On Wednesday, December 8th the Comox Valley Naturalists are hosting a slideshow by Ken Wu and TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) to raise awareness of the need to protect BCs endangered old growth forests. The AFA is calling on the BC government to inventory BC’s ancient forests and protect them where they are scarce, to ban raw log exports to foreign mills, and to ensure the establishment of a sustainable second-growth forest industry in BC.
The 40-minute Power Point presentation will highlight the current status of Vancouver Island’s forests and what citizens can do to protect old-growth forests, watersheds, and related ecosystems. The presentation includes Watt’s superb photos of some of the most magnificent forests in the country, including Clayoquot Sound, the Walbran Valley, Red Creek Fir, and Avatar Grove.
“Our diminishing old-growth forests are important for wildlife, tourism, the climate, water quality, and for many First Nations cultures,” stated Wu. “How many jurisdictions on Earth still have trees that grow trunks wider than a car’s length and as tall as downtown skyscrapers? We need a plan to protect our endangered old-growth forests and to sustainably log the second-growth stands that constitute most of the landbase on Vancouver Island now.”
According to satellite photos, 75% of the original productive old growth forests of Vancouver Island have been logged. This includes 90% of the original productive old growth forests in valley-bottoms, where the largest trees grow and most biodiversity resides.
Slideshow will take place Wednesday, December 8th at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Avenue from 7-9pm.
