Region Archives: Canada West

In the Line of Fire, a series that digs into what is being done to prepare for — and survive — wildfires. Bringing back ancient Indigenous fire practices helps restore cultural connections, heal the land and strengthen communities. On Gitanyow lands, restorative fire brings people together and mitigates increasingly intense and widespread wildfires driven by climate change. …Setting fires to fight fires may seem counterintuitive as wildfires across Canada increase in size and intensity, but the method is backed by decades of research and on-the-ground trials — and thousands of years of Indigenous science. In B.C., the government’s wildfire department is teaming up with First Nations to support cultural burns and other ways of using fire for the common good. Planned burns like the one on Gitanyow lands present a different way to think about fire and an opportunity to help meet the climate emergency head-on by mitigating the impacts of wildfires and restoring balance in forest ecosystems.

A corner of northeast British Columbia representing nearly a fifth of the province has reached high to extreme drought levels, a water shortage so dire it ranks among the worst drought conditions in Canada. Dave Campbell, head of the B.C. River Forecast Centre, said the latest drought data shows a wide swath of land in the Peace and Fort Nelson districts are facing multi-year drought conditions. In Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, the region’s rivers have experienced nearly two years of record low flows — conditions that impact both local people and wildlife. …B.C.’s northeast has been a major hot spot for wildfires over the past 18 months. About 160 kilometres to the north, holdover fires from the 2023 Donnie Creek wildfire — the largest the province has ever recorded — continue to burn, according to the BC Wildfire Service. This year, wildfires have already prompted the evacuation of nearly 5,000 people across the province’s northeast.

The Province and Blueberry River First Nations are moving forward with implementation of the Gundy High Value 1 Plan, consistent with the Blueberry Implementation Agreement, to protect Treaty Rights, support restoration and land protection measures, and create more certainty for everyone in northeastern B.C. who relies on resource industry jobs to support their lives and families. …The Gundy plan will establish and implement actions to support the restoration and ongoing practice of Blueberry’s Treaty Rights and essential elements of their way of life like hunting, fishing, trapping and sacred site preservation, while enabling limited petroleum and natural gas (PNG) development under new rules and conditions. The plan provides clearer direction to petroleum and natural gas tenure holders about where they can undertake development causing new disturbance, and where there are protections.

In this newsletter:

• A safety tip from the BC Forest Safety Council.
• Wildfire mitigation and fibre utilization work undertaken by Atli Resources LP.
• Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. release video on their Pressy Lake pilot project. 
• FESBC receives Gold Hermes Creative Award.
• We are looking for a new Executive Director for FESBC.
• Meet our Faces of Forestry featured person, Aurora Lavender.

The annual allowable cut has been reduced for a section of South Island forest that’s been ground zero for anti-logging protests. Tree Farm Licence 46 covers the Fairy Creek Watershed and Walbran Valley. Both have have been lightning rods in recent years for protests against logging that could affect old-growth trees. This week the chief forester ordered a reduction in the region’s annual allowable cut by 5.5%, nearly 20,000 cubic metres, more than 500 truckloads. The province says the reduction is to support old-growth forests, account for wildlife habitat retention, visual quality and First Nations cultural heritage resources and practices, while allowing for sustainable harvest levels. The licence is held by Teal Jones, which filed for creditor protection in BC court last month.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Firefighters from across Canada have gathered in Strathcona County to learn more about responding to wildland fires in urban areas. The county is the first Canadian community in 2024 to host the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Responding to the Interface (RTI) program to further their specialized training in fighting wildfires that burn in areas where communities meet grasslands and forests. On Tuesday, firefighters took part in an operational readiness exercise, acting as if a wildfire was coming towards the Busenius Estates neighbourhood in the county directly east of Edmonton. …“For structural firefighters, we’re used to having a fire, if you will, inside of box and we’re really good at keeping that fire in that box,” said Mark Brise, master instructor with IAFF. The program equips firefighters with tactics, strategies and skills to respond effectively to wildland urban interface fires and be able to train other firefighters.

The Wilderness Committee is accusing the B.C. government of delays when it comes to protecting old-growth following the release of a forestry progress report. But government says that reports details “unprecedented action” to conserve B.C.’s oldest forests. …Forests Minister Bruce Ralston defends the report and the pace of the work.”Our work includes unprecedented action to conserve our oldest forests through the $1-billion agreement with Ottawa and First Nations, expand actions to prevent wildfires and improve mapping, data and forest research,” he said. Ralston’s ministry also points out that ending all old-growth logging was not among the recommendation of the review, adding that the review specifically stated some harvesting in some areas was possible and necessary. …“Ultimately, the B.C. government is attempting to thread the needle and appear as if they are taking action by discussing intentions on old growth logging while neglecting to follow through with real action,” Tobyn Neame, a forest campaigner said.

The Kwiakah First Nation is a small nation of 21 members but it is fighting to save the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. The M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area covers 7,865 hectares of forested land. …“We as Kwiakah people have a vision of the future — where grizzly bears roam through the mossy, misty forests of our territory, and where the youth only know their forests as protected and abundant,” said Chief Steven Dick. The protected forest area will also help create forest steward jobs and a research centre for an Indigenous-led conservation economy. This is the ninth management area within the Great Bear Rainforest, which prohibits commercial harvesting and allows Kwiakah to practice regenerative forestry to bring the forest back to its pre-industrial state.

BANFF, Alberta — The loggers’ work was unmistakable. Flanked by dense forests, the 81-acre expanse of land on the mountainside had been stripped nearly clean. …The harvesting of trees would be routine in a commercial forest — but this was in Banff, Canada’s most famous national park. Clear-cutting was once unimaginable in this green jewel, where the longstanding policy was to strictly suppress every fire. But facing a growing threat of wildfires, national park caretakers are increasingly turning to loggers to create fire guards: buffers to stop forest fires from advancing into the rest of the park and nearby towns. “If you were to get a highly intense, rapidly spreading wildfire, this gives fire managers options,’’ David Tavernini, a fire and vegetation expert at Parks Canada, the federal agency that manages national parks, said as he treaded on the cleared forest’s soft floor. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]

Paper Excellence is delighted to share the successes that our partner, Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF), has accomplished in the past year. We value the work PSF does to preserve salmon habitat and restore the salmon population because it supports our commitment to protecting freshwater and marine ecosystems. One of their recent projects is the creation of new salmon habitats in Northern B.C. by the Kitsumkalum Band.

Snow levels in British Columbia are well below normal levels, according to the most recent data from the province. The May 15 snow survey and water supply bulletin, released by the province last week, showed the provincial snowpack is at 57% of normal levels across the province. The May 1 data was 66% of normal. On average, around 17% of the seasonal snowpack had melted by May 15, but this year, 31 per cent of the peak snowpack had melted by that date. This was the result of low elevation melt in April and warm weather from May 9 to 12. …The Vancouver Island snowpack was at 34% of normal as of May 15, while the Stikine snowpack was at 101% of normal. This was the only snow pack reporting above-normal levels. Because of the low snowpack in much of the province, reduced flood risk is expected. In addition, there is an increased risk of drought this year.

Although it is still early in the fire season, wildfires are burning in parts of British Columbia. Figures from the BC Wildfire Service show wildfires have been reported in all parts of the province except the northwest. The majority are in the Prince George Fire Centre’s coverage area. The fire activity at this time of year is disturbing, especially when watching past fire statistics. …So far this year, more than 140,000 hectares have been destroyed by fire. This figure is far lower than 2023, 2018 or 2017. However, this is significantly greater than the amount of land burned during the entire fire season in 2022, and around 10 times the amount of land destroyed by wildfires in 2020. …This year, because of the level of wildfire activity this early in the fire season, there is cause for concern. …The 2024 wildfire season has started aggressively and it is possible this year will result in destruction similar to that seen in recent years.

British Columbia’s chief forester has set a new allowable annual cut (AAC) level for Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 46, located on southern Vancouver Island. The new AAC for TFL 46 is 360,000 cubic metres, a 5.5% reduction from the previous AAC set in 2012. This decision recognizes the suspension of old-growth harvesting in the Fairy Creek Watershed and the Central Walbran Valley through orders, identifying them as temporary deferral areas within TFL 46. The current temporary deferral areas remain in place. This new AAC supports old-growth forests, accounts for wildlife habitat retention, visual quality and First Nations cultural heritage resources and practices, while allowing for sustainable harvest levels. The determination includes two partitions… with specific rules: one outlining that no more than 180,000 cubic metres can be harvested from forest stands more than 250 years old; and the other outlining that no more than 180,000 cubic metres can be harvested from stands 250 years old or less.      

Garry Merkel

It’s been four years since a pair of professional foresters hired by the BC NDP government urged the province to take a radically new approach to old-growth forests. In their strategic review, Garry Merkel and Al Gorley said the government should manage B.C.’s old forests as ecosystems rather than a source of timber. …A BC government old-growth update says “significant progress” has been made on implementing 14 recommendations made in the foresters’ review of old-growth strategy. Yet it also cautions it “will take years to achieve the full intent of some of the recommendations.” Environmental groups and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs were quick to criticize the update, saying it lacks concrete commitments to urgently protect B.C.’s remaining old-growth forests. …But Merkel, who is working for the government on contract, urged patience, telling The Narwhal much of the work is taking place behind the scenes. 

Brad Stelfox

BRAGG CREEK, Alberta — According to landscape ecologist Dr. Brad Stelfox, the Greater Bragg Creek ecosystem is an iconic landscape. …One of Stelfox’s slides was a picture of a grizzly bear as it ambled through the West Bragg Creek parking lot adjacent to where a BC logging company is planning on clearcutting next year, in the middle of a heavily-used recreation area. “There is a growing and significant amount of anxiety about a swing towards land uses that are modifying this landscape very quickly, and a new approach to decision-making may be in order.” …Stelfox is an adjunct professor in Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta and the Department of Environmental Design, University of Calgary. …All land uses have benefits, Stelfox said, just as they all have liabilities. The key is to manage land use from economic, social and environmental perspectives at the same time. It’s all about trade-offs. “

As wildfires turn large swaths of forests into seas of charred spires, wildfire experts say the blackened blotches on the B.C. landscape can have a lasting effect reducing fire risk and severity. Mike Flannigan, a wildfire researcher at Thompson Rivers University, said historic wildfire scars have less fuels available, meaning fires will burn less intensely and can be used as a break to slow the spread of a raging wildfire. “Because it’s lower intensity, fire management can manage it effectively and suppress it as opposed to a running crown fire, which they can’t,” Flannigan said. “When things are really extreme, really hot, dry and windy, it will burn through, but it generally will be lower intensity, so you can still manage it more effectively than if it was in a forest.” 

Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais isn’t going to rehash what everyone in the Central Okanagan already knows about wildfires when he opens the three-day Wildfire Coexistence Symposium in Kelowna next week. The Assistant Professor in UBC Okanagan’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences says the event is tailored toward innovative wildfire solutions. “We want to move beyond recognizing the problem to finding and implementing solutions that address the whole-of-society issue of wildfire,” he says. “This is about understanding what’s happening around our communities and making us better prepared.” Dr. Bourbonnais as well as his colleague and co-presenter from UBC Vancouver, Dr. Lori Daniels, have tailored the symposium to as broad an audience as possible. They will touch on new technology and new tactics. They’ve designed the symposium to be engaging, with panels, moderated questions and audience interaction with over 20 experts in various fields.

For more than two weeks, firefighters battled to bring the Parker Lake wildfire threatening the northeast B.C. community of Fort Nelson under control. With the fire declared as “being held” on Monday, some found time for another task — hanging a banner from a ladder truck to welcome home returning evacuees. Rob Fraser, mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality which includes Fort Nelson, said he got more hugs on Monday afternoon than he has received in a long time. The evacuation orders covering Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson First Nation ended at 8 a.m. …A statement from the municipality said the community had been deemed safe to re-enter but there were still active fires in the area. An evacuation alert, requiring people to be ready to leave at short notice, is now in place for Fort Nelson and the First Nation.

The president and chief operations officer of the world’s “largest aerial firefighting company” has said not a single one of its aircraft is being contracted out in its home province of BC. Britt Coulson sat down with NowMedia this week to discuss the recent announcement that Coulson Aviation will be converting its first Boeing 737-700 into the world’s highest capacity Large Air Tanker (LAT). Last week, Bruce Ralston, minister of forests, told NowMedia all the leases were signed for aircraft for this year’s wildfire season. On Monday, NowMedia asked Coulson if the Port Alberni-based company had any aircraft contracted to BC. …He said that based on historically political issues with past provincial governments led the company to “go where we’re wanted,” which includes contracts in the US and Australia. Coulson said in the past there was “a negative stigma” attached to the use of the Martin Mars bombers in the early 2000s because they were owned by a private company.

WEST VANCOUVER, BC — The District of West Vancouver and the B.C. Parks Foundation announced the creation of one of the biggest municipal parks of its kind. The 7.8 square kilometres of land donated by West Vancouver makes the park almost twice the size of Stanley Park. …Mayor Mark Sager called it a monumental day during a ceremony at Cypress Pop-Up Village. “This area will help preserve sensitive ecosystems and wildlife, and store carbon to fight climate change,” Sager said. “It will also ensure that old-growth trees will continue to stand in our stunning municipality, which we know is very important to our residents and people across the globe. …Together the new park, West Vancouver’s existing parks, the surrounding Capilano and Seymour watersheds, the Old Growth Conservancy and Cypress Provincial Park form a protected area for wildlife and mature trees covering more than 320 square kilometres.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc forestry company has lost the majority of an appeal after it was fined $12,000 over a load of unmarked timber discovered during an investigation into an illegal firewood operation. According to a May 6 Forests Appeal Commission decision, the case dates back to 2019 when the province was investigating an illegal firewood operation in Knutsford, outside Kamloops. The investigation led officers to search a lumber yard at LeBeau Bros. Logging where they found eight decks of unmarked and unscaled timber being stored. The decision says at the time LeBeau Bros was the sole contractor for Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc owned Tk’emlupsemc Forest Development Corporation, and the law makes Tk’emlupsemc responsible if a contractor breaks the rules. …The Tk’emlupsemc Forest Development Corporation argued it had done its due diligence in making sure that all timber followed the correct procedure.