Utopia Photo-blog

Bugaboo Creek is found leading into the Gordon River about 10kms from Port Renfrew, BC. Parts of the hillsides are still covered with old-growth temperate rainforest but the land is part of  logging company Teal Jones' TFL 46 and is being readily clearcut. Seen above is a stark example of the destruction these forests face. This clearcut was full of massive western red cedar stumps and roads that plowed through creeks and streams.

Industrial forestry has stripped Vancouver Island of over 75% of it's original old-growth forests including 90% of the valley bottoms where the biggest trees and most wildlife are found. Without legislated protection from the BC government, these ecological treasures will continue to be transformed into scarred landscapes and replaced with second-growth tree plantations.

Hillsides stripped of their trees loose the capacity to hold rain-water and typically suffer from erosion and landslides. As the dirt and debris washes down the steep slopes it causes siltation in salmon rivers below and seriously degrades spawning grounds. Salmon populations have a number of stressors facing them in current times with this being another major factor.