Region Archives: Canada West

B.C. has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch a 20- to 30-year Indigenous-led ecological restoration strategy by tapping into what is estimated to be billions of dollars seeking suitable restoration and conservation finance projects. That’s the message that galvanized delegates into action at the RESOLVE Canada Restoration Conference 2023 in Vancouver last week. …Delegates heard that conservation finance, an approach that leverages philanthropic and private-sector capital for Indigenous stewardship, sustainable forestry, and restoration of watersheds and critical salmon habitats, for example, is gaining momentum worldwide. …If managed properly, restoration and conservation investment could create opportunities that are affordable, profitable, socially uplifting and economically sound, and that’s why restoration in B.C. must be Indigenous-led and devolved to local communities on the ground.

KAMLOOPS, BC — Thompson Rivers University’s senate will be presented with a proposal for a new research centre in Kamloops that will focus on the mitigation and adaptation to the effects of future wildfire seasons. The proposed Institute for Wildfire Science, Adaptation and Resiliency would be headed up by TRU’s Dr. Mike Flannigan. The proposal would position TRU as “an international leader in transdisciplinary collaborative wildfire science and education.” Topics of research would include fire science, the effects of drought and climate change and the social, behavioural, health and economic implications of wildfires. …Funding for the institution has already been secured for three-years, funding an operations manager position, administrative support and initial partnership development actives, with a proposed base operating budget of $204,200 a year. …The initial research team would include Flannigan, Jill Harvey, a Canada Research Chair in fire ecology, and LauchlanFraser, an industrial research chair in ecosystem reclamation.

An environmental group is challenging the federal government’s handling of protection for the northern spotted owl, calling an eight-month delay in deciding on an emergency order to prevent logging in the endangered owl’s habitat in British Columbia the latest “failure” in efforts to save it. The Wilderness Committee, represented by environmental law charity Ecojustice, appeared in Federal Court in Vancouver, telling Justice Yvan Roy that Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault originally said in January that he would recommend an emergency order to cabinet, which he did in late September. Ottawa announced earlier this month that it is not going ahead with an emergency order despite Guilbeault’s recommendation. The Wilderness Committee’s challenge is nevertheless proceeding as its lawyers argue the delay contravened the minister’s responsibility under the Species at Risk Act to address the imminent threat to spotted owl protection posed by old-growth logging in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon.

Mosaic is proud to announce the winners of this year’s Camping Photo Contest! Our 2023 contest saw photographers of every skill level submit their favourite images of BC’s wild west coast for a chance to win one of three, 7-day camping passes valid at one of Mosaic’s scenic campsites. Mosaic’s annual Camping Photo Contest is a celebration of the forests, people, places, and wildlife that make BC’s west coast so special. We’re delighted to announce the three winners of Mosaic’s 2023 Camping Photo Contest: Ashley Faulkner, People’s Choice Award winner for ‘Moonlight Over Lake Cowichan’; Meghan Wiles, Staff Choice Award winner for ‘August slipped away… smoky skies at Cowichan Lake’; and Jonathon Adams, Staff Choice Award winner for ‘Perseids over Lake Cowichan’.

James Hobart

Environmental groups and the Spuzzum First Nation are heading to court over the months-long delay of an emergency order recommendation that could protect the endangered northern spotted owl.  In February, federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said he would recommend an emergency order that would prevent logging in the owl’s habitat. In June, Ecojustice launched legal action to force Guilbeault to actually recommend the order. Eight months after he made the commitment, Guilbeault recommended the emergency order in September — and cabinet rejected it.  On Wednesday, Spuzzum First Nation leadership and environmental groups Ecojustice and Wilderness Committee will go to Federal Court over the eight-month delay. …“The word emergency on the [emergency order] would denote some sort of urgency,” Spuzzum First Nation Chief James Hobart said. “But months went by… By the time he put it [to] cabinet, it didn’t seem any longer like it was an emergency.”

I started my career in a wildfire suppression crew and spent four decades working in our forests – developing a profound respect for the forest environment and the stages it goes through. But now, it’s beyond frustrating to see us collectively ignoring the incredible advantage forest management can bring to Canadians. Wildfires ravaged Canada’s landscape this year, scorching over 17 million hectares. …Our forests are aging and deteriorating, resulting in factors that are contributing to increased wildfire activity. Climate change means longer wildfire seasons … and the amount of forest consumed by wildfires is projected to double by 2050. Solutions demand a significant transformation of our forest management approach. First, we should incorporate wildfire emissions in our national and provincial greenhouse gas calculations. …Second, we must abandon the notion that forest preservation prevents wildfires and focus on reducing the age and density of our forests through forest management plans.

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of Tolko Industries Ltd. on timber licence T0816 in the Okanagan Shuswap Natural Resource District, starting Oct. 23, 2023. Auditors will examine whether timber harvesting, roads, bridges, silviculture, wildfire protection and associated planning carried out between Oct. 1, 2021, and Oct. 27, 2023, meets the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. The audit area is in the Okanagan timber supply area and the territories of the Adams Lake Indian Band, Little Shuswap Lake Band, Neskonlith Indian Band, Okanagan Indian Band, and the Splatsin First Nation. The timber licence is located near Mabel and Sugar Lakes, Eagle River, and the communities of Revelstoke, Lumby and Sicamous.

If industry is allowed to access the wildfire-scarred backcountry, the general public should be allowed to as well, says the BC Wildlife Federation. The provincial government has in recent years brought in motor-vehicle closures of areas ravaged by wildfire to allow the landscape to recover. Those restrictions, however, don’t apply to businesses big and small ranging from logging companies to mushroom pickers. …“Anyone looking to make a dollar has full access to these regions, while ordinary British Columbians who want to hike, camp, hunt, or fish are barred from entry,” said B.C. Wildlife Federation Executive Director Jesse Zeman.. …“These landscapes cannot properly recover if the provincial government grants exceptions, while barring you and I from entry,” he said. BCWF says they support backcountry closures, road decommissioning, and post-wildfire restoration based on science.

Alberta conservationists say a recently built, potentially illegal logging bridge over the Highwood River in Kananaskis illustrates how the federal government is failing to adequately enforce legislation designed to protect at-risk species. …Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), announced it had opened an investigation on Aug. 30. Michael Sawyer said a DFO official told him Spray Lake Sawmills has since applied for a Section 73 permit. …If a permit is issued retroactively, Sawyer is willing to fight the decision in court, he said. …Before a Section 73 permit is issued for a resource development project, a DFO minister must be satisfied on two main elements: the harm to an at-risk species must be incidental, and a permit recipient must do everything they can to mitigate harm. …David Mayhood, a freshwater ecologist said the chances of Spray Lake being prosecuted are slim. 

At 8:30 p.m., just three hours after the 10-kilometre long “controlled” burn was lit by an aerial ignition on Aug. 17, a crew from the local volunteer fire department drove up the 670 Scotch Creek logging road to see that the fire was already nearing the creek and was too dangerous to fight.  One hour later they were at Meadow Creek and saw how the fire had jumped across the valley.  They proceeded to warn residents and called for an evacuation order.  They retreated east to a field and phoned the BC Wildfire Service, who did not arrive until early in the morning when it was too late to control what was, by then, an enormous fire. …Once an order is called, SVSAR’s role is to go door-to-door and urge residents to leave, using a list of addresses to keep track of everyone. If residents chose to stay, then police are notified.

BC’s forest watchdog has confirmed it is investigating the province’s response to wildfires that ripped through small communities on the shores of Shuswap Lake in August, destroying or damaging more than 200 properties. The Forest Practices Board (FPB) says it launched the probe after a resident filed a complaint about the B.C. Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) use of a planned ignition aimed at reducing forest fuels between populated areas. At the time the back burn was lit on Aug. 17, two blazes, the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek wildfires, had been steadily moving toward the northern shore of Shuswap Lake after igniting about five weeks earlier. …The Forests Ministry says BCWS, “The purpose of [the burn] was not to contain the wildfire but reduce its intensity and provide a greater chance of survival to any structures in its projected path”. …The FPB says its probe will take six months to a year.

FireSmart BC has announced a new program that aims to teach the next generation how to keep their communities safe. According to a news release, the program will offer free and comprehensive lesson plans and materials that will introduce kindergarten to Grade 6 students and educators with essential knowledge in fire resiliency. Rachel Woodhurst, FireSmart BC program lead, said in the release that after the devastating wildfire season this year, wildfire education is no longer an option, but a necessity. “One of the best ways to be FireSmart is to start young. By equipping teachers with tools to educate the next generation, we can collectively work towards creating safer and better prepared communities across B.C.,” she said. The program, which includes themes such as safety, fire science and wildfire mitigation and prevention, will allow children and teachers to learn how they can help during or prepare for a crisis.

Jennifer Gunter

Jennifer Gunter has been with the BC Community Forest Association since its inception nearly 22 years ago, translating her post-secondary research on the emerging concept of a community forest into a leadership role with community forests in BC. As co-founder and executive director, she supports communities building a model of landscape management that advances their economic, social, and ecological sustainability goals. …”Right now, there is so much change in B.C.’s forest sector,” said Gunter. “Some of the positive change includes  an increased focus on relationships with Indigenous nations and moving towards co-management and Indigenous-led decision making. Community forestry in B.C. has always included First Nations. About half of the existing community forests in the province are held by First Nations or a partnership.” Gunter also spoke to climate change, saying, “community forests have worked for decades to reduce the risk of wildfire to their communities. …a landscape-level approach to wildfire is critical”.

The Dene Nation is calling for a full, independent public inquiry to begin as soon as possible into the Northwest Territories’ 2023 wildfire response. In a news release on Thursday, Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine said a public inquiry should encourage everyone in the NWT to talk about their experiences. The NWT government has already said it is planning a wildfire review, though the scope of the only request for proposals issued to date does not include public engagement. Behchokǫ̀, Fort Smith, Jean Marie River, Hay River, Kátł’odeeche First Nation, Enterprise, Ndılǫ, Dettah, Yellowknife, Kakisa and Wekweètì all evacuated this summer – with some communities facing multiple evacuations and some residents displaced for more than a month at a time. …The territorial government’s wildfire response is directed by its Forest Fire Management policy, which asserts that fire management should “draw upon local knowledge.”

B.C.’s Forest Practices Board has opened an investigation into B.C. Wildfire Service’s response to the catastrophic Bush Creek East wildfire that devastated communities on the north shore of Shuswap Lake in August. Shuswap Lake resident Jim Cooperman filed a complaint for what he alleges was “gross negligence” on the fire service’s part for lighting a back burn just before a major wind storm that he argues blew it out of control and overwhelmed the communities of Scotch Creek, Celista and the Skwlāx First Nation, destroying 176 homes. A Forest Practices Board spokesperson, said an investigator is arranging to travel to the site this month to conduct interviews at the start of an investigative process that could take six months to a year. “Ultimately, I’m looking for accountability,” Cooperman said. And he offered the opinion that the officials responsible “for this disastrous back burn basically are losing their jobs.”

British Columbia’s chief forester has set a new allowable annual cut (AAC) level for the Lillooet Timber Supply Area (TSA). The new AAC for the Lillooet TSA is 375,000 m3. This is a 34% reduction from the previous AAC, while remaining 9% above 2016-2021 harvesting levels. The change brings the AAC in line with recent harvesting levels; supports old growth management areas, riparian areas, and wildlife habitat areas; and accounts for First Nations cultural heritage resources and practices. Within this AAC, there are two partitions: a maximum of 300,000 m3 from live trees; and a maximum of 180,000 m3 from live trees where the ground is sloped less than 40%. As well, to encourage the continued harvest of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle outbreak, the ongoing spruce bark beetle outbreak and by wildfire, the chief forester added 75,000 cubic metres from dead trees to the AAC.

The Nature Trust of B.C. is ­aiming to raise $1 million by the end of the year to purchase 38.7 hectares of mature Douglas fir forest on Denman Island. The goal is to conserve rare coastal rainforest and at-risk species, including the endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly. The trust announced this week that it has been given an opportunity to buy the land, but needs the funds by the end of the year. The land is located adjacent to a Denman Conservancy Association conservation area called Central Park, and the Denman Island Provincial Park and Protected Area. Acquiring the 38.7 hectare property would increase the conserved area to 187 hectares that will never be sold or developed, the Nature Trust said. The trust said the property has timber value “and its purchase will ensure that its sensitive, rare, mature forests and wetlands are protected in perpetuity.”

The clashes between environmentalists and industry workers on the topic of old growth logging are nothing new to British Columbians or the UVic community. In the fall of 2020, the B.C. government announced their commitment to the recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR). …Environmental NGOs are calling for the other recommendations to be met in all due haste. …However, the response from nations on the topic of allowing old-growth logging in their territory has been mixed. As things stand, nations who approve the logging are in a position to work with logging companies and receive partial monetary compensation from the profits. No such compensation is currently available as an incentive to oppose the logging. Both the Sierra Club and B.C. Green Party have called for “conservation financing” — provincial government funding to offset the loss of revenue for nations who wish to protect old-growth in their territory. 

In the midst of the wildfires raging through the Central Okanagan in August, came visits by B.C.’s premier and the prime minister. Premier David Eby toured areas devastated by the McDougall Creek, Walroy Lake, and Clarke Creek wildfires by helicopter on Aug. 22. “The devastation for families who have lost everything, homes burned to the ground, will be some time recovering, for community members and so many affected individuals,” the premier said during a news conference. Eby, who was joined by Emergency Minister Bowin Ma, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston, and Federal Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan, also visited Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna, the reception centre for those evacuated due to the McDougall Creek fire. …Trudeau did not announce any funding or programs to help those affected by the wildfires during his visit. However, on Aug. 18 Sajjan did offer the federal government’s support to those impacted by the wildfires.

Grizzly bears seen starving in the rainforests of BC’s south coast because there isn’t enough salmon to sustain them raises alarm bells for wildlife biologist Wayne McCrory. The science is “crying out” for greater habitat protections for the iconic species as industrial activities eat away at the landscapes the bears depend on, he said. …McCrory said the province’s draft plan to adjust grizzly management doesn’t meaningfully address habitat loss and could prove “disastrous” for the bears. He is among the signatories of an open letter sent to provincial officials last week as public engagement closed for the draft grizzly stewardship framework. The letter published by Pacific Wild and signed by more than 50 scientists, advocates and conservation groups says the proposed plan minimizes the threats posed by the “severe fragmentation” of grizzly habitat in B.C. by logging, road building and other industrial activities against the backdrop of climate change.

Despite starting almost exactly 20 years to the day after the Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire, no one batted an eye when the McDougall Creek wildfire was first reported. …Over the month and a half the Grouse Complex took over the Central Okanagan, so many incredible and emotional stories came out as well as bringing up many memories of 20 years ago. Over the four fires, 189 structures were damaged or destroyed, including firefighters who lost their homes. Not many people would ever think the fire would cross Okanagan Lake causing two more large blazes to ignite, but it did. Not many people experience stopping their lives in order to save their family or their home – they did. While wildfires happen every single year, the 2023 Grouse Complex is something the Central Okanagan hasn’t seen in years and something residents hope they don’t have to experience again for a long time.

VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC — We live in the coastal temperate rainforest… on the west coast of what is now known as Vancouver Island. …The resource extraction companies have already come for the nearby mountainsides. …Climate change is both a consequence of and larger than what the resource-taking industry has done here. Drought, extreme heat, torrential rains, floods, unpredictable storm patterns and wildfires are already here. …Fifty kilometres down the coast from us, Tofino’s precipitation records show an average annual rainfall of 327 centimetres. In the first eight months of 2023 — January to September — there was less than 97 centimetres of precipitation. …What becomes of the rainforest when it no longer rains? When do we slip below the level at which a rainforest can sustain itself as a rainforest …How long will it be until our home is no longer our home?

The British Columbia government has announced new funding to strengthen wood-product manufacturing and to further support local First Nations economies around the province. According to a news release, the funding announced is part of the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BCMJF), which supports non-for-profit organizations to plan and launch high-value industrial and manufacturing projects. In the release, Brenda Bailey, minister of jobs, economic development and innovation, said the provincial government continues to work and support First Nations and manufacturing companies in order to achieve long-term growth in the industry. “By investing in innovation, we’re getting more value from the wood harvested in B.C., while creating and preserving high-quality jobs in the forestry sector,” she said. In addition to non-for-profit organizations, the BCMJF is also supporting three Indigenous-led planning projects, including Stuwix Resources, which is located in Merritt.

A Boundary professional forester was honoured for his hard work in community-based forest management and education. Dan Macmaster was honoured with the prestigious Canadian Forestry Achievement Award at the 2023 Canadian Institute of Forestry National Awards Ceremony. The award “recognizes individuals who have made unique and outstanding achievements in the field of forestry”. This award acknowledges Macmaster’s accomplishments and commitment to the natural environment, forest education, and community-based forest management. “Dan has an admirable influence towards the forestry profession and beyond, and is deeply deserving of this Award,” stated Mark Pearson, CIF executive director. Currently, Macmaster is the Forest Manager of the West Boundary Community Forest and the Osoyoos Indian Band’s Nk’Mip First Nations Woodland licence. …He firmly believes that learning experiences, like those provided through the West Boundary Community Forest and its Outdoor Education Centre, are essential for the future well-being of community forests and the forest sector.