Region Archives: Canada West

McBride Community Forest Board of Directors member Sheilagh Foster submitted her letter of resignation from the board on Tues Jan 24. Foster had been on the board of directors since the summer of 2021… She was disheartened to hear that the Village of McBride had voted to remove two of the MCFC board of directors. “(It is) a sad repeat of the history and community trauma endured under previous Village Councils,” said Foster. “I joined the MCFC Board of Directors, hoping that director appointment and management by Village Council was behind us. I hoped MCFC could work toward becoming an independent organization not subject to the political whims of McBride Village Council.” Seeing that the Village has once again stepped in and appointed directors of their own choosing, Foster made the decision to step down. 

A BC provincial court judge declined to grant North Vancouver Save Old Growth organizer Ben Holt, 52, a conditional discharge. Judge Gregory Rideout said it was a “significant aggravating factor” that Holt continued with the protests despite bail conditions banning him from blocking traffic. A protester involved in four anti-logging demonstrations that disrupted traffic in Burnaby, Vancouver and the North Shore has been handed a conditional sentence with house arrest and a curfew to be followed by six months of probation. Benjamin Holt, a 52-year-old computer programmer, was in Vancouver provincial court for sentencing Thursday morning after pleading guilty in December to three counts of mischief and one count of breaching bail conditions. The charges relate to protests with Save Old Growth, a group that has organized major traffic disruptions along the Trans Canada Highway in a bid to end all old-growth logging in B.C.

Gerrit Bittner

Gerrit Bittner is a Technical Forester in Training on the engineering team at Teal Jones. He plays an important role in forest management in the company’s Fraser Valley operation. Gerrit’s days are typically spent out in the field doing block layout, establishing locations for road construction, and determining fish bearing and non-fish bearing waterways. …the information is used in the preparation of Cutting Permits, Road Permits and Road Construction and Logging Plans. Forestry runs deep in Gerrit’s family. A member of the Wuikinuxv First Nation from Oweekeno, he grew up in Bella Coola where his father owns a logging company. Gerrit started his career as a chokerman and worked his way up to be a rigging slinger. Gerrit attributes a lot of his timber harvest and industry knowledge to his father. In 2017, a work colleague told Gerrit about a seasonal position at Teal Jones. He’s worked with the company’s engineering team ever since. 

The Competition Bureau has opened an inquiry to see if forestry industry claims of sustainable management on vast stretches of Canadian woodlands are false advertising. The inquiry, announced late last year, comes in response to a complaint filed by Ecojustice on behalf of eight environmental groups. Ecojustice says that forest industry ads claiming the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) sets rigorous harvesting standards are dishonest and misleading. …Jason Metnick, for SFI said, “(The initiative) has a forest management standard that is based on objective performance measures and indicators”. At stake is Canada’s most commonly used method of assuring consumers that the wood and paper products they buy are harvested in accordance with modern ecological principles. It is promoted by the Forest Products Association of Canada and purports to certify sustainable forestry on more than 120 million hectares. But the Ecojustice complaint calls on the Competition Bureau to force the industry to retract those claims and pay a $10 million fine. …The Competition Bureau inquiry, which is not conducted in public, has the power to use the courts to compel evidence. 

Quesnel, B.C. – the City of Quesnel, a municipality situated between the Fraser River and Quesnel River in the Cariboo Regional District of B.C., has been a trailblazer in making forestry more sustainable by undertaking innovative projects with support from Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) funding. After years of the mountain pine beetle devastating the forests surrounding the city, and the Plateau Fire Complex which consumed 545,150 hectares of forest, the City of Quesnel took the opportunity to learn from the crisis and formed the Forestry Initiatives Program to advocate for the practice of sustainable forestry including proactive wildfire risk reduction. With FESBC funding, the City has now assessed over 1,000 hectares in the surrounding area near Quesnel as outlined in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), prescribed and treated 230 hectares with crews conducting treatments by hand and with machines, and developed 200 hectares of additional “shelf-ready” prescriptions.

Re: “Scrap the old forest industry, build a new one,” commentary, Jan. 30. I have absolutely had it with retired foresters writing long-winded opinion pieces about how we need to shut the forest industry down. It strikes me as the peak of hypocrisy to spend a career exploiting a resource, then once you are safely retired with a well-funded pension to decide it is time to shut it all down. These individuals spent decades in the industry and got us into the situation we find ourselves in today. …I work in the forest industry because I truly believe that well-managed forests and the products they produce are a key part of addressing climate change, building our province and providing benefits and employment to people in rural B.C. …To suggest that our profession has failed and our jobs should be wholesale “transitioned” because the previous generation mismanaged the resource, leaving us no opportunity to do better, is frankly insulting.

After a century of wildfire suppression, the forest in Banff National Park has grown into an ideal fuel source for wildfires. The evergreen trees are all an even age, undisturbed by fire, and have become so dense they choked out other species. It’s one of the big drivers behind why Parks Canada says it needs to return fire to the landscape, and strategically take away that fuel. In a controlled way, fire can be the nexus for biodiversity, and in southern Alberta, cutting down that fuel load is essential to keeping those living in the Bow Valley safe from catastrophic wildfires. …”There’s a lot of modelling … to understand what we need to do to make the valley more resilient, both in terms of reducing the impact to communities but also maintaining a more resilient ecosystem,” fire and vegetation specialist Charlie McLellan said. “Certainly we need to keep doing this proactively.”

GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST, BC – A report released today identifies job creation, economic diversification, and other outcomes from 15 years of First Nations’ investments in stewardship and economic development in the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii. Sustaining People and Place, published by Coast Funds, describes how conservation financing has benefitted communities and supported the protection of rainforest ecosystems that are home to Spirit bears, wild salmon, and coastal wolves. Coast Funds, an Indigenous-led conservation finance organization, was created through the 2006 Great Bear Rainforest agreements to manage $120 million for First Nations’ conservation and economic development initiatives in the region. Between 2008 and 2022, Coast Funds delivered $109.2 million towards 439 stewardship and economic development projects.

On February 7, join the UBC Faculty of Forestry for an online introduction to their Master of Geomatics for Environmental Management program. Learn more about how the MGEM program can equip you with the skills to advance in your career  in this exclusive online presentation and question-and-answer session. Over 9-months, the MGEM provides essential training in the use and application of geospatial tools used to plan, develop, manage, and evaluate programs to protect and regulate natural habitats and renewable natural resources. This interdisciplinary degree blends landscape ecology training and quantitative spatial skills development to prepare graduates to tackle pressing environmental issues across multiple sectors.

Procter, B.C. – A blazing wildfire in 2003 that prompted an evacuation alert, and grew to nearly 8,000 hectares, was a wake-up call for many Harrop-Procter residents. The community, located in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, was clearly at risk and there was much work to be done to protect homes and watersheds. However, focusing narrowly on wildfire risk reduction work was not sufficient for the residents. With climate change conversations moving to the forefront of public consciousness, the Harrop Procter Community Co-operative (HPCC) developed an approach that is present-mindful, and future-focused, not only with its wildfire risk reduction activities but in how it manages and sustains the forested landbase. The Forest Enhancement Society of BC has funded a handful of projects in the community forest that have a climate adaptation theme. 

Garry Merkel

So far, the new year seems to be extracting the same old headlines … more old-growth logging, more pulp-mill closures and — coming soon — more protests. On Feb. 25, a march for ancient forests will converge outside the legislature in Victoria. …a coalition of 168 organizations called United We Stand are calling on the premier “to implement a paradigm shift in forest stewardship.”  …the notion of a “paradigm shift” comes from the government-commissioned old-growth strategic review. It has become a sort of bible for B.C.’s environmental advocates. …But, more than two years and 1,100 arrests since the strategic review came out, ancient trees are still falling all across the province. All of which begs a question: what gives? Garry Merkel, a Tahltan forester … is one of the old-growth strategic review’s two authors. …Merkel insisted it won’t be a matter of decades, but rather of months before the NDP delivers the very thing protesters are demanding. 

The British Columbia government created a major conservation area that it bills as one of the most significant new protected areas in a decade. To meet its lofty environmental goals, it will need to create the equivalent of 175 more over the next seven years. Canada needs B.C. to succeed to meet its own promises at the COP15. Despite the strong political alignment between the two governments, a nature agreement that would fast-track conservation has proved elusive. The federal government has committed to reach 30 per cent protected areas by the year 2030. …British Columbia, with one-10th of the country’s land base and an outsized share of Canada’s biodiversity, has protected a greater share of its lands than any other province or territory. But it still needs to add another 10 million hectares of protected areas to hit its own 30-by-30 target. [Access to this full article requires a subscription to the Globe and Mail]

British Columbia — After more than 27 years of unsettled treaty negotiations with the Crown, the Yekooche First Nation has issued a declaration affirming their unceded ancestral rights to their lands and resources. By recognizing its Section 35 rights set out in the Constitution, the nation says it is taking back control of its territory and resources, and will be exercising its own laws, customs and resource management systems. “Today, we take back the management and harvesting of our ecosystems – the land, the minerals, the trees, the animals and the water,” sai Chief Mitchell Joseph. “Treaty negotiations have progressed at a snail’s pace over the past 27 years. …It’s 2023 and the Crown should not still control us and our resources. We remain wards of the state. We are a forgotten nation in B.C., ignored by our Crown who is supposed to be duty bound to act honourably and as proper fiduciaries towards us. 

Murphy Abraham & Murray Rankin

BURNS LAKE, BC — The Province and Lake Babine Nation are taking the next step in the journey to recognize and implement the Nation’s rights and title through the signing of a new land transfer agreement. The agreement will enable Lake Babine Nation to take back control of 20,000 hectares of waterfront and prime forestry lands in their territory… [and] enable the Nation to expand its forestry business and drive economic opportunity in the regional economy. …The Foundation Agreement was signed by Canada, Lake Babine Nation and the Province in September 2020. It is a roadmap for reconciliation, providing a step-by-step guide for how the Nation and the provincial and federal governments will work together in a phased approach to implement Lake Babine self-governance, title and other rights, boost economic development, collaborate on major land and resource decisions, and promote community health and well-being.

SUNDRE – While a reportedly sharp decline in Alberta’s mountain pine beetle population is certainly a positive development for the province’s forests and economy, the general manager of Sundre Forest Products – West Fraser said neither the industry nor the government can let down their guard. “You’re never going to get me to say clear skies ahead,” Bruce Alexander said. “I don’t want to downplay the fact that overall, things could be a whole lot worse. The data is showing us a good news standpoint, provincially. But I don’t think we can assume that it’s behind us…” …The unfortunate situation that unfolded in B.C. had a silver lining of offering valuable learning lessons for the industry and government in Alberta, he said… Even at the peak of the pine beetle population boom in Alberta, the area covered under the Sundre mill’s forest management agreement largely dodged the proverbial bullet.  

Joe Martin

Filmmaker Harold Joe from Cowichan First Nation is aiming to inspire the next generation to preserve cultural knowledge. His documentary A Cedar is Life weaves together stories of elders, carvers, medicine makers and basket weavers from Vancouver Island to Haida Gwaii in B.C. “When you listen to these older people and these artists, there is a real connection; we have that connection to this tree, this being. I don’t like calling it a tree; I like calling it a being; it was a giver,” says Joe. As the name suggests, his film showcases the cedar tree, which is central to the cultural life of West Coast First Nations. The film speaks with knowledge keepers who explore how all parts of the tree are valuable and the importance of protecting this ancient ancestor. The film follows Joe as he … reflects on his time working in forestry in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

The BC Community Forest Association announces 2023 Conference & AGM in Kamloops this June. Registration information is available online. Plan to join us on June 6th for a pre-conference field tour and afternoon recreation options including group biking, hiking and golfing. BCCFA Executive Director, Jennifer Gunter who started the new year off with some field visits, is seen here at Lower North thompson CF’s mill yard with manager Mike Francis and George Brcko, BCCFA President . Jennifer’s tour to Logan Lake CF, accompanied by management team members Adam Sullivan and Garnet Mierau included viewing some of their wildfire risk reduction work. Wells Gray CF in Clearwater was also included in the tour. George Brcko is pictured here with two new board members and some winter logging. Newsletter also includes news, events and essential publications.