Vancouver Island - Protecting Paradise

Wilderness Committee Educational Report Vol.26 - No.01, Spring 2007

A gorgeous emerald pool in the Upper Walbran Valley, filled with young trout.

Old-growth deciduous rainforests, including this moss-draped broadleaf maple near Cowichan Lake, are found largely on private lands. Many are in grave danger of being logged. The BC Government must set-up a province-wide fund to purchase private forest lands for protection.

Keeping score on Vancouver Island

How much remains on Vancouver Island:

  • 73% of its original productive old-growth forests have already been logged.
  • 90% of the productive old-growth forests on low, flat terrain (ie. less than 300 meters above sea level, with slopes less than 17%), such as valley bottoms where the biggest trees typically grow, have been logged.
  • 99% of the old-growth forests in the Coastal Douglas-fir zone on the east side of Vancouver Island have been logged.
  • 87% of the productive old-growth forests on the South Island (south of Barkley Sound/Horne Lake) have been logged.

    • How much of Vancouver Island is protected in parks:

  • 13% of its total land area is protected in parks.
  • 6% of its productive forests (old-growth and second-growth) are protected in parks.
  • Less than 1% of its original old-growth Coastal Douglas-fir forest is protected in parks.
  • Within its parks, 65% of the land consists of alpine tundra, low productivity forests (bogs, scrub forests and high altitude forests), and previously logged forests.
  • 35% of land within its parks are productive old-growth forests.

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