Region Archives: Canada West

George Heyman

B.C.’s environment minister has denounced recent acts of protest from environmental groups – including the return of traffic disruptions by old-growth logging protesters, as well as a series of tire slashings targeting SUVs in Greater Victoria. …Environment Minister George Heyman characterized the disruptions as illegal. “I think they alienate British Columbians who share their concerns about climate change, share the concerns about protecting old-growth forest,” said Heyman. “These are loose amalgams of people who are effectively taking actions into their own hands, and I think it’s important for the public to differentiate between people who are engaging in uncoordinated and illegal behaviour that inconveniences the public. People are working hard to raise public consciousness about environmental issues, and doing that every day and trying to educate British Columbians, not force them to pay attention by potentially causing significant disruption in their lives as well as their health and safety.”

Cooler weather is giving wildfire crews a bit of a breather as they battle a number of fires around B.C., but officials warn August could see more fire activity with drier, warmer conditions expected over the next month. Officials said they expect more new fires in the coming weeks due to “seasonal and above-average” temperatures in the forecast. …”Elevated fire danger is expected to shift from the northern portion of the province down to the south,” said Neal McLoughlin, with the B.C. Wildfire Service. “Large fires that started in July will remain active into August, and additional growth can be expected on these fires.” …As of Wednesday, there were 91 active wildfires, including the six fires of note. The wildfire service has reported a total of 530 blazes in B.C. since the start of the fire season — 151 of them in the last seven days.

BC Government press release by Ministry of Forests: Wildfire activity in B.C. will continue through August

An Indigenous-led project called Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation (CCR) is partnering with Seattle company DroneSeed to help rehabilitate B.C. forests devastated by recent wildfires The first such project last fall dropped more than 500,000 seed vessels on a 52-hectare site, near Williams Lake, B.C. The seed vessels are about as big as a hockey puck and contain soil, seeds and a lacing of hot pepper to deter hungry animals. The drone seeding is part of a larger, $7.5-million program CCR is undertaking to rehabilitate the area through clearing, harvesting and planting, funded by provincial Crown corporation Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. “It’s not going to replace tree planting,” said Percy Guichon, a councillor with Tŝideldel First Nation and a CCR director. …Some studies show plantings are prone to failure, because of hot, dry conditions or because fertile soils have been burned or eroded in wildfires, B.C. fire ecologist Robert Gray said. [A Globe and Mail subscription may be required to read the full article]

…The extreme wildfire season, known as the “summer of smoke,” saw 385 fires burn roughly 3.4 million hectares of forest in the territory, causing the release of an estimated 580 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. It also resulted in a phenomenon known as “zombie fires.” Otherwise referred to as overwintering or holdover fires, these blazes continue to smoulder underground during the winter months before reigniting the following spring. Jennifer Baltzer, an associate professor of biology at Wilfrid Laurier University and Canada Research Chair in forests and global change, has been studying the effects of the 2014 wildfires on the environment. She is leading a team of researchers who are collecting the first field data on zombie fires. “As an ecologist driving through some of those massive burn scars, I realized I couldn’t be working up here on these boreal forests without actually starting to tackle some of these questions,” she said.

Deciduous trees are expanding in several areas of Yukon because of effects linked to climate change, according to new research. Kirsten Reid, the lead author of a study published in Environmental Reviews, said that drought, wildfire and permafrost thaw are changing the makeup of forests. She said coniferous trees, which dominate Yukon forests, seem to be fighting a losing battle against deciduous trees, such as aspen. That’s what appears to be happening in the Yukon’s Kluane region, where aspens – even grasslands – are encroaching on white spruce forests. The study states ideal growing conditions for this type of tree are likely to become “increasingly rare.” “Through to 2090,” the study states, “projections across Yukon include shifts from boreal forest to grasslands, Arctic tundra to shrublands and forests, and alpine tundra to forest, with the incursion of Northern American ‘prairie-type grasslands.'”

Port Alberni, B.C. – The path forward for C̕awak ʔqin Forestry is now set, with the unveiling today of a new logo and brand that symbolizes the shared vision and values between Huu-ay-aht First Nations (Huu-ay-aht) and Western Forest Products Inc. (Western) in Tree Farm Licence 44 (TFL 44) on Vancouver Island. C̕awak ʔqin (pronounced sa-wa-kin) Forestry, which means ‘we are one’ in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, shared the new logo and brand as part of an official operations sign unveiling event at its Franklin River Road office near Port Alberni. The logo was designed by Huu-ay-aht father and son artists, Ed Johnson Sr. and Edward R. Johnson, who is also a Huu-ay-aht Councillor. The logo depicts a bear with its four claws digging into two fish and a growing tree in the centre of the design. “The salmon is the giver of life and the eagle gave the bear his claws so he could catch the fish that he was coaxing up into the woods,” explained Ed Johnson Sr. “The fish carcasses feed the plants and the trees to help them grow.”

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of Lake Babine Nation Forestry Ltd. on First Nations Woodland Licence (FNWL) N21, located near Burns Lake, during the week of Aug. 8, 2022. Auditors will examine whether timber harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning carried out between Aug. 1, 2020, and Aug. 12, 2022, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. The audit area is in the Nadina Natural Resource District, north of the Village of Burns Lake, in the territory of the Lake Babine Nation. The licence has three separate operating areas on the west side of Babine Lake, covers 36,500 hectares and has an allowable annual cut of approximately 74,000 cubic metres. First Nations Woodland Licences are an area-based, long-term forest tenure unique to First Nations.

Teachers have known for decades about the benefits of outdoor education. Studies have shown that when you turn nature into a classroom great things happen: retention and engagement increase, especially in students who don’t thrive in a traditional classroom setting; students who might have been apathetic towards science develop greater curiosity; and, they tend to be more mindful of issues around conservation and sustainability in their day-to-day lives. …Heidi Christison – a Science teacher at Boundary Central Secondary School in Midway, BC – has partnered with the Boundary Woodlot Association and turned the woodlot into a classroom for her Grade 11/12 Environmental Science students. She began the semester by tasking her pupils with their own “passion project”. Students were challenged to explore an environmental issue in-depth: food waste, landfills, acid rain, water use, etc. While they studied the core curriculum, they launched their own personal research, tapping into Heidi’s guidance during the five regular, one-on-one consultations throughout the semester.

Activist environmental group Save Old Growth is returning to its regular road blockades this month after it says the province failed to meet its old-growth logging demands during the group’s one-month hiatus. …Last Thursday (July 28) though, Save Old Growth changed its tune, announcing it would be returning to its original tactics. An organizer said they gave the government a chance to act on old-growth logging disruption-free, and it failed to take it. …Commuters driving through Stanley Park in Vancouver were the first to be hit by Save Old Growth’s renewed action on Tuesday (Aug. 2). Protesters there blocked traffic in both directions for about 40 minutes, according to the group. No one was arrested, but Save Old Growth says its volunteers are fully prepared to face legal consequences. …The group said commuters can expect regular blockades on major routes around Victoria, Metro Vancouver, Nanaimo and elsewhere once again.

A few kilometres up Giveout Creek Road near Nelson, ecologist Greg Utzig stands dwarfed beside a tall grove of old growth hemlock and cedar. The grove, he says, is a remnant of a much larger stand of several hundred hectares that has been logged over the years since the 1980s down to its current one hectare. …That logged forest was never included in a provincial Old Growth Management Area. It was logged as part of the conventional timber supply, and the small remainder of the old trees could be logged too, without any discussion of protection. …Utzig says in the Kootenays there are significant numbers of old growth trees that are unprotected, and many non-old growth forests that are protected. …But a ministry spokesperson said that the calculation of old growth targets in the Kootenays is “aspatial,” …calculated as a percentage of the total forest across large parts of the landscape

Through a collaborative effort, the Manitoba government is signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mosakahiken Cree Nation (MCN) and finalizing another MOU with Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) to work toward the development of revenue sharing that will see up to 45 per cent of revenues collected from timber dues returned to rights holders, Natural Resources and Northern Development Minister Greg Nesbitt, Mosakahiken Cree Nation (MCN) Chief Vincent Bercier and Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) Chief Sidney Ballantyne announced today. “For too long, Indigenous communities have not benefited from forestry operations on their traditional territories, and our government understands we must take concrete steps to correct past wrongs and advance reconciliation,” Nesbitt said. “Our government is proud to sign these historic memorandums of understanding with Mosakahiken Cree Nation and Opaskwayak Cree Nation, which are the first of their kind for Manitoba.”

Members of the Avola community gathered Friday evening to discuss the logging activity in the area with local politicians Stephen Quinn and Peter Milobar (Thompson-Nicola Regional District Director for Area B and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA). On the people’s minds was a proposed logging camp and the damage to the water supply on their neighbour’s land. Milobar first stated that he and the ministers are not able to engage because BCTS and the property owners, Beth Patterson and Nels Olson, have both obtained lawyers. …Avola’s water system is provided by an Improvement District, managed by community volunteers and paid for by those that live there. The town’s water system is also a gravity-fed system off of Avola Creek, which they say is a protected watershed. …Avola community members are concerned the protected status of their water system doesn’t hold a lot of weight.

A few kilometres up Giveout Creek Road near Nelson, ecologist Greg Utzig stands dwarfed beside a tall grove of old growth hemlock and cedar. The grove, he says, is a remnant of a much larger stand of several hundred hectares that has been logged over the years since the 1980s down to its current one hectare. “This was all growth,” says Utzig, gesturing toward the logged area. …That logged forest was never included in a provincial Old Growth Management Area (OGMA). It was logged as part of the conventional timber supply, and the small remainder of the old trees could be logged too, without any discussion of protection. …Nelson scientist Rachel Holt she says government and industry know how to fix the OGMAs if they wanted to, adding that logging of old growth should be stopped until that planning is done.

Dutch elm disease (DED) puts Saskatchewan’s urban and rural forests at risk, stated the Saskatchewan Government in a release, especially in the eastern part of the province. Slowing the spread of DED is critical for the health of the province’s forests. The Ministry of Environment has contracted Regina-based Northern Tree Co. Inc., to remove and dispose of infected elm trees in high-risk areas. Detecting infections early and removing the diseased American elm trees is key to slowing the spread of the disease, explained the Government release.  “Dutch elm disease is an ongoing concern for Saskatchewan residents and wildlife,” Environment Minister Dana Skoropad said. …Survey contractors will be in the high-risk areas over the summer marking trees for removal. Northern Tree Co. Inc. will follow with the removal of diseased trees in the fall and early winter. 

NANAIMO — Local ATV riders are celebrating a new relationship agreement which is opening up considerably more land for them to legally ride on. The deal between Mosaic Forest Management and ATV BC will see all six Island clubs be granted additional access to Mosaic lands on weekends and statutory holidays. Edwin Peeters, past president with the Mid-Island ATV Club, said it builds on an existing agreement which had been in place for many years and worked well for local riders. …The updated land area includes backcountry land between Nanoose Bay and areas south of Nanaimo. …The agreement is the first one with Mosaic which includes all six recognized ATV clubs on Vancouver Island and will affect members across Vancouver Island.

With no meaningful salary changes in 20 years and a work model that keeps 85 per cent of employees in a seasonal, part-time role, retention and turnover among crews have become major issues for British Columbia’s wildland firefighters. “Previously, we saw workers with 10 to 20 seasons of experience, and it used to be a job, 10 to 20 years ago, that paid really well, but the wages have not kept up,” said Stephanie Smith, president of the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU).  “So BC Wildfire members… are amongst the lowest-paid in direct government. For example… the starting wage for a BC Wildfire Service member is for $24 an hour.” With so few permanent, full-time wildland firefighters most wildfire crews in the province expect a 25-per-cent turnover year to year.

Two North Island First Nations have engaged in a shareholder agreement with North Island Community Forest LP. At a July 19 meeting in Port Hardy that included Mayor Dennis Dugas, Ministry of Forests Parliamentary Secretary Doug Routley and North Island MLA Michele Babchuk, Kwakiutl First Nation announced that they would be taking a 20 per cent shareholder stake in the limited partnership, effectively expanding this responsive partnership from the three original shareholders (The Village of Port Alice, The District of Port Hardy and the Town of Port McNeill), to now include Kwakiutl First Nation and the Quatsino First Nation. Kwakiutl Forest Management Department recognizes the community benefit seen to each shareholder and applauds resource management decisions made with direct benefit to North Island Indigenous and Non-Indigenous communities. The NICF has funded recreation programs and created reserve funds in the tri-port communities and allowed for critical infrastructure upgrades.