A Channel News – Giant Fir Threatened
Conservationists say the BC government is putting the future of the World's tallest Douglas fir tree in jeopardy.
Conservationists say the BC government is putting the future of the World's tallest Douglas fir tree in jeopardy.
Logging is already prohibited in part of a stand of massive old-growth trees near Port Renfrew that the community and environmentalists want protected, but it's not nearly enough, say members of the Ancient Forest Alliance. A section of the stand, nicknamed Avatar Grove, is in an old-growth management area, meaning no cutting is allowed, Forests Ministry spokeswoman Vivian Thomas said yesterday.
Some of the giants stretch straight to the sky for 80 metres, while others are bulbous and misshapen, the knots and gnarls betraying their age. The old-growth Douglas firs and red cedars have stood in the valley beside the Gordon River for centuries, but now, in the almost undisturbed grove, the end is spelled out in spray paint and logging tape.
TJ Watt is a professional photographer living in the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC. Born and raised in the rural town of Metchosin, he carries with him a strong passion for the outdoors, the environment, and life itself.
A Canadian environmental organization has established a 3 Step Program designed to cure thousands of movie-goers who complain about sinking into a depression in their drab, Earthly lives after watching scenes of spectacular alien rainforests and wildlife in James Cameron’s hugely popular film, “Avatar”.
Veteran activists with the Victoria branch of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee are splitting from the group's Vancouver headquarters and forming a new organization dedicated to fighting for old-growth forests.
Tis the season, it would seem, for turmoil in the environmental movement. With run-of-the-river power projects testing the solidarity of green-minded British Columbians, and last summer’s high-profile battle for the leadership of The Land Conservancy, we now have the Western Canada Wilderness Committee announcing the closure of its Victoria storefront and shifting the focus of its Island campaigner to marine issues from old-growth forest protection.
Prolific environmental activists have formed a fledgling old-growth forest watchdog group after parting ways with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.
Ken Wu --- The former campaign director for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee --- and the new head of the Ancient Forest Alliance says there are a million hectares of unprotected old growth forests at risk on BC's south coast.
When last we heard from Ken Wu, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's Victoria campaign director had announced he would be stepping aside to travel the world. But those plans have been put on hold, with Mr. Wu launching a new environmental group in response to a wilderness committee decision he says will downsize the campaign against old growth logging on Vancouver Island.