Big Lonely Doug is a large
Coast Douglas-fir
''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' var. ''menziesii'', commonly known as Coast Douglas-fir, Pacific Douglas-fir, Oregon pine, or Douglas spruce, is an evergreen conifer native to western North America from west-central British Columbia, Canada southward t ...
(
Pseudotsuga menziesii
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native plant, native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Dougl ...
) tree located in the Gordon River Valley, 10km north of
Port Renfrew
Port Renfrew is a small unincorporated community located on the south shore of Port San Juan, an inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Port Renfrew has a population of 262 (as of the 2021 Canadian census) and ...
on
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is the
second largest Douglas-fir tree in Canada after the
Red Creek Fir in nearby
San Juan Valley
San Juan Valley, sometimes called San Benito Valley formerly Canada de San Benito or Llano De San Juan is a valley that has its head near the Gabilan Range. Bounded on the north by the Lomerias Muertas and the Flint Hills and south and east by t ...
.
[
]
History
The tree was seeded sometime around 1000 CE.[
In 2011, logger Dennis Cronin discovered the enormous tree while surveying a patch of forest that was to be logged for ]timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
. He wrapped green ribbon around the tree with the words "Leave Tree" repeated along the ribbon, saving it from being felled. In 2014, photographer and activist T.J. Watt happened upon the tree and named it "Big Lonely Doug", a play on the tree's species name and its relative isolation amid the clearcut
Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...
. The tree has since become a symbol of nature conservation in Canada
Environmental issues in Canada include impacts of climate change, air and water pollution, mining, logging, and the degradation of natural habitats. As one of the world's significant emitters of greenhouse gasses, Canada has the potential to make ...
,
Dimensions
These measurements were made by forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon on behalf of the Ancient Forest Alliance and University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
on 18 April 2014. The results were published the following week on 24 April 2014.
Gallery
File:Big Lonely Doug.jpg,
File:Big Lonely Doug 2.jpg,
File:BIG LONELY DOUG.jpg
See also
* Boole
George Boole ( ; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in Ireland. ...
- a giant sequoia whose immediate surroundings were also clearcut
* List of individual trees
The following is a list of individual trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as we ...
References
External links
Drone footage of Big Lonely Doug, August 2016
{{Douglas firs
Individual Douglas firs
Individual trees in British Columbia
Juan de Fuca region