Press

Red Bull: Protecting Our Elders - Interview & Photo Essay

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This spring I was super surprised and thrilled to have a chance to share my before & after images and story with Red Bull - yes Red Bull! Their magazine, The Red Bulletin, has a monthly readership of 2.2 million and getting images of both the beauty and destruction of BC’s ancient forests in front of as many people as possible is always one of my main goals. The international audience this year has been huge. John Horgan and the BC NDP, the world is watching! Read the interview here: https://issuu.com/redbulletin.com/docs/0521_uk_drucklowres/20

Shortlisted for the 2021 Earth Photo Exhibition

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Excited to share that my before and after images have been shortlisted for the 2021 Earth Photo exhibition! Here’s an interview I did with the Royal Geographical Society in London in the lead up to the show’s launch next week.

Your photos were taken in British Columbia, would you like to share any thoughts regarding the current heatwave and fires there?

The current heatwave and fires in British Columbia (BC) are devastating examples of what runaway climate change looks like on our planet. Temperatures in one town hit 49C. It burned to the ground later that day. Despite this, our provincial government has its proverbial head in the sand, saying on one hand how they take climate change seriously, while at the same time approving clearcut logging in some of the best-remaining stands of endangered old-growth forest. Old-growth temperate rainforests are the greatest carbon storehouses of any ecosystem on Earth and are BC's best natural defense against global warming. The answer then is simple: leave them standing.

Are you aware of the picture below (only viewable in the original article), which is part of the Society’s Collections? Did you draw inspiration from it for your shortlisted photos? If not, any thoughts on this historic image?

Wow! What an amazing image and an incredible tree! No, I had not seen that photo before, though I am a big fan of another photographer from that era named Darius Kinsey who captured amazing large-format images of big trees and old-growth logging in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s. If it wasn’t for those historical photos, we would have virtually no visual record of what were truly Earth’s grandest forests, now replaced with cities, farmland, or tiny tree plantations. If I had a time machine, I would certainly go back just to marvel at the magnificence of those towering trees.

How does it feel to be shortlisted?

I’m very grateful to have been shortlisted for the Earth Photo exhibition! The loss of old-growth forests in BC due to logging is an issue of global significance but since it takes place in such remote regions, it’s very hard for the public to see what’s going on. Shining an international spotlight on this issue will only help to add to the political pressure necessary to achieve science-based legislation that finally protects these endangered ecosystems.

Is there anything else you want us to know about your image and the story it tells?

BC's ancient forests are home to some of the largest living organisms on Earth. Trees here can grow to be over 300ft (90m) tall, reach more than 20ft (6m) in diameter, and live to be upwards of 2,000 years old. Despite this, they're still being cut down at an alarming rate - roughly 10,000 football fields on Vancouver Island alone each year. Now, after 150 years of logging, more than 97% of BC's 'big tree' old-growth forests have been logged with companies still targeting the best of what little remains. Time is running out and we need everyone to speak up! You can Send-a-Message to the BC government using our take-action tool.

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New study reveals old-growth forests are worth more to BC economy standing than logged

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BREAKING: A new economic study, released today by the Ancient Forest Alliance, reveals old-growth forests are worth more standing than logged when considering the many economic benefits their ecosystem services provide.

By refuting the narrative that protecting old-growth hinders the economy, the study provides even more reason for the BC NDP to take immediate steps to protect ancient forests for the benefit of all British Columbians.

Read the report and AFA’s press release for details: https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/old-growth-economic-report/

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BC Magazine: Fallen Giants Cover Story

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I’m thrilled to have landed the cover story of British Columbia Magazine with my before & after images from the Caycuse Valley! So much effort goes into capturing these shots and my hope is always that they reach as wide an audience as possible to help raise awareness about the threats old-growth forests still face. These images have now reached over 2 million people on Facebook alone, have been featured in international news media and magazines, and will now be delivered to households all over BC. Grab a copy to see the photo essay and write-up inside.

Maclean's: The Battle to Save BC's Old-Growth Trees - Before It's Too Late

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The latest coverage on the old-growth issue in Macleans’ Magazine is a great read that takes a look back at the original 'War of the Woods', what's building again today on Vancouver Island, and how visual imagery is helping millions of people become aware and care about this crisis in the age of social media. Read the article here: www.macleans.ca/longforms/british-columbia-old-growth-trees

Before & after old-growth logging in the Caycuse Valley on Vancouver Island, BC.

BC not on track to meet milestones for old-growth, First Nations and forestry transition

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Environmental organizations issue report card six months after publication of old-growth panel recommendations

View the old-growth report card
Read the old-growth report card backgrounder

VICTORIA/unceded Lekwungen territories — Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee issued a report card today assessing the B.C. government’s progress on protecting old-growth forests. Today marks exactly six months since the provincial government published the report from its independent old-growth panel. Premier John Horgan promised to implement the panel’s recommendations “in their totality” shortly after.

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The panel called for a paradigm-shift to safeguard the biodiversity of B.C.’s forests with a three-year framework, including logging deferrals for all at-risk old-growth forests within the first six months. Half a year later almost all at-risk forests remain open for logging and the B.C. government has not developed a plan with milestone dates and funding. 

“Government promised a ‘new direction’ for old-growth forests and then spent six months dragging its heels and refusing to protect the most endangered stands,” said Andrea Inness, campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance. “The government published the recommendations six months ago, but it received the report containing them on April 30, 2020 — by any measure they’ve missed this crucial deadline.” 

Endangered old-growth stands across the province continue to be targeted by logging companies and the exact forests the panel called for urgent action to protect are being lost. At the same time, the lack of a concrete plan is leaving First Nations and forestry workers with uncertainty about whether conservation, economic diversification and the transition to sustainable second-growth forestry will be adequately funded. 

“As long as we continue to rely on a dwindling supply of endangered old-growth forests, B.C.’s forest sector will continue to face uncertainty and instability,” said Cam Shiell, environmental sustainability officer with the Public and Private Workers of Canada, a union that represents thousands of workers in the B.C. forest industry. 

“The provincial government can’t delay action any longer, it must take meaningful steps to protect old-growth forests, lead the transition to sustainable, value-added second growth forestry and create the forest industry of the future.”

The organizations’ report card grades progress on five key areas related to the 14 recommendations: immediate action for at risk forests (D), three-year work plan with milestone dates (F), charting a new course prioritizing ecosystem integrity and biodiversity (F), funding for implementation, First nations conservation and forestry transition plans (F) and transparency and communication (F).

“Promising a new direction and then avoiding any meaningful action to ensure the most at risk old-growth forests are protected is not a ‘paradigm shift,’ it’s the same old talk and log,” said Jens Wieting, forest and climate campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “The Horgan government is getting terrible grades on old-growth, and is currently failing to keep one of its key election promises.”

In its initial response in September, the province acknowledged status quo management of old-growth forests had “caused a loss of biodiversity,” recognized the “need to do better” and announced nine deferral areas encompassing 353,000 hectares. Horgan and the BC NDP have claimed these deferrals ‘protected old-growth,’ but a closer review revealed most of this area is either already under some form of protection or is second growth forest and still open to logging.

According to independent experts, as of 2020, only about 415,000 hectares of old-growth forest with big trees remain in B.C., mostly without protection. Only 3,800 hectares, or one per cent of the remaining fraction of this kind of forest was included in the government’s deferral areas. Old-growth logging continues at an average rate of hundreds of soccer fields per day, always targeting the biggest accessible trees that remain. 

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Reflecting polling results show more than 90% support for old-growth protection, the old-growth panel report found broad agreement for a paradigm-shift to respond to the biodiversity crisis in B.C.’s forests. The lack of social license for continued old-growth logging in the province is also highlighted by the ongoing blockades at Fairy Creek on unceded Pacheedaht territory (southern Vancouver Island), which have been in place for seven months.

“Nothing the Horgan government has done so far is preventing the most endangered old-growth forests in the province from being mowed down, and the public knows it,” said Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee. “The BC government must immediately defer logging in at-risk old-growth and commit substantial funding to support the economic diversification of First Nations and forestry communities to ensure the long term sustainability of both jobs and the environment.”

Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee will continue to mobilize their tens of thousands of supporters and hold the government accountable on it’s old-growth promises. The next report card will be issued on Sep. 11, 2021.