PORT RENFREW — Bill Jones, an 86-year-old First Nations Pacheedaht elder, prepared to join a blockade on a logging road near Port Renfrew, British Columbia, on May 28, 2026. Approximately 20 forest defenders established a blockade in southwest Vancouver Island where a logging company was expected to cut old-growth trees.

The protesters camped in tents and vehicles, with one truck parked sideways across the road. They woke at 3 a.m. to take their positions. A logging truck approached the blockade, idled, and then turned around without occupants exiting or speaking.

Jones is an 86-year-old First Nations Pacheedaht elder who began logging at age 18. Tsawak-qin Forestry is conducting logging in the Walbran Valley on Pacheedaht territory. "There is no dispute about what happened to our land," Jones said.

"There’s nothing left — it’s practically naked, bare. There’s few remnants here and there, and so we have to save what we can," Jones said. Coastal temperate rainforests cover approximately 0.5% of Earth’s land surface. Some coastal old-growth stands on Vancouver Island have not experienced a major disturbance since the end of the last ice age approximately 12,000 years ago.

Vancouver Island’s remaining old-growth stands store more carbon per hectare than nearly any other forest system, according to the Sierra Club of British Columbia. Old-growth forests on Vancouver Island provide habitat for species including threatened marbled murrelet seabirds and salmon. The province of British Columbia defines old-growth western red cedar as trees 250 years or older.

Old-growth western red cedar wood is used in construction and exported to the United States. U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber exceed 45%. Scientists state there is approximately 415,000 hectares of productive old growth capable of growing the largest trees, while the province states more than 11 million hectares of old growth remain.

Approximately 20% of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forests remain, according to the Sierra Club. Most of the remaining productive old-growth forests on Vancouver Island are still open to logging. "Once an old-growth forest is logged, it will require millennia before it has the structure, composition and function of the forest that was logged — if in fact it can ever recover in times of changing climate," forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon said.

British Columbia Premier David Eby’s government has pledged to increase timber harvests to revitalize the forestry sector. The province of British Columbia states it has deferred or protected 2.4 million hectares of old growth since 2021. British Columbia’s forests minister is Ravi Parmar.

"Forestry is the foundation of our economy. It provides good paying, family supporting jobs — about 100,000 direct and indirect," Parmar said. "If we were to shut down harvesting of all old forests here in British Columbia, it would shut down our sector completely on day one," he added. Parmar stated he would seek another extension if a long-term agreement with the Pacheedaht Nation is not reached before the Fairy Creek deferral expires.

Temporary protections won by Fairy Creek blockades are set to expire in September. More than 1,100 people were arrested at Fairy Creek blockades. With 1,188 arrests made by December 2021, the Fairy Creek protests are the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. More than 850 people were arrested during the 1993 'War in the Woods' protests at Clayoquot Sound.

The blockade shows the tension between provincial timber harvest pledges and the protection of remaining old-growth forests. While the government has deferred 2.4 million hectares since 2021, scientists estimate only 415,000 hectares of productive old growth capable of growing the largest trees remain. Most of these remaining forests are still open to logging.

The expiration of temporary protections in September raises questions about whether a long-term agreement will be reached with the Pacheedaht Nation. The province faces the challenge of balancing its pledge to increase timber harvests with the ecological imperative to preserve forests that store significant carbon and provide critical habitat. The economic reliance on forestry, which supports approximately 100,000 jobs, complicates efforts to restrict harvesting further.

Why It Matters

The expiration of temporary protections in September forces a decision on whether to log most of the remaining 20% of Vancouver Island's productive old-growth forests. Scientists state these ecosystems, some undisturbed for 12,000 years, require millennia to recover if logged at all. This situation tests the balance between the provincial government's pledge to increase timber harvests for 100,000 jobs and the preservation of habitats for threatened species.