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search Kiidk'yaas in 1984  Kiidk'yaas, also known as the Golden
Spruce, was a Sitka Spruce tree, Picea sitchensis 'Aurea', that
grew on the banks of the Yakoun River in Haida Gwaii
archipelago, British Columbia. It had a rare genetic mutation
causing its needles to be golden in colour.  On 22 January 1997,
a 48-year-old unemployed forest engineer named Grant Hadwin
surreptitiously felled the tree as a political statement against
industrial logging companies. He was later arrested but
disappeared on his way to trial.  According to John Vaillant's
book The Golden Spruce, what is believed to be Hadwin's broken
kayak and effects were found on a remote island some time after
he went missing in a rough sea. Whether he had been murdered for
his crime, accidentally drowned, or left his belongings behind
on purpose is not known.  In 1977, a group of botanists from the
University of British Columbia (UBC) visited Haida Gwaii to take
cuttings.[1] These cuttings