Region Archives: Canada West

Ravi Parmar

Forest Minister Ravi Parmar has needed a positive story for the beleaguered forest sector in BC. Using BC Timber Sales to restore forest health and community safety through treatments like commercial thinning and innovative silviculture is the beginning of one. BC Minister of Forests did say the BC Timber Sale Review would be completed in short order. … “Feedback from the review has made it clear: BCTS is more than just a market-pricing system. It has the expertise and the tools to play a bigger role in active forest management and addressing climate change and British Columbians want to see that happen,” he said at the COFI Convention. The idea that we can mitigate some of the hazards of climate change through actively managing our forests and range landscapes is an idea the WFCA has trafficked in for some time. …In fact, we have put these innovative notions forward to the BCTS Review Task Force.

On March 31, the Supreme Court of B.C. released its decision on a historic case with implications for the future of resource management in Canada. The judge sided with the Haida Gwaii Management Council and Province of British Columbia against logging giant Teal Cedar Products Inc., which argued its profitability had unjustly diminished due to the former’s sustainability regulations and improved forestry stewardship standards. In its defence, Haida Gwaii Management Council and the province pointed to Teal’s careless logging and business practices, which it continued despite expert, repeated advice from Haida and Crown governments. Proceedings involved numerous expert witnesses … in 2023. Almost exactly two years later, the judge dismissed Teal’s claims. …If corporations were to earn the power to sue governments any time they passed new legislation to uphold sustainable and ecologically sound practices, then we would witness a nation-wide proliferation of lawsuits arising from every sector. 

BC has experienced some of the most destructive wildfire seasons in its history. …So how do we recover from wildfires and reduce threats in the future? One way is to bring back a more balanced and resilient forest ecosystem for people and wildlife through Indigenous-led restoration, which is exactly what the Secwepemcúl’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society (SRSS) is doing. This collaboration by several Secwépemc communities was formed after the 2017 wildfires that blazed through 192,725 hectares of traditional Indigenous territory. To them, restoring forests goes beyond planting trees. Most of the land devastated by wildfires were forests managed to maximize value for commercial logging. SRSS is changing that, using traditional practices that restore mixed forest canopies in a way that benefits communities and wildlife. 

Ione Brown

The North Island Community Forest is a small forest tenure that was offered to the towns of Port Alice, Port Hardy and Port McNeill by the provincial government in 2010. These towns then became shareholders and owners of the forest in March of 2011, managing and harvesting it to provide capital for investing in their communities. On April 3, the board of directors’ chairperson, Ione Brown, gave a presentation on how the community forest operates as well as some new information. Currently, the municipalities of Port Alice, Port Hardy and Port McNeill are shareholders of the community forest. In 2019, The Kwakiutl First Nation and the Quatsino First Nation were offered full equity shareholder positions bringing ownership to five partners with 20 per cent each. Brown said, with the new Indigenous partners, they will have the strength of the community and the support to possibly further expand the tenure. 

The Bow Valley—encompassing Banff National Park, the Town of Banff, Canmore, and MD of Bighorn—is at imminent risk of a catastrophic wildfire. Despite commendable efforts in localized fire prevention (e.g., firebreaks, fireguards, neighbourhood mitigation), it is our opinion no comprehensive measures are in place to address the risk of an extreme wildfire—the kind that devastated Fort McMurray (2016) and Jasper (2024). A fire of that scale in this region would be both a national tragedy and a global environmental disaster. …Our call for action for our federal candidates: Acknowledge the real and rising risk of a Class 6 wildfire in the Bow Valley; While working with the Province and Indigenous Peoples, support federal investment in a landscape-scale fire mitigation strategy for the Bow Valley; Advance policy reform recognizing forests as carbon assets requiring active stewardship; and Champion this initiative as a model for national wildfire and carbon management.

Officials in Fox Creek Alberta are trying to find ways to better protect the community from future fires. One option includes using fungi. …This summer, researchers from Lac La Biche, Alta.-based Portage College will go into the the boreal forest surrounding Fox Creek to collect local fungi. Spores from that fungi could later be used to inoculate wood in man-made slash piles. Forests are thinned to remove wood biomass so there is less material to burn during a wildfire. Wood that has been removed can be stored in massive slash piles, which can be fire risks themselves. Fungi could be used to break down the wood faster, returning them to soil, said Michael Schulz, research chair in environment and sustainability in the boreal forest at Portage College. 

 A local Indigenous leader is calling into question claims being made by a protester in Stanley Park. A small encampment is growing near the iconic totem poles, led by a woman who says she is the hereditary matriarch of the land. But as Alissa Thibault reports, the Musqueam chief says that isn’t true. 

Protecting old-growth forests in the BC interior could generate more than $43 billion over the next century — far more than logging the land, a report says. Research by environmental consultancy ESSA Technologies determined that if all the old-growth forest in regions around the Okanagan and Prince George were fully protected, the carbon storage alone would keep 28 million tonnes of carbon emissions out of the atmosphere over the next 100 years. [Equivalent of] burning 63 million barrels of oil, and worth $43 billion — $33 billion for Prince George and $10 billion for the Okanagan. Even limited protection of only the most at-risk forests would yield $11 billion in benefits. Advisory team included Dr. Duncan Knowler, Dr. Richard Boyd, Dr. Rachel Holt, Dr. Karen Price, and Dave Daust. Funding support for this study’s research … was provided by two anonymous donors. Sierra Club BC provided additional funding to finalize this document for public release.

Red-legged frog habitat on B.C. Timber Sales’ (BCTS) cutblock TA0521 is the centre-point of an Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) call for a “stop work” order and a complaint to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, one authority that provides certification to BCTS. Responses to those reports of suspected wrongdoings related to amphibian habitat on the upper Roberts Creek site are pending. …In an April 7 press release, ELF proclaimed “BCTS needs to step back from the brink on this [TA0521] block, immediately inform the contractor that the block has been cancelled and negotiate an out of court settlement.” …On June 18, 2024, Muirhead photographed a red-legged frog on the site, which was confirmed by a registered biologist. BCTS was alerted, as that species is “blue” listed on the provincial government’s endangered species list. BCTS undertook an amphibian study in August of that year as a precursor to harvesting work commencing.

The British Columbia Supreme Court recently ruled that Teal Cedar Products Ltd. failed to show that the provincial government engaged in constructive expropriation or breached its duty of good faith or an oral agreement to keep the company whole. The regulatory regime applicable in [the case] was BC’s Forest and Range Practices Act, 2002. Teal Cedar Products Ltd. operated two tenures on Haida Gwaii… The licensee had the exclusive right to harvest from certain lands over a specific period upon obtaining a cutting, road, or special use permit. …BC enacted the Haida Gwaii land use objectives order (LUOO) in December 2010. Teal sold its operations on Haida Gwaii to A&A Trading Ltd. six years later….The Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that the province did not act in bad faith when it enacted the LUOO. The court found that the tenure agreements contemplated reconciliation, encompassing the recognition and protection of Aboriginal rights and interests.

The Indigenous Resource Network is releasing a new short documentary highlighting the story of Ntiyix Resources LP in Westbank.  ‘tmixʷ: A Holistic Commitment to Our Forests’ explores the connections between Indigenous forestry professionals and the land. “We are beyond excited to release ‘tmix’,” said John Desjarlais, executive director at IRN. “This project represents the IRN’s commitment to telling a meaningful story of the many examples of what ‘good’ looks like in natural resource development.” The film showcases the blend of traditional knowledge and modern forestry practices, while also addressing Okanagan wildfires and Indigenous-led management practices in forest restoration. ‘tmixʷ: A Holistic Commitment to Our Forests’ was released on April 9 and is available to watch on IRN’s YouTube channel here.

Contractors hired by the City Of Kelowna are busy conducting fuel mitigation on Dilworth’s Mountain this week to protect nearby homes in the case of a wildfire. “We have a crew from Cabin Operations doing understory thinning, pruning surface removal and we will be doing some tree falling too, at later stages,” explains Reece Allingham with Deering Forest Management. The goal is to reduce wildfire risk by removing enough fuels to keep any potential wildfire on the ground and out of the tree canopy. That includes the removal of small conifers that can act like ladders carrying flame up into the taller trees. Crews are watching out for wildlife while they work. City staff have been conducting bird sweeps in the area. …many nearby homes are surrounded by cedar and juniper hedges. While popular for privacy and sound buffers they also pose a significant danger. 

On Friday, at the Council of Forest Industries conference in Prince George, Forest Minister Ravi Parmar suggested that provincial parks and Old Growth Management Areas could be logged for so-called “wildfire resilience.” “Parks and Old Growth Management Areas should be safe from logging, period,” said Jenn Matthews. “Minister Parmar is using peoples’ fear of fire to lessen resistance to the idea of logging in areas that are supposed to be industry-free.” …In central-interior BC, landscapes have become homogenised from colonisation, fire suppression and resource management, which is making them less resistant to wildfire. …“We need prudent fire hardening directly around communities to protect human life and property, but what Minister Parmar suggested at COFI sounds like a timber grab,” said Michelle Connolly.

On Monday, members of council, dignitaries, developers and elementary students gathered under rain-soaked tent tops to witness 262 acres of forest be dedicated as park. “This is a true milestone for our community,” Mayor Mark Sager said, reflecting back on the work of previous councils and activists to put the park dedication project – known as the Upper Lands – into motion. “Combining this parkland with the other areas [of previously dedicated park], we’re now creating 3,400 acres of continuous parkland, and I’m told it’s one of the largest urban parks in the world,” Sager said. Last May, the district dedicated 1,932 acres in the Upper Lands region as park.

Protecting the most at-risk old growth forests in two B.C. timber supply areas would lead to $10.9 billion in economic benefits over the next century, a new report has found.  However, those gains would be wiped out if logging were to carry on as it is today across the Prince George and Okanagan timber supply areas, concluded the environmental consulting firm ESSA Technologies in a report published Monday. Together, the two timber supply areas (TSA) contain about 10 per cent of B.C.’s total old-growth forests mapped in 2021. If they were fully protected, modelling in the report found the two regions’ old-growth forests could generate up to $43.1 billion in net economic benefits over the next 100 years. That accounts for $4.1 billion in losses in timber production across the two supply area.

The Ministry of Forests have responded to questions about what will happen to Cai Creek just outside of Castlegar if B.C. Timber Sales fails to sell it by April 24. In a written statement to Castanet, the ministry explained that if it is not bid on by April 24, it will be reposted for auction until it is sold. “Public comments are considered within the context of all information compiled to help inform the decision maker about local concerns, but they are only one aspect in a broader determination, which also includes First Nation consultation,” Ministry representatives stated in an email. BCTS Kootenay Business Area is planning to sell off three cut blocks in the Cai Creek area under timber sales license (TSL) TA2185.

The Province is taking action to adapt B.C.’s forests to ensure long-term sustainability and good-paying jobs by enlisting BC Timber Sales (BCTS) to play a larger role in reducing wildfire risk and enhancing forest and community resilience through its operations. This work is increasingly urgent given the threat of sector-specific tariff threats coming from the United States. … BCTS manages forest harvesting on more than 20% of B.C.’s public land. In January 2025, the Ministry of Forests initiated a review of BCTS, undertaken by an expert task force, to create pathways for a stronger, more resilient forestry sector. A progress update was announced at the Council of Forest Industries convention on Friday, April 4, 2025. “We have all witnessed the impacts of wildfire on B.C.’s communities, and we are uniting all parts of my ministry to tackle this challenge head on,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests.

• Global News – B.C. premier seeks to assure forest industry as U.S. trade war intensifies

Nine-axle lumber truck-and-trailer combinations are now approved to travel on some BC logging routes, Premier David Eby announced at the 2025 Council of Forest Industries convention in Prince George on Friday, April 4. …Eby presented more forestry-specific commentary and announcements this time around to hundreds of delegates in the Civic Centre’s main hall. The premier said as part of the conversation on making it easier and less costly for fibre products to get to mills, the province was approving the use of nine-axle truck and trailer combinations. A media release sent out by the provincial government the same afternoon said approval was granted for “some logging routes” without providing further specifics. The province has mulled over granting permission to nine-axle combinations for years, at one point appointing a committee to investigate the safety and road impacts they would have on BC highways.

B.C.’s wildfire season is fast approaching, and experts are warning that urban areas of the province – including Metro Vancouver – may be at risk as fires grow more frequent and intense. A panel of experts – including bestselling author of Fire Weather John Vaillant and UBC Centre for Wildfire Coexistence co-director Dr. Lori Daniels – spoke about urban wildfire risks at the university’s Vancouver campus Thursday night. Daniels told CTV News a combination of climate change, forest management practices and urban expansion into fire-prone areas has contributed to a rise in the amount of land and structures burned in recent years. While in some parts of the province – such as the Okanagan Valley – there is a sense that it’s “not if, but when” a destructive wildfire will hit, Daniels said Metro Vancouver is also vulnerable.

The federal government is pitching in more than $180,000 for a Kamloops-area study to determine whether rehabilitating wildfire-damaged landscapes can provide an economic opportunity through carbon credits. It’s part of a total $20 million the federal government will be injecting into B.C.’s forestry sector. Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of energy and natural resources, said 67 projects in the province will receive funding, including a number of Kamloops and Shuswap-area initiatives. The Secwepemcul’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society will receive $184,355. …Tolko Industries will be getting $400,000 in federal funding to conduct further research into a finger jointing process for parallel laminated veneer products produced at its Heffley Creek facility. Local Indigenous groups are also set to receive funding as part of the Indigenous Forestry Initiative program. …And as part of the Global Forest Leadership program the Wood Pellet Association of Canada based in Revelstoke is set to receive $180,000 to help advance international standards for wood pellets.

Lil’wat Forest Ventures (LFV) is the focus of the first episode of a new documentary series launched by the B.C. Silviculture Innovation Program (SIP). The multi-part series, Out On A Limb, is sharing innovative forest management practices from around the province. …The B.C. SIP was born of the 2020 Old Growth Strategy Review, which provided 14 recommendations for old-growth forest management aimed at boosting the adoption of alternative forestry practices in the province. …In March 2023, the Government of B.C. announced a $10-million investment to establish the Silviculture Innovation Program, administered by the Bulkley Valley Research Centre (BVRC)—A not-for-profit organization operating out of Smithers, B.C. …SIP’s release said LFV’s approach serves as a reminder of the important role First Nations play in “effective and sustainable forest management.” …To see the full episode, visit sip.bvcentre.ca/ooal-episode1.

The BC Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit from Teal Cedar Products, a forestry company, which claimed it lost millions of dollars due to new timber rules in Haida Gwaii. The company argued that the new regulations unfairly devalued their forest tenures. The rule changes included reducing the amount of timber that could be harvested and implementing conservation measures. Teal, which owned forest licenses affected by the regulations, claimed these changes amounted to “constructive expropriation,” meaning the government’s actions took away the value of their property rights, without formally seizing the property. Chris Tollefson, a University of Victoria law professor and public interest lawyer who represented the Haida Gwaii Management Council, said private operators need to know rules evolve based on changing values and science, and companies aren’t owed compensation “where the change is bona fide, is not being used to discriminate or target them.” 

Don Wilkins

A lot has changed in the 40 years that Don Wilkins has spent trapping in the forests of north-central British Columbia. …As more primary forests fall in industrial logging operations, marten, lynx and other species once easily caught by trappers are plummeting in number… Fisher and marten, two members of the weasel family, “like big branches where they can rest and watch for prey species,” Wilkins says. “You don’t get those resting areas in tree plantations after logging. The trees are too young and they’re so close together. You can’t see anything.” Wilkins, who once worked in one of B.C.’s last steam-driven sawmills near Christina Lake, says he wants to be clear that he has never been opposed to logging. “It’s the extent of fibre extraction that bothers me,” he emphasizes as we head east on Highway 16, leaving his hometown of Prince George behind.

Crews finished up the last of the tree pruning activity in Okotoks last week, giving way to the annual elm pruning ban. The ban is in place from April 1 to Sept. 30 of each year to prevent the spread of Dutch Elm Disease. Tree pruning is done in the ‘dormant season’ to target certain harmful species and diseases, as bark beetles rest during the winter months, and cuts aren’t likely to attract them. The beetles spread the disease by carrying the Ophiostoma ulmi fungus from tree to tree… Thanks largely to those efforts, Alberta has the largest Dutch elm disease-free American elm in the world.

A debris slide in the central Okanagan has closed off the only direct road running between Vernon and West Kelowna. As Brady Strachan reports, it happened along steep slopes where a wildfire burned trees and vegetation two years ago. 

Related content: 

• CBC News: 90-metre landslide shuts road north of Lake Okanagan Resort

The wildfires that rampaged through and around Los Angeles at the beginning of the year prompted 120 new volunteers to join the Broombusters Invasive Plant Society in an effort to prevent the same catastrophe from happening here. Joanne Sales, executive director said that there’s been an increase in wildfires globally, and the primary culprit is climate change. She said on Vancouver Island, the main invasive species is Scotch broom and that FireSmart has listed the invasive plant as one of the highest-risk flammable plants in the region… those who are looking to stop its spread have said that allowing it to grow densely over the extensive network of B.C. Hydro’s transmission lines from Campbell River to Victoria creates a dangerous pathway for wildfires to spread quickly across the Island.

The Cowichan Lake weir will be put into operation this month to regulate the water flow out of Cowichan Lake into the river. Crofton Pulp Mill Owner, Domtar, says it will be done to ensure an adequate flow can be maintained during the summer. Once the weir is mechanically and electrically confirmed to be ready for another control season, the boat lock gates will be lowered, and boaters will need assistance from Boat Lock operator to pass through. While the weir lock is operated 24 hours per day during control season, passage through the locks is intended to be a daylight activity… Paper Excellence, owner of the Crofton Mill, rebranded itself as Domtar after acquiring Domtar Corporation and Resolute Forest Products last year.

The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and American forestry company Weyerhaeuser have struck what they describe as a “landmark partnership” to manage a tree farm licence (TFL) east of OIB reserve land near Oliver. The OIB said stewardship of their traditional territory “is both a responsibility and an opportunity”. Through this partnership, OIB says it has taken a co-leadership role in managing TFL 59, an area of “profound cultural, ecological, and economic significance”. The two aim to raise the benchmark for sustainable forestry by balancing modern forestry practices with traditional knowledge… The tenure has a broad and ambitious set of management objectives, including reducing wildfire risk, protecting water resources, enhancing wildlife habitat, increasing forest resiliency and rehabilitating areas impacted by the devastating 2021 wildfires.

The senior vice president of the Alberta Forest Products Association says there are a few things people in the Peace can do to support an industry dealing with tariffs and duties. Brock Mulligan says there is “a huge opportunity to build more with our wood.” “We see a growing demand for recreation centres. We think that a lot of them should look like the Philip J. Currie (Dinosaur) Museum out in the County of Grande Prairie. Amazing, beautiful wood building.” “We also see increasing urbanization and folks living in increasingly taller apartment buildings and those should be built with resources that are made here in Grande Prairie.” Mulligan says there are 2500 forestry jobs in or near Grande Prairie between the Canfor, International Paper, Weyerhaeuser and West Fraser mills.

Conservation groups are warning that a proposed Alberta government plan for a sub-region in west-central Alberta would wipe out two caribou populations if implemented. The draft plan for the Upper Smoky sub-region would enable the U.S.-based timber company Weyerhaeuser to entirely clearcut the last winter range forests… A Caribou Task Force, made up of Indigenous groups, industry, municipalities, various user groups and interest groups, had been established to advise the Alberta government on Upper Smoky sub-regional planning. These multi-stakeholder conversations were held from 2019 to 2021; however, none of the task force’s recommendations related to caribou conservation and recovery were reflected in the report. Public engagement runs until June 25 and can be completed online.