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

Solutions exist for Vancouver Island's star tourist attraction

Cathedral Grove

Tourists at interpretive site by blown down exihbit Photo: Matthew Bolton

At the July 2004 meeting with Minister Barisoff, the Wilderness Committee’s Mid Island Chapter requested that the Minister:

  • Immediately implement public safety measures in the existing parking lot
  • Enlarge MacMillan Park to include the remaining 500 hectares of Cathedral Grove
  • Annex crown land adjacent to Cameron Lake to provide a circular link, including Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park
  • Work with local groups to create a wildlife corridor along the Little Qualicum/Cameron River, extending across Vancouver Island from the East Coast to the west. Cathedral Grove would be the main feature of an east-west wilderness trail and wildlife corridor.
  • Undertake a comprehensive safety and ecological study of the new parking lot proposal and provide local governments and the public with a copy of the plan for the changes to the park.
  • Promote an open and meaningful public viewing and input process so that the very best and safest option will be achieved for this world famous park.