollars, and will have to pay for remediation.

Capilano River Regional Park on Vancouver's North Shore contains old growth forest
that has been surrounded by residential properties

As far as I am concerned, the homeowners reduced the value of their properties. I would be willing to pay extra for the privilege of living in a place with such incredible forest in the back yard. How could you possibly enhance that view?

Whatever they gained in view they lost in slope stability in the area below homes where the trees in question were  hacked down or severely trimmed. Maybe the houses will be at risk in the future when the slope fails, or when the hole in the forest canopy causes a blowdown event and trees begin to topple. Experts also say the illegal work increased the risk of fire.

Why would you spend $2 million dollars to live in forested North Vancouver if you don't like trees?

As audacious as this sounds, it is unfortunately not an isolated event in the old growth forest of Capilano River Park, which is surrounded by urban development. Last year another tree cutting incident in the park was dubbed the "North Vancouver Tree Massacre" by one news outlet. Again, 'improving' the view was the motive.



View Homeowners Illegally Cut Trees To Improve The View in a larger map


A little respect would go a long way when it comes to BC's old growth trees and public spaces.

Royal Roads Old Growth Forest - Metchosin Road Entrance

A wide path runs through Royal Roads forest parallel to Metchosin Road

If you are in the Victoria area and feel like immersing yourself in an old growth forest, but don't want a long drive, the 565 acre forest on the Royal Roads University grounds in Colwood is a good option. This urban forest contains 250 year old trees some of which are the largest in the area.

Development one side of road, ancient forest on the other

Hatley Forest, as it is also referred to, contains trees listed in the Big Tree Registry of British Columbia.
The province's 10th largest Douglas-fir can be accessed via the 15 kilometers of trails that wind through this rare patch of intact dry coastal Douglas-fir habitat.

There are many trails through the trees

The "Magna Carta" tree, as some call it, measures 8.55 m (28 ft) in circumference and 73.5 m (241 ft) in height.

Wrapping around Royal Road's Magna Carta Tree, the largest on the property
and one of the largest in BC

Also to be found here is the province's 5th largest Grand fir, which measures 4.6 m (15.1 ft) in circumference and 64.6 m (212 ft) in height.

Stump of a 60 meter plus Douglas-fir cut in the park.
Bark is fire resistant and 20 - 30 cm thick

"Nearly every type of old-growth Douglas-fir forest on British Columbia's dry coastal plain is now rare or endangered." 

- British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks

"One study estimated that only one-half of one percent (about 1100 hectare) of the low coastal plain is covered by relatively undisturbed old forests. This is far below what scientists consider to be he minimum area required for the continued survival of these forest types." 

- British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks publication 

- "Coastal Douglas-fir Ecosystems"

Trunk of an ancient, fire-scarred Douglas-fir

The federal government bought this property in 1940 from the Dunsmuir estate. It is now Canada's largest historical site.

It is also one of the largest old growth forests remaining in the dry coastal Douglas-fir ecozone. All just a few minutes from downtown Victoria.

View Royal Roads Old Growth Forest - Metchosin Road Entrance in a larger map

Healthy Trees - Healthy Humans

Connect with nature - your health depends on it

When I say that if I weren't around trees I would die, you may think I am exaggerating. But am I? A growing line of research is revealing the importance of trees to human health.

It is vital for us to remain connected to healthy natural areas, like our old growth forests. Our own health depends on it.

In an article called When Trees Die, People Die Lindsay Abrams writes about "the entanglement of our health with that of nature."

"Roger Ulrich demonstrated the power of having a connection with nature, however tenuous, in his classic 1984 study with patients recovering from gall bladder removal surgery in a suburban Pennsylvania hospital. 

He manipulated the view from the convalescents' windows so that half were able to gaze at nature while the others saw only a brick wall. Those with trees outside their window recovered faster, and requested fewer pain medications, than those with a "built" view. They even had slightly fewer surgical complications. 

Environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan attributed nature's apparent restorative ability to something they termed "soft fascination": Natural scenes, they theorized, are almost effortlessly able to capture people's attention and lull them into a sort of hypnotic state where negative thoughts and emotions are overtaken by a positive sense of well-being. 

Indeed, an analysis of numerous studies in BMC Public Health found evidence for natural environments having "direct and positive impacts on well-being," in the form of reduced anger and sadness."

Healthy, happy trees means healthy, happy humans.

Take a walk in the forest today, and get connected.

Services Provided By Intact Old Growth Forests

We convert high quality old growth forests into low quality, over-sized houses

It is true that different people see the same tree in quite different ways.

The logging industry views old growth trees as a cheap source of valuable timber that will maximize their profits. From a business point of view it would be best to log 100% of old growth, then when the low cost, high grade timber is gone, move on to younger forests.

While investors and the BC government may prefer this view, it is one that fails in all other regards. What about those that see the forest as pristine nature to be protected for all time? What about all the creatures that see the forest as home?

Never calculated in the decision whether to cut or not cut our degraded primal forests, are the valuable services provided by healthy, intact trees and forests. The price of the trees from a clear cut can be accurately calculated, but what price tag do we put on the services provided by leaving the old growth standing?

We know the price of the trees, but know very little about their value.

Services Provided By Intact Old Growth Forests

William J. Reed, 1992

"The value of standing old-growth forest comprises many components. Old-growth forest can provide positive amenity services such as one or more of the following:

1. a locus for recreational and tourism activities
2. a habitat for wildlife
3. a generator of oxygen
4. an environmental sink for carbon
5. a regulator of water flow
6. a repository of genetic diversity
7. a regulator of local and even possibly global climate

In addition many people are coming to recognize that old-growth has an intrinsic existence value (apart from the 'use' values listed above), simply because it is a part of a vanishing pristine Nature. Like diamonds or any other economic good it has value simply because it is simultaneously wanted and scarce."

Because of our massive miscalculation of the value of protected primal forests, we end up liquidating a high value resource that could continue delivering services we need, in a self-sustaining manner for centuries. 

We trade these irreplaceable services for low value products like cheap homes unlikely to last longer than a few decades.

If we continue on our present path we will fail to appreciate the true value of old growth until it is gone.  The price we will pay is too high.

Everyone will suffer, including the logging industry, governments, and investors. 

Vandalizing Old Growth Forests

It is sad that those who would drive old growth forests to extinction for personal profit are lauded as leaders, while those who fight to protect the trees (with no personal gain), are derided as 'eco-terrorists'.

Really? Are we insane? This is vandalism on a grand scale.

The profit-terrorists are the ones of which we should be wary.

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.

Cortes Island Ancient Forest Defenders Force Island Timberlands To Table

"Cutting these ancient, threatened Douglas-fir is like shooting a black rino."

Cortes Island ancient forest defenders, led by the community alliance Wildstands, have successfully forced Island Timberlands back to the table in the ongoing struggle to protect the island's last remaining old growth forests.

The original Coastal Douglas-fir forest ecozone, small to begin with, has withstood 100 years of industrial exploitation to the point that only 1% remains. A small part of that 1% resides on beautiful Cortes Island.

The government of BC refuses to meaningfully protect this dwindling resource, and in some cases encourages its destruction through investments in the corporations that are slaughtering the last big trees. Responsibility for protection inevitably falls on the caring shoulders of regular folks in the communities being degraded by continued old growth liquidation.

The people gathered together on Cortes as human shields protecting the last veteran trees (250-500 years old) are often those most affected by the degraded conditions left in the wake of industrial clear cut logging.

Zoe Miles, a member of Wildstands, says, “For more than four years, community members have attempted to work with the company to develop an ecosystem-based approach to forestry.  As road-building equipment moves in, the community is now left with no choice but to stand in its path to defend these ecologically significant forests.”

The group aims to "protect the ancient bio-diversity of Cortes Island, and serves as a forum for discussion of the protection, legislation and conservation of this fragile eco-system".

Wildstands blockaded logging equipment in recent days rather than submit its old-growth temperate rainforest to unsustainable logging practices by Island Timberlands, the second largest private timberlands holding in British Columbia.

The first stage of the blockade has been successful, and IT has agreed not to ask for an injunction against the group for at least one week.

Send Island Timberlands an email if you support old growth protection on Cortes Island. Click here.

Our government should know of your wishes as well. Click here.

"People are here because they want to make it known that the industrial forestry model doesn’t work for local communities and it doesn’t work for the province. Island Timberlands will destroy ecologically sensitive ecosystems and leave nothing beneficial in its wake. We will be left with devastated ecosystems, a contaminated water supply and no long term jobs. All the benefit is going to people who live far away and who aren’t aware of the cost of their profits to our community and our province."  - Leah Seltzer

Devonian Park Ancient Douglas-fir

A gentle trail leads to this fine specimen in Devonian Regional Park, Metchosin

Devonian Regional Park in Metchosin contains one tree in particular that makes me think of the primordial forest. Standing next to its wrinkly girth my mind is spring-boarded into the past.

During the Devonian period (417-354 million years ago), the North American and European land masses were situated at the equator. It is fitting that during the 'age of fish' that these land areas were mostly covered in a shallow sea.

However, by the end of the Devonian, the land was populated by ferns, horsetails, and the first seed plants appeared which produced the first trees and forests. In 2005 the world's oldest known tree species was identified as Wattieza. 

Gilboa, New York has the distinction of having fossils that represent the world's earliest forest. It was the "Devonian Explosion" and trees began to dominate the landscape.

The trail continues to a cobble beach on Parry Bay

Devonian Regional Park is a nature sanctuary situated in an area that eventually became covered in one of the planet's greatest forests.

While the tree featured in this post may 'only' be 500 - 800 years old, it is a link to the beginning of the Pacific Coastal Forest which started 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

Looking even further back, the forest in Devonian Park is the result of millions of years of evolution linking it to the Devonian Period and the initial colonization of the land by plants.

Visit and feel millions of years of nature's tinkering evidenced in every fern, horsetail, seed plant, and tree. 

Who's Really Poaching B.C.'s Old Growth?

Stump of ancient red cedar hauled away by poachers, Torrance Coste photo

With southern Vancouver Island's near total loss of unlogged watersheds and low elevation forests, we have to look at who is taking the last of the big trees. Since 1853, about 90 percent of the low elevation ancient forests, where the largest trees and greatest biodiversity can be found, have been logged.

In the above photo, Torrance Coste, of the Wilderness Committee, revisits the site of the recent tree poaching in Carmanah/Walbran Park.

Illegal poaching of Vancouver Island's trees is not unknown, or surprising, considering that an increasingly rare large Western red cedar can yield thousands of dollars worth of shakes, shingles, and other products.

In the Carmanah incident, an 800 year old cedar was cut through by poachers, but left standing. Parks officials had to knock the tree down as it was an obvious hazard to visitors. The thieves returned later to haul away the carcass. They have not yet been caught and held responsible for their crime.

Massive, 1000 year old red cedar 'legally' cut by government sanctioned loggers

Some would say that the ongoing elimination of the island's old growth forests by government-sanctioned logging interests is a crime. With most of these trees, among the largest and oldest on the planet, long gone, it boggles the mind as to how we can justify continuing the slaughter.

The massive red cedar stump above was photographed by TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance. It was freshly cut in the Klanawa Valley (northwest of Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island) in June 2011. It may have been legal, but I don't think it is moral.

The Klanawa Valley is not far from Pacific Rim National Park, and the location of the Cheewhat Cedar, Canada's largest tree.

Paul George visiting old growth logging bordering Cathedral Grove Park in 2000

Paul George is the founder of the Wilderness Committee. He is also the author of the 2005 book Big Trees, Not Big Stumps. The photo above shows George visiting the location of forest giant Weyerhaeuser's ancient forest destruction next to world famous Cathedral Grove in 2000.

While the legalities may differ between 'poaching' and 'logging' the old growth, the results are identical. One is illegal, the other legal, but both are wrong.

Destroying Vancouver Island's last stands of old growth trees is a crime any way you look at it.

Big Trees, Big Roots

Giant roots holding an old growth Douglas-fir as it slumps
 into the sea on Billings Spit, Sooke Harbour

The misty coastal forest is the place to see monumental trees. As awesome as these giants are, we are only seeing 3/4 of the total tree, and even less of the total forest life. There is a lot going on under our feet as our gaze is lifted skyward.


Roots can compose 25% or more of the total biomass of a tree. Scientists have found that up to 66% of a Douglas-fir forest's total biomass is out of sight underground.

Trees on Port Renfrew beach showing root remnants

A sapling can have several feet of roots, so it is not surprising that an ancient tree can have hundreds of kilometers of them. An old growth tree 150 meters (300 ft) tall and and 5 meters (15 ft) wide, needs an extensive root system to support the trunk and canopy.

Early settlers on Vancouver Island used bonfires and dynamite to extract the massive stumps and roots when clearing the big trees of the primal forest.

"Well into the 20th century 'stumping powder' (low-grade dynamite) was used to blow a stump apart, so that the fragments could be removed more easily. Someone wishing to remove a stump tunneled under it, inserted enough powder to break it apart (preferably without damaging the arable soil), lit a fuse and got out of the way. If the detonation didn't come, it was best to avoid the area for a day or so, as many a stump-wrangler lost life or limb to a belated blast."  - source

This Western red cedar's roots look a lot like octopus tentacles

Roots anchor the tree, provide uptake of nutrients and water for growth, store food reserves, and produce organic materials required for tree growth. Roots also interact with beneficial fungi, and with other trees.

Tree roots exposed by the flowing waters of Sooke River

Douglas-fir roots readily fuse together, blending the lines between individual trees (and species of trees) and the forest as one large organism. This crossover of roots can keep the stump of a cut Douglas-fir alive long enough to grow a layer of bark over the cut.

Roots are fragile structures that can't handle rough treatment. Soil compaction restricts water and oxygen uptake, and can be caused by heavy foot traffic over the tree's root zone. It is best to avoid, if possible, walking or driving over a tree's roots.

Small protective fence surrounding the Harris Creek Spruce, Port Renfrew

It is because of potential soil compaction and root damage that you will find fences and boardwalks around some of Vancouver Island's most visited big trees. The Harris Creek Spruce has a small protective fence around its ample base, but a raised boardwalk would be ideal.

Heaven Tree boardwalk, Carmanah/Walbran Park

Heaven Tree, in Carmanah/Walbran Park, has boardwalks built over the tree's roots and around the tree's circumference. Such measures prevent soil compaction over the root zone, and helps protect these trees from being loved to death.

Next time you are out in the forest, pause to consider all the activity that is occurring under your feet. Notice the places roots make their presence known, such as along hiking trails through the forest, and in areas that have been eroded, leaving roots exposed.

The 'feet' of the giants can be as fascinating as their more glamorous and obvious parts.

Mapping BC's Big Tree Registry

View Original Map by Craig Williams

Red Creek Fir, Port Renfrew

As big tree tourism gains momentum in British Columbia's forests, people increasingly want to know "where are the biggest, tallest, oldest trees?"

The map above, compiled by Craig Williams, shows the locations of many trees on British Columbia's Big Tree Registry, as well as other notable trees.

One of the trees on the map is the Red Creek Fir near Port Renfrew, Vancouver Island. This monument to the primal forest of old is the largest Douglas-fir in the world. It has an estimated wood volume of 349 cubic meters.

BC's registry of big trees has the ambitious task of recording the top 10 largest and tallest known trees of each of the province's 50 plus native species.

But listed trees are only the known champions. It is probable that larger trees exist in nooks and crannies of little visited, remote locations in the BC wilderness, or possibly even in your own urban neighbourhood or park area.

BC's tree registry depends on the public to find and nominate trees for inclusion in the list of notable specimens.  Although you will see the names of professional tree hunters like Robert Van Pelt on BC's registry, most trees have been nominated by interested amateurs.

Sooke's old school tree hunter, Maywell Whickheim, had the distinction of adding Canada's largest tree, the Cheewhat Cedar, to the registry. He has hinted that an even larger Western red-cedar exists somewhere in the green, dripping, rain forest of southern Vancouver Island.

He is not saying where the tree is, leaving that to present and future big tree hunters looking for a record-breaker.

It is hard to imagine a cedar larger than the mighty Cheewhat tree (which can be found in a remote part of Pacific Rim National Park, east of Cheewhat Lake).

Cheewhat Cedar, Pacific Rim Nat. Park, largest Western red cedar in BC
Largest tree in Canada

This champion is a girthy 18.34 m (60 ft) in circumference, 55.5 m (182 ft) in height, with a crown spread of 15.60 m (51 ft), 917 American Forestry Association points, and a wood volume of 449 sq m.

You can zoom in on the Cheewhat Cedar, and other champions from the BC Big Tree Registry, on the map above. Click on the tree icons for more information on type of tree, its location, and more.

You can also click on the link under the map to visit the original that has additional handy features. Our 'Visit Them' page also has more information on the locations of some of Vancouver Island's champion trees.

The Carmanah Giant is BC's tallest Sitka spruce, 95 m (313 ft) tall
Carmanah/Walbran Provincial Park

You may even develop an interest in becoming a big tree hunter yourself, and adding some champions to the provincial registry. That is what Randy Stoltmann did, and he ended up saving a bunch of them, too, like the amazing Sitka spruce of Carmanah/Walbran Provincial Park. Many of BC's champion trees, like Port Renfrew's Red Creek Fir, still have no official protected status.

Randy's name appears in the Big Tree Registry more times than any other, the result of a short (he died in a wilderness accident in 1994), but serious period of exploration in BC's exceptional forests.

Nominations to the registry are always welcome, and can be submitted on the UBC Forestry website.

BC Government Considering Logging Parks/Protected Areas

Big trees, not big stumps!
Sitka spruce on Haida Gwaii,
caro-on-the-islands.blogspot.com

Just as the public is discovering the beauty and importance of old growth trees and forests, the provincial Liberal government is proposing we cut them down for short term gain.

A leaked plan has emerged which advises the province look at logging old growth forests in parks, protected areas, old growth management areas, and wildlife corridors in the pine beetle-ravaged interior of the province. Due to the infestation, current wood sources are running out.

The hope is to save approximately 12,000 jobs by keeping mills open with trees from previously protected areas.

Timber panel eyes logging protected areas

WENDY STUECK

VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail

"A committee looking for ways to boost B.C.’s dwindling store of timber is looking at logging protected areas such as old-growth forests as one way out of a supply crunch. 

The options, included in a June 11 discussion paper of the government-appointed Special Committee on Timber Supply, come in advance of community open houses scheduled for June and July and provide more detail on plans that came to light in April, when leaked documents revealed the government was looking for ways to bolster timber supply."

Read more here.

Forest Creatures: Pileated Woodpecker

photo: allaboutbirds.org

Yesterday I was cycling through a nice stretch of trees on the Galloping Goose trail up the Sooke River when I noticed a couple of striking creatures. 

Clinging to the bark of a large diameter tree were two pileated woodpeckers, the largest woodpeckers in North America.

A little larger than a crow, these flame-capped birds are year round residents in mature forests. I watched the two as they flew from tree trunk to tree trunk, poking into the furrowed bark. I could hear the wind through their ample wings as they flapped from tree to tree.

What a thrill to see these birds here, poking around the spectacular linear park that is the Galloping Goose Trail. This narrow corridor preserves some nice larger, older trees of the type that the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) requires for nesting. In younger forests, it will use any large trees remaining from before the forest was cut.

Pileated woodpecker range

The largest woodpecker in the world was the Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico. The largest woodpecker in North America was  the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (although since 2004 there have been potential and encouraging sightings).

Both were driven toward extinction due mostly to habitat destruction - the loss of the old growth forests they relied on.

Pileated Woodpeckers require the complexities of a multi-storied canopy, large stumps and rotting fallen trees. Their nests have been found in a variety of trees including ponderosa pine, larch, hemlock, western red cedar, alder, and maple trees, amongst others.

Crucial to their survival is the structure of the forest that develops as it 'becomes' old growth (>250 years old). It makes these areas ideal nesting and foraging sites, with plenty of food found in the dense, damp understory. Clear cuts and newer forests do not provide the habitat these amazing birds require.

Old Pileated nests are used by many other creatures

I ended my bird sighting with one of the woodpeckers peeking out at me as I sat on my bicycle, stopped on the trail. The large, inquisitive bird was peering out from behind yet another tree trunk.

All of a sudden its red crested head would appear, then bob up and down in what looked like a display directed toward the bright red coat I was wearing.

Maybe I looked like a giant woodpecker, an interloper that would only be tolerated in this bird's territory during winter. Now that it is spring, I would be considered a threat to be actively driven off.

Smiling at the Woody Woodpecker routine, I rode on allowing the bird to forget about potential competition, and resume its hunt for juicy ants and beetle larvae living under the bark of the big trees.

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.

Natural Capital: Save A Forest, Fight Climate Change, Get Paid

"Canadians are coming to understand that the national environmental agenda can no longer be separated from the national economic agenda. Sustainable development, therefore, demands that we integrate social, economic and environmental considerations into decision-making in a way that enhances productivity and prosperity without compromising the integrity of the environment." - Natural Resources Canada

Intact, pristine, natural systems contribute over $33 trillion dollars of 'value' to our economy every year, as calculated in 1997. Traditional economics does not take these contributions into account, even though all life (and the economy) depends on them. The current biodiversity crisis, rapid deforestation, and global climate change is beginning to change that.

'Natural capital' is increasingly being acknowledged and  taken into account, and conservation, restoration, and sustainability are concepts that we are likely to hear a lot more about in the near future. This bodes well for all our forest lands including the precious, and dwindling, old growth.

Forests are one of the Earth's great atmospheric regulators, and they store more carbon than any other biome on the planet. In most cases our forests, especially pristine, untouched areas, are more valuable standing than cut for lumber or other uses.

Forest carbon projects recognize the value of the carbon-storage capacity of forests, and pay out credits to keep trees growing and sequestering to help mitigate industrial greenhouse gases.

The largest  to date in North America, and the first deal of its kind in Canada, was launched recently in Vancouver, BC. The Nature Conservancy Of Canada (NCC) signed a deal that saw them receive carbon credits worth $4 million dollars that mitigates 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

A forest is worth far more standing than it is when cut down to make stuff

The NCC is receiving the cash for its 55,000-hectare piece of land known as Darkwoods. The area, which has extensive virgin forest including trees over 500 years old, is on Kootenay Lake near Nelson, BC. The deal represents the beginning of a process that promises great benefits for the environment, biodiversity, trees, and forests.

The concept of natural capital is just beginning to take off, and there will be bumps in the road as it progresses. One complaint is that it is difficult to measure the value of nature's systems without some agreement on methods of valuating and auditing at least the global forms of natural capital (e.g. value of air, water, soil). We have not yet arrived at such agreement.

But we are moving in the right direction as we change how we think about, and value, nature. It may very well save what is left of our once vast forests, and reclaim and restore degraded forest lands so they may thrive again.

More Big Tree Art

Drawing of California Redwood

"Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does." - George Bernard Shaw