{"id":809,"date":"2023-06-12T15:31:41","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T19:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/landuseplanninginbc\/chapter\/__unknown__\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T18:35:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T22:35:19","slug":"pa-case_ancient_forests","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/landuseplanninginbc\/chapter\/pa-case_ancient_forests\/","title":{"raw":"Case. Ancient Forests of the Upper Fraser","rendered":"Case. Ancient Forests of the Upper Fraser"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objectives<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<\/header>\r\n
\r\n\r\nThe ancient forests of the upper Fraser River watershed are part of a globally-unique ecological system known as British Columbia\u2019s interior temperate rainforest.\u00a0 This case provides context for why the ancient cedars should be protected under provincial land use policy.\u00a0 Examined from multiple perspectives, this case weaves together the interests of recreational hikers, conservationists, scientists, and policy-makers.\u00a0 Learners should pay attention to the interplay between land use policy and an emerging understanding of the scientific significance of this ecosystem.\u00a0 The story presented in this case ends before the province made a decision about how to protect these ancient forests.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n
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Unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T'enneh<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<\/header>\r\n
The <\/span>area of the inland rainforest discussed in this case<\/span> is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T'enneh and ancestral lands of the Dakelh.\u00a0 The Dakelh are believed to be central BC\u2019s first residents and are ancestors to the Lheidli T'enneh.\u00a0 The name of the latter can be translated as follows: Lheidli means \"where the two rivers flow together\" and T'enneh means \"the People.\"[footnote]\u201cLheidli T\u2019enneh\u201d (n.d.). Retrieved from http:\/\/www.lheidli.ca\/<\/a>.[\/footnote]<\/span><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n
\"Ancient<\/div>\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBritish Columbia\u2019s inland temperate rainforest is over 500 kilometres from the coast (Figure 1). Globally, this is unique.\u00a0 Typically, rainforests exist along coasts where moisture-laden winds from the ocean soak lush forests, making them rich in biodiversity and beauty.\u00a0 Rainforests exist inland where conditions are just right.\u00a0 The rarity of such conditions make inland temperate rainforests special.\r\n\r\n \r\n

Figure 1.\u00a0 Location of BC\u2019s inland temperate rainforest<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n \r\n

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The scenery is also very striking, with very large trees covered in lichen and moss and a forest floor blanketed with ferns, Devil\u2019s Club, and other vegetation.\u00a0 In the ancient stands of the upper Fraser River watershed, trees are three or more metres in diameter.[footnote]Radies, D.N., D.S. Coxson, C.J. Johnson, & K. Konwicki. 2009. \u201cPredicting canopy macrolichen diversity and abundance within old-growth inland temperate rainforests.\u201d Forest Ecology and Management<\/em> 259:86\u201397.[\/footnote]\u00a0 The oldest trees are estimated to be 1,000 years or more, and perhaps up to 2,000 years.\u00a0 The largest documented tree, the tree along the Ancient Forest Trail known as \u201cBig Tree,\u201d measures 4.13 m in diameter.<\/p>\r\n

Not only are individual trees old, so is the forest itself.\u00a0 The absence of natural disturbances, such as wildfire, landslides, and avalanches, means that some of these stands\u00a0 have not been disturbed for a long time.\u00a0 Among biologists, \u201cancient forests\u201d denote stands of trees that have been in place for 1,000 years or more.[footnote]Lewington, A., and E. Parker (1999). Ancient Trees \u2013 Trees that live for a thousand years<\/em>. Collins and Brown. London.[\/footnote]\u00a0 This is why people who know these trees refer to them as the Ancient Forest.\u00a0 In the Lheidli dialect of the Dakelh language, c<\/em>hun<\/em> t<\/em>\u2019<\/em>oh<\/em> w<\/em>hudujut<\/em> refers to the \u201coldest trees.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Block 486<\/em>[footnote]Olak, R. J., and R. Norton (2006).\u00a0 Block 486<\/em> [film]. Canada: Richard J. Olak.[\/footnote] is a film about these stands of ancient cedar trees.\u00a0 The title of the film refers to the number of a forest licence held at the time by a local forestry company that produced cedar rails and posts for gardens, with byproduct sold as garden mulch.\u00a0 Block 486 contains some of the biggest, oldest trees in the watershed.<\/p>\r\n

The film was released publicly at a screening in Prince George in November, 2006.\u00a0 After the film was shown, the floor was opened for questions with the film\u2019s producer, Richard Olak.\u00a0 David Radies, a graduate student at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) who was studying the ancient cedars for his Master\u2019s degree, was in the audience.\u00a0 Radies\u2019 profound question seemed to capture what many people in the room were thinking:\u00a0 \u201cWhy are we turning thousand-year old cedars into garden mulch?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The film strikes at the heart of protected areas:\u00a0 When is a natural area worth protecting?\u00a0 What users, interests, and values must be considered?<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Globally-unique<\/strong> ecosystem <\/strong>[footnote]The primary source of information for this section is Coxson, Darwyn, Trevor Goward, and David J. Connell (2012). \u201cAnalysis of ancient western redcedar stands in the Upper Fraser watershed and scenarios for protection<\/a>.\u201d British Columbia Journal of Ecosystems and Management<\/em>, 13(3):1\u201320.[\/footnote]<\/h2>\r\n

The global significance of the forest\u2019s ecological value was first documented in 1994 by Trevor Goward[footnote]Goward, T. 1994. Notes on old-growth-dependent epiphytic macrolichens in the humid old growth forests in inland British Columbia, Canada. Acta Botanica Fennica<\/em>,<\/em> 150:31-38.[\/footnote], which makes this a relatively new scientific discovery.\u00a0 As explained by Coxson, Goward, and Connell, the weather systems that support rainforests on BC\u2019s west coast are also responsible for a secondary zone that supports the inland rainforest as the weather systems cross interior mountain ranges.\u00a0 The result is a zone of high precipitation, most of which falls as snow in the winter.<\/p>\r\n

According to BC\u2019s Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) system[footnote]For a detailed map, visit: Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia<\/a> [\/footnote], the inland temperate rainforest is in the Interior Cedar-Hemlock (ICH) zone.\u00a0 Among the ICH subzones, the ancient forests of the upper Fraser River are in the very wet (v) and cool (k) subzones (ICH vk), largely due to its geographic location in the lower slopes of the Columbia and Rocky mountains.<\/p>\r\n

In this very wet, cool zone, the high-level snowpack is the essential source of water for the ancient cedars throughout the year.\u00a0 In the spring and summer, the melting snowpack migrates downslope, picking up nutrients along the way, and feeding the forest systems downslope.\u00a0 In particular, the water pools in toe slope areas, providing ideal conditions for what have become impressive stands of very large, old western redcedar.<\/p>\r\n

Although people are readily impressed by the size and beauty of the cedars, the canopy of the ancient forest is also home to rich biodiversity[footnote], Goward, and Connell (2012), p. 90.[\/footnote].\u00a0 A scientific assessment of biodiversity of a small sample of the area identified more than 900 species, some red- and blue-listed species (endangered or near extinction in B.C. or even globally).[footnote]Office of Communications, University of Northern British Columbia (2016). \u201cUNBC researchers uncover rare species in new Ancient Forest\/Chun T\u2019oh Whudujut Provincial Park<\/a>\u2019 [media release, July 27, 2016].[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n

Importantly, the climatic conditions that create ideal conditions for the cedar also suppress stand-level wildfires.\u00a0 When lightning strikes, only a few trees might catch fire; the wet conditions prevent the fire from spreading (as evident in Figure 2).\u00a0 However, the stands will be subject to future impacts of climate change, which are largely unknown.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Figure 2. Western redcedar burning a few days after a lightning strike<\/p>\r\n

\"Fig<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Traditional uses of the Lheidli T\u2019enneh <\/strong>[footnote]This information about the traditional territory and activities of the Lheidli T\u2019enneh draws from their website (www.lheidli.ca) and their Land Use Plan<\/a>, completed in 2017.[\/footnote]<\/h2>\r\n

Chun <\/em>t\u2019oh<\/em> whudujut<\/em>,[footnote]Lheidli T\u2019enneh, Chun T\u2019oh Whudujut (Ancient Forest)<\/a>. [\/footnote] the \u201coldest trees,\u201d are important to the Lheidli T\u2019enneh.\u00a0 The stands of western redcedar are tied to their cultural practices and traditions and were sources of medicinal plants.\u00a0 The Lheidli visited the stands from summer fishing camps along the upper Fraser River.<\/p>\r\n

The traditional territory of the Lheidli T\u2019enneh (Figure 3), an area of over four million hectares, covers a diverse landscape.\u00a0 Significantly, the Fraser River traverses the whole of their area traditional territory, which also covers portions of the Rocky Mountains and Caribou Mountains, and extends to the BC-Alberta border.\u00a0 The rivers and river valleys are essential to travel, trade, and culture based on hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Figure 3. Traditional territory of the Lheidli T\u2019enneh (approximate boundary)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1189\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"746\"]\"Lheidli Source of base map: OpenStreetMap<\/a>. Licensed under the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL). Territorial boundary derived from the BC Treaty Commission<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n

Within their territory, the areas where the Lheidli T\u2019enneh lived and their activities varied by season.\u00a0 During the winter months, larger groups of the Lheidli T\u2019enneh lived in semi-permanent villages of pit houses.\u00a0 In other seasons, family groups lived at seasonal camps throughout their traditional territory.\u00a0 Although these seasonal camps varied from year to year, family groups returned to key sites along rivers for salmon, on lakes for fishing in the spring, and in the mountains for hunting in the fall.<\/p>\r\n

In recent years, the Lheidli T\u2019enneh signed several economic benefit agreements with the Province of BC.\u00a0 These agreements aimed to ensure that Lheidli T\u2019enneh would more fully benefit from the natural resources within their traditional territory while enhancing their social, economic, and cultural well-being of their members.\u00a0 In 1997, the Lheidli Nation established LTN Contracting Ltd., a timber harvesting company operated as a joint venture with Roga Contracting Ltd.\u00a0 The forest agreements have covered replaceable and non-replaceable licences as well as revenue sharing.\u00a0 Although the areas covered by these agreements include stands of ancient cedars, the focus of logging is in deciduous-leading harvest areas.\u00a0 In the Forest Tenure Opportunity \u201cA&B\u201d Agreement[footnote]Government of British Columbia, First Nations Forestry Agreements, Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, Forest Tenure Opportunity \"A&B\" Agreement<\/a>[\/footnote] signed in 2011, the Lheidli T\u2019enneh have access to 101,888 cubic metres annually via non-competitive bid, with a maximum volume of 509,440 over five years.\u00a0 The Forest Consultation and Revenue Sharing Agreement[footnote]Government of British Columbia, First Nations Forestry Agreements, Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, Forest Consultation and Revenue Sharing Agreement<\/a>[\/footnote], signed in 2018, provides the Lheidli T\u2019enneh with a portion of provincial revenues derived from timber harvesting with their traditional territory.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

European history and the ancient <\/strong>cedar<\/strong>s<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

T<\/span>he Lheidli T\u2019enneh have lived among the ancient forests<\/span> f<\/span>or thousands of years.\u00a0 For others, the value of this unique landscape has been \u201cdiscovered\u201d several times in various forms.\u00a0 Alexander Mackenzie travelled through Lheidli territory in 1793 and was followed by Simon Fraser in 1808.\u00a0 A major incursion by non-Indigenous peoples was the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, which started in Winnipeg and led to Prince Rupert.\u00a0 In 1911, the construction crew crossed the Alberta\/BC border and then into the watershed of the upper Fraser River. Construction of the railway was completed in 1914.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From a European settler perspective, the upper Fraser River watershed was a remote, bustling area.\u00a0 In her book on the history of the area, Marilyn Wheeler notes a brochure from 1914 promoting the area as the \u201cnew garden of Canada.\u201d[footnote]Wheeler, M. (1979). The Robson Valley Story<\/em>. McBride, BC: The Robson Valley Story Group., p. 175.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Another early account described the area as a \u201cpicture of tremendous beauty,\u201d but also an \u201ceerie forest\u201d that looked like \u201cthe Devil\u2019s Cathedral.\u201d[footnote]Kopas, C. (1976\/2004). Packhorses to the Pacific: A Wilderness Honeymoon<\/em>. Victoria, B.C.: TouchWood Editions.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\nThe next major incursion through the upper Fraser was the highway, completed in 1968.\u00a0 Highways tend to be constructed on the toe slopes of mountain areas.\u00a0 Unfortunately, as discussed above, these toe slopes are also prime areas for ancient stands of cedars.\u00a0 When the highway was built, it tended to be built through these stands, which is evident as one drives through the valley, seeing cedars on both sides of the highway.\r\n\r\nStevenson et al.[footnote]Stevenson et al. (2011).[\/footnote] describe the historical development of logging in the inland temperate rainforest, including the stands of ancient cedars.\u00a0 Throughout the early days of settlers, logging was a daily chore, occupied with harvesting wood for buildings and fires.\u00a0 Small-diameter cedar was harvested regularly for poles; the outer shells of larger-diameter trees were used for shakes, shingles, fence posts, and fence rails.\u00a0 Over the many years since, harvesting focused primarily on white spruce, Douglas fir, and subalpine fir, with redcedar constituting only a relatively small percentage of total volume logged.[footnote]Coxson, D. S., T. Goward, and D. J. Connell (2012). \u201cAnalysis of Ancient Western Redcedar Stands in the Upper Fraser River Watershed and Scenarios for Protection<\/a>.\" Journal of Ecosystems and Management<\/em>, 13(3):88\u2013107.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Notwithstanding their lower economic value, cedars remain a source of valuable shakes, shingles, posts, and rails.\u00a0 Harvesting and processing tended to be done by smaller companies.\u00a0 Over time, the volume of western redcedar harvested declined dramatically, yet remains a specified component of harvest quotas.[footnote]Stevenson et al. (2011).[\/footnote]\r\n

As Wheeler documents, prior to the highway, the valley was dominated by small mills.\u00a0 The new highway, however, opened the valley to a greater flow of people and products, including logs.\u00a0 As more logs were trucked out of the valley to Prince George, the local mills closed.\u00a0 Although cedar posts and poles continued to be shipped out of the area, the stands of giant cedars were not a prime area for logging.\u00a0 The larger cedars have hollow centres and tend to shatter when felled, thus reducing their economic potential while increasing harvesting costs.\u00a0 Although the low-timber value of the giant cedars meant that most areas were not logged extensively, the greatest impact on stands of ancient cedars was the construction of the highway through the valley.[footnote]Coxson, Goward, and Connell (2012).[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n

There are a few small and medium-sized companies in the McBride area that are harvesting and processing western redcedar.\u00a0 Midget Mills is a second-generation family-owned and -operated custom saw mill using locally-harvested logs.\u00a0 In addition to western redcedar, they saw spruce, balsam fir, pine, Douglas fir, hemlock, poplar, and birch.\u00a0 For more than two decades, Cedar 3 Products produces split post and rail fencing, cedar bark mulch, and custom cedar furniture.<\/p>\r\n

TRC Cedar also operated in the area, employing about 40-50 people.\u00a0 Using a more aggressive approach, TRC Cedar acquired volume-based licences to harvest looper-killed hemlock.\u00a0 When the market for salvaged hemlock dropped almost immediately and significantly, TRC Cedar requested permission to cut green wood and less salvage stands, including the cutting of \u201cdamaged\u201d (i.e., low timber value) ancient cedars stands.\u00a0 The request was approved as a desirable balance between the salvage objective and maintaining local employment opportunities, thereby establishing the timber value of the ancient cedars as a priority.\u00a0 The government policy at the time viewed cedar as a \u201cdecadent\u201d species that should be harvested and replaced by other faster-growing species.[footnote]Stevenson, S. K., H. M. Armleder, A. Arsenault, D. Coxson, C. DeLong, and M. Jull (2011).\u00a0 British Columbia\u2019s Inland Rainforest.<\/em>\u00a0 Vancouver, BC:\u00a0 University of British Columbia Press.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Most of the stands that TRC Cedar had identified for logging included the oldest, biggest, and most ecologically-significant stands of cedar.\u00a0 Their license included Block 486, which was the focus of the film. Block 482 is located a few kilometres west of Block 486 and was clear-cut around 2007 (Figure 4).\u00a0 In February 2008, TRC sold its forest licence to harvest the cedar-hemlock stands; the volume was transferred to beetle-attacked pine stands in the southern interior.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Figure 4. Block 482, clear cut<\/p>\r\n

\"Fig<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

A few years after TRC ceased operations, the gap in the local market was filled by BKB Cedar Manufacturing, which was established in 2013.\u00a0 BKB manufactures cedar post and rail fencing, as well as mulch and wood chips.<\/p>\r\n

The McBride Community Forest Corporation (MCFC) has operated in the valley since 2007.\u00a0 The company, which is wholly-owned by the Village of McBride, has exclusive rights to harvest timber from an area surrounding the village.\u00a0 Under a Community Forest licence, the primary aims are to stimulate local economic activity and provide a monetary return to the village and its residents.\u00a0 Spruce (41%) is the dominant species within the MCFC timber supply area, with subalpine fir (17%) and other species present.\u00a0 Western redcedar covers 16% of the area and is part of MCFC\u2019s harvest plans.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Recreational values<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Access to the ancient forest was enhanced greatly when the Ancient Forest Trail was built.\u00a0 The trail was born from collaboration and coincidence.\u00a0 In 2005, a group of local residents from the Dome Creek area wanted to improve recreational access to stands of ancient cedars in the area.\u00a0 At the same time, members of the Caledonia Ramblers Hiking Society, a group of volunteers based in Prince George, were exploring ways to improve access to the Driscoll Ridge trail, which they maintain.\u00a0 Both groups were considering a new trail in the area of TRC Cedar\u2019s Block 486.\u00a0 Figure 5 shows the first sketch of the proposed trail (dark blue line); it also shows the boundary of Block 486 (solid pink line) and a proposed access road for the logging operation (pink crosses).\u00a0 After getting permission from the province, the Ancient Forest Trail, a 2.5 km interpretive trail (Figure 6) built by volunteers (Figure 7), opened officially on June 4, 2006, the same year that the film Block 486 <\/em>was released.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Figure 5. First sketch of proposed trail<\/p>\r\n

\"Fig<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Figure 6. Ancient Forest Trail map<\/p>\r\n

\"AFT<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Figure 7. Nowell Senior Universal Boardwalk under construction, part of the Ancient Forest Trail.<\/p>\r\n

\"Fig<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Around this time, David Radies was conducting research on biodiversity in the area.\u00a0 During one of his trips into the stands of ancient cedar, Radies found flagging tape and markings on the trees in Block 486.\u00a0 Concerns rose immediately among local residents, scientists, and recreational users that the ancient cedars would be harvested within weeks.\u00a0 The threat remained until TRC Cedar sold its licence.<\/p>\r\n

In November, 2008, a Recreation Order established the Ancient Forest Trail as an interpretive site and the Driscoll Ridge Trail as a recreation trail.\u00a0 The Order was established under section 56(1) of the Forest and Range Practices Act<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n

It did not take long after the trail opened for word of the ancient cedars to spread.\u00a0 Visits to the trail increased dramatically.\u00a0 Estimates of visits to the Ancient Forest Trail indicate growth from 4,749 visits in 2008 to almost 15,000 visits in 2016 (Chart 1).<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Chart 1. Ancient Forest Trail, estimated users (summer hiking season, 2008-2016)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"Chart\r\n\r\n \r\n

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The Ancient Forest Trail has been walked by visitors from around the world.\u00a0 According to entries made in the visitor\u2019s book at the trail head, visitors represent 12 Canadian provinces\/territories, 28 states of the USA, and 26 countries outside North America.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Learning Module\r\n<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<\/header>\r\n
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