Region Archives: Canada West

Colleen Sutheimer

University of Alberta research offers new guidance that can help recover habitat for woodland caribou in forests across the province’s Athabasca oilsands region. The study lays out a strategic method energy companies and provincial land managers can use to determine which seismic lines — narrow clearings cut into the forest for underground petroleum exploration — need human intervention to help regrow trees. Such restoration can help recover habitat for the caribou, designated as a threatened species. Knowing which of the tens of thousands of the lines crisscrossing the northern Alberta region need active restoration can help energy companies and land managers best focus their efforts, says study lead Colleen Sutheimer, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Agricultural. …The research is the first to explore how long it takes for trees to start growing on Alberta’s seismic lines and how fast they grow once established, called growth trajectories.

The outdoor recreation and forest conservation advocacy group trying to protect the West Bragg Creek/Moose Mountain area from the loggers’ saws says it is being kept busy chasing its tail by the timber company set to clearcut this year, and the provincial department responsible for giving them permission. The loggers are telling them to talk to the provincial minister of forestry. The minister is telling them to talk to the loggers. Shaun Peter of Guardians of Recreational Outdoor Wilderness (GROW) said they are trying to convince the powers that be to commit to implementing the FireSmart program in the area, as a prudent protection, in light of the increase in wildfires across North America in recent years. To that end, GROW met with West Fraser Timber Company (formerly Spray Lake Sawmill in Cochrane) on October 11, and were told they can’t follow FireSmart guidelines without direction from the minister.

Chase council learned the community is in the line of fire after a report from FireSmart coordinator Michael Henderson. At the Jan. 28 meeting, Henderson provided a wildfire risk assessment that said after nearly a century of no-fire policy, climate change and the mountain pine beetle, “the area is primed for wildfire.” …Henderson also referenced a recent study that ranked Chase seventh in the top 10 for the highest burn probability among small communities across Canada, with Sicamous, Sorrento, Grindrod and Nakusp also making the list. …Henderson added that he and staff are looking into introducing a wildfire development permit area and related bylaws to ensure properties are built to FireSmart specifications from the start, which he said other communities such as Vernon already have. That would allow the village to enforce FireSmart measures among residents, who so far haven’t really embraced it.  

Dear Minister Ravi Parmar: I am writing to you in reference to your recent Minister’s Statement regarding photos of tree spiking claimed to be of Fairy Creek, submitted to you anonymously and without verification.  I understand from the reporter who subsequently interviewed me that the purported sender was “Friends of Fairy Creek.”  My name is Kathy Code and I am a Fairy Creek Forest Defender. …Thus, I was dismayed to read your statement.  Not only are you giving public voice to unsubstantiated claims from an unknown sender, but the weight of your office gives some credence to the underlying accusations. …I ask on behalf of the citizens of BC that you withdraw your statement as a means of maintaining the dignity of your office.   

Rhonda Millikin

The Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF) will test a green fuel breaks recommendation from Whistler ecologist Rhonda Millikin who has lobbied the municipality to rethink its approach to mitigating wildfire. Millikin has argued against fuel-thinning and other FireSmart practices, believing it isn’t effective in Whistler’s wet, coastal rainforest, and is actually adding to the community’s fire risk. She advocated for rainwater catchments, sprinkler systems, and natural green fuel breaks. …It is the biggest breakthrough yet for the retired ecologist, whose research has been met with mixed reactions… Forester Bruce Blackwell, who helped author Whistler’s wildfire strategy, has criticized Millikin’s research, arguing her approach would have little impact on fighting a large-scale, out-of-control wildfire. …Millikin’s advocacy led to Forestry Professionals British Columbia issuing a cease-and-desist in December, following a complaint… prompting Phil Burton, a professor at the University of Northern B.C., to decry the FPBC’s “heavy-handed” response to Millikin’s work.

The overall goal is to have a working forest while sustaining ecological and cultural values so that future generations have access to forest areas just as diverse and healthy as those currently enjoyed. For Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) operations manager, Warren Hansen, ecosystem-based management (EBM), a tool introduced in its operations in 2021, “came from the heart” of what the community wants from SCCF. In his opening remarks at a Jan. 30 Community Advisory Panel and public information webinar, he noted that SCCF’s board and community advisory panel are committed to using EBM in stewarding its tenure by harvesting timber in a way that curbs losses of biodiversity. The overall goal is to have a working forest while sustaining ecological and cultural values so that future generations have access to forest areas just as diverse and healthy as those currently enjoyed. To do that, SCCF relies on advice from contractors including Laurie Kremsater and Anna Yuill, who presented an overview of EBM to about 35 people tuned into the webinar.

Dan Macmaster

UBC Forestry wishes to congratulate Dan Macmaster, MSFM’13, on being named a recipient of the 2024-25 Alumni Builder Awards. An exceptionally dedicated volunteer with the Master of Sustainable Forest Management Program, Dan Macmaster has consistently gone above and beyond in advancing the education of future forest managers. His extensive contributions range from serving on the Master of Sustainable Forest Management Advisory Committee and guest lecturing to volunteering at field camps and organizing multi-day field activities for students.

David Eby

Leaders from across the forest products sector will be descending on Prince George, B.C. from April 2 to 4 for the COFI 2025 Convention. Organized and operated by the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI), the convention offers attendees a wide variety of panels and presentations over two days, as well as multiple networking opportunities with leaders of B.C.’s forestry sector and beyond. “The 2025 COFI Convention in Prince George comes at a time when the forest sector is facing transformation and turbulence. Looking at where we stand along themes such as competitiveness and sustainability, this event will explore market diversification, industry innovations, and solutions to critical challenges like wildfire and fibre access. It’s the must-attend gathering to shape the future of B.C. forestry,” says COFI’s director of communications Travis Joern. 

Chris Duncan

Chris Duncan, partner and national leader of forestry and forest products at MNP unpacks the forest industry’s biggest challenges and successes of 2024 and look ahead to 2025. Topics include shifting markets, labour shortages, the threat of U.S. tariffs, rising fibre costs, and the impacts of wildfires and storms. They also explore how AI, automation, and sustainability trends are shaping the future, alongside key takeaways from BC’s 2024 election and recent regulatory changes. This podcast offers a must-listen year-end review and outlook for Canada’s forest sector.

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews have returned to B.C. after two weeks supporting the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) with wildfire fighting efforts in Los Angeles. “In times of need, we will always be there for our friends; that’s who we are as British Columbians and as Canadians,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “Firefighters don’t ask questions, they run into fires. I want to express my deepest gratitude to each of the crew members who made the trip south.” On Jan. 11, 2025, the BCWS deployed a senior management team of 13 technical specialists to support CAL FIRE’s efforts to control the fast-moving Palisades wildfire. Working directly alongside the American incident management team, B.C.’s team supported in planning, logistics, operations, aviation, fire weather and information roles.

The West Coast’s smallest First Nation is taking great strides toward the creation of an innovative stewardship economy that puts sustainability and conservation first. The Kwiakah First Nation, led by munmuntle, Chief Steven Dick, consists of 19 members mostly based on Vancouver Island. …The nation intends to revitalize its lands and waters — much of which were badly damaged by logging and other resource industries. …After years of hard work, the nation successfully established the M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area last May that covers 7,865 hectares of forested land within the Great Bear Rainforest. The Kwiakah SFMA bans logging in favour of regenerative operations aimed at bringing the forest back to its pre-industrial state. The nation also intends to expand its protected forest area to 56,000 hectares by purchasing other logging licences in its traditional territory, Frank Voelker, the nation’s band manager added.

The BC government has approved a legal order to extend temporary protections in the Fairy Creek watershed until Sept. 30, 2026. It applies to the same forest lands that were deferred in June 2021. The deferral protects almost 1,200 hectares—all the Crown land in the Fairy Creek watershed. The watershed falls within the Pacheedaht and Dididaht First Nations’ territory. The extension feels like a small bit of clearing in a forest of uncertainty. … “The [added] time provides the Pacheedaht FN the opportunity to do the extremely important work of developing their resource management plan,” Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar told Capital Daily. …The forestry sector in BC has struggled in recent years with a reduction in access to fibre and the sawmills to process it. The slowdown has led to numerous mill closures and the loss of thousands of jobs across the province.

PORT ANGELES — The recent pause on some older tree sales in state-managed forests will not affect parcels that already have been approved or auctioned, despite some environmentalists’ hopes. When Dave Upthegrove was sworn in as the state’s public lands commissioner on Jan. 15, he immediately enacted a pause on the approval for auction of state-managed “legacy forests,” a campaign promise. …Some environmental activists had hoped the pause also would apply to legacy forests that already had been approved for auction, or those that had been auctioned but not yet logged. …However, after reviewing his administrative options, Upthegrove said he “do[es] not see a successful path forward for me to unilaterally stop them.” “It’s always incredibly difficult to unwind an action after it’s been approved and implemented, and the legal and procedural challenges of administrative action here make it virtually impossible,” he said in a statement.

Stillwater Consulting and Lil’wat Forestry Ventures (LFV) have partnered to deliver two fully funded, six-week training programs on wildfire and community resilience at the Ts̓zil Learning Centre in Mount Currie. Students will learn from LFV staff, Lil’wat elders and a dozen instructors brought in by Stillwater over six weeks of training in forestry and wildfire mitigation. Those hours will be split between class time and hands-on experience. “It’s set to get people ready to work in the field,” LFV general manager Klay Tindall told Pique. “It’s not to get them ready to work in an office, that’s for sure.” …The program also expands beyond core wildfire fighting skills with additional certifications involving working safely under power lines, bear safety, danger tree assessment, and natural resource field studies like silviculture and tree planting. Tindall said the broader approach is meant to ensure students are employable outside of the fire season. 

One of the biggest policy changes needed in B.C. is to forestry policy. B.C. policy for the last 50 years has resulted in a rapid clear-cutting of a large part of our forests even as all the research indicates that: Within a 60-80 year time span, only 20-30 per cent of forests can be cut in any one area without harming the hydrological cycle. On this basis, most BC commercial forests have been severely over-cut making a mockery of the Annual Allowable Cut. …Clear-cutting results in increased risk of forest fires up to 30 years when replanted. …Re-planting is a form of green-washing giving companies cover for the forest damage they do. …Due to the increase in forest fires partially due to logging, BC forests have [become a] carbon source. …The Power of Forests: Protecting Communities and Nature with a New Forest Act effort was launched by the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society.

It’s been almost a year since the B.C. NDP government moved to snuff out a growing political brush fire sparked by the latest and largest step in its bid to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People across the province. Changes to the province’s little-known Land Act were abruptly withdrawn by the government in February 2024 after a series of opposition town hall meetings brought out big crowds demanding answers on the implications. Premier David Eby’s promise of more consultation before moving ahead with what it termed shared decision-making on Crown land meant that if it was successful in the election, the NDP would move ahead. …Indigenous rights initiatives tend to start in B.C. and extend across the country. …Enshrining the UN declaration started here, and Justin Trudeau’s government followed suit, with a yet-undefined law to implement it across the federal government as B.C. has begun to do. 

Our new forest minister has been touring the North, trying to learn about forestry, and I hope, forests. I sure hope someone is telling him about the need to stop clearcutting Douglas fir forests… Douglas fir represent only two per cent of our forests in the Prince George Timber Supply Area. It’s a relatively fire-resistant conifer species with good biodiversity values we could use more of, not less… Douglas fir seedlings have a higher rate of failure compared to lodgepole pine. They are vulnerable to frost damage. During heatwaves the sun can cook them… This report identified another threat to Douglas fir regeneration: the elimination of our critical deciduous species. Douglas Fir, the report argues, are protected and enhanced by the deciduous “brush” that we currently eliminate from our regenerating stands, either with herbicides or with brush saws.

On January 30, the Parks and Open Spaces Department will begin safety work on the Grandfather Tree following its fall during the windstorm earlier this month. To ensure public safety, the Grandfather Tree trail will be temporarily closed to all bicycle and pedestrian traffic during this time. The Town of Cochrane kindly asks residents and visitors to respect posted signage and follow any guidance provided by staff working in the area… Propagation specialists have successfully collected seeds and meristem cuttings from the top of the tree. They are working closely with a grower to propagate the seed and are also exploring innovative tissue culture micropropagation techniques to create potential clones of the tree. These efforts aim to preserve the Grandfather Tree’s unique genetic legacy for future generations.

This is the beginning of convention season and that means many opportunities to learn, connect, and hear from government officials, project partners, and community organizations about problems, policies, and possibilities for the sector. The mood, thus far, is introspective, with reviews planned for BC Timber Sales and the forest sector in general. …At FESBC, we are reviewing applications for funding over the next two years. Demand for funding currently far exceeds supply. In this newsletter: A safety tip from the BC Forest Safety Council; Faces of Forestry features Erin McLeod; Information on FESBC’s 2025-27 second round of funding; Impact and benefits of the Pressy Lake Pilot Project; Nakusp & Area Community Forest’s wildfire risk reduction projects; and a podcast feature from the University of Northern British Columbia Forestry Club.

The BC government has approved a legal order to extend temporary protections to an old-growth forest on Vancouver Island even as the minister of forests acknowledged that the RCMP are investigating reports of tree spiking. Ravi Parmar called the news of such vandalism “incredibly alarming.” Spikes are typically metal and can injure or even kill a person who attempts to cut down or mill the tree. …The minister said spiking puts health and safety of forestry workers at risk, adding that the province immediately notified both the forestry licensee and the local First Nation. “It is outrageous that… they feel that causing serious injury to workers furthers their cause,” said Brian Butler, president of United Steelworkers Local 1-1937. The provincial government’s announcement… came at the request of the Pacheedaht First Nation, whose territories encompass the entire watershed. The protections allow for continued discussions about the long-term management of the watershed.

Related coverage:

• Province extends Fairy Creek old-growth deferral – Government of BC
• Minister’s statement on RCMP investigation in Fairy Creek – Government of BC
• Photos of spiked trees in Fairy Creek sent to Forests Ministry – Roxanne Egan-Elliot in Times Colonist

…changes in climate are expected to drive wildlife seeking refuge up mountains and further north. But for trees… the changes in climate are often coming too fast to get out of the way, especially when combined with pressures from logging, said Suzanne Simard, a professor in the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Forestry. …In a new study published in Global Change Biology, Simard and her UBC colleagues took three-year-old interior Douglas fir seedlings from locations in southern B.C. and planted them as far north as Fort St. James, the northern limit of the species’ range … to find out how the trees would handle the human-assisted migration, and if they would do better in a colder climate.  …As early as 2006, University of Alberta researcher Andreas Hamann published a study that concluded climate change could push the range of B.C.’s tree species north at a rate of 100 kilometres per decade.