Region Archives: Canada West

Simon Yu

A common enhancement of BC’s battered forestry sector is needed according to Prince George Mayor Simon Yu. Yu took part in the Council of Forest Industries Conference in Vancouver – as part of a panel that included District of Vanderhoof Councillor Brian Frenkel. He added various curtailments and shutdowns including Canfor shutting down its pulp line at the PG Pulp and Paper Mill was a massive blow. “Prince George is very much the centre of the forestry industry around northern BC. The shutdown of the pulp mill is very devastating to our local tax base – it represents over one percent of our tax base.” Yu says in order for the industry to survive, more young people need to be brought on.

Following a delegation to Revelstoke Council on March 12, Wildsight Revelstoke’s concerns were returned to council at the April 9 meeting. Chief among the concerns presented were that the forest industry is changing rapidly and dramatically as are societal expectations, resulting in the need to adapt to a new future. “The old paradigm of logging superseding other values is no longer acceptable and there are economic alternatives to protect these forests,” noted the report. “We are asking Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation that no cutting permit or road permit moves forward on Goldstream CP 310 Block L before a field trip happens in the spring or summer.” Wildsight also asked council to explore alternative economic models and ways to manage the Tree Farm Licence for the long-term benefit of the ecosystem and the community. …Mayor Gary Sulz noted that deriving carbon credits from the community forest will not be possible until the province changes current legislation…

A petition calling for more consultation on the relocation of the North Initial Attack Crew has been started in Chetwynd. Earlier this month, in a letter addressed to Chetwynd Mayor Allen Courtoreille and city council, Bruce Ralston confirmed the closure of the facility and its staff lodging on December 15th, 2023. Ralston citied the absence of a full-time staff and aging infrastructure resulted in the closure, with crews being relocated to the Dawson Creek Fire Centre. “We didn’t have proper consultation at all,” said Rebecca Hallaert, a small business owner who has the petition posted in her store Inner Sage Therapies. … According to the Forest Minister, the intention of the province is to replace the current Chetwynd facility with a forward attack facility. “When crews are not located at the Chetwynd forward attack base, travel by helicopter would be 20-30 minutes from the crew’s assembly point in the Dawson Creek Fire Zone,” said Ralston.

Younes Alila

Devastating floods have become an increasingly common part of life in British Columbia. In the late 1990s, BC’s Cariboo region experienced numerous floods and landslides. The ‘flood of the century’ happened in fall 2003 when hundreds of Squamish and Paradise Valley residents were forced to evacuate their homes. Later, a 2018 flood event in Grand Forks caused extensive damage, impacting more than 400 homes, farms and businesses. In 2021, successive atmospheric rivers in BC’s Pacific north-west caused billions of dollars in damage from catastrophic flooding and triggered landslides that killed five people. Urban encroachment on floodplains and climate change are partly to blame. However, they cannot fully account for a trend that has many researchers, including UBC Forestry Prof. Younes Alila, ringing alarm bells. Through scientific inquiry and the application of a framework known as attribution science , Younes’s investigations have revealed important data on the root causes of more frequent and severe flooding in the province. [See page 29 in the Read More link]

WILLIAMS LAKE, BC — A Williams Lake screening of the film Silvicola attracted more than 130 people Wednesday, April 3. Directed by Jean-Phillippe Marquis, the film takes viewers to B.C. forests through the eyes of tree planters, loggers, sapling nursery workers, foresters and wood manufacturers. After seeing the film, there are several images lingering in my mind. …One is watching a tree planter as she maneuvers through a heli-logged site near Port Alberni where she can count on one hand how many times her feet touch the ground in a day. …Another scene is watching ants move along an “ant road” in a thriving lush forest. …I also enjoyed being immersed in a large old growth forest as a Haida man explains how his people harvest bark from trees for various medicinal and cultural purposes. Fourth would be watching a crew make cedar shakes from scraps salvaged from larger logging operations.

Wander along any of Stanley Park’s more than 27 kilometres of trails …and you may have to dodge the glossy strands of Lambdina fiscellaria larvae as these mottled greyish-brown inchworms descend from the overstorey. It’s these innocuous-looking little caterpillars that morphed into western hemlock looper moths during the “mothpocalypse,” an outbreak that has plagued Vancouver for a few years and helped kill 25 per cent of the trees in the park. Some 160,000 affected trees have died and are being cut down by the city. The moth is also known as the mournful thorn, and the name fits … this wee creature has caused in Vancouver’s most-beloved park. The fluttering miscreants are native—their natural cycle of infestation lasts about three years every two decades—yet have been an ongoing issue in the park since its inception in 1888. A 1914 report stated that 25 per cent of western hemlock trees had died and 60 per cent were affected by the insects.

Last year’s wildfire season was certainly historic, but how historic was it and what was the bigger ecological picture? The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute recently produced a science letter called “Effects of 2023 Wildfires in Alberta” that helps to make it easier for laypeople and decision-makers alike to understand the answers to both of those questions. …last year’s wildfires burned 6.6 per cent of the forested area of the province. At approximately 3.3 million hectares in size, that area disturbed as much forest in Alberta as the 11 previous wildfire years combined. “I think some readers of these large numbers get a little bit overwhelmed,” said applied ecologist Brandon Allen. “I think people’s minds go a little blank. We try to contextualize that to be an area similar to Vancouver Island. You could start to capture that a little bit of, ‘Oh, that’s a big place that was impacted by the fires.’”

Andrew Mercier

In a move to increase the use of wildfire-damaged timber and support land recovery, the Province has introduced new measures to streamline the salvage process, making it easier for the forestry sector to recover and repurpose damaged wood and regenerate the forests. “Wildfires are increasingly having devastating impacts on our communities and economies,” said Minister Andrew Mercier. …Changes to the Interior Appraisal Manual, effective April 1, 2024, have increased flexibility and established pricing policy for forestry operations and First Nations wanting to salvage wildfire-damaged timber in B.C. The updated pricing guidelines better reflect the price of wildfire-damaged wood in government’s stumpage fees and in the associated costs of salvage logging, making it more economic for businesses to salvage damaged wood. …Joe Nemeth, BC Pulp and Paper Coalition said, “Wildfire salvage is yet another sustainable source of fibre. With government increasing the ability to access this burned timber, our mills have greater stability.” 

VANCOUVER — Crews cut down almost 2,700 trees in Stanley Park during the month of January alone, according to records released under the freedom of information law. Last November, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation announced 160,000 trees would be removed due to wildfire and safety risks caused by the Hemlock looper moth infestation and drought. The monthly report, submitted by main contractor B.A. Blackwell and Associates, showed 2,159 of the trees, measuring more than 20 centimetres in diameter, were cut around the Stanley Park Causeway. Between 98% and 100% of falling in the area was completed by the end of the month, but tree and debris removal was finished in only one of the four designated quadrants. Elsewhere, crews cut 287 trees around Prospect Point and 247 around the Stanley Park Railway. The Park Board has yet to release the figures for October to December or February and March.

ALBERTA — What if you showed up for an Alberta wildfire and your water source was frozen over? That was just one of the many challenges crews faced last year in a long, arduous and record-breaking season that burned a combined area the size of Prince Edward Island – times four. Todd Loewen, the minister of forestry and lands, said an internal review followed the unprecedented season. Among its recommendations are more use of high-tech support like night vision and thermal imaging. Effective wildland firefighting overnight is key to Alberta doing a more effective job, the member for Central Peace-Notley said. Fires tend to settle down at night because of cooler, sometimes humid conditions. The overarching goal is keeping communities, their residents and firefighters as safe as possible in 2024, Loewen said. Loewen witnessed the situation up-close. “…The experience convinced him that more night firefighting is a viable approach.

The B.C. government is making regulatory and pricing changes to allow for quicker recovery of timber from wildfires for use in sawmills, pulp and pellet mills. Timber salvaged after forest fires can still have value, if only for pulp and pellet production, and can reduce the risk of future fires. But it needs to be salvaged quickly. …Bruce Blackwell, estimated there may be up to five million cubic metres of fibre each year – about 11% of the province’s total annual allowable cut – that could be salvaged after forest fires. But after about a year, fire-damaged trees dry out, crack and become useless for any kind of sawmilling. That requires some regulatory streamlining. …”Salvaging wildfire-damaged timber on a timely basis can help restore areas for wildlife and recreation, make communities safer, and provide residual fibre that can help sustain jobs and local economic activity,” added COFI president Linda Coady.

Nathan Cullen, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, has released the following statement in response to the April 2024 snowpack bulletin: The latest snow survey and water supply bulletin from the River Forecast Centre indicates we may be facing drought conditions in B.C. once again this year. The April survey shows that the overall snowpack level for B.C. is at 63% of normal, the lowest in 50 years. The experts at the River Forecast Centre tell us these low levels and the impacts of year-over-year drought are creating significantly higher drought risk for this spring and summer. We know this is concerning news. Communities around B.C. experienced serious drought conditions last summer. It fuelled the worst wildfire season ever, harmed fish and wildlife, and affected farmers, ranchers, First Nations and industry. 

Rebecca Alty

YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T. —As wildfire season approaches and Yellowknife’s the review of last year’s evacuation continues. The majority of Yellowknife’s media was not present in the city after the evacuation order was issued last August. Most left with the general public. To some, the media’s responsibility is to be present and document the major events of climate change firsthand — but only with proper gear and training. To others, little is to be gained from being present and the more likely scenario is the media using up precious resources. Rebecca Alty, Yellowknife’s mayor, said that is a tough balancing act. She said the media does have an important role, but with last year’s evacuation reaching international news outlets, there would need to be limits. Alty said journalists with proper safety training would make the situation safer, but there’s still a limited amount of food and medical care available under an evacuation order.

KELOWNA, BC — A community town hall on the “future of our forests” is planned for UBC Okanagan. Planned by the Interior Watershed Taskforce, which includes the Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance, the event will bring together a panel of speakers. “It’s more important than ever to learn about the measures we can take to safeguard our forests,” says event organizers. “The B.C. community needs informing. Trees can no longer be seen as only dimensional lumber profits.” Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris will serve as keynote speaker. He has been critical in recent years of the impacts of clearcutting on the ecosystem. …The town hall will take place Saturday, April 13 at UBC Okanagan in the arts and sciences centre.

Formal engagement and negotiations are underway between ‘Namgis First Nation and the Province on a joint decision-making agreement to support forest stewardship and sustainable forestry operations. “Alongside ‘Namgis First Nation, we are working with local communities and forestry operators to make sure local forests are managed sustainably, while increasing certainty in forestry operations that will help to maintain family-supporting jobs for the entire region,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. “By moving toward joint decision-making with ‘Namgis and working together with local partners, we can advance reconciliation, take care of the forests that sustain local communities and support good forestry jobs for the long term.” Through the Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 37 Forest Landscape Planning pilot project, ‘Namgis First Nation, the Province and Western Forest Products Inc. are working together toward sustainable forest management that will support forest health, benefit local jobs and advance reconciliation.