Rare tree hunter in Canada finds ‘freak of nature’ 1,000-year-old cedar

An explorer who focuses on location and preserving old-growth trees has encountered what is one of the oldest old-growth trees ever documented in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Last summer, TJ Watt was bushwhacking through a remote forest in  Flores Island, part of Clayoquot Sound, in the territory of the Ahousaht First Nation off the west coast of Vancouver Island, when he came upon a magnificent site.

A massive red cedar appeared, whose trunk seemed to grow wider the farther up it went.

“It was incredible to stand before it,” he told The Washington Post. “I’d describe it as a freak of nature because it actually gets wider as it gets taller. As I looked up at it, I felt a sense of awe and wonder.”

“I’ve found thousands and thousands of trees, and I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of photos of old-growth forests,” he added. “But I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one.”

After happening upon the tree, he consulted with members of the Ahousaht, who have lived in the territory for thousands of years. As part of the nation’s plans to protect over 80 per cent of their Clayoquot Sound lands as Ahousaht Cultural and Natural Areas, the Ahousaht will protect the giant tree Mr Watt experienced.

The western red cedar measures 151 feet tall and 17 feet wide, and is thought to be over 1,000 years old. Its exact location is being kept secret to protect its sensitive habitat from overuse.

“People would have seen this tree for hundreds of years — my people would have interacted with it for as long as it’s been here,” Tyson Atleo, a representative of the nation, told the Post. “Today we covet these large trees because there are so few of them left.”

Old-growth forests are key reserves of biodiversity and resilience in the face of the climate crisis.

In 2020, the government of British Columbia embarked on what it promised would be a paradigm-shifting new approach to managing these vital forests.

The following year, it consulted with 204 First Nations on whether they supported deferring logging of these forests for the next two years while officials formulated "a new approach to sustainable forest management that prioritizes ecosystem health and community resiliency."

Critics argue the effort to preserve the forests hasn’t been adequately funded and implemented thus far.

Outlets like Mongabay have documented clear-cutting on Vancouver Island forests slated for protection.

According to analysis of public data, logging of these forests actually increased between 2020 and 2021 by around 13 per cent, CBC reports.

"These are the most resilient forests we have left with a fighting chance to withstand climate change like drought, fire and flooding," Sierra Club’s Jens Wieting told the outlet. "If we continue to nibble away at the last old-growth we will be left defenceless."