Monthly Archives: March 2019

Supporters of the area surrounding Cottonwood Lake remaining forested can breathe a little easier following a decision by the Regional District of Central Kootenay board Thursday. In a media release, the RDCK announced it has approved the purchase of 21.6 hectares (ha) of private land around Cottonwood Lake that had been slated for logging by the private landowner. The purchase price is $450,000 for the purchase of timber on the property, plus closing costs, and the issuance of a tax receipt for the value of the land (without timber). The RDCK release said the purchase is being partially funded with a $200,000 grant from Columbia Basin Trust with the remaining funds coming from loan proceeds from a debenture loan with the Municipal Finance Authority. RDCK staff will bring borrowing bylaws for the loan to fund the purchase at the April 2019 Board meeting.

The City of Campbell River still isn’t pleased with the province’s responses to its numerous requests for the development of a long-term strategy of the Snowden Demonstration Forest. The city has been asking for a long-term plan to be created that would integrate forestry, recreational and environmental interests well into the future for quite some time, but the letters they have been getting back from the province don’t seem to indicate that will happen any time soon. They also requested a moratorium on road building in the area that will provide routes in and out for forestry equipment until such a plan is in place. …Although [the mayor] admits it will ultimately be up to the province to do as it sees fit, Adams says they’ll keep up the fight for Snowden’s protection no matter what those decisions are.

A draft agreement between B.C., Ottawa, and two Treaty 8 First Nations proposes a series interim moratoriums and changes to resource development practices in critical caribou habitat to help recover three dwindling herds in the South Peace. …The agreement calls for protected areas and closures for high and low elevation caribou habitat, and measures on recreation management, maternity penning, predator control, and land restoration. The closures are targeted at resource development, and not tourism and backcountry recreation, ministry officials said Thursday. No existing mining operations will be affected, but forestry and other tenure holders will be impacted. …A socio-economic study on the impacts of the closures has yet to be completed, and will be done collaboratively, ministry officials said. …Forests Minister Doug Donaldson is expected to comment on the two agreements later today.

KELOWNA – When government agencies go to work thinning out the forest near urban areas, they don’t fool around. One example is a new project in the South Slopes of Kelowna. In the last two weeks, crews from Gorman Bros. Lumber have thinned out a 10-hectare patch of forest above June Spring Roads to the point where there are only about 75 trees per hectare, versus the 900 to 1,500 that were there before. …the wide spacing of trees gives an impression more of a wooded park than a forest. “They’re creating a shaded fuel break, rather than a clear cut,” said Andrew Hunsberger, Kelowna’s Urban Forestry Supervisor …Gorman Bros. … will log an area they would never have considered working prior to this since it’s too close to homes. Residents bought into the program because it means fire protection for them.

VICTORIA – An audit of five range agreements for grazing cattle in the Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District found that the ranchers met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act, according to a report. “Range practices followed most range-use plan and legal requirements, and protected drinking water quality for downstream water users,” said Kevin Kriese, chair, Forest Practices Board. “These ranchers did a good job of protecting resources while grazing their cattle on Crown land.” The audit did find two minor issues involving notification of government when timing of grazing differs from the approved grazing schedule. In one case, the cattle were not put out on the range at all, and in another, they were taken off the range early, so there were no consequences to the land. These are considered areas of improvement.

Julius Huhs

With only a few months left until wildfire risk rises in the Central Okanagan, the province is working in partnership with the City of Kelowna in order to protect homes from wildfires. …The Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson visited Kelowna to asses the project, which will be ongoing over the next few months in the city’s southeast district. Of the 4,000 hectares identified for tree removal in the Central Okanagan, 1,000 hectares will be tackled during the next three years, equaling $1.6 million, said David Conly, operations manager for the Okanagan area with Forest Enhancement Society, a Crown corporation. …“We’re taking those forests back to a natural state. By removing some of the trees from them and leaving the bigger trees, it’s more open and there’s less fuel on the forest floor,” Conly said.

Public meetings will begin in April on two new draft agreements that focus on protecting B.C.’s southern mountain Caribou. …The draft agreements are meant to minimize the risk of an emergency order that would unilaterally close off Caribou habitats and could result in billions of dollars in economic loss, according to the ministry. Forests Minister Doug Donaldson also announced a section 11 agreement under the Species at Risk Act for broad recovery in a larger portion of the province and access to federal funding. …The province is also commissioning an independent economic analysis with communities and local businesses. …Wilderness Committee Campaigner Charlotte Dawe says… “I predict we’ll continue to see logging in critical habitat under this plan and caribou numbers will continue to dwindle ever closer to extinction.”

The effects of climate change have resulted in drought conditions becoming the rule rather than the exception. …Raising the Cowichan Weir has been something many Cowichan Valley residents have been calling for, for a long time. To that end… Premier John Horgan said Ministers Doug Donaldson and George Heyman, along with Paper Excellence staff and Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA Doug Routley are working together to change policies around water issues. “We want to ensure that we can bring forward changes to water use policies that will protect wild salmon, will continue to create jobs here (Crofton Mill), and as we adapt to climate change…” said Horgan.

KAMLOOPS — B.C.’s forests minister says the province is preparing for the wildfire season with some new strategies and people living near forested areas should also do their part by safeguarding property against potential blazes. Doug Donaldson says a $101-million budget, up from $64 million last year, will allow for a more comprehensive prescribed burning program and new technology, including night-vision goggles, to help with the early detection of fires that will be tried out this summer. He says firefighters will also have more access to computers and iPads in the field, and drone aircraft will assist with fire mapping and infrared scanning. Donaldson says a program established last September is expected to fund fuel-management work on Crown and private land by helping local governments and First Nations lower wildfire risks.

Partnering with Co-op Education & Employment Services to hire a co-op student from Selkirk College brings countless paybacks to employers throughout the province. Selkirk College co-op students are fresh out of the classroom, immediately productive and bring an enthusiasm and cutting-edge industry know-how to the workplace. Lisa Janssen is the Community Services Manager for the City of Fernie that regularly hires Advanced Geographic Information Systems (ADGIS) co-op students. She finds students highly motivated in applying the innovative skills learned in the Selkirk College program. “The technology sector is ever changing,” she says. “The exposure to current and emerging GIS technologies that the Selkirk ADGIS program offers students results in them bringing new experiences and fresh ideas that can be applied to our business practices.”

The Okanagan Nation Alliance says a planned burn near Keremeos this month will restore forest and grassland health while also reducing wildfire risks. The burn will take place on Crater Mountain, which is due west of Keremeos, and will target 192 hectares. The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) says the burn is part of a multi-year land management plan that will target a total of 680 hectares along the eastern slopes of the mountain. According to the ONA, the planned burns will protect nearby Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) members and the community of Keremeos from potential wildfires moving up from the south. “After the devastating wildfires that we experienced in 2018, it is vital that we implement these practices to enhance wildlife habitat and adapt to the effects of climate change,” said Chief Keith Crow of the LSIB.

Don’t be surprised if you’re hearing more about how to deal with wildfire this season. In the wake of two of the worst wildfire seasons on record, the provincial government is stepping up with more fire prevention strategies, programs and funding to help keep British Columbians and their communities safe this summer. “We’ve taken a hard look at additional steps we can take to not only prevent wildfires, but also enhance our response on the ground during wildfire season,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “Our base budget for wildfire spending has increased by 58%, and we’re accelerating prevention and prevention awareness programs.” As part of Budget 2019, wildfire management funding has increased by 58% to $101 million annually.