Hikers across Vancouver Island say they've been finding entire forests with dying salal. No one knows why it's dying but the ramifications could be serious.

Late blooming Laughing Berry (Gaultheria shallon) in Metlakatla

One of B.C.'s most abundant plants is in trouble: patches of hardy salal plants are turning up brown, crispy and dying.

A growing die off of native Western Red Cedar trees is becoming visible right across East Vancouver Island now. Experts say its a symptom of climate change and as Skye Ryan reports, its changing the forests we've come to know across this region.

The die off of Western Red Cedar trees on East Vancouver Island due to drought and severe weather has First Nations extremely worried. Cedar is a critical part of first nations culture and as Skye Ryan reports, there is growing concern the dying trees will have a ripple down effect.

The ‘persistent and widespread decline’ of the province’s official tree is due to drier, California-like summer droughts of two to three months.

This ubiquitous shrub of the Pacific Northwest is dying. Some scientists theorize that a disease or fungus could be the culprit, while others point to this past winter’s unusually dry weather.

Drought levels have been raised already for parts of the province and Dave Campbell, with the B.C. River Forecast Centre, says the current forecast points to drought conditions provincewide in the coming weeks.