Top-down view of one of hundreds of ancient cedars clearcut in the Caycuse Valley by Teal-Jones. Counting the rings on this tree, it was an estimated 800 years old or older. Who's waiting around until the year 2800 to see a tree like this again?
📨 Send an instant message to politicians demanding they protect BC's endangered old-growth forests today: ancientforestalliance.org/send-a-message
This is not a series I ever hoped to complete but the following are before and after images of giant ancient cedars cut in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht territory on southern Vancouver Island. Earlier this month I revisited a magnificent grove that I had explored and photographed earlier this year, only this time it was the stumps of those same trees that would be my focus. Gone were the vibrant flourishes of red, green, and gold. Instead, a bleak, grey landscape lay before, utterly unrecognizable from what I remembered. Heart wrenching as they are, I hope these images stand as stark example of what is still happening everyday across BC everyday and what needs to end now.
We need everyone to SPEAK UP!! Contact Premier John Horgan and demand that the BC NDP show they're serious about saving old-growth by immediately halting logging in the most endangered forests and allocating funding in Budget 2021 for Indigenous protected areas and economic alternatives to old-growth logging.
• Email John Horgan here: premier@gov.bc.ca or here: www.ancientforestalliance.org/send-a-message
• Phone him at: 250-387-1715
• CBC News: Conservationists demand fast action from B.C.'s new forestry minister on protection for old-growth trees
• The Guardian: Photography campaign shows the grim aftermath of logging in Canada's fragile forests
• The Narwhal: In photos: see old-growth go from stand to stump on B.C.’s Vancouver Island
• Outside Magazine: Forest Selfies Are Helping Save BC’s Old-Growth Trees
• Treehugger: Photos Raise Alarm Over Old-Growth Logging in British Columbia
The forces of nature once again aligned and unleashed a mind-blowing display of raw power and beauty along the west coast of Vancouver Island this past Sunday. A 6.5m/20ft+ swell combined with a king tide to produce waves of enormous size that thundered and roared against the rocks. This day was on par with the huge waves I photographed earlier this year in January. Never thought I would see something so impressive again! Humbling to say the least. Fine art prints available at: www.tjwatt.com/prints or email prints@tjwatt.com if you don’t see the one you’re looking for.
* The photos are now reaching the news! See a CTV article here and KOMO News article here.
BREAKING: The BC government has released the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel’s report and announced it will immediately defer logging in nine areas, including the famous Clayoquot Sound and the intact McKelvie Valley near Tahsis, and protect up to 1,500 of BC’s biggest trees while it works to develop a new provincial approach to old-growth management. More deferrals are also expected after further discussions with First Nations.
These first steps are an encouraging start and the result of concerned people like you speaking up! Thank you!!
But more work still needs to be done. The vast majority of productive big tree ancient forests, of which only 3% remain in BC, are still at-risk. There are also no funding commitments yet for the transition to sustainable, second-growth forestry, for new Indigenous Protected Areas, or for the economic diversification of First Nations communities.
The panel’s report is a blueprint for a complete paradigm shift in how BC manages old-growth forests. Now, the province must commit to fully implementing all 14 recommendations.
• Read our Ancient Forest Alliance press release below for details and our full response: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/bc-old-growth-panel-report-announcement/
• See the BC government's announcement here: https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2017-2021/2020FLNR0058-001711.htm
• Read the Old Growth Strategic Review panel's report here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/563/2020/09/STRATEGIC-REVIEW-20200430.pdf
An aerial view of old-growth forests in Clayoquot Sound, part of a 260,578 ha temporary deferral that will prohibit logging in this area.
Thanks to everyone who voted for my eagle photo from the Great Bear Rainforest! It's the winner of week 32 in HippyTree's #52weeksofnature photo contest🥇See the article here for a brief Q&A: https://www.hippytree.com/blog/52weeksofnature-photo-contest-week-32-2020-winner/ Limited edition t-shirts also available here: https://www.hippytree.com/…/52weeksofnatu…/heather-charcoal/
Spent the weekend in the Walbran and hiked out to Anderson Lake for a swim. In the 15 years I've been going out there now, somehow I’ve never made it all the way to the lake! Thanks to recent trail improvements though by rockstar volunteers, it's much easier to find the way there now. Still a decent trek though - about a 10km round trip that includes a log jam crossing - but nice to take a dip in the lake as a reward! The Sitka spruce are hugely impressive as well and thankfully protected within the provincial park, unlike the endangered cedar groves growing nearby. Maxine’s Tree, one of Canada’s largest sitka spruce trees, is a wonder to behold. It grows about 3/4 of the way along to the trail to Anderson Lake. GPS coordinates for the tree: 48.669953, -124.598958. Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/37aoMxodcJtKYPyg9
Maxine's Tree, one of Canada's largest spruce trees! 265ft tall and 13.2ft wide. A true giant!
Went camping at Raft Cove on the north island for the first time earlier this month ~ such a wild and beautiful place! Friends, fires, sun, wind, rain, wildlife, surf, trees, paddling, games, and relaxation time. A muddy hike in and 1200km round trip but worth every bit! 👌🏼
