This investigation brings attention to the special value of trees of exceptional size or form, age or historical significance. Such trees, and sometimes the forest stands that contain them, having withstood the ravages of time over many centuries, can inspire awe and reverence, a sense of spirituality and connection to past events. Descriptors such as mammoth, heritage, cathedral-like, ancient, antique and monumental are not uncommon.
In May 2010, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from a resident of Nanoose Bay about planned logging on District Lot (DL) 33. DL 33 is a 64-hectare parcel of Crown land near Nanoose Bay containing mature forest and some older veteran trees within the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem. The complainant is concerned about the integrity of the ecosystem and wants DL 33 to be protected from logging. Should logging proceed, the complainant wants to know how wetlands, rare species, plant communities, fish streams, and groundwater values on DL 33 will be protected.
In February 2010, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from a resident of Nanoose Bay about forest practices in the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem (CDF). The complainant is concerned about these issues:
In November 2006, two large rainfall storm events, occurring two weeks apart, caused major damage to roads, bridges, forests and streams across southern Vancouver Island. These storm events delivered extremely high rainfall and associated high winds, causing hundreds of landslides on Vancouver Island with many occurring in the Bamfield-Port Alberni area.
In this investigation, the Board set out to analyze the landslide activity that occurred in the two years prior and the year following these two large rainfall storm events.
The Shawnigan Lake Watershed Watch submitted a complaint to the Forest Practices Board on March 27, 2009. The complaint was about forest planning and practices on two woodlots in the Shawnigan Lake community watershed.
