Region Archives: Canada West

VALEMOUNT – A forestry audit of the Valemount Community Forest Company Ltd. (VCF) reveals that bridge construction and maintenance continue to be a pervasive issue in B.C. forestry. The Forest Practices Board audited all activities carried out by the VCF between July 1, 2021, and July 28, 2023. While the licensee complied with most requirements, the report identifies five significant non compliances, two of which are related to bridge construction and maintenance. Auditors had no safety concerns with the bridges installed during the audit period. However, the licensee did not have any of the legally required documents outlining how it would ensure these bridges were safe and structurally sound for industrial use. “We continue to see licensees fall short of practice requirements for their bridges,” said Keith Atkinson, chair of the board. “This can put the safety of truck drivers and other industrial road users at risk.” …The report also identifies two significant non-compliances related to wildfire protection. 

Additional coverage in Business in Vancouver by Nelson Bennett: Loggers warned to take more care with fire prevention

British Columbia’s government expects to plant nearly 60 million fewer trees next year — a 23 per cent drop from this year’s planting season at a time the province has seen a major spike in wildfire activity. The projections come from presentation slides obtained by Glacier Media and shown to industry in September, less than 10 days before the B.C.’s provincial election campaign kicked off. During the campaign, the BC NDP promised to plant 300 million trees annually across the province to “help increase forest resilience.” That promise came off the back of two of the most destructive wildfire seasons in B.C.’s history. In 2023 alone, more than 6,000 fires torched 15 million hectares of land, an area larger than England, according to Natural Resources Canada. But according to the province’s own projections, the government expects the number of trees planted to sink to 233 million in 2025, down from 291 million in 2024 and far short of its election promise.

For decades, forestry companies in B.C. have used chemical herbicides like glyphosate to kill off plants that might compete with trees destined for timber. Trembling aspen, named for its almost heart-shaped leaves that seem to quiver in the wind, is often on the hit list. But after years of destructive wildfires that have wiped out whole neighbourhoods and sometimes whole towns, more and more people are questioning the wisdom of killing off this tree. Because when wildfires sweep across the landscape, aspen can help calm the flames… “Anytime we apply herbicides, we are changing potential fire behaviour,” wildland fire ecologist Robert Gray explains… in areas where aspen and other deciduous trees are killed, a natural fire break is lost too.

British Columbia’s planting program will drop abruptly next year to approximately 237-million seedlings… Recognizing the risks this poses to the province’s forests and the ecosystem resilience contracting sector that grows and plants trees, BC has committed to rebuild the annual program to at least 300-million seedlings. Given the decline is driven primarily by B.C.’s shrinking annual harvest, making up for the downfall could represent doubling the Ministry of Forest’s Forest Investment Program. …it will require significant talent and funds for our government to not just sow, grow and plant these additional seedlings, but to survey, find, and prescribe the appropriate sites. Meeting this restoration objective will require concerted public and private collaboration …and involvement of the whole reforestation service supply chain. …In its upcoming meeting with Forests Minister Ravi Parmar the WFCA will urge him to make meeting our government’s goal of planting 300-million seedlings annually an operational priority.

Bruce Blackwell

I grew up in Vancouver and … feel a deep connection … Stanley Park, and have advocated professionally for sound management and stewardship of urban forests within communities throughout the province. Since 2019, Stanley Park’s forested area has been increasingly affected by a western hemlock looper outbreak, which has impacted up to 160,000 trees. In 2022, the Vancouver Park Board commissioned an assessment to understand the risk to public safety, and long-term wildfire risk, posed by the looper-impacted trees. My company, B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd., was selected through a competitive process to conduct this impact assessment. …Our team includes some of the most experienced professionals in forestry, arboriculture, ecology, and biology. Together, we’ve developed a plan grounded in the best available science, informed by years of experience working in Stanley Park and throughout the province. Based on our experience and expertise, we believe the path we’re on is the best one for the long-term health and resilience of this beloved green space.

In the December newsletter, the AFPA highlights include:

• New team members: Alyxandra Chorney joins as full time Policy Analyst Nicole Galambos is new Director of Forest Policy
• The Love Alberta Forests campaign – visit the 2024 year in review 
• Alberta joins forestry trade mission to Japan to expand market opportunities 
• Recent article: It’s Time to Fix Canada’s Species at Risk Act
• Forestry Talks Podcast – watch the latest episodes
• WorkWild educational events deliver forestry education to students in Alberta

Another piece of the puzzle for conservation efforts along the Rocky Mountain Trench in B.C. is in place. Nature Conservancy Canada says wildlife including grizzly bear numbers have been declining in the region, which is why it added a new conservation area next to Kootenay National Park that links to a “network of already protected” lands.
It says the new Geddes Creek Conservation Area includes an almost two-square kilometre region of Douglas fir and montane spruce forest, open grassy habitat and a seasonal creek north of Radium Hot Springs on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The organization says grizzly bears are known to travel through the area in search of food, mates and denning sites. …Nature Conservancy Canada says the land purchase was made through partnership funding with Parks Canada, the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program and the Regional District of East Kootenay’s Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund.

Squamish-based FireSwarm Solutions Inc., a startup that develops autonomous drone technology for wildfire management, announced it has $500,000 in funding from the BC Centre for Innovation & Clean Energy (CICE). CICE is an independent not-for-profit corporation that funds “clean energy innovators.” Other past projects it has invested in include the electrification of snow plows and funding for a company that aims to make lithium battery manufacturing cleaner, among others. In the spring, CICE put out a call to companies developing “ground-breaking solutions to better manage and mitigate the growing threat of wildfire.” They awarded $3 million to six of the 74 companies that applied for the 2024 Wildfire Tech Call for Innovation, including FireSwarm Solutions. CICE claims this is Canada’s first-ever funding opportunity for wildfire technologies. The $500,000 will speed FireSwarm’s deployment of long-endurance, heavy-lift autonomous drone swarms to detect, map, and suppress wildfires.

Nelson forestry advocate, Joe Karthein is pushing for greater protection of ancient forests in the Selkirk Mountains, calling for more designated protected areas. Founder of the Save What’s Left Conservation Society, he is leading a campaign and petition to implement legislation to improve the province’s forest management model. One initiative focuses on transferring land known as Duncan Lake Ancient Cedars, north of Kaslo, into a provincial park system. “We are lobbying to have a grove of ancient trees located north of Kaslo permanently protected by moving 531 hectares from the Forest Service and into the parks system,” he said. Adding that conserving land from resource extraction is essential for preserving biodiversity. “An ecosystem won’t thrive completely surrounded by incessant industrial activity,” said Karthein. His petition notes that while the oldest forests in the area are not currently threatened by logging, nearby areas are at risk and need protection. 

Ravi Parmar

BC’s new forests minister, Ravi Parmar, says he wants to bring industry, workers, First Nations and communities together to fix the ailing sector. “Over my time as minister I want to restore confidence in BC’s forests sector; stand up for workers and families in forestry communities like Campbell River; and honor the commitments that my government has been leading around biodiversity and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.” Parmer says 2025 is going to be a challenging year, and revitalizing forestry in BC will be critical. He says he has no experience in forestry but asked for the file because he wants to learn, and because he understands how it’s been the pillar of the provincial economy for the past century. …He says one of his first tasks will be to work with Ottawa to try and find a resolution to the long-running softwood lumber dispute. 

British Columbia NDP and Green parties have reached an agreement in principle to work together on shared priorities — including a pledge to protect the Fairy Creek watershed, a largely intact old-growth valley on southwest Vancouver Island. The agreement says the B.C government will “move forward to ensure permanent protection of the Fairy Creek watershed” in partnership with the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht First Nations and “pending the resolution of existing legal proceedings and community negotiations.” …Discussions about the future of Fairy Creek are ongoing, deputy premier Niki Sharma told reporters, saying the commitment to work toward permanent protection of the watershed does not mean the valley’s fate will be decided any time soon. …The agreement also commits the B.C. government to work with the BC Greens to undertake a review of B.C.’s forests with First Nations, workers, unions, business and community “to address concerns around sustainability, jobs, environmental protection and the future of the industry.”

INVERMERE, B.C. — Another piece of the puzzle for conservation efforts along the Rocky Mountain Trench in B.C. is in place. Nature Conservancy of Canada says wildlife and grizzly bear habitat have been declining in the region, which is why it added a new conservation area next to Kootenay National Park that links to a “network of already protected” lands. It says the new Geddes Creek Conservation Area includes an almost two-square kilometre region of Douglas fir and montane spruce forest, open grassy habitat and a seasonal creek north of Radium Hot Springs on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The organization says grizzly bears are known to travel through the area in search of food, mates and denning sites.

I’m sure the denials will be numerous but it’s an open secret there are top quality sawlogs at the PG Saw chip plant for chipping. One source sent me a photo of one log, 50 inches in diameter, solid, and pushing 300 years old, being hauled out of the McGregors to the chip plant. …Whenever there is a shortage of low quality “pulp logs”, we simply use top-grade sawlogs, much of it irreplaceable old growth, to make paper products. …There’s a better option. We start thinning the plantations. Instead of feeding the pulp mills old-growth gold, we feed them plantation pine. …Thinning out the plantations can save our old-growth from the chipper, can save our pulp mills from the dustbin, and a big one for me is it can open up dense, lifeless plantations, many of them previously sprayed with glyphosate, …and much-needed habitat and biodiversity for our wildlife and moose.

Along the BC Hydro property, just along the Puntledge River and below Comox Lake lies an area of Puntledge Forest that does not have protection to its timber rights. …Only 100 years ago, the forested area was all industrial, serving the coal mines of the area. …Comox Valley Land Trust is looking to save this area by fundraising $500,000 from public donations, which are now matched and tripled by generous donors… The CVLT is in the final stages of raising that money to buy the remaining 37 hectares of forest.  This area of the forest is owned separately through a Timber Reservation that is registered to the land title. The 37 hectares of land is owned by Manulife Investment Management and the hope is to raise most of the needed $1.9 million price tag through government grants and charitable foundations. Only the outstanding $500,000 is needed through public donors in the local community.

The beaver is a well-known symbol associated with Canada. But in Alberta, beavers are not always looked upon favourably. Historically, tensions between beavers, farmers and ranchers have been high, as beavers can fell many trees and their dam-building can cause fields to flood, damaging crops and grazing areas… The researchers are exploring the impacts of beavers and their structures on hydrology and ecosystem health within the Sibbald Valley in Kananaskis Country… The researcher is also interested in how clear-cut logging on the slopes above the pond complex might alter the volume and speed of water entering the ponds. This work includes monitoring soil moisture levels on nearby slopes that remain treed and those that have been clear-cut.

The Terrace Community Forest is a private company owned by the City of Terrace and managed by an appointed board. The City isn’t involved in the day to day of the company, and the company generates its own cashflow through its resources. The Community Forest’s land base covers three areas, with portions in the Kitimat Valley, Amesbury/Shames, and Deep Creek/Spring Creek. Revenue is generated from their commercial thinning and retention harvesting program, and revenue stays within the community. This year’s annual contribution by the Community Forest to the City of Terrace is $200,000… To date, the Terrace Community Forest has allocated $5 million dollars to community projects.  They also aim to create local employment opportunities, and have created direct local employment valued at an estimated $30 million dollars.

The Miles Family

From Ginty’s Pond in Cawston to Vernon’s Okanagan Landing Elementary, the Okanagan Simlkameen Stewardship Society is celebrating this year’s efforts to replant native species across the region. More than 3,800 native trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers were used to restore natural habitats across the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. “While the Okanagan’s mountain forests are abundant, our valley bottoms — where wildlife like American Badgers, Tiger Salamanders, and Burrowing Owls thrive—are under pressure from human activity,” said Lia McKinnon, OSS stewardship biologist. “We’re focusing on grasslands, wetlands, and riparian habitats because they provide essential resources, without them, wildlife cannot survive, no matter how much forest remains.”

TEDxVictoria returned to the region in May 2024, and saw several experts speak about issues facing not only BC, but the international community. One speaker was TJ Watt, an environmental advocate, Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) photographer, self-proclaimed big-tree hunter and National Geographic explorer. His TEDx Talk was titled ‘One Last Shot to Protect Old-Growth Forests in British Columbia.’ In his time on stage, Watt issued an urgent and passionate call for the permanent protection of these old-growth ecosystems. “I’m honoured to have been a TEDxVictoria speaker and to have the opportunity to share my life’s mission to protect endangered old-growth forests in BC with the world,” said Watt. …Watt was born and raised in Metchosin and his photography work, as well as his environmental advocacy, have established him as a leading voice in the movement to protect old-growth forests in BC.

A unique phenomenon has appeared in Jasper National Park after the 2024 wildfire. The locals call them “cheetah” or “leopard” trees after their spotted black and yellow appearance, and they’re the result of an explosive release of heat and pressure courtesy of the moisture that hides behind the thin outer bark of lodgepole pine trees. “The first time I saw them I thought maybe it was a woodpecker flaking the bark off burned trees, but that’s not actually what’s happening,” says Jasper National Park Resource Conservation Manager David Argument. “In an intense fire situation, the moisture in the sapwood beneath the bark, which can have quite high moisture content, is heated to steam so quickly that it turns into steam explosively and flakes off those patches of bark.” 

The Philippine Mars has flown for the first time in 17 years. “Today’s flight was short and so sweet,” pilot Pete Killin posted on social media following the flight on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. The Philippine Mars has not been flown since 2007 when the Coulson Group purchased the last two Martin Mars waterbombers from TimberWest (now operating as Mosaic Forest Management). Killin flew the Hawaii Mars on its final flight to Patricia Bay outside of Victoria in August, and will fly the Philippine Mars to its final destination outside of Tucson, Arizona. …Once the test flights are done the company can apply for a ferry permit to transport the plane down the west coast and then inland to Arizona, where it will end up in the Pima Air and Space Museum.