Region Archives: Canada West

Thomas Martin

MLA Rory Russell recently wrote a Sound-Off entitled “Reducing wildfire risk”. This is a common goal supported by the majority of British Columbians. I agree this government has taken good steps by investing in wildfire initiatives. However, I disagree that these actions alone will be enough. I also disagree with the government’s approach in measuring results in dollars spent rather than actual results. …The majority of press releases from this government focus on dollars, not results. Yes, budget commitments are needed and should be encouraged. However, results matter. What we primarily care about are impacts to people. How many lives were lost? How many homes burned to the ground? People evacuated? Not to mention the post-wildfire impacts of flooding, debris flows, timber harvest reductions and ecological impacts. …A recent white paperauthored by wildfire scientists and practitioners emphasized the need to involve all levels of government and communities. 

MERRITT, B.C.— With the support of close to $250,000 in funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), the Lower Nicola Indian Band (LNIB) removed dangerous trees and reduced wildfire risk in two areas close to the city of Merritt, BC. …Crews from Shulus Forest Enterprises Inc., a company owned 100 per cent by the LNIB, did the manual treatments of these sites … covering about 20 hectares at Lindley Creek and 11 hectares at Fox Farm. Bruce Morrow, RPF, who submitted the application for funding to FESBC on behalf of LNIB, noted … forest fuel treatments will make the area safer for wildfire suppression crews accessing the area in the event of a wildfire. …Don Gossoo, General Manager, Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation said the crews employed an average of six people from the community who are trained in this type of forestry work.

CanWel is urging people to stay away from no trespassing areas near Fernie, after reports of people stealing recently cut logs. A local resident sent in photos to The Free Press showing two men sawing up the cut-down logs and loading wood into the back of two vehicles … over the long weekend. They were found on the other side of ‘no trespassing’ signs, and gates which had been cut to gain access, the witness said. They were well-equipped, with gloves, chainsaws and two trucks to ferry away their loot. The area has been used as a staging ground for CanWel to carry out logging activity in recent weeks. …A CanWel spokesperson confirmed the incident … and are working with the RCMP to identify the suspects. …The two vehicles … were a four-door dark red Ram 2500, and a two-door black Dodge Dakota with B.C. license plates.

An audit of two range agreements for grazing cattle and one hay-cutting agreement in the Quesnel Natural Resource District has found several issues of concern, says B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices.  The Forest Practices Board released the results in two separate reports on Tuesday, June 28.  One report found that the agreement holder permitted cattle to cause damage to a fish stream and cut trees without authorization, approximately 70 kilometres northwest of Quesnel near Batuni Lake.   …The second report found that while range practices at a grazing area located approximately 30 kilometres south of Quesnel were well done and complied with legislation, the agreement holders were operating without an approved range use plan which is required by the Forest Range Practices Act.

See Forest Practices Board Press Release: Audit of Quesnel area ranchers finds issues

A biologist has found what is possibly one of the widest-ever recorded trees in B.C.  Ian Thomas measured a western red cedar in North Vancouver, B.C., to be somewhere between 4.8 to 5.8 metres in diameter.  If Thomas’s preliminary measurements are correct, the behemoth he found in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park would barely fit inside the cabin of a Boeing 747.  The tree’s diameter at breast height (DBH) still needs to be officially verified and could end up being up to a metre less than his 5.8-metre calculation, he said, depending on how it’s measured on a rugged, steep slope.   …According to University of B.C. forestry professor Robert Guy, large western red cedars host “ecosystems in most of their branches.”  “A tree of this size has to be very old,” he said. “They can get to 1,000 or 2,000 years old. We have trees on the North Shore that approach 2,000 years of age.”

…When many people think of logger sports, they instantly conjure up images of bearded behemoths wearing plaid. But logger sports aren’t just for lumberjacks anymore. As the Squamish Days Logger Sports Festival celebrates its 65th anniversary, the multi-day event will feature performances from novice, intermediate, ladies, and open category (professional) athletes. That means some of the people throwing axes will be youth, or just members of the community who showed interest and put in the work to develop their skills.  To cultivate this talent, the festival has been offering timber training during the off-season. There have been multiple timber training workshops offered to the community, including one specifically targeted at youth, and participants can now perform before the big crowds. In this way, the festival has enlarged its local competitor base and developed the sport in Squamish. …The festival takes place over multiple days from July 28 to 31. 

Mounties on Vancouver Island have arrested five people for breaching an injunction while dismantling an illegal encampment set up by old-growth logging protesters in Nitinat on Wednesday. RCMP officers dismantled the camp as part of their efforts to enforce a court-ordered injunction that has been granted to the Teal–Jones Group. RCMP say four women and one man were arrested for breaching the injunction order. They also say there was a “large amount of garbage” and other debris within the illegal encampment, including gasoline and dangerous materials. …Chiefs from the Ditidaht, Huu-ay-aht and Pacheedaht First Nations have repeatedly asked the protesters to immediately dismantle their camp, going so far as to confront them last week.

Additional coverage in CTV News by Adam Chan: RCMP clearing new logging protest encampment near Fairy Creek, B.C.

Protesters are continuing their call for B.C. to end all old-growth logging in the province, but the group behind the recent demonstrations says it will no longer obstruct traffic. Save Old Growth announced its major traffic disruptions will end as of Wednesday (June 29). The group said it will continue to use other strategies, just ones that won’t impede drivers. “We continue to request the government take urgent steps to permanently protect B.C.’s remaining old-growth forests,” Save Old Growth said in a statement. …members have dumped manure outside Premier John Horgan’s Greater Victoria office, interrupted an international soccer match at BC Place and have been hospitalized from hunger strikes in a continuing bid to gain attention to their calls. …the group says the majority of people in B.C. support their cause. A Leger poll commissioned by the group surveyed 1,000 people and found 82 per cent of respondents supported a ban on all old-growth logging. 

Since our early beginnings at UBC 100 years ago, we have grown into the largest Faculty of Forestry in Canada – with almost 1,200 undergraduate and 350 graduate students – and have a global network of over 7,100 alumni. On Thursday, June 2nd, 2022, Al Casselman (BSF’61) and Michele Shi (BSc(WPP)’13), joined our new graduates on stage at the Chan Centre to welcome them to our alumni community and to celebrate their accomplishments. We are incredibly proud of these new graduates who persevered with their studies during the upheaval and uncertainty of a global pandemic over the past 2 years. Following the graduation ceremony at the Chan Centre we hosted a Celebration Reception at the Forest Sciences Centre, a photo gallery of the festivities is now available (click the Read More).

Old Growth Management in Community Forests: in this report you will find examples of how community forests are actively managing for old growth on the land around their communities.

BCCFA board and staff gathered in Victoria in June for a series of meetings with staff from Ministry of Forests, BC Wildfire Service, Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and the Ministry of Land and Water Resource Stewardship. A special trip was made to the Legislature for a meeting with Minister Josie Osborne, Land and Water Resource Stewardship. 

20th Anniversary Celebration: BCCFA 2022 Conference and AGM

Curious to see the largest tree in the country? The biggest tree in Canada is a western redcedar called the “Cheewhat Giant.”  It’s in an extremely remote place, within the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on Vancouver Island in BC. It’s not only the largest tree in Canada, but it’s also the largest western redcedar in the world.  The tree’s trunk is over six metres in diameter and 56 metres tall – that’s enough wood to create 450 telephone poles.  You can only reach the tree by driving on logging roads and hiking through the forest, so only experienced hikers make it out there and you can find directions to the tree online via various outdoors blogs.

…Through the spring and summer of 2021, facing ecological, financial, and political complications, some of BC’s largest lumber producers—Canfor, West Fraser, Interfor, Tolko, and Teal Jones—announced the expansion or establishment of sawmills not at home but in the southern United States, to process the yellow pine that grows quickly in the warmer climes of Texas and Louisiana. So far, these out-of-province investments total approximately $6 billion, a major expansion of operations that leaves the future of BC’s timber industry even more uncertain. The province’s companies have decided that this perfect storm is not one they care to weather or remediate. Instead, they are turning away from spearheading a sustainable logging industry in the province, toward calmer and greener pastures abroad. …For Canadian companies, the allure of privately owned US stands of fast-growing yellow pine includes the fact that there is lower—or no—tariffs.

Taryn Skalbania

Re: Nak’azdli Whut’en signs deal with lumber giants.  The elephant in the room is bad clearcut logging. Even if Indigenous led, industrial logging is ruining B.C.’s 13 unique ecosystems, natural services and essential benefits. Under B.C.’s Forest and Range Practices Act’s pathetically low bar, who stewards the land is inconsequential. Even First Nations cannot clearcut sustainably under this profits-first regime.  B.C.’s environment issues remain in jeopardy if NDP and industry only make deals with the pro-commercial clearcut Indigenous communities over the conservationists or Indigenous protected conservation area crowd. There are plenty of jobs in the forest that do not require a feller buncher. Why aren’t these communities at the table?

Michelle Wells

In many ways, Michelle Wells created her 2022 summer job opportunity for herself. After doing a project related to innovative forestry management and First Nations cultural importance while studying at the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT), she reached out to the Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) to ask if there might be summer employment available. Her suggestion resonated with SCCF.  The company made its first foray into hiring a summer student, and with what Wells has brought to the table, SCCF Operations Manager Warren Hansen wants to see the practice continued. …In addition to providing support to the company’s foresters, Wells has spearheaded SCCF’s community engagement activities like the Salmon Release Festival, butterfly garden at Cascade Greens park, and providing support with the Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project’s habitat monitoring and restoration work.

…Wolves respond to changing environments in the north by adapting to available prey. Boreal wolves hunt large ungulates: moose, deer and caribou. But the western Canadian boreal forest is changing rapidly, looking nothing like it has in the past and like nowhere else on Earth. Wolves use roads, trails and petroleum-exploration “seismic” lines to hunt more efficiently. The combination of wolves and environmental changes brought about by resource extraction cause woodland caribou declines. Governments have made the tough call to kill wolves to save caribou… While wolf culls do have some positive effects for caribou, culls remain mired in some mystery: very little research exists on their side-effects for surviving wolves, or the animals they live with. We tackled this problem in northeastern Alberta, where we had been using remote camera traps to research white-tailed deer invasion and the boreal mammals’ response to development. 

Nak’azdli Whut’en has signed two agreements, one each with Carrier Lumber and Dunkley Lumber on forest management and stewardship. Nak’azdli Whut’en and Carrier Lumber have entered into a collaborative planning process to preserve crucial wildlife habitat and to secure a sustainable forest industry into the future. …Chief Aileen Prince said, “This agreement builds a solid relationship that will ensure our territories are respected, and that wildlife has a chance to come back.” …Dunkley Lumber – This agreement is built to enhance economic opportunities while protecting the land. The agreement includes a commitment to a collaborative planning process to ensure that forestry operations respect Nak’azdli land stewardship objectives. …“Dunkley Lumber will work together with Nak’azdli on land stewardship objectives in Nak’azdli’s Traditional Territory. The agreement protects identified values while at the same time providing economic opportunities,” said Dyon Armstrong, VP, Dunkley Lumber.

VANCOUVER, BC – Increasingly severe heat and drought are weakening the health of BC’s forests and killing trees. The growing season for trees is expanding, increasing exposure to frost as well as drought. This change results in significant damage, causing plantation reforestation to fail and decreasing the value of the harvested timber. One solution is to plant more resilient trees, however, identifying which tree species are resilient enough is a challenge. A new Genome BC-funded project will tackle this problem by using drones equipped with advanced remote sensing technologies to rapidly assess the responses of trees to climatic extremes. This will enable reforestation programs to screen for trees that can cope with climate warming, droughts and frost risk. …The project focuses on Douglas fir and western redcedar — two iconic co-occurring conifers with contrasting physiological behaviours and ecological roles in BC’s temperate rainforest ecosystems. 

Writer Lyndsie Bourgon has seen first-hand the damage done by tree poachers in B.C.’s old growth forests, where once-tall Douglas fir, cedar or Sitka spruces have been reduced to “a stump in the woods.”   “Sometimes there is duff and branches left behind because the tree has been cut down and trimmed, and gotten ready for transport out in the back of a truck,” said Bourgon, author of the new book Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods.  “And in some cases, there were actually pretty large chunks of the trunk left behind … for later retrieval.”  Bourgon first became aware of the problem almost a decade ago, when an 800-year-old cedar was taken from Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park in B.C.

Additional coverage in The Tyee: Why Are People Stealing BC Trees?

In the spring of 2020, a Quadra Island resident (the complainant) noticed that old trees had been harvested in woodlot licence W2031. The complainant believed that the woodlot licensee was not permitted to harvest old trees, therefore filed a complaint with the Compliance and Enforcement Branch (CEB) of the Ministry of Forests in the spring of 2021. CEB looked into the matter and found that the licensee had harvested the old trees legally. When the complainant learned this, he filed a complaint with the Forest Practices Board on February 14, 2022, asserting that government enforcement was inappropriate. 

According to a release from the Ancient Forest Alliance, two big tree hunters – Ian Thomas and Colin Spratt – found an ancient western red cedar nicknamed “The North Shore Giant.” It’s estimated to be about 5.8 metres (19.1 feet) in diameter. Spratt posted photos of the find on social media. “This cedar has been growing for easily 2000+ years,” he wrote in a post. “My goal has been to show people that in Vancouver it’s still possible to find Canada’s largest trees still alive and growing,” he said. …They found the tree as they were exploring Lynn Headwaters Regional Park in North Vancouver. The pair of tree hunters found this beast after 10 hours of bushwhacking, so don’t expect to find it on your next hike in Lynn Valley. Still, it’s magical to know that there are giants in the mountains nearby.

Stephan Sheppard

As B.C. approaches the one-year anniversary of a heat dome that killed 619 people, experts are urging city planners to expand and protect the province’s urban tree canopy — a surefire way to cool swaths of city streets and save lives without the cost of air-conditioning and overhauling building codes. Stephan Sheppard, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia’s department of forestry, says creating and preserving consistent urban tree canopy is “the best and the cheapest way to cool whole neighbourhoods as well as individual homes.” Sheppard’s research… involved attaching heat censors on the backs of bikes, found a difference of 8 C between neighbourhoods with higher levels of green canopy and those dominated by asphalt on a hot summer’s day. He says the cumulative effect of consistent tree cover does much more than provide shelter from the sun and shade individual homes.