‘Monumental cedars’: Old-growth clearcut next to iconic B.C. park raises concerns

A B.C.-based conservationist is raising concerns about new clearcuts of old-growth forest on the edge of one of the province’s most spectacular provincial parks.

“The northern tip of Vancouver Island is really one of the crown jewels of North America, it’s just a spectacular, rugged, remote, beautiful, beautiful area teeming with wildlife,” said Ian McAllister, co-founder of Pacific Wild

McAllister discovered the clear cuts in March when he followed a newly-built logging road just outside the boundaries of Cape Scott Provincial Park.

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He said he was shocked to discover the scale of the logging, which he said faced directly onto the park and included rare and ancient trees.

“Right along a creek an entire mountain was just shaved — huge, huge clear cuts,” he said.

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“We realized these were monumental cedars. We lost track of how many of the stumps, over 1,000 years of age, and it was just hectare after hectare of massive, massive red and yellow cedar stumps.”

The area in question is outside of the Cape Scott park boundaries and was legally logged.

The Ministry of Forests said the cut blocks were developed and sold by BC Timber Sales, a government agency created to develop Crown timber for auction, with the “full support of the local First Nations.”

“Ending all old-growth logging is not a recommendation of the Old Growth Strategic Review, in fact the review specifically stated that some harvesting in some areas was possible and necessary,” the ministry added in a statement.

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It went on to point to recent government initiatives to protect old-growth forests, including the permanent protection of 76,000 hectares of conservation area in Clayoquot Sound announced just this week.

McAllister said he applauded that recent work, but said the government is being disingenuous by touting such conservation efforts while simultaneously selling off rare, ancient trees like the ones harvested near Cape Scott.

“You listen to the premier talk about how they are protecting these rare, special forests and that they are deferring them and that they are putting more money up for conservation, but when you get up there it’s a very different story,” he said.

“Every one really should be protected now because they are so rare.”