For the last ten years or so, I have been pushing to get a major cave area preserved from logging - Thanksgiving and Huckleberry Ridges. Just got the word yesterday - the BC government has agreed to set aside 500 hectares! It is now Wildlife Habitat Area 1-489. The ridges contain one of the biggest cave systems in Canada, used by several species of bats and is home to a rare amphipod, identified from only a few caves on the BC coast. The surface has some massive trees and is pitted with caves and sinkholes, making it very sensitive to logging damage, which did happen in some areas around it in the past. A big thanks are in order for all those organizations that have helped in this process - BC Speleological Federation, Canadian Cave Conservancy, Vancouver Island Cave Exploration Group, BC Ministries of Environment and Forests, Mowachaht-Muchalat First Nations, BC Conservation Foundation, Wilderness Conservation Society Canada and Western Forest Products. An especially big thanks to Trudy Chatwin and Monica Mather who shepherded this process through government. Cheers!
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