Forest and Logging Factsheet
Temperate Rainforest Globally
- temperate rainforests are rare to begin with: originally covered
only a fraction of one percent of the earth's land surface
- about 1/2 (55%) of the world's temperate rainforest has been cut
already
- only 25% of Washington's, 4% of Oregon's and 4% of California's
rainforests are left
- large tracts of temperate rainforest remain only in BC, Alaska and
Chile
Temperate Rainforest in BC
- BC has about 1/4 of the world's remaining coastal temperate
rainforest
- about 1/2 (53%) of BC's coastal temperate rainforest has been cut
already
Temperate Rainforest of Vancouver Island and Clayoquot Sound
- 3/4 of the productive ancient forest on the 3,175,000 hectare island
has been logged already
- 13% of the island's area is protected in parks, but only 6% of the
island's forest is protected
- Clayoquot Sound has the largest area of old growth forest and the only
cluster of unlogged valleys remaining on Vancouver Island
- of 102 valleys 5,000 hectares or larger on Vancouver Island, only 17
remain undeveloped (completely unlogged or less than 2% logged)6 of these
large intact valleys are in Clayoquot Sound:
2 are protected: Megin, Moyeha (both in Strathcona Provincial Park)
4 are not protected: Sydney, Ursus, Bulson, Clayoquot River
- the only 2 large undeveloped islands off Vancouver Island are also in
Clayoquot Sound: Flores Island & Meares Island
- Clayoquot Sound: land and ocean area: 350,000 hectares
- land area: 265,000 hectares (2,650 square kilometres/1,000 square
miles) or about 8% of Vancouver Island
Logging Tenures in Clayoquot Sound
- Tree Farm License 57, Iisaak Forest Resources (formerly MacMillan
Bloedel's TFL 44): 87,000 hectares
- TFL 54, Ma-Mook Natural Resources/Coulson Forest Products
(until March 2007 this TFL belonged to Interfor): 49,000 hectares
- Arrowsmith Timber Supply Area (available to both companies and to BC
Timber Sales): 17,500 hectares
- Forest License A19235, International Forest Products (Interfor): approx.
6,000 hectares
- Private forest land owned by Island Timberlands: 1,350 hectares
Clayoquot Land Use Decision, April, 1993
- 33% of land area (90,400 hectares) protected - translates into 22% of
productive ancient forest protected
- 62% of area open for logging - translates into 74% of productive
ancient forest open for logging (22% already cut; 52% to be cut)
- 5% not included in decision (District of Tofino; private land;
native reserves; Meares Island - under treaty negotiation)
Volumes of Wood Cut in Clayoquot Sound 1988-2007 (in cubic metres)
(1 cubic metre = 1 telephone pole)
1988 959,000 (29,000 truck loads! at 33 cubic metres per truck)
1989 958,000
1990 763,000
1991 777,000
1992 467,000
1993 456,000 (13,800 truck loads)
1994 406,000
1995 323,000
1996 106,000 (under Scientific Panel guidelines, from 1996 onwards)
1997 84,000
1998 17,000
1999 31,000
2000 24,000
2001 81,000
2002 145,000
2003 ?
2004 ?
2005 86,000
2006 66,000
2007 150,000 (4,500 truck loads)
Contact us!
Friends of Clayoquot Sound
PO Box 489, 331 Neill St., Tofino BC V0R 2Z0
Tel: 250-725-4218 Fax: 250-725-2527
Email: info@focs.ca
Photo by Adrian Dorst