Region Archives: Canada West

Berlin Communications’ work on livening up the intricacies of sustainability efforts in the forestry industry took the top prize at the Anvil Awards on Friday. Presented by the Ad Rodeo Association, the Anvil Awards recognize the best creative work in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Created for client Alberta Forest Products Association, “Love Alberta Forests” aimed to counter environmental misconceptions about forestry amid greater scrutiny resource industries are beginning to face in the province. The campaign communicated the often-dry facts of how the forestry industry maintains and manages Alberta’s forests with stories and immersive visuals, delivered not just through ads, but a virtual tour narrated by Alberta-born actor Nathan Fillion. The campaign also won a pair of Anvils in the Non-Traditional and Online categories. 

Philip McLoughlin

University of Saskatchewan wildlife ecologist Dr. Philip McLoughlin’s (PhD) research team has been awarded $1.87 million Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grant to study complex environmental changes occurring in Western Canada’s Boreal Plains and help mitigate the consequences. Including contributions of $1.04 million in cash and in-kind support of $1.08 million from partner agencies, the total project amounts to nearly $4 million. “From natural resource development and climate change, the southern boreal forest of Western Canada is experiencing some of the most extensive restructuring of a terrestrial ecosystem in North America,” said McLoughlin, professor of biology in USask’s College of Arts and Science. …The goal is to provide the tools, knowledge, and practical options, and build the capacity to conserve the Boreal Plains ecosystem while safeguarding the core socio-ecological needs and values of residents. 

The John and Jill Innes Aboriginal Award in Forestry supports undergraduate students in the Faculty of Forestry and is renewable for up to three years to ensure continuity and stability in funding for students. Please join us in honouring Dr. John Innes, and help recognize and celebrate the exceptional leadership and many accomplishments he has presided over during the past 11 years as Dean of the Faculty of Forestry (July 2010 to September 2021). …While serving as Dean of the Faculty of Forestry, he has had a tremendous impact on the advancement of Aboriginal relations within British Columbia and the Yukon. “What Jill and I both realized was that First Nations students face many challenges when moving to a large university such as UBC. Many come from small, close-knit communities, and the city, processes, and structures can all seem quite intimidating. We wanted to do what we could to help those students succeed,” said Innes.

Forestry workers and communities in the Thompson Okanagan region are benefiting from economic opportunities created through the Province’s Forest Employment Program (FEP).  In the past year, the Province has invested $1.87 million in 22 projects in the B.C. Interior, employing local contractors and workers and focusing on wildfire risk reduction and improving outdoor safety and accessibility.  “Building more resilient communities while addressing the impacts of climate change is a key part of the StrongerBC economic plan,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. “These projects help drive economic recovery in the region, bolster recreation and tourism opportunities, reduce wildfire risks and provide jobs for people.”   FEP was created in 2019 to provide short-term employment opportunities for contractors and workers in the Interior.   …Since its creation in 2019, FEP has delivered $30 million in funding, which has supported 317 projects and created more than 840 short-term jobs.

The BC and federal governments agree more needs to be done to prepare BC for increasingly frequent and severe flooding and wildfires caused by climate change. But they have stopped short of committing to significant changes that could address issues identified. “We recognize we have to do more,” said Forests Minister Katrine Conroy, lauding the investigative series that found government efforts have fallen short of what is needed to properly protect communities. …She noted the province has committed to spend $2.1 billion over four years to recover from extreme floods and wildfires in 2021. Most of that money is earmarked for response costs. …It is not targeted at building climate-resilient infrastructure such as upgrading B.C.’s more than 1,100 kilometres of dikes or building new flood protection measures. Money earmarked for wildfire prevention would barely make a dent in the forested land needing thinning to reduce wildfire fuel.

Roughly 60 per cent of Indigenous communities in Canada are located in remote areas surrounded by forest. For millennia, they used Traditional Ecological Knowledge, passed down between generations, to apply fire to the landscape in a way that would reduce wildfire risk, promote revegetation and enhance wildlife habitat. ..The challenges are laid out in a recently published paper, “The Right to Burn: barriers and opportunities for Indigenous-led fire stewardship in Canada.” The report also presents solutions — five calls to action that could help put wildfire management back in the hands of Indigenous communities that seek to reclaim cultural burning on their traditional territories. …Amy Cardinal Christianson, one of the report’s lead authors and a fire research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service… says that while existing Eurocentric wildfire management methods focus on fire suppression and taking a reactive approach, traditional methods manage fire at the landscape level.

Katrine Conroy

KAMLOOPS — British Columbia’s forest minister, Katrine Conroy was in Kamloops today, speaking at the Interior Logging Association annual general meeting. …With the wildfire season fast approaching, some communities in the region are concerned about fire coverage. Just a few weeks ago the B.C. Wildfire Service said that no crews will be based in Clearwater this year. This morning Minister Conroy said… “There will be a crew in Clearwater, but the main crew will be based out of Kamloops and has the ability to then send people throughout the province,” stated Conroy. “It’s a regional fire centre in Kamloops, which is great. What we’ve done is considerable investments in the wildfire service so we can expand the wildfire service to a year-round operation.”

BC Gov Photo

…This spring, as bears emerge from hibernation and logging season revs up, conservationists, First Nations and the wilderness tourism sector are urging the province to protect bear dens to guarantee the long-term survival of the culturally iconic species. More than a century of old-growth logging in coastal B.C. and on Vancouver Island has dramatically reduced the supply of suitable denning sites for black bear populations, said Mark Worthing, coastal projects lead at Sierra Club BC. Minor amendments to the provincial Wildlife Act, which already defends beaver dams and bird’s nests, could easily outline policy provisions and on-the-ground practices to protect bear dens, a recent report by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre suggested. …Protecting dens involves identifying them in cutblocks before timber harvesting begins, using best practices to protect them over time and during subsequent logging operations, and minimizing disturbances to bears.

The B.C. government has committed $15 million over the next three years through its CleanBC fund to fertilize 25,000 hectares of the province’s temperate rainforests with urea, a nitrogen fertilizer synthesized to mimic animal pee.  …When the government first announced this initiative in late April, it said it would spend $15 million fertilizing 8,500 hectares that would result in 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 being absorbed by 2030.  That’s some impressive fertilizer — in that scenario, every hectare of fertilized forest would have absorbed 435 tonnes of extra CO2 over the next eight years. On May 4 the government changed the numbers to say it would spend the same amount of money to fertilize 25,000 hectares, thereby absorbing 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030 — which means each fertilized hectare would absorb an additional 52 tonnes of CO2.  …The funds will not go towards protecting old-growth forests or even trees in parks. 

Last week our volunteer committee for the local forest community was able to meet in person for the first time in two years and it was nice to enjoy the benefits of face-to-face meetings.  An additional benefit was very good news concerning profits arising from the current unusually high log prices. What was even more encouraging was the news that our managers had been concentrating on the lower productivity stands and were still able to make a reasonable profit during the last cut control period.  …I think this would also be an opportunity to try some more innovative forest practices and based on some interviews done with people attending the recent Forest industry convention in Vancouver there seems to be an interest in a new approach to forestry in B.C.

A scientist documenting threatened birds in a swath of temperate rainforest on Vancouver Island has lost her bid to have a court review provincial authorizations that allowed a logging company to construct several gates into the territory.  In an application for judicial review, Royann Petrell, an associate professor emerita of chemical and biological engineering at UBC, claimed the forest minister’s decision to allow Teal Cedar Products Ltd. to build 10 gates blocking access to the forest made her work impossible.  “The B.C. government doesn’t generally know where endangered birds and other wildlife are located,” said Petrell in a statement leading up to the court case. “Citizen scientists like me are trying to fill that gap before the province’s few remaining areas of old-growth forest are logged.” …Petrell and her colleagues have documented the presence of western screech owls and the marbled murrelet, a seabird that nests in the coastal old-growth forests of British Columbia.

Johanna Wagstaffe

The extreme weather events of 2021 are not far behind us. British Columbians witnessed record-breaking heat, destructive fires and devastating floods. What are the forces behind such extreme weather events? Do land management practices, such as clearcutting, play a role? How about fire suppression? On June 7, CBC Vancouver’s senior meteorologist and seismologist Johanna Wagstaffe will moderate Fires and Floods, a free, online UBC webinar about the impacts of forestry practices on climate change. Learn about the forestry practices that are shaping B.C. landscapes and how the profession can help mitigate the impact of extreme weather-related events. This UBC webinar is open to everyone but registration is required. For more information, please visit forestry.ubc.ca. Speakers: Dr. Lori Daniels – Professor of Forest Ecology and Dr. Younes Alila – Professor of forest hydrology and watershed management, UBC Faculty of Forestry.

Cape Mudge, BC – Environmental and cultural Guardians from the Nanwakolas Council’s six member First Nations are gathering in person for a week of specialized training with Indigenous, provincial and federal environmental experts, starting May 9. The training includes strategies to better protect local ecosystems and cultural resources within their territories, where presently, only 20 young Guardians are on duty to monitor eight million acres on Northern Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland south-central coast of the Great Bear Rainforest. The Guardian programs of the individual Nations … are supported by the Council’s Ha-ma-yas Stewardship Network (Ha-ma-yas), which aims to build indigenous’ stewardship capacity to ensure the effective management of cultural heritage resources, ecological values, and economic development opportunities. …The gathering … includes specialized training on land and water provided by current guardians, provincial natural resource officers, experts from the Hakai Institute, Canadian Coast Guard, Provincial Natural Resource Officers, and BC Institute of Technology. 

The number of trees that fell victim to Dutch elm disease in 2021 was up 25 per cent compared to the year before, according to Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment. “Dutch elm disease is well-established in eastern Saskatchewan and it continues to spread west,” Josh Pol, a forest health specialist with the Ministry of Environment’s Forest Service Branch, said in an interview Friday. “Currently, it has been detected as far west as the Outlook area.” In 2021, a buffer survey identified 570 trees that were removed in October and November, Pol said, an increase from 457 trees in 2020. He said the movement of firewood has a lot to do with it, and the weather can also influence the spread of insects. …As it does regularly, the ministry posted a request for proposals (RFP) on May 5, looking for professional tree care companies to remove and dispose of any trees found infected with Dutch elm disease…

After two years of COVID-19 restrictions, the Interior Logging Association (ILA) is back again with its 64th annual AGM and Trade Show on May 12, 13 and 14 at the Kamloops Powwow Grounds. “We are really excited to be able to have the show this year,” ILA general manager Todd Chamberlain says. …It’s no secret that the forestry sector has seen increasing challenges over the last few years, especially with rising fuel prices, escalating equipment costs, old growth deferrals, Bill 13 contracts and COVID. Despite those challenges, Chamberlain expressed that the ILA has been working even harder to support its members. …The Interior Logging 64th annual Trade Show indoor and outdoor displays will be held on Friday (May 13) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Kamloops Powwow Grounds, which is located at 100-345 Powwow Tr. in Kamloops.

Reps from CFKR and CCFS

A fundraising initiative between the Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies (CFKR) and the Cranbrook Community Forest Society (CCFS) will see the establishment of a permanent endowment fund created for the CCFS. CFKR has announced that they will be launching the new Cranbrook Community Forest Society legacy fund, which will support the CCFS with an annual grant, in perpetuity. The two organizations are hoping to raise $20,000 to establish the new fund. Several donations have already been made, including $500 from Jean-Ann Debreceni, who is a long-time user of the Community Forest, along with her husband, Joe, and a further donation of $2,500, from another dedicated community forest supporter, CFKR explained. …“The annual grant from this fund will support our ongoing work to maintain and enhance the Cranbrook Community Forest, which is such an important recreational, educational, and environmental resource in our community,” CCFS Board Chair Joseph Cross said.

Ken Hoyle remembers checking the thermometer on the back deck of his home in Hedley, B.C., in late June last year, watching as the mercury rose to 46 degrees during the sweltering heat dome.   …”Obviously Lytton was a real wake-up in terms of the rapidity at which a fire could go through a community,” said Hoyle, who heads the Hedley/Upper Similkameen Indian Band FireSmart community board.  …But as communities like Hedley work with a sense of urgency to protect themselves from wildfires, they are, to some degree, at the mercy of the province, which is responsible for cleaning up combustible material on Crown land.   …The steep, treed slopes surrounding the unincorporated community are a significant contributor to its fire risk, according to Bruce Blackwell, the principal forestry consultant of B.A. Blackwell & Associates.  Blackwell’s company assessed Hedley’s fire risk in 2020 and determined that the village’s location supports “higher levels of extreme fire behaviour.”

Zain Haq

A spokesperson for a group of activists who have shut down Vancouver intersections and bridges linking the North Shore is promising an escalation in actions in June with the purposeful intent to increase policing costs to a point that governments have to step in and respond to demands to address climate change.  Zain Haq, co-founder of Save Old Growth, said the organization’s fight is not with police, despite Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer saying publicly at two recent meetings that he is concerned about a ballooning cost to manage environment-related protests and concerns over safety of all involved.  “Our plan would be in June to escalate to a point where the cost is just too high for the police to see this as a public safety issue or as a protesting issue,” said Haq.

George Delisle

George Delisle’s …woodlot is a 15 minute drive west from Rock Creek in British Columbia’s Boundary region. The log home that he and Frauke recently moved into is within walking distance and sits on a property Delisle bought from his uncle in the 1980s. …Woodlots are restricted areas of woodland that are normally harvested as a source of fuel or lumber. The provincial program has been in operation for almost 75 years, but originally it was focused on giving farmers rights to forested Crown land. Then, in 1979, an amendment to the Forest Act enabled non-farmers to get woodlot tenures and the program grew dramatically. …Delisle also explains that he believes large-scale industrial forestry is too prescriptive. “Nature doesn’t work that way,” he says. …The Narwhal also reached out to the Forest Products Association of Canada, which declined to comment, and the BC Council of Forest Industries and Ministry of Forests, who did not respond. 

The Westbank First Nation’s forestry company is preparing to salvage log the site of last summer’s Mount Law wildfire in Glenrosa. Consultation documents being shared with Peachland council show two planned cutblocks of a combined size of 104 hectares. Multiple other smaller non-wildfire-salvage harvests are planned for the Jack Creek and Lacoma Lake areas. All the planned harvest areas are within the Westbank First Nation community forest. “It should be noted that Ntityix (WFN’s forestry company) have recently shown themselves to be stewards of the watershed through selective logging blocks and reclamation of legacy logging roads; one of the primary sources of sedimentation into the creeks,” said a report to Peachland council from the municipality’s operations director Shawn Grundy. …Members of Peachland’s council have in the past been vocally opposed to logging in watershed. The municipality, however, has no ability to block the work even if it were to formally oppose it.