As of November 2022 cut block #764325 in the Klanawa Valley has been approved. Western Forest Products has obtained approval to build a 5 km road along the Klanawa River to access this spectacular stand of rare and endangered valley bottom old growth red cedar forest, but work hasn’t started. This forest is listed as a deferral candidate under the old growth strategic review however, despite news coverage to the contrary the Huu-ay-aht Band Council did NOT accept deferrals on their territory. The band council excepted 96% of deferral areas, which sounds good until you realize that the 4% that they left out were the exact areas like this one that they intended to clear-cut in the near term. They received the PR victory while still being able to partner with Western Forest Products in clearcutting this area.
Valley bottom old growth logging is almost over, nearly all of the high-productivity valley bottoms have been destroyed and the fact that a forest such as this remains along a major river on southern Vancouver Island is something of a miracle. It deserves protection. While we explored this old growth forest we were surrounded by the sounds of helicopters dragging logs off of a nearby mountain and of trees crashing down in the distance, the same fate awaits this forest if no one intervenes.
