Monthly Archives: June 2019

Roland Wilson

As the B.C. government announced on Thursday that consultations on a draft agreement to protect Peace region caribou have been extended for up to two years, a prominent Canadian scientist said a report that accompanied the announcement showed “extreme bias.” …Scientist Justina Ray called Lekstrom’s report a “significant step backwards” both for caribou conservation and Indigenous-led conservation. “The word sterilize is an extraordinary word choice in the opening paragraphs of such an important document and such an expression of extreme bias,” Ray, senior scientist and president of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, told The Narwhal. …Roland Willson, chief of West Moberly First Nations, told The Narwhal his understanding was that Lekstrom had been brought in to be “Horgan’s spokesperson” in the northeast. …Candace Batycki, B.C. program director for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, said there is nothing new in Lekstrom’s report to protect caribou. “It’s a very political report, designed to try and gain more for industry,” she said.

A thumbnail-sized insect known to tear through crops and gardens is the target of a federal eradication campaign — and there are ways you can help stop the spread. While they might be small, Japanese beetles are known to leave behind a trail of damage. The invasive pest was found in Vancouver’s False Creek neighbourhood in 2017, and the affected area has been growing steadily since. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has set up a containment zone around the affected areas of the city, which includes False Creek, downtown, and all of Stanley Park. …The province said the beetle could spell trouble for B.C.’s agricultural sector, sports fields, and golf courses. …”They are very ravenous and they can eat a very large amount of plant material in a very short amount of time,” said Doheny.

It’s a spectacular 800-hectare piece of unspoiled wilderness nestled in the remote Princess Louisa Inlet on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, and it’s for sale. The B.C. Parks Foundation, a relatively new independent charity that works with B.C. Parks to improve the provincial park system, is trying to raise a total of $3 million to buy the land before a deadline at the end of August when the seller will consider other offers. They have already raised $2 million. If the foundation is successful, it hopes to bundle the land with an existing provincial park, private land set aside for conservation and Crown land to create an enormous new 9,000-hectare park surrounding the entire inlet. … Andrew Day, CEO of the B.C. Parks Foundation said the foundation is concerned about what could happen to the land if it isn’t set aside as a park. The property’s online listing mentions the land’s “large timber component.”

Recent sawmill closures in British Columbia have brought to light the need for renewed focus on the mismanagement of B.C. forests over the past decades, which is having a significant effect on the B.C. and Canadian economies. …The tenure system, where large companies have been given the access and management of large regions of forest in exchange for jobs, is a system that is fraught with problems. Like a third world country, we have essentially given our trees away for a pittance. Not only that, these companies have grown their mills over the years to consume more and more of our forests in exchange for fewer and fewer jobs while we turned a blind eye. Shame on us. Now these companies are selling their tenure, taking their money, shutting down their mills in Canada and buying up others in the U.S. or in Europe. …We need changes to the distribution of timber rights that allow smaller companies to have access to timber.

In November 2017, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from a member of the public alleging that culverts at stream crossings on a section of forest road were removed and the channels filled with dirt, causing harm to fish and damage to fish habitat. The complaint also alleges that, despite reporting the situation to government’s compliance and enforcement program several days later, the issue was not investigated until he called back four months later to enquire about whether any action had been taken. The Board found that damage to fish habitat had occurred and that natural surface drainage patterns were not maintained. The Board also found that government’s enforcement was not appropriate. Although government did investigate the situation, it did not fully consider several important factors, such as the presence of fish and subsequent damage to fish habitat.

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government announced an interim moratorium on resource development in parts of the south Peace region on Thursday, giving itself more time to sign a long-term strategy to protect dwindling caribou populations. The government said it will close consultation gaps to find harmony within local communities that have been divided over the issue, while one of the area’s First Nations called the move a stall tactic. …The moratorium is one of 14 recommendations in a report by Lekstrom on caribou recovery released Thursday. …The government also unveiled a framework for a “bilateral conservation agreement,” with the federal government, First Nations, local governments and industry …The news was met with skepticism by Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nation. Willson said he was expecting a strategy… not a two-year grace period for the government to act.

Vaughn Palmer

VICTORIA — Premier John Horgan’s caribou rescue plan for the Northeast remained in need of a rescue of its own Thursday, after the release of a damning report from his personal liaison, Blair Lekstrom. “As worthy as the goal of caribou recovery is to all of us, the method that has led us to this point was, simply put, a mistake,” wrote Lekstrom. “There has been a feeling of broken trust and I hope to be able to present a path forward that helps us build trust.” …Horgan recruited Lekstrom … after admitting (“my bad”) the New Democrats had botched the public handling of the plan. The premier hoped Lekstrom could get the plan back on track in relatively short order. …But [Lekstrom] was unable to report that harmony had been restored in the Peace country. Instead the relationship between the non-Aboriginal community and First Nations remains troubled. …Lekstrom’s report detailed his own difficulties trying to bridge the gap.

The British Columbia government plans to sign a caribou protection strategy while it imposes an interim moratorium on new resource development in areas of the South Peace region where the animals are struggling for survival. Premier John Horgan says a report on caribou recovery recommends the pause to allow for consultation with communities, industries and First Nations. “Everyone in the Peace region agrees that we need to recover our caribou herds and protect local jobs,” said Horgan. …Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said the government is protecting caribou herds and limiting the potential economic impact. …Both Lekstrom and Horgan said they regret that the issue of temporary protections for the caribou had inflamed passions and led to racist comments. “Regrettably, this issue has divided communities and provoked sentiments that have no place in British Columbia,” said Horgan. “The only way we will make progress is by working together.”

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) program and timber sale licence holders in the Quesnel Natural Resource District portion of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Business Area during the week of June 24, 2019. Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, bridges, silviculture, fire protection activities and associated planning carried out from June 1, 2018, to June 28, 2019, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. The audit area is located in the Quesnel Natural Resource District, in the northern part of the Cariboo Region. The district lies in the Fraser Basin and the Interior Plateau between the Coast Mountains on the west and the Cariboo Mountains on the east. It includes the communities of Quesnel, Wells and Barkerville, and the villages of Nazko and Kluskus.

Vancouver – BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) President & CEO Susan Yurkovich issued a statement today in response to the provincial government’s announcement of an interim moratorium to protect caribou and the release of Blair Lekstrom’s report, The Path Forward to Recover the Caribou Plan in Northern British Columbia. “We would like to thank Blair Lekstrom for his thoughtful report and the Premier for taking the time to extend the consultation and permit communities, industry and stakeholders to be engaged and provide their input. “We remain fully committed to working with government, First Nations, and community leaders in advancing caribou recovery and protecting forest industry jobs. Importantly, we support Blair Lekstrom’s recommendation that a comprehensive socio-economic analysis with impacted areas of the Partnership Agreement be completed prior to the agreement being finalized.

Government is implementing an interim moratorium on new resource development in parts of northeastern British Columbia, while providing more time to protect jobs and support workers as it engages with affected communities and industries on long-term caribou protection strategies. Government has also released the Lekstrom report on caribou recovery and unveiled a broader plan to continue work with the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations to protect the region’s caribou herds. The Lekstrom report on caribou recovery makes 14 recommendations, including calling for the interim moratorium. Government also announced its intention to sign the Southern Mountain Caribou Bilateral Conservation Agreement (Section 11). The agreement establishes a framework for co-operation between Canada and B.C. to work collaboratively with Indigenous nations, local governments, industry and communities to develop caribou management plans for southern mountain caribou.

VICTORIA – An audit of forestry activities on a woodlot in the Peace Natural Resource District has found a significant non-compliance with the Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices Regulation, according to a report. The audit found the licensee misclassified a stream and as a result harvested in the riparian reserve zones for six cutblocks. Under section 36 of the WLPPR, a woodlot licence holder must not cut, modify or remove trees in these zones, except in limited circumstances. “Due to the number of occurances and the significance of riparian reserve areas in the maintenance of stream health, this is a significant non-compliance,” said Kevin Kriese, chair of the Forest Practices Board. “However, the licensee did meet all other requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and Wildfire Act.”

Dr. Bob Kennedy

It is with sadness I want to inform our Faculty community of the passing of Dr. Robert (Bob) Kennedy, UBC alumnus, professor, and former Dean of the Faculty. He passed peacefully at age 87 in the early hours of June 17, 2019, surrounded by family. Dr. Kennedy was a wood scientist who combined a university career and research in forest products and wood behaviour for industry. His association with the UBC Faculty of Forestry began following his graduation from the State University of New York, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1953. While at UBC, he was awarded the degree of Master of Forestry in 1955 and served as an instructor between 1955 – 1961.