Bavis Creek enters the San Juan river from the south and contains the only large section of high productivity old-growth south of the San Juan river and North of the San Juan Ridge, it extends from the top of the ridge down a steep slope towards the San Juan river, just miles away from the biggest Douglas fir tree on earth. Timber Sale license TA2406 would clear cut the heart of this forest if BC Timber Sales chooses to move it to auction.
Gain Creek on Pacheedaht Territory is home to some of the worst government approved clear-cut logging on Vancouver Island. The old growth forests of Gain creek are being targeted for ~corporate gain~ by Pacheedaht Andersen Timber Holdings. This watershed is unseeded territory and public land, part of TFL 61 near the Jordan River. For the past several years logging has pushed up into the Gain Creek watershed which flows off of the San Juan Ridge. The company has clear cut through the creek in multiple places and newly approved cut blocks would clear cut through waterfalls to target some of the last old-growth forests of the area.
These are images of the Cleveland Peninsula which was logged by the Sealaska Native Corporation in the 2010s. This clear-cut stretches for over 5000 acres, through valleys and over mountains. The State of Alaska has some of the worst environmental standards on earth and land privatization is now the biggest threat to the Tongass Rainforest. I captured these images while filming for Eden's Last Chance in summer 2019.
Granite Creek cut block #9337 is an old growth cut block in the Granite Creek watershed up 5 Mile Main near the Fairy Creek HQ. Teal Jones has constructed logging roads into this cut block in 2022 and is primed to log it in 2023.
Along with Images of the road building into cut block #9337 are images of Heli Camp taken in June 2020
In late 2022 the Teal Jones group again logging on upper Edinburgh mountain in cut blocks 7165 & 7163, these forests known as the Truck Road 11 cut blocks contain old-growth red cedar and on is in the watershed of Eden Creek, endangered birds have been documented in the area including the western screech owl.
These forest will be gone by the end of summer 2023
These are images of a planned cut block in Gain Creek (part of the Loss Creek potter shed), which is south of Port Renfrew along the San Juan ridge, this area is controlled by the Pacheedaht band council that has undertaken insanely extensive logging in this area.
Road building has already been approved into this forest, and a cut block has been laid out. When this forest is logged there will be no setbacks from the stream that flows through this forest. While I was there I observed "Cutting boundary" flagging tape within a meter of the creek.
BCTS (BC Timber Sales) is planning on auctioning off a 42 HA old growth cut block immediately adjacent to Cape Scott Provincial Park in the Dakota Creek Watershed this year.
This would only be the SECOND cut block ever to be logged in the intact Dakota Creek Watershed.
The BC NDP has approved road building into an old growth cedar forest on the Darling River south of Bamfield, this cut block contains literally hundreds of western red cedar trees growing over 2.5 m in diameter.
This truly is one of the most spectacular sections of Old Growth Forest on Southern Vancouver Island and before the end of 2023 it is likely to be gone.
Teal Jones has plans for three cut blocks on the southwestern flank of the Fairy Creek Rainforest, just across the ridge from Fairy Creek. This intact slope contains extremely impressive yellow and red cedar forest with trees up to 9 feet thick growing at high elevations. This area is identified as a deferral candidate and as Marbled Murrelet Habitat, however, it remains unprotected. Teal Jones hasn't applied to log this area yet however when they do they are sure to face substantial opposition.
Western Forest Products has applied to build a sprawling road network into a last fringe of old growth forest along the pacific ocean near the outlet of Quintino Sounds and north of Grants Bay. This forest contains old group red cedar with remarkable canopies and is near some of the most productive old growth forest on Northern Vancouver Island.
As of the end of February 2023 this road building has not been approved.
The 2000 Road lies just across the ridge from Fairy Creek on the southwestern flank of the old growth rainforest. The area was clear-cut in 2019 and then again in 2021 after dozens of people were arrested trying to stop the logging. The area is incredibly steep and landslides are common on the road.
Teal Jones has decommissioned the road for now however there are 3 cut blocks planned on the next slope over.
Cut block #871327 is a mountaintop removal logging operation. Western Forest Products in partnership with the Huu-ay-aht Band Council received approval to destroy much of the last remaining old growth forests on this unnamed mountain in early 2022, by September much of the Logging had already taken place. We visited this forest in time to see a few of its gentle giants. Only a few weeks after we witnessed their majesty they were cut down.
These are images of the aptly named Loss Creek Cut block number #449H. I first visited this forest in the summer of 2021 and found it dense with old growth red cedar, my return trip in June 2022 found a perfect example of what the BC NDP calls “sustainable forestry.” This area was a deferral candidate under the old growth strategic review however it never received protection. There’s a reason for that. TFL 61, in which loss Creek is located is managed by The Questo Company, which is run by Jeff Jones and the Pacheedaht band council, the same people responsible for rejecting the (very limited and inadequate) deferrals offered by the BCNDP.
Up until 2021 this was the only remaining section of old growth on Quatse Lake which is the water supply for the Quatsino First Nation. Western Forest Products clear-cut this area leaving a meager buffer to protect the lake. Up until recently this was the closest and most accessible old growth forest for cultural uses for the Quatsino Nation.
The valley above Zeballos Lake on Northern Vancouver Island was an intact old growth forest up until 2018 when Western Forest Products began a series of devastating clear-cuts in the valley. These images show the aftermath of their logging. The lower half of this intact Valley has been destroyed however the upper half remains pristine, this Alpine wilderness is continuous with Wass lake provincial park and is one of the largest unprotected roadless areas on Vancouver Island, it deserves protection. Western Forest Products is currently seeking approval for a cut block #O65 which would extend this devastating road network farther up this alpine valley.
These are images of the spectacular old growth forests that once grew in cut block #LP11 this forest is gone. It was logged in early 2022 by the Qala:yit Community Forest partnership between the Pacheedaht Band Council and the Cowichan Community Forest.
The Loup Creek Watershed, a tributary to the Gordon River Valley was extensively logged in the 70s and the timber industry is coming back for what’s left, there are very few sections of old growth left in the watershed but those that remain are among the most spectacular in the region. You can view a photo album of a currently at-risk forest in Loup Creek on the Ancient Forest Alliance’s website.
Cut blocks #764321, #764328 & #764431 were listed as deferral candidates under the old growth strategic review however, despite news coverage to the contrary the Huu-ay-aht Dand 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.
Everybody has heard about mountaintop removal coal mining, but cut blocks #764321, #764328 & #764431 are what I like to call mountaintop clear-cut logging. When I first visited this forest in 2021 the area had already seen dramatic amounts of logging, including to the edge of a small lake at the base of the mountain, upon returning to the area in the summer of 2022 the scale of devastation was shocking, loggers were camping there overnight and helicopters were hauling logs off of the mountain.
The transformation of a sacred place of beauty into a desecrated moonscape is hard to witness.
I visited cut block #4452 back in 2018 while Teal Jones was doing roadbuilding. It was the first old growth cut block I visited as a kid, while I was there I wanted more than anything to climb into the trees to stop the logging.
This forest is gone now.
