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British Columbia Ancient Forests News
Ancient Forest with some of the largest cedar trees in B.C. will be class A park
Vancouver Sun, March 16, 2016A unique rainforest comprised of some of the largest cedar trees in British Columbia is set to become a provincial park.
Great news! The province has established a new 11,900 hectare protected area east of Prince George that includes important tracts of the famous ancient redcedar groves in the inland temperate rainforest. Thanks to the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, the Northern Wetbelt Working Group (who have been working for a substantially more extensive, science-based protected areas network in the region to protect more of the inland temperate rainforest) and the province for this important step forward in old-growth forest protection!
Also take note you can still sign-on to the Northern Wetbelt Working Group's letter for expanded protection in the region (if you haven't already) at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16hq-R8ZOylR-wLSz9OjbxRdf4NYHYnG9Uo1Lu12qr0U/viewform
Premier Christy Clark has announced that 119 square kilometres of forest in northern B.C. will become a class A provincial park under legislation to be introduced Wednesday.
The designation would protect the Ancient Forest, also known as Chun T'oh Wudujut to local First Nations, from timber harvesting and other commercial activity.
Located about 120 kilometres east of Prince George, the forest is part of the only known inland temperate rainforest in the world, and is home to many different plant and wildlife species.
Prince George MLA Shirley Bond says in a release that the 1,000-year-old trees are "historical natural wonders" with trunks measuring up to 16 metres around.
The province is also planning to work with the federal government to have the area considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site based on the outstanding value of the ancient trees.