The World's Rarest Rainforest Hidden in Plain Sight

There is a rainforest so rare, it exists only one place on the planet. And it's the last place on the planet you'd expect it to be. It is home to a grove of ancient trees, older than the Ottoman Empire, cradled within an ecosystem unlike any other on the globe. And here's the unbelievable thing. Up until 2005, no one really knew it was here. Even though it stands right alongside a busy highway traveled by thousands every year. Even though it was slated for logging and was almost destroyed before the world recognized its significance. What is so special, so different about this rainforest? Where is it? And how on earth did it escape detection for so long? Join us for the story of an exceptionally rare rainforest, hidden in plain sight. When you think of a rainforest, you probably think this. A lush, humid, tangle of green hugging the equatorial waistband of the planet. Places like the Amazon, the wild islands of Papua New Guinea, or the deep heart of the Congo. These are tropical rainforests that exist due to extremely high rainfall and warm year-round temperatures. And then there are temperate rainforests, cooler, found in the mid-latitudes, and fueled by the heavy rainfall of moist maritime winds. Across the globe, temperate rainforests are largely confined to coastlines, except for places like here. Now, we are miles and miles and miles from any ocean. And yet, we are about to go down a trail that's going to take us through old-growth temperate rainforest. Now that is a remarkable thing, and for more reasons than one. The first reason this is remarkable is because of where we are. We are on the edge of the Columbia Mountains, more than 500 miles from the ocean. Here, there is no mild climate-tempering influence of the sea. Pacific storms arrive diminished, already stripped of their heaviest rains. We are deep in the cold Canadian interior, where winter brings biting winds and heavy snowpack. It's late October, and already the snow has begun. By all intents and purposes, a temperate rainforest should not be here. And yet it is. And this is just one small piece of it. North America is home to the only inland temperate rainforest zone in the world, stretching through the Columbia and Rocky Mountains all the way to Idaho in the USA. The only thing remotely comparable are small patches of moisture-dependent forests here and there, like those in Siberia and some parts of the Appalachian Mountains. But they don't have a few things that make this forest unlike any other in the world. Come take a hike with us, and we'll show you. Rainforests are characterized by high precipitation and rich biodiversity. No substantial dry season means little to no disturbance from wildfires, so the forest doesn't get reset every now and then. A complex, deeply interconnected plant community builds over time. And the plant community we see here is distinctly coastal. So we are in the middle of a coastal rainforest. But here's the thing. We are not anywhere near an actual coastline. We are surrounded by a plant community so similar to the coast 500 miles to our west, it's almost as if a slice of the coastline was lifted and transported here. And nothing brings that quite home like the cedars. It's huge. It's really hard to capture the size, the massive size of these trees. It has to be here in front of them to really see it. Yeah, it's very humbling. We reached a highlight of this trail. This western red cedar is called Big Tree, and you can see why. It has a diameter of about 16 feet and could be up to 2,000 years old. That means when Copernicus said that the sun did not revolve around the earth, Big Tree was already about 1,500 years old. Western red cedars are magnificent beings. At 500 years old, an individual will just be entering its stride. Elders like Big Tree are hard to date because their cores tend to rot, erasing the record of their earlier years. In life, these cedars give so much to the forest. They provide shade and habitat for canopy-dwelling creatures. Down below, their hollowed-out bases form dens and nesting cavities for many species, including hibernating bears. Rainforests are known for high rates of epiphytes, plants that grow on other plants. A western red cedar contributes a massive amount of surface area to the ecosystem, becoming a substrate upon which epiphytes can grow. In death, cedars are just as important to the forest as they were in life. Fallen trees become what ecologists call nurse logs, nurseries for moss, lichen, fungi, even young trees. The hollowed trunks and exposed roots of fallen trees provide even more habitat for nesting and den reliant species. Western red cedars are the poster children of northwest coastal rainforests. Alongside western hemlock, another largely coastal species, the ancient cedars of this grove are the most in-your-face indicator that we are walking through a distinctly coastal ecosystem, displaced inland. That alone is singular, but there's even more that makes this place one of a kind. Since we are so far inland, boreal species also form part of the plant community. This blend of coastal and boreal ecosystems is an exceptional rarity on planet Earth. So all this goes to show why BC's inland temperate rainforest is so unique and rare, but it still doesn't explain why it's here. The answer just arrived, as if on cue. We arrived just a few days ago. When we parked, the ground below us was a bit soggy, but the last few nights have dropped so low, the ground is hard and frozen now. And come morning, a fresh white dusting has come to blanket the mountaintops. We've arrived just in time to witness the start of the transformation, when this rainforest gears up to receive the recharge that fuels its existence. Many scientists who study the BC inland temperate rainforest remark that if we really want to be accurate, perhaps a better name for it is snow forest. The Columbia and Rocky Mountains are firmly inland ranges, together forming a spine stretching through Canada and the United States. When the remnants of Pacific storms reach their flanks, they still carry enough moisture to bring heavy snowpack that lingers for quite a while come spring and summer. But it's not just the slow drip of melting snowpack that gives this forest the moisture it needs. It's also the topography. The richest concentrations of coastal species tend to show up at the toe slope of ranges, where the steep mountainsides level out. This creates a natural catchment area where all the snowmelt from above collects, forming bogs and saturating the soil. Between winter snowpack and rain in the warmer seasons, the creeks and bogs of this forest stay charged enough to fuel the thirsty ecosystem that depends on them. The snow-driven element of BC's inland rainforest isn't just a key reason it exists, it's yet another factor that sets it apart in the world. And so now we know why this forest is here, but there's an equally if not more compelling question that immediately follows. How is it still here? We just spent the last two weeks traveling through British Columbia, focusing in particular on the core industries of this province. And if there's one thing that we've learned, it's that here, logging is king. So the fact that these thousand-year-old cedars have survived and are still here is actually quite baffling. Baffling is the right word. Canada is the second largest exporter of forest products in the world. In 2022 alone, BC's forestry industry contributed $17.4 billion Canadian in GDP. We just saw firsthand the scale of this business along one single stretch of the province. From the patchwork quilt of logging blocks, to the constant flow of haul trucks to and from sawmills, wood pellet plants, and pulp mills. The machinery of the forestry industry in British Columbia is powerful, thorough, and hungry. Across the province, only about 3-5% of highly productive old growth remains because of decades of industrial logging. So how did these giants escape the axe? It's not like they are tucked away within expansive wilderness hundreds of miles from the road system. They are right along Highway 16, which isn't some backwards road. Highway 16 is a major artery spanning four provinces and 1,800 miles. As we walk through the forest, the sound of passing cars mingles right along with the streams, birds, and pitter-patter of rain. The road really is right there. So one of the most remarkable twists here is that this grove of trees almost was logged. And this is where the story starts to get good. So scientists started noticing something unusual in the Columbia and northern Rocky Mountains around the 1940s, coastal ecosystems where they really shouldn't be. But the concept of an inland rainforest wasn't articulated until the 80s. More recognition built through the 90s, but some of the biggest revelations still lay ahead. Cue the year 2005. By that time, it was understood that this area, the Upper Fraser Watershed, was part of that rainforest zone. The presence of large cedars was known. For thousands of years, the Klightley-Tinay harvested cedar bark and medicinal plants from these forests. And in later years, logging took place throughout the watershed. In fact, this grove was part of Logging Block 486, which already had been licensed and surveyed for harvest. Spray paint and boreholes are the evidence left behind. And then, a grad student by the name of Dave Radies randomly selected this patch of forest to gather data for his research on lichen biodiversity. When he came upon specimens like Big Tree, he understood the forest's significance. Well, almost. There's a great deal that's come to be known about this forest because Radies stumbled into it, but we'll get to that in a bit. Besides recognizing the significance of these trees, Radies also noticed the signs that the grove was at risk of being logged at any time. What happened next is a most uplifting example of human collaboration. One that will hopefully restore a bit of your faith in humanity and our capacity to steward this planet. It calls to mind a movement we recently learned about, one that we joined because we want to be part of stories like this. Have you ever heard of the ancient forests of Romania? Neither had we, until our friends at Planet Wild went on a mission to protect the last 1% of old growth in Europe. If you haven't already heard of them, Planet Wild is a community-based nature protection organization, like crowdfunding for nature. As backers, José and I are now part of a community of 20,000 strong, all pulling together to fund a new mission every month to bring back endangered species, protect the oceans, and restore forests across the globe. It's a brilliant model, and we're proud to be part of it. Every month, we see our impact through reports, updates, and most exciting, through videos on their YouTube channel, each one incredibly uplifting. For example, the Romania mission supported an activist fighting corruption and illegal logging, using a tool that is simple, yet brilliant. If you're watching this video, chances are you care as much about the wild places of Earth as we do. So we encourage you to check out the Planet Wild channel, learn about the work being done, and consider joining us in the backer community. You can join with whatever amount feels right, cancel any time, and see your impact right away here on YouTube in less than 30 days. We'll even pay a month of membership for the first 100 people to sign up using our code ART5. That's how strongly we feel about this. Just scan the QR code or click the link in the description. And if you want to see them in action first, check out the Romania mission linked below. The situation going down in Romania right now holds some strong parallels to what happened here. A sweep of forest at risk of being logged at any time, followed by a remarkable display of human grit, persistence, and collaboration that ultimately saved the forest, even before anyone knew just how precious it was. After Dave Radies stumbled upon these giant cedars, he brought the grove to the attention of a local hikers club called the Caledonia Ramblers, who proceeded to build a trail to provide access to the grove. The goal was to bring people, awareness, and appreciation to the site, which it did. In 2008, the license to harvest block 486 was canceled. Between 2013 and 2016, members of the Caledonia Ramblers put in thousands of volunteer hours to build the boardwalk we're using today. And finally, in 2016, the ancient cedars and 27,000 acres of the Upper Fraser watershed were permanently protected through the establishment of BC's newest provincial park. Its name means the oldest trees in the Dakoth dialect of the Klaitli Tinei, whose ancestors were the first stewards of this land, a role which continues today. In 2020, the Klaitli Tinei unveiled the Ancient Forest Enhancement Project, an $8.7 million investment to improve and expand trails and build an interpretive center at the park entrance. It will include a pithouse, sweat lodge, and gazebo, a place to welcome and educate visitors about the cultural and environmental significance of this unique patch of planet Earth. COVID held up construction, but now it's well underway. We didn't realize when we came here that we'd be walking into a story still unfolding in real time. From 2005 to today, many, many, many hands have come together to protect this space, even before it was fully understood just how precious it really is. Since 2005, teams of researchers have studied the biodiversity of this forest, and what they are finding is incredible. It's not just richer than anyone imagined, it's threaded with a surprising number of rare and endangered species. In just one two-week survey, researchers uncovered over 900 species within the forest, some classified as endangered or near extinction. On the first day alone, 400 species were documented. The intense biodiversity and sheer concentration of rare and endangered species in this tiny pocket of already rare rainforest has researchers building a case few would have imagined 20 years ago. That these ancient cedars, and everything that lives among them, may one day warrant recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As we traipse our way through the forest, we come across a few species we recognize. Like Devil's Club, a plant we are quite familiar with, for better or for worse. We spent a lot of time hiking in Alaska, so we are very familiar with the old game of watch out for the Devil's Club. We recognize another species, not because we knew it before, but because we were directed by signage to look out for it. And grateful we were, otherwise we would have missed it completely. Gold Dust Lichen is a treasure a forest can only purchase with time. It takes at least 250 years of undisturbed growth before this species appears in any abundance. So fine it's often mistaken for dust, it colonizes bark and climbs higher as the forest ages, giving researchers a way to estimate how old a stand really is. And there's another colossal cedar we stopped to really take in. This is the Radies tree. The inland rainforest of British Columbia is indeed a rare sliver of the planet. A rainforest unlike any other. Snow-driven, a coastal ecosystem transported inland. Home to a unique mix of boreal and coastal plant communities. And if this one little pocket of the forest has anything to say about it, harboring a wealth of biodiversity that science has only begun to uncover. And yet, to this day, millions drive through patches of BC's inland rainforest without ever realizing they are in a rainforest. Awareness of this fact is growing in real time, and this little fragment of the forest has played a very large hand in that. The events that led to the creation of Ancient Forest Provincial Park gave the world more gifts than one. There's the gift of a piece of BC's inland rainforest, permanently protected, made accessible, open to receive and educate all. And there's the gift of the discoveries made here. Research that continues to reveal just how extraordinary this ecosystem truly is. Had this grove not been recognized for what it is, had it not been saved at the 11th hour, the world would never have known what it lost. If you found the story of BC's ancient forest interesting, you will find a lot of parallels in what is currently going down in the ancient forests of Europe. We highly recommend checking out Planet Wild's video documenting what is happening there. We'll link to it in the end screen of this video. And remember, if you're one of the first 100 to join the community using our code, the first month is on us. The link is in the description. Down below is the Fraser River. And now that our time here in the ancient forest is done, our mission is to follow the Fraser all the way to the sea. It's a 550 mile push to get south before winter really sets in, and obviously, we're cutting it very close. But even with winter nipping at our heels, we can't help but go slow because the history we're following is worth every stop. Join us for a wild ride through spectacular country next time on Art We Dare Yet.