Hemlocks also grow to near record size in Carmanah
Western hemlock is the predominate species in the remaining old growth on the B.C. coast. This species makes up more than 50% of the existing volume of coastal rainforest wood in general and in Carmanah Valley in particular. A young hemlock growing in the shaded understorey can wait for hundreds of years for the inevitable downfall of a nearby over-towering giant and the sunlight needed to grow up to the top of the canopy. Classified as a "weed species" and left behind by early loggers, it was after World War II under the pseudonym "Alaska pine" that it achieved widespread use. This hemlock was recently discovered in the upper Carmanah. It is of near record size. Further off the trail, waiting to be discovered is, without a doubt, a bigger one. Even though hemlocks don't grow to be as old as the most ancient red cedars or as tall as the tallest spruces, nevertheless the rank in the top 10 list of mighties trees on earth.
CARMANAH CHRONOLOGY
Before white contact until very recently - Qwa-Ba-Diwa native people used the Carmanah Valley with no significant impact on the natural landscape.
1955 - The B.C. government grants logging giant MacMillan Bloedel (MB) a tree farm licence (TFL) which includes Carmanah Valley.
April 1988 - WCWC members discover that MB had accelerated its plans to log Carmanah. New roads led to the Valley's edge and roadways were surveyed into the heart of the valley's superb spruce stands. WCWC starts to build access trail into valley bottom.
Summer 1988 to Spring 1990 - a huge political fight erupts over how much of Carmanah Valley should be park and how much should be logged. The B.C. Supreme Court rejects MB's bid to halt WCWC trail building activities. WCWC produces video titled Carmanah Forever and completes trail to headwaters. Thousands of people hike in to see Carmanah. WCWC brings in many scientists to study the valley, publishes and distributes nearly a million educational newspapers that explain why the whole valley must be preserved to save the tall Sitka ecosystem. MB lauches a PR campaign trying to convince the public that logging wouldn't hurt the ecosystem, that the workers need the jobs and the economy the cash logging would provide.
March 2, 1990 - WCWC volunteers converge on the upper Carmanah and begin construction of a scientific camp, including boardwalk access, a large wooden floored research tent and platforms high in a Sitka.
March 10 - First research platform completed.
March 23 - MP David MacDonald, the chairman of the Federal Environment Committee, visits the upper Carmanah. MacDonald stresses the need for research into the old growth forest before decisions are taken on its fate. MP Robert Wenman becomes the first elected official to ascend to the canopy research platforms.
April 10 - Honourable Claude Richmond, B.C.'s Forest Minister announces that the lower half of Carmanah will be a provincial park, and the upper half opened to logging if studies to be conducted by MB show that such logging would not hurt the park downstream.
April 11 - Richmond threatens to order the removal of the canopy research platforms unless the WCWC formally seeks and receives special use permission to operate it. WCWC replies explaining the station's safety features and its insurance coverage. WCWC says it will defend its right to research in court if necessary.
May 6 - WCWC's coffee table book, CARMANAH - Artistic Visions of an Ancient Rainforest, published in the fall of 1989, wins both the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize and the Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice.
May 28 - Peter Knighton, hereditary chief of the Qwa-Ba-Diwa, files a write laying claim to Carmanah Valley and surrounding territory. The writ also demands financial compensation for damage to forests and fisheries inflicted on Qwa-Ba-Diwa territory since Canadian confederation.
June - There are now five platforms in a complex of three Sitka spruce trees in the upper Carmanah. Scientists begin studies on insect and small mammal life in the canopy.
July - WCWC publishes a report titled, Carmanah Valley Old-Growth Research Project. The report details the research conducted from the WCWC camp in the upper Carmanah. The report is widely distributed to government, industry, universities and media. WCWC research camp staff report that MB has not yet started its on-the-ground scientific studies.
Summer 1990 - Research accelerates in the upper Carmanah Valley, attracting rainforest scientists from other universities. The boardwalk is completed and interpretive signs installed to complete the upper Carmanah rainforest demonstration trail. An increasing number of Canadians seek full preservation for the entire Carmanah watershed.
Although this huge slash-burned clear-cut site will eventually "green up" and regrow trees, this logging method destroy soils, the natural forest complexity and the forest's self-sustaining secrets. When you see a "forest forever" ad sponsored by the B.C. forest industry, remember Chief Seattle's words.
