Region Archives: Canada West

The owner of Canada’s largest forestry company has moved to take control of a massive pulp and paper empire. Jackson Wijaya currently owns dozens of pulp and paper mills across Canada, the U.S., Brazil and Europe under the Domtar Group — formally known as Paper Excellence. Wijaya’s intention to take direct control over Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), an Indonesian and Chinese-based multinational currently owned by his father. For years, Domtar and APP have denied any relationship with one another. Wijaya’s now open intention to control the two companies has raised questions among environmental watchdogs that have long claimed APP has exerted hidden control over Canadian forestry assets. …Jennifer Johnson, a Domtar spokesperson said Wijaya’s father had appointed him to be the sole beneficiary of APP as part of his “succession planning.” …“Mr. Wijaya will not hold any leadership position within APP, and APP and Domtar will continue to operate as distinct entities.”

Additional coverage in the Globe and Mail, by Nicolas Van Praet: Paper Excellence owner to take control of contentious Asia family company, raising environmental concerns

Canada’s largest lumber manufacturer announced a revised plan to reduce clear cutting in the West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain areas, but opponents are still not impressed with the possibility of losing some of the popular recreation trails. West Fraser Timber had originally planned to clearcut 468 hectares near West Bragg Creek and another 412 hectares in the Moose Mountain Trail Networks. The total harvest planned for both areas west of Calgary, slated to start in October 2026, is now set for 556 hectares, marking a 37% reduction. …While the reduced clearcut is welcome news, a local group advocating for the protection of wildlife is still fighting for the project to be shut down entirely. “This needs to become a protected area,” said Lucy Curtis, vice president of Bragg Creek Wild. …The final plan will be submitted to government in spring 2026 prior to harvest operations, which are currently scheduled to begin in October 2026.

…After swimming upriver to spawn, salmon in coastal British Columbia rainforests are fed upon by bears and birds and other predators who litter the forest floor with half-eaten carcasses; these fertilize Sitka spruce and Douglas fir and literally become part of the forest itself… In addition to sustaining life on Earth, these ecosystem services generate valuable goods [and] have poured tens of billions into B.C.’s economy over the past century. But those profits have come at a steep environmental cost… The most obvious solution, protecting large swaths of nature from resource-hungry humans, simply reverses the problem. …Ban logging to protect a forest? OK, who will pay next month’s rent for those loggers? Where will that money come from? And what will the rest of us use to build our houses? …To truly escape the vicious cycle, you’d have to make conservation profitable. Which brings us to a place called the Great Bear Sea.

The 2025 TREK BC GRAVEL SERIES on Vancouver Island, proudly hosted by Mosaic Forest Management announced its racing schedule today. “For 2025, we are taking things to a new level with the continuation of our great partnership with Trek Bicycles and Mosaic Forest Management.”, said race director, Jon Watkin. “With the expansion of the series to 4 epic events, we want to highlight the Island as the best gravel cycling destination in the world and give a ride experience that will create lasting fond memories.” Through a continued comprehensive partnership with Mosaic Forest Management, the series offers exclusive private gravel roads in the remote wilderness, which will feature muscle aching terrain, but also awe-inspiring views that can only be found on the West Coast of BC. …Mosaic Forest Management continues to be a foundational partner and sees the BC Gravel Series event as a great opportunity to connect with the community.

It’s easy to spot contrasts in the forest landscape around Jasper National Park. Countless coniferous trees with thick, deep green branches line roads and mountainsides in areas spared from July’s wildfire. … There are signs of new life under the thin layer of snow now on the ground, but winter’s deep freeze will soon slow down any regrowth. “The landscape, although really fragile, was greening up pretty quickly, which was kind of encouraging — a sign that there is still a seed base on the ground for things to happen,” said Marcia DeWandel, a Parks Canada vegetation restoration specialist. …Flames ignited early in the season, DeWandel said, so “we had a lot of our grasses, and our early succession and fire-adapted plants, come back right away.” …Parks Canada planted 5,000 Douglas fir seedlings in fire-damaged areas in Jasper National Park to supplement natural forest regrowth over the past two months.

When Northern Alberta Institute of Technology instructor Rodger DeChamplain first arrived at the Kidney Lake camp as a student in the fall of 1990, it was a rustic learning environment. Students dug trenches to keep their food cool and away from critters, because of the lack of electricity at the site for refrigerators. Thanks to a significant investment from West Fraser through the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, those are now a thing of the past. This summer, the camp, located 50 kilometres northwest of Whitecourt, underwent significant changes. Forest Technology students arrived in September to find modular lodging units, including 14 four-room bunkhouses, three classrooms and a food storage building. …Before the rebuild, students had to live in close quarters, with up to four people per cabin. Now, students now have their own 100-square-foot room, complete with a washroom and shower. …[Dean Dr. Agatha Ojimelukewe] hopes this change will help broaden interest in the program. 

The Last Woodsmen premiere, November 15, 9/8c, Discovery Channel. A new series centered on the real-life lumberjack world made up of crews who risk life and limb for a big payday. Cameras follow these loggers as they venture through the remote wilderness with only axes and hand-held power saws to take down trees, which could be worth up to $70,000 each. At the same time, sustainability is important to them. Loggers will plant three seedlings for every tree harvested with the idea a regenerative forest is a healthy forest. This fascinating look takes viewers into one of the most dangerous jobs with crews braving the elements each day. At the center of the series is Cypress Creek Logging owner and operator Jared Douglas, who puts everything on the line to harvest the largest timber in the world. …The veteran logger must secure $1.1 million in profit or risk losing his house and Campbell River, BC-based company. 

The Squamish Community Forest hosted an open house on November 13. The event offered a space for locals to get the inside scoop on the forest’s first year of operations and share their thoughts on what’s next. In Dec. 2022, the Squamish Community Forest received a 25-year licence from the Province of British Columbia. This licence, called a Community Forest Agreement, gives them the exclusive right to harvest timber in a specific area. They are allowed to cut up to 20,000 cubic metres of timber each year. The licence can be renewed every 10 years, ensuring long-term forest management. According to Sarah Weaver, project manager for the Squamish Community Forest, the community forest operates under an area-based tenure, covering forested lands east of Squamish, including areas near Cat Lake, Garibaldi Park, and the Sea to Sky Gondola. “This is the first-ever collaboration between the municipality and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation,” said Board Chair Armand Hurford.

Ken Kalesnikoff, representing ForestryWorksforBC, presented to Council and highlighted the vital role of the forestry sector in British Columbia, emphasizing its contributions to climate change mitigation, natural disaster prevention and remediation, and economic stability. The City will join other communities in supporting this initiative by sending a letter to the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of State, requesting a meeting to discuss forestry’s impact on the region.

ALBERTA — The controversial logging bridge over the Highwood River in Kananaskis Country has been removed. Back in August West Fraser Timber started removing the bridge and remediating the area after consulting with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The controversy arose because proper approval wasn’t given to Spray Lake Sawmills, the original company that constructed the bridge. …The Highwood River is also a key waterway for Bull trout and Westslope Cutthroat trout. Both are species at risk. The bridge is now approximately 100 metres back from the river with West Fraser planning to remove it at a later date. However, the company is currently engaging stakeholders to refine the draft harvest of trees and is forecasting a new bridge to be put in place by the summer of 2025. West Fraser plans to have the revised plan for public review in the spring of 2025.

The steep forested slope on the west side of Gyro Park is carpeted with a tangle of dry wood and other debris – the perfect wildfire fuel. The City of Nelson’s wildfire resilience program co-ordinator Rob Leland explained that the city is piloting a unique way of removing wildfire fuel in steep urban areas. …Leland showed media and visitors an unusual remote controlled tractor designed to operate safely with a small footprint on steep terrain. It is capable of chipping woody materials in place and transporting the chips out of the treatment area for disposal off-site. The owner of the machine, contractor Joern Wingender of Flow State Adapations, said it is like a Swiss army knife: it’s a motor on tracks that can have various tools, including a chipper or a mulcher attached to it. Using a remote-controlled winch, it can drag bunched debris out of a hard-to-reach location.

With the growing scale of wildfires, many First Nations are demanding a stronger role in wildfire response. Disproportionate impacts on Indigenous communities in Canada are motivating these demands: although approximately 5 % of the population identifies as Indigenous, about 42 % of wildfire evacuation events occur communities that are more than half Indigenous. In BC, new pathways for cooperative wildfire response between First Nations and provincial agencies are emerging. …Our research highlights the diverse existing capacities, priority opportunities, and processes required to enhance cooperative pathways. Within First Nations communities, existing capacities include local knowledge, firefighting experience, equipment, funding, relationships, and leadership – an overlooked but fundamental capacity. Priority opportunities include ways to build capacity within and beyond wildfire response, such as fully equipped response crews, full-time year-round wildfire management crews, Emergency Management Coordinators, First Nations Liaisons, and cross-trained wildland and structural crews. 

The Truck Loggers Association of BC celebrates 80 years in January at their annual convention. Early bird pricing ends tomorrow! This year’s event offers TLA members and non-members an all-inclusive registration pass, granting access to all sessions and events throughout the convention. Tickets to Suppliers Night and Lunch on the Trade Show Floor can be purchased on an individual basis.

ALBERTA — West Fraser Timber released a report this week, entitled “What We Heard,” summarizing public feedback from an open house in Cochrane last May and also what adjustments they’re contemplating to logging plans for West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain. Opponents of any logging activity in the recreational area were not placated by the report. West Fraser has revised the planned 2026-27 cut downward by 37%. …West Fraser’s Chief Forester for Alberta, Richard Briand, told the crowd at the Cochrane meeting, that “Input from folks like you can really be helpful.” West Fraser (formerly Spray Lake Sawmills) had planned to clearcut 900 hectares, near West Bragg Creek and another 450 ha. in the Moose Mountain Trail Networks. The total harvest planned for both areas, slated to start in October 2026 is now 556 ha. …“Bragg Creek Wild believes that the West Bragg Creek/Moose Mountain area should be designated as a provincial park.

The provincial government is seeking contractors to restore hundreds of kilometres of land where fireguards were created during the 2023 wildfire season. The Forestry and Parks Ministry recently issued several requests for proposals, looking to return the land to a near-natural state. The work focuses on sites where large wildfires burned near Edson, Alta., about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton, and in the High Level forest area in northwestern Alberta. “Generally, at the North American level, it’s well understood that rehabilitation of fireguards is a really important thing to do,” said Jed Kaplan, a professor in the University of Calgary’s earth, energy and environment department. …”By reclaiming the land, the province aims to prevent soil erosion, stabilize the area, and encourage new growth, helping the land recover quickly,” said Alexandru Cioban, spokesperson for the ministry.

Paul Manley

NANAIMO, BC — Both the federal and provincial governments have committed to protecting 30% of BC’s biodiversity by 2030, but the Nanaimo region’s protected areas currently fall well short of that – less than 2%. …Some of the greatest challenges in our region stem from the E&N land grant of 1887. More than 130 years ago 8,000 square kilometres of Vancouver Island was transferred to private ownership as part of the deal to build the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway which was a condition for BC to join the Canadian confederation. …Forest companies have been the biggest beneficiaries of the land grant and have realized massive land value increases in the last decade. Mosaic Forest Management manages the planning, operations and product sales for TimberWest and Island Timberlands. Because these lands are private, they fall under the private managed forest land regulations which are less stringent than the B.C. Forest Act which covers crown land.

WILLIAMS LAKE, BC — The BC Wildfire Service and the Cariboo Chilcotin Forest District, in collaboration with Alkali Lake Resource Management, will be conducting pile burning above Soda Creek Road and Tolko and West Fraser mills sites. The project, which includes 27.7 hectares of manual labor near private residences, is designed to reduce the wildfire hazard in an area near Williams Lake as well as to help restore grown-in Interior Douglas-fir stands to a more natural state. The scope of the work involves removing the surface and ladder fuels, as well as pruning and thinning out the stand to create crown separation and reduce the risk of high-intensity crown fires. …There is also a project planned for Puntzi Lake Airport. Both projects could begin any day, depending on the weather, and will continue until March 20th of next year.