Forest cover loss on the Discovery Islands

PART OF THE WORK THIS PROJECT HAS UNDERTAKEN is to record the extent of forest loss on each of the Discovery Islands. We are currently identifying all clearcuts created since 2010. On Quadra Island alone, well over 300 different clearcuts were logged between 2010 and 2021. Ministry of Forests records show that over 1.1 million cubic metres of logs were removed from clearcuts on Quadra during that period. At 40 cubic metres per logging truck load, that would have filled about 27,600 loads.

Other islands in the Discovery group have been hit even harder.

Below is the Ministry of Forests’ most current mapping of cutblocks (RESULTS Openings), shown as red cross-hatched areas. Additional clearcuts—created about 2 years ago—that haven’t yet been added to this ministry of forests database may also be visible. Not yet visible are more recent clearcuts—those created within the last year or two—that have not yet been added to the RESULTS database. There are a few older clearcuts on Crown land that were never added to this database about which we are making inquiries.

Click on a red-bordered polygon to learn when that cutblock was logged, by what company and how large the cutblock is. You can zoom in and out of the map below using the + or - buttons. Pan around the islands by clicking on the map and dragging it.

The links below the map will take you to the “Clearcut Tour” for each island (at this point the tour only includes Quadra Island).