Slideshow to protect Island’s ancient forests

The Comox Valley Naturalists Society will be hosting a slideshow presentation 7-9 p.m. on Dec. 8 by Ken Wu and TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance to raise awareness of and support for the need to protect BCs endangered old growth forests. The presentation will be at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Ave., Courtenay. Admission is by donation.

The AFA is calling on the BC government to inventory BC’s ancient forests and protect them where they are scarce, such as on Vancouver Island, to ban raw log exports to foreign mills, and to ensure the establishment of a sustainable second-growth forest industry in BC.

A 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.

Please come out and join us for this important topic. To learn more about the Comox Valley Naturalists please visit the website at www.comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca

For more information contact:

Dave Lacelle, [email protected] , Comox Valley Naturalists Society or Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance [email protected]