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

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!!

Tall Tree Music Festival

If you like music, big trees, and the great outdoors on Vancouver Island, consider checking out the Tall Tree Music Festival taking place June 28 - 30 on Browns Mountain near Port Renfrew.

Mike Hann, the festival's director, says that this year is fourth year of the event. He also points out that they support the important work of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) as much as they can. The AFA has done awesome work in the region to preserve and promote local big trees.

You can see video of the stunning festival location, which is perched overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the setting sun.

Browns Mountain, site of the Tall Tree Music Festival

Music, trees, views, good people, supporting the AFA, and the great outdoors in summer. What's not to like?

If you go, take some time to see the Red Creek Fir (largest Douglas-fir in the world), or Avatar Grove (including Canada's gnarliest tree, a unique Western red cedar), or the San Juan Bridge Spruce (Canada's largest Sitka spruce) which are all within a few minutes of Port Renfrew.

Province Saves Trees, But Loses The Forest

Avatar Grove ancient trees placed in expanded Old Growth Management Area by province

Port Renfrew's Avatar Grove has been saved - for now, sort of. The rare old growth forest will be included in an expanded Old Growth Management Area (OGMA), which means no logging or mining. However, it is one step short of the legislated protection of full park designation.

Surrey-based Teal-Jones Group, which had surveyed and taped the Avatar trees for destruction when Ancient Forest Alliance members discovered them two years ago, will be compensated with an equal area of... what? That's right - old growth trees. And where will they come from? A different OGMA. Net savings of old growth - zero.

At the same time as Forests Minister Steve Thomson was announcing the quasi-protection of this rare group of trees including some over 1000 years old, the provincial Auditor General was slamming the province for losing their grip on the province's forestry resources.

Ancient mossy cedar in Avatar Grove

John Doyle's report titled An Audit of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ Management of Timber, revealed that things are not as rosy in timberland as the government would like you to think.

While the province may have saved the Avatar Grove trees, they have lost control of the province's forests.

“The audit concludes the B.C. government failed to properly monitor and maintain B.C.’s timber supply and hasn’t properly replanted the forests.

The report concludes the provincial government failed to halt the drop in timber supply and the loss of species diversity.

Doyle says the government has done very limited replanting, even though many areas of B.C.’s forests have been damaged by wildfires and pine beetles.

He concludes that the government has a small window of time in which to turn the province’s forestry future around.” - CBC

Our forests, globally, are being decimated for immediate profit with absolutely no regard for future generations and their needs, and BC is a prime exploiter. What Doyle's audit means is that pine beetle-damaged areas and clear cuts are likely to remain Not Satisfactorily Restocked. We are in danger of 'running out' of healthy, functioning forests.

There is no long term plan for BC's spectacular ancient forests, except to exploit them to extinction, then hope for the best. We need to make immediate changes toward ecosystem-based, sustainable forestry that balances the needs of people with the needs of the forest and its glorious biodiversity.

Avatar forest with old growth Western red-cedar, Grand Fir, and Douglas-fir

Tell the government you do not want them to squander BC's ecological wonders - its mighty forests. Tell them you want, "Forests For The Future!"

Beachcombing Big Trees

Drift wood on Sooke's Ella Beach

The beaches of Vancouver Island are fantastic places to see big trees, both those growing on the shore, and the ones washed up on the sand and rocks. Exposed beaches on the outer west coast end up as drift log cemeteries, covered in huge tangled piles of sun-bleached carcasses of rainforest giants.

Van Gogh's Starry Night in driftwood

Throughout the wild and windy coastal winters rain-heavy winds lash the coastline. Huge swells and waves throw ocean borne forest debris up onto beaches everywhere in a swirly maelstrom.





Large drift logs and whole trees may stay a few days, weeks, months or years, depending on the size of the debris and weather conditions. If they stay long enough it will bleach and dry in periods of dry, hot summer weather.

More Ella Beach driftwood showing a tangle of roots

Swollen rivers in winter disgorge large amounts of forest debris that falls into the water from above, or is actively eroded out by the high, raging waters. Huge rainfalls see many of Vancouver Island's rivers transporting big tree debris to the ocean, destined for a beach and final resting place.

Fallen branches on pocket beach, Sooke Basin

Most beaches on the south island will have collected some drift wood. It certainly adds interest to a walk on the beach.











Back when Vancouver Island logging was in its heyday, rafts of huge logs were transported to saw mills on the mainland, up the Fraser River. Over the decades thousands of logs were lost to storms. These logs eventually found their way to local beaches.


This source of driftwood ended with the building of mills on the island, downturns in the economy, whole-log shipments, and the eventual depletion of the Dry Coastal Douglas-fir forest. However, many of the logs that got loose during the period of intense tree harvesting still lay on the hundreds of kilometers of beaches of Vancouver Island's coastline.

The beach at Port Renfrew has collected piles of big tree debris

Beaches open to the full brunt of the Pacific Ocean tend to gather more forest debris. The beach at Port Renfrew shows this nicely. During the winter it gathers massive drift logs for as far as the eye can see. Not only that - the beach is also often littered with much smaller wood debris, small chips of wood sanded smooth by the wave action.

Whole tree, roots and all on the sand, Port Renfrew

This stump on Billings Spit has lay here for many years

Beaches often yield great wood remnants. Often showing the results of chainsaws, naturals also end up here.



And the great thing is you never know what you will find. Each day can bring new treasures, as the beach is built anew every day by the wind and waves.

World's Largest Douglas-fir - The Renfrew Red Creek Fir

Height: 73.8m (242'), Circumference: 13.3m (43.7'), Diameter: 4.2m (14')

The Ancient Forest Alliance recently released this video of Port Renfrew's amazing Red Creek Fir. It is truly a colossus, the biggest of the big.

The AFA website states that "the tree and a small surrounding stand of trees currently receive 'soft' protection through an Old-Growth Management Area, but legislated 'hard' protection is needed in the form of a conservancy, park, or ecological reserve that also encompasses a much larger buffer area."

To see a giant old growth tree that was common here in pre-European times, visit the big tree capital of southern Vancouver Island, Port Renfrew. The Red Creek Fir, which can be found along logging roads 45 minutes from town, is one of the last of its kind. In the area, there are several old, large Western red-cedar worth seeing, too.

The access route to the Red Creek Fir is not recommended for low-clearance vehicles. It is rough and slow even for four wheel drives. Drive cautiously on active logging roads, always giving the right of way to logging vehicles.


When you get home, visit the AFA's website and sign their petition.

Getting There

You can find more information on getting to the Red Creek Fir here.

Big Tree Enthusiasts Be Careful - It's Wild Out There

20 meter high Gordon River bridge over 5 meter deep water near Port Renfrew
Photo: Victoria Times Colonist

Although Victoria and south Vancouver Island have many urban tree treats, my favourite places to go are in the wilderness that occupies the rest of the land. The coastal temperate rain forest is renowned the world over for its wilderness. It can be dangerous out there as three men found out last week.

The men were driving near Port Renfrew approaching the 20 meter high bridge over the Gordon River. This is a beautiful spot where the river runs through a narrow, steep sided canyon. The greenish-blue water is deep and cold. The narrow bridge hanging over the canyon has low timbers acting more as curbs than guardrails, and I am always happy when my vehicle makes it to the other side. The three campers were not so lucky.

Car in 5 meters of cold water
Photo: Victoria Times Colonist

While it was cold and snowy at the time of the incident, the back country here is dangerous at the best of times. The men's car slipped on the ice as they approached the bridge heading north east toward Avatar grove and Duncan. It broke through the timber curb back end first and plunged to the water below.

Luckily the men escaped with minor injuries, but then had to scale the steep sides of the canyon to get back to the road. After a few hours of scrambling in the dark they made it to the top. Once there they had a 4km walk to the nearest help. There was no cell phone reception.

It is wild out here. Rough logging roads, narrow bridges over steep walled canyons, heavy rains, giant logging trucks, and general industrial activity make this a place to be aware of danger at all times. Trees and forests can be dangerous, especially during high winds. Large branches and whole trees can become hazards during a big tree outing.

Tips For Safe Back Country Big Tree Exploration

• always yield to logging trucks and other industrial vehicles, park well to the side of the road, listen for oncoming trucks before proceeding
• leave no trace of your visit - pack out what you pack in
• check with the proper authorities for weather conditions, road closures, and times that travel is allowed
• let someone back at home know where you are going, and when you will return
• take an emergency kit with food, water, and cold/wet weather gear, tire pump, patch kit
• wear sturdy footwear, hike slow, watch for wildlife, and natural hazards
• check your gas, and spare tire, travel in a well-maintained vehicle

Vancouver Island has one of the highest concentrations of black bears and cougars in the world. You could run into either one even on an urban big tree tour. A cougar was recently spotted in Esquimalt, and officials were warning all small children and small pets to be on the lookout.


Be Careful - it's wild out there.

BC Government Considers Protecting Avatar Grove's Ancient Trees

Avatar Grove is just past the bridge, both sides of the road

I can't think of any group currently doing more for old growth protection in BC than the Ancient Forest Alliance. For over a year now the AFA has been fighting the good fight for Port Renfrew's Avatar Grove. It is time to join them, and help protect the amazing Avatar Grove.

The people of the Middle East are currently showing us the power of the people. They are showing us that we can do this thing. Governments must respect the will of the people. But they have to know what our will is. We have to write letters, send emails, make phone calls, and talk to friends and neighbours.

AFA recently posted the following urgent (and optimistic) information on their website:

"Yesterday BC’s Forests Minister Pat Bell announced that he is considering protecting the endangered Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew, and is also looking at developing new legal tools to increase protection of exceptional ancient trees and old-growth stands in BC. This would be an important step forward!

Click here for the Vancouver Sun article
The Avatar Grove is a truly exceptional and easy to access stand of ancient trees which the Ancient Forest Alliance has been campaigning hard to protect for over a year – and we may get there soon if you SPEAK UP NOW!
See our new Youtube clip (1 minute) on the Avatar Grove at:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw

We need progress for saving endangered ancient forests at all spatial scales - monumental trees, whole stands (like the Avatar Grove), and landscape level old-growth protections like valleys and regions. Starting with trees and stands is certainly a welcome beginning. Let’s make this happen!!

This will take just 5 MINUTES! Your letter counts!

PLEASE WRITE to Pat Bell, Minister of Forests, Lands, and Mines at pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca

Let him know that you:

- Support him moving forward to protect the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew. Let him know if you have visited the area.
- Support the protection of monumental ancient trees and stands of ancient trees.
- Want all old-growth protections to be legally-binding, not voluntary.
- Encourage him to also undertake a much larger Provincial Old-Growth Strategy to protect endangered old-growth forests across regions where they are scarce, such as on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, southern Interior, etc. and to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry instead. 

Be sure to include your home mailing address so he knows you are a real person!

Also please SIGN our PETITION and get as many of your friends and family to as well at:
http://www.ancientforestpetition.com/index.php#sign "


The AFA adds this additional information (see more here):

Forests Minister Pat Bell’s statements comes on the heels of a new Forest Practices Board (FPB) report released on Thursday that calls on the BC government and industry to seek “creative ways” to save ancient trees, that the land-use policy framework exists for the BC government to readily protect the Avatar Grove, and that there is a “strong public interest in seeing more ancient trees and forest stands preserved to live out their natural lives and functions, and managed as a social, economic and ecological asset to the public and surrounding communities.” 

One Year Anniversary Of Discovery Of Port Renfrew's Stunning Avatar Grove

Marked tree in Upper Avatar Grove preparing for logging

 

Media Release - Ancient Forest Alliance

 

Port Renfrew, BC – To mark the one year anniversary since the discovery of the spectacular but endangered Avatar Grove (see the stunning photo gallery here: http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=6 ) the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce is repeating its request to the provincial government to protect the Grove while the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) is planning to organize monthly public hikes to the Grove until it is saved.

 

“Since the name ‘Avatar Grove’ was first uttered, we have seen tourist numbers increase and that means exposure for Port Renfrew and tourist dollars spent” states Rosie Betsworth, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. “To save our beautiful old-growth forests and to stimulate tourism in our community is a win-win for us all.”

 

The 50 hectare stand of lush old-growth temperate rainforest on public (Crown) lands near Port Renfrew has become a major attraction due to the ease of access to its giant, alien shaped redcedars - including “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree” with a massive,12ft diameter burl - and enormous Douglas firs. (For directions visit: http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/directions-avatar-grove.php ). The Grove exists just 5 minutes past the end of a paved road on relatively gentle terrain, only a 15 minute drive from Port Renfrew. This contrasts to most other old-growth stands that are found in remote areas and on steep slopes which require travel along rough logging roads for considerable distances.

 

“The BC government could immediately protect the Avatar Grove from logging through a new Land Use Order, and later, through a legislated provincial conservancy. It’s the holiday season and everyone is looking for the perfect gift. Saving the Avatar Grove would be the ‘gift that keeps on giving’ – for tourism, recreation, wildlife, and for future generations of Canadians,” says TJ Watt, the AFA campaigner who found the Avatar Grove a year ago.

 

The Avatar Grove was found in December 2009 by AFA Watt and a friend exploring scattered patches of lowland old-growth forest in the Gordon River Valley on southern Vancouver Island.

 

“Near the end of our trip we were getting quite discouraged after finding mostly clear-cuts with giant stumps and second-growth tree plantations,” reflects Watt, “but about 15 minutes before Port Renfrew some massive trees appeared alongside the road and we could see the forked tops of the old-growth redcedars. As soon as we started hiking, we spotted one giant cedar about 10 feet wide at its base, then another, and it just continued. It baffled me that such a spectacular forest is still standing so close to town, on low flat terrain, yet hasn’t been logged. Right away, I knew it had the potential to be the Cathedral Grove of Port Renfrew.”

 

 Two months later in February, 2010, Watt and Ken Wu, campaign director of the newly-formed Ancient Forest Alliance, found falling boundary and road location flagging tape throughout the Grove. “I was so eager to share the magnificence of this forest but as we entered we were shocked to find fresh spray paint on all the largest trees and flagging tape around the Grove marked ‘falling boundary’. The timing was uncanny” recalls Watt.

   

Since then, the fight to protect this eco-treasure has become Canada’s fastest growing ancient forest campaign, featured in scores of provincial and national news stories. The AFA has taken hundreds of people to the Grove, while thousands more have visited on their own.

 

 “No matter what time of year, nearly each time I visit the Avatar Grove there’s a line-up of cars. Being only a 2.5 hour drive from Victoria, literally every day people from all walks of life are visiting the Avatar Grove, including families with kids, young couples, older folks, solo hikers, nature groups, tourists, students. You name it, they’ve made a point to see the spectacular, endangered temperate rainforest that BC has to offer. Sadly, despite losing so much of these rare areas already, ongoing old-growth logging means we stand to lose much of what remains,” notes Watt.

 

The movement to save the Avatar Grove has also garnered political support at all levels. Federal, provincial and regional political representatives in the Juan de Fuca area have all joined the call for its protection, including federal Liberal MP Keith Martin, provincial NDP MLA John Horgan, and Regional Director Mike Hicks, who notes the Avatar Grove would make an excellent side visit for those traveling along the newly completed Pacific Marine Circle Route.

 

The Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce and the Sooke Regional Tourism Association have also requested that the BC government protect the Avatar Grove, recognizing the economic significance of eco-tourism in their communities.

 

Yet, despite virtually unanimous support, the BC government has not stepped up to the plate to ensure that the area is spared from logging by the Surrey-based Teal-Jones Group.

 

“The response we’ve received so far from Premier Gordon Campbell and Minister Pat Bell is that 24% of the Avatar Grove is within an Old-Growth Management Area which will not be logged, so ‘don’t worry,’” says Watt. “What they fail to mention is that virtually all of the biggest and best trees on the most accessible terrain where everyone hikes are not protected. If the Avatar Grove falls, Port Renfrew and the region won’t get another chance like this for another thousand years.”

 

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to protect our endangered old-growth forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, end the export of raw logs, and assist in the retooling and development of sawmills and value-added facilities to handle second-growth logs.

Avatar Grove - Accessible Ancient Forest Marked For Logging

Baird Creek Bridge and Avatar Grove  (see truck on right)

As I approached the Baird Creek bridge 20 minutes north of Port Renfrew on the Gordon River Main logging road, I realized I had been here before. A few years ago I stopped, took pictures, and sat on the bridge for a while. I admired the view of the canyon below, as well as the tops of huge trees and candelabra Western red-cedar poking out of the forest canopy. But unlike a recent trip, back then I didn't take a few steps off the road and enter the forest. But back then it wasn't called Avatar Grove.

Shady, moist forest floor and big trees everywhere

Take those few steps off dusty Gordon River Main and you step into a different realm. From civilization, gravel and harsh sunlight you descend into a wild, moist, lush, shady forest. A forest that grows some of the biggest trees on Earth, and contains the most biomass of any forest anywhere. This is Avatar Grove.

Members of the Ancient Rainforest Alliance (AFA) stepped off the logging road in December of 2009, and when they did they found massive old growth trees. They were looking at a forest that has survived over 100 years of industrial logging in the Port Renfrew area.

Recognizing its value as a standing forest, they named it Avatar Grove after James Cameron's movie and began to push for protection. But they found more. The AFA team also discovered that the area was surveyed and flagged for logging.

A survey blaze on a small tree in Upper Avatar Grove

I thought I had better take a look before it was gone, and mounted a fall field trip to Port Renfrew on a glorious, crisp, sunny day.

Mushroom and moss

At the grove, as soon as I was through the thick barrier of bush growing alongside the road I stepped out under a shady canopy far above. The ground was moist and spongy and my feet sunk into the thick layer of debris. Everything was covered in moss, which can hold 1000 times its own weight in moisture. Once logged such areas all but dry out in the harsh direct sunlight.




In Lower Avatar Grove the ground is sloped gently down to the Gordon River. A rough trail has been flagged out, but there are also many logging survey flags so one must exercise caution. I forged ahead, excited to finally be checking out this wonder so close to home.

After my eyes adjusted to the shade I began to see giant trees spread around the forest below. All the tell-tale signs of old growth forest are here: a variety of ages of trees from seedlings to seniors, standing dead trees (or snags), large diameter woody debris (fallen giants), and a deep layer of decaying matter on the forest floor.

Large diameter woody debris is everywhere - downed logs can take centuries to decay

The rough path leads the big tree hunter to some spectacular individual behemoths. There are some very large Douglas-fir, but the real stars here are the amply aged and weathered Western red-cedars. They are big and gnarly, and unlike any cedars I have seen. Most of the largest cedars are festooned with burls and whorls that are unique in their twisted beauty.

Ancient Western red-cedar in Lower Avatar Grove

The big Douglas-firs are dark and ominous looking, and far above the twisted and broken tree-tops poke out of the canopy and catch the last light of the day.

Big Douglas-fir in Lower Avatar Grove

I lost the trail on the way back up to the road, but there is little undergrowth and many fallen logs to walk along. It is hard to get lost here as all you need to do is point yourself uphill and hike till you hit Gordon Main, which is what I successfully did.

Giant tree broken off at the top, but still tall enough to poke above the rest

Back on the dusty gravel it seemed hard to believe that I have drove right through the middle of this old growth forest several times over the years without ever knowing what treasures lurked just a meter off the road. I ran up into the upper grove for a few brief minutes and look forward to returning at a later date for a more extensive upper grove excursion.

Lower Grove - big moss covered trees everywhere

See Avatar Grove

Leave Victoria and take Hiway 14 to Sooke, check gas gauge, then continue to Port Renfrew.
At Port Renfrew turn RIGHT onto Deering Rd. Follow Deering Rd. until the T intersection, then turn LEFT (right is toward Lake Cowichan). Follow road until the bridge over the Gordon River. Cross the bridge and stay on Gordon River Main for about 1.5 km. Right after you cross over the single lane bridge at Baird Creek, pull off to the right and park. Trail access has been marked by AFA on both sides of the road. Visit gently - be respectful. Enjoy the trees.


View Avatar Grove in a larger map

Save Avatar Grove

You would think that a bit of ancient forest on a well kept main logging road only 20 minutes from Port Renfrew would make someone in government think about preservation and tourism potential. Avatar Grove is on Crown land, so saving this valuable forest treasure would not entail purchasing land from a greedy logging/development company.

Please consider contacting elected officials to let them know preservation is the most logical thing to do with this increasingly rare piece of primeval forest, and the massive trees that thrive in it. Let them know that cutting thousand year old trees for pulp, paper, and deck lumber is greedy and unnecessary.
 

World's Largest Known Douglas Fir In Danger?

The Victoria Times Colonist reported troubling activity around the world's largest known Douglas fir, back in January. Close to the Red Creek Fir, east of Port Renfrew, were clear markings outlining a cut block. The RCF is a BC Big Tree Registry Champion.



The same article mentioned the increased logging that south west Vancouver Island has seen over the past few months, reigniting old battles over how our forest lands should be used.



After being largely abandoned by both logging companies carving out lucrative real estate divisions, and governments that promote the cutting of the depressingly tiny remains of the old growth, activity in the forest seems to be stepping up.


Red Creek Fir: http://82.94.219.20/~jpa/tall%20trees.htm




This time, though, it is without jobs in the forest or the mills.
The forestry sector in BC saw over 20 000 jobs and 60 mills disappear over the past decade. Now, thanks to whole log exports, trees are disappearing, too.



The Colonist reported again that the Red Creek Fir area was showing signs of logging preparation. The champion Douglas fir is not the only large, ancient tree in the surrounding forest. Nearby are some very large, old Western red cedars.


As I posted here, Champion Trees on BC's Big Tree Registry have no real protection beyond their familiarity to local people. A champion specimen could conceivably be cut down by a logging company without repercussion. That scenario is highly unlikely... I hope. There is a fear, though, that if they log the area around the Red Creek Fir the tree will be more susceptible to the wind.


Forest edges bordering clear cuts experience blow down. That fact puts the 1000 year old RCF at risk of toppling and becoming a 74 m/242 ft. nurse log. That is, of course, any wild tree's destiny, but humans have a way of dramatically hastening that process.


The tree farms that have replaced the old growth ecosystem will be allowed to live for less than 100 years before they are harvested. For a Douglas fir, this is about 1/10th of their natural lifetime. What about wildlife that requires trees older than 250 years old? The trees, unfortunately, are not the only things disappearing.

Sunriver development seen from park

I was recently hiking in the Sunriver Parks area of Sooke, and witnessed for myself a very graphic example of blow down as a result of removing the protection of surrounding forest. Development of this area began with removing all of the trees over a large area. A small strip was left beside the Sooke River. Here there are a few large, old trees struggling to survive. It is a mix of Douglas fir, Hemlock, Western red cedar, and the occasional Sitka spruce. With nothing but houses across the street these trees are very susceptible to wind storms.

Area of blow down in park

The storm of 2006 took out many trees here and everywhere along the coast. Before long many of the trees on the upper portion of this little park will be lost to storms. Already, many of the oldest trees have been topped, and the number of trees down increases each year.

Old Douglas fir in park

Could this be the fate of the Red Creek Fir, 1000 year old Champion?
Forests Ministry spokeswoman Vivian Thomas said there are no immediate plans to harvest in the Red Creek fir area. She also said that the "tree itself is part of a public recreation site and it and the surrounding area is protected from logging."

But Ken Wu points out that it is obvious that logging will be taking place here in the future, that falling boundaries are within a tree-length of the RCF, and that the Ministry dissolves public recreation sites all the time as part of its work in the forest.

The area should be protected as a park, perhaps as an extension of Pacific Rim National Park (as proposed by MP Keith Martin), and promoted to boost tourism in the area while sharing our global treasure - some of the biggest trees on the planet.

Trees like this, increasingly rare as they continue to fall to the chain saw, are worth much more standing than cut down. Let your elected representatives know you care about our trees and forests. Politicians need to get the message, and the sooner the better. Without us they will liquidate everything.

Winter Drift Logs Park On Port Renfrew Beach

I love a good drive even more now since I am doing it less, keeping most of my adventures local and self-propelled. A drive well worth making is the 107km (66mi) trip from Victoria to Port Renfrew. There is enough to keep the tree enthusiast occupied for a day trip, weekend, or lifetime.

The twisty, dangerous, and fun-packed West Coast Road takes you past some of the most beautiful coastline anywhere, and through some impressive second and third growth tree plantations. Small remnant patches of old growth and nice beaches, can be accessed from the highway all along this rugged route. One of my favourite forest/beach areas is at the Pacheedaht campground in Port Renfrew. Bordering San Juan Beach, San Juan River, and Harris Cove, it is also one of the most accessible.

When we pulled up to the beach we were surprised at the changes since our last visit. Winter storms had tossed debris over the entire 2 km stretch of beach, creating a labyrinth of wood sure to swallow the unaware beachcomber.

From end to end the beach is strewn with wood, from large trees with complete root systems, to tiny wood chips ground and polished by the pulsing waves. For 2 km these large trees stretch, all pulled tips-in to the beach at the same angle, looking like cars parked at a drive-in.

A few huge logs, escaped from the log booms of days gone by, lay partially buried further up the beach, thrown by tempests of the past. These columns are being reclaimed by the relentless sands of time.

The Sitka spruce forest behind the beach is a green, misty, mythical place. In the Coastal Western hemlock zone, and right next to the ocean, this rugged spot is all about water. Sitka spruce, the third tallest conifer species (after coastal Redwood and Douglas fir), is tolerant of the constant salt spray in their ocean environment.

On this beach, more exposed to the open Pacific than those further up the Juan de Fuca Strait, the thundering surf can get big. Big enough to throw huge trees and logs around like toys.


The hemlock climatic zone is the wettest zone, on average, in British Columbia. This wonderland of wetness receives major moisture, about 1000 to 4400 mm of rain annually. That explains the dripping fluorescent green mosses hanging from everything creating a magical Tolkienesque landscape. You expect the ancient trees to move, or talk, or scream and shout.



Compare this to the beginning of the drive from Victoria. It sits in Vancouver Island's Coastal Douglas fir zone, in the rain shadow of Washington's Olympic Range. This zone stretches from just past Sooke, around the bottom of the island, and up to Campbell River. 

Because of the influence of the Olympic Range, the Coastal Douglas-fir zone is much dryer with about 647mm of moisture every year. Compare that to Port Renfrew, only 80 km from Sooke. Here a year will bring around 3671mm of precipitation. This is giant Sitka spruce country, and the second largest Sitka, the San Juan Spruce, is only a few kilometers away at the San Juan campground.

Another reason I like the Port Renfrew area is that it marks access to the West Coast and Juan de Fuca Trails. Both pass through areas of old forest and provide glimpses of trees and forests largely pillaged elsewhere on the island. Indeed, hikers are often treated to the chainsaw sounds of similar forests disappearing outside the narrow park boundaries.


Big trees growing next to the ocean or on rivers naturally erode out and fall into water. Wind storms can take out thousands of trees in a single weather event, as in December 2006. It looks like many of those trees end up on San Juan beach. This wild west coast phenomenon shows the enormity and power of this special place. It is the rugged west coast and I love it. Big surf, big trees, big drift logs, big rain.

Well worth taking a leisurely big tree adventure in this awesome location.