Help register trees
Think globally - Act locally.
The BC Big Tree Registry
The BC Big Tree Registry is a program run by the University of British Columbia, which allows people to recommend trees for better protection and representation of the landscape. By identifying and documenting trees through the registry, the BC Big Tree Registry can be a tool to gain the protection of old trees and old forests.
To help conserve the natural heritage of our local forests, Stand With Us calls on anyone and everyone to help document the trees that are among the natural treasures in this area. By knowing and sharing what is out there on the landscape, people can work together to protect the threads that make up the fabric of this ecosystem.
Stand With Us supports The BC Big Tree Registry.
Nominate a tree
Do you know of any giant trees, ancient trees, special wildlife trees, or otherwise ecologically important trees, that you think should be protected from being logged? If so, consider nominating the tree. The more the better! The Registry program, which is run through the faculty of forestry at the University of British Columbia, provides a package with printable information about how to nominate trees, with a nomination form that you can take into the field.
To nominate a tree for the BC Big Tree Registry, you will be required to share the location, tree measurements, and contact information. Photos are also helpful. Once a tree is nominated, a local person who is a BC Big Tree Registered Verifier will arrange to accompany you to the tree to have it verified and be added to the Registry.
Check out the tree we nominated that has been successfully registered!
The information becomes shared on the registry for others to see and celebrate, so that public citizens, non-governmental organizations and all levels of government can better understand where ancient trees are located. In this way, the trees and ecosystems around a Big Tree can be recognized, allowing for more transparency and accountability for what happens on the ground.
Trees that meet certain requirements also qualify under the Special Tree Protection Regulation (part of the Forest and Range Practices Act) which not only provides the registered Tree with protection, but there is also a 1 hectare buffer zone of protection (no logging) around the tree.
Why is this important?
Forests in BC’s interior have not received the same attention as those on the coast, so the forestry data used across the province does not represent trees in the interior (see map). Growth rates for trees on the west coast are much faster compared to the interior, so they get bigger sooner. In the interior, growing seasons are much shorter due to long winters with cold temperatures, in addition to higher elevations. This means that trees in the interior are generally smaller, although that doesn’t mean that they are younger. Many, if not most, interior trees will not meet the threshold size needed for protection.
We need to change the threshold for Big Trees in the interior so that ancient forests with smaller trees are recognized and protected in the interior of BC. Collectively, the BC Big Tree Registry data is used to help inform provincial scale policy, including regulations around what gets protected. We hope that the Special Tree Regulation will be updated in the future to provide additional and more broad protection (lower size thresholds, include more species, include special wildlife trees, etc.) and one way to achieve this is by nominating a tree to be registered.
There are still limitations to the protection offered through the Big Tree Registry process, but we agree that these trees are in need of better representation which can lead to better protection.
See media:
https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/09/26/BC-Big-Trees-Protection-Toothless-Government-Knew/
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