Region Archives: Canada West

Jennifer Houghton

City of Powell River councillors were introduced to a proposed New Forest Act, which would change the way that forests in BC are managed. On June 18, Jennifer Houghton, campaign director from Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society, introduced the act and its implications for public and private forested lands and community watersheds. “The New Forest Act is a citizen-developed legislative proposal that has been under development for several years, with input from foresters, scientists, rural residents and people from communities across BC,” said Houghton. “I’m here to discuss the larger forestry system that governs BC, how it affects communities, and a proposal for a replacement.” Houghton said she wanted to focus on three questions. The first was: what problem is the proposal trying to solve? The second was: what is the New Forest Act? The third was: why would it matter to communities like Powell River?

I recently had the opportunity to see firsthand how Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (CCR), a joint venture of three First Nations, is transforming stands of burned trees just outside Williams Lake, BC, into a fibre source for wood pellet and pulp & paper production. We recorded the visit so that others could experience what we saw. …The recovered deadwood is chipped, ground, and used in pulp, paper and wood pellet production. WPAC members will take the lower-end fibre and pelletize it for use in a renewable, low-carbon energy source that can help displace fossil fuels in heat and power generation. It’s such a good new story. CCR is turning what might otherwise be seen as waste into jobs, economic development, community pride, and contributions to the biomass industry. At the same time, they are strengthening partnerships across industry and government—collaboration that is essential to scaling these solutions.

Did you know that BC has nearly 600 native bee species? This is among the highest diversity in Canada. The Southern Interior alone has around 400 species. The forest provides both forage opportunities and nesting habitat for bees. Many bee species live in trees, specifically cracks, bark sloughs and small crevices. So snags! We knew they were good for something. Over the decomposition of a standing tree it provides different types of standing habitat. As the tree rots, the bark begins to slough. Sloughing Bark on a snag is an important old forest attribute. While we can’t maintain everything in a block, keeping snags provides habitat for a variety of bees and other insects.

People and communities in B.C. will be safer and better informed about flood hazards as the first phase of new floodplain maps is completed. The Province, in partnership with Natural Resources Canada and the Fraser Basin Council, has released new floodplain maps, covering five waterways and 58 communities, under the Government of Canada’s Flood Hazard Identification Mapping Program. …“Floodplain maps do more than chart where water may go, they reveal where risk lives, reflect how our world is changing and shape how we prepare for the future,” said Randene Neill, B.C.’s Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. “Updating these maps through the mapping program is one more step in implementing the B.C. Flood Strategy. They help turn insight into action and can go a long way in helping communities make informed choices, plan ahead and act quickly if the time comes.”

I was very happy to read the article about the New Forest Act tour that is coming to Courtenay’s Stan Hagen Theatre on June 15. According to the article, “the New Forest Act is a proposed legislative framework that aims to address long-term instability in BC’s forest sector.” …The risk of catastrophic flooding is one example of instability caused by current forestry practices, and local taxpayers are on the hook for emergency services and repair efforts. Another example is the millions of dollars local taxpayers had to pay for a deep water intake pipe on Comox Lake, to address the sedimentation…. That sedimentation was caused by forestry practices in the watershed. …I also appreciated reading that “the New Forest Act is not about eliminating the forestry industry…[but rather to] manage forests instead to protect essential services like water regulation, biodiversity and flood prevention.” …Both communities and forestry companies themselves are saying that there is a need for reform.

Ravi Parmar

B.C. environmental organizations have expressed outrage over comments made by the minister of forests about caribou and old-growth during an interview in Revelstoke last Tuesday. …His comments included calling caribou “not the smartest animal” for fleeing long distances when disturbed, as well as pointing to wildfires as a main cause of destruction for caribou habitat, and claiming that logging in B.C. today relies on far fewer “1950s-style” cutblocks.  Black Press Media fact-checked these claims from the minister and found they all have inaccuracies. …Provincial data indicates that while fire is the leading disturbance for caribou in northern B.C., forest extraction remains the biggest threat for southern B.C. herds’ habitat, as well as for central B.C. herds’ wider matrix habitat. …Anneke Rosch said that “blaming caribou is a new low” for the minister and B.C. government, along with that “sustainable forestry isn’t just for caribou — it’s needed for the future of forestry jobs too.”

Osoyoos Forestry Nursery, a one-of-a-kind tree-growing initiative, held its grand opening Tuesday. “This is our first green project, so we can stand up as Osoyoos Indian Band and be proud that we’re not just cutting down trees, we’re one of the few First Nations — in fact, the only one that will be growing millions of trees each year,” Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band, said. The new 10.5 hectare project is in partnership with K&C Silviculture, operating on solar energy and recycled canal water at 7637 Tucelnuit Dr. The aim is to give back to the environment through wildfire reforestation with funding from Government of Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program. … Peter Fleet, Head of Forestry Operations for Nk’Mip Forestry said that many First Nations groups have been involved in forests, but not growing trees. He said giving back to the land is a foundational principle to the OIB and community.

Kim Haakstad is stepping into a familiar debate with renewed urgency. As president and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI), she is helping lead a province-wide campaign to rebuild public support for forestry. COFI represents British Columbia’s forest industry, advocating for policy, sustainability and economic growth across the sector. Haakstad says their new campaign is about reframing forestry’s role in a changing province. “Forestry is a solution for many of the challenges that British Columbia faces.” That message comes at a critical time. Mill closures and production cuts have shaken rural communities. The pressure is no longer abstract. It is local, visible and growing. “Local communities are on the front lines of the crisis we’re facing in forestry right now,” Haakstad says, warning that without changes, more closures will follow. The campaign brings together industry groups and advocacy organizations. Its goal is simple: remind British Columbians what is at stake.

The Government of Saskatchewan announced immediate actions to strengthen the province’s wildfire strategy in response to MNP’s independent review of the 2025 wildfire season. In October 2025, the Government of Saskatchewan commissioned MNP to conduct an independent review of the 2025 wildfire season. MNP was responsible for evaluating the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s (SPSA) wildfire and emergency prevention, preparedness, response, evacuation, and recovery strategy.  Participants in the review included members of affected communities, emergency responders, Indigenous organizations, representatives from the SPSA, provincial ministries, municipal and regional partners. …The Government of Saskatchewan’s response to the recommendations includes 11 actions the SPSA has been directed to implement immediately. The Future Preparedness and Implementation Unit has been established within the SPSA to advance and monitor the implementation of the 11 actions directed by the Government of Saskatchewan.

Additional coverage in CBC News by Randi LaRocque: Northern emergency co-ordinator says Sask.’s new wildfire grant program is ‘a drop in the bucket’

Woodlots BC is focused on practical action amid industry uncertainty
Executive Director Gord Chipman reports Woodlots BC is concentrating on issues it can influence, including signage, no-net-loss policies, private/agricultural land issues, and the woodlot levy. At the same time, he expresses concern about policy uncertainty, government delays, DRIPA-related issues, tenure transfer backlogs, and broader challenges facing BC’s forest sector. Read the Almanac for these stories and more.

• Nearly $1.5 million in forestry and wildfire projects are planned
  Forest Investment Program projects and Wildfire Risk Reduction planned in 6 woodlots.
• A new forest insurance opportunity
  The Canadian Forest Owners Association is spearheading a program to provide coverage for wildfire and insect damage on woodlots. 
• Public access to woodlot roads remains a complex issue
  The use of gates on woodlot roads and public access.
• Woodlot program leaders recognized
  Mark Clark and Tom Bradley named the 2026 Foundational Woodlotters.
• Save the date
  The 2026 Woodlots BC Conference and AGM will be held October 1–3 at Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Resort in Parksville, BC. 

Amber Peters

B.C. is “failing to preserve ecological integrity” in its provincial parks and the parks system itself is not ready for climate change as old growth forest continues to fall, says a biologist with Valhalla Wilderness Society. Amber Peters said old growth clearcutting has continued throughout the province and locally despite the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel’s recommendations released in 2020 calling for a halt to the practice. She said three of the government-appointed Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel scientists who identified at-risk old growth for priority deferrals in 2021 wrote a follow-up report in 2023 revealing that over 50 per cent of the most at-risk old growth identified has been logged or is targeted for logging. …“A film called BC is burning is claiming that we need to prevent forests from becoming ‘over-mature.’ … Forest Minister Ravi Parmar has advocated for ‘thinning’ in parks and old growth areas, parroting the forest industry narrative,” she said.

©TD Stories

According to Keith Clarke, there hasn’t been a wildfire in the valley south of the Mary Lake subdivision of Whitehorse, Yukon for over 100 years. But as climate change causes hotter summers and drier springs, he knows the risk is increasing. …“It is no longer a question of if a wildfire comes up from the south. It is a question of when,” he says. …the territorial government has been working on the Whitehorse South Fuel Break since 2020. Once complete, it will form a 20-kilometre buffer along the southern periphery of the city. …The Fuel Break is an area that has been clear-cut, scraped clean of all vegetation, slicing through the boreal forest that surrounds the city. …The fuel break is a kilometre and a half wide in some places because wind bourne embers can travel long distances… To slow a wildfire even more, the territorial government is planting aspen trees where the conifers have been removed. [This story may require a subscription for full access]

On his first visit to Revelstoke, B.C.’s minister of forests spoke Tuesday about his hopes for local saw mills, old-growth and caribou protection. Ravi Parmar, also the province’s deputy government house leader, had just arrived to town on June 9 after a visit to the Pacific Woodtech mill in Golden. One of his first stops in Revelstoke was the Downie Street Development, where the Revelstoke Community Housing Society met Parmar to showcase the major 166-unit housing project and its use of B.C. lumber. Black Press Media, tipped that the minister was visiting, got 20 minutes interviewing him as it poured. Parmar spoke highly of Gorman Group, which has owned Revelstoke’s Downie Timber and Selkirk Cedar mills since 1990. These operations are the “lifeblood” of rural communities, he said. …Parmar invited British Columbians to walk in the shoes of forestry workers, and consider the balance of supporting the lumber industry while also prioritizing biodiversity and ecology.

Gord Johns

As the federal government funds 10 new wildfire-fighting aircrafts, Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns is celebrating it as a win. Johns has been calling on the government to establish a national aerial firefighting plan for years. The government announced it is funding four aerial firefighting air tankers, one birddog plane, five heavy lift helicopters and two support assets as part of the aerial firefighting force. Provincial and territorial firefighting agencies can request access to the fleet when they need it. The 2025 budget announced $316.7 million over five years to establish the fleet, something Johns said could help his riding when the budget was announced. …Johns said while leasing aircrafts with companies including Conair Group Inc., Coldstream Helicopters, and VIH Helicopters is an important step, he wants the government to have its own firefighting fleet. “We will continue pushing the federal government to work with Canadian companies like Coulson Aviation…,” said Johns. 

The Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF) is planning what its forester described as a “hockey stick”-shaped landscape fuel break south of Whistler, using a mix of proposed harvesting blocks and fuel-treatment areas to slow potential wildfire pathways into the community. At a May 26 information session, forester Abe Litz said the CCF’s Strategic Threat Analysis Map identifies “Fire Highway” corridors where modelling suggests fire could move toward Whistler-area neighbourhoods and infrastructure. “The idea is to create massive fuel breaks surrounding Whistler,” Litz said. “These are the high-risk fire pathways, these are where the [models] show fire is likely to burn and travel into the community.” …“The idea is to harvest blocks that have harvest opportunity,” he said. “In between, where there’s younger stands that don’t have a harvest opportunity, we want to go in and do fuel management [prescriptions] to reduce the amount of fuel.”

If you’re a student in BC studying forestry, skilled trades, or natural resource management, don’t miss this opportunity. The COFI Forestry Scholarship supports passionate students like you who are committed to advancing a sustainable forest sector. At COFI, we’re committed to supporting the next generation of forestry professionals. As part of our mission, we’re helping students across British Columbia pursue post-secondary education or training in skilled trades related to the forest industry. In 2026, COFI will award $2,000 scholarships to students in British Columbia interested in forestry-related studies. These scholarships are available to students from all regions, including rural communities, coastal towns, and urban centres, and are intended to support their educational and career goals. This year’s application deadline is June 26th.

Jennifer Houghton says only a new Forest Act, radically different from the current one, will fix B.C.’s declining timber supply and the faltering forest economy in rural communities. That decline, she says, includes not only dwindling timber supply and mill closures but altered landscapes, growing fire danger, increased flooding, worsening drought impacts, shrinking employment, and increasing pressure on communities that historically depended on forestry. “These problems,” she says, but those outcomes are connected by the way the industry and the regulation of it are structured. …Houghton was the main speaker at the Nelson 2026 New Forest Act Roadshow, traveling to 12 communities throughout June. …The group is promoting a new Forest Act for the province in which ecological balance would replace timber flow as the central driver of all forestry activity. She said the new act is not a protest or a slogan but a practical roadmap to more economically healthy forest communities.

Jason Fisher, Susan Mulkey & Jeff Reyden

Kaslo, B.C. – The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) presented its inaugural Community Forest Project of the Year Award to the Kaslo & District Community Forest Society’s (KDCFS) ‘Jimi Crack Corn’ forest enhancement project. The KDCFS received the award during the 2026 BC Community Forest Association Conference and AGM in Vernon last week. “In celebration of our tenth anniversary, we created the Community Forest Project of the Year Award to recognize the leadership, innovation, and collaboration that community forests bring to forest stewardship across British Columbia,” said Jason Fisher, Executive Director of the Forest Enhancement Society of BC. …Completed during the winter of 2024-2025, the Jimi Crack Corn project focused on fuel mitigation, recreational values, and wildlife habitat enhancement around the community of Kaslo. 

Honourable Ravi Parmar: Nature Cowichan is focused on education and conservation. We are one of about 70 naturalist groups in the province under the umbrella of BC Nature. …Our membership is a sample of the concerned citizens — concerned about the state of our forest industry. Last month, our local newspaper ran an open letter to you suggesting that you and your staff read Suzanne Simard’s latest book: When the Forest Breathes. Also last month, Creatively United ran an excellent webinar “Balancing Nature Needs with Fire Protection at Home and in Our Forests”. …I hope you are aware of THE NEW FORESTRY ACT PROJECT, and I hope you will take note that we want to see a change to what the word FORESTRY means. …On May 15, we read that $12.4 million dollars is coming to B.C. from the federal government… This is the opportunity to incorporate some ecology-based innovations into the forestry industry.

The rain this weekend … has certainly reduced the fire danger rating in B.C. The precipitation, even though it varied in different regions, was widespread throughout the province. According to Taylor Colman, fire information officer at the BC Wildfire Service, the rain lowered the fire rating from high and extreme to moderate in Chilcotin, the Peace Region, the South Thompson, and the Fraser Canyon. “The rain rehydrated those lighter forest fuels such as grasses, needles, brush, anything on the surface layer of the forest floor and then the duration and the amount was enough to penetrate into the deeper layers of the forest floor as well,” Colman explained. “… so that reduced the fire danger rating in those areas of concern.” …There are currently 16 active wildfires in B.C.

Vernon, B.C. – The BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) hosted its Conference and Annual General Meeting in Vernon last week with a completely sold-out event. The three-day gathering brought together community forest leaders, First Nations partners, industry representatives, and supporters from across the province to connect and explore the challenges and opportunities of community forestry in the years ahead. …During the event, the Nakusp and Area Community Forest (NACFOR) was recognized for outstanding leadership in community forestry, receiving the 2026 Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry. Additionally, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC presented its inaugural Community Forest Project of the Year Award to the Kaslo & District Community Forest Society for its Jimi Crack Corn wildfire risk reduction project. …This annual gathering also provided valuable opportunities for networking, collaboration, and knowledge sharing among community forests, government representatives, forestry professionals, researchers, and partner organizations.

Additional daily coverage is available on the BC Community Forest Assn Facebook page.

When BC’s community forestry leaders gather each year, one of the sector’s highest honours is the Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry. Established in 2016, the award recognizes the community forest that best exemplifies the values of British Columbia’s community forestry program—leadership, innovation, local economic opportunity, stewardship, and a passion for community forestry. The award is presented jointly by the BC Community Forest Association and the Ministry of Forests. Recipients receive provincial recognition and a $10,000 grant in support of their work.

The award is named after Robin Hood—not the legendary outlaw of Sherwood Forest, but a respected British Columbia forester, woodlot operator, and early champion of the community forestry movement. Hood was deeply involved in both the woodlot and community forest sectors and was widely admired for his belief in local stewardship, long-term thinking, and the connection between healthy forests and healthy communities. Colleagues remember him as a principled advocate, known for his integrity, humility, technical expertise, and quiet leadership.

On Day 2 of the 2026 BCCFA Conference and AGM we heard from Hélène Marcoux from the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest as our keynote speaker. Hélène’s engaging and energizing talk focused on strengthening public understanding of forestry. With inspiring ideas for engagement, her key theme was “lean into stories, be real, be vulnerable, and don’t use so many acronyms.” At the research forest, near Maple Ridge, they have many different programs and initiatives that education the public and bring people to the forest for tours, talks, and events. They have fostered incredible partnerships and opportunities for diversification. Thank you to Hélène for sharing your ideas and inspiring us to continue our work with impactful community engagement.

Day 1 of the 2026 BCCFA Conference and AGM was a success! Hosted in Vernon, BC this year, the Monashee Community Forest were our welcoming hosts. Monashee CF is a partnership between the Village of Lumby and the Splatsin First Nation. Day 1 included a field tour on the Monashee CF above Lumby, BC, to showcase their Silvopasture work. Silvopasture is a forestry management practice that combines multiple values to achieve a few different objectives. The area that MCF showed us created grazing pasture for cattle, and integrated wildfire risk reduction for the community of Lumby. The treated area also supports good recreation opportunities. We heard from Kyle Runzer, Nick Barry, Frank Joe, Courtney Strassburger, and Nicole Williams from the Splatsin First Nation, Trish Balcaen from Coldstream Ranch, Rick Fairbairn (Area D RDNO Director), and Rob Dinwoodie, an agriculture consultant.

@Wiki

When a wildfire reached Kakisa in 2014, burning around the community on two sides and along its access road, it decimated many berry bushes that grew in the area. Now, the N.W.T.’s smallest community is using one of the fire breaks protecting it from future wildfires to bring back those berries — and closer to home. “If it’s going be always there, why not plant berries,” said Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation Chief Lloyd Chicot. “Rather than just taking all the trees down and leaving it there.” The berry patch is a pilot project involving the First Nation and a team of researchers from Wilfrid Laurier University who have been working with the community of just under 40 people for 13 years. Planted in 2024, some of the berry plants gave their first modest yield last summer. They complement some of the community’s other efforts to grow more food in a place where the closest grocery store is nearly 70 kilometres away. 

Kelowna has topped the list of Canadian cities most at risk from wildfires in 2026, according to a report from a Toronto-based online insurance company. Using data from Natural Resources Canada’s recently upgraded Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, MyChoice said Kelowna has a wildfire Risk Index score of 6.8/10. It was the only city to get a “very high” rating on the MyChoice Canada’s 2026 wildfire risk map. ​“While Prairie cities recorded more severe forecast fire weather conditions, Kelowna’s extremely high community exposure, driven by dense wildland-urban interface development, surrounding forest fuel, and historical wildfire activity, pushed it to the top overall,” said MyChoice in its annual wildfire study. ​To calculate the wildfire risk index, MYChoice gave equal weight to two factors: Forecast fire weather severity and community exposure.

Professionals in the built environment are increasingly being asked where their materials come from and how they’re sourced. To support these conversations, naturally:wood has two new resources focused on explaining forest management practices in British Columbia (B.C.).

From forest to form factsheet
Did you know just 0.3% of B.C.’s public forest land is harvested each year, while 63% of B.C.’s forests will never beharvested? And that 64% of B.C.’s forests are certified, accounting for 6.3% of the world’s certified forests? This overview uses data points like these to support conversations about sustainability, certifications and sourcing.

Video featuring the Chief Forester of B.C.
An authoritative perspective on how forest management decisions are made from the independent decision-maker responsible for long-term sustainable stewardship of Crown forest lands.

These resources are designed to equip architects, engineers and construction professionals with credible, evidence-based information they can confidently share with clients.

…Searching online, South Cariboo resident and retired silviculturist Will van Osch came across the New Forest Act proposal, which has been developed by the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society. The BFWSS is a non-profit society that advocates for economically sustainable forestry practices to help prevent environmental disasters caused by deforestation and climate change. …Van Osch said the New Forest Act, which has been developed by project lead Jennifer Houghton, an independent forestry analyst, spoke to him. The proposed act calls for B.C. to adopt a truly sustainable forestry model that will benefit future generations, while protecting local decision-making power. After reading her proposal, van Osch reached out to Houghton and invited her to come to the South Cariboo and give a presentation on her ideas. She agreed and is now set to host a meeting at the Forest Grove Community Hall on Monday, June 8, at 7 p.m.

Related coverage in the Keremeos Review, by Brennan Phillips: Citizen-led forestry plan presentation coming to Penticton

Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality is trying a new approach to reduce wildfire risk in the forests surrounding the community — and Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is right in the middle of it. Instead of piling leftover wood and brush from fuel-reduction treatments and burning it when conditions allow, crews are now chipping and mulching the debris and spreading it in a thin layer across the forest floor to decompose naturally. The pilot project, funded by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC since 2023, aims to … improve the long-term health of these high-elevation forests. “This project shows what can be done when municipalities, universities and the private sector get together to come up with innovative ideas to address current and future wildfire risks to communities,” says John Karakatsoulis, TRU Faculty of Science. …Forsite Consultants Ltd. (Barr GeoSpatial Solutions Company), has been working with Sun Peaks to find alternatives as the burning window shrinks every year. 

The Government of Yukon is taking steps to expand all-season timber harvesting opportunities across the territory and improve access for Yukon harvesters. The Department of Energy, Mines and Resources has reviewed existing timber harvest plans to identify areas where additional summer and all-season harvesting may be possible. There are currently summer harvesting opportunities available in most forest management districts. …The Government of Yukon is also working with the Yukon Wood Products Association to provide and subsidize pre-harvest migratory bird survey training for harvesters to support additional summer operations. …The Government of Yukon will continue working with First Nations, industry and the Yukon Wood Products Association to develop new timber harvesting projects and support existing operations throughout the territory.

In the late ’90s, Suzanne Simard started what can only be (indelicately) described as a firestorm in the forestry world. Her Ph.D. findings, published in the renowned journal Nature, argued that trees weren’t the valiant loners scientists once believed them to be. Rather, they survived through symbiosis, communicating and even sharing carbon through a subterranean series of mycorrhizal networks (fungal root systems). Initially, Simard’s peers weren’t nearly as generous as the tree community—one reviewer rebuked her paper as “a dog’s breakfast”—but, over time, some listened more closely. Today, Simard isn’t just the tree world’s tallest poppy; she’s a global, Goodall-esque conservation icon.