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[crow cawing]

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[birds chirping]

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- The old growth forest
is a life source.

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It\'s a life source of our people.

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Our ancestors said that
the land that we walk on

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is made up from the
dust of our ancestors.

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When we connect to the forest,

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the forest depends on us

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and we depend on the forest.

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The Creator has provided you
with everything you need.

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The hemlock tree, the cedar
tree, you take a little plant,

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and if you take it with
honor and respect,

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it connects you to
the spirit of the land.

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[Levi speaking in Nuu-chah-nulth]

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So we\'re connected to
everything that there is.

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[birds chirping]

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- [Stephanie Voiceover]
For thousands of years,

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Indigenous peoples have
stewarded the ancient forests

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of what is now known
as British Columbia.

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These forests are vital
to Indigenous cultures

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and to the health of the planet,

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but also to the timber industry.

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Today, precious little
old growth remains,

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and time is running out
to protect what\'s left.

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[waves lapping]
[seagulls crying]

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I am Stephanie, and my
ancestral name is Kwetasel\'wet,

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I\'m from the Squamish Nation,

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I\'m from the Lacket Joe family,

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and I was born and raised
here on our territory,

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also known as North Vancouver.

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I work as a journalist at The Narwhal,

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focusing on the natural world
and on Indigenous rights.

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[waves surging]

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- A lot of my stories look
at how Western science

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is finally starting to make room

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and actually respect
Indigenous knowledge

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and realize that there
is knowledge there

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that they don\'t have.

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The stakes are super high
right now for old growth forest

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and logging in general,
like with climate change,

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like, the urgency there with
wildfires, with drought.

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There\'s also just this urgency of

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how much old growth we have left.

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[Stephanie Voiceover]
Ancient forests once covered

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nearly all of Vancouver Island.

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Defined by the province
as a forest with trees

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that are at least 250 years
old, or 140 in the dry interior,

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old growth forests are
prized by the forestry sector

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for their quality wood and high yield.

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And experts say a
coastal old growth forest

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can yield three times more

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than a forest that would replace it.

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[protestors singing]

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The old growth issue
first hit the mainstream

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30 years ago in Clayoquot Sound,

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with one of the
biggest logging conflicts

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in Canadian history.

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It became known as
the War in the Woods.

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[seagull crying]

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I\'m traveling to Tofino,

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in the territory of the
Tla-o-qui-aht people,

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to look at the legacy
of those protests.

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I want to find out
why old growth logging

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is still happening
all these years later,

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and what needs to be done
to ensure old growth remains

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for generations to come.

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- Welcome to \"The Nature of Things.\"

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I\'m David Suzuki.

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15,000 years ago--

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- [Stephanie] David Suzuki visited
the Clayoquot Peace Camp

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in 1993, and has fought
for the protection

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of old growth for decades.

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- North America was once a
vast expanse of wilderness,

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but development of one kind or another

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has destroyed most of it.

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That\'s why the last
pockets of wilderness

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have become battlegrounds

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between profoundly
different worldviews.

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- We are here at a key site
in the War in the Woods.

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I was wondering if you
can just reflect a bit

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on where we\'re at in this moment,

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30 years later in the
fight for old growth?

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- I mean, that was a
huge battle that went on.

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And 30 years later, the
forest is still standing,

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the bridge is breaking
down, but meanwhile,

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that battle was just a
skirmish that was really about

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the future of forests
in this province.

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And the fact is that the logging
has continued for 30 years.

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But this is just a reminder of

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how people were concerned enough

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to actually blockade this road.

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MacMillan Bloedel isn\'t here,
but forest companies

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are still logging the
hell out of the planet.

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So my question is, what
the hell have we learned

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from that 30-year-old
battle that went on?

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Why are we still
logging any old growth

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anywhere on the planet?

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- Good evening.

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The Clayoquot area was the setting

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for similar confrontations
last year at this time.

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The difference this go-around
is a government decision

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to allow logging in
two thirds of the area.

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- This decision will create
one of the largest areas

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of protected old growth forest

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on the west coast of North America.

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- [Stephanie] The
Clayoquot Land Use Decision

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opened up most of the Sound\'s
untouched valleys to logging.

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It was met with immediate opposition

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from First Nations
and environmentalists,

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who argued that the forests
designated for protection

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likely wouldn\'t have
been logged anyway.

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- We are opposed to the decision

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that\'s been delivered
by the government

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with respect to our
traditional territories.

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It certainly hit a
chord with the Nation

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and it wasn\'t really a positive chord

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in that we felt we were
excluded from the process

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and yet all of the announced activity

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was going to take place within our

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Hereditary Chief\'s territory.

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So we felt that we had to
get our interest factored

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into that decision.

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- People who take extreme positions

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of either \"log it all\"
or \"preserve it all\"

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are not going to be
happy with this decision.

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- I think Mike Harcourt at that point

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was the greenest premier that
British Columbia had ever had,

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but he really dug his heels
in on Clayoquot Sound.

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There wasn\'t a real
interest in finding,

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forget a middle ground, for
finding any common ground.

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That\'s when we said, \"Okay, well,

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\"you launch what you launch,

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\"we will launch what we launch.

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\"And we\'ll see you on the road.\"

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So, having organized numerous
direct action blockades

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and having watched the amount
of logging actually increase,

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we decided that we
needed to change tactics

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and basically pop it up
from being a regional issue

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and into a national and
international issue.

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And what we\'re here to
say is that these forests

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belong to the people!

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These forests do not
belong to the industry!

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- We need to bear witness

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to the destruction of Clayoquot Sound

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as these trucks roll through!

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We stand here in solidarity-

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- [Stephanie] The Clayoquot
Sound peace camp and blockades

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became a flashpoint, attracting
thousands of protesters

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and catapulting the issue
of old growth logging

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and Indigenous rights into
the national spotlight.

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♪ How can we dance when
our earth is turnin\' ♪

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- So even though it was not
an Indigenous-led movement,

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it was a group of people

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that were actually
willing to work together.

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And it was really
beautiful to be a part of.

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[crowd applauding]

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- What the Nations agreed
to at that time was because

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we weren\'t necessarily opposed
to logging as an industry.

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What we were concerned
with was the method.

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Instead of having just
clear-cut bare mountains,

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stripping them, we were looking
more for selective logging.

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So, we thought we would
just go about developing

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our own strategy.

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- How \'bout you shove that thing

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right up your fucking ass,
you know what.

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- [Protestor] Why would
you wanna do that?

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- Huh?

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- [Protestor] Why? You a logger?

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- Well, I used to be,

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until you fucking jerks
took my job away.

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- [Protestor] I never did
anything to your job, man.

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- Yeah? Fucking assholes.

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- It\'s a swamp underneath
this old growth forest!

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- [Protestor] These are the--

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- Oh, no, no, don\'t tell me--

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- [Valerie] You\'re putting
yourself in opposition

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to very established, very
entrenched powerholders,

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and also people who are very
afraid of losing their jobs.

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- We\'re going to be
obliged to arrest those

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that remain here.

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Chief Justice Esson
has issued an order--

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- Just recently in talking
with my uncle,

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he was like, \"Peggy,
you were not protesting.

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\"You were correcting.\"

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He said, \"It\'s called
[speaks Nuu-chah-nulth],

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\"what you were doing.

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\"You were going to say,
\'Hey, this is--

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\"this is not right.\'\"

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I am here for the Tla-o-qui-aht
and Ahousaht people,

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and all the other tribes...

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My call to go and do what
needed to be said was so strong,

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and I had planned on getting arrested

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as many times as it took.

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[protestor screaming]

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- [Stephanie] As summer carried on,

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more and more people
came to Clayoquot Sound,

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culminating in a single day in August

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where more than
300 people were arrested.

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- [Protestors] If we all
stay on the road,

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they can\'t arrest us all!

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- [Stephanie] It was
the only day that summer

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the protesters actually
stopped the logging trucks.

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But their bigger objective
had been accomplished.

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People across Canada
and around the world

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were now paying attention to
the logging of Clayoquot Sound.

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[helicopter blades whirring]

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- [Protestors] The
whole world is watching!

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- [Stephanie] After the
blockades ended,

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environmentalists kept the pressure on

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and took their campaign abroad.

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Meanwhile, the
Nuu-Chah-Nulth finally forced

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the government to the table.

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- Good morning to you all.

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- [Reporter] Chief Francis
Frank has been up all night

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in a final marathon meeting
to reach an historic deal.

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- First Nations will now have
more meaningful involvement

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and more of a say over what happens

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in our traditional territory.

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We are opposed to clear-cutting.

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- [Stephanie] The landmark
Interim Measures Agreement

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gave the five central
Nuu-chah-nulth nations,

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the Tla-o-qui-aht,
Ahousaht, Hesquiaht,

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Toquaht, and Yuu-cluth-aht,

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shared responsibility over
the forest of Clayoquot Sound.

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This paved the way for them to acquire

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all the tree farm licenses
in the Sound.

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- By acquiring and securing
the rights to both tenures,

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we would put in place
our own management team.

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We also would bring to
the table our principles

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and our values that the
Nuu-chah-nulth follow.

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So that\'s quite a shift,
and that was something

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that we felt was an
achievement at the time.

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- [Stephanie] The central
Nuu-chah-nulth nations

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established their own forestry company

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with a vision to log
in a more sustainable

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and respectful way.

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But elsewhere in B.C. clear-cutting
remained the status quo,

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and old growth forests
continued to fall.

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[birds chirping]
[insects buzzing]

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- We use these trees for
building houses and canoes

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and carving totem poles,
and the evidence is here,

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like in this tree here.

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You know, the people have been
using this land continuously

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for hundreds or thousands of years.

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- [Stephanie] Joe Martin grew
up just across the harbor

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from Tofino in the
village of Opitsaht.

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He\'s spent his life in and
around ancient forests,

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both as a logger, then as an activist,

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and he\'s witnessed every
step of the transformation

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in this territory.

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- [Joe] We are looking
up at the mountain there.

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That is the...

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That\'s all old growth
when you look up there.

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And down along the highway here,

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most of this is second growth.

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It used to be all old growth here.

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It has been quite a struggle for us.

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I grew up here.

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I think I\'ve seen the last part

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of the extreme richness that was here.

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Right over there somewhere.

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- [Stephanie] Despite all of
the changes to their territory,

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including the ongoing surge of tourism

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that followed the War in the Woods,

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the Tla-o-qui-aht continue
to revitalize their culture.

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- Okay, one, two, three, up!

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- [Stephanie] One way is through
the carving of totem poles,

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which pass on the teachings
of their ancestors.

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- [Joe] Okay, all you
guys move to the back!

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We are transporting the
totem pole over to Opitsaht,

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the ancient village of Opitsaht.

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And the last time a totem pole
was raised there was in 1993.

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[boat engine humming]

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It is very important for
the survival of our culture

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and our identity to
see all these children

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we see around here
to have something left,

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because there\'s nothing
in a clear-cut for us.

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There\'s nothing for
us, absolutely nothing.

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[seagulls crying]

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[birds chirping]

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- Our people understand that
everything is tied together

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in this world of ours.

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If you\'re going to impact anything

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within that circle of life,

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well then you have to
do it with respect.

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It\'s not enough to understand
and speak the language.

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You have to live it.

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[Moses speaking in Nuu-chah-nulth]

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Respect is our very first law.

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If you base all of your
decisions on that law,

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there isn\'t much that
you\'re going to do wrong.

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[boat engine humming]

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- [Stephanie] Moses Martin
stood up for this principle

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back in the 1980s,
when he joined a blockade

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to prevent Meares Island
from being clear-cut.

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When the loggers arrived anyway,

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Moses told them they
could visit the island,

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but they had to leave
their chainsaws behind.

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The Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht

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declared Meares Island a tribal park,

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and eventually won a court
injunction to stop the logging.

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- As far as we\'re concerned,
this is our garden,

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and we will not let you
fall any trees here.

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[protesters cheering]

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- [Stephanie] In safeguarding
the island\'s forest,

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the Nuu-chah-nulth also preserved

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Tofino\'s primary source
of drinking water,

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proving how critical these
forests are to the entire region.

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- Yeah, I really wanted
to show you this tree

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as an example of the traditional laws

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that led to our system of abundance

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and vibrancy of our people.

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I like these new
handrails they got put up.

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- That\'s really nice.
Yeah, that\'s good.

16:13.090 --> 16:16.450
- One of the guiding principles
for our old growth forests

16:16.450 --> 16:20.055
has been resilience and the ability to

16:20.055 --> 16:22.960
mitigate impacts from climate change.

16:22.960 --> 16:25.390
The ability to withstand forest fires,

16:25.390 --> 16:29.140
the multiple different types
of salmon runs, chum and coho,

16:29.140 --> 16:32.350
and the biodiversity of
a rich old growth forest

16:32.350 --> 16:35.380
is really what we\'re gambling on

16:35.380 --> 16:39.010
to be able to survive
all the climate change.

16:39.010 --> 16:41.830
- It\'s just really cool to
me how much the trail, like,

16:41.830 --> 16:44.080
brings together so many of the values

16:44.080 --> 16:45.703
that we\'ve been talking about.

16:46.630 --> 16:50.500
- Our chiefs and elders
seen a need for people

16:50.500 --> 16:53.020
to enjoy the beauty of this place,

16:53.020 --> 16:57.523
become an ally, to become part
of a movement of protecting.

17:01.330 --> 17:05.080
In 2008, when we were developing

17:05.080 --> 17:07.570
the tribal parks implementation,

17:07.570 --> 17:11.770
we seen a need for
tribal park guardians.

17:11.770 --> 17:13.510
Men and women come out here

17:13.510 --> 17:16.300
and monitor our chief\'s territories,

17:16.300 --> 17:18.373
much like we did traditionally.

17:19.976 --> 17:21.940
We would have our river keepers,

17:21.940 --> 17:23.380
we would have our warriors,

17:23.380 --> 17:26.863
we would have our people
out there on the land.

17:29.350 --> 17:31.690
- This is collecting a water sample,

17:31.690 --> 17:34.330
and that way we can
establish a baseline

17:34.330 --> 17:35.830
for different areas.

17:35.830 --> 17:39.220
Here is the mouth
of the Tranquil River.

17:39.220 --> 17:41.200
So, you get some fresh water

17:41.200 --> 17:44.590
and you can see the
difference in the salinity.

17:44.590 --> 17:47.320
Less rain can affect that,
and climate change.

17:47.320 --> 17:50.293
We\'re gonna need to establish
all that baseline data.

17:53.320 --> 17:54.460
- We\'re heading in that direction

17:54.460 --> 17:56.650
of reclaiming our identity,

17:56.650 --> 17:59.740
ensuring the well-being of
not only the environment,

17:59.740 --> 18:01.803
but our people as well.

18:01.803 --> 18:06.803
[hammering and tapping]

18:09.043 --> 18:11.318
[light scraping]

18:14.779 --> 18:17.529
[indistinct chatter]

18:19.586 --> 18:21.720
- This here, is that able to go

18:21.720 --> 18:24.228
a little bit wider through there?

18:24.228 --> 18:27.000
And then up to about there?

18:27.000 --> 18:28.898
- [Patrick] Mhm, yeah.

18:28.898 --> 18:32.740
- Our ancestors who, you know,
we represent in these poles

18:32.740 --> 18:36.283
were the ones that left us
these teachings like that.

18:38.890 --> 18:41.230
And one of those really
most incredible teachings

18:41.230 --> 18:44.410
about harvesting of red cedars

18:44.410 --> 18:48.820
was that they were never, ever
allowed to cut these trees

18:48.820 --> 18:51.340
in the spring or the summertime,

18:51.340 --> 18:54.433
because there are birds
nesting up there.

18:59.950 --> 19:01.990
- The tree was estimated to be

19:01.990 --> 19:03.823
around 800 years old or older.

19:05.890 --> 19:08.440
Then usually before
people cut a tree down,

19:08.440 --> 19:11.890
they say a prayer
to nass, the Creator,

19:11.890 --> 19:15.550
and thank the tree for
sacrificing his life

19:15.550 --> 19:19.300
so he can be part of our culture.

19:19.300 --> 19:21.583
You know, they built
everything out of cedar.

19:23.680 --> 19:26.403
They never wasted anything,
they just took what they needed.

19:44.712 --> 19:47.545
[leaves rustling]

19:53.920 --> 19:55.078
- [Stephanie] I was wondering
if you could kind of

19:55.078 --> 19:58.377
paint the picture of
what forestry looks like

19:58.377 --> 20:01.033
in Nuu-chah-nulth
territory today, and how...

20:02.078 --> 20:03.810
- [Stephanie Voiceover]
The Naa\'Waya\'Sum Gardens,

20:03.810 --> 20:05.804
where Joe, Pat and
Robin have been carving,

20:05.804 --> 20:08.230
is also a hub for the study of IPCAs,

20:08.230 --> 20:10.440
Indigenous Protected
and Conserved Areas,

20:10.440 --> 20:12.460
an Indigenous-led conservation model

20:12.460 --> 20:14.383
that\'s gaining momentum across Canada.

20:17.874 --> 20:21.130
- Core to an IPCA is
a lasting commitment

20:21.130 --> 20:24.670
to protecting and promoting
biological diversity,

20:24.670 --> 20:27.340
but interconnected with
that is understanding

20:27.340 --> 20:30.850
that culture and language
and biological diversity

20:30.850 --> 20:33.733
are intimately and
inextricably linked.

20:38.440 --> 20:42.700
That\'s why restoring languages
and cultures is so key,

20:42.700 --> 20:46.180
because built into those
languages and cultures

20:46.180 --> 20:51.180
is sort of your guiding
principles for managing the land.

20:52.061 --> 20:56.394
[people speaking in Nuu-chah-nulth]

21:07.417 --> 21:11.440
- 500 years ago, we would
not have needed tribal parks

21:11.440 --> 21:13.900
or Indigenous Protected
and Conserved Areas

21:13.900 --> 21:15.703
here in Clayoquot Sound.

21:17.050 --> 21:21.460
500 years ago, we didn\'t
undertake economic practices

21:21.460 --> 21:23.680
that threatened the land to a point

21:23.680 --> 21:25.450
where we were then compelled

21:25.450 --> 21:28.483
to protect it from
ourselves as a species.

21:34.390 --> 21:37.690
When you look at Indigenous
economic theory and practice,

21:37.690 --> 21:39.430
it\'s about reciprocity.

21:39.430 --> 21:42.970
And when you fail in that
reciprocal relationship,

21:42.970 --> 21:46.090
then there\'s an imbalance
that\'s created.

21:46.090 --> 21:51.090
So, IPCAs fundamentally are
about maintaining that balance.

21:51.880 --> 21:56.880
[birds chirping]
[rain pattering]

21:59.193 --> 22:00.730
[waves crashing]

22:00.730 --> 22:03.100
- I\'m not sure what\'s happening

22:03.100 --> 22:04.930
because everything\'s
happening so fast,

22:04.930 --> 22:08.830
but I see that people have
really cut themselves off,

22:08.830 --> 22:13.150
and in that way it\'s really
messed up some connection there

22:13.150 --> 22:14.563
that we all need to have.

22:15.735 --> 22:16.568
Good?

22:16.568 --> 22:17.401
- [Stephanie] Looks so good!

22:18.667 --> 22:20.009
It looks awesome.

22:20.009 --> 22:22.143
[Gisele laughs]

22:24.790 --> 22:26.478
Can you introduce yourself?

22:26.478 --> 22:27.477
[speaking in Nuu-chah-nulth]

22:27.477 --> 22:28.536
ʔukłaasiš ƛaʔuuk.

22:28.536 --> 22:29.778
histaqšiƛs ƛaʔuukʷiʔath

22:29.778 --> 22:32.470
hiisaakʷist̓aa maḥtii ʔiiḥwasʔatḥ

22:32.470 --> 22:35.740
I\'m ƛaʔuuk, or Gisele Martin.

22:35.740 --> 22:37.810
I come from the
House of ʔiiḥw̓asʔatḥ̣,

22:37.810 --> 22:40.214
from Tla-o-qui-aht Nation.

22:40.214 --> 22:44.230
Tla-o-qui-aht has been
anglicized into Clay-o-quat

22:44.230 --> 22:46.993
and further anglicized to Clayoquot.

22:46.993 --> 22:49.120
Like Clayoquot Sound, Clay-o-quat.

22:50.303 --> 22:51.735
[waves lapping]

22:51.735 --> 22:53.650
Tla-o-qui-aht, Nuu-chah-nulth,

22:53.650 --> 22:56.350
is an ecologically based language.

22:56.350 --> 22:57.730
It\'s from this place.

22:57.730 --> 23:01.930
It\'s made of the sounds of
the plants and the animals

23:01.930 --> 23:03.913
and the elements of this place.

23:06.806 --> 23:09.048
Suč̓ass is our word for tree.

23:09.048 --> 23:12.700
Which, \"suu\" is \"to hold something,\"

23:12.700 --> 23:14.080
and \"ʔas\" is a suffix

23:14.080 --> 23:15.670
meaning \"on the land.\"

23:15.670 --> 23:19.480
So literally the name
for tree is \"landholder\",

23:19.480 --> 23:22.930
and it expresses that role right away.

23:22.930 --> 23:24.670
- That\'s just all so beautifully said.

23:24.670 --> 23:26.500
Especially as a journalist, too,

23:26.500 --> 23:28.510
that I come up against that a lot

23:28.510 --> 23:30.943
because there\'s
terminology like \"wildlife\"

23:30.943 --> 23:33.890
or \"wilderness\", \"wild plants\"
and all that stuff.

23:33.890 --> 23:35.248
Even, like, \"salmon fry\",

23:35.248 --> 23:37.750
I just replace that with, like,
the word \"babies\" sometimes

23:37.750 --> 23:40.200
to try to just, like, get
a different point across.

23:41.154 --> 23:43.480
[waves lapping]

23:43.480 --> 23:45.190
- [Gisele] I\'m just
really, really grateful

23:45.190 --> 23:48.520
to all the people that have taught me,

23:48.520 --> 23:51.013
but also in the nonhuman world.

23:52.390 --> 23:54.454
Who do you know that says \"caw\"?

23:54.454 --> 23:55.462
[laughing]

23:55.462 --> 23:56.628
Caw, caw, caw!

23:57.580 --> 23:58.413
- Yeah.

23:58.413 --> 23:59.246
- [Gisele] Who does that?

23:59.246 --> 24:00.079
- Crows!
- Yes!

24:00.079 --> 24:01.504
They are named k̓aaʔin.

24:01.504 --> 24:04.461
And for a while I thought
that they are named

24:04.461 --> 24:06.400
for the sound that they make.

24:06.400 --> 24:07.630
And yes, they are.

24:07.630 --> 24:12.630
But the sound \"caw\"
is not just confined

24:12.642 --> 24:15.940
within the sound that they
make within their name.

24:15.940 --> 24:18.850
It is exemplified into a verb

24:18.850 --> 24:20.800
that is sprinkled
throughout our language,

24:20.800 --> 24:23.260
which is exemplified
by them, the crow,

24:23.260 --> 24:24.580
and what they do in life.

24:24.580 --> 24:28.000
So, those little young crows,
y\'know like, caw, caw caw!

24:28.000 --> 24:28.833
\"Feed me! Feed me!\"

24:28.833 --> 24:30.580
\"Give to me, give to me, give to me!\"

24:30.580 --> 24:31.795
And that\'s what we say in our language

24:31.795 --> 24:33.406
when we want something passed to us,

24:33.406 --> 24:36.940
[speaking in Nuu-chah-nulth],
like, \"pass me the salt.\"

24:36.940 --> 24:41.940
So I see that in action on
the land and in animals.

24:42.550 --> 24:45.100
- Maybe you could
talk a bit more about

24:45.100 --> 24:47.860
just your relationship with the forest

24:47.860 --> 24:50.530
and with the damage and the impact

24:50.530 --> 24:53.050
that has happened to
forests due to logging

24:53.050 --> 24:54.010
and other things.

24:54.010 --> 24:55.900
What does the future look like for you

24:55.900 --> 24:58.840
to sort of return those damaged spaces

24:58.840 --> 25:00.670
to a place of abundance?

25:00.670 --> 25:03.763
- There\'s no word for
\"sorry\" in Nuu-chah-nulth.

25:05.625 --> 25:06.941
I\'ve tried looking for words.

25:06.941 --> 25:07.780
There\'s no word.

25:07.780 --> 25:10.420
The only acceptable response

25:10.420 --> 25:12.763
is to immediately change your actions.

25:33.970 --> 25:37.003
- [David] So did you grow up
in forests when you were a kid?

25:37.003 --> 25:38.980
- [Stephanie] Yes, we grew
up in, like, Lynn Valley

25:38.980 --> 25:39.813
in North Vancouver.

25:39.813 --> 25:40.646
- [David] Oh, yeah.

25:40.646 --> 25:43.210
- [Stephanie] Yeah, so we
were literally just steps away

25:43.210 --> 25:45.250
from trails and trees all the time.

25:45.250 --> 25:46.083
- [David] Yeah.

25:46.083 --> 25:48.040
Whoops, just a minute. I can\'t...

25:48.040 --> 25:49.300
- Can\'t resist?
- ...resist.

25:49.300 --> 25:51.433
The first one of the season!

25:52.271 --> 25:57.271
[birds chirping]

25:58.270 --> 25:59.953
Now that is a tree!

26:01.450 --> 26:02.380
That is a tree.

26:02.380 --> 26:05.440
Not many people will see
trees of that size anymore.

26:05.440 --> 26:07.839
How old do you think that is?

26:07.839 --> 26:09.490
- [Stephanie] They were
saying that the trees in here

26:09.490 --> 26:11.789
are over a thousand years old.

26:11.789 --> 26:13.420
Huge!

26:13.420 --> 26:15.820
- [David] Wow, look at
that root system there.

26:15.820 --> 26:17.740
- [Stephanie] It\'s amazing.

26:17.740 --> 26:19.720
And is there any way
that we can ever know,

26:19.720 --> 26:22.690
like, how much carbon a
tree like this could store?

26:22.690 --> 26:25.510
- Well, there would be estimates made.

26:25.510 --> 26:28.720
I mean, this is basically
a pile of carbon.

26:28.720 --> 26:32.290
You know, it has built
itself out of carbon dioxide

26:32.290 --> 26:35.113
from the air, water from
the soil, and sunlight.

26:36.040 --> 26:37.720
And when I look at
these ancient trees,

26:37.720 --> 26:39.820
I think of my own hands.

26:39.820 --> 26:41.260
You see how twisted they are.

26:41.260 --> 26:44.227
That\'s what comes with old
age, you know, we get bumps

26:44.227 --> 26:46.780
and gnarly and...

26:46.780 --> 26:47.713
Wow.

26:48.640 --> 26:49.672
- [Stephanie] And once again,

26:49.672 --> 26:50.820
the other trees coming out around it.

26:50.820 --> 26:51.653
- [David] Of course.

26:51.653 --> 26:52.990
- [Stephanie] That one leaning on it.

26:52.990 --> 26:56.170
- Think of this one plant.

26:56.170 --> 26:58.990
And if it\'s lived a thousand years,

26:58.990 --> 27:01.690
everything has wanted
to eat it, you know,

27:01.690 --> 27:05.888
or somehow exploit it,
and it survived!

27:21.430 --> 27:24.250
- This is from a fire
that\'s up on that mountain,

27:24.250 --> 27:26.290
but I guess it\'s gone out now.

27:26.290 --> 27:29.770
It\'s 400 hectares and it\'s
created a lot of smoke.

27:29.770 --> 27:32.828
So, this is kind of normal now.

27:32.828 --> 27:35.578
[birds calling]

27:38.387 --> 27:39.250
- [Garry] In this province

27:39.250 --> 27:41.922
we\'ve bitched about forestry forever,

27:41.922 --> 27:44.170
and nobody ever
friggin\' listens anyways.

27:44.170 --> 27:47.743
It\'s just turned into background
white noise after a while.

27:51.640 --> 27:53.230
- [Stephanie] With concern
over old growth logging

27:53.230 --> 27:56.110
on the rise, the B.C.
government commissioned a review

27:56.110 --> 27:59.410
of the province\'s approach
to old growth in 2019,

27:59.410 --> 28:01.240
the most significant
review of its kind

28:01.240 --> 28:02.773
in nearly three decades.

28:04.690 --> 28:06.490
- We are not doing this right.

28:06.490 --> 28:10.300
We need to change the way
we look after the land.

28:10.300 --> 28:14.530
And that came from, surprising,
every single sector:

28:14.530 --> 28:19.210
the environmental groups, the
First Nations, the industry.

28:19.210 --> 28:20.983
This is not working for anybody.

28:24.130 --> 28:28.330
Our first recommendation
was the government needed

28:28.330 --> 28:31.300
to implement this entire shift in a

28:31.300 --> 28:33.040
government-to-government partnership

28:33.040 --> 28:34.930
with Indigenous governments.

28:34.930 --> 28:37.903
We heard it from every single
group everywhere we went.

28:40.810 --> 28:44.710
The second recommendation
of the review

28:44.710 --> 28:46.870
was to prioritize managing

28:46.870 --> 28:49.153
for ecosystem health and biodiversity.

28:50.350 --> 28:54.730
We currently manage land
right now in this province.

28:54.730 --> 28:58.123
We manage for resources
subject to constraints.

28:59.050 --> 29:02.830
That theory that we
are going to convert

29:02.830 --> 29:06.370
the entire timber
harvesting land base,

29:06.370 --> 29:09.583
and then we can consider constraints:

29:10.870 --> 29:14.623
biodiversity, visuals, wildlife.

29:15.640 --> 29:17.860
So you might say, \"Well, who cares?

29:17.860 --> 29:19.540
\"I mean, it\'s just a
forest anyways, right?

29:19.540 --> 29:21.850
\"We\'re just growing it like crops.\"

29:21.850 --> 29:24.010
All of that ecological
richness and function

29:24.010 --> 29:25.540
is what keeps that thing healthy.

29:25.540 --> 29:28.840
Now all of a sudden it\'s
open to big disturbances.

29:28.840 --> 29:31.570
And next thing you know
you start losing plants,

29:31.570 --> 29:32.980
you change the climate,

29:32.980 --> 29:35.380
you do all kinds of things like that.

29:35.380 --> 29:37.990
Like, there\'s so many
unanticipated consequences

29:37.990 --> 29:39.493
of this style of management.

29:41.320 --> 29:43.390
I thought we\'d quit
continuous clear-cutting

29:43.390 --> 29:44.223
in this province.

29:44.223 --> 29:47.200
I thought we banned that about
two or three decades ago.

29:47.200 --> 29:49.150
And they\'re still happening.

29:50.033 --> 29:51.670
Old growth is not renewable.

29:51.670 --> 29:54.103
We are mining it,
the way we are taking it now.

30:00.532 --> 30:05.532
[insects buzzing]
[birds chirping]

30:13.240 --> 30:14.890
- So we\'ve headed into this clear-cut.

30:14.890 --> 30:17.410
The temperature here must be,
what, 10 degrees hotter

30:17.410 --> 30:18.970
than it is in the old growth forest.

30:18.970 --> 30:21.760
And one of the real effects here is

30:21.760 --> 30:25.390
the effect of climate change
directly hitting the ground.

30:25.390 --> 30:28.570
The main canopy has
gone from this site,

30:28.570 --> 30:31.840
and that allows increased temperatures

30:31.840 --> 30:34.003
to hit the ground instantaneously.

30:36.520 --> 30:40.000
The community of plants and
animals that live here, clearly,

30:40.000 --> 30:42.650
is considerably different
than the old growth forest.

30:46.660 --> 30:48.760
Here we are in this closed canopy.

30:48.760 --> 30:51.370
The temperature here
is 10 degrees lower

30:51.370 --> 30:53.920
than it is out in
the adjacent clear-cut.

30:53.920 --> 30:56.620
And the water here is kept clean,

30:56.620 --> 30:59.170
but it\'s also kept really cool.

30:59.170 --> 31:01.840
So, this is an absolutely key function

31:01.840 --> 31:04.210
performed by these forests

31:04.210 --> 31:07.540
if we want to keep cold
water species such as salmon

31:07.540 --> 31:08.902
in British Columbia.

31:08.902 --> 31:13.902
[birds chirping]

31:18.700 --> 31:19.990
This co-dominant tree,

31:19.990 --> 31:21.970
it\'s probably a couple
of hundred years old.

31:21.970 --> 31:24.895
It grew up on top of this nurse log.

31:24.895 --> 31:27.036
And you can even see
the next generation

31:27.036 --> 31:28.480
of trees that are here.

31:28.480 --> 31:32.110
All of this biomass is made of carbon.

31:32.110 --> 31:36.400
And this forest stores carbon
in the big tree trunks,

31:36.400 --> 31:39.220
but it also stores it
in these nurse logs

31:39.220 --> 31:41.800
and it also stores it in the soil.

31:41.800 --> 31:45.670
These forests have a
really deep organic layer

31:45.670 --> 31:47.500
that has built up over time,

31:47.500 --> 31:50.410
and that\'s why time is so
important in these forest types.

31:50.410 --> 31:52.840
Although these trees are really big,

31:52.840 --> 31:55.090
actually about 60% of the carbon

31:55.090 --> 31:57.820
that is stored in these
forests is below ground.

31:57.820 --> 32:01.240
Harvesting this kind of big,
structured old growth forest

32:01.240 --> 32:04.360
releases both the
carbon in the big stems

32:04.360 --> 32:06.520
and releases the carbon that has taken

32:06.520 --> 32:09.523
many thousands of years
to develop in the soil.

32:10.510 --> 32:12.700
We don\'t have time.

32:12.700 --> 32:15.513
Carbon must be stored worldwide

32:15.513 --> 32:17.313
wherever we can at this time.

32:17.313 --> 32:19.960
We have to stop releasing
carbon into the atmosphere

32:19.960 --> 32:21.250
if we are to have any hope

32:21.250 --> 32:23.083
of dealing with the climate crisis.

32:29.470 --> 32:31.810
- [Stephanie] These warnings
have been sounded for decades,

32:31.810 --> 32:34.390
but government action has been slow.

32:34.390 --> 32:37.060
Many experts agree that a
paradigm shift is needed

32:37.060 --> 32:39.820
in how government and
industry approach forestry

32:39.820 --> 32:41.820
and land management
in British Columbia.

32:43.510 --> 32:44.920
- [Ken] Because the federal
election is coming up,

32:44.920 --> 32:46.565
we\'re going to do our best to create-

32:46.565 --> 32:49.120
- [Stephanie] Ken Wu is a
longtime forest campaigner

32:49.120 --> 32:51.520
focused on solutions to
protecting old growth

32:51.520 --> 32:53.230
and sensitive ecosystems.

32:53.230 --> 32:55.930
His roots go all the way
back to the War in the Woods.

33:01.660 --> 33:03.820
For many people,
the scale of clear-cuts

33:03.820 --> 33:05.710
is out of sight, out of mind.

33:05.710 --> 33:08.360
But one way to get a handle
on it is from high above.

33:10.750 --> 33:11.583
- Look at that.

33:19.750 --> 33:23.530
We\'ve been flying over the
fragments of old growth forests

33:23.530 --> 33:25.690
and the old growth clear-cuts,

33:25.690 --> 33:27.940
as well as the cut-over landscapes

33:27.940 --> 33:29.740
that dominate so much of central

33:29.740 --> 33:31.870
and eastern Vancouver Island as well.

33:31.870 --> 33:34.690
The last patches of
old growth are largely

33:34.690 --> 33:39.690
in fairly small tracts except
for places like Fairy Creek,

33:39.730 --> 33:43.090
Edinburgh Mountain, parts of
the central Walbran Valley.

33:43.090 --> 33:45.280
We\'re lucky there have
been some protected areas,

33:45.280 --> 33:48.073
but they\'re a tiny fraction
of the overall land base.

33:51.220 --> 33:53.110
We\'re one of the
very last jurisdictions

33:53.110 --> 33:54.730
in the Western world
where we still have

33:54.730 --> 33:57.760
these 500-year-old and
1,000-year-old giants,

33:57.760 --> 33:59.890
and we\'re just about
the last jurisdiction

33:59.890 --> 34:02.860
that still says it\'s
okay to liquidate them

34:02.860 --> 34:04.393
on a large industrial scale.

34:06.310 --> 34:08.740
If you add them up, all together,
it\'s hundreds of hectares

34:08.740 --> 34:12.520
of the last of the greatest
old growth forests on Earth

34:12.520 --> 34:17.515
being plundered for two-by-fours,
toilet paper, and pulp.

34:27.817 --> 34:30.567
[birds chirping]

34:33.640 --> 34:37.810
We came across this area in late 2018,

34:37.810 --> 34:40.360
and it\'s like my jaw dropped.

34:40.360 --> 34:43.810
Like the majority of high
productivity old growth forests

34:43.810 --> 34:47.746
in the province, it is
unprotected and can get logged.

34:52.120 --> 34:54.190
Port Renfrew now is the
new Clayoquot Sound.

34:54.190 --> 34:56.830
It\'s been ground zero for
the ancient forest movement

34:56.830 --> 34:59.110
for the last dozen years now.

34:59.110 --> 35:00.580
And it has been the catalyst

35:00.580 --> 35:02.410
for a much bigger
ancient forest movement

35:02.410 --> 35:03.670
across the province,

35:03.670 --> 35:06.583
just like Clayoquot Sound
was back in the early 1990s.

35:08.800 --> 35:09.940
We\'ve got a chance to save

35:09.940 --> 35:12.430
the last of the
old growth province-wide.

35:12.430 --> 35:16.840
The key is that these are First
Nations unceded territories,

35:16.840 --> 35:19.270
and as a result of
colonialism and poverty,

35:19.270 --> 35:22.720
many First Nations don\'t have
a lot of economic options.

35:22.720 --> 35:24.850
You\'re not going to be reasonably able

35:24.850 --> 35:27.640
to expect First Nations
or any other communities

35:27.640 --> 35:30.640
to just walk away from their
primary source of revenue

35:30.640 --> 35:33.793
and income and jobs unless
there\'s an alternative.

35:35.770 --> 35:37.840
The province is fully responsible

35:37.840 --> 35:41.110
for setting up the conditions
to save old growth forests,

35:41.110 --> 35:43.570
but it\'s not going to happen
in a direct route anymore.

35:43.570 --> 35:46.510
What needs to happen
is that First Nations

35:46.510 --> 35:50.140
need economic opportunities
to develop an alternative

35:50.140 --> 35:52.420
to an old growth timber economy.

35:52.420 --> 35:55.330
That will pave the path for
protected and conserved areas

35:55.330 --> 35:59.015
and other protection
measures by First Nations.

36:04.780 --> 36:06.820
- [Stephanie] Indigenous
Nations across Canada

36:06.820 --> 36:08.800
are increasingly asserting
their sovereignty

36:08.800 --> 36:11.173
through innovative
approaches to conservation.

36:12.670 --> 36:14.644
In Clayoquot Sound, the Tla-o-qui-aht,

36:14.644 --> 36:16.710
Ahousaht and Hesquiaht
have each committed

36:16.710 --> 36:19.540
to developing land-use visions
that support sustainable

36:19.540 --> 36:21.190
and diversified economies

36:21.190 --> 36:23.490
and that keep their old
growth forests intact.

36:26.650 --> 36:29.080
- What many people don\'t
know about Clayoquot Sound

36:29.080 --> 36:32.080
is that when you look around
a majority of the region,

36:32.080 --> 36:33.940
all of the trees that you see, almost,

36:33.940 --> 36:35.923
are within a tree farm license.

36:38.080 --> 36:39.580
And so what we\'re trying to do today

36:39.580 --> 36:41.500
with the Ahousaht Land Use Vision

36:41.500 --> 36:43.300
and working with British Columbia

36:43.300 --> 36:48.100
to re-envision how forestry
is entirely in this region,

36:48.100 --> 36:52.120
so that the ecological
values and cultural values

36:52.120 --> 36:56.833
are more important than
the economic value.

36:58.240 --> 37:00.010
If we\'re able to
incentivize the adoption

37:00.010 --> 37:02.920
of improved forest management
in British Columbia,

37:02.920 --> 37:07.060
we\'ll see Indigenous communities
more able to take advantage

37:07.060 --> 37:09.220
of forest management opportunities

37:09.220 --> 37:11.680
so that they can develop
land-use visions

37:11.680 --> 37:14.680
as well increase
the amount of protection

37:14.680 --> 37:17.173
for sensitive ecosystems
like old growth.

37:21.340 --> 37:22.600
- [Stephanie] It\'s clear
that it\'s going to take

37:22.600 --> 37:24.430
major support from both government

37:24.430 --> 37:25.930
and the philanthropic community

37:25.930 --> 37:28.420
if we\'re going to save
what\'s left of the old growth

37:28.420 --> 37:30.763
and empower
Indigenous-led conservation.

37:31.990 --> 37:34.510
I\'m reminded of what
Garry Merkel told me,

37:34.510 --> 37:37.330
that it\'s not about logging
at all or protecting it all.

37:37.330 --> 37:39.220
It\'s about respecting
and understanding

37:39.220 --> 37:41.740
the many relationships
within a forest,

37:41.740 --> 37:44.498
and understanding
your place within it.

37:50.992 --> 37:53.825
[seagulls crying]

37:55.287 --> 37:58.120
[waves lapping]

38:12.260 --> 38:15.440
So you\'ve been talking
a lot about, you know,

38:15.440 --> 38:17.960
the importance of Indigenous
leadership and sovereignty.

38:17.960 --> 38:20.150
Just from your personal
experience with Meares Island

38:20.150 --> 38:21.620
and the War in the Woods,

38:21.620 --> 38:22.640
what\'s kind of coming to mind

38:22.640 --> 38:24.320
while you\'re here and
thinking back on that?

38:24.320 --> 38:27.500
- Vancouver Island itself, it
looks like it\'s been bombed.

38:27.500 --> 38:30.140
I mean, it\'s just atrocious

38:30.140 --> 38:32.420
to see how much logging has gone on.

38:32.420 --> 38:34.370
It\'s absolutely scandalous

38:34.370 --> 38:36.890
that the government has continued

38:36.890 --> 38:41.090
to allow logging of old
growth when, you know,

38:41.090 --> 38:44.660
over 800 people were
arrested at Clayoquot.

38:44.660 --> 38:48.710
We have the biggest biomass
in the temperate rainforest

38:48.710 --> 38:50.840
of any ecosystem on the planet.

38:50.840 --> 38:53.330
The weight of living things here

38:53.330 --> 38:56.300
is more than the
weight of living things

38:56.300 --> 38:57.680
in the Amazon rainforest.

38:57.680 --> 38:59.603
Why? We got big trees.

39:05.090 --> 39:07.160
We take from the land.

39:07.160 --> 39:09.323
But in taking from nature,

39:10.220 --> 39:14.233
we assume a tremendous responsibility.

39:14.233 --> 39:19.226
A responsibility to take
this gift and act properly

39:19.226 --> 39:22.351
so that that can be
passed on all of time.

39:31.160 --> 39:33.260
- [Stephanie] This idea that
we have a responsibility

39:33.260 --> 39:35.570
to the Earth, not a right to it,

39:35.570 --> 39:37.340
is at the center of Indigenous laws

39:37.340 --> 39:39.143
and worldviews around the world.

39:40.070 --> 39:41.150
The loss of old growth

39:41.150 --> 39:44.150
doesn\'t just impact
climate and biodiversity.

39:44.150 --> 39:46.577
It has major impacts on
the health and cultures

39:46.577 --> 39:48.061
of Indigenous peoples.

39:48.950 --> 39:53.510
The bark, the trees, the plants,
and the animals underneath,

39:53.510 --> 39:56.303
are all at the heart of many
Indigenous ways of being.

39:57.350 --> 39:58.610
- All right, we\'re going to lift here.

39:58.610 --> 40:00.855
We\'re going to
shift it straight forward

40:00.855 --> 40:02.413
about six inches if we can.

40:03.710 --> 40:05.926
Lifting and then forward six.

40:05.926 --> 40:07.340
Lifting up!

40:07.340 --> 40:08.173
Push down.

40:10.031 --> 40:13.539
Down slowly, slowly.

40:16.100 --> 40:17.540
- [Stephanie] First Nations in B.C.

40:17.540 --> 40:19.610
have never stopped
pushing for their rights

40:19.610 --> 40:21.470
to steward their lands.

40:21.470 --> 40:24.380
It\'s a fight that has
lasted generations

40:24.380 --> 40:25.957
and isn\'t over yet.

40:25.957 --> 40:29.566
[Levi sings in Nuu-chah-nulth]

40:47.084 --> 40:47.917
- Pull!

40:50.944 --> 40:52.730
Careful over here, guys!

40:52.730 --> 40:54.287
Pull harder on that side!

40:55.562 --> 40:57.160
Okay, watch it now, pull!

40:58.060 --> 40:59.727
Pull on that side!

41:04.760 --> 41:06.607
- [Stephanie] Everyone
I spoke to acknowledged

41:06.607 --> 41:08.750
the difficulties their
people have faced,

41:08.750 --> 41:10.050
and still face.

41:11.840 --> 41:14.330
But today they were
focused on the joy,

41:14.330 --> 41:18.155
the unwavering resistance,
the successes,

41:18.155 --> 41:19.271
and the future.

41:24.041 --> 41:27.708
[crowd applauding and cheering]

41:32.445 --> 41:33.278
- Wow.

41:36.710 --> 41:39.680
This totem pole is to
depict the pandemics

41:39.680 --> 41:42.170
that we are all facing together.

41:42.170 --> 41:43.720
The top crest, of course,

41:43.720 --> 41:46.490
this one here\'s
the female Thunderbird.

41:46.490 --> 41:48.920
And in this case we have
the crest of the moon

41:48.920 --> 41:51.110
on the chest of that Thunderbird.

41:51.110 --> 41:55.340
And that is about the first
teaching and the first law,

41:55.340 --> 41:57.023
and that is about respect.

41:58.100 --> 41:59.870
You know, when Europeans
first arrived here,

41:59.870 --> 42:01.640
certainly we could not read the stuff

42:01.640 --> 42:03.020
you have on your shirts.

42:03.020 --> 42:04.730
They said we were illiterate!

42:04.730 --> 42:07.010
But so were they when
they\'d seen our totem poles.

42:07.010 --> 42:10.559
They had no idea what
these things are about.

42:10.559 --> 42:11.840
They are lifelong teachings

42:11.840 --> 42:15.380
that were passed down
through all of our ancestors,

42:15.380 --> 42:16.643
our uncles and our aunts.

42:18.590 --> 42:22.310
- We are a part of
the family of nature.

42:22.310 --> 42:27.310
We\'re not here to rule and
dominate and extract and steal.

42:29.360 --> 42:33.893
And I think about the spirit
of the life of this tree.

42:35.060 --> 42:35.997
When people ask us,

42:35.997 --> 42:38.657
\"How long did it take
to carve this pole?\",

42:39.770 --> 42:43.013
I think about, how long did
it take to grow this tree?

42:44.090 --> 42:46.430
We had people who sang to the trees

42:46.430 --> 42:47.873
to help them grow straight.

42:49.010 --> 42:52.430
Every ring, every line,
every grain line

42:52.430 --> 42:56.780
represents generations of salmon
who came back to the rivers

42:56.780 --> 42:59.183
to nourish those forests.

43:00.710 --> 43:02.600
These forests are not wilderness.

43:02.600 --> 43:04.703
They are our ancestral gardens.

43:07.629 --> 43:12.629
[birds chirping]

43:20.625 --> 43:22.508
[birds calling]

43:26.815 --> 43:31.248
[birds chirping]