Poaching British Columbia's Last Big Trees

Stump of stolen cedar in Carmanah/Walbran Park
Photo by: Torrance Coste, Times Colonist

A recent poaching incident in Vancouver Island's remote Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park highlights what is at stake in our forests as we continue to consume the last of British Columbia's big trees. In the most recent publicized incident, poachers cut and hauled out of the remote coastal park, a large (and valuable) 800 year old, 3 meter wide, Western red cedar.

Unfortunately it was not an uncommon incident. The poaching of BC's last big trees is big business, and a daily event, for both legal and illegal old growth tree liquidators.

No one can poach a tree like the government of BC. That is why they won't take the unofficial poaching seriously. If they did they would have to admit that they condone the cutting of trees exactly like this one as a matter of doing business.

Just outside the park boundaries of Carmanah/Walbran and Cathedral Grove, magnificent thousand year old trees like the ones in the parks, share the old growth forests. Yet these equally magnificent unprotected trees are being quietly converted by the logging industry into 'value-added' building materials.

When the last of the accessible big trees are gone, the government and their industry 'partners' will be coming for the trees in the parks (something already proposed for the interior of BC), just like the 'illegal' poachers.

End ALL poaching of our last old growth trees now, official and otherwise.

Garry Oak Saved On Sooke Waterfront

This Garry Oak at Mariner's Village will be saved
 to form a centerpiece of the development

Since the two magnificent Douglas-fir trees in central Sooke were unceremoniously laid low hundreds of years before their time, I have been looking at a different tree-scape from my home across Sooke Harbour.

One of the trees that has been making its presence known is equal in stature to the firs cut only two blocks away. The tree is a magnificent Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) in the Mariner's Village waterfront development.

The grandparent oak is a dominant feature on the property, easily competing with the the new 4 and 6-story structures next to it. It is multi-trunked so it could be that a small, tightly packed grove of trees has cooperated to form one large canopy.

Not only is the tree at least 60 feet in height, but its massive canopy is wider than the tree is tall. From my vantage point at home the oak, when fully leafed out, hides a good part of the phase 1 buildings behind its crinkly-lobed, dark green canopy.

Garry Oak ecosystems are a threatened habitat on Vancouver Island, and these beautiful trees are not common as far west as Sooke. Garry oaks can live up to 500 years, and the one in question is decades old.

Mariner's Village has only just completed the first phase of the development, so I wondered if Sooke was going to lose another of its significant heritage trees as the project progressed.

The large Garry oak from across Sooke Harbour

I contacted Jason van der Valk of Mariner's Village to see if there was a chance that the oak would be saved. His response was more than I could hope for, and quite a surprise. Good news stories concerning development and heritage trees in Sooke are rare.

"From the very beginning with the creation of the rendering, blueprints and concepts, the large Garry Oak Tree has always been forefront, and was the hub of the starting point for the development. Everything will be centered around that."

Jason also explained that the development team has contacted professionals for advice on how to proceed in a way that will not impact the health of the tree as the next phases are built. Garry oaks are notoriously sensitive to surrounding development, and often do not live.

The developers of Mariner's Village are uncharacteristically planning for this tree's survival, and would like to see it thrive for years to come for the enjoyment of of all.

VIBT salutes the tree-friendly approach being taken in this project, and we hope that this heritage Garry oak survives to become a central feature of the new development.

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.

Our Forests Our Future

No trees No future

Two community forums will be held this week to discuss the future of forest lands on southern Vancouver Island. The Juan de Fuca forest lands make up 2/3 of the capital region district, and were the first affected by European exploitation. Although most of the forest is now second and third growth, development threatens the area.

Forum organizers wish to bring a diversity of voices to the forum and facilitate a sense of the community coming together to envision a future that includes care for Earth as well as sustainable livelihoods for people who live here.

Sooke Community Forum:

Tuesday, May 1, 7:00 PM Edward Milne Community School Sooke, British Columbia, Canada 

The forum will focus on ways to care for the forest lands in the Capital Regional District while providing sustainable livelihoods and community-based economic development to the region’s people. Forum participants will be welcomed by T’Sou-ke Chief Gordon Planes, who will give a short introduction on the importance of forests in traditional culture. A short film by award-winning film-maker Maeva Gauthier will show the beauty of the land and address the importance of forests for mitigating climate change. The speakers will have short slots after which the floor will be turned over to a moderated community discussion.

Victoria Community Forum:

Thursday, May 3, 7:00 PM Ambrosia Event Centre, 638 Fisgard St. Victoria

Short film by award-winning film-maker Maeva Gauthier will be followed by speakers and community discussion.

Panelists:

• David Anderson, former federal Minister of Environment, and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
• Ken Wu, advocate for protection of old growth forests and sustainable forest management
• Ben Parfitt, investigative journalist, author and long-time forest policy analyst with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Organised by the Jordan River Steering Committee, an alliance of environmental and citizens' groups including Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee.

Sooke River Big Trees

Ancient Western red-cedar along the Sooke River

The Sooke River, famous for geological formations known as 'potholes', is one of the largest rivers on south Vancouver Island. Along its rocky banks live survivors of the  logging boom that started in the late 1800s. It decimated the original forest - most, but not all, is gone.

Single individuals along trails, like the centuries old cedar in the photo above, or small groves in hidden nooks and crannies, these are the remnants of the primal forest that once covered the area with thousand year old giants.

A post I wrote here describes how to visit the cedar featured above. It is found along the Sunriver Nature Trail off Phillips Road in Sooke, BC, an excellent place to see a few examples of ancient big trees.

S.O.S. Festival Supports Muir Creek Protection Society

With all the nefarious government and logging company land dealings over the past few years, the gem that is Muir Creek often gets overlooked. It would be a real shame were the very accessible, park-worthy Muir Creek old growth ever get destroyed due to "not enough money". We can't afford not to protect it.

Therefore, if you are in the south Vancouver Island region today and/or tomorrow, please do consider attending the very worthy 6th Annual S.O.S. Fest 2012 at the Shirley Hall. It is a fun way to do good.

All proceeds go to the good people at the Muir Creek Protection Society. They love trees and intact old growth ecosystems. How about you?

Nanaimo Mill Workers Lose To WFP

The  first sawmill in BC, 1848. Sawmill is on the right,
and a grist mill is shown on the other side of Millstream, near Victoria.

British Columbia's old growth forests are not the only victims of years of mayhem in the woods - forestry workers are suffering as well.

Based on data from the BC Ministry of Forests and Range, from 1991 - 2000, the average rate of closure was 3 mills per year. From 2001 - 2009 it rose to 6 mill closures per year. The closures account for the loss of thousands of jobs, and takes millions of dollars out of forestry-based communities.

The following article is a recent example of how forestry workers are suffering from bad policies and corporations looking out for #1 and the bottom line.

Mill workers lose court battle

Labour arbitrator sides with WFP in longstanding fight

By Robert Barron, Daily News April 16, 2012

Hundreds of laid-off workers at Nanaimo's two Western Forest products' sawmills won't receive severance packages after labour arbitrator David McPhillips recently ruled in favour in the forest company in a longstanding dispute.

Darrel Wong, president of the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 which represents workers at the two mills, said the union sees no point in appealing McPhillips' decision even though it feels many of its arguments in the case are still valid.

WFP spokeswoman MacKenzie Leine said she's not surprised by the arbitrator's decision.

The union began court action against WFP over their concerns that the forest company may have reopened its two sawmills in Nanaimo with skeleton crews in 2010 to avoid having to pay severance packages, totalling more than $6 million, that the company would be mandated to pay if the mills remained closed.

Read full article here.

With old growth forests being rapidly depleted, raw log shipments, lack of government oversight in the woods, and logging companies using questionable business practices to avoid their responsibility to workers, it is hard to see how the citizens of this province are benefiting from the harvesting of our forestry resources.

Cooperation In The Forest

A forest is the ultimate sustainable cooperative community

Trees are but part of the larger forest, 2/3 of which is unseen under our feet. Also unseen is the incredible amount of cooperation that takes place in the forest.

There are many mutually beneficial relationships between species, creating a web of working together to form an entity much larger than any of its parts.

Everything has a role to play in building and maintaining the forest. It would continue in perpetuity, if we would allow. A forest is the ultimate sustainable, cooperative community.

Instead of wiping trees and forests out, we should be studying them and learning their valuable lessons.

Mushroom (mycorrhiza) Cooperation

"In the early 1990s mycologist Suzanne Simard and her team at Oregon State University discovered that cobwebby networks of mycorrhiza could connect not only many trees of the same species but also trees of different species.

They encountered birch connected to fir trees by up to ten different species of fungi. Moreover, birch trees growing in bright sunlight seemed to be subsidizing fir trees in the shade by sharing sugars via their mycorrhiza network."  - source: backyardnature

Liberals ignoring committee on raw log exports: Dix

Overseas shipment of raw logs

I was wandering through the Ancient Forest Alliance's website and came across an important news item. I thought it worthy of sharing so the citizens of BC can learn what the present government is doing with our forests. The raw log export situation in the province should enrage both environmentalists and forestry workers alike.

NDP leader demands explanation for decision to send timber overseas rather than sell it to B.C. producers

The Vancouver Sun - Jonathan Fowlie, March 14, 2012

The B.C. Liberal government has, since December, been exporting raw logs that its own advisory committee has been saying should be going to producers in B.C.

On Tuesday, New Democratic Party leader Adrian Dix said the Timber Export Advisory Committee (TEAC) deter-mined last December that logs from Quatsino Sound on Vancouver Island should be sold to Teal-Jones of Surrey instead of being shipped overseas.

But Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson overruled that recommendation, Dix said, allowing the logs to be sold into foreign markets.

"The minister owes people an explanation for his decision," Dix said during question period Tuesday.

"The committee made the determination that keeping those logs in British Columbia was better for our economy than exporting them, and the minister overruled them."

Thomson said his ministry rejected the recommendation because TEAC had changed the way it was evaluating whether or not logs should be sold to foreign buyers.

"Without just taking their advice directly, in this case because we knew there was policy implications that needed to be considered, we administered the policy the way that it had always been administered and the way they had previously been providing advice to us," Thomson said Tuesday, adding the committee has no regulatory function, and is an advisory body only.

"It's not a process of overruling TEAC," he continued, "it's a process of a shift in policy advice being received from the advisory committee."

Ministry staff said the issue stretches beyond Teal-Jones, and has affected about 150 applications since December, comprising about 116,000 cubic metres of timber.

The ministry said that staff overturned TEAC recommendations on 86 applications in December and January, covering 70,145 cubic metres.

In February, the ministry stopped referring anything to the committee from the west coast of Vancouver Island, as they expected the decisions would be overturned. There were 47 offers in February, comprising 35,532 cubic metres.

In March, TEAC requested it be allowed to review cases again, and government agreed. The committee has so far reviewed 18 offers for 10,168 cubic metres, staff said.

Thomson said he has met with members of the committee and is reviewing the change they made in December to deter-mine if it's something government is willing to adopt.

"We're continuing to review that with [TEAC] and we've committed to get back to them," he said, adding he will have an answer before the committee's next meeting in April.

"But because there was a change in determination and a change in policy in terms of their advice we know we needed to look at this and have a discussion around the implications of the policy."

At issue in the matter is the way TEAC judges fair market value for logs.

As of December, the commit-tee began looking at domestic offers for coastal logs that did not include the costs to ship the logs to the buyer. This represents a change from before, where the offer made for the logs had to include the cost of freight.

It means domestic offers can potentially be more competitive than before.

On Tuesday, NDP forest critic Norm Macdonald said the issue goes beyond the details of how to calculate market value, adding the key is all about jobs.

"You have manufacturers that are ready. You have Teal-Jones that has gone through the process. This is a company that produces jobs," said Macdonald. "You have a host of companies that are ready, and these are the crumbs we're talking about that go through this advisory committee. These are the crumbs, and even them - this minister will deny those mills."

In 2011, British Columbia exported 5.87 million cubic metres of coastal raw logs. That was up from the 3.86 million cubic metres that were exported from the coast in 2010.

Stop old growth logging, now. Stop the export of BC raw logs and BC jobs. Retool sawmills for sustainable 2nd or 3rd growth smaller-log forest industry. Replant the backlog of logged-off lands.

Garry Oak Habitat Threatened

Garry oak habitat, Saanich, BC

Garry oaks (Quercus garryana) are large deciduous trees with lobed leaves, grey bark, and a twisted, gnarly branching pattern that gives the trees a stately, ancient look. They are the only native oak species in British Columbia, and their showy flowering habitat is one of the most threatened in the province.

Garry oak habitat covers a tiny area found within the Coastal Douglas-fir zone covering southeast Vancouver Island, part of the Gulf Islands, and a tiny bit of the mainland. The land on which the city of Victoria was built was almost all Garry oak meadows in pre-contact times.

The grassy meadows contain relatively open forests of oak trees. These rich areas are important to the area's original inhabitants who have long collected Camas bulbs as an important food staple. The spectacular blue wildflower grows from bulbs that were cooked in pits and eaten, or dried for trade or storage.

The oak trees are surrounded by grasses that are dotted with delicate wildflowers during a 3-4 month flowering period. Companion trees in this eco-zone are Douglas-fir, Arbutus, and Shore pine.

Garry Oak Meadow Flowers

The Coastal Douglas-fir zone is one of British Columbia's smallest, covering about 4% of the province. Garry oak habitat is a smaller area within that, so has always been extremely rare.

Already, 95% of this spectacular ecosystem has been altered. They are constantly under threat of being developed since their habitat overlaps with the most populated areas of Vancouver Island.

Little studied, we may never know what we have lost in this biologically diverse area. Garry oak habitat contains more plant species than any other terrestrial ecosystem in Canada. Many of the residents can not live anywhere else, including the mighty oaks.

However, beautiful meadows endure, and remain a place where garter snakes and alligator lizards bask on sunny rock outcrops. A rich assortment of wildflowers, including Camas, flower every spring over several scented months.

The Garry oak meadows that are left can be found in the Victoria area, Duncan, Nanaimo, Comox, and most southern Gulf Islands.

To learn more about Garry Oak Preservation, see here.