The watersheds of the Little Qualicum and Englishman Rivers on the northeastern slope of Mount Arrowsmith were once home to a large old-growth forest dominated by coast Douglas fir. The forest was clearcut in the early 1900s but eventually rebounded as the trees matured. In the mid-1990s, local logging industries pressured the provincial government to permit clearcutting in the area as the trees neared their harvestable size. Local conservation groups protested additional logging of the recovering forest.[1]
In November 2008, the governing body of Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District in cooperation with local conservation groups established Mount Arrowsmith Massif Regional Park within the biosphere reserve to further protecting the forest from being clearcut.[2][3]
Restructuring
In 2013, members of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Foundation voted to dissolve the society and transfer management of the biosphere reserve to Vancouver Island University (VIU) and the City of Parksville.[4]
