Log Boom Tug Timber Raft being towed in the Georgia Strait, British Columbia, Canada. BCX 0437
Two-thirds of BC’s land base – 60 million hectares – is covered in trees. Only about 22 million hectares of this vast forest was ever suitable for logging, and much of this has already been logged. These logged forests once harboured the biggest trees and the best wildlife habitat in BC. Now, big stumps mark where the great giants once stood tall. Plantations, where second-growth trees were planted after the original wild forest was logged, are now growing throughout much of BC. Some areas are being logged for the second time. Fortunately, some wild, never-logged forests still remain. Known by many names – including old-growth, natural, frontier, ancient, first growth or original – these forests were tended by nature, not people. In British Columbia, a debate is now raging about what to do with these precious remaining wild forests. Globally, only a little over 20% of the world’s original wild forests still exist. British Columbia is Canada’s most biologically diverse province and has the most species at risk of extinction. In BC, 64% of reptiles and turtles, 58% of ferns, 46% of (dicot) plants and 45% of amphibians are currently at risk. BC is home to about half of Canada’s total grizzly bear population, and to more bird species than any other province in the country, with over 500 bird species including more than 300 breeding species. The sad fact is that over 1,900 species found in BC are “at risk”, and in many instances it's because of the continued logging of their wild forest habitat. To make matters worse, climate change has also impacted our forests. More than 9 million hectares of forest lands, mostly on BC’s central plateau, have been hit by the pine beetle epidemic and other pests due to warming winters and forest mismanagement. The forest industry is an important part of the BC economy and will continue to be long into the future.
Size: 5620px × 3733px
Location: Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island, BC, British Columbia. Canada.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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