One of BC's most beloved parks, MacMillan Park, which is part of Cathedral Grove, is threatened from overuse, logging at its boundaries, blow-down of its towering ancient Douglas firs and a five-acre parking lot proposed to be built in critical elk winter feeding range. Located alongside Highway 4, the only highway leading to Port Alberni and Clayoquot Sound, MacMillan Park's main problem is that it is too small. This paper lays out WCWC's 2004 campaign to protect and expand this most famous of BC's provincial parks.

Cathedral Grove: Last Remnant of BC's Vanishing Douglas Fir Forest

Wilderness Committee Educational Report Vol.23-No.06 - Summer 2004

Parking Plans

Time to rethink ill-conceived plan for MacMillan Park parking lot

Cathedral Grove

Visitors cross the highway to visit the grove. Photo: Matthew Bolton

Removing a five acre forest buffer upwind of the park will expose the large fir giants to further blow down from the fierce winter storms. Also, the removal of vegetation along the floodplain will increase water levels by limiting the soil’s capacity to hold water, further destabilizing the large trees by raising the high water levels of the Cameron River floodplain and making the trees vulnerable to strong winds.

Logging these five acres to make room for the proposed parking lot would not only expose the park to additional blow down events but would destroy the critical Roosevelt elk winter range – the last in the area. Roosevelt elk is a blue-listed species in British Columbia and habitat degradation has been identified as a primary threat to the elk’s survival. This elk herd is not like the elk found in Banff as they are very shy and elusive. Studies have shown that when human activity is within 300 metres of the elk, they experience significant stress.

Cathedral Grove's most famouse Doublas Fir

In 1977, blowdown nearly hit Cathedral Grove's most famous Douglas fir. Photo: Matthew Bolton

The BC government claims that the new parking lot is needed to ensure safety for the many visitors to the park. However, access to the new parking lot would require a left hand turn after a blind corner. This in itself may be more hazardous than the existing parking lot, as the speed on this portion of the highway is 80 kilometres per hour. Another dangerous left turn across the highway will be required when vehicles leave the parking lot travelling west towards Tofino.

Surprisingly, a traffic safety study has never been completed to compare the proposed parking area and highway entrances to the present location. Furthermore, there has been no visitation study to determine how the additional walking distance of over three kilometres roundtrip to the big trees would affect tour operators, the elderly, and young families with children.

Recognizing that safety is an important concern, the Wilderness Committee has advocated for an alternate location for a parking lot. The Committee’s proposed location is near the highway, it is a safe location and it will not destroy the elk habitat.

In July 2004, the Wilderness Committee’s Mid Island Chapter met with the Honourable Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection requesting that the government immediately implement a few simple changes to calm and more safely control existing traffic through the park. These included putting in larger caution signs, lowering the speed limit, a marked crosswalk and creating a bus drop-off zone and turnaround area. It was also discussed with the minister that a visionary solution be adopted that involves increasing the size of MacMillan Park to encompass the entire Cathedral Grove as well as the crown lands across from Cameron Lake. Protecting the entire Grove would take pressure off the tiny existing park and ensure that all visitors could enjoy BC's natural “cathedrals”.