Old-growth trees in the Clear Lake Grove

The project found this grove of old-growth Douglas firs and cedars in 2016. It's relatively isolated and difficult to get to—there are neither trails nor roads that come close to the area—and that has probably helped to keep the grove a secret on Quadra Island. We have decided not to describe publicly how to get there.

The grove is mostly within Main Lake Provincial Park. In 2018 we continued to explore the extent of the grove and it is possible some of the largest trees are outside the park. At this point we estimate there are 200 to 300 trees, mostly Douglas-firs, but some Red Cedar, that likely qualify as "old-growth." As far as we know, this is the largest surviving old-growth forest on Quadra. We will update this page as we learn more.

The survival of the grove suggests there may be other areas of significant size on Quadra that contain intact old-growth groves. DIMP is actively looking at sites that satellite images suggest my contain such groves. All of these are in areas where logging is either planned or possible.

We have notified BC Parks of the grove's existence.