Region Archives: Canada West

Old-growth forests that were environmental and Indigenous rights battlegrounds over clearcut logging in the 1980s and 1990s during BCV’s “war in the woods” are set to receive permanent protections. The B.C. government says an agreement Tuesday with two Vancouver Island First Nations will protect about 760 square kilometres of Crown land in Clayoquot Sound by establishing 10 new conservancies in areas that include old-growth forests and unique ecosystems. The partnership involves reconfiguring the tree farm licence in the Clayoquot Sound area to protect the old-growth zones while supporting other forest industry tenures held by area First Nations, said Forests Minister Bruce Ralston. Clayoquot Sound’s Ahoushat and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations say the conservancies will preserve old-growth forests on Meares Island and the Kennedy Lake area, sites of protests that led to hundreds of arrests. …The agreement is supported by more than $40 million raised by the environmental group Nature United.

Related coverage by:

• BC Government: Clayoquot Sound conservancies help protect BC’s oldest forests
• Nature United: First Nations’ visions and BC tenure change advance protections

ALBERTA — The bar was low for a better wildfire season in Alberta this year after a record-shattering season in 2023, persistent drought conditions and expectations of high temperatures. But the province weathered the crucial spring period, emerging in far better shape than it had at this point last year. …Brian Proctor, a meteorologist said the expectations for this season were influenced by a multi-year drought and a warm winter. …With no strong climate feature such as the warming El Niño, or the cooling La Niña, Alberta’s temperatures should be closer to average than last year, Proctor said. But precipitation is harder to predict. …”I don’t have a ton of confidence in our precipitation forecast other than to suggest it should be fairly normal conditions,” he said. Drought conditions in much of Alberta have relented due to more precipitation, but the far northwest region is still quite dry.

Two new studies are highlighting what researchers say is the harmful effect of log booms — floating structures that contain logs before processing — on fish habitats in B.C. rivers. A report from the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the B.C. Conservation Foundation (BCCF), led by the Cowichan Tribes, finds the presence of log booms at the mouth of the Cowichan River caused a 20 per cent reduction in survival rates for adult chinook salmon. Meanwhile, the lead author of a soon-to-be-published study from the University of B.C. and the Musqueam First Nation says that log booms in the Fraser River have a significant effect on nearby habitat, causing more soil to fall onto the riverbed and fewer invertebrates, which could be food for fish, to spawn. …The researchers say climate change and the changing river patterns that have come with drought conditions could prove challenging when it comes to mitigating the impact of log booms.

Those who commit offences that harm wildlife and fish, including illegal hunting and angling, will soon face higher fines. The new fine amounts better reflect the serious nature of these offences and recognize the importance of wildlife to everyone living in British Columbia. Fines under the Wildlife Act and its regulations have not been substantially updated in more than two decades. Effective June 18, 2024, the new fines for violation tickets range from $345 to $1,495, a significant increase from the current range of $115 to $575. …Violations of the Wildlife Act can have negative impacts on fish and wildlife and the habitats they rely on to survive and thrive. Other offences include: unlawful trapping, hunting and angling; hunting without a licence; operating a motor vehicle in an area where motor vehicles are prohibited; damage to wildlife habitat; and illegal trafficking of wildlife.

Kimberley, B.C. – The City of Kimberley, with funding support from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, is making significant strides in wildfire risk reduction through a targeted project in the Wildland-Urban Interface southwest of the community. This initiative, important to help better protect the community, the wildlife habitats and community infrastructure…, began in the summer of 2023, and the City’s efforts on the project are ongoing. …The City of Kimberley continues to build upon its wildfire risk reduction work and drafted a five-year landscape fire risk and impact reduction plan to identify logical treatment areas and required budgets to do the work. …The City will further benefit from a large-scale fire risk and impacts assessment being conducted by the First Nations Emergency Services Society of BC (an arm of the BC First Nations Forestry Council) and the local Ktunaxa Nation.

The Chinook Community Forest is being recognized by the province for its excellence in forest management. They were presented with the 2024 Robin Hood Memorial Award in Mackenzie on Wednesday. “The people who manage and operate the Chinook Community Forest provide a great example of how community-based forestry enriches rural towns and economies,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. The forest group was chosen for their sustainable forest management and wildfire mitigation last year. “Despite their land base being severely impacted by beetles and wildfires, they are committed to resilience in their forest management and governance,” said Randy Spyksma, president, BC Community Forest Association. The group has also provided $600,000 in donations in the past five years to various projects and groups in the Burns Lake area.

Kamloops council has agreed to send the province’s minister of forests a letter advocating for measures that pulp mill representatives say would increase fibre supply while cleaning up forest fuels and preventing fires. Thomas Hoffman, fibre manager for Kruger Kamloops Pulp told council the mill brought value to nearly 1.4 million cubic metres of fire-affected wood in 2023. …Hoffman said the industry is looking for the province to expedite timber salvaging permits, ensure full access to allowable annual cut for licensees, and develop “an aggressive forest fuel risk reduction program” to mitigate wildfire damage. …Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson said last year he spoke with Forests Minister Bruce Ralston about “getting burned wood out of the bush.” …“He assured me that they had a plan,” Hamer-Jackson said. Hamer-Jackson put forward a motion to send a “follow up” letter to Ralston.

Hillary Wait, Stuart Adkins & Aileen Sturges

HIGH PRAIRIE, Alberta — Harvesting plans for three forestry companies operating in the High Prairie and Slave Lake regions were presented May 30 at a joint open house at the High Prairie Legion Hall. Plans were displayed by West Fraser Timber that operates High Prairie Forest Products, Tolko and by Millar Western Forest Products. Plans for harvesting trees are getting back on track for the three companies after extensive wildfires in the spring and summer 2023 destroyed countless trees. Tolko northwest regional forestry superintendent Hillary Wait says the company plans to return to its harvesting plans. …Harvesting plans are on track for High Prairie Forest Products. “We’re looking to a regular harvest this year,” planning forester Aileen Sturges says. …Millar Western plans to start with salvage, says forestry superintendent Stuart Adkins. …All proposed harvesting plans must be approved by Alberta Forestry and Parks.

A major provincial park expansion will create a protection zone of almost 2,000 square kilometres for caribou and other species in northeastern British Columbia. The Ministry of Environment says in a statement that the addition to the Klinse-za Park will make it the largest provincial park established in the province in a decade. The park addition is the result of a partnership in 2020 between the province and the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations, where they agreed to help stabilize and protect the threatened southern mountain caribou. Klinse-za Park is located just west of Chetwynd, B.C., almost 1,100 kilometres north of Vancouver. The province says the number of caribou in B.C. fell by more than 55 per cent in the last century, mostly due to human-caused habitat disturbance, and there are fewer than 4,000 of the southern mountain species left.

A B.C. man is awaiting a new hearing after successfully appealing a $100,000-fine for starting a wildfire in the Kispiox Valley. Supreme Court of B.C. Judge Michael Tammen allowed Eldon Whalen’s appeal of the May 16, 2023 decision that upheld a B.C. government’s fine for the costs of fire control. Whalen was fined under the Wildfire Act after a burn pile on his property became a wildfire in May 2019, according to a June 12 decision. Whalen is appealing the contravention order that included a $3,000 administrative penalty and $100,688 for costs of recovery for failing to ensure a Category 2 open fire started by him did not spread. The penalty and contravention fine were initially ordered on May 2, 2022. …Whalen has maintained that he returned to the burn site several times from April 1 to 8, 2019, “at all times believing it was extinguished.” …On May 10, 2019, he discovered the fire had spread and become a wildfire.

CANMORE – Planning is underway for large-scale fireguards to protect Canmore and neighbouring communities like Harvie Heights and Dead Man’s Flats from a future wildfire. Town of Canmore officials say the threat of wildfire in the Bow Valley is extreme due to increasing development and aging forests that are becoming unhealthy. “Large-scale fireguards are required to provide wildfire responders with wildfire containment options and to reduce wildfire intensity approaching developed areas,” said Caitlin Miller, protective services manager and director of emergency management for the Town of Canmore. The Town of Canmore was successful in getting $192,000 through the $19 million provincial community fireguard program for high-risk communities, which is being administered by the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA).

Samuel Bartels

University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) researchers will explore local solutions that could have global impacts with $2 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Eleven UNBC researchers, including seven in the early stages of their careers, received funding through the NSERC Discovery Grant program. Among the UNBC projects to receive funding:

• Ecosystem Science and Management Prof. Chris Johnson into the development of a new concept for studying how animals in B.C. adapt in a changing climate.
• Ecosystem Science and Management assistant Prof. Samuel Bartels is examining how land use and climate change are impacting forest biodiversity… with the aim of developing conservation approaches that create resistance and resilience.
• Environmental Science Prof. Phil Owens is studying the impact of wildfires on water flow and soil erosion. 
• Ecosystem Science and Management assistant Prof. Jonathan Cale is helping to manage future beetle populations by clarifying the role of fungal communities in beetle outbreaks. 

The Chinook Community Forest in Burns Lake was honoured with the 2024 Robin Hood Memorial Award by the Province for excellence in forest management and wildfire mitigation on June 12, 2024, in Mackenzie. “The people who manage and operate the Chinook Community Forest provide a great example of how community-based forestry enriches rural towns and economies,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. …Chinook Community Forest has taken a leading role in sustainable forest management and wildfire mitigation in the Burns Lake area. …“Despite their land base being severely impacted by beetles and wildfires, they are committed to resilience in their forest management and governance,” said Randy Spyksma, president, BC Community Forest Association. “The Chinook Community Forest board and their manager, Ken Nielsen, exemplify the innovation and dedication required to govern a partnership between six First Nations and two local governments. This award is well deserved.”

Nearly three years after British Columbia’s deadly heat dome, its largest municipality says it will plant 100,000 trees to protect people from the effects of extreme heat. On Wednesday, Vancouver city council passed a motion instructing city staff to create a timeline and budget to plant 100,000 native and climate-resilient trees across the city. The motion specifies that the trees will be planted in neighbourhoods that have less tree coverage, which is shown to cause warmer temperatures. …“Science shows that tree canopy actually mitigates against that excess heat and actually brings down air temperatures considerably, and so that was one of the motivating reasons,” explained Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr, who brought forward the motion with Coun. Christine Boyle. …Vancouver’s motion is welcome news to the David Suzuki Foundation.

The province is not expecting to see as extreme a wildfire season as last year, but there is still the potential for large fires, especially in the northeast and the Central Interior. “Continue to be vigilant and know that the province is doing everything we can to be prepared for another challenging fire season,” Matt McDonald, the BC Wildfire Service’s lead fire weather forecaster, said during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon. McDonald, as well as Forests Minister Bruce Ralston and Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma provided an update for the summer’s seasonal wildfire outlook on Wednesday. McDonald said 2024 could still be another challenging wildfire season for B.C. due to persistent drought, lack of snow and remaining holdover fires that, given a bit of warm weather and wind, can exhibit aggressive fire behaviour. …As of Wednesday, there are 108 wildfires burning across B.C., most of which are in the Prince George Fire Centre, Ralston said.

Government of BC Press Release: B.C. takes action ahead of summer wildfire season

Additional coverage by Wolf Depner in Black Press: Northeastern B.C. likely to see large, challenging wildfires this summer

Chris Kallal

To mitigate the most disastrous effects of climate change, scientists estimate that up to 10 gigatons of atmospheric carbon will need to be removed annually by 2050. …While we must scale our efforts to harness nature to benefit our planet, people and wildlife, it’s not sufficient to simply plant trees. …organizations must consider the forested ecosystems as a whole. If we plant 100,000 trees in the wrong location and they either can’t survive or harm native species, did we accomplish anything? A recent study determined the carbon sequestration power of forests can be increased by 25 percent simply by carefully selecting species. …In 2011, I founded Wild + Pine to enhance the ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions markets and help corporations reach their environmental and climate objectives by investing in legacy forest projects from seed to stewardship. When done right, nature is the most powerful tool we have to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss — let’s put it to work.

Experts are concerned that low snowpack levels recorded across much of B.C. this year could lead to negative impacts on salmon populations later this summer. …Much of the province, including the B.C. Interior, currently sits between level one and three on the B.C. government’s zero to five drought classification scale …Drought can impact salmon populations through its impact on streamflow and water temperature. …In mid-August 2023, Fortune Creek near Enderby dried up, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and First Nations partners attempted to relocate salmon as a last-resort option. …Another salmon expert, University of British Columbia professor Scott Hinch, predicted the need for similar relocations will grow in the future. …“Salvage logging or things like that that remove the trees has a big impact on the stream temperatures. So whatever we can do to protect the streams and keep the temperatures from not increasing any further is going to be really important.” Hinch said.

With record low snowpacks and moisture levels priming much of the province for an active wildfire season, experts say drought conditions this year could make fire suppression more difficult for firefighters. Mike Flannigan, a wildfire researcher at Thompson Rivers University, said drought conditions and drier fuels mean wildfires can burn deeper — especially in peatlands where organic material can reach 40 centimetres or more in depth — making them challenging to fight. “It means either digging, or if you’re fortunate to have a significant water source, because basically, you have to flood it. You have to flood that area to put that smouldering fire out, or you get equipment,” Flannigan said. “So it either costs you in time or money.” Dry fuels are also more receptive to ignitions, Flannigan said. Whether a campfire or lighting strike ignites fuels, a wildfire is easier to start thanks to the little moisture.