By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
BC Wildfire Service has been battling fires in the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park, home to some of the oldest cedar stands and rarest lichen species in the province since its discovery on July 9th. As of writing on July 22nd, the fire is still out of control – meaning it may grow beyond its current size of 39 hectares.
But the fire is unlikely to impact the boardwalk trails within the park, according to a statement BC Parks sent to The Goat last Thursday.
“Fire is a natural ecosystem process. It is rare for a fire to occur in the type of forest in this park, but it can happen,” the statement reads. “The current fire location is not currently impacting the boardwalk trails at the park.”
The park has been partially reopened since July 17th, after being closed to the public for one week. The Driscoll Ridge Trail is still entirely closed, according to BC Parks.
The park is jointly managed by BC Parks and Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. While infrastructure such as the boardwalk and interpretive trail signs are not currently threatened by the fire, if any infrastructure does need to be replaced, BC Parks and Lheidli T’enneh First Nation work together to determine the best funding source, according to the statement.
The Goat reached out to Lheidli T’enneh First Nation for comment, but could not arrange an interview by presstime.
High Stakes
Fire in the forest’s ancient cedar stands could be devastating, says Darwyn Coxson, a professor in the Ecosystem Science and Management Program at the University of Northern British Columbia. Coxson has been conducting research in the area for roughly 20 years, documenting rare species of lichen and plants. His research on the park’s unique biodiversity contributed to the Province’s decision to designate the area as a provincial park in 2016.
Coxson spoke to The Goat about the potential impacts if the fire spreads beyond the hemlock bushes where it is still smoldering.
“Where the fire is currently burning, I’m not as concerned about losses to biodiversity because those species are represented elsewhere (in the park),” Coxson said. “But I am extremely worried that the fire sits quite close to many of the unique ancient forest stands for species that would be at real risk of being lost. So I’m holding my breath.”
According to Coxson, part of what makes the park’s ecosystem so unique is that the ancient trees provide a stable place for different lichen species to grow.
“Many of the older trees are over a thousand years of age, and with that long site continuity we’ve seen the accumulation of a lot of rare species, particularly rare lichen species that are usually found in B.C.’s coastal temperate rainforest.”
If the forest does suffer wildfire damage, plants can grow anew – but they may not resemble today’s iconic old-growth forest, which supports lichen that rely on the cedar stands, Coxson added.
“The areas in the ecosystem that burn will of course recover. A well-defined sequence of species will come in: blueberries, raspberries, a lot of sorrel species,” he said. “But the real loss in the Ancient Forest Park would be many of these species that need a really old forest set.”
