Sonora Island Ecological Reserve

This is an area old forest that Sonora Islanders have fought against TimberWest to protect since 2010. The area of old forest garnered media attention and was latter nominated to become a “BTMA” (biodiversity, mining, tourism area). The area containing most of the big, old trees was then deleted from TFL 47 in 2016 and is currently known as the Thurlow Special Forest Management Area (see map below). It has apparently been reserved as a future ecological reserve. In spite of deletion of the area from TFL 47 in 2016, TimberWest mistakenly included the area as within the TFL in maps accompanying its draft 2024 forest stewardship plan for the Great Bear Rainforest portion of its licence.

The odd shape of the special forest management area would allow logging in a part of the reserve that contains big old trees, so Sonora Islanders work on the old forest reserve may not yet be complete.

The photographs below are all in what is currently known as the Thurlow Special Forest Management Area, or in the areas not yet included in the reserve. Photos are by Tavish Campbell and others.