Region Archives: Canada West

The Regional District of Nanaimo now has the money to purchase Hamilton Marsh lands. While the original price tag was $30 million, Mosaic Forest Management lowered its asking price to $28 million in January and in a Wednesday, Feb. 25 press release, the RDN announced it has secured the finances to acquire the 360-hectare site. Almost $550,000 was raised by the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust, Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region, Hamilton Wetlands and Forests Preservation Society and Oceanside Ducks Unlimited Canada, with additional assistance from the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Government of Canada, Nature Trust of B.C. and Sitka Foundation. …The deal is expected to close March 31 and subsequently, will be the RDN’s 13th regional park and conservation area, the press release said. …Mature forests within the Coastal Douglas-fir moist maritime subzone are located on the lands.

Results from a targeted deer hunt in the Cranbrook area show no new detections of chronic wasting disease (CWD), supporting ongoing efforts to contain and manage the disease in southeastern B.C. From Jan. 5-31, 2026, a general open-season deer hunt was implemented in a defined area near Cranbrook to bolster sampling efforts and reduce the risk of CWD spreading to surrounding deer and elk populations. A total of 228 deer were harvested during the hunt. All samples submitted for testing were negative for CWD. Of the deer harvested and tested, 79% were white-tailed deer and 21% were mule deer. Although no animals tested positive, targeted hunts within the established management zone aim to reduce deer population and density, providing fewer opportunities for close contact between animals and limiting the risk of CWD spread.

The newsletter highlights the ongoing work of the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) as it enters its tenth year of operations, showcasing the positive impact of FESBC-funded partners on forests across British Columbia. It opens with a safety tip from the BC Forest Safety Council aimed at improving workplace orientations and on-the-ground safety. FESBC also invites readers to participate in its Decade in Review, asking for stories about memorable, locally meaningful projects that have strengthened forests or communities. The newsletter introduces FESBC’s new Administrative Assistant, Jen Kulchar, and celebrates community forestry by linking to the BC Community Forest Association’s new film, Rooted Together. It also features a Faces of Forestry profile on Hengda Liu and shares additional news on FESBC-related forestry developments and partnerships. Throughout, the focus remains on collaboration, forest resilience, and the people driving meaningful forestry work province-wide.

Many people in British Columbia, including those living in remote First Nations communities, still rely on forestry revenue to keep the lights on. But as the forestry industry continues to wade through economic uncertainty, outdated forest legislation and – in some regions – a declining fibre supply, one can’t help but wonder: Could shifting gears to tourism pay the bills? “We watched the fishing industry decline …Now we’re watching the forestry decline. We are in a place where we need to look at other options…. I think tourism is a great option for that story,” said Paula Amos, Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC). The harvest tenure for TFL 61 is held by Pacheedaht Andersen Timber Holdings (PATH) and managed by Angus Hope.  … “There are a lot of challenges,” Hope says. From the “glacial pace” of government to the high cost of getting the logs to market, Hope says the status quo just doesn’t make sense anymore.

FORT NELSON, B.C. — Directors are being sought for a northern B.C. First Nations forestry company directive. Dechita Forestry is the industry arm of Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) and has launched an appeal seeking new directors… Its aim is to “advance sustainable forestry opportunities that reflect values and long-term interests” of FNFN. The board of directors will consist of a member of FNFN’s council, a member of the First Nation not affiliated with the council, and a community member of Fort Nelson who is not a FNFN member. Their responsibilities will include  “provid[ing] oversight, governance and strategic direction to ensure the success and accountability” of Dechita Forestry, according to the post. Initially named Fort Nelson Forestry Corporation, the company re-branded to its current name, which translates to forest or bush.

Williams Lake, B.C. – Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (CCR), a joint venture company owned by the Tŝideldel First Nation, the Tl’etinqox Government and the Yunesit’in Government, has been implementing large-scale, Indigenous-led forest management programs and initiatives within their communities for nearly a decade. Recently, with funding support from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, CCR has expanded its forest rehabilitation work, delivering innovative treatments that are making local forests in the Chilcotin more resilient to climate change and losses from wildfires. A project of note is a fire salvage and ecosystem restoration project called “the Palmer project”, located in the Cariboo Chilcotin in an area heavily impacted by wildfires in 2017. 

DUNCAN, BC — Mosaic Forest Management is launching a multi-year pilot on its private lands in the Koksilah watershed on Vancouver Island to demonstrate how working forests can deliver both economic performance and environmental resilience by integrating watershed services, carbon programs, renewable energy, recreation and real estate activities alongside timber production. This pilot supports the historic government-to-government agreement signed by Cowichan Tribes and the Province in May 2023 to develop BC’s first water sustainability plan in the Koksilah River which has experienced critically low summer flows in recent years.  As part of the planning process, Mosaic sits on the Community Collaborative Advisory Table for the Xwulqw’selu / Koksilah Watershed and Water Sustainability Plan (XWWSP). “This pilot is about figuring out what works by combining sustainable forestry with watershed stewardship and other land solutions,” said Duncan Davies, President and CEO of Mosaic. “We’re committed to building the business model that makes this approach viable and scalable where the right conditions exist.”

It could take anywhere from six months to a year before a coalition of area First Nations can start logging following a timber acquisition deal made with the provincial government in January during a natural resources forum in Prince George. The wood, amounting to 1 million cubic metres, comes from a licence held by Canfor and was timber that the company was not logging itself. Called an ‘undercut’ because it amounts to less than what Canfor could cut, the timber will now be converted into a licence held by a coalition of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, the Witset First Nation, the Lake Babine Nation, and the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. When logging does start, the new licence will call for logging of 200,000 cubic metres a year for five years. Through regulations, an undercut can be transferred by the forests ministry from one entity to another.

Megan Hanacek

The College’s 2026 Conference is on April 9-10, 2026 in Victoria, BC… Early-bird pricing is now available. This year’s Keynote Speaker is Megan Hanacek is a professional biologist (RPBio) and forester (RPF), business owner and TV personality. She is the CEO of the non-profit Private Forest Landowners Association and owner of an environmental assessment firm. For over 25 years, she has led project work with the provincial and federal governments, private industry, First Nations, non-governmental organizations and academia throughout British Columbia. Previously, Megan was a planning forester with the Ministry of Forests working on large scale projects including the Great Bear Rainforest to smaller scale management of wildlife values and habitat. She served on the College of Applied Biologists Board (2020-2025) and still stands as one of the longest standing female finalists on the hit HISTORY channel survival shows “ALONE”. The topic of Megan’s keynote will be “Thriving (not just surviving) during uncertain times.”

PRINCE GEORGE – British Columbia’s Forests Minister Ravi Parmar has announced that changes to BC Timber Sales are beginning to yield positive results, particularly in the Prince George area. The province aims to boost job creation, support local mills, and enhance forest health through this updated approach. Following a 2021 review of BC Timber Sales, several recommendations were made, and since then, the province has reported an increase in timber sales across British Columbia.  This includes the recent auction of two new commercial thinning sales in the Prince George area, marking a significant achievement for the region.

The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) has approved the final funding required to complete fuel management treatments in the Ellison area of Vernon. A report to Vernon city council at their regular meeting Monday, states the $125,000 investment will support treatment of two units, bringing the total area treated on Crown land to 72 hectares. “Fuel reduction work on this project began in 2023, and these final units will be completed by Nakimu Ventures Inc. no later than March 31, 2027,” the report says. “The city applied to FESBC to support fuel management on these Crown lands as part of our efforts to reduce wildfire risk in one of the higher risk wildland–urban interface areas identified in the Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan.” The project counterparts and strengthens other recent initiatives in the area, including BC Timber Sales 2021 clearcuts and BC Parks hand treatments completed in 2022.

A community science initiative is uncovering previously unrecorded fungi across Greater Victoria, highlighting the region’s rich and still largely unknown biodiversity. Some discoveries may even represent species new to science. The project, MycoMap BC, invites the public to photograph, collect and submit mushroom and slime mould samples for DNA sequencing. Since launching last fall, nearly 14,000 collections have been submitted across British Columbia, including about 2,500 from Greater Victoria. “We’re building baseline data on fungal biodiversity that simply doesn’t exist yet,” said Elora Adamson, project coordinator at the University of Victoria biodiversity lab. As of mid-February, roughly 350 DNA sequencing results have been processed. Adamson said 11 collections represent species recorded for the first time in British Columbia. … Of those results, six newly recorded fungi were found in Greater Victoria, four in Sooke and two in Victoria.

Representatives from the province’s community forest groups will gather in Vernon this summer to find solutions to challenges the sector faces. The B.C. Community Forestry Association will hold its 24th Annual General Meeting in Vernon June 3 to 5. Community forests are licensed provincial lands that are managed through partnerships, usually between municipalities, First Nations, and other stakeholders. They are intended to be managed in a way that prioritizes the needs of the community, such as local stewardship, sustainable forest management, and economic benefits. The association (BCCFA) is a grassroots, membership-based non-profit that acts as advocates for the community forest industry. “Every year we hold a conference and annual general meeting in or near one of our member communities,” Jennifer Gunter, Executive Director of the BCCFA, told Vernon Matters. “This year we will be hosted by the Monashee Community Forest, which is a partnership between the Splatsin First Nation and the Village of Lumby.”

By the time a so-called “raw log” is loaded onto a truck — or in a small minority of cases, onto a ship — it has already travelled through a dense web of economic activity that is anything but raw. It has been identified and cruised through professional forest planning. Roads have been engineered and constructed. Heavy equipment has been purchased, financed and maintained. Logging crews have mobilized. Mechanics and welders have serviced machinery. Truck drivers have hauled. Fuel suppliers have delivered. Silviculture obligations have been funded or secured. Stumpage has been paid to the Crown on public lands. In many instances, Indigenous partnerships and benefit agreements structure access and revenue sharing. Every log carries embedded value long before it ever approaches a mill gate or tidewater. Industry analyst David Elstone has noted that it can take more than 100 distinct job functions to sustainably plan, harvest and deliver timber from forest to primary manufacturing. 

FRASER CANYON — The Nature-Based Solutions Foundation in Vancouver says it has recently acquired two clusters of private land inholdings totaling just over 55 hectares within the traditional territory of the Kanaka Bar Band in the Fraser Canyon for conservation purposes. According to a news release from the conservation organization, the 55 hectares of land are inside the boundaries of Kanaka Bar’s proposed Indigenous Protected & Conserved Area (IPCA). The foundation says the acquisitions will safeguard exceptionally diverse old-growth forests, including habitat that features Canada’s largest documented Rocky Mountain juniper, and they build on NBSF’s earlier purchase of the “Old Man Jack’s” parcel in 2022, thereby bringing the total to three private properties to be returned to Kanaka Bar through Indigenous-led conservation, title-registered legal protection, and long-term stewardship funding.

Forest loss does more than reduce tree cover. A new global study involving UBC Okanagan researchers shows it can fundamentally change how watersheds hold and release water. The research analyzed data from 657 watersheds across six continents. It found that both forest loss and changes in forest landscape pattern cause watersheds to release a higher proportion of “young water”—rain and snowmelt that moves through a watershed within roughly two to three months of falling. “Young water is a signal that water is moving quickly through a system,” says Ming Qiu, lead author and doctoral student in UBC Okanagan’s Earth and Environmental Sciences program. “When the young-water fraction is high, it means less water is being stored in soils and groundwater for use during drier periods.” The study was co-authored by Qiu and Dr. Adam Wei, professor in UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science.