Region Archives: Canada West

Special Feature

“Seedy Business: A History of Seed Supply in BC”

Forest History Association of BC
December 11, 2024
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC Forest History Association is thrilled to welcome Don Pigott as our December Speaker Series guest! Don will share his expertise on the evolution of cone collection in British Columbia over the past century. With 50 years of experience, he’ll also highlight some of the seed-related projects that have shaped his career and the field of forestry. No forester is too young, old, inexperienced, or seasoned to learn something from Don!

About the Speaker: Don Pigott’s career spans decades of groundbreaking work in forestry and silviculture. During his 13 years at MacMillan Bloedel, he managed seed supply for reforestation, established seed orchards, and oversaw operational tree improvement programs. In 1982, Don founded Yellow Point Propagation Ltd., a private silviculture company providing comprehensive services, including cone and seed processing, and consulting for forestry projects across North America and Europe. For the past 16 years, Yellow Point Propagation has focused on gene conservation for whitebark pine, limber pine, alpine larch, and numerous other species, further cementing Don’s legacy as a pioneer in forestry innovation. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from an expert with unparalleled insights into forestry’s past, present, and future.

Read More

Opinion / EdiTOADial

Another review of forest policy in BC should not be a priority right now: Linda Coady

Linda Coady, President & CEO
BC Council of Forest Industries
December 16, 2024
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada, Canada West

Linda Coady

VANCOUVER – Linda Coady, President & Chief Executive Officer of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI), issued the following statement in response to a commitment to undertake a “review of BC forests” that is part of the cooperation agreement announced by the BC NDP and the BC Green Party. “Another review of forest policy in BC should not be a priority right now”. “Premier Eby has already publicly acknowledged that rising US duties and tariffs on forest products would have a ‘devastating’ impact on thousands of jobs in resource communities across the province. In light of this very real threat, now is the time for urgent action on the commitments the government has already made to maintaining a competitive and sustainable forest products manufacturing sector in BC. In recent years, several major reviews, reports, and new initiatives have already focused on forestry in BC.

Last week, the new BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said that “now is the time to be bold…you are not going to see a bunch of frameworks and vision statements and grandiose plans. I think we’ve done all of that work and am very thankful to my colleagues for getting us to this place. For me, it’s now (about) focusing on those clear objectives on what we need to accomplish to have a robust, sustainable industry for the next decades.” Before yet another review is launched, Minister Parmar should be given time to put forward his plan for the completion and implementation of existing initiatives before any more new ones are introduced. …Forestry is at the forefront of advancing Indigenous reconciliation through real, on-the-ground practices and partnerships. Implementation of new land use planning processes and initiatives on conservation financing have been at least two years in the making, and are still not happening at scale. 

Read More

Business & Politics

Forests minister promises to help build strong, sustainable industry while touring North Island

By Robin Grant
Campbell River Mirror
December 17, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ravi Parmar, right

B.C.’s new minister of Forests toured the North Island last week to gain insight into the region’s forestry industry and engage with workers. During a stop at the Campbell River Mirror office on Dec. 13, Ravi Parmar acknowledged this riding did not re-elect the NDP candidate in the October provincial election. “It’s important for me to get back on the ground in these communities and to let you know we hear you,” he said. ….In 2025, Parvar said he will launch a review of B.C. timber sales. “We’re looking at transforming B.C. timber sales in a way to ensure that it delivers for British Columbians, and that it delivers, most importantly, for workers,” he said. An additional focus is to double the size of community forests, which are forestry operations managed by a local government, First Nation, or community-held organization for the benefit of the entire community.

Read More

MLA says approval of the BC wind farms does not bode well for Atlantic Power in Williams Lake

By James Peters
CFJC Today Kamloops
December 12, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops-area MLAs… say board members’ concerns over recently-approved wind farm projects in the area are more than just hot air. …In announcing the approvals, the province said it “intends to exempt these wind projects and all future wind projects in B.C. from environmental assessment.” Stamer called that approach “totally irresponsible.” …Approval of the wind farms does not bode well for operations like Atlantic Power in Williams Lake, said Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson. Atlantic Power produces electricity by burning biomass wood waste. In January, the company announced it intends to close the Williams Lake plant because it can’t be profitable under its current contract with BC Hydro. …Doerkson says the wind farm announcement this week puts Atlantic Power’s future in jeopardy. “The Elephant Hill fire is currently being cleaned up and that is what we are using for fibre at plants like Atlantic Power. This is a green project.”

Read More

NDP-Green Party Agreement includes review of BC forestry, protection of Fairy Creek watershed

BC New Democratic Party
December 13, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The NDP—BC Green Party Caucus (BCGC) Agreement includes the following three Environment initiatives:

  • Government will work with the BCGC to undertake a review of BC forests with First Nations, workers, unions, business and community to address concerns around sustainability, jobs, environmental protection and the future of the industry. Government will work with the BCGC to establish the detailed terms of reference for this review, which are subject to the approval of both parties. The BCGC will be fully involved in all elements of the review and the resulting report will be made public within 45 days of completion.
  • Pending the resolution of existing legal proceedings and community negotiations, and in partnership with the Ditidaht and Pacheedaht First Nations, the Government will move forward to ensure permanent protection of the Fairy Creek Watershed.
  • Government will strengthen collaborative local processes around water management at the watershed level and identify clear actions to improve local governance that will be implemented in later years of its mandate.

Read More

BC Greens to support NDP on confidence votes, work together on shared priorities

By Ian Holliday and Ben Miljure
CTV News Vancouver
December 13, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. New Democratic and Green parties have reached an “agreement in principle“… that will see the smaller party support the government on confidence matters. The parties will also work together to achieve specific legislative goals in the coming session. NDP Premier David Eby said the shared priorities are strengthening health care, building affordable housing, creating livable communities and growing a strong sustainable economy. …The agreement lists 11 specific policy initiatives that the parties agree to pursue, under the headings health care, mental health care, housing, renters protection, homelessness, transit, climate, environment, social and economic justice, taxation, and democratic and electoral reform. According to the document, the Green Party agrees to support the government on all confidence votes, as well as agreed-upon motions and government bills. Opposition Leader John Rustad spoke out against the agreement, accusing the NDP and Greens of moving backwards.

Related coverage by:

Read More

The San Group’s complicated financial woes concern court-appointed monitor

By Carla Wilson
The Times Colonist
December 10, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

About 500 creditors are prohibited from pursuing money from the San Group of companies until at least Dec. 19. The forestry venture, which consists of nearly 20 related businesses, filed for protection from creditors on Nov. 29. On that date, the monitor received permission to prepare for a sale and investment solicitation process but no details are public. That protection expired on Monday and was renewed by Justice Michael Stephens as the Deloitte Restructuring monitor works to unravel a complex financial picture. …It appears the company has not paid its 2024 property taxes for its huge remanufacturing plant in Port Alberni. …The monitor said the companies’ cash-flow forecast lacks supporting data, and information is not arriving in a timely way. San Group companies experienced a 17% drop in sales in the fiscal year 2023 from fiscal year 2022. This year’s sales are on track to run about 20% below last year.

Related coverage in Nanaimo News Now: SAN’s finances affect Port Alberni’s budget

Read More

Canfor Acquires Additional Shares in Vida AB of Sweden

Canfor Corporation
December 10, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver, BC – Canfor Corporation announced that it has acquired 7% of outstanding shares of VIDA AB effective today. The shares were acquired from certain minority shareholders utilizing their option privileges under the February 2019 agreement in which Canfor purchased 70% of VIDA AB, Sweden’s largest privately owned sawmill company. After concluding this transaction, Canfor owns 77% of VIDA AB. [END]

Read More

Alberta’s Forest Sector Strengthens Ties with Japan as U.S. Trade Tensions Loom

Alberta Forest Products Association
December 11, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Amid increasing global demand for sustainable materials and new tariff threats from the U.S., Alberta is taking bold steps to strengthen global trade ties. A recent forestry trade mission to Japan punctuates the province’s commitment to diversifying its export markets by strengthening trade relationships in Japan, Alberta’s second-largest export market for softwood lumber. The first of its kind, this Alberta-led trade mission was headed by Minister Todd Loewen and Deputy Minister Ronda Goulden of the Government of Alberta’s Forestry and Parks ministry. Delegates from Canada Wood and Alberta’s forest industry joined the mission as well. In a high-impact week, the Alberta delegation met with Japanese customers, developers, and builders to discuss pathways to expand wood products trade with Japan and to learn about the unique opportunities and demand for wood construction. 

Read More

Softwood lumber duties a top priority, new Forests minister says

By Nelson Bennett
Business in Vancouver
December 9, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ravi Parmar

As the new minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar may have one of the toughest cabinet posts in BC. He will be under pressure to do something about the regulatory burden in B.C. that has been killing B.C. forest sector jobs at a time when B.C.’s forest sector faces crippling tariffs and duties. …A big part of the problem is a shrinking annual allowable cut (AAC). But forest industry leaders point out that… there is an adequate amount of AAC to keep the existing mills running, except that it has been made inaccessible due to cost and red tape. …“Regulations are only one part of the fibre story that we have here in BC,” Parmar said. He blames the big forestry companies for essentially cutting and running – i.e. harvesting the most valuable timber first, when prices were high, and not making the investments needed to access some of the less economic timber.

Read More

Creditor protection extended for forestry company San Group

By Kendall Hanson
Chek News
December 9, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

A BC Supreme Court Justice has approved a short extension of creditor protection as a court monitor works with San Group to reorganize its business operations. The court-appointed monitor from Deloitte asked for the extension as he tries to clarify the value of the company’s assets. …In April, San Group’s Acorn mill in Delta was damaged by a significant fire. One claim for $12.1 million has recently been denied by the insurance company. The company is filing two more claims, jointly worth nearly $30 million. Also, the bomb cyclone was bad for San Group. Log booms in Alberni Inlet got loose, and management has reported losing $6 million in log inventory. The company has third parties trying to recover the logs. …All involved say they believe the company is working in good faith. …The monitor plans to have another report for the next court hearing about San Group’s future on Dec. 19.

Read More

To do list for BC’s new forests minister

Resource Works
December 6, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

BC’s new forests minister, Ravi Parmar, has been busy gathering opinions on the state and possible fate of the province’s forest industry. Now it’s time for [him] to sit down with real experts, pick their brains, catch up on BC forestry economics, and come up with a sensible, realistic, and achievable forestry plan. While promising to be “bold”, he is already saying that basic policies will remain in place. In January, he will receive his official “mandate letter” from Premier David Eby …If we were to write Parmar’s mandate letter, it would first require him to take an unbiased look at his government’s Review to Action scheme and its “commitments” for old-growth forests. …said to have been based on input from what the government called “independent” review panels, Resource Works CEO, Stewart Muir, found out in 2022 that the purportedly independent “Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel” was heavily loaded with bias.

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

An in-depth look at University of British Columbia’s $560 million student residence complex

By Grant Cameron
Journal of Commerce
December 18, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Some early prep work has started at the site of a new, $560-million student residence complex that is slated to be built in the Lower Mall Precinct of the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver. The venture represents the largest provincial contribution to any single post-secondary institution capital project in B.C.’s history. There will be five buildings ranging in height from eight to 22 storeys tall. …One of the structures will be a mass timber hybrid building. …The mass timber building will be eight storeys tall. …For the complex, the design team will be focused on carbon resilience, biodiversity and hydrology and use materials to create sustainable spaces and enhance the well-being of inhabitants. The team is aiming for LEED Gold certification.

Read More

naturally:wood announces projects, partnerships, and our new look!

naturally:wood
December 13, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

From blueprint to built: Celebrating the summer’s completed projects

  • Located in Vancouver’s Cambie Corridor, the new Alliance Française de Vancouver (AVF) building serves to promote French language, art, and culture. This new facility is a sleek four-storey mass timber and steel hybrid structure.
  • The Confluence is a multi-purpose civic space that supports Castlegar’s tourism and economic development. This building benefitted from CNC-prefabricated mass timber panels to achieve its complex geometric design.
  • The Exchange is a mixed-use, mass timber-hybrid office and commercial project designed to attract tenants with its industrial vibe. The project features nail-laminated timber (NLT) panels that were fabricated on-site. 

BuildEx and WoodWorks BC: Buildex 2025 offers an exciting collaboration with the Canadian Wood Council, combining the technical expertise of WoodWorks with the wood products industry. …What do you think of our new website? To enhance your experience, we recently refreshed our website, making it more accessible and easier to navigate.

Read More

Non-profit helping Island companies find value in construction waste

By Liam Razzell
Comox Valley Record
December 11, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Used construction materials on Vancouver Island are finding second homes, thanks to a new initiative. In August, Vancouver-based non-profit Light House launched a free program called the Building Material Exchange (BMEx), which serves as a bridge between contractors with surplus materials and those who can reuse them. …ReWood – a volunteer-led initiative in Victoria – is using lumber from construction sites to make greenhouses and planter boxes for farmers, agricultural associations and community gardens, and Chemainus-based modular home manufacturer NEXUS Modular Solutions supplied wasted wood and metal to a designer for a multimedia art project. Connections like these help further the non-profit’s goal of diverting reusable construction waste – including concrete, aggregate, wood, drywall and metals – from landfills.  

Read More

Forestry

BC Forest Practices Board audit of Valemount forestry operation finds issues

BC Forest Practices Board
December 17, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, 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

Read More

B.C. tree planting to plummet 23% amid wildfire boom

By Stefan Labbé
North Shore News
December 18, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Aspen is a natural fire guard. Why has B.C. spent decades killing it off with glyphosate?

By Ainslie Cruickshank
The Narwhal
December 17, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

BC Commits to Reverse Declining Reforestation Program

By John Betts, dedicated to resisting writing robots and other assaults on the written word
Western Forestry Contractors’ Association
December 16, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Statement on the Stanley Park Forest Management Project

By Bruce Blackwell, Principal, Blackwell and Associates Ltd.
LinkedIn
December 16, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Alberta Forest Products Association Community Newsletter

Alberta Forest Products Association
December 17, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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

 

Read More

Wildlife concerns lead to new B.C. conservation area near Kootenay National Park

Canadian Press in North Island Gazette
December 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

FireSwarm Solutions secures $500K for advanced wildfire-fighting drone technology

By Jennifer Thuncher
The Squamish Chief
December 13, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Nelson forestry advocate rallies to protect Selkirk’s old growth forests

By Samantha Holomay
Castanet
December 13, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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. 

Read More

New forestry minister vows to restore prosperity to industry, dependent communities

By Grant Warkentin
My Campbell River Now
December 15, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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. 

Read More

B.C. government aims to permanently protect Fairy Creek

By Shannon Waters
The Narwhal
December 13, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.”

Read More

New conservation area announced for Rocky Mountain Trench in B.C.

Canadian Press in the Times Colonist
December 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

It’s a shame to see huge 300-year-old logs being treated like this

By James Steidle
Prince George Citizen
December 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

A push to save the remaining 37 hectares of Puntledge Forest

By Raynee Novak
Comox Valley Record
December 11, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Notes from the field: Researchers map impact of beaver dams and logging on Kananaskis ecosystem

By Briana Van Den Bussche
University of Calgary
December 9, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Terrace Community Forest Contributes $200K

By Jaylene Matthews
CFTK-TV BC North
December 9, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship marks 3,800 reasons to celebrate 2024

By Brennan Phillips
Vernon Morning Star
December 9, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.”

Read More

Environmental advocate gives TEDx Talk in Victoria about old-growth protections

By Curtis Blandy
Victoria Buzz
December 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Explosive ‘cheetah trees’ have appeared in Jasper after the wildfire

The Weather Network
December 10, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.” 

Read More

Last of the Martin Mars waterbombers makes first flight in 17 years

By Susie Quinn
Nanaimo News Bulletin
December 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

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.

Read More

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Williams Lake energy plant in limbo despite record need for power

By Ruth Lloyd
The Williams Lake Tribune
December 13, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Atlantic Power’s Williams Lake biomass energy plant is still in limbo, while B.C. imported record amounts of electricity last year. The plant’s future remains uncertain, after having given a one year termination of contract notice to BC Hydro at the beginning of 2024. The wood biomass plant is the city’s largest single taxpayer. Atlantic Power said the Williams Lake plant would cease operations due to the lack of affordable fibre to maintain financial viability, but the original October deadline to revoke this notice has been relaxed due to the impact of the provincial election. …But fibre for the plant has become harder to get, as its supply is further away and there is competition from users like Drax. …Ministers of Energy and Climate Solutions, Environment and Parks, Forests and Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation are now the focus of efforts by the city.

Read More

Northwest Territories uses 20,000 tonnes of wood pellets per year. Here’s why they aren’t made locally

By Liny Lamberink
CBC News
December 13, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Northwest Territories (N.W.T.) has a lot of trees – so why are wood pellets used for heating all hauled up from northern Alberta? That question was central to a discussion that unfolded Thursday at the territory’s Legislative Assembly. Robert Sexton, the territory’s energy director, told the standing committee on economic development and environment that roughly 14,500 cords of wood used to heat homes in the territory every year all come from within the N.W.T. But the 20,000 tonnes of wood pellets used annually are coming from the south. …That means there’s a risk the supply chain could be interrupted and it’s already becoming “somewhat more difficult” because pellets are being exported to Europe. The territory often boasts of being a leader in biomass heating… Several MLAs who make up the standing committee asked about developing a local supply of wood pellets or chips. 

Read More

New Bioenergy Training Program Targets Remote Indigenous Communities

UBC Faculty of Forestry
December 3, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

The University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Forestry’s Alex Fraser Research Forest (AFRF), in partnership with FPInnovations, is launching the Community Bioenergy Systems Training Program, a new training program designed to help remote and Indigenous communities transition from diesel-based energy to sustainable, wood-based biomass power.  AFRF and FPInnovations built a biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant in Williams Lake, BC, and will start offering training using their system in the new year with support from Natural Resources Canada and the Province of British Columbia. The new program trains participants to operate this type of power plant, manage woody debris supply chains for power and heat generation and develop other wood-based bioenergy systems, enabling them to return to their communities and play an active role in transforming local energy infrastructure.

Read More

Health & Safety

Amendments to Part 5 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

WorkSafeBC
December 17, 2024
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

At its May 2024 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved amendments pertaining to Emergency Planning in Part 5 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These amendments will come into effect on February 3, 2025. Part 5 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation sets out the requirements for emergency planning relating to hazardous substances. On February 3, 2025, amendments to these requirements will come into effect, to provide additional clarity and to further reduce risk to workers and other people posed by emergencies involving hazardous substances. This resource provides an overview of the changes to help affected employers prepare for the new requirements. OHS Guidelines are also being developed to provide additional support for employers; these guidelines will be available on February 3.

For the full text of the Regulation amendments, see the Board of Directors decision document

Backgrounder: Emergency procedures for hazardous substances

Read More

City urges residents to prevent Christmas house fires

By Radha Agarwal
The Northern View
December 11, 2024
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

As the holiday season shifts into high gear, lights adorn people’s homes and ornamented Christmas trees can be seen through windows. “This season always comes with higher risk of house fires, due to the common use of space heaters, potential overloading of circuits, and flammability of decorations,” said the City of Prince Rupert on Facebook. Between 2010 and 2020, the Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) recorded 113 Christmas-related fires in B.C., which led to 15 injuries, four deaths and more than $14.5 million in damage. OFC emphasized the importance of keeping Christmas trees well-watered to prevent them from becoming a fire hazard. The National Fire Protection Association shared a video of a dried Christmas tree that burned entirely in less than a minute, while a watered one ignited slowly.

Read More