Region Archives: Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC – A Federal Court Justice has ruled in favour of conservation groups that challenged the federal Environment Minister for failing to take action to protect the critical habitats of at-risk migratory birds. This includes the Marbled Murrelet, which relies on coastal old-growth forests. Ecojustice lawyers were in court on behalf of Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee, to advocate for the protection of migratory birds.  …The groups’ main contention was that a “protection statement” issued by Minister Guilbeault in 2022 too narrowly interpreted the Species at Risk Act. …Last week, Chief Justice Crampton concluded that only ensuring the protection of migratory birds’ nests, but not the rest of their critical habitat, was not justified under the law or key facts before the Minister. The Chief Justice concluded that the Minister should have considered that habitat loss and degradation is a key driver in the decline of most at-risk bird populations. 

As we move closer to spring, it’s important to remember that wildfire resilience begins with proactive preparation. It’s the actions we take now—before wildfire season—that make a world of difference. To help residents with their preparation, we updated our Home Partners Hub and released a case study about the program to show what it looks like in action. These resources make it easier than ever to learn more about the program, schedule an assessment, and start your wildfire resilience journey. The FireSmart BC Home Partners Program (HPP) was designed to engage residents in voluntary wildfire mitigation activities by offering a professional home assessment with property-specific recommendations.

There are still dozens of active wildfires in northeast B.C., linked to last year’s brutal season that saw the Prince George region account for 80 per cent of the province’s burned land. According to the B.C. Wildfire Service’s wildfire map, there are 87 wildfires active in the Prince George region, an unusually high number. There is just one active wildfire in the province’s five other regions. Prince George Fire Centre spokesperson Sharon Nickel said that holdover fires were more likely to occur when a very large area had burned and when drought conditions were persistent and/or severe. …“As there are still areas that are under snow cover and areas where the fire has likely travelled underground, we cannot call additional fires “out” or confirm where (or if) there are active hot spots.” …Nickel said there was a continuing drought in the region and a low snowpack.

The Province hopes to be able to negotiate agreements with Indigenous governments and begin sharing decision-making on public land use in the late spring of 2024. The 2019 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) is the provincial framework for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. DRIPA provides flexibility for the Province to enter into agreements with Indigenous governments to share decision-making on the use of public land together. However, amendments to pre-existing legislation (like the Land Act) are required to make this happen. …The Declaration Act aims to create a path forward that respects the human rights of Indigenous Peoples while providing better transparency and predictability related to the work we do together. The Province wants to know your thoughts on sharing public land use decision-making. This information will help ensure the path forward is informed by a range of perspectives and solutions. Engagement is open until March 31, 2024

John Rustad

PRINCE GEORGE – The Conservative Party of BC says it’s time to repeal the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). …He also opposes the provincial government’s sweeping changes to BC’s Land Act, which he calls an assault on private property rights and our shared rights to use crown land. …“It is an assault on your private property rights and our shared rights to use Crown Land,” says Rustad. “To achieve true reconciliation, BC must first be brave enough to come forward and address the issue of returning land to First Nations, who do not currently have sufficient property rights needed to secure prosperity. …“It is clear that this cannot mean returning all traditional lands; returning lands needs to be based on economic reconciliation, which is not about transferring potential from one group to another — but rather adding potential for all British Columbians.

James Steidle

To: BC Provincial Government: I suspect the majority of your letters will be about old-growth conifer, and yes, protecting old-growth conifer is important. But it is important we do not lose sight of the critical role the younger (and older) deciduous forests in this province … play in biodiversity. They play a massive role in this. If all we have is old-growth conifer and managed conifer plantations, a vast array of biodiversity will be absent from our forests. I run a group on facebook called Stop the Spray BC. We also have a website and have spearheaded a petition with over 137,000 signatures. …The point of this group is to educate the public about the biodiversity values of deciduous broadleaf forests, along with other critical values, which are so often forgotten about due to cultural, commercial, and educational biases.

Alberta fire chiefs are calling for the province to “urgently” release its wildfire strategy ahead of the official start of the season on March 1. In an open letter published Wednesday, the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association (AFCA) warned that a dry winter could spark events as devastating as last year’s. In 2023, an unprecedented 2.2 million hectares burned across the province after unusually hot, dry and windy conditions in the spring. “There is a growing concern among fire chiefs across the province of the lack of communication of what the plan is, allocation of funds compared to previous years and plan for the recruitment and deployment of firefighters and equipment,” the letter said. Association president Randy Schroeder, chief of Lac Ste. Anne County Fire Services, told Postmedia Wednesday last year’s response saw agencies work together, but overall, it was too reactionary.

The Province is responding to the first cases of chronic wasting disease in British Columbia, found in two deer samples from the Kootenay Region. Chronic wasting disease is an infectious and fatal disease affecting species in the cervid family, such as deer, elk, moose and caribou. There is no direct evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans and there have been no cases of the disease in humans. However, to prevent any potential risk of transmission or illness, Health Canada and the World Health Organization recommend people not eat meat or other parts of an animal infected with chronic wasting disease. …The two cases were identified south of Cranbrook. …In response to the disease being detected in neighbouring jurisdictions, the Province established a surveillance and response plan for chronic wasting disease to lessen the risk of the disease spreading in B.C.

David Eby

What does Premier David Eby’s strong support for the natural resources sector this past month mean for this election year? …Eby set out a revised message to the natural resources sector at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George this month, stating that “everyone in this room, every British Columbian, shares a stake in ensuring that this sector is successful and drives our prosperity in the future.” This is a significant departure from his tone up to now, which was publicly critical of the natural resources sector, calling it out for inadequate industry leadership and investment in climate-aligned solutions. The question now is: Will he take the same message to the rest of the province, including areas where support for the sector could be described as contentious at best? …Forestry and mining were also tapped by the premier as significant economic drivers for the province. 

In 2023, the Province of British Columbia had over 2.84 million hectares of forest and land burned, tens of thousands of evacuees, and hundreds of homes lost or damaged due to wildfires. … In a recent talk at TEDx Abbotsford, BCIT alumnus and Forest and Natural Areas Management faculty Justin Perry discussed the historical suppression of wildfires and its consequences in heightening fire risks. In his talk, Justin advocated for an alternative strategy to preventing wildfires. …Instead of solely suppressing fires, Justin argues for a more holistic approach, including conducting “controlled burning” which can help mitigate uncontrolled wildfires in the long-term. “Fires are a natural part of the ecosystem,” Justin says. “Without fire, the forest becomes dense. Combine this with climate change, we have forests that are too dense, dried out, and ready to burn.”

The idea that clear-cuts help stop forest fires is a myth. That is the conclusion of a number of recent studies in the western U.S. Clear-cuts provide an area hotter and drier than the surrounding forests in fire season. Without trees, clear-cuts have no wind breaks, which allow wind speeds to increase. Clear-cut logging tends to spread invasive grasses, which are flammable. In the first several years after logging, fires in a clear cut will burn hotter and travel faster than in the surrounding forest. In the western U.S., forested areas around a community are some times clear-cut to reduce fire risk. This is termed “thinning.” However, this actually increases risk. One example is the Camp Fire which destroyed the town of Paradise, CA., in 2018. The forested area around Paradise had previously been “thinned.” No forest treatment more than 30 metres from a dwelling has been shown to reduce fire risk.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) needs to invest more into its initial (IA) crews and equipment to tackle wildfires before they grow into destructive interface fires. That’s what Allan Willcocks, a retired professional forester and resource manager with 40 years of experience, says. Willcocks sat down with Rick Maddison on KelownaNow Live to discuss BC’s current approach to forestry and fire management. Willcocks, who now lives in West Kelowna, worked with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for seven and a half years and has also fought fires and practiced forestry in BC. He says natural resource management in Ontario was an integrated approach involving land and resource managers, firefighters and a well-budgeted initial attack program.

A new report from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society British Columbia found the province’s Old Growth Management Areas “do not meet conservation standards and contain little old growth.” The report found that the actual composition of these areas, called OGMAs, are mostly (58 per cent) young forest, with old forests (roughly 141 to 250 years), making up just under one third of the total area protected by Old Growth Management Areas. The remaining 13 per cent is either not forested or does not have sufficient data. …CPAWS recommends that the province amend the OGMA guidelines to ensure old growth is protected … and reform laws to ensure boundary changes and industrial activity cannot take place in the protected areas. …The Ministry of Forests responded to the report, saying that “it is correct that many Old Growth Management Areas contain more mature forests than old growth. However, mature forests were included to capture larger, more contiguous areas.”

KAMLOOPS — Mike Anderson says slash burning has been the way to clean up a cut block after harvest. “I’ve been working for Skeetchestn for about 27 years now,” Anderson recalls. “What we’ve seen for the last 10, 15, 20 years is a lot of ‘waste wood’ go up in smoke.” As an advisor and negotiator for Skeetchestn Natural Resource Corporation, Anderson saw that a significant amount of usable fibre wasn’t being used, so suggested a way for some industry partners to salvage that fibre. “We kind of pushed on Kruger and Arrow to figure out what they can do with these waste piles,” Anderson says. Kruger generates power at its Kamloops pulp mill operation by burning biomass, in the form of hog fuel. …For Anderson, collaborations like this represent economic reconciliation with First Nations communities in the region, who can get a say on how the resources taken off their lands are harvested.

Additional coverage from Forest Enhancement Society of BC: A local Interior First Nation takes the lead to add value to low-value wood fibre

Masters in Sustainable Forest Management students from the University of British Columbia (UBC) toured forestry management areas between the Okanagan and Kootenays as part of their final course marks, as well as to meet people living and working in the areas. The group paid a visit to Christina Lake on Jan. 24 to meet members of the public and take in a presentation and project assignment from Dan Macmaster, forestry manager with the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and a graduate of the UBC program. This excursion is part of an intense capstone course for the students, said Ken Byrne, lecturer and coordinator with the MSFM Program. Students have been visiting active forestry projects, mills and meeting with residents to get real-world data for their projects, as well as a sense of what their careers and lives will be like once they are professional foresters.

Workers in British Columbia’s silviculture sector, including forestry workers, tree planters and staff at nurseries, will benefit from new training to better prepare them to prevent and mitigate wildfires. …In partnership with the Western Forestry Contractors’ Association, a two-year pilot project will ensure workers around the province are trained to understand risks, mitigations and have the skills required for best fire safety practices in B.C.’s forests. …New training in fire prevention, climate change awareness and hands-on training with forestry tools will be provided through $900,000 from the 2022-23 Canada-British Columbia Workforce Development Agreement. …“The silviculture labour-force strategy will ensure that B.C.’s silviculture sector continues to grow and diversify its workforce, while learning new skills necessary to restore our forests and mitigate the effects of climate change on our landscapes,” said John Betts, executive director, Western Forestry Contractors’ Association.

Juvenile salmon in British Columbia are growing larger than they did 100 years ago due to climate change, according to a new Simon Fraser University-led study. Century-old fish scales are yielding new insights into how salmon populations are responding to climate change in northern B.C., and how maintaining the integrity of freshwater habitats may help salmon adapt to warming temperatures. SFU biological sciences Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow Michael Price, with other SFU researchers and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, have used modern genetic tools to analyze fish scales collected from fisheries since 1913 to reconstruct the historical growth of juvenile sockeye in various lakes across the Skeena watershed. Their paper, published in Global Change Biology, finds that the annual freshwater growth of juvenile salmon is substantially higher in recent years than it was a century ago, by about 35%. 

With parts of Alberta gripped by severe drought, fire chiefs across the province are asking the government to share its strategy for fighting wildfires this year. The Alberta Fire Chiefs Association (AFCA) published an open letter (opens in a new tab)to the Alberta government Wednesday, expressing “significant concern” over the upcoming wildfire season. AFCA president Randy Schroeder said fire chiefs have been meeting with government officials, but no plans for this year’s wildfire response have been shared yet. “They’re acknowledging that if things don’t change in 2024, it’s going to be a problem for this province,” said AFCA president Randy Schroeder. “And we don’t have a plan in place that says, ‘This is what the province is doing to prepare for response for the upcoming wildfire season.'”

Rob Logan is a tree cruiser, and like all of the people in Silvicola, a new documentary about B.C.’s forest industry as seen by the people it employs, his story isn’t simple. Silvicola won the John Kastner Award at Hot Docs 2023 and the Best Canadian Feature Film at Planet in Focus 2023. It plays Feb 4 at the Victoria Film Festival, and Feb 28 at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival as well as online viewing. For director and producer Jean-Philippe Marquis, the film’s complex reflections are the point. “The main goal of the film is to touch into the internal dilemma,” he said. “‘I love the forest, but I destroy it.’” …I made the choice to only feature people who work in the forest — I didn’t want a bad-guy, good-guy dichotomy. I wanted criticize some aspects of the industry, but always with respect for the workers, knowing that they love the forest, and have a deep understanding of it.

Mosaic Forest Management and the Arrowsmith Cycling Club (ACC) have reached a formal agreement that sanctions access to the Hammerfest Trail Network in Errington. The agreement gives ACC formal access to manage, maintain and recreate in the Hammerfest Trail Network, while providing Mosaic with assurance of a high level of conduct among users and a focus on safety, according to a news release by Mosaic. “The agreement with Mosaic Forest Management celebrates the potential of the Hammerfest Trail Network as a showcase for this region,” said Jake Friesen, ACC president. “We’re thrilled that these sanctioned trails will become a part of Vancouver Island’s world-renowned class of single-track mountain bike trails.” ACC will be responsible for stewardship of the trails to ensure compliance with industry standards for trail building.

The Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change says eastern and southern Alberta are facing some of the worst drought conditions on record. …He says the snowpack in the Rockies is overall around 70 per cent below the median for this time of year, and the recent warm spell has started significantly melting. Snowpack and glaciers help keep reservoirs up, limit low water levels during summer months and keep rivers cooler and better oxygenated. “It’s lower than it was last year at this time, and last year turned out to be a disaster,” Pomeroy said. “So I’m quite concerned.” …Last year – 2023 – was the worst fire season on record – hot, dry and destructive, triggering mass evacuation orders and stretching the world’s firefighters to the limit. …He cautions it’s too soon to know for sure what the upcoming season will bring.

I wanted to congratulate our NDP government. You are well on the way to achieving one of your major goals, destroying an industry that has provided prosperity to BC for many years. Fraser Lake Sawmill will be closing due to not having enough timber. …Why are we in this position? The NDP government in the 90s totally mismanaged the pine beetle infestation. They ignored the many presentations asking for action. BC Liberals, you didn’t do much better. Oh yes, we will have wonderful old growth, decaying protected areas (not carbon consuming new forests). A few of us might enjoy these protected areas if we can afford to. …I worked in the forest industry since 1965. Since retiring ten years ago I enjoy a very good forest industry pension. Unfortunately, unless there are major policy changes, future generations will not be as fortunate.

West Fraser earned $9.5 billion in gross profits from 2021-2023. Yet the moment they couldn’t squeeze any more profit out of Fraser Lake, they kicked the town to the ground. It’s happened time and time again in this province. From the late 90s, we’ve lost nearly half our forestry workforce. …I think the vast majority of the public agrees that when a mill no longer exists those associated timber harvesting rights should revert back to the public’s hands. After all, every last cent of “improvements” to the tenure – the roads, the treeplanting, the spraying, all of that was paid for by the public. …Sadly, the NDP and the BC United, cut from the same corporate-captured cloth. …If our forest industry is to have any future, it won’t be in the corrupt, anti-community, neoliberal model we currently have.

B.C. must protect its forests to manage flood risk, and shift to more sustainable forestry practices, say researchers in UBC’s Faculty of Forestry. That means government needs to end the practice of clearcutting, according to a recent study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The need to stop this practice is “urgent,” said Younes Alila, a hydrologist and professor in the Faculty of Forestry, because of the mounting problems caused by human-caused climate change such as drought, flooding and wildfires. …“When you replant with monoculture it grows very dense, and it’s not diverse forest. It’s not fire resistant. It actually spreads fire quicker than you think. The trees grow very slow. And now with drought these trees are going to have more difficulty growing,” he said Tuesday.