Tag Archives: clearcuts

Choogle On, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

A Little Bit Better … if not Perfect – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 9/9

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A Little Bit Better ... if not Perfect – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 9/9
A Little Bit Better … if not Perfect – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 9/9

In the last narrative from the Clayquot trip in Summer 2006, the water ban is lifted and Uncle Weed discuses the economic costs caused by the shutdown as well as the tensions about tourist based economy and village lifestyle, considers ingredients for positive development, and tries to resolve some conundrums by evoking Henry David Thoreau while stepping on barnacle encrusted shells on a muddy beach. 

Downcast Podload: A Little Bit Better … if not Perfect – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 9/9 (18:25, .mp3) 

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Choogle On, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Field Notes on Bevvies, Birds and Bowls – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 8/9

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Field Notes on Bevvies, Birds and Bowls – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 8/9
Field Notes on Bevvies, Birds and Bowls – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 8/9

Sometimes all the bits which don’t fit make the tastiest morsels. With this in mind, Uncle Weed dishes up a smorgasbord of leftover spiels, intros, set-ups, and observations from the Clayoquot trip including narrative about camptime beverages, glass pipe cleaning tips, local sticky nuggets, eagles flying amongst the Broken Islands, historic Pacific lighthouse, skateboard contests at Tough City Skatepark, Florencia Beach driftwood hut, foiled visits to municipal office and chamber of commerce, and full version of Bex‘s Lonesome (Lost) Traveler song. 

Downcast Podload: Field Notes on Bevvies, Birds and Bowls – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 8/9 (20:51, .mp3)

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Choogle On, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Salmon Swimming Free – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 7/9

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Salmon Swimming Free – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 7/9
Salmon Swimming Free – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 7/9

Visiting again with friend Kevin, Uncle Weed discusses the negative impact salmon fish farms impart on the local aquaculture. Specifically, Atlantic salmon living in pens attract hazardous sea lice, are unable to spawn, are fed with small fish imported from South America, and are dyed to appear more attractive in the supermarket. Further the politically controversial fish farms add little benefit to the local economy. 

Downcast podload: Salmon Swimming Free – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 7/9 – 16:00

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Choogle On, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Friends of the Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 6/9

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Friends of the Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 6/9
Friends of the Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 6/9

At the headquarters of Friends of Clayoqout Sound advocacy organization, Uncle Weed talks with Kevin Bruce, a concerned citizen newly arrived in Tofino to work as the office coordinator for the FOCS.

With the sound of passing cars and buses, they discuss the economics of logging, stumpage fees, value of wilderness, conundrums of interconnectedness and property lines, the memorandum of understanding, logging on First Nations land and ways to help attain the Friends’ goal of ending all old-growth clearcuts on public lands. 

Find new friends: Friends of the Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 6/9 – 26:24 

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Choogle On, Clayoquot Blockades, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Conservation and Clearcuts – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 5/9

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Conservation and Clearcuts – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 5/9
Conservation and Clearcuts – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 5/9

After a few days of frustration and confusion, Uncle Weed sits down on the trail and digs into a variety of essays from Beloved of the Sky by Gary Snyder, Howie Wolk, and Michael Frome plus riffs on painter Emily Carr, love/hate with the commercialized Wild Pacific trail, shore pines, lighthouses, volcanic outcroppings, leaning trees, branches covered in lichen, and sub-division developments.

Topics include the US Forest Service’s traditional commitment to conservation and subsequent effects of policy after cozying up to industry, a plea for less waste and sustainable forestry, public expectations and costs of lost wilderness, and ponderings about whether recreation and wildlife matter. 

Downcast podload: Conservation and Clearcuts – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 5/9 – 25:24

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Choogle On, Clayoquot Blockades, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Spieling from Whiskey Dock – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 4/9

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Spieling from Whiskey Dock – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 4/9
Spieling from Whiskey Dock – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 4/9

While watching fishing boats ply the inlet, Uncle Weed checks in from Ucluelet to describe the cultural and municipal differences between neighboring villages of Tofino and Ucluelet after a thwarted drive towards Kennedy Lake bridge – the scene of the blockades – and examines Ucluelet’s ballyhooed reaction to Tofino’s shortage through the eyes of locals at the hardware store.

With Tofino out of water, the news media have arrived and the tourists are kicked out, so from Whiskey Dock, UW riffs about RV rentals, housing developments, mountains ringed with roads and clearcuts, park fees, logging trucks warnings, jurisdictional confusion about UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and park concessionaires, plus a tip on a head shop in town. 

Downcast podload: Spieling from Whiskey Dock – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 4/9 – 19:28

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Choogle On, Clayoquot Blockades, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Tofino Dries up – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 3/9

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Tofino Dries up – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 3/9
Tofino Dries up – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 3/9

After recalling beach camp-outs, rainy days and salmon feasts, Uncle Weed finds out commercial water usage is banned in Tofino and closing down for the tourist operations for the busy weekend ~ thusly he sets out on the trail from Half Moon Bay to Wickaninnish Bay to discover what’s up.

Includes riffs and spiels about local geography, traveler accommodations like zimmers, campgrounds, resorts, park concessionaires, permits, beach access, war memorial plaques, low impact tourism, priorities, RVs, parking tickets, municipal investment, float planes, coffee shops, boat docks and surf breaks, roaming bears, and shipwrecks in Florencia Bay. 

Downcast podload: Tofino Dries up – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 3/9 19:44 – 17:27

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Choogle On, Clayoquot Blockades, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Meditations from the Blockades – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 2/9

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Meditations from the Blockades – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 2/9
Meditations from the Blockades – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 2/9

Out on a trail, Uncle Weed shares a few lessons learned bearing witness to the blockade lines including thoughts about non-violence and pacifism, importance of respecting others, and the common desire for trees which the ecologists and workers unwittingly share.

Plus discourse on ways to replace economic gains from industrial logging with value-added finished products and alternative sources of pulp and fiber including hemp. 

Downcast podload: Meditations from the Blockades – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 2/9 – 17:27

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Choogle On, Clayoquot Blockades, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Musings from Clayoquot Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 1/9

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Musings from Clayoquot Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 1/9
Musings from Clayoquot Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 1/9

Arriving at a campground between the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet, Uncle Weed sets out to explore the west coast’s unique environment and offer discourse on natural resource-based and tourism-based economies starting with recollections from the noted logging protests in the early 1990s with comments about blockade logistics from early morning pick-up trucks rides to posting bail to jangling guitars. 

Downcast podload: Musings from Clayoquot Sound – Rainforest Dispatches, chapter 1/9 – 17:04

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Choogle On, Clayoquot Blockades, Postcards fr. Gravelly Beach

Observations about Ecology and Economy – Rainforest Dispatches, Introduction

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Observations about Ecology and Economy – Rainforest Dispatches, Introduction
Observations about Ecology and Economy – Rainforest Dispatches, Introduction

Introducing a series of explorations and soliloquies from the Clayoquot Sound area on the west coast of Vancouver Island during a summertime water outage in the midst of a temperate rainforest. While figuring out what happened, Uncle Weed recollects the tense logging blockades in early 1990s and compares current conditions through lens of deep ecology and sustainable development practices.

Throughout this 9 part series, he wanders the region and examines the tension between fishing, logging and tourism industries then adds ideas on promoting the economy while protecting the environment along with spiels on clearcuts, salmon, camping espresso, user fees and flak jackets. 

Downcast podload: Observations and Soliloquies about Ecology and Economy – Rainforest Dispatches, an introduction – 6:55

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