Old-growth forest activists turn to Facebook

Some Vancouver Island environmentalists who say they discovered tree stumps as wide as a living room are turning to Facebook for help raising awareness of what’s being lost through old-growth logging.

The members of Ancient Forest Alliance are asking others to also upload their photos to the group “Canada’s Biggest Stumps.”

“Most people are unaware that this is still going on,” said Ken Wu, one of the organizers.

He was among the group who discovered the stumps on an expedition last month.

He called logging old-growth trees “incredibly sad” and claimed it happens with “regular occurrence.”

“It’s like shooting black rhinos … there are so few of these monumental trees left.”

On Vancouver Island, about 75 per cent of the old-growth forests have been logged, according to the group.

In the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley and Squamish River areas have scarce old-growth forests as well.

“Most jurisdictions on the planet would drool to have the type of forests that we have,” said Wu.

“Its nuts to think that it’s okay to cut the last remnants of it down.”