Big Lonely Doug book review

Harley Rustad’s Big Lonely Doug  is a great book to finish on a rainy Sunday. I finished the last 80 pages under a blanket with coffee nearby.

Rustad tells the story of one 1,000 year old Douglas fir giant(Pseudotsuga menziesii) which was saved by a logger named Dennis Cronin.  I was immediately hooked by the cover image of Big Lonely Doug. So I went to my nearest Chapter’s Indigo and bought a copy; the people inside the store might appreciate the support. That’s the sort of impulse buy tree huggers are prone to making.

Cronin

Once people asked Cronin why he marked the giant tree with a green “Leave Tree” tape, and he said because he liked it. And I’m glad he did because this one tree became a huge symbol for the plight of old growth trees on Vancouver Island. Big Lonely Doug stands out in the open and is close to the city, unlike other giants in the Port Renfrew area.

As a logging veteran Cronin  took down many trees over the course of his career but something told him to leave this one standing.

Sadly, only seven months after tagging this giant with his green tape, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He died in 2012.

One burning question

I’m not the only person to  wonder about blow down risk. It turns out that many people worry about the risk of blow down from an epic storm. After all, Big Lonely Doug is out in the open, exposed after all of his forest mates were annihilated.

But don’t worry. Examination of the clear-cut area shows that there have been some extreme storms in the past. And, while some big trees went down, Big Lonely Doug survived.

Lonely?

Thanks to Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees, I discovered the work of UBC researcher Suzanne Simard. She discovered the massive underground connections forest trees have by which they help and communicate with each other.

So by removing Big Lonely Doug’s forest mates those connections have been severed. Of course, as the clear-cut regenerates, those underground connections will re-establish.

Logging vs environmentalists

I prefer to see trees standing. Just reading about logging gives me a skin rash. I won’t comment much on logging on Vancouver Island but let’s just say that there isn’t much old growth forest left.

Conclusion

If you love trees and nature, you will enjoy this book. I certainly did. It deserves 5 stars out of 5 becasue I learned lots by reading this book.

Rustad’s story inspired me to plan a visit to the tall trees of Port Renfrew. Maybe I will do the West Coast Trail while I’m there.