Region Archives: Canada West

Kamloops, B.C. – British Columbia’s forestry sector, in collaboration with the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), is making significant strides to take action on climate change. To showcase the impacts of the work undertaken by FESBC and its project partners, FESBC has released an accomplishments update titled “Climate Solutions Powered By British Columbia’s Forest Workers.” The update shares how B.C.’s forest workers are helping drive climate change solutions and how, as a result, British Columbia and the world are seeing environmental, social, and economic wins.  …This latest Accomplishments Update from FESBC highlights three impactful projects featuring partnerships with BioNorth Energy in Fort St. James, Williams Lake First Nation, and Atli Resources LP on Vancouver Island. It showcases how local forestry workers are working to transform logging waste and low-value fibre into valuable green energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, all while supporting local economies and effectively reducing the province’s carbon footprint. 

British Columbia’s deputy chief forester has determined the allowable annual cut (AAC) level for Tree Farm Licence 41 (TFL) south of Terrace will remain at 128,000 cubic metres. Some key factors considered in making this determination included supporting sustainable forestry, economic viability of harvest areas, wildlife habitat, terrain stability, biodiversity, old forest health and cultural resources. To maintain sustainable forestry practices and deter overharvesting of cedar trees and in lower sloped areas, the new determination includes the following two partitions:  1) A maximum harvest of 76,800 cubic metres of the AAC may come from stands on slopes of less than 50%. 2) A maximum of 12,800 cubic metres of the AAC may be harvested from any cedar species. …The TFL overlaps the territory of the Haisla Nation, the Lax Kw’alaams Band, the Office of the Wet’suwet’en, the Skin Tyee Nation, and the Gitga’at, Metlakatla, Kitselas, Kitsumkalum and Wet’suwet’en First Nations.

The B.C. government is considering listing more than three dozen plants and animals as species at risk in a move that could allow officials to better protect critical habitat from clearcut logging, according to records The Narwhal obtained through a freedom of information request. Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, the B.C. government can set aside wildlife habitat areas where logging is limited or banned or establish wildlife conservation objectives forestry companies must consider in their operations. However, these tools can only be used to protect plants and animals listed as at-risk species under the act — a list that hasn’t been updated since 2006.

At the 2024 Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) conference in Vancouver Sept. 16-20, the forestry sector will be higher profile than usual, with multiple resolutions highlighting growing concerns from communities dependent on the industry. UBCM, which brings together local governments to influence provincial policy, is a vital forum where the voices of smaller, often rural municipalities are amplified. This year, forestry is back in focus—not necessarily on the minds of residents in Vancouver or Victoria, but certainly in the communities that depend on it for their economic survival… Kamloops’ resolution to link timber rights to local mills is, in many ways, a response to this very issue—trying to recapture control over local resources that, for too long, have benefited corporate interests far removed from the communities themselves.

Bryce J. Casavant

The British Columbia forestry policing services (officially known as the Compliance and Enforcement Branch (CEB) is the province’s primary environmental policing service. …Unfortunately, however, the forestry policing service in B.C. is facing critical challenges. Staffing is at historic lows, while officers are ill-equipped to do their jobs and are poorly supported. …I previously worked as a provincial constable in B.C. both as a senior forestry investigator and an armed conservation officer. …In my view, the hobbling of forestry policing services and timber management laws raises the important question: who polices the government itself? …In 2023, the B.C. government’s CEB executive issued a document titled General Order 5. …In essence, General Order #5 is an instruction to the forestry policing service that the B.C. government would prefer the service not to conduct investigations into any potential government wrongdoing. …

VICTORIA – An investigation into a complaint has found that the management of old-growth forests on Quadra Island needs to be improved to ensure enough old forests will be present on the island in the future. A representative of the Discovery Islands Forest Conservation Project complained to the Forest Practices Board that the remnants of old forest on Quadra Island are at risk of being harvested. The board investigated timber harvesting carried out by TimberWest Forest Corp., Okisollo Resources Ltd. and Younger Brothers Holdings. “While we found that each of the licensees did not comply with some aspect of forestry legislation, the bigger issue is that no one is responsible for monitoring or ensuring that Quadra Island’s old forests are conserved, or that enough mature forests are protected from logging so they can develop into old forest in the future,” said Keith Atkinson, chair, Forest Practices Board.

Mosaic Forest Management Press Release: Management of Old Forests on Quadra Island – Forest Practices Board Update

A few years after the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives published Robert “Bob” Arthur Williams’, “Restoring Forestry in B.C.”, four aged and scarred reformers met to ruminate over the future of B.C.’s forested lands. We were an unusual group. Bob Williams had been the Minister of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources during the historic first term of a NDP government… Another, Raymond “Ray” Travers, RPF, acknowledged by Bob as his advisor in forestry matters while serving as Minister. Further, Bob stated that the “Restoring” paper “…would not have been possible without his continuing deep knowledge and advice…”.  The other two in the room were Ronald Molander, an innovative semi-retired Port Alberni lumberman with considerable expertise in forest products industries, then there was the author, a semi-retired forest research economist. We had one notion in common: B.C.’s experiment in public forestry was failing and we felt it required major reform. We wanted to develop an alternative.

Kamloops, BC — The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is proud to announce over $8.5 million in funding for 178 fish and wildlife conservation and conservation stewardship projects across B.C. this year, with more than $1.5M allocated to projects in the Thompson Okanagan region. Among this year’s projects in the Thompson Okanagan region is a two-year study of how wildfires of different ages affect the distribution of owls in the Okanagan Valley. “Owls help regulate prey populations and are culturally significant to local Indigenous communities. They are threatened by wildfire, which removes forest features needed for breeding and hunting,” says project leader Karen Hodges of the University of British Columbia Okanagan. The project will survey which owl species are present in post-fire forests to determine where owl nests and what they eat in these burned landscapes to determine what features of burned forests are essential for habitat conservation.

British Columbia – In the remote, rugged, Northeastern terrain of B.C., nearly half of the world’s Stone’s sheep habitat can be found. These sheep and the ecosystem surrounding them have been supported through careful forest management practices since the 1970s. One such practice, jointly funded in recent years by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and Forest Enhancement Society of BC, is prescribed burning. …In May 2024, before the summer season of wildfires experienced throughout the province, Ridgeline Wildlife Enhancement Inc., on behalf of the Wild Sheep Society of BC, worked on the project to undertake two prescribed burns. They successfully enhanced over 600 hectares or 1,400 acres of Stone’s sheep habitat using prescribed burning treatments. The resulting post-burn habitat will improve forage (food for sheep) quality and reduce dense shrub cover (so the sheep can see predators from a distance).

After weeks of what one community advocate calls “stringing contractors along,” contract loggers for Tolko will return to work Monday. Angie Clowry is an advocate from a former logging family. Tolko director of communications Kyle Happy confirmed Southern Interior scales have been closed since July 22 to get inventories in line and manage log quality, cost and market risks. …“These decisions are not taken lightly; however, are necessary to sustain our business for the future,” said Happy. Tolko will be taking deliveries on Sept. 9. …Clowry says contract loggers are frustrated over how the situation was handled by Tolko. “I realize they’re a business and they’re forecasting, but they also have to remember that this is money that is super important to all these families. …Tolko also confirmed that contractors in the Cariboo region remain shut down as inventory levels are high.

On September 12, 2024 at the Kelowna Innovation Centre, Dr. Keith Smettem, Emeritus Professor, University of Western Australia will present Climate Change, Forest Fires and Water: An Ecohydrological Perspective. After the forest fires and then landslides of 2021, the connection between wildfires and destructive water events is a vivid reality for many people living in BC. Now, UBC Okanagan is bringing in Australian expert, Dr. Keith Smettem, to explain the science between climate change, wildfires, water management and how they can permanently change landscapes. Dr. Smettem is a world leader in ecohydrology—the study of how the movement of water impacts the land. Hosted by UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, Dr. Smettem will detail the connections of climate change, forests and water with his knowledge in ecohydrology. He will also discuss potential mitigation strategies for the Okanagan Valley.

The Canadian National Railway must pay the B.C. government $16.2 million for causing a destructive 2015 wildfire in the Fraser Canyon, the province’s highest court has ruled. B.C.’s fire manager determined the approximately 2,400-hectare blaze was sparked as a result of illegal rail cutting near Lytton – the community that would be devastated by another wildfire six years later – and ordered CN Rail to reimburse the province for lost land value, firefighting costs and other expenses in 2018. The company accepted responsibility for accidentally igniting the flames during a period of high winds and extreme fire danger, but challenged the amount of the penalty, accusing the B.C. Wildfire Service of exacerbating the situation with a controlled burn that led to additional spread. CN Rail’s arguments were first rejected by the province’s Forest Appeals Commission in 2020, then the B.C. Supreme Court in 2022, then the B.C. Court of Appeal last week.

Robert Dennis Sr.

Port Alberni will be hosting Indigenous leaders, forestry professionals and policymakers from across the province for the first-ever Indigenous Forestry Conference. The inaugural event will take place Sept. 10 and 11, 2024. The event aims to optimize Indigenous participation in the forest economy by uniting leaders, forestry professionals and policymakers to discuss key issues and showcase successful Indigenous-led conservation initiatives. By highlighting both the successes and challenges faced by Indigenous communities, the conference aims to chart a course towards more inclusive and sustainable forestry management. Wahmeesh (Ken Watts), the elected Chief Councillor for Port Alberni’s Tseshaht First Nation… will be one of the event speakers, along with Dennis and Dallas Smith, the president of Nanwakolas Council in northern Vancouver Island. …There will also be some discussions on how traditional Indigenous knowledge can be merged with modern forestry practices.

The City of Terrace is backing a bid by the Kitsumkalum First Nation to have three logging tenures tied to Skeena Sawmills transferred to its control. Although Kitsumkalum purchased the licences as part of the deal it struck to take the closed Skeena Sawmills out of bankruptcy this spring, control must now be formally transferred by the provincial government. That could take as long as six months and Kitsumkalum is now working through the necessary steps, Kitsumkalum deputy chief councillor Troy Sam told city councillors Aug. 22. “We’re in it for the long haul,” Sam told council. …He said there won’t be a resumption of operations anytime soon as Kitsumkalum continues to work on a business plan. But Kitsumkalum does want to start logging as soon as it can to raise the money to put an eventual business plan in place.

Jamie Stephen

Oh, let me count the many reasons why this is completely false and CBC should be ashamed for presenting conjecture as fact [Logging is the 3rd highest emitter in Canada. It should be measured that way, a new report says] . The arguments against timber harvest make absolutely no sense, since it is wildfires that are by far Canada’s largest source of GHG emissions. Timber that is harvested can’t burn in a wildfire and active management of forests reduces wildfire risk (and associated GHG emissions). Let’s look at reality, rather than an ideological position against forestry by three people with ZERO background in forest management and financed by US interests. First, who owns Canada’s forest resource? 94% is publicly-owned, which means it is the provinces, not the ‘logging’ (i.e., forest products) industry that is ultimately responsible for land management decisions. Canada is by far the world leader in certified, sustainably managed forests. No one is claiming that timber harvest for forest products in Canada leads to deforestation.

BRITISH COLUMBIA — It’s as regular as it depressing. Every summer Canada suffers from major wildfires. …After a 10-week wildfire season in 2017, former BC Forests minister George Abbott filed a 108-recommendation report outlining steps the province could take to reduce wildfire risk. …These reports and others highlight challenges between levels of government, better training of firefighters, updated technology and equipment — and “fuel management.” …Canada — and BC — are pretty good at fighting wildfires, but we aren’t very good at minimizing their size, spread and duration. That’s where “fuel management” comes in. …Want an example of how big a difference fuel management can make? Look to Finland, a country that in latitude, geography and tree species is comparable with the B.C. Interior. …And guess what, the “fuel” — the brush and hazard trees thinned out through this common sense practice — is directed to Finnish pulp and paper mills to keep them running and competitive.

Dutch elm disease has been detected for the first time in Edmonton, leaving thousands of trees vulnerable to a fatal infestation the city expects to fight for years to come. The fungus has been detected in several trees in the Killarney neighbourhood in northeast Edmonton, and along the Yellowhead Corridor East. As of Aug. 30, a total of four trees have tested positive for the disease, the city said in a statement Tuesday. Dutch elm disease is a costly and deadly fungus that poses a threat to all species of elm trees in Alberta, including 90,000 elm trees owned by the city. In some of Edmonton’s mature neighbourhoods, boulevards are lined solely with old, sweeping elms. Mark Beare, the city’s director of infrastructure operations, said city staff are preparing for a prolonged battle with the destructive fungus.

Additional coverage in the Edmonton Journal: Dutch elm disease detected in Edmonton — how to prevent its spread

In June, The Narwhal filed a freedom of information request asking for the total amount of unauthorized harvesting documented between Jan. 1, 2020 and June 10, 2024. While the requested records have not yet been released, a government official said the B.C. Forests Ministry may not be able to provide a clear picture of how many hectares forestry companies have logged without authorization in recent years. That’s because the province doesn’t consistently track unauthorized logging by forestry companies, according to information the official shared with The Narwhal through the freedom of information process. Some case files mention the volume of timber taken, while others quantify the area logged — and there’s no way to accurately convert volume to area or vice versa, the official explained.

As climate chaos intensifies, B.C.’s forests are changing rapidly and not for the better as fires, drought, insects and diseases take their toll. Ministry of Forest Kamloops Region entomologist, Lorraine Maclauchlan and the Kootenay Boundary region staff began seeing woodborers attacking green Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine, Larch and younger lodgepole pine trees. Last year, Lorraine did a small trapping trial and this year, larger trials are underway in the Southern Interior. They are using 12 combination panel-funnel traps at each site with various types of semiochemical compounds, including pheromones, to attract the beetles. Their goal is to determine which lure works best and to learn more about the diversity of the beetles in these damaged stands.

NORTH BAY, ON – Sustainable Canadore’s latest initiative, “Our Forest: A Living Lab for All,” is a finalist for an International Green Gown Award in the Nature Positive Category. The project focused on creating a 10-year forest management plan for the 460 acres of forested land at its College Drive campus. This is Sustainable Canadore’s second Living Labs project funded by Colleges and Institutes Canada through its ImpAct-Climate initiative. Using a boots-on-the ground approach, the project developed a forest inventory, data collection, and mapping on forest health, structure, and composition in order to obtain a Forest Council Stewardship certification.