Logging trucks in the Upper Walbran Valley were met with an unusual blockade Monday morning — a 15-foot cougar sculpture erected by anonymous forest defenders demanding permanent protection of one of Vancouver Island’s last intact old-growth watersheds.

The group, which says it has the blessing of several local First Nations elders, is targeting eight provincially approved cut blocks in Tree Farm License 44.

The license is currently held by C̕awak ʔqin Forestry, a limited partnership between the Huu-ay-aht First Nation and Western Forest Products.

The activist group argues that logging in the Upper Walbran threatens ancient forests, some containing trees more than 1,000 years old.

“Old-growth logging is still happening in this province. This ancient ecosystem is being clear cut. We are obligated to take immediate action to stop its destruction,” said one unnamed group member in a media release.

Roughly 5,500 of the Walbran Valley’s 13,000 hectares are currently protected by government legislation, according to the group.

An image provided by anonymous protesters shows unprotected cut blocks in the Upper Walbran Valley.

While the provincial government enacted temporary logging deferrals in 2021 for the Central Walbran Valley and neighbouring Fairy Creek watershed, those measures do not extend to the upper valley.

The province extended those deferrals earlier this year, pushing them to September 2026, but the Upper Walbran remains outside the pause.

That has created a rallying point for conservationists, who argue the area is vital habitat for more than 250 documented species, including salmon, elk, marbled murrelets, red-legged frogs and northern goshawks.

“One tree isn’t enough to shelter a herd of elk or to keep the soil from washing into salmon streams. It takes an entire forest,” said another protester.

William Jones, a member of the Pacheedaht First Nation whose territory includes the Walbran, lent his support to the action.

“Now is the time for all of us to activate our souls for our great Mother in ways that are assertive while doing no harm,” said Jones.

“I told the industry people who were making presentations to quit logging the last of the old growth because there is very little left. We must save it for our children and all the children to come.”

Geoff Payne, the general manager for C̕awak ʔqin Forestry, said in a statement that the company recognizes that the Walbran Valley region is a significant place in terms of ecological and cultural importance.

“Our approach reflects this understanding and follows the Pacheedaht First Nation and the Province of British Columbia’s shared objective for the area which prioritizes ecological integrity while allowing for limited, carefully managed forest harvesting to support local economic resilience,” Payne said.

He said that the Pacheedaht First Nation chief and council have consented to the tree harvesting plan and operations are “fully permitted,” adding that the license provides “important forestry economic activity” for the Alberni Valley region.

“All harvesting activities undertaken by C̕awak ʔqin are conducted in full compliance with provincial regulations and best practices including our industry-leading measures to protect tall trees,” he said. “C̕awak ʔqin is also actively engaged with Pacheedaht and other area First Nations in development of an Integrated Resource Management Plan for TFL 44.”

The Walbran Valley has long been a subject of focus in B.C’s old-growth logging debate.

In the early 1990s, protests over clearcutting in Clayoquot Sound, dubbed “The War in the Woods,” led to more than 800 arrests.

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In 2021, Fairy Creek protests near Port Renfrew saw more than 1,100 arrests, making it the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.

The province has maintained that deferrals give time to work with First Nations on long-term forest management.

The protesters behind the cougar sculpture say the time for pauses has passed and is calling on the province to rescind approvals for the Upper Walbran cut blocks and move toward permanent protection of all old-growth forests across B.C.