Urgent tree removals in Stanley Park continue

What happened: Tree removal work is restarting this week in Stanley Park. In December, the park board decided to expedite tree removals due to “rapid deterioration” of dead trees in the park, according to a staff report. 

Background: In 2020, Stanley Park experienced a hemlock looper moth outbreak, an insect infestation which causes severe damage to trees. While outbreaks typically last only one to three years, this infestation was on the longer end of that spectrum, resulting in significant numbers of dead trees, primarily hemlocks, in the park. 

• A conservative forest management response by the park board early in the outbreak arguably led to a situation where, by late 2023, urgent action was required to keep park users and infrastructure safe. 

The details: The next phase of tree removals and replanting was planned to start in late 2025. However, a “recent significant increase” of tree failures during storms in October and November 2024, makes it clear that the hazardous situation is escalating more quickly than expected, according to the park board. 

• Those hazards include the risk of larger dead or dying trees falling on people, roads, and buildings, and smaller dead trees increasing fire risk in the park.   

The expedited work is happening across approximately 42 hectares of forest along the western portion of Stanley Park Drive, North Lagoon Drive, and portions of the cliffs north of Third Beach. 

In December, the board shifted about $3 million from the Phase 3 budget to extend the existing contract with B.A. Blackwell and Associates, the forestry contractor that conducted the initial tree assessment, and the first two phases of tree removals. 

Dubious narratives: Speculation and theories about the tree removals have run rampant over the past year, from questioning if the trees being removed are really dead to unsubstantiated ideas that cutting down trees would allow for encroaching building development in Stanley Park. Anecdotally from my discussions with folks, these sorts of narratives were not uncommon among people opposed to the widespread removal of trees from the park.

• The opposition to removals manifested most publicly in the form of a group called the Stanley Park Preservation Society and a court case brought by four park users.

Four plaintiffs filed a civil case against the city, park board, contractor, and the board’s urban forestry manager Joe McLeod, alleging they acted negligently in allowing and conducting the tree removals. The plaintiffs, who frequently visit the park, were denied an injunction in October, which sought to temporarily halt the work, according to CBC. 

• The plaintiffs made and withdrew a second injunction application shortly after the injunction was denied. No further steps have been taken since, the city’s lawyer on the case, Iain Dixon, told Vancity Lookout.  

Belated communication: The understandable visceral reaction to highly visible logging in the park was seemingly exacerbated by belated information sharing on the part of the park board, and the widely-reported finding from the Blackwell assessment that over 160,000, or about 1/3rd, of the park’s trees were dead. 

• While shocking to read, small understory trees made up most of that figure, and the park board has since clarified that only a fraction of those trees need to be removed. 

7,201 trees were removed during the first phase of work, while 25,000 seedlings were replanted in those areas, according to the extensive information now available on the city’s website. 

Park closures: Some trails in the interior of the park, west of the Causeway, will be closed until further notice. These include Thompson Trail, most of Meadow Trail, and a section of Bridle Path, as well as intermittent closures along Rawlings and Hanson Trail. 

What’s next: This round of tree removals are planned to wrap up by March, when the bird nesting season in Stanley Park begins. Further replanting is expected to start in the spring.

• The third and final phase of tree removals and replanting is currently planned for late 2025 until early 2027.