Cai Creek Hike in Old Growth Forest to Largest Ponderosa Pine Tree in BC

Описание: Join me on a hike on the Cai Creek trail, just outside of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada! The trail winds its way through a stunning Old Growth Forest, with a mix of tree species, and leads to the largest known Ponderosa Pine tree in the entire province!

You will also notice that there is flagging tape on many of the trees. The light blue pieces are to mark the trail. However, the bright red and orange flagging tape is to mark where some of this forest will be logged. Yes, much of this forest wil be logged within a year and a half, if nothing is done to stop it. I have tried to answer some FAQ below, and please go to savecaicreek.com for much more info.

Is this the whole Cai Creek trail? No! There is a trail going uphill from the highway leading to where I began this video, which takes about 30 to 40 minutes for an experienced hiker, up to about an hour and a half.
The trail also continues past the biggest Ponderosa pine tree about 15 mintues, to a viewpoint of the Columbia River Valley and Castlegar. Highly recommended!

What is BCTS? BC Timber Sales. BCTS is a provincial government agency in B.C., responsible for managing about 20% of the province's public timber harvest, manages 20% of B.C.’s public timber harvest.

Why did BCTS sell this old growth forest on publicly-owned land to a company to log it? That is a good question, especially considering the watershed is still 70 to 80 % intact, which is very rare, especially so close to an urban area. Castlegar is only a 5 minute drive away.
Here is part of the official answer from BC's Ministry of Forests in June of 2024: "Although the Cai Creek watershed contains an Old Growth Management Area (OGMA) and Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) polygons mapped as “ancient, remnant” old growth and/or “big-treed”, the BC Timber Sales proposed development area itself does not contain any OGMA and/or TAP old growth polygons."
Yes, as you can clearly see in this video, there are many old growth trees INSIDE the areas that have been surveyed to be logged.

Is this an old growth forest? Yes

Is there year-round water in this forest? Yes, and this is very important given the very hot and dry summers in the West Kootenay. There are several streams and springs flowing down the slope (including the biggest of them which is Cai Creek) and, starting at about 11:20, you will see some pools of water in the forest, which are year-round. They are considered to be a "wallow", which is crucial for wildlife, and logging is planned to happen less than 10 m from these pools of water.

Why do some of the big old trees have black marks on their bark? There was a wildfire in part of this forest many many years ago. The old trees, including Douglas firs and cedars, survived this wildlife.

Why do some of the big trees have 2 circles of yellow paint on their trunk (such as at 14:08)? BCTS has painted the trees that are not in reserve areas, which they plan to not cut down. Yes, this means that all the other large, old growth trees (not in reserve areas) WILL be cut down.

Are those black bear claw marks on the huge Ponderosa pine tree? YES!

What can I do to try to protect this biodiverse old growth forest? Hike the trail if you can - see it for yourself! Contact the Premier of BC, David Eby at 250-387-1715 or [email protected]. Contact BC's Minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar at [email protected]. Contact your MLA! Spread the word. Act now!