Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park

Carmanah Valley, Three Sisters - 2009

Carmanah Valley - Cathedral Spires Poster - 1989

Twenty years ago I had just moved to British Columbia and heard stories about giant trees on the west coast of Vancouver Island. What I didn’t realize at the time is the Provincial Government had seceretly given permission to logging giant Macmillan Bloedel to clearcut one of the largest intact watersheds left on the island, the Carmanah Valley. While learning some of the history about this area I was approached by a small local environmental group, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, to take part in an effort to preserve this amazing stand of timber. What an effort it was! Over a period of a few months many of Canada’s most respected artists visited the valley and painted their interpretation of the stunning biodiversity that exists. Native elders came in as well to lend their support to the cause. I was fortunate to be invited to photograph both the valley and the artists working, one of those assignments that you never forget. A beautiful coffee table book Carmanah – Artistic Visions of an Ancient Rainforest was the result and brought the beauty and importance of this area into the homes of many people throughout the world. In many ways, this was the beginning of a huge push in British Columbia to protect a very small percentage of the unspoiled forest that was left in a wild state.

Carmanah Valley, British Columbia

I was honoured to produce a poster (photo above) for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee as a fundraiser. The photo we used was of three massive Sitka Spruce trees that have become known as the Three Sisters. These three trees are joined at the roots forming a massive root structure over 6 metres (20 feet) in diameter and each tree climbs well over 60 metres (200 feet). Very impressive! The poster still sells well after 20 years and is now in its 5th printing! The Carmanah Valley was protected in 1990 as a Provincial Park with the Upper Carmanah Valley and the Walbran Valley added to the park in 1995.

Fern, Carmanah Valley, British Columbia

The valley is impressive for the large trees. The Carmanah Giant at 95 metres ((313 feet) is the world’s tallest Sitka Spruce. Many of the other trees are often 70 metres (230 feet) high and up to 9.4m (31 feet) in circumference. The Carmanah Walbran also boasts giant western red cedars, many of which are over 1,000 years old. It isn’t just the trees that are impressive however, the understory thrives with ferns and wildflowers while bears, wolves, cougars and deer call the valley home as well.

I had heard many stories during the past few decades of the Carmanah Valley being loved to death, too many hikers climbing on the giant trees and doing serious damage to the root structures. Protective boardwalks were put in place and many of the large trees have been roped off with the hope that people could enjoy these giants without damaging what so many had tried to save.

Well, here it is twenty years later and Harbour Publishing requested that I revisit the valley for a double page spread in the upcoming Cowichan Valley book that I am working on. With that in mind I headed up to the Carmanah, 93 kilometres of logging roads and a few hours later I was back to where it all began. My first impression is how much better the access looked compared to twenty years ago. When we first went up we passed through massive clearcuts, this time there were very few indications that serious logging had taken place. While the forest surrounding the Carmanah is still quite young it is well on its way to providing the shelter that the large animals require. The boardwalk system that has been put in place is doing a great job of protecting the trees and while I missed being able to wander through the forest I appreciate the need for this type of system. Overall I was very pleased with what I saw. I spent about 5 hours wandering amongst the large trees and was the only one in the valley, perhaps due to the bone jarring access trip to get to the trailhead. I came away realizing how much would have been lost without the unselfish work of so many volunteers 20 years ago.

Fungus, Carmanah Valley, British Columbia