Mike bikes across BC Gives Back

The Ancient Forest Alliance advises me that there are spectacular but unprotected old-growth forests in coastal BC such as the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni, the McKelvie Valley near Tahsis, Edinburgh Mountain near Port Renfrew, and the Caycuse River watershed.

Status of Old-Growth Forests in BC

·        BC’s temperate rainforests represent the largest remaining tracts of a globally rare ecosystem covering just 0.5 percent of the planet.

·        BC’s old-growth trees are the grandest on Earth after the US redwoods. They can live up to 2,000 years old and grow as tall as skyscrapers and as wide as living rooms.

·        About 80% of the original, productive old-growth forests on BC’s south coast (Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland) have been logged, including well over 90% of the highest-productivity, valley-bottom old-growth forests with the biggest trees and highest levels of biodiversity.

·        Only 8% of the original, productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas.

·        The current rate of old-growth logging on Vancouver Island is more than 10,000 hectares per year.

BC’s Old-Growth Forests are Vital to Sustain:

·        Unique and threatened species (eg spotted owl, marbled murrelet, mountain caribou)

·        Clean water for communities and wild salmon

·        Climate stability (by storing more carbon per hectare than any other forest on Earth)

·        BC’s multi-billion-dollar tourism industry

·        Many BC First Nations’ cultures

What the AFA is Doing to Protect Old-Growth

·        Unless things change, one day all the productive old-growth forests outside of parks will be logged, forcing BC’s forest industry to transition to an exclusively second-growth industry.

·        The AFA is calling on the BC government to start that transition now by using incentives and regulations to ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests (which currently make up more than 80% of BC’s productive forests).

·        We’re also calling for a comprehensive, science-based plan to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and funding for First Nations-led land-use planning, sustainable economic development, and the creation of new Indigenous Protected Areas, like the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks in Clayoquot Sound which have protected some of BC’s most spectacular ancient forests from logging.

·        Read about our 10 policy recommendations to protect old-growth forests here: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/learn-more/policy-recommendations/

Examples of BC’s Biggest Trees:

• Red Creek fir

• World’s largest Douglas-fir, 

• near Port Renfrew

• Height: 73.8m (242′), Diameter: 4.2m (14′)

• Big Lonely Doug

• Canada’s 

  2nd largest Douglas-fir

• Stands alone in a clearcut on Edinburgh Mountain near Port Renfrew

• Cheewhat Giant

• Canada’s largest tree, a western redcedar in Pacific Rim National Park

• Equivalent of 450m3 wood, or 450 telephone poles