The cabin is on the river with indoor sleeping accommodations, a big yard for camping, abundant wildlife, electricity, phone, a full kitchen, boat float, outhouse, and composting toilet. Dogs are not allowed. Note: Port Renfrew has no cell phone reception, and internet access is limited to a couple wireless locations in town.
This event is FREE for volunteers, thanks to the generous support of Mountain Equipment Coop, the Freedonia Cooperation, and supporters across Vancouver Island. Wild Coast Summer is sponsored by Forest Action Network, the best eco-group on the coast. Please support this grassroots initiative! Contribute with Paypal, by mail, or in person at our events.
4792027105_49df6c6fd8_m.jpg
Surprise discovery at Avatar Grove
New map shows potential karst
Go
here to view the map. Go
here to read more about the grove.
July 14, 2010 - There's more than meets the eye in Avatar Grove, the strange forest of twisted giants near Port Renfrew. The mossy grove may be home to ecologically-sensitive karst (limestone formations) as well as huge gnarly trees. Researchers with Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network (VIC FAN ) have documented landscape features that appear to be karst bluffs or outcrops and karst streams.
"If our initial karst survey is confirmed, we have a compelling case for permanently protecting this grove," said Shayn McAskin, mapping coordinator for VIC FAN.
The surprise discovery could halt plans to log the massive, gnarled trees on Crown land along the Gordon River two hours west of Victoria.
"I expect we'll find the largest trees are growing on karst terrain, and they should be protected by the 2010 provincial order for karst," McAskin said.
4781960213_a070ea53d1.jpg
McAskin, a second-year environmental technology student at Camosun College, spotted limestone formations during a VIC FAN field trip to the grove in June. Subsequent research turned up evidence of karst potential from first-hand observation and in provincial geology maps.
VIC FAN director Zoe Blunt said, "We have advised Teal Jones, the company that was planning to log the grove, about the consequences of damaging protected karst features. They have all the information we've gathered so far, and we'll be following up with more detailed reports as the surveys continue."
New map is a community project
A resident of Langford, McAskin is the author and primary researcher for the Baird Creek/Avatar Grove map, released today by the Wild Coast Mapping Project and VIC FAN. Two dozen students and Island residents have contributed their time and energy to this grassroots project so far this year. The map initiative aims to cover the southwest coast of Vancouver Island from Sooke to Port Renfrew, relying largely on local knowledge and first-hand observation to highlight world-record-size trees, salmon and trout habitat, drinking watersheds, rare species, and recreation areas.
Forest Action Network’s mapping project is carried out with the generous support of a community involvement grant from Mountain Equipment Co-op.
4781960229_c3a4f0d1e9_m.jpg
Avatar Grove
Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner TJ Watt first noted the Avatar Grove on a scouting expedition in December 2009. After discovering flagging tape for logging in February 2010, he began to raise public awareness about the endangered Grove. Ken Wu, founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance, named the grove after the Hollywood movie for its enormous and unusual trees. The towering forest is found on a steep, wet hillside about two hours west of Victoria, just inside the western boundary of the Capital Regional District and about 7 kilometers northwest of Port Renfrew on the Gordon River. As Crown land, it is part of Tree Farm License 46, and Teal Jones Logging of Surrey, BC owns the timber rights. The grove is on the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation.
Vancouver Island karst
Karst ecology is lush but fragile. Limestone rock dissolves in water, which can form underground watercourses and caves like the ones that were destroyed by the city of Langford and Bear Mountain Resort. In Vancouver Island's Tahsish Valley, a mature forest on karst was clearcut and burned, leaving a 'moonscape' of bleached white bedrock where nothing can grow due to soil erosion.
Government rules
As of January 2010, the South Island Forest District classifies certain kinds of karst formations as environmental features that should not be damaged. "Results-based" forestry does not allow pre-emptive action to stop a company from implementing risky forestry plans. We understand that the penalties faced by companies and professionals who engage in such damage, either willfully or out of ignorance, could be severe.
VIC FAN
As part of its campaign to save caves and rare species near Bear Mountain Resort and the unfinished Langford interchange, the Victoria-based non-profit petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn a Langford development bylaw for abuse of process earlier this year. A decision is still pending. In summer 2008, VIC FAN published "The Langford Rebellion: Public Opinion, Development, and Bear Mountain," a 44-page analysis of the embattled resort and interchange project. Founded in 2007, VIC FAN is one of BC's smallest environmental groups, with about a dozen members, no paid staff, and no office.
Where we stand: Vancouver Island's natural heritage
4541600753_a4432dc79a_o.jpg
BC's smallest environmental group is taking on Vancouver Island's biggest bullies.
Mapping the Wild Coast
Students and community groups are working together toward a new land-use vision for the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. The community mapping project focuses on bridging the divide between public and private interests. From Port Renfrew to Sooke and beyond, residents and visitors can witness the far-reaching effects of clearcut logging on the landscape, water, and wildlife. Support our work mapping old-growth groves and special places before it's too late.
Help us:
- Monitor logging and log exports from the southwest island
- Map rare species, old-growth, watersheds, and heritage sites
- Document the case for habitat protection
- Consult communities about development
- Challenge unethical development using legal means
- Share skills, strategies and resources with like-minded individuals and supportive groups
Thanks to all our supporters, without whom this work would not be possible:
* The Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund at West Coast Environmental Law
* The Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Victoria
* The People's Trust
* Our lawyers, Irene Faulkner and Robin Gage
* Hundreds of people from Langford, Victoria and the South Island
This work is carried out with the aid of a grant from the Freedonia Cooperation.
Special thanks to Mountain Equipment Co-operative for supporting the Wild Coast Mapping Project.
Long weekend campout on the scenic San Juan River. Volunteers get free transportation, shared meals, and beautiful surroundings with a caring, committed group of researchers. Help survey geological features and giant trees. (No experience necessary.) Flag routes and walk the watercourses at Baird Creek (Avatar Grove). Take a trip to the Red Creek Fir, one of the biggest trees in Canada, now threatened by logging.
