Standing Up For Big Trees In Fairy Creek Valley

"If you wanna see real change, you're gonna have to stand up for it."

- Old growth protector at roadblock camp

Old growth forest protectors are standing up for big trees near Port Renfrew (Big Tree Capital of Canada) and blockading the construction of new logging roads into Fairy Creek Valley, the last pristine valley outside of a park on southern Vancouver Island.

In a saner world we would not allow the destruction of such a treasure on Vancouver Island's south coast. But we don't live in a sane world. 

Yet. 

When those that work for us in government fail in their responsibility to protect what is collectively ours, it is up to us to be the real stewards of the land, and protect its inherent right to be. 

If our public servants in government won't speak for a voiceless and defenceless nature, we have to.

Case in point is what is happening outside of Port Renfrew, town to an area long known for its (disappearing) big trees. There, just a few kilometres outside of town, Teal Jones is hacking through previously unhacked forest on their way to get to a pristine valley of big, ancient trees. 

The valley contains an ancient forest that has existed, relatively unchanged, since the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. It is a unique, irreplaceable ecosystem.

Some of the ancient yellow cedars there could be upwards of 2000 years old. 

Cutting trees that old in 2020, when we know better, should be an obvious crime against nature, and all around excellent example of the ongoing ecocide currently plaguing our planet.

Show me nature that has been preserved and protected from industrial butchery, and I will show you a scrappy, dedicated group of caring people that put their bodies on the line to do what is right.

It was such citizen groups dedicated to direct action that saved places like Clayoquot, Elaho, Stein Valley, Carmanah, Strathcona Park, and so many more beautiful places.

Respect, and a heartfelt thanks, to everyone on the Fairy Valley logging road blockades.

We appreciate you standing up for some of the last remaining old growth on south Vancouver Island. 

We support you 100%.

The Money Huggers Want All The Old Growth

How much of Canada's old growth forests do the money huggers want to cut down? 

All of it. Each and every massive, ancient, beautiful tree, wherever it may be. 

Where we see dendrological miracles, they see only bags of cash. They want to convert all the old growth to those bags that they clutch to their chests as they chuckle maniacally in the wreckage.

And they will get all of it, if we don't stop them. And we can, if we want to bad enough, stop them. They are, after all, our trees.

A recent example of our power to save the old growth concerns the sale of remnant old growth forests near Port Renfrew. No one, other than the money huggers, thought it was a good idea, and said as much quite loudly.

The NDP/Green government, that never should have put the old growth up for sale in the first place, have relented, and the auction never took place. For now.

The cashoterrorists will be back, though. They will keep on coming until all the old growth is gone, or until we get up off our couches and stop them.

What happened in the Port Renfrew forest shows that more of us are up and ready to fight for what is left.

Tree hugging, good. Money hugging, not so much.

West Coast Big Trees - Spectacular, Unique and Disappearing

There are not many places in the world that have trees as spectacular as those on BC's west coast.
This photo from the local museum supposedly depicts Sooke's Grant Road in the 1940's.

There are a lot of trees between Sooke, BC and the Anappolis Valley of Nova Scotia. A lot. All of them are beautiful in their own way, but few are as spectacular as those in the Pacific temperate rain forest that I just left behind.

Whether we are talking historically or present day, the Pacific rainforest is unique and spectacular. While I look forward to exploring and learning about my new NS forest, I miss the biggest trees in Canada already.

Too bad British Columbia has no idea of what they've got, and what they are currently losing at an alarming rate. If they did, they would be out in the streets, up logging roads, and chained to the last ancient giants before rapacious profiteers carry the last trees and profits away.

So many big trees have been taken already that people can hardly believe the size of the trees in historical photographs. While they may be gone from places like Grant Road, such trees exist in isolated pockets all along the coast.

There are lots of trees in Canada, but surely we should be saving the biggest and rarest of these that call the rainforest home.

Logging Vancouver Island's Last Stands

Below is Cathedral Grove and its huge ancient trees - up above trees just like them are being cut down
 by logging giant Island Timberlands. But don't worry - it's all legal. Photo: TJ Watt

How much of Vancouver Island's dwindling patches of old growth forest do logging companies wish to cut down? All of them. 100% And if not that, then as much as they can get away with.

“On October 19, MLA Scott Fraser and myself met with Island Timberlands’ CEO Darshan Sihota, and asked him if he was intending to save any old-growth Douglas-fir forests – his reply was that it was his legal right to log it ALL. 

So despite the BC government’s scientists formerly designating these vital wildlife habitats for protection when they were still within the Tree Farm Licence, Island Timberlands sees nothing wrong with harvesting the old growth forests across all their lands. 

This even includes the mountainside above Cathedral Grove, Canada’s most famous old-growth forest.”

- Jane Morden, coordinator Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance 

It is evident that there is no one in industry or government with enough gumption to do the right thing. That is why you will hear them talking a lot about rights and laws, jobs and the economy, but not so much about responsibilities, natural law and morality, or sustainability.

Timberlands bigwig Sihota thinks that all the ancient Douglas fir on "his" lands belong to him and he can do as he wishes with them. It says so in the law. But laws that allow this travesty to continue to the point of the extinction of an entire ecosystem is what Thomas Aquinas called a "perversion of law".


Natural law holds that law and morality are connected. How inconvenient this must be for corporations and their shareholders.

Law is not simply what is enacted in statutes. If legislation is not moral, then it is not law and has no authority. This view is frequently summarized by the maxim: “an unjust law is not a true law”.


In order for man-made law to be valid it must accord with higher law. The highest laws are the laws of nature. If we break those we are setting ourselves up for some severe punishment down the road regardless of what human courts say.

Logging the last wild ancient trees knowing that we will never see the likes of them again on these lands is surely breaking all the laws of nature.

Bad things happen when good people act as passive participants in the destruction. Only we can save the last big trees.


A visit to the Ancient Forest Alliance FB page right now is a crash course in the liquidation of our remaining primal forests. I highly recommend a visit to see TJ Watt's aerial shots of Vancouver Island's last stands of undisturbed old growth.

The last big tree and land grab is on its way in BC. This time they are desperate and have full governmental support, both provincially and federally. They are coming for our trees. And how much do they want?

All of it. 100%

Are big-five forest firms about to get a windfall?

Ancient Douglas fir on Juniper Ridge marked for death so Island Timberlands shareholders (including the BC government, Timberland's single largest investor), can realize more profit.
Photo: TJ Watt

Are big-five forest firms about to get a windfall?

From: The Province - Ben Parfitt, October 20, 2013

Shortly before the May election, the provincial government withdrew legislation that could have handed de facto control of publicly owned forestlands to a handful of forest companies.

The contentious sections of the bill were dropped amid a swelling chorus of questions about why such a gift would be bestowed without any debate about what it meant for our shared lands and resources.

It took little time, however, for the government to reverse direction again. During a campaign stop in Burns Lake, Premier Christy Clark said that if re-elected, her government would reintroduce the bill because that is what “the people” wanted.

Given that only weeks earlier the government had pulled the bill from the order papers in response to objections from First Nation leaders, environmental organizations, social-justice advocates and forest professionals, among others, the premier’s choice of words was, to say the least, odd.

What “people” did she refer to? Well, we may soon find out. Following her party’s re-election, the premier instructed Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson to make the campaign pledge a reality.

A good bet is that the answer lies in understanding who would benefit most from such a change. In that regard, the shareholders of the five largest forest companies operating in the province fit the bill nicely.

Between them, Canadian Forest Products, West Fraser Timber, International Forest Products, Tolko Industries and Western Forest Products control the bulk of what is logged each year in British Columbia. They would control even more under the proposed legislative changes.

To understand what is at stake, it helps to know that outside of parks, virtually every standing tree in B.C. is spoken for, because the province has allocated the rights to log them under numerous licences issued to forest companies, logging contractors, woodlot owners, First Nations and communities.

The most important and valuable of those licences are Tree Farm Licences. Holders of TFLs have exclusive rights to log trees over defined areas of land. Currently, TFL holders log about 11.3 million cubic metres of trees per year (a cubic metre equals one telephone pole). Of that, the top five companies control 9.1 million cubic metres or 80 per cent. TFLs are as close as one gets to private control of public forestlands in B.C.

The next most important licences are forest licences. Forest licence holders have rights to log set numbers of trees over vast landmasses known as Timber Supply Areas or TSAs. But because many different companies may hold forest licences within the same TSA, forest licences have less value than TFLs, which give one company exclusive control over a specific area.

One other essential detail: the most valuable forest licences are “replaceable” or renewable. Far less valuable are non-replaceable forest licences, which are usually issued on a one-off basis to deal with perceived crises such as mountain pine beetle attacks or forest fires. Significantly, the overwhelming number of licences held by First Nations — who are typically on the outside looking in when it comes to benefiting from natural resources in our province — are non-replaceable.

As with TFLs, the top five forest companies hold a virtual monopoly on replaceable forest licences. Two out of every three trees allocated under such licences are theirs.

What the government now proposes in the name of “the people” is to allow the holders of replaceable forest licences to roll such holdings into far more secure TFLs. This could lead to near total control of public forestlands by an exclusive five-member club.

In 2012 and in the lead-up to the 2013 provincial election, that club made $556,020 in political contributions to the Liberal Party and $115,200 to the NDP — big dollars for some, but no more than modest investments for a powerful handful of companies who have a very clear vision of what lies ahead.

Entire TSAs — where trees are in increasingly short supply and where what little timber remains is oversubscribed — are on the cusp of being rolled into TFLs. And the Gang of Five is well positioned to divvy up the spoils.

Left on the sidelines would be First Nations, rural communities, small independent and value-added mill owners — people made poorer to give “the people” what they want.

Whether the government’s second attempt at this legislation will move forward remains to be seen. It has promised a public consultation process of sorts. The voices of opposition were heard loud and clear in the lead-up to the provincial election. This time out, which people will the government listen to?

Read more here: http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/10/20/ben-parfitt-are-big-five-forest-firms-about-to-get-a-windfall/

Read even more here: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/island-timberlands-log-contentious-old-growth-forests-vancouver-island

See much more on continued threats to BC's old growth forests here: http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=705

Clayoquot Sound 20 Years Down The (Logging) Road

Concerned citizens at the 1993 Clayoquot protests were successful in their efforts
to halt the clear cutting of one of the last and largest intact ancient forests on Vancouver Island

What do you do when governments and big business conspire to do what is most profitable rather than what is right? What do you do when the members of the legislature do not respond to normal avenues of citizen feedback?

The protests of 1993 in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino, BC are what you do. You educate, organize, and gather together 12,000 citizens. Then you put your body between those that would kill and their prey - the big trees in one of the last intact ancient forests, a 350,000 hectare wilderness area.

In the case of Clayoquot, site of the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada's history, protesters were putting their bodies between the agents of big logging interests and one of the largest remaining tracts of  ancient temperate rain forest left on Vancouver Island.

Hundreds of ordinary people providing valuable feedback to the people they employee in government, and a valuable service to humanity for protecting this unique global gift, were arrested for their efforts.

However, their work got done what letters, phone calls, petitions, facts, meetings and the truth failed to do up until then.

Indeed, people gathering in great numbers in streets, squares, avenues, parks, and on the ocean and up logging roads is usually the only thing that will stop (or slow) the rampant greed of self-interested individuals in both government and business.

From Haida war canoes blockading enormous bulk whole log carriers full of sacred old growth cedars, to Clayoquot Sound, to concerned citizens gathering on the lawn of the legislature, organizing and gathering together to exercise our civic responsibilities is the most effective way to go.

And now, 20 years after Clayoquot, the pressure is building again all over Canada as hard fought for environmental protections are stripped from the books by resource mad federal and provincial governments.

Logging of ancient trees close to Cathedral Grove, proposed pipelines, dwindling salmon in our ocean, damaging run of the river private power providers, and renewed threats of logging in Clayoquot virtually ensure that mass acts of civil disobedience are sure to occur once again.

When they do, the victorious protests in Clayoquot Sound will be used as both a guideline and inspiration.

Getting Naked For Old Growth Preservation

Julianne Skai Arbor hugs the San Juan spruce, Canada's largest Sitka spruce tree
near Port Renfrew. - TJ Watt photo

The naked tree hugger strikes again. And this time local photographer and big tree activist TJ Watt was there to record the sighting.

Judith Lavoie of the Times Colonist writes:

Arbor, a 43-year-old California college professor who teaches environmental conservation, travels around the world photographing herself naked with old or endangered trees. She is lending her support to the Ancient Forest Alliance’s efforts to push the B.C. government into coming up with a strategy to protect big trees and remaining patches of old-growth forest. 

“The most fragile ecosystems that are still intact should be put aside,” said Arbor, who posts photos of her tree travels on her treegirl.org website and is writing a book about her love of big trees. 

“It’s amazing for me to see the forests on this Island and I wonder how the people who live here can watch the cutting of the forest. There is only so much you can do before it’s gone.”

Read Lavoie's whole article here.

The San Juan spruce is Canada's largest Sitka spruce, and the second largest in the world. It grows in relative obscurity in the San Juan Forest Recreation Site next to the San Juan River. It is about a 35 minute drive from the former logging town of Port Renfrew.

The massive tree is 62 meters (205 ft) tall, 11 meters (38.3 ft) in circumference, and has a crown spread of over 23 meters (75 ft). The centuries old column of wood has a volume of 333 cubic meters.

This amazing old growth tree does not have official protected status, so it is fitting that the team of Julianne Arbor, TJ Watt, and the Ancient Forest Alliance have come together to keep ancient, disappearing, and at-risk forests and trees in the news.

You can read more about the San Juan spruce in our post here. You will find driving directions, and photographs of the tree. Thankfully, there are no pictures of me doing any naked tree hugging. I am not nearly as photogenic as Ms. Arbor.

The End Of Old Growth Logging

The photo above is the trunk of Te Matua Ngahere, the 'Father of the Forest'.

It is New Zealand's oldest living Kauri tree, and is estimated to be over 2000 yrs old with a girth of 16.41m.

Logging of old growth, or native forest, on public lands has been illegal in New Zealand since 2004.

When people say ending old growth logging "can't be done" in British Columbia, they fail to realize that exactly that has been done in many areas around the world.

[In 2004] New Zealand’s Labor government introduced hard-won legislation that ended logging of publicly owned temperate rainforests. In words unfamiliar to US politicians, Pete Hodgson, the minister responsible for timberlands, told parliament that, “These lowland forests are considered by many New Zealanders to be a unique and significant part of our natural heritage, too valuable for logging of any sort to continue.” 

Read more about New Zealand's forward thinking forest policy here. 

Stopping Island Timberlands, Saving Cortes Island

 Will logging of ancient forest be halted before it can begin?

November 28, 2012 (Cortes Island, BC) — Residents of Cortes Island have formed a blockade to stop the BC based timber company, Island Timberlands (I.T.), from beginning logging operations in one of BC’s last stands of old growth coastal Douglas-fir forest.  For over 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 it’s path to defend these ecologically significant forests.

Yesterday, Island Timberlands trucks were stopped at a logging road gate by two protesters lying on the ground. Company personnel filmed the protesters, likely in preparation for an application for a civil injunction. The protesters did not respond to their questions and community members remained on the site until the end of the day.

Adjacent landowners were among the community members present. One couple explained that they have a water license on Basil Creek which runs through Island Timberlands’ property.  I.T. plans to log in the riparian area and within 30 feet of the wetland that feeds the salmon-bearing creek. They wrote to Morgan Kennah, Island Timberland’s Manager for Community Affairs, stating their concerns about water supply and contamination. “I thought I would get a letter from Morgan assuring me that my water supply would be safe,” the landowner stated, “but that never happened. I got no response.”  Another community member showed up with Christmas decorations and a Christmas tree to lighten the protesters’ spirits.

Leah Seltzer explained the situation in this way, “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 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.”

The threatened lands contain some of the last 1% of old-growth Coastal Douglas-fir forests, and, according to Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), are some of the most extensive stands remaining in the endangered "Dry Maritime" forests along BC's southern coast.  The forests also contain a number of documented threatened species and sensitive ecosystems.

At this time, I.T. has contracted several local workers but these jobs will only provide short-term employment.  More than 60% of I.T.’s raw logs are shipped out of the province to be processed overseas.  Standing exclusively to profit are I.T.’s corporate shareholders, which include Brookfield Asset Management and the BC Investment Management Corporation, the pension fund for provincial employees.

While I.T. claims to use sustainable forestry practices, long-time forest activist and Cortes Island land-owner, Tzeporah Berman, warns us not to be fooled: “The majority of their logging is traditional clearcut logging with devastating ecological implications that result in either a change of land use or a dramatically weakened and simplified ecosystem. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) that Island Timberlands touts does not ensure strong environmental standards and has little support from First Nations or environmental organizations.”

Cortes resident and Greenpeace co-founder Rex Weyler agrees.  “There’s no excuse for industrial-scale logging in these times,” he says. “Forward-looking and economically-viable alternatives exist that are based on community health and ecosystem health. Island Timberlands’ plans are a step backwards. Cortes Island is moving forward.”  Residents have sought Island Timberland’s participation in this kind of forestry model but have been met with disregard.

Community members hope that the situation will not escalate, and that I.T. will recognize that Cortes holds a rare opportunity to work with a willing community to create a forestry model that benefits everyone.  Until then, islanders will be standing in the way of the equipment, and keeping a close eye on any further signs of I.T. activity on the island.

Several participants are available for comment.

Photo credits: WildStands, Facebook

For Immediate Release

For more information, please contact:

(Please be advised, there is limited cell phone service on the island but we will respond to your calls as soon as possible.)

Media Liasons: 

Leah Seltzer, Educator, Cortes resident 

Zoe Miles, Cortes-raised activist 

Nanoose Bay Forest Old Growth Logging

Big Douglas-firs of Nanoose Bay Forest, photo: TJ Watt, TimesColonist

The Nanoose Bay Forest, also known as District Lot 33 by the BC government, is a mixed stand of giant old-growth and smaller second-growth trees in an area that was partially logged about a hundred years ago. Today this publicly owned, endangered Coastal Douglas-fir forest on central Vancouver Island is being decimated by logging that is in no one's interest.


The provincial government says that this forest is not of a high enough quality to qualify for protection. However, in an endangered ecosystem where only 1% is left in its natural state, you would think that any undeveloped forest would be a likely candidate for protection. 

By the governments own admission, the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem is among the top four most endangered ecosystems in Canada, the others being Manitoba’s Tallgrass Prairie, southern Ontario’s Carolinian Forest, and BC’s “Pocket Desert” near Osoyoos.  

Work done in DL 33 before protesters
halted logging

The province has had ample opportunity to protect the Nanoose Bay Forest because it (meaning 'we') already own the land. The importance of this threatened ecosystem has been voiced by a passionate and motivated public that has been pushing for protection for years. 

Still, the province refuses to do the right thing, which would be to arrange funding for First Nations to develop sustainable industries, and save the 200 - 300 year old Douglas-firs.


When logging equipment rolled into the forest and big trees started to fall, protesters did what the province refused to do - halt the logging operation. But the forest occupation was short-lived as the band received a court injunction and enforcement order last Monday, so work recommenced.


The First Nations logging company cutting in the Nanoose Bay Forest says they will receive about $750,000 dollars from the proceeds of harvesting 15,000 cubic metres from a 64-hectare patch of the endangered old-growth coastal Douglas fir forest.

Economic development is important, but not when it is destructive and unsustainable. Surely there are better solutions than pushing an entire ecosystem, and its untold riches, closer to extinction.

Enjoying nature in the Nanoose Bay Forest, photo: Wilderness Committee

Timberwest has signed a contract to purchase the logs from DL 33. The company is certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) which "helps customers source responsibly managed forest products".

 The following is from the Timberwest website:

We demonstrate our commitment to the environment by:

• ensuring our forestry practices meet or exceed environmental standards, laws and regulations
• obtaining and maintaining sustainable forest practices certification from national and international agencies that are the recognized monitors of such practices
• acknowledging that environmental protection is a condition of our social license to operate

Contact Information

TimberWest Forest Corp.
Third Floor,
856 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC 
Canada V6B 2W5
Phone: (604) 654-4600
Fax: (604) 654-4571 

Elected Officials

Members of the Legislative Assembly of B.C.
CLICK HERE to find your local MLA's contact addresses

Hon. Christy Clark, Premier PO Box 9041 Stn.Prov.Gov. Victoria, BC V8W 9E1 Phone: 250-387-1715 Fax: 250-387-0087 premier@gov.bc.ca

Hon. Dr.Terry Lake Minister of Environment Room 112 Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4 Phone: 250-387-1187 Fax: 250-387-1356 terry.lake.mla@leg.bc.ca

Hon. Steve Thomson Minister of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations Room 248 Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4 Phone: 250-387-6240 Fax: 250-387-1040 steve.thomson.mla@leg.bc.ca

Hon. Mary Polak Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Room 325 Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4 Phone:250-953-4844 Fax:250-953-4856 mary.polak.mla@leg.bc.ca

Dr. James Lunney, MP Nanaimo-Alberni #6 - 6894 Island Hwy. North, Nanaimo, BC V9V 1P6 Phone: 250-390-7550 Toll Free: 866-390-7550 Fax: 250-390-7551 mailto:nanaimo@jameslunneymp.ca

Mr. Ron Cantelon, MLA Parksville-Qualicum 501 Turner Road Nanaimo, BC V9T 6J4 Phone: 250-951-6018 Fax: 250-951-6020 ron.cantelon.mla@leg.bc.ca

The Chipko Movement: Hugging And Saving India's Trees Since 1730

Villagers surround tree to protect it from the axe

"We have arisen, we are awake

No longer will thieves rule our destiny

It is our home, our forests

No longer will the others decide for us"

- Chipko protest chant 

The Himalayan region of northern India is a stunning land rich in natural resources. A wide diversity of forests cover regions from flat, low plains to the tree line in alpine areas of the highest mountain range in the world. This is also the land of the original tree huggers, the brave women of the Chipko Movement.

In India, as here in B.C., the forests have been under assault for a long time. The Chipko Movement is a decades old initiative of the people to address the serious problems of deforestation and corporate control. Chipko means 'to stick' or 'to hug' in Hindi.

Although the first recorded use of tree hugging to protect forests in India was in 1730, the movement took its modern form in the 1970's. At that time the state of Uttarakhand was experiencing heavy logging pressure from outside corporations after new roads made previously remote forests accessible. 

The people that lived in, or near the forests were suffering the consequences of the greedy industrial practices. The women, who were closest to the forest resources, suffered the most when they began to disappear.

Villagers had to walk farther to gather fire wood and fodder for their livestock. Water sources were drying up affecting availability of water for drinking and irrigation. Erosion on deforested areas during the monsoon was scaring the land and creating devastating floods. 

All the profit from the deforestation was taken away, rather than benefiting the local economy. The people were increasingly dissatisfied with commercial logging and government forest policy.

Artwork by Notnarayan

1973 saw the first confrontation over the looming ecological disaster. Tired of inaction on the part of the government, the women of the Chipko Movement decided to protest the destruction of their forest directly. 100 activists banged drums and shouted slogans where the logging activity was taking place. The loggers retreated, and eventually their contract was canceled and given to the villagers.

More protests took place in different areas. Where the people were threatened and ignored the protesters embraced the trees to protect them from being cut. They would often maintain their vigils for days at a time before the loggers retreated.

When news of the growing movement reached the state capital a commission was called which eventually ruled in favour of the Chipko activists and the people most affected by the environmental collapse. For them it was an issue of life or death.

In 1980 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government banned the cutting of trees in the Himalayan regions for 15 years to allow forests to recover.

The Chipko Movement is still going strong as a major socio-ecological movement, and has served as a model for similar groups across the world. The movement has been successful in returning forests to community control for the sustainable benefit of local communities. 

Fortunately they did not have to sacrifice their lives for the trees as did the 363 slain tree huggers in the original 1730 Chipko protest.