Region Archives: Canada West

Every year in British Columbia, millions of tonnes of waste wood – known in the industry as slash – is burned by the side of the road. Land managers are required by law to dispose of this waste wood – that includes leftover tree limbs and tops, and wood that is rotten, diseased and already fire damaged – to reduce the risks of wildfires and the spread of disease and pests. The smoke from these fires is choking surrounding communities. It also impacts the broader environment, releasing some 3 million tonnes of CO₂ a year into the atmosphere, according to some early estimates. …Rather than burning it, it would be far better, they say, to use more of this potential resource as a feedstock for pellets that can be used to generate renewable energy, while supporting local jobs across the forestry sector and helping bolster the resilience of Canada’s forests against wildfire.

Young researchers aiming to provide data, tools and practical solutions to improve the resilience of Canadian communities recently converged in Quesnel for a three-day first annual general meeting.  The researchers are with the program Silva21, in which five universities supported by dozens of collaborators are undertaking 38 national research projects from 2021 to 2026.  In the Quesnel Forest District, nine research projects are underway, from thinning and the salvage harvesting of dead trees to the regeneration after catastrophic disturbance.  “Quesnel is probably the place in our cross-country project where the problem is the most obvious because of all the disturbances that have occurred here in terms of fire and the mountain pine beetle,” said Silva21 lead and Université Laval forestry, geography and geomatics professor Alexis Achim.

Researchers on BC Salt Spring Island are working on a plan to protect an important freshwater reserve. Maxwell Lake provides water for about half of Salt Spring Island, just off the east coast of Vancouver Island. Ecologists say agriculture and forestry in the area over the past century have left the forest overgrown, blocking out light and limiting the growth of understory, the low layer of vegetation in the forest that helps absorb water.  Without that water absorption, the forest becomes dry and at greater risk for fires. …The most notable part of that plan is human intervention, something fellow ecologist Pierre Mineau is passionate about. “By removing some trees, doing some thinning, selective openings and so on to allow understory to come in … more water [will be] coming into the aquifer,” he said.

Some B.C. experts say Ottawa’s directive that the RCMP stop using neck restraints, tear gas and rubber bullets should have happened years ago. Others, however, warn taking away some so-called “less-lethal” options may not be the right move. Tonye Aganaba, with Vancouver’s Black Lives Matter… cited recent police actions in response to protests by old-growth logging activists on Vancouver Island. “There was a lot of violence that happened at Fairy Creek,” she said. “A lot of the same strategies that we’re talking about right now were being weaponized,” she said. The Canadian government recently announced it will soon direct the RCMP to ban the controversial tactics. …But not everyone is on board with the directive. …Former RCMP officer Alain Babineau questioned the move. “If we start limiting the intervention tools for the police, then we are limiting the options they have,” Babineau said. 

With $25 million in new funding from the provincial government, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) is launching its 2022-2023 Funding Program today. FESBC is accepting applications to fund projects that will assist the Province of British Columbia in reducing wildfire risk and increasing community resiliency to wildfire. …communities start by creating a wildfire risk reduction plan. The plan identifies infrastructure and priorities that need to be protected… Next, areas of risk are identified…Then, after consulting with the citizens and considering other values … treatment prescriptions are written by forest professionals. FESBC funds all of these project activities from start to finish. …FESBC will host a virtual information session that will guide proponents on the criteria FESBC wants to see in the applications, as well as on the steps that need to be taken to put together an application through the online portal. 

We’ve seen a lot of protests in recent months and years in Canada, some more disruptive than others. From Black Lives Matter and Idle No More to the more recent anti-vaxxer protests on highway overpasses, not to mention the anti-vaccine mandate protests in Ottawa inaccurately labelled “trucker” protests, we’ve seen it all. But does protest work? Sociologists and political economists have studied the subject for years, and often protest does work. But sometimes, when protestors go too far… protest only turns the general public against the cause. …Recently we’ve seen motorists greatly inconvenienced by the Save Old Growth group who are protesting the logging of old growth trees amid a climate crisis. Great cause, yes, but the behaviour by this group, gluing themselves to highways, stopping drivers and vandalizing buildings in Vancouver, is not helping their cause.

PEMBERTON, BC — Seven months after a mudslide killed five people on Highway 99 north of Pemberton, the B.C. Ministry of Forests is launching an investigation into the event. And for the first time, the government has indicated that a failed logging road may be behind the tragedy. The ministry has issued a request for proposals calling on engineers and geotechnical experts outside government to submit bids on a job that will assess the risks posed by old logging roads above the highway, propose fixes, and delve into what, exactly, led to the deadly slide. The request for proposals notes that the area is crisscrossed by hundreds of kilometres of aging logging roads, one of which appeared to fail with devastating consequences on Nov. 15. …The landslide occurred during the height of last November’s heavy rainstorms, which the government characterized at the time as climate change-related.

The Lower Kootenay Band has sent a letter to B.C.’s forests ministry and to a timber company telling them to stop logging in an area known as the Argenta-Johnsons Landing Face on the east shore of Kootenay Lake. “We demand that the forest company, Cooper Creek Cedar, stop logging on the Argenta-Johnsons Landing Face and benches immediately”. It is signed by Nasuʔkin Jason Louie, the chief of the band that is located near Creston. …The Argenta-Johnsons Landing Face is a forested mountainside bordered on three sides by the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park and on the west by Kootenay Lake. …For several years a local group has been unsuccessfully attempting to persuade the province to protect the area from logging. …To clear the way for the logging, the RCMP arrested 17 people on May 17. Another two were arrested this month.

To reduce wildfires in higher-risk communities, the B.C. government is providing $25 million in new funding to the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC). This investment will support community projects that reduce wildfire risk and enhance wildlife habitat, greenhouse gas reduction, forest recreation and ecological resiliency. Applications for this funding will open on Monday, June 20, 2022. “The Forest Enhancement Society of BC is a proven partner in delivering projects on the ground that protect people from wildfire risks and reduce emissions from slash pile burning,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. …FESBC has supported 263 projects throughout B.C., and 43 of these projects have been in partnership with First Nations. These projects have reduced wildfire risk in 120 communities and have created about 2,200 full-time-equivalent jobs, among other outcomes. …The $25 million provided to FESBC is a component of $359 million announced in Budget 2022 to protect British Columbians from wildfires.

Climate change is already on the doorstep of the Musqueam First Nation. January saw one of the highest king tides in recent years. Waves crashed at the edge of Musqueam’s low-lying reserve. …It’s not the only First Nation with a reserve in a flood zone. In the Lower Mainland, there are 61 reserves belonging to 26 First Nations that are vulnerable to floods, according to the Fraser Basin Council. …“Historically, all we’ve had is local governments and First Nations competing for inadequate funds that are proposal based. One year you get funded, the next year you don’t. …“If you go back 200 years ago, there’s no such thing as an industry called logging,” said McNeil. “It would take anywhere from three months to six months for rain to make its way into the river.

Procter, B.C. – The Harrop Procter Community Cooperative (HPCC) has released a series of videos that highlight the local community, wildfire risks in the surrounding forests, and some of the work being done to adapt to climate change. …the four short videos – and accompanying 1-minute trailers – focus on climate change adaptation and wildfire risk reduction initiatives undertaken by the cooperative. “Our community has told us that the inter-related issues of wildfire and climate change are top of mind”, says HPCC forest manager and the videos’ executive producer Erik Leslie. “Next to clean drinking water, wildfire risk reduction is the primary concern of local residents. …HPCC has managed their 11,300 hectare community forest on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake since 2000. For the past decade, the community forest has been working to reduce wildfire risks by thinning the forest, retaining large fire-tolerant trees, and promoting the growth of deciduous trees and shrubs.

Zain Haq

An international student leading a controversial campaign to end old-growth logging in BC is fearful the Canada Border Services Agency is looking to deport him. Zain Haq, a co-founder of the Save Old Growth protest group behind highway blockades across the province, has been ordered to show up at a CBSA office. The third-year history major at Simon Fraser University who hails from Pakistan is in Canada on a study permit. The 21-year-old activist has gone into hiding after talking to a number of lawyers who advised him it’s likely CBSA wants to detain him. He has yet to find a lawyer who will represent him. “Basically, they suggested to me was that I should pack light and be prepared to travel”. Ultimately, Haq is worried CBSA intends to deport him because of his activist work. “It’s my suspicion that it’s due to political reasons,” he said.

In recent weeks, there have been countless stories related to Save Old Growth protesters blocking key roadways in BC to urge the government to do more to protect old growth forests. Now, another group is standing up in the face of Save Old Growth and its aim is to give a voice to anyone impacted by the blockades. The group is called Clear the Road in BC, and Daily Hive spoke with its creator about what the group hopes to achieve — including a potential lawsuit. Tamara Meggitt also highlighted some key actions from protesters that gave her cause for concern ever since the protests started. …Clear the Road is also taking aim at Zain Haq. Zain Haq is an SFU student currently in BC on a student visa, according to Clear the Road. He’s also the leader of SOG and has been arrested 10 times since 2019. 

Community members, businesses, and nonprofits alike came together to raise awareness about the upcoming wildfire season in BC, with a plethora of vendors, informational sessions, and games educating residents to become ‘Firesmart.’ Despite the wind, and the presence of a new wildfire on Merritt’s Mountain Drive, the Merritt Fire and Rescue Department and BC Wildfire Service put on a great show for community members. Hundreds of Merrittonians attended the event and played games, won prizes, and engaged local emergency services to learn about the dangers of wildfire. …Firesmart is a community based program by the BC Forest Safety Council which promotes the collaboration and cooperation of community members to prepare for wildfire season… Krista Minar, emergency management coordinator for the City of Merritt added that people are often mistaken about the causes and proper preventative measures, but the event has allowed for many educational opportunities.

Join the Sp!ce Podcast’s Natasha in a conversation with Margareta Dovgal, managing director, Resource Works Society on what old growth protesters are getting wrong and why it’s alienating the BC public and making polarization worse in Canada as a whole.

Jim Van Tine points out a grassy marsh bench sloping into a tranquil pond populated by ducks… at the heart of the Campbell River estuary. The site — Mill Pond in the Baikie Island Reserve — was an industrial wasteland little more than 20 years ago, stuffed full of log booms and surrounded by timber yards. …Sensitive riparian habitat were either buried or dredged to meet the needs of lumber mills or other industries that dominated the estuary for most of the 20th century. …But a downturn in the forestry sector and the resulting bankruptcy of the mill created an opportunity for the Vancouver Island city known as the Salmon Capital of the World to reclaim the prime fish habitat. In 1999, the city teamed up with the Nature Conservancy Canada and the Tula Foundation to purchase Baikie Island and begin an ongoing remediation effort that has become a showcase for estuary restoration.

A group of British Columbians fed-up with regular highway blockades by people protesting the logging of old-growth forests says they are now pursuing a class-action lawsuit. Save Old Growth has been occupying highways in various parts of the province intermittently since January, in an effort to cause enough disruptive action that B.C. is pushed to end all old-growth logging. Since June 13, it has committed to blocking highways in Victoria and Vancouver daily. This was the final straw for newly formed group Clear The Road, which says the blockades are stopping British Columbians from reaching medical appointments, getting to work on time and reaching customers for deliveries or contract services. According to organizer and forestry-supporter Tamara Meggitt, more than 1,000 people have signed Clear The Road’s petition and dozens have expressed interest in joining a possible class-action lawsuit, including a few who claim they have lost thousands in income from the blockades. 

In related news: Old-growth protester injured during protest has broken pelvis, faces long recovery, by Cindy Harnett in the Victoria Times Colonist

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) program and timber-sale licence holders in the Stuart-Nechako Natural Resource District during the week of June 20, 2022. Auditors will examine whether timber harvesting, roads, bridges, silviculture, fire protection activities and associated planning, carried out between June 2021 and June 2022, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. The audit area extends from Stuart Lake, near Vanderhoof, about 450 kilometres north to the headwaters of the Skeena River. The district is known for its lakes like Stuart, Pinchi, Talka and Tezzeron, and rivers, such as Tachie and Stuart. …Of the 12 BCTS programs in the province, two BCTS programs are randomly chosen each year for audit. Audit selections are not based on complaints or on the past performance of the BCTS program.

If you’ve driven anywhere in Vancouver this week you’ve no doubt noticed the impact of the small-but-vocal Save Old Growth protest group who have once again decided to snarl traffic to bring attention to their cause. What you may not have noticed was that they’ve spray painted buildings up and down Main Street.  The words “Save Old Growth” showed up on a few of the outer stone walls of the building over the weekend and were gone by Monday afternoon. …The Save Old Growth group did not respond to my request for comment in which I sent them a few questions including, “How does placing graffiti on a heritage building help you achieve your goal?”

…Unfortunately, the Cariboo has had a number of events like forest insect attacks and wildfires that have impacted our original AAC determinations and necessitated a review.  I have included highlights of the “Impacts of 2021 Fires on Forests and Timber Supply in British Columbia “ published in April of 2022.  “The areas affected by wildfires in 2017 (1.2 million hectares), 2018 (1.3 million hectares) and in 2021 (0.9 million hectares) were the three largest in 102 years of recorded wildfire history in B.C.  …In any management unit, the allowable annual cut (AAC) for the unit is directly related to the amount of timber on the THLB. After the 2017, 2018 and 2021 wildfires, staff from the Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch (FAIB) updated the forest inventories and assessed the timber supply projections for the most severely affected management units. …FAIB has determined that wildfires during the past five years do not pose a risk to timber supply for the coast and northern TSAs. 

Protesters against old-growth logging blocked the Pat Bay Highway’s northbound traffic near Tsehum Harbour Park and the Swartz Bay ferry terminal Monday morning. By 11 a.m., police had arrested four people. The protest started in the early morning hours and by 8:30 a.m., about 12 Save Old Growth protesters were still on scene. A trailer blocked part of the roadway and held a barrel of concrete, with one protester’s arm encased inside. …Vehicles were able to proceed north after weaving through two barriers that had been set up. …Sophia Papp, a Save Old Growth spokesperson, said early in their demonstration a member was perched atop a 15-foot ladder on the highway and one driver, “incensed that we were inconveniencing his day,” caused the ladder to topple, with the protester falling to the pavement below. …Police confirmed the individual had been taken to hospital , though a media release made no mention of what led to the collapse.

More coverage in CBC: 14 arrested, 1 person taken to hospital after old-growth protests

Lawyers for a protest group that resumed blockading BC highways say their clients are not guilty of mischief from an October protest in Richmond and want to stand trial. …A lawyer for a third protester, Kathleen Elisabeth Higgins, said she would present novel arguments at trial that her client is not guilty on constitutional grounds. …Haq and Brazier federally incorporated a not-for-profit company called Eco-Mobilization Canada on Jan. 27. They finance their activities by crowdfunding and grants from the U.S.-based Climate Emergency Fund, whose board includes documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, daughter of Robert Kennedy, and Aileen Getty, daughter of oil baron Jean Paul Getty II. …The group predicts environmental breakdown will occur in March 2025. …Meanwhile, Tamara Meggitt of Clear the Road said… “Freedom of expression is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but it does not confer the right to commit criminal acts.”

Residents of the rural Kingfisher area near Mabel Lake fear a repeat of landslides if a proposed logging operation goes ahead. Prior logging on the same slope triggered a series of landslides in 1990, and an engineering report after those events stated the area is at risk of future instability. Tolko Industries proposes to log a block of timber above the Cook Creek campground. Resident Craig Haynes says the company has agreed to a site meeting with area residents on Tuesday. …”It’s the same area that had problems before,” says Haynes. He says the proposed cutblock is in “very steep” terrain and “right above a BC Hydro line that was knocked out by landslides last time.” Haynes says the 1990 slides damaged property and agricultural land. He says “Tolko has been good at responding” to resident concerns, and he’s hoping a stop can be put to the proposed logging.

VICTORIA – Forestry activities carried out by BC Timber Sales (BCTS) and timber sale licence (TSL) holders in the Columbia Field Unit portion of the Okanagan-Columbia Business Area met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, according to an audit report. …“The audit did find that BCTS had some issues during the construction of two road sections in difficult terrain,” said Kevin Kriese, chair, Forest Practices Board. “There were no impacts to forest resources at these sites, but the situation created risks and required additional work. This could have been avoided if BCTS had followed all the recommendations of the professionals they hired to advise them.” The audit examined the forest stewardship plan, harvesting of 89 cutblocks, construction of seven kilometres of road and one bridge, maintenance of 885 kilometres of road and 73 bridges and major culverts, as well as silviculture and wildfire protection activities.

The devastation caused by pine beetle invasion is hard to miss. Millions of acres of red, lifeless trees fill B.C. forests and, to a lesser extent, Alberta forests. Besides the hundreds of millions of cubic metres of marketable wood destroyed, the beetles have destroyed the habitat for much forest wildlife and left forests more vulnerable to wildfires. The efficiency of modern forest firefighting efforts also contributed by leaving standing large areas of older, larger trees that pine beetles find particularly attractive. Tree expert Toso Bozic said research is showing that the destruction of the forests could also have an impact contribute to the kinds of flooding that caused so much destruction in B.C. last year. …The heat creates a glaze on top of the soil and when rain falls it does not soak in like it should but runs along the top of the soil.

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation has made a fortune developing its lands on the north shore of Metro Vancouver, with the urban Indigenous community of 600 people boosting its well-being through a dozen business ventures now worth more than $1-billion. The nation’s reserve lands are in the heart of North Vancouver, but its traditional territories reach up Burrard Inlet into the mostly undeveloped watershed of the Indian River. The community has played the long game to reclaim its authority here, and this year that work has paid off. “This is our dream home, right here,” said Chief Jen Thomas, sitting on the edge of an old logging bridge that spans one of the last wild salmon rivers in the Lower Mainland. Now, a new, unique land-use agreement with the province allows the Tsleil-Waututh, whose archeological record here dates back thousands of years, to shape the future of the watershed.