Big Lonely Doug featured in Canadian Wildlife Magazine

Excited to see "Big Lonely Doug", Canada's second largest Douglas-fir, featured in the May/June 2014 issue of Canadian Wildlife Magazine. That's me standing beside it for scale! I had noticed the giant tree standing alone in an old-growth clearcut near Port Renfrew a couple of years ago but only recently, during a trip to officially measure it, was its record size revealed. Now it's famous, albeit still alone..

Big Lonely Doug dimensions:

• Height: 70.2 meters or 230 feet
• Circumference: 11.91 meters or 39 feet
• Diameter: 3.91 meters or 12.4 feet
• Canopy Spread: 18.33 meters or 60.1 feet

Earth Day 2014 - New Website Launch!

Happy Earth Day 2014! This is one of the most significant days of the year for the planet and I'm excited to have it coincide with the launch of my new personal website featuring nature and conservation photography from across British Columbia. My position as a campaigner and photographer for the Ancient Forest Alliance affords me the time to thoroughly explore the back-roads of Vancouver Island in an effort to document both the beauty and destruction of our endangered old-growth forests. About 75% of the original, productive old-growth forests have already been logged on BC’s southern coast, including over 90% of the valley-bottoms where the largest trees grow and the richest biodiversity is found (see maps). A provincial plan to protect the province’s old-growth forests, to ensure sustainable second-growth forestry, and to end the export of raw, unprocessed logs to foreign mills is urgently needed. Through frequent updates on this website and blog I hope to continually shed new light on these issues by sharing compelling images, stories, and discoveries from the ground. I hope you'll join me on the adventure. -TJ

Olympic National Park - 2013

Just this past week I finally fulfilled my hopes of seeing the incredible temperate rainforests of the Olympic National Park in Washington. And what a trip it was! There's a reason why three million tourists come to see the giant trees in this park every year. Here at home the BC government has done virtually nothing to protect and promote our ancient forest heritage where some of the biggest trees on Earth grow on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland. We need to push the BC government to ensure green businesses and jobs based on sensitive old-growth eco-tourism, value-added, sustainable second-growth forestry, non-timber forest products, and a diversified low carbon economy. Here are a few photo highlights!

 

The magical Fairholme Maple found at the west end of Lake Crescent.

 

A Roosevelt elk feeds in a lush stream bed near a giant Sitka spruce tree. Hoh Rainforest.

 

Late for a meeting...

 

A straight row of spruce trees that started out on the same nurse log years and years ago. Hoh Rainforest.

 

The Duncan Memorial Cedar - 3rd largest in the world.

 

A spiraling, unicorn-horn-like cedar tree!

 

The Kalaloch Cedar - the craziest looking tree I've ever seen!

 

A beautiful slow-moving stream filled with vegetation and crystal clear water along the Maples Glades Trail. Quinault Rainforest.

 

Oxalis and fern vegetation with giant Sitka spruces. Maples Glades Trail.

 

The world's largest redcedar tree! Quinault Valley.

 

And the world's largest spruce tree! Quinault Valley.

Maple Grove Park Fog

Little Qualicum Falls

Little Qualicum Falls has been on my list of places to see for quite while and yesterday was the perfect chance. After being soaked with 24 hours of heavy rain, the river and falls were roaring! Here's a few shots taken in the evening around the Upper Falls.

Nitinat River Spruce & Maple Forest

Took some time over the holidays to explore an area of old-growth forest in the Nitinat Lake region. It turned out to be filled with giant, beautiful Sitka spruce trees, moss covered big-leaf maples, and herds of Roosevelt elk. A truly prehistoric looking forest that feels like a trip back in time just a few hours from Victoria here on Vancouver Island.

Fog Over Matheson Lake

Fog drifting through old Douglas-fir trees around Matheson Lake in Metchosin.

Fog over Matheson Lake

New Print for Sale at Mammoth & Company

The online art collective, Mammoth & Company, has added a second photograph of mine to their collection. The panoramic image of evening fog rolling through the old-growth forests near Sombrio Beach on Vancouver Island has a quintessential West Coast feel. Perfect for welcoming in the cool winter months. Limited edition, museum quality prints are available for order at Mammoth & Company.com.