Region Archives: Canada West

Known for its snow, Whistler, B.C., will soon be running an emergency simulation for a threat that’s becoming ever more present: fire. First responders will be running an emergency evacuation drill on April 18, part of the resort community’s recent Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan as drought and climate change continue to intensify fire behaviour and the threat to life it presents. “Whistler is in the trees, we live in the forest, so it’s a real priority for us to understand risk and then do everything in our power to ensure we are prepared,” Mayor Jack Crompton told Global News on Thursday. The community has been implementing recommendations from a recent report into wildfire preparedness, which includes a recognition that Highway 99 is the only way in and out of the community. …Residents are also being included in wildfire preparedness plans, with a heavy focus on education and encouragement to FireSmart their properties.

A multi-year project on Fox Mountain near homes and properties is helping to reduce wildfire hazard and create healthier forests. The local Ministry of Forests has been managing the project, helping to oversee planning and contracts to complete the work to reduce accumulated forest fuels. This means cleaning up dead wood and woody debris, removing some larger trees to space them, where possible, and removing brush, juvenile trees and lower branches. …Much of the project work has involved hand-piling by contract crews and then burning or chipping and sending the chips for fibre, where physically and economically possible to do so. This work helps to ensure if wildfire does reach the treated area of forest, it would reduce the fire intensity in this section, helping keep the fire on the ground and potentially providing a point of defence for fire crews.

Students at Alberni District Secondary School are gaining some outdoor education experience from Mosaic Forest Management. The ADSS Outdoor Education program gives students in Grade 11 and 12 an opportunity to learn outdoor skills and environmental stewardship. “They learn to appreciate the outdoors and learn some skills while they’re at it,” explained ADSS teacher Tim Crosby. There are plenty of field trips … but money can be a limiting factor. Crosby says the school tries to keep the program as accessible as possible for all students, but it has struggled with funding in the past couple of years. …Mosaic Forest Management was “eager” to support the program, offering a few avenues for the class to raise funds. In March, students took part in a day of tree planting with Mosaic and Sitka Silviculture. …Mosaic is also allowing the class to sell firewood permits for the waste wood on their cut blocks in the Alberni Valley

As the region braces for another hot season of wildfires the regional district has stepped up its game in preparation. Approval has been given by the board of directors for an additional Emergency Program coordinator at the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) Nelson office to address several immediate and ongoing needs, including preparing for and responding to — as well as recovering from the increasing frequency, intensity and uncertainty — of floods, wildfires, drought and extreme heat in the RDCK. “…new provincial emergency management legislation, and seasonal Emergency Operations Center (EOC) staffing challenges could impact our capacity to deliver excellence of the Emergency Management Program,” said Dan Seguin, RDCK manager of Community Sustainability. The newly approved position will allow for the capacity to plan for, operationalize and implement the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (in force since Nov. 8, 2023).

Gerry Merkel

More than three years after announcing plans to defer logging of old-growth forests, the BC government continues talking with many individual Indigenous nations about whether or not to move ahead with the deferrals proposed on their territories. “The political decision was made, straight from the premier’s office, that we are not going to move with these unless we get First Nations’ agreement,” said Garry Merkel, a professional forester for 45 years and a Tahltan Nation member. …Merkel said that while some nations have said yes or no to proposed deferrals, most are still talking. That ongoing process underlies a recently publicized map, Merkel said. In a story published by The Tyee, Ben Parfitt argued the password-protected government mapping data he’d been leaked showed a “betrayal in the making”. …The report’s premise was simply wrong, said Merkel. …The map reflects the current state of that process. …Parfitt said he stands by his general conclusions… but regretted not mentioning that the government had referred the proposed deferrals to First Nations.

Considering the enormous government accountability crisis we are presently immersed in, I’m not surprised to learn of the old growth deferral shell game that Ben Parfitt recently exposed: Secret Map Shows BC Playing a Shell Game with Old Growth | The Tyee. In the Interior north of the Kootenays, few deferrals of rare and irreplaceable big-tree old growth were kept. Having clearcut themselves into a cul de sac of dwindling supply, industrial interests decided to secretly ignore decades of irrefutable publicly-funded science detailing our need for a massive shift in forest policy toward ecosystem health. …Hopefully, Parfitt’s expose will initiate the fundamental change necessary to enable future generations of locals to have more than tree farms and crumbs at their table. We demand accountability and a change in the industrial mindset culminating in the saving of our last ancient groves. Get on it, B.C. Government.

…Whenever we get a major fire close to homes or businesses, there is a risk — not only of evacuation and an effect on residents’ lives, but a looming threat of business interruption. The No. 1 piece of preparedness advice is awareness — always listen to authorities. If a community is on evacuation alert, residents need to be ready to go at the drop of a hat… For businesses, preparation can be a complex matter but is an important step toward mitigating risk and minimizing the effects of a wildfire. … Residents and business owners need to be aware of the tangible ways they can protect their lives, properties and assets from wildfire. …While community planners take into consideration how development can coexist with natural areas, communities can plan for events and take extra steps to prepare in advance to protect properties, reduce business interruption and safeguard lives.

An independent review of RCMP actions in shutting down a 2022 logging protest near Argenta is still underway a year after it began, and the lawyer representing the people who were arrested says the delay is predictable. The review is being conducted by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC), which is independent of the RCMP. It is investigating whether the RCMP “E” Division Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) followed its own policies and the law, and whether its policies and tactics comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. …Noah Ross, a Denman Island-based lawyer representing the arrested protesters, said the delays are an indication that as Canadians we do not value “timely, impactful police accountability” as much as we value “getting people off the road so industry can happen.” Ross thinks the investigation should be about “officer misconduct,” not just about policies and systemic issues.

CHETWYND — A decision to relocate the Northern Initial Fire Attack Crew from Chetwynd to Dawson Creek will not be reversed despite concerns raised to the minister of forests by local MLAs and mayors from across the Peace Region. In a letter addressed to the Chetwynd Mayor Allen Courtoreille and city council, Bruce Ralston confirmed the closure of the facility and its staff lodging on December 15th, 2023. Ralston said the closure was due to an absence of full-time staff and aging infrastructure at the base, and added that the move will not impact response times. …The BC Wildfire Service said today there was no impact to the response time for the Sukunka River wildfire, with crews already dispatched to Chetwynd in anticipation of a wildfire in the area. The letter was presented to Chetwynd city council during a regular council meeting on April 2nd, 2024. 

Angela Davidson

On January 18th, the Supreme Court of BC convicted a prominent Fairy Creek blockade participant seven counts of criminal contempt of a court injunction in regards to the efforts to block the old-growth area from being logged by the Teal-Jones Group. This week, that activist, Angela Davidson (Rainbow Eyes), is being sentenced in a Nanaimo court.  Davidson is a Kwakwaka’wakw person and a member of the Da’naxda’xw First Nation who was formerly the deputy leader of the Green Party of BC. She has argued through the court proceedings that her actions were supported as she acted as a land guardian in accordance with Kwakwaka’wakw traditions and customs. The BC Green Party says that the BC Supreme Court’s decision highlights the current difficulties facing the Canadian legal system in disputes between the system and Indigenous interests, customs and laws. 

…dozens of the fires whose smoke darkened North America’s skies last year are still burning — with some smouldering beneath layers of snow. These so-called “zombie fires” are a sign of a grim new normal that’s wreaking havoc even in far northern countries like Canada: A fire season that almost never ends. B.C. had 90 zombie blazes still burning as of mid-March, holdovers from last year’s record fire season, while Alberta started the year with 64 fires carried over from 2023 — more than 10 times the five-year average. As spring temperatures melt snow and uncover land parched by drought, those fires and new ones are poised to flare up, posing a fresh threat to Canada’s forests, not to mention the world’s atmosphere. …This year, with 71 per cent of Canada abnormally dry or in drought in February and swaths of the country as much as 5 degrees warmer than normal, governments and companies are bracing for a repeat. 

HAIDA GWAII — BC has officially recognized Aboriginal title to the Haida Nation over the islands of Haida Gwaii with a draft agreement that has been 50 years in the making. The agreement, called Gaayhllxid Gíihlagalgang “Rising Tide” Haida Title Lands Agreement, officially recognizes and affirms the nation’s right over the land of Haida Gwaii under Section 35 of the Constitution — which affirms the rights of Indigenous people. …The agreement sets out a new set of rules for how land will be governed on Haida Gwaii — along with a two-year transition process that will focus on how land resource decision-making will be addressed, starting with protected areas, fishing lodges and forestry, according to the document. …The deal will allow for a shift in land management that will not come into conflict with provincial laws, he said. …The agreement says free simple interests — such as private property — will remain under the jurisdiction of the province.

PRINCE GEORGE— The Nature Trust of B.C. has begun their final push to fundraise the remaining $450,000 needed before mid-April to protect The Ferguson Lake-Wetlands. The 129.2 hectares of land is host to old-growth riparian, wetland, and coniferous forest ecosystems. Sitting on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, Ferguson Lake-Wetland is vital habitat for wildlife particularly waterfowl. The parcel is an area of continental significance under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and home to two species that are at risk of extinction: the Barn Swallow and the Evening Grosbeak. …Additionally the land is adjacent to the Ferguson Lake Conservation Area, a 31 hectare plot of land owned by The Nature Trust of B.C. …The Nature Trust of BC says if they can raise the funds by mid-April, the land will be conserved, ensuring its old-growth forests and wildlife can be protected in perpetuity.

This International Women’s Day, meet some of the female leaders making a difference in their communities, conducting the latest research, fighting wildfires, and spreading the message of FireSmart every day.

Suborna Ahmed

UBC Forestry wishes to congratulate Dr. Suborna Ahmed, Assistant Professor in the Department of Forest Resources Management, on being the recipient of the UBC Open Education Resources (OER) Excellence and Impact Individual Award. The OER Excellence and Impact Awards recognize outstanding work by faculty who materially advance the use and impact of open educational resources in credit courses at UBC. Recipients are selected based on their overall excellence in creating, revising or using OER in teaching and learning; the impact of their OER work on students, including addressing the affordability of educational materials; and their contribution to the greater open education community at UBC. As a dedicated educator, Suborna has focused on developing multiple free and openly licensed educational resources, including creating new open textbooks, practice quizzes, and other OERs in areas such as computing in natural resources, forest biometrics, statistics, and geospatial data analysis. 

• Message from Executive Director Steve Kozuki: 2024 funding and projects
• A statement from Minister of Forests, Bruce Ralston: FESBC investments
• A safety tip from our friends at the BC Forest Safety Council: Operator Extraction and Steep Slope Rescue Drill
• Read about the wildfire mitigation work undertaken by Ntityix Resources LP in West Kelowna
• Learn more about how two Merritt-based companies are working together in advancing sustainable forest management
• Meet our Faces of Forestry featured person, Dave Gill

A Quadra Island community is increasingly frustrated by its inability to protect vital watersheds from being clear-cut despite the increasing risks of climate change. Many residents in the Copper Bluffs community and elsewhere on the island have been urging Mosaic Forest Management to reconsider logging remnants of mature forests, particularly in stream sheds and wetlands. Despite long-standing opposition from residents, Mosaic has harvested six parcels totalling five hectares… [and the] residents believe this puts the community at greater risk from drought and wildfire. Mosaic originally planned to log the parcels adjacent to Swan Lake in fall 2023 but delayed operations to allow for further community engagement, the email said. The company also contracted an independent report to see if logging on the cutblocks would endanger drinking water quality for residents.

Once a year, the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit brings together wildfire practitioners from all over BC and beyond. With speakers and workshops, we explore how to make BC homes, communities, and the landscape more wildfire resilient. The upcoming summit will take place in Prince George on April 20-24, 2024. Our theme for this year’s Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit is Recover, Rebuild, Prepare. The Summit will kick off with two days of training for firefighting professionals, followed by a three-day conference, where we’ll explore the lessons learned from 2023, along with the latest research, technologies, best practices and other information to help regions and communities prepare for the upcoming wildfire season. We look forward to seeing you in April as we work together to make communities across British Columbia more wildfire resilient.

Sherwood Park, AB. — In March, Vegreville Composite High was chosen as one of 20 high schools in Alberta to attend the 13th annual Regenerate Forest and Wildlife Youth Summit. …Hosted by Inside Education, the four-day summit takes place in Canmore, Alberta. …“The Inside Education team was amazing, and they alone were a huge highlight for students. On the first day, Elder Heather Poitras welcomed us. Students then had an amazing time learning from the keynote speaker Colin Angus and all the different presenters, especially those from the Alberta Fish and Wildlife Stewardship, Alberta Forest Products Association, Alberta Forestry and Parks, Cenovus Energy, NorQuest College and TC Energy. I was blown away with the amazing opportunities shared with us. Students had the chance to learn about emerging careers, post-secondary opportunities and get hands-on experience in these fields,” said Andrew MacLean, the Off-Campus Facilitator and Environmental Stewardship Teacher at Vegreville Composite.