Region Archives: Canada West

The B.C. government has tasked new Forest Minister Ravi Parmar with reviewing its lead timber agency, B.C. Timber Sales. The Jan. 15 news release announcing the review, and Premier David Eby’s mandate letter to Parmar, both downplay the environment in favour of the business side of forestry… There is no mention of watersheds, biodiversity, wildlife, and climate change in either the news release announcing the review or in the mandate letter, which mentions old growth once in passing. Asked why it is not mentioned in the above six reasons for the BCTS review, or in Eby’s mandate letter, Parmar said, “I’m fully committed to fulfilling my obligations on the old growth action plan. … Biodiversity, taking care of our lands, being good stewards of our land, is critical to me, and it’s going to be a huge part of this review.”

In a mandate letter to Ravi Parmar, B.C.’s new minister of Forests, Premier David Eby directs Parmar to somehow come up with “a sustainable land base” that will ensure an annual harvest of 45 million cubic metres of timber to help support a floundering forest industry. That could be a tough order to fill, given the caveat attached to Parmar’s mandate that he do this “while fulfilling our commitment to protect old growth.” Old growth, after all, has been estimated to make up about one quarter of B.C.’s annual allowable cut (AAC) overall, and 50 per cent of the coastal AAC… The single biggest uncertainty is dwindling access to raw timber. In its letter to political leaders, the society asks for a working forest protected through legislation.

PEACE RIVER, Alberta – Mercer Peace River Pulp and Woodland Cree First Nation have signed a historic agreement extending their co-ownership relationship of Peace River Logging. The renewed partnership extends their positive working relationship and reinforces their commitment to responsible forestry practices. …Mercer and Woodland Cree have co-owned Peace River Logging since 2004, and this new agreement ensures the long-term sustainability of the joint venture and secures the jobs of more than 80 local people. “Mercer Peace River is committed to working with Indigenous communities and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Woodland Cree First Nation,” said Roger Ashfield, Managing Director of Mercer Peace River.”

Southern mountain caribou are disappearing in British Columbia and the federal government has been dragging its feet for more than a decade on protecting the endangered herds, conservation groups say in a letter to the environment minister Steven Guilbeault. The letter sent on behalf of the Wilderness Committee, Wildsight (see their press release here) and Stand.earth said three populations of the caribou are in particularly steep decline as logging and other industrial development cuts through their habitat in eastern B.C. Wildsight’s Eddie Petryshen said successive federal governments and environment ministers have “kicked the can further down the road,” and that trend continues today. …Environment and Climate Change Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. …Predator reduction may be part of a comprehensive recovery strategy for endangered caribou, Petryshen said, but it doesn’t address the destruction and fragmentation of their habitat, which is the driving force behind their decline.

In British Columbia, wood remains the primary framing material, remarks Anthony Marks, who constructs fire resistant modular homes, but the fire resistant modular homes his company constructs are framed with steel. They also use wood sheathing coated with a fire retardant and fibrous cement board products for exterior cladding. …Anabela Bonada, manager and research associate at the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation says there are solutions at hand to reduce the risk of fire to homes — Canada just hasn’t demanded they be taken yet. …Canada’s National Building Code is geared toward protecting buildings and homes in cities and doesn’t refer to wildfires. …Most Canadian communities are lagging in responding to wildfire threats, Bonada said. …Referring to the National Research Council of Canada’s guide for wildland-urban interface fires, she said programs like FireSmart have made simpler guides available.

Lori Daniels

Marina Melanidis

UBC Forestry wishes to congratulate Dr. Lori Daniels and Marina Melanidis on being awarded the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal! The Medal, administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall, commemorates individuals who have “made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada”. As the inaugural Koerner Chair in Wildfire Coexistence, and with her award-winning teaching, leading-edge research, and dedication to knowledge mobilization, Lori has worked tirelessly to keep our forests healthy and our communities safe. Marina Melanidis launched two very successful youth-led NGOs (Youth4Nature and Climate Guides) focusing on nature-based solutions and climate action, and is currently enrolled in a PhD program at Cambridge.

Legislative loopholes have been discovered that enable extensive logging in southern mountain caribou habitat, claim local environmental groups. The Wilderness Committee and Wildsight are calling on the province to stop approving roads and cutblocks in no-harvest zones and to fully protect all federally-identified core caribou habitat. …“According to our new map analyses, more than 78 hectares of no harvest zones (NHZ) — set aside for caribou in the Revelstoke area — have been logged or approved to be logged since then,” noted a press release on the matter. …Over the past two decades, only 10 of the 18 sub-populations (herds) remain on the landscape in southern and central B.C. …New research from the University of British Columbia confirms this dependency on hair lichen, warning that abundant hair lichen can only grow in advanced aged old-growth forests, and that restoring such lichen is virtually impossible in young forests.

Steven Kozuki

Forestry businesses are writing to the provincial government and opposition to “champion” better practices to protect the industry. Forestry Works of BC, a collection of businesses, details different ways the governments could implement greener practices within the industry. It asks the governments to take “specific and divisive action” to support and grow the sector. “The feeling in the industry right now, it’s financially and economically as bad as it’s ever been,” says Steve Kozuki, Executive Director of Forestry Works BC. “We’ve been under trade tariffs for quite some time, and the feeling is it would be nice to have our leaders in the province stand up for forestry.” Kozuki detailed several “key programs” the province could make a pivot within the industry and other resource sectors. Using lumbered and engineered wood that are eco-friendly for construction materials that would store and cleanse carbon dioxide.

Colorado wildlife officials say the capture of 15 grey wolves in British Columbia and their release in the U.S. state is complete, an operation they say led to unspecified threats against staff. The operation that began in B.C. on Jan. 10 and wrapped up on Saturday follows Colorado voters’ approval of a 2020 ballot initiative to reintroduce grey wolves to the state, where the animals are listed as endangered. But the program has stirred opposition, and a statement from Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Sunday says its staff have been threatened over the relocations. It says its officers were “watched” and were targeted by threatening phone calls and social media posts. The department says it did not share details while the wolf release was underway due to the “safety risk and security needs of our staff and the animals.” It adds that two of the 10 wolves reintroduced in Colorado in 2023 have been illegally shot.

The provincial government is injecting cash into early-stage planning for a potential forestry project by Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and its economic development arm, Nch’Kay Development Corporation, it was announced last week. With $50,000 from the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, the Nation will conduct pre-construction engineering and site assessments to determine the potential for a future capital project… Though details of the project haven’t been finalized, it represents a larger push in the forestry sector to use resources more efficiently, shift away from old-growth timber reliance, and invest in high-value manufacturing. The BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund is partnering with forestry companies throughout the province to grow and stabilize their operations and get the most out of our fibre supply, while producing more made-in-B.C. engineered wood products.

Forestry Works for BC is a group of forest-based organizations and companies, representing businesses engaged in all aspects of British Columbia’s forestry sector. …We ask you, the leaders of British Columbia, to take specific and decisive actions to support forestry. Become champions of forestry. Proclaim your intent to grow the forest bio economy in British Columbia. Create a legislatively protected working forest to ensure the forest sector can continue to create the social, economic, and environmental benefits for generations of British Columbians. Publicly and vocally recognize good forest management that reduces greenhouse gases, reduces wildfire smoke in the air, improves wildlife habitat, reduces wildfire risk and flooding, and provides family and community supporting jobs.

The Vancouver Park Board has unlocked another $3 million to the contractor currently cutting down dead trees in Stanley Park destroyed by a hemlock looper moth infestation. The bid committee for the board and city decided in mid-December on behalf of the elected park board and city council to approve a “change order” of $3 million to fund the next phase of “immediate work required to mitigate safety risks.” …A staff report that goes before commissioners Jan. 20 said “weather events” in October and November 2024 resulted in “tree failures.” That triggered urban forestry staff to get an independent assessment of the impacted areas of the park. …Typically, looper moth outbreaks occur on a 15-year cycle and last for up to two years before collapsing from cold winters and natural predators. The outbreak in Stanley Park is in its fifth year, with a park board document attributing its longevity to warmer winter and spring conditions.

Lori Daniels

Metro Vancouver isn’t immune to widespread wildfires like the ones devastating southern California. …Lori Daniels is a professor at the University of British Columbia and the faculty’s Koerner Chair in Wildfire Coexistence. She researches forest and wildfire dynamics and says the Lower Mainland has the potential for a disastrous conflagration given the right conditions.  “It’s already happened in Canada. We have seen wildland fires spread through communities where the ember or the flames ignited homes and then the fire becomes contagious from home to home,” she said. Wildfires have partially or fully destroyed several towns and cities across the province. While several factors contribute to fires, rising temperatures increase their likelihood dramatically. …”Could you imagine if the recent Dunbar fire had been on a windy day during the 2021 heat dome? It would have consumed multiple structures throughout the neighbourhood and perhaps created a conflagration in Pacific Spirit Park,” Daniels remarks.

Rhonda Millikin, an award-winning ecologist who has questioned Whistler’s approach to wildfire mitigation, was issued a cease-and-desist letter last month from Forest Professionals British Columbia (FPBC), which said she is not certified to offer forestry advice. The FPBC said in its Dec. 14 letter that Millikin was unlawfully engaged in the reserved practice of professional forestry by providing advice and recommendations to the RMOW to limit or cease forest fuel-thinning efforts. “On principle, we don’t have an issue with people, whether a member of the public or someone from a different profession, researching or holding opinions or even talking about those opinions,” explained Casey Macaulay, the FPBC’s registrar and director of act compliance, who authored the cease-and-desist letter. “Where it’s an issue is when they start to advocate for a particular practice, and in this case, where that practice is so out of sync with the current science and the current practice of protecting communities from wildfires.”

A Maple Ridge company was one of the beneficiaries of the provincial government’s recent announcement of support for forest sector manufacturers. Cedarland Forest Products, based on 256th Street, will receive as much as $1.3 million to buy and install new high-temperature kilns and a moulder, allowing the company to diversify its wood fibre sources to include underutilized species, and reduce its reliance on old-growth cedar. Cedarland produces lumber and profiled cedar products including siding, decking and panelling. The new initiative will enable Cedarland to produce new thermally modified wood products, access new markets, and create 23 new forestry jobs. “Support from the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund will help Cedarland install new advanced equipment, keeping us on the leading edge of re-manufacturing,” said Jeremy Hamm, general manager. “We will now be able to produce high-end finished products from a variety of B.C. species, while adding value every step of the way.”

Other recipients of recent funding: 
Kelowna company receiving government funding as part of forestry project boost

Lil’wat Lands and Resources is set to undertake a top-to-bottom update on its land-use plan—and it’s looking for help from Nation members. Since its passage in 2006, the Lil’wat Land Use Plan (LLUP) has provided a high-level vision for the Nation’s traditional territory that respects and recognizes Lil’wat principles. The policy addresses water security, fishing grounds, wildlife protection (for food and culture), diversity of vegetation and heritage preservation. The forestry section of the LLUP was updated in 2024 with funding from the province to address old-growth forest management. The addendum was spurred by a shift in management over Lil’wat Forests; Lil’wat Forestry now oversees a majority (76 per cent) of forested space in the traditional territory.

PRINCE GEORGE, BC — The BC Natural Resources Forum had various government representatives, First Nations, as well as industry and business leaders discuss challenges and futures pertaining to natural resources. The three-day event concluded Thursday in Prince George. C3 Alliance CEO, Sarah Weber said those include economic challenges, curtailments in forestry, and cumulative impacts on the land. …Weber says the forum is also another way for the north and southern parts of the province to have better understandings on issues and challenges presented. …“There’s so many things going on between forestry, mining, energy, and the conversations around those.” The BC Natural Resources Forum will return to Prince George for its 23rd annual event next year from January 20th to the 22nd.

The Coast Silviculture Committee is an ad hoc organization of forest professionals whose prime objective is to disseminate current technical forest management and silvicultural information to all forest practitioners and the public in coastal British Columbia. Its membership includes corporate, government, and self-employed professional foresters and forest technologist, forestry educators, forest land owners, researchers, and tenure managers. Every year the CSC holds two meetings; a short, one or two day, information meeting in winter, and a slightly longer field based technical workshop in early to mid- June; summer meetings are held in a different part of the coast each year. All of the surplus funds from workshops go towards supporting development of silvicultural expertise in students at the post-secondary level through providing of awards. The Winter 2025 workshop is scheduled for February 19 at Vancouver Island University. 

If anyone can get things done, it’s Terris Billyboy.  As the new general manager of Yunesit’in’s Leading Edge Wood Products, Billyboy’s vision is to ramp up production and get the business name circulating.  Based out of Horsefly, just east of Williams Lake, Leading Edge provides high quality wood productsfrom flooring and siding to glulam beams and rough-cut lumber. The business also offers lumber drying services and custom timber preparation and promotes a sustainable approach to the industry. “When I started it was so overwhelming,” Billyboy told the Tribune. She stepped into the role in May of 2024 after working as a labourer with West Fraser for eight years. Her career was essentially set at the plywood plant in Williams Lake; she was among the third generation of her family to work for West Fraser and was in her second year of a millwright apprenticeship.

Details of a Wildfire Studies Diploma program at Thompson Rivers University have been unveiled. Following a 30-day public feedback process, TRU says the university’s Senate and Board of Governors approved five certificates and one diploma program at the Centre for Wildfire Research, Education, Training and Innovation (TRU Wildfire). In a news release issued Tuesday (Jan. 14), TRU says three of the certificates that are expected to start in September 2025 are each a semester in length and equal to nine credits. They include Wildfire Science (Faculty of Science), Sociocultural Dynamics of Wildfire (Faculty of Adventure, Culinary Arts and Tourism) and Wildfire Communications and Media (Faculty of Arts)… While training is expected to begin in existing facilities, a state-of-the-art training facility and building on the TRU campus is also in the works.

The District of Elkford will send Canfor the bill after the District’s fire department responded to some unattended burn piles north of the community. “We understand that Canfor has registered these piles with the BC Wildfire Service as required,” said Elkford officials. “However, these piles are being lit and burned without consultation or advisement to the District of Elkford.” Director of Elkford’s Fire and Emergency Services Enzo Calla says the company also broke Category 3 Open Burn regulations with the November fires. “This was in contravention to the burning index that was issued for that time. We had a cold front inversion,” said Calla. “It kept the smoke at a low level within the municipal district for several days.”

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board is identifying opportunities for government to enhance how it manages and enforces range activities. This is following a complaint investigation about cattle grazing practices near Grand Forks. The board investigated concerns raised by the Southern Interior Land Trust (SILT) that two range agreement holders were not following their grazing schedules or maintaining fences as required by law, and that government actions taken in response to their concerns were inadequate. From 2021 until 2023, SILT observed cattle grazing on its private land it had purchased to conserve wildlife habitat. SILT contacted the Ministry of Forests’ range staff to request corrective action, sharing proof of the cattle grazing gathered using game cameras. …“It’s crucial that government record results when it conducts inspections,” said Keith Atkinson, chair, Forest Practices Board. “Documentation helps evaluate the accuracy of complaints, the effectiveness of enforcement efforts and can support corrective measures, if necessary.”

Benedict Roeser

This summer, I had the privilege of interning with Metsähallitus in Finland, which offered an amazing opportunity to gain experience in forestry and reconnect with the country after 12 years away. Returning to Finland was both a personal and professional highlight. …One of the most insightful aspects of the internship was learning about the differences in forestry practices between Finland and British Columbia. The level of efficiency and precision in Finnish forestry was impressive, especially in their approaches to silviculture. Observing how Finland implements sustainable practices in a way that balances ecological integrity with productivity has given me a new perspective on the possibilities within forest management. A standout experience was participating in a prescribed burn, an invaluable introduction to fire ecology. Seeing firsthand the positive effects that controlled burns have on soil health and biodiversity helped me realize the positive effects fire can have in forest management.

KAMLOOPS — Details of a Wildfire Studies Diploma program at Thompson Rivers University have been unveiled. Following a 30-day public feedback process, TRU says the university’s Senate and Board of Governors approved five certificates and one diploma program at the Centre for Wildfire Research, Education, Training and Innovation (TRU Wildfire). In a news release issued Jan. 14, TRU says three of the certificates that are expected to start in September 2025 are each a semester in length and equal to nine credits. They include Wildfire Science (Faculty of Science), Sociocultural Dynamics of Wildfire (Faculty of Adventure, Culinary Arts and Tourism) and Wildfire Communications and Media (Faculty of Arts). Two other approved certificates — Wildfire Leadership and Emergency Communications — are expected to start in 2026, along with the diploma in wildfire studies. 

The Lake Babine Nation’s forestry company has signed a long-term log supply and forest management agreement West Fraser, which owns the Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers. Lake Babine Nation Forestry Limited Partnership (LBN Forestry) will supply the mill through its new First Nations Woodland Licence (FNWL) and provides for West Fraser to work with LBN Forestry in the sustainable long-term management of the licence, consistent with Lake Babine Nation’s traditional values. “This agreement is a significant milestone marking the implementation of the Lake Babine Nation Foundation Agreement that was signed with the Province on September 18, 2020,” said Chief Wilf Adam… Adam noted the new FNWL also provides increased governance over the Nation’s resources, which supports improved fibre security to forest sector businesses in the region.

Parks Canada assures it is actively preparing for the upcoming wildfire season through risk reduction work in Jasper and Banff national parks this winter. Natalie Fay, external relations manager for Banff National Park, said in a media briefing Parks Canada uses a variety of tools and strategies such as prescribed fires, mechanical logging and tree thinning as well as the creation of community fireguards to help reduce the impacts of wildfire and climate change. “While we can never completely eliminate the risk of wildfire, Parks Canada is taking important steps to reduce that risk across the mountain national parks using safe and effective fire management,” Fay said. “Our agency is taking action to create healthy fire-resilient landscapes and communities.”

On April 12-16, more than 700 firefighting professionals, FireSmart experts and Indigenous, municipal and community leaders will gather in Penticton for the 2025 Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit. There, they’ll share lessons learned from 2024, along with the latest research, technologies, best practices and other information to help regions and communities prepare for the upcoming wildfire season. You’ll want to register fast before this conference sells out! The theme for this year’s Summit is Living with Fire: Building resilience by bringing fire back to the land, strengthening relationships, and investing in collective well-being. The Summit will kick off with two days of training for firefighting professionals, followed by a three-day conference featuring keynote addresses, expert panels, and networking opportunities. Whether you’re a firefighter, community leader, or industry professional, this event is your chance to connect with like-minded individuals, learn from experts, and contribute to a safer, more resilient future for British Columbia. 

The lawyer for a West Kootenay environmental organization has sent a formal cease-and-desist letter to BC Timber Sales, requesting that the agency drop its plans to log a piece of forest near Castlegar. The contested cutblock is located in the Cai Creek drainage.  “It is a biodiverse forest full of old growth trees, and B.C. Timber Sales’ logging plans would irreversibly disrupt this forest,” says Joe Karthein of the Save What’s Left Conservation Society. Biologist Matt Casselman of Castlegar is pushing to save the same forest through his website entitled Save Cai Creek. …BCTS has laid out three cutblocks in the Cai Creek drainage, but it is specifically Cutblock 3 that Casselman and Karthein are concerned about. They say Cutblock 3 may not be fully an old growth forest but it has some old growth in it. It is valuable for being an 80-per-cent intact watershed, which Casselman says is rare.

Alberta says a provincial Community Fireguard Program is mitigating the risks of catastrophic wildfires in at-risk communities. It will increase wildfire resilience in Canmore and the Bow Valley, according to the province. By removing trees surrounding vulnerable communities that can act as fuel in wildfires, residents, homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure are better protected in the case of a blaze. Alberta says construction on the new Bow Valley Community Fireguard started in the late fall of 2024, after it got $750,000 in provincial funding from the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta. …Work on the fireguard will be ongoing, including a combination of mechanical tree removal and forest thinning. The entire fireguard will be finished over the next three to five years, and planning is underway for the next stage of construction… Ahead of the 2025 wildfire season, the province said it is working on other fireguard initiatives, including in Whitecourt and Hinton.

The current state and future plans of the West Boundary Community Forest was available at an annual public meeting held on Thursday at the McCarthur Centre in Greenwood. Forest Manager Peter Flett and Ally Macmaster, Communications and Outdoor Education Centre Coordinator led the talk that ranged from a general overview, finances, revenue, funding, harvesting, wildfire mitigation efforts and even the Outdoor Education Centre that officially opened last summer. The purpose of the meeting, said Flett, was to let the public know what’s been accomplished in the community forest, completed projects, planned cutting and wildfire mitigation and try to answer any questions people may have about the operation. …Revenue from lumber harvested from the Community Forest totalled $400,000, which was split evenly between Midway and Greenwood, as joint shareholder communities. The Community Forest supports grants and bursaries, which totalled $112,020 in grants to 41 different groups and organizations, explained Macmaster. 

The BC Forest Practices Board (BCFPB) found five significant non-compliances in the Valemount Community Forest (VCF) audit released on December 17th, including two non-compliances in wildfire prevention measures. VCF is taking steps to establish more thorough training and pre-work planning to avoid similar oversights in the future, according to General Manager Kalina Velez. …While forestry is a complex industry and any given operation may have a handful of issues, the number of non-compliances found in VCF’s operations were alarming, said BCFPB Chair Keith Atkinson. …“It’s a wake-up call for us,” Velez said of the audit. …Now that Velez is at the helm, she has turned her focus towards drafting and revising policies that will improve the VCF’s practices in the long term. …Velez hopes that providing more thorough training and inviting questions and feedback from contractors will improve their practices without having to turn to punitive measures.