Press Release: Defenders Call for Protection of one of BC’s Last Intact Old-Growth Watersheds August 25, 2025 — Upper Walbran, Tree Farm License 44 —A 15-foot tall cougar sculpture has been erected to block logging trucks on Monday morning from actively logging in the Upper Walbran Valley. With the blessing of several local elders, the anonymous group on site is demanding permanent protection of all BC’s ancient forests, including eight cut blocks in the Upper Walbran that have been approved for logging by the Province.
“Old-growth logging is still happening in this province. This ancient ecosystem is being clear cut. We are obligated to take immediate action to stop its destruction,” says one forest defender.
The Walbran Valley contains one of Vancouver Island’s last intact old-growth watersheds. Only 5,500 of its 13,000 hectares are protected. The Upper Walbran was never included in the BC government’s temporary deferrals enacted in the central part of the valley in 2021, leaving the headwaters of the Walbran and surrounding forest vulnerable to logging.
The blockade aims to protect the valley’s ancient forests, home to some trees that began as seedlings a thousand years ago. These forests support extraordinary biodiversity and are home to over 252 documented species, including salmon, elk, marbled murrelets, red-legged frogs, and northern goshawks.
“One tree isn’t enough to shelter a herd of elk or to keep the soil from washing into salmon streams. It takes an entire forest,” says the forest defender.
Organizers emphasize that this isn’t just a local issue. Protecting all old-growth forests is about safeguarding ecosystems, watersheds, and the biodiversity that sustain us all.
“Now is the time for all of us to activate our souls for our great Mother in ways that are assertive while doing no harm,” says William Jones, a member of the Pacheedaht First Nation where the logging is taking place. “I told the industry people who were making presentations to quit logging the last of the old growth because there is very little left. We must save it for our children and all the children to come.”
The blockade calls on the Province of British Columbia to rescind approval for the eight Upper Walbran cut blocks and to permanently protect all old-growth forests across the province before it is too late.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025—Update Workers did not show up. Everything is still in place and a bit of work has been done on camping infrastructure so there are outhouses, etc. ready for people if they plan to attend. ******
Joining the Defenders?
Be prepared to be self-sufficient. Directions From Victoria, about 3 hours:
- Drive past Cowichan Lake and through Honeymoon Bay
- Take first turnoff (South Shore Rd)—gravel
- Continue on South Shore until McLure
- Turn left on McLure
- Continue until “ballpark,” three roads branch off.
- Take the middle road, Walbran Main—may also be called Glad Lake Main. Be sure to take the middle road.
- Take the next left, which is Bugaboo
- Camp is nearby
GPS Coordinates are here ******
Inspiring words from Kim Murray (posted on FB)
Resistance is beautiful.
Logging in the Walbran watershed continues.
My goodness it is a crime.
Look at this creation!
Some of the smartest , most creative and most badass people I’ve ever met putting their hearts into this again.
It’s the silent creators and caretakers that really wow me.
Look. At. This. Cougar.
I hope to see it some day.
This cat and Bill Jones and his crew are now blocking the road to some of the most precious tracts of ecosystem that remain on Southern Vancouver Island.
My hope is that everyone can experience the kind of deep and enriching experience that is being surrounded by untouched ancient forests.
There are so few pieces left. Thousands of years have gone into the perfect balance. One fell swoop can erase entire species at this point. Please, for the love of all things holy, end the ridiculous and wasteful ways of clearcut logging of ancient forests.
Thank you to all who stand between the life of the forest and the death of the machine.
I am not an anti-industry person but I AM an anti-insanity person. There is no excuse. The felling of these last tracts is abhorrent.
The fact that this is all that is left is abhorrent. And heartbreaking. Sending love to these folks from the prairie, where I can offer little but am still in awe. Kim Murray ******
For more background …on logging in the Walbran and First Nations involvement, see With more old-growth logging set to begin near Fairy Creek, a new blockade has emerged to save the irreplaceable forests from Sidney Coles, Ricochet Press, Aug 25.
An excerpt….
“As Fairy Creek activists mark the five-year anniversary of the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, new old-growth logging is set to begin in two key areas—where some trees are as ancient as more than a thousand years old.
The new old-growth logging by First Nations and their industry partners is set to resume just 50 kilometres away along the Little Nitinat River and in the storied Walbran Valley. A blockade along the Walbran Main Road, by former Fairy Creek participants, was set up this weekend. Blockade organizers, many of whom were at the original Fairy Creek protests, have constructed a wooden cougar to block the road to industry, while making a statement with a piece of artwork.
“This is very disheartening news for fans of B.C.’s old-growth forests. Some of the largest individual trees, groves and forest stands remaining on earth are in the Walbran and along the Nitinat River,” ecologist and author Andy McKinnon told Ricochet.
