big tree

Posted on July 28, 2005 by Megan

this is one of my favourite pictures from the trip to bella coola, my friend megan looking up at a giant and ancient cedar tree

i don’t have much to say today. the 2nd level grievance hearing yesterday went fine, and today i have mostly been in meetings or answering email all day (recreational fishing season always brings a host of new questions from people to answer).

really i am just posting so i can share with you my favourite picture from my recent trip to bella coola.

this tree (and about another 25 like it) is in an ancient cedar grove just outside of the town of bella coola. it’s remarkable these weren’t cut down when the valley was logged. we speculated on why that might have been since these are by far the oldest trees around and accessible…. this area is mixed cedar, spruce and cottonwood and other than a spot in the gifford pinchot, i don’t think i’ve ever seen this many trees of this size in one location…. it’s a really beautiful spot.

Category: Me

2 Comments on “big tree”

jamie
July 29, 2005

ah, bella coola. i have never breathed or slept easier than in bella coola.
your photos are great especially the culturally modified trees-something people down here never heard of.

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red cedar
August 4, 2005

yeah – but then again most americans (even activists) seem to know nothing about indigenous culture so that’s not surprising. honestly this was the first time i had ever seen real modified trees (rather than pictures) – it was a very cool thing to see how a tree could be stripped and hollowed out and continue to live – also because these trees are so big, if you imagined thousands of them rather than 20, dotting the landscape, you can envision how much material there was for building and clothing in them when the bark and wood was harvested in this way.

thanks for the compliment on the photos!

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