Forests

Press: Endangered Upper Walbran Valley - Photos & News Coverage

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Anyone who has been to the Upper Walbran Valley knows it is a truly exceptional place. At the heart of the valley lies the largest contiguous tract of unprotected, lowland old-growth forest left outside of parks on southern Vancouver Island; which includes the Castle Grove and the Central Walbran Ancient Forest. I recently visited the area to photograph signs of new potential logging plans in the core area and the amazing forest that is threatened there. Subsequent to the trip I wrote a blog for Huffington Post British Columbia which they just featured on the front page on their website (above)!

To read the story, see photos, and learn more, please visit: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/tj-watt/not-all-is-well-bc-woods_b_6201668.html

We also received news coverage on the issue from other major news sources:

And here are a few short clips I filmed while exploring the at-risk forest with my partner Jackie:

It's time to see this jewel of nature saved once and for all!

Autumn Colours Near Lake Cowichan

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Autumn, with its rich oranges and yellows, is a beautiful time to be outdoors in many different parts of the world. Here in British Columbia however, in a land where evergreen trees tend to dominate our forests, one has to look a bit harder to find areas bursting the colours we so closely associate with the season. So on an overcast weekend in October, my partner and I went exploring around the creeks and rivers near Lake Cowichan on southern Vancouver Island to find just that. In this region you'll mostly come across younger stands of bigleaf maples and red alders that have grown back after decades of logging but in some places it's still possible to come across small pockets of old-growth deciduous trees. These rare, gentle giants are typically covered from root to crown in thick layers of mosses and licorice ferns, which stand out even more when the leaves have fallen off the trees. Below are a few images from our colour-filled trip. Where are your favourite places to go hunting for Fall colours on the Island or around BC?

The BC Big Tree Registry is Now Online - Submissions Welcomed!

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Exciting news! The BC Big Tree Registry, which aims to document the province's largest trees via public submissions, has been re-launched by the UBC Faculty of Forestry online. See their press release here. Any member of the public can become a nominator and make submissions through the online registry here: http://bcbigtree.ca/  More information about the registry and how to properly measure trees can also be found here: http://bigtrees.forestry.ubc.ca/ 

I just had my first nomination accepted - Big Lonely Doug, Canada's second largest Douglas-fir tree (ID#386), which we sadly came across in a clearcut near Port Renfrew in 2012. I'm excited at the prospect though of nominating many more giant trees as I stumble upon them in the woods now that the submission process has been digitized. In the past, the database was all on paper and only included the top 10 trees for each species, whereas now all forest giants can be cataloged. Though the registry affords the trees no legal protection, it should help to reignite interest in these increasingly rare and exceptional specimens and inspire folks to get out into the woods to find new hidden treasures. A hopeful spinoff from this is raised awareness of the threats still facing our endangered old-growth forests and more pressure on the BC government to protect them from logging - especially in the high productivity areas where the biggest trees are found and the forests are most threatened. See maps here.

The news media did a great job covering the re-launch and all outlets included a selection of my big tree photos in their articles which was cool to see. The Huffington Post ran an huge photo gallery with over 50 of my images!

With big trees in mind, I encourage everyone to grab their boots, break out their maps, and see what hidden giants they can find in their neck of the woods. Remember to always leave a trip plan with a responsible friend and pack the necessary first aid & outdoor survival equipment. Happy tree hunting!

You just never know what you might find when exploring. I came across this giant burly western redcedar tree while on a solo bushwhack in the Gordon River Valley outside of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island in 2012.

Nitinat River Spruce & Maple Forest

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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.

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