People are Cool. Environmental commentary. Facebook. Facebook. Thieves take 800-year-old red cedar tree from Vancouver Island. Tree poachers have stolen one of the largest red cedars in Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, in what is believed to have been a two-part operation over the past year. “If poachers can run around roughshod in the parks, it’s a terrible thing for B.C.,” said Torrance Coste, a Vancouver Island campaigner with the environmental group Wilderness Committee.
He reported the theft to B.C. Parks and RCMP, but was told there was little chance of finding the thieves. Coste, who measured rings on the stump, said the cedar, which is valuable for roof shakes, was probably about 800 years old and measured 2.75 metres across. “I believe the poachers have access to heavy-duty equipment. The demise of the tree started one year ago when parks staff found it had been 80 per cent cut through with a chainsaw. “It’s hard to say why it was cut like that and just left. “There was no other option than to hire a professional faller to complete the job,” he said.
But someone had other ideas. B.C. The HemLoft | A Secret Treehouse, Hiding in the Woods. Science and Knowledge. Education and Research.