It stands at a little more than 70 metres high, 14 metres taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Experts believe it may have been around even longer than the world-famous Italian landmark, which began to take shape nearly 850 years ago.

Big Lonely Doug looms over a clearcut hillside in the Gordon River Valley, surrounded by stumps and scrub brush, maybe 15 kilometres northwest of Port Renfrew.

The, this massive Douglas fir is, for some, a stark reminder of the glory days of Vancouver Island logging, when massive old-growth timber fed myriad sawmills, sparking a booming industry that made towns like Port Alberni and Lake Cowichan rich.

But in the wake of a media blitz in 2014, Doug has found itself with something else in common with the Leaning Tower: it has become a destination.

And with that, it has also become a symbol of a dramatic shift in Island thinking.

Citing the power of old growth trees as a tourism resource, to seek a total ban on old growth harvesting on the Island's Crown land.

And they received support this week from a surprising source: the across the province in instances where old growth trees B次元官网网址�have or can likely have a greater net economic value for communities if they are left standing.B次元官网网址�

The Renfrew Tall Trees Experience

Dan Hager runs a Port Renfrew cottage rental business called Handsome DanB次元官网网址檚 Accommodations. He is the president of the communityB次元官网网址檚 chamber of commerce and the one who successfully pitched the old growth resolution to the B.C. chamber.

While he lauds old growth for its environmental benefits, he said the main motivations for the chamber motion were dollars and sense.

B次元官网网址淚t just boils down to basic math. This is not a comment about logging. ItB次元官网网址檚 about economics and marketing," he said. "Port Renfrew now has a product people canB次元官网网址檛 get anywhere else.B次元官网网址�

In 2012 the Victoria-based environmental watchdog group the Ancient Forest Alliance successfully lobbied to protect an extraordinary grouping of trees near Port Renfrew it dubbed .

In the months that followed, increasing numbers of visitors began to pour into the community. Hager said the community didnB次元官网网址檛 do any scientific studies as to why, but conversations and guestbook entries made it obvious: prompted by media reports, they were there to see the majestic trees.

He told the B.C. chamber that since that summer, accommodation providers in Port Renfrew have reported demand for accommodations has increased 75% to 100% annually. And he said the visitor streams continue outside the summer fishing season B次元官网网址� typically the only time visitors had previously been coming.

Entirely by accident, the environmental movement had given the 300-resident town an .

B次元官网网址淭hanks to the trees, Port Renfrew is no longer a one-industry tourism town and has been able to successfully brand itself the ,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey created Avatar and we benefitted from it.B次元官网网址�

Hager said he had no trouble convincing the business community this is an opportunity other B.C. regions can and should be taking advantage of. He relayed his message through the following example.

B次元官网网址淚n 2012 a kayaking company in Discovery Islands did an illuminating economic analysis. It calculated the economic value of 60 hectares of timber scheduled to be logged above and around the kayaking base camp across from the world-famous Robson Bight.

"It was determined that the value of the 60 hectares of timber was worth about $3.6 million. Since the regeneration cycle meant the area could be cut only once every 60 years, the yearly economic value of the timber was $60,000.

B次元官网网址淭he economic value to the kayaking company, however, was $416,000 per year, or $24.96 million for the same 60-year period. In stark contrast to the approximately 300 person-days employment from logging the 60 hectares just once, the kayaking company provided 20,160 person-days of employment during the 60-year cycle.

"And this simple economic analysis didnB次元官网网址檛 include the employment and earnings for the 40 other ecotourism businesses using the same area.B次元官网网址�

He said it is the governmentB次元官网网址檚 role to do whatB次元官网网址檚 best for communities and increasingly that means letting trees stand.

B次元官网网址淚n Port Renfrew there are maybe a a half-dozen people that gain their living from forestry. A lot more than that get it from tourism.B次元官网网址�

Concerned Industry Warns Of Crisis

Hager wants to make it clear: the B.C. chamber did not endorse an old-growth logging ban, what it endorsed was protection for those old growth stands that generate more economic benefits for communities if they are left standing.

But the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities went a step beyond that in April when members voted to ask the provincial government to amend the Vancouver Island Land Use Plan to protect all of Vancouver Island's remaining old growth forest on provincial Crown land.

According to David Elstone, executive director of , a ban on old growth logging would devastate the industry.

Elstone was caught off guard by both motions and unclear why there has been a shift in thinking from organizations that have traditionally been in the industryB次元官网网址檚 corner.

B次元官网网址淚n general, I am concerned about the tone and the concept. DonB次元官网网址檛 know if all the facts are being drawn forward,B次元官网网址� Elstone said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 want to fall back on being alarmist, but if you suddenly turn that off there doesnB次元官网网址檛 take much imagination to see the impact.B次元官网网址�

Rick Jeffery, president and CEO of, agreed and was concerned both the AVICC and the B.C. chamber may have made decisions in absence of all the facts.

B次元官网网址淚 have no idea on what basis they are making these claims. I just donB次元官网网址檛,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 was surprised they didnB次元官网网址檛 ask us.

B次元官网网址淥ur take-home message is that we have to sit down and talk. We will bring facts and figures.B次元官网网址�

One message Jeffery wants to get across is that in local forests. Another is that 55 per cent of the , something he says will increase over time due to conservation practices in the unprotected areas.

B次元官网网址淥ld growth is going to be here forever,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淧eople donB次元官网网址檛 understand that.B次元官网网址�

Elstone said 45 per cent of the coastal harvest comes from old growth trees. Forestry accounts for 38,000 direct jobs on the Island and the neighbouring coast, and 61,000 across the province.

Would a ban old growth harvesting mean a loss of 45% of the jobs?

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檇 probably lose a lot more than that,B次元官网网址� he said.

Jeffery said certain mills are only set up to process old growth and the industry as a whole depends on economies of scale it would not be able to sustain, leading clients to look elsewhere.

B次元官网网址淵ou would have an average allowable cut drop,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t would put a lot of mills out of business and put pulp mills in jeopardy.B次元官网网址�

According to Elstone, the word B次元官网网址渃risisB次元官网网址� would not be an overstatement.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a vital part of our history and always will be an integral part of the success of our communities,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭here are still a hell of a lot of communities that rely on forestry. We need to protect our working forests or else there will be significant impact.B次元官网网址�

To help determine the degree of that impact, Black Press contacted Susan Mowbray, senior economist with MNP and author 2015B次元官网网址檚 .

Her answer is that it is impossible to tell when the economic benefits of an old growth logging halt would exceed those of continued harvesting without further study. One canB次元官网网址檛 simply subtract the loss of those logs without considering the spin-off effects.

B次元官网网址淚f, all of sudden, you canB次元官网网址檛 harvest the old growth (in a certain location), it may not make sense to harvest the low value timber there either,B次元官网网址� she said.

She added the lack of consideration of such variables makes her very skeptical that the Discovery Islands kayaking case presented by Hager to the BC chamber painted a realistic picture. For example, every forestry job creates 1.5 other jobs. Tourism jobs donB次元官网网址檛 have the same impact.

B次元官网网址淭here are some jobs that get substituted. The difference is forestry jobs are higher-paying,B次元官网网址� Mowbray said. B次元官网网址淭here needs to be a better understanding of what it means. In some communities forestry is all there is.

B次元官网网址淢ore analysis has to be done before I can unequivocally say.B次元官网网址�

A shifting community mindset?

A possible test case for such an analysis could be Tofino, the poster child for replacing a resource-based economy with eco-tourism. Mowbray said she has yet to crunch those numbers.

Anecdotally, Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne said embracing and protecting the rainforest certainly seems to working there.

A lifelong Island resident, she agreed the mindset of Island residents has definitely been shifting.

B次元官网网址淵es, I really think it is. Global tourism is on the rise, the role of primary resource extraction has changed.B次元官网网址�

While councillors from communities like Port Hardy and Port Alberni spoke out against the AVICC motion B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� as being too broad, or too damaging to the north Island, she said a majority embraced it as necessary in shaping the direction of the IslandB次元官网网址檚 future.

B次元官网网址淚 think that 10 or 15 years ago it would have been more contentious," she said. "When things become rare, we value them more. Frankly itB次元官网网址檚 something IB次元官网网址檝e come to expect from Vancouver Island. There has been much more thinking like an Island, realizing that we are all in this together.B次元官网网址�

Port Hardy councillor Fred Robertson believes part of that should also be a recognition that well-managed forests are crucial to a healthy north Island. While he respects the opinions expressed by his neighbours further south, he thinks they have to consider that old growth logging may still have a net benefit in some parts of the Island.

B次元官网网址淚n my mind it doesnB次元官网网址檛 have to be an either-or,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 important to understand all perspectives. There is an economic and social impact in communities like ours.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址漎ou can have working forests and still attract people to a pretty spectacular part of the world.B次元官网网址�

Elstone said that as the industry has shrunk residents of some communities may have lost their perspective on its overall importance.

B次元官网网址淭here has probably been a migration from urban centres into our smaller communities,B次元官网网址� he said.

James Byrne, regional managing partner with MNP and another lifelong Island resident, said some may have lost sight of how valuable logging is in communities like Campbell River, Port Hardy and Woss and how the harvest feeds businesses further south.

B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 estimate the importance of old growth. Logging is not what it used to be, but it still has a significant impact up and down the Island,B次元官网网址� he said.

Sierra Club campaigner Jens Wieting doesnB次元官网网址檛 dispute that, only its relative significance.

B次元官网网址淟ogging no longer has the same economic importance,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e have two trends: there are fewer benefits from logging and increasing benefits of keeping trees standing.B次元官网网址�

Wieting echoed Osborne in saying old growth preservation has worth beyond the economy: water conservation, clean air and the spiritual satisfaction of preserving an ecology found nowhere else in the world are values more Vancouver Islanders have embraced.

He said despite the fact 15 per cent of the IslandB次元官网网址檚 forests are protected, only three per cent of its biggest, most iconic trees are safe from harvesting.

B次元官网网址淧eople are still looking for places where they can find intact nature,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲hen are we going to make the transition? The time to make the shift on Vancouver Island is overdue.B次元官网网址�

Wieting was instrumental in the push that led to protection of 85 per cent of the. The preservation of Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 remaining old growth forests is the environmental movementB次元官网网址檚

Getting a majority of Island communities, as well as the provincial business community on side is a big step.

B次元官网网址淭his is indeed huge. It is a reflection of the shifting landscape,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 feel very privileged to live in this part of the world. It is really something you canB次元官网网址檛 find anymore anywhere.B次元官网网址�

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