Region Archives: Canada West

Enrico and Francesca Fionda

It all started with him copying my Halloween costume. Well, that’s how I tell the story of how my brother became a smokejumper. In reality, Enrico Fionda spent years studying forestry at UBC and many more years gaining experience on the ground fighting wildfires. He’s been a firefighter for 13 years, nine of which have been as a smokejumper with the BC Wildfire Parattack program. …Enrico estimates he’s done well over 100 jumps in his career so far. …The BC Wildfire Parattack program employs the only smokejumpers in Canada. They’re based out of Fort St. John, where my brother lives, and Mackenzie, about 180 kilometres north of Prince George. I got to visit the base in Fort St. John last winter, when things were a lot calmer than they are over the summer. The job requires a lot of diverse skills and is a lot more than physical labour, Enrico told me.

Tla’amin Nation and the Province of BC have reached an agreement on a long-standing treaty commitment to share forest tenure benefits with the nation. A media release from Tla’amin stated that the Forest Tenure Opportunity Agreement between the ministry of forests and Tla’amin’s Thichum Forest Products provides the nation with a licence to manage 280,000 cubic metres of tenure in the Sunshine Coast timber supply area within Tla’amin’s territory, with an annual allowable cut of 28,000 cubic metres. “This important agreement has been a long time coming,” stated hegus John Hackett. …Adam Culos, GM of Thichum Forest Products… “It is a great opportunity for the nation to continue its investment in the forestry sector and its vision for the future of forestry management in the territory”.

Todd Loewen & Danielle Smith

EDMONTON — An environmental group warns last week’s changes to the governing United Conservative Party cabinet could threaten protections for Alberta’s parks and wildlands. In her first cabinet since becoming premier, Premier Danielle Smith divided responsibility for parks and so-called “protected areas” between two different ministries. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society says the changes mean that almost 94 per cent of Alberta’s parks, recreation areas and wildland parks will be managed by the Ministry of Forestry, Parks and Tourism. Alberta Environment will manage protected areas — only five per cent of the lands it used to. “When you’re putting the vast majority of the land base we call parks and protected areas in with forestry and tourism, it could change the management intent of those places,” society director Katie Morrison said Wednesday.

Months of record-breaking dry weather have set B.C. up for the perfect storm, the province’s power supplier is warning. BC Hydro says drought-stricken trees are far more likely to become uprooted or snap in half as the windy season picks up. As a result, British Columbians could be facing more serious power outages this fall and winter than in a typical year. BC Hydro’s meteorologist is predicting “a greater likelihood for substantial damage this storm season,” according to a Wednesday (Oct. 26) news release. “Trees that have been impacted by the drought will not show immediate visible effects. However, drought conditions have impacted the small structural roots that provide trees with stability, making them more susceptible to wind of any speed,” BC Hydro says.

Joe Foy

In January, Joe Foy, campaigner for the non-profit group Wilderness Committee, was scrolling through a B.C. government mapping platform, looking at habitat for the endangered spotted owl, when he noticed something different. “Lo and behold — four cutblocks,” he said. The pending logging cutblocks were near the Fraser Canyon in southwest B.C., in a “mystery valley” largely unknown to Foy. Foy later bushwhacked into the valley with camping gear, a drone and a GoPro camera. He found a beautiful, intact old-growth Douglas fir and red cedar forest… The valley, called Teapot, contains habitat suitable for the northern spotted owl, a species in critical danger of becoming extinct in Canada following decades of industrial logging in its mature forest habitat. Further sleuthing by the Wilderness Committee revealed 448 additional logging cutblocks — overlapping fully or partially with spotted owl habitat — were recently approved by the B.C. government or are pending approval.

The Province has convened a new advisory council in support of forestry workers and communities. …”Congratulations to Brian Fry of Rossland, Dr. Sarah Breen of Selkirk College and to Kelly Johnson from Castlegar, who have been appointed to the Forestry Worker Supports and Community Resiliency Council,” Conroy said in her newsletter. “The new council includes 18 diverse members from across BC, and from many different sectors and communities…” The B.C. forest sector is facing a declining mid-term supply of timber. …Government’s vision includes shifting the sector from a focus on high volume to high-value production, with more innovative wood products manufactured locally and more jobs created for every tree harvested. …The Old Growth Strategic Review also recommended that the Province support forestry workers and communities as they adapt to changes resulting from the shift to new approach for managing B.C.’s old-growth forests.  

LOGAN LAKE, B.C. – When Logan Lake became the first FireSmart community in B.C. in 2013 … the community was preparing for any future wildfires through their wildfire risk reduction projects. Furthermore, the Tremont Creek Wildfire in August 2021 actually proved that the 18-year-long undertaking … to prepare for the wildfire event in advance, was effective. This outcome has spurred the LLCF, in collaboration with the communities of Logan Lake and the Face and Paska Lakes area, into further action to step up the wildfire mitigation efforts through Forest Enhancement Society of BC funding. …“FESBC has supported the Logan Lake Community Forest and the communities at Face, Paska, and Logan Lake since the beginning of our work, from supporting innovative and collaborative wildfire risk management planning work to the implementation of priority prescriptions and treatments. This new round of funding demonstrates that continued support,” said Randy Spyksma, a Planner with Forsite, Manager of the Logan Lake Community Forest.

VANCOUVER — A 52-year-old is charged with mischief in relation to old-growth logging protests has been released on bail after spending nearly five days in jail. Benjamin Holt was taken into custody on the Lions Gate Bridge at about 1:30 a.m. on Thursday after police responded to a protest action by Save Old Growth. The protesters were in the process of painting a 50-metre “Save Old Growth” stencil onto the middle lane of the bridge but only got as far as “Save” before police arrived, according to information presented at a bail hearing Monday. Crown prosecutor Ellen Leno argued Holt should remain in custody. She noted he was already facing two previous mischief charges for earlier protests when he was arrested again. …Holt’s next court date is scheduled for Oct. 31.  

SASKATCHEWAN — You will soon get a chance to hear about harvesting and reforestation plans in the province’s northeast. Public hearings are being held on the Pasquia Porcupine Forest Management Plan. It’s one of six main FMA’s in the province. “Basically outlining some of the draft operating plans proposed for the 2023 operating year,” said Travis Hedger, with Edgewood Forest Products. …Edgewood has made some capital improvements and is working on adding another production line. The $100 million expansion was announced about a year ago by Dunkley Lumber, the parent company. …The FMA helps support two mills. Hedger said around 150 people work at the sawmill in Carrot River, and another 100 work in harvesting timber for the mill. …According to Weyerhaeuser, 167 people work at it’s mill in Hudson Bay, and 160 people work in harvesting and hauling. Between the two of them, the companies harvest roughly 6,000 hectares of forest per year.

LA COREY, Alta. – A proposal to transition a large area of provincial parks and municipal lands in northeast Alberta into Indigenous Protection and Conserved Areas (IPCA) sparked citizen mobilization on Thursday, Oct. 20. Over 500 Lakeland residents with vested interest in the area under the IPCA scope poured into the Prairie Willow community hall in the hamlet of La Corey to understand what the proposed project entailed. And most importantly, what the IPCA would mean for current recreational land users, cattle grazers, industry workers and property owners. The meeting … offered little insight into the IPCA project as no representatives from the Métis Settlements of Alberta nor their consultants, Toma Consulting Inc. and Solstice Environmental Management, were in attendance. Instead, Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA David Hanson and MD of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski took the floor to share their opinions and disapproval for the project based on the information they had at their disposal. 

On Tuesday, an emotional call came into our Chilliwack office, along with a video. A small school of coho salmon struggled to push from one tiny pool of water to another in a futile effort to spawn. …Scenes like this are playing out across B.C. as this record-setting drought kills salmon, trees and other flora and fauna en masse. A recent municipal order on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast is forcing businesses to literally stop using water. …Like the heat dome, floods, and fires before, we’ve heard nothing from our elected leaders about what our response to this latest predictable environmental crisis ought to be. …We can’t place all the blame on the B.C. government. While they have overseen decades of clearcut logging that has destroyed fish habitat and is exacerbating the droughts and flooding, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has stood back and let it happen.

New guidance for the B.C. government from the Declaration Act Secretariat provides best practices for working with Indigenous Peoples on the development of provincial laws and policies, which advance Indigenous rights. The Interim Approach to Implement the Requirements of Section 3 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Interim Approach) is a world-leading project released by the Province’s new Indigenous-led Declaration Act Secretariat. …The Interim Approach is the first outcome delivered by the Declaration Act Secretariat, which was formed earlier this year. The secretariat is led by associate deputy minister Jessica Wood/Si Sityaawks, and was created to co-ordinate and assist cross-government actions to ensure provincial laws align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration) as set out in Section 3 of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act).

As Coastal GasLink drills under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River), I have been reflecting on my visit to Wet’suwet’en territory this summer. …We rafted down the river that has nurtured and sustained the Wet’suwet’en people since time immemorial. As I write this, salmon are spawning in that river. Countless eggs have been laid in the riverbed gravel. And Coastal GasLink is drilling a massive borehole within 12 metres of those salmon eggs. The potential impacts of drilling on these salmon eggs are unclear. What is clear is that Coastal GasLink cannot be trusted to safeguard the Wedzin Kwa and the surrounding environment. …Salmon are critical to the culture, ecology, and economy of northwest B.C. …Salmon already face many obstacles — drought, climate change, poor forestry practices, and habitat loss — and now Coastal GasLink is drilling and blasting under their spawning beds.

The effort to revive one of Canada’s most endangered species has taken flight. There is only one known northern spotted owl in the wild, according to the B.C. government — but three birds released into a protected habitat in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon on Friday bring the total to four. The birds were bred and raised by the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program (NSOBP) at a facility in Langley, B.C. The program is supported by the provincial government and incorporates Indigenous knowledge and consultation. …As many as 1,000 resided within Canada in pre-colonial times, but that number has dwindled due to human-induced loss of their old-growth forest habitat, and competition with barred owls. NSOBP started in 2007 with a founding population of six owls. There are now 30 owls in the facility, following the recent release of the three birds.

“Reforestation is arguably the best solution we have for pulling carbon out of the air,” said Bryce Jones, CEO of Flash Forest, a Canadian drone tree-planting company. “It’s been the same method for 100 years.” …Now, a handful of companies are looking to re-purpose unmanned vehicles. Their goal: germinate landscapes scarred by wildfire, and in so doing, reforest a planet that by one estimate has lost half its trees. ​…Many experts see reforestation as one of the best and most cost-effective solutions to fight both the climate crisis and a catastrophic loss in biodiversity. Could drones help humanity engineer its way out of disaster? …Last week, Canada’s Ministry of Natural Resources said it would back Flash Forest with a more than $1.3-million grant. Within two years, the government has tasked the company to plant more than a million trees.

A community forest award, along with a $10,000 grant, has been awarded to the Wetzink’wa Community Forest for 2022. “This year’s Robin Hood Memorial Award recipient, the Wetzink’wa Community Forest, exemplifies community leadership and innovation,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. “Community forests are part of our vision for a modern forest sector with stronger, more resilient communities generating new economic opportunities through innovative, value-added manufacturing.” Established in 2016, the Robin Hood Memorial Award and accompanying grant are given annually to the community forest best exemplifying the values exhibited by the B.C. community-forest program and the late Robin Hood, who was a BC community forest pioneer. …“The recipient of the 2022 award exemplifies the values that Robin Hood, past president of the BCCFA, upheld,” said Jennifer Gunter, executive director, BCCFA. 

The conservation of endangered species in B.C. took a monumental step forward in August 2022 as three spotted owls born and raised in a breeding facility were released into protected habitat in the Fraser Canyon, which was the first release of these rare birds into the wild anywhere in the world. This historic milestone was the result of a partnership between the provincial Spotted Owl Breeding and Release Program and the Spuzzum First Nation, with the ongoing support of the federal government, conservation organizations and other groups “We are doing everything we can to help spotted owls recover in B.C., including running the world’s only spotted owl breeding and release program for this critically endangered species,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship. …Prior to the release, there was only one known spotted owl left in the wild in B.C. Today, there are four

Eddie Petryshen

Standing among a series of stumps in the northern Selkirk Mountains, Eddie Petryshen pointed to a long, thick hemlock log on the ground. “These trees are likely going to go make toilet paper,” he said. “This tree right here, I would estimate about a metre and a half in diameter … anywhere from 500 to 600 years old.” The Selkirk Mountains are a subrange of the larger Columbia Mountains, which houses the Interior Wet Belt — containing one of the world’s only temperate inland rainforests, and a large ecological melting pot that contains thousand-year-old trees and protected caribou. Petryshen, a conservation specialist at B.C.-based advocacy group Wildsight, is one of hundreds of activists that are trying to stop old-growth logging and habitat destruction in the area. …The conflict between conservationists, First Nations and logging groups has been going on for decades near Revelstoke. And it’s ramped up amid a wider protest movement to protect old-growth forests.

…One of the main challenges for forest professionals is how to promote public knowledge of forestry; to connect with local communities so they are well informed about land management, and educate and inspire young people about career opportunities in the sector. For Dan Macmaster, Community Forest Manager of the West Boundary Community Forest (WBCF), it comes down to forestry education – both in the classroom and the community. “When I speak to local school-age kids and ask them what forestry means to them, the most common responses I hear are “cutting down big trees” and “deforestation,” noted Macmaster. “When I ask them about what possible careers in forestry they may consider pursuing, they think “being a lumberjack” is the main position of employment. A lack of forestry education and information limits interest in careers in forestry and this in turn hurts our sector”

This month, the non-profit that represents Alberta forest industries is encouraging Albertans to love their forests, and to think about their relationship to the trees that surround them. “A key part of that is to focus on the care and commitment Alberta’s forest industry takes when they’re managing and caring for our forest resource,” said Aspen Dudzic, director of communications for the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA). …Through its Love Alberta Forests campaign, the AFPA is highlighting the symbiotic connection between the forest industry and the people it serves.  “Sustainability is really at the heart of everything that we do,” said Dudzic. …“The flip side of it is, the folks who choose to work in forestry … not only is it their livelihoods, but it’s also a commitment to care for this resource they value. …Alberta’s forestry industry creates more than 31,000 well-paying jobs and supports more than 70 communities across the province.