Region Archives: Canada West

James Steidle

Last week, the politicians were tripping over each other to celebrate Canfor’s “investment” in a new “state of the art” sawmill in Houston, which will utilize artificial intelligence and who knows what other expensive offshore automated equipment. The CBC called it a “rare piece of good news,” even though Houston will have at least 100 fewer jobs at the end of all of this, including a two or three year period with no mill jobs other than the mill demolition and construction. The implication of all this is that we now owe Canfor big time. There better not be anymore pesky old-growth protections, we better not ban glyphosate spraying, we better not do anything that gets in the way of Canfor’s fire-trap landscapes of moose-starving pine plantations. Any time big city money rolls into a small town to replace the rural workforce with urban capital, you better believe we owe them.

MACKENZIE – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices on non-replaceable forest licence (NRFL) A89836, starting Sept. 25, 2023. NRFL A89836 is held by Nak’al Koh Timber Limited with an annual allowable cut of 50,000 cubic metres. The NRFL is within the Mackenzie timber supply area (TSA) within the Mackenzie Natural Resource District in northeast-central B.C. It overlaps the territories of the Doig River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, McLeod Lake Indian Band, Nak’azdli Whut’en’, Takla First Nation, Tsay Keh Dene First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations. Mackenzie, Germansen Landing, Manson Creek, Tsay Keh, and Kwadacha are some of the towns and settlements in the TSA. Auditors will examine whether timber harvesting, roads, bridges, silviculture, wildfire protection, and associated planning from Jan. 1, 2020, until Sept. 25, 2023, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act.

The Alberni Valley Community Forest is not just a place for people to recreate outdoors… It is a working forest: timber sales from logging activity provide dividends to the city; timber too small to sell is repurposed as a source for firewood; trees are planted to replace those that are cut down every year. Drought, heat waves and threat of wildfire have affected all aspects of the forest over the past couple of summers. “We shut down earlier than most people. We’ve been shut down since May,” forest manager Chris Law said. “It’s not worth the risk.” …Law says it’s time the province takes a hard look at its forest practices. “For the past 50 years the province’s focus has been on fibre production. That’s coniferous trees for fibre production. In that process they have had government-funded programs to eliminate any deciduous competition.” 

The Government of Saskatchewan has proclaimed September 17 to 23 as National Forest Week, with the theme, Canada’s Forests: Supporting Biological Diversity. The week will highlight the important role Saskatchewan’s forestry sector plays in the provincial economy and environment. “Since the Government of Saskatchewan launched its Growth Plan four years ago, the province’s forestry sector has grown by more than $700 million in sales over four years,” Energy and Resources Minister Jim Reiter said. “That keeps us well on track to reach $2.2 billion in sales by the end of the decade.” Saskatchewan’s forests are a key renewable resource. They are helping the province meet its 2030 Growth Plan targets, while supporting nearly 8,000 jobs, with significant Indigenous participation. “Saskatchewan’s forestry sector is not only essential to our economy, but also to our identity and the quality of life we enjoy in the province,” Environment Minister Christine Tell said. 

A new scholarship program is open to First Nations, Inuit, or Métis-decent students interested in attending full-time forestry-related studies in a designated post-secondary institution.  Supports from the BC First Nations Forestry Council’s (BCFNFC) Indigenous Forestry Scholarship Program (IFSP) include tuition and living expenses scholarships, paid summer work-term experience, one-on-one mentorship with a program partner, and support from a local Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program centre.  “The program is designed to grow and connect Indigenous talent to BC Forest Sector Workforce opportunities,” said the BCFNFC in a release announcing the program.  …For more information on the Indigenous Forestry Scholarship Program, visit the BCFNFC website at www.forestrycouncil.ca.

Students from at least two schools in Port Alberni will learn about the biodiversity of forests during a BC National Forest Week event on Thursday, Sept. 21.  Forest Week takes place in Canada during the third week in September In B.C. the week will be observed from Sept. 17–23, 2023.   …Sarah Williams, who teaches a Grade 5/6 class at Tsuma-as Elementary School, will be bringing her class back again. Diana Bouchard’s Grade 4/5 class from John Howitt Elementary will also participate this year.  “This year’s theme is biodiversity,” says Dave Robinson, resource manager at South Island Natural Resource District. Students will be planting seedlings at McLean Mill, taking tree measurements of trees already on site and learning how to measure the height of a tree. The seedlings were donated this year by Woodmore Nursery Inc. of Nanoose Bay.

A total of $3.7 million worth of forest-related projects have been announced for the Kootenay-Boundary region by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.  The projects range from clearing areas near roads in the Harrop-Procter region to thinning forests around the village of Kaslo, or shipping low-value logs to Celgar pulp mill in Castlegar for processing.  The projects in the Kootenay Boundary region — with 37 from the rest of the province — are expected to either assist with the delivery of uneconomic forest fibre to pulp and pellet mills or green energy facilities or will help communities reduce their wildfire risk.   …Of the 42 new projects funded throughout the province, 24 projects have direct First Nations involvement, while eight have some First Nations involvement.

The Interior Logging Association says it’s ready and willing to lend its expertise to mitigating wildfire risk.  “The Interior Logging Association and our members are committed to offering our local knowledge and operational firefighting expertise to identify and implement sustainable solutions to mitigate future risk to life and property,” ILA general manager Todd Chamberlain says in a press release issued Friday.  The statement from the Vernon-based industry group follows B.C. Premier David Eby’s comment that the province “could be doing a better job” of leveraging local knowledge when it comes to preventing and fighting wildfires.  “Our members have been an integral part of fire prevention and firefighting efforts for well over 60 years,” says Chamberlain. “We’ve prided ourselves for protecting people and communities from the threat of wildfire over the years.”  Chamberlain says the ILA “can contribute valuable insight and planning to reduce immediate and long-term risk.

SUNDRE – A good relations agreement hailed as historic by its signatories is intended to forge mutually beneficial ties between West Fraser Mills and Montana First Nation.  Representatives from West Fraser met with members of the band council on Aug. 21 at Sundre Forest Products to sign the agreement in front of a teepee that had been purchased from Montana First Nation for the ceremony.  Chief Leonard Standing on the Road, who is also the Grand Chief of Confederacy of Treaty 6, offered a prayer followed by a traditional smudge by all the agreement signatories before the document was signed.  …“We’ve been talking to Montana First Nation for a couple of years through the consultation program that we have on our forest management area,” said Tom Daniels, Sundre Forest Products woods manager, when asked how the agreement came to fruition.

Vernon, British Columbia — As expressed by Premier David Eby in a CBC News Release, “We could be doing a better job of leveraging local knowledge and expertise when it comes to preventing and fighting wildfires.” The Interior Loggers Association and our members are committed to offering our local knowledge and operational fire-fighting expertise to identify and implement sustainable solutions to mitigate future risk to life and property. For over 65 years, the Interior Logging Association (ILA) has been representing forestry related businesses throughout B.C.  …The ILA Board of Directors and Membership can contribute valuable insight and planning to reduce immediate and long-term risk. We welcome the opportunity to provide input and ideas to assist the government in the future protection of communities, and British Columbia’s most important resource prior to the 2024 wildfire season.

As wildfires intensify, experts worry tree-destroying insect populations may grow in their aftermath. As burnt trees take up more space in B.C. forests, so do insects that feast off of them, like wood borers and bark beetles — including the Douglas fir beetle and western pine beetle. “Firefighters are busy during fires, and then the entomologists get busy afterwards,” said Lorraine Maclauchlan, entomologist with B.C.’s Ministry of Forests. Bark-destroying insects are attracted to dead and weakened trees that have been ravaged by fire, and while these insects are important for the natural decomposition of burnt trees, Maclauchlan says if they grow in population too rapidly, they can cause serious damage by going after live trees. …Maclauchlan says intense drought across the province this year is an added wrinkle: there are many trees that are alive but weakened by drought, that are the perfect target for the insects.

Bruce Ralston

Our forests have been front of mind for many British Columbians this year as wildfires and drought have left their mark on people and communities, as well as waters and lands in all corners of the province. Forests are at the foundation of our communities, our local economies and our lives. Forests are places of beauty, home to wildlife and of immense importance to First Nations, but this year they faced exceptional challenges. This year, we grieve and reflect on all those who have put their lives at risk to protect our homes, communities and environment. On behalf of all British Columbians, I want to pay special thanks to all the hard-working firefighters who bravely faced the worst fire season on record in B.C., and to the courage and dedication shown by First Nations, local government partners, the First Nations Emergency Services Society, B.C. forest industry contractors and the BC Cattlemen’s Association. Thank you.

The United Nations body that oversees World Heritage Sites is approving a report that finds Wood Buffalo National Park’s place on that list is in danger. At a meeting in Saudi Arabia, UNESCO delegates voted to approve an investigation that found the park remains under environmental threats from dam construction in British Columbia, oilsands development and climate change. Delegates voted to recommend that Canada implement 17 recommendations in the report. …The report did not recommend removing the park from the list of World Heritage Sites but said about half of what makes it a special place is deteriorating. Of 15 objectives for the park, UNESCO says two are improving, five are stable and seven are deteriorating. …Mikisew Cree First Nation representative Melody Lepine told the delegates she hoped Canada would accept the new report as a chance to look back on progress while accepting more work needs to be done.

The B.C. government-run corporation responsible for auctioning off 20% of the province’s AAC gave a green light to companies looking to log certain old-growth forests slated for deferral. In a BC Timber Sales (BCTS) memorandum dated May 15, 2023, BCTS told industry that in cases where First Nations said they needed more time or hadn’t responded to proposed old-growth deferrals, the forests should be deemed “available for harvest.”  …The details of the guidance document have prompted a number of critics to slam the government for backtracking on commitments to overhaul forestry policy. …A spokesperson for the ministry said BCTS “respects the recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review”. …The latest memo, meanwhile, refers to a “very small number of instances” in which First Nations need more time or haven’t responded to the proposed deferrals, said the spokesperson. “This represents a very small area and does not result in any net decrease in deferred old growth.”

The Regional District of Central Kootenay has more than 1,000 water systems, says RDCK board chair Aimee Watson. But although the RDCK owns 19 of those systems, it has very little authority over the health of watershed ecosystems. “…communities are at the mercy of whatever is occurring on Crown land,” Watson said, and most often that means logging. Timber operations can damage or destroy individual residents’ water systems, and they can cause landslides or flooding. Large new housing developments are also an issue. They tend to tap into water sources without first checking to see if there is enough. “There is nobody overviewing this kind of thing, how it will all work together,” Watson says. “And then you throw in climate change.” The RDCK wants the province to enact legislation that would require developers and timber companies, in collaboration with communities, to prepare detailed community watershed management plans

Jason Krips

There’s a lot of conversation right now about forest harvesting in southern Alberta, specifically in Kananaskis. …Forest harvesting is planned to occur in Kananaskis Country in 2023 — just as it has for the past 70 years. And we still have so much forest to enjoy because forestry operations are 100 per cent sustainable. You wouldn’t see decades-old forest companies celebrating almost a century of industry if they weren’t. …A recent column in the Calgary Herald claimed that harvesting in K-Country would destroy grizzly bear habitat. The fact is that grizzly bears depend on new and disturbed forests for sustenance — berry patches grow in these areas. Grizzly bears… numbers are on the rise and Alberta’s forest industry has played a key role in their recovery. …Sustainable forest management means high-quality forest products, jobs for more than 30,000 Albertans and $13.6 billion in economic outputs. Not to mention clean air and diverse habitat for wildlife, forever.

Anywhere you stand in Vancouver, you are standing on the remnants of old-growth forests. To see just how massive those trees could have been, you only need to walk to the intersection of Beach Avenue and Gilford Street in the West End. …Just a little farther away, the gentle giants of Stanley Park provide an even more immediate reminder. …But Stanley Park is not a pristine old-growth forest. These ancient trees, they’ve been logged for years. …The area now known as Stanley Park was a significant village site for the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations pre-contact. Post-contact, in 1860, the British government designated part of what is now in the park as a military reserve. It was logged by six different companies in the 1860s and 1880s, and finally became a park when Vancouver became a city in 1886.

Steve Kozuki

Kamloops, B.C. – At a press event at River City Fibre in Kamloops, the executive director of the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), Steve Kozuki, announced 42 newly funded forest enhancement projects. These projects throughout the province of B.C. will either assist with the delivery of uneconomic forest fibre to pulp and pellet mills or green energy facilities, or will help communities reduce their wildfire risk. …These newly funded projects come as a result of the $50 million given to FESBC earlier this year by the Ministry of Forests to boost fibre supply by utilizing uneconomic fibre and reduce wildfire risk while also supporting workers and communities. …Of the 42 new projects funded throughout the province, 24 projects have direct First Nations involvement, while eight have some First Nations involvement.

Additional coverage in Castanet by Josh Dawson: Forest Enhancement Society approves $8 million for forest enhancement projects in Thompson-Okanagan

Wildfire behaviour in British Columbia received a late-summer boost from higher than normal temperatures and lower than normal rainfall, especially in the north, and provincial officials say dry conditions are expected well into the fall. Neal McLoughlin with the provincial wildfire co-ordination centre said parts of northern B.C. saw 75 per cent less precipitation than typically seen last month, conditions that have intensified this year’s record-breaking wildfire season. …McLouglin said current drought conditions aren’t unexpected in southern B.C., but those in the north are not typical, and dry fuels on forest floors remain “available to burn.” …“Fuels remain critically dry, and temperatures that are above normal, precipitation amounts that are below normal, are not helping,” he said. “And so we can expect similar conditions we’ve had through the summer to persist through the fall.” …Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said 1,200 people remain on evacuation order, with 34,000 still on alert.

HOUSTON, BC — I read with concern that Canfor is asking its employees and the public to lobby politicians and ministers to guarantee long-term, economic fibre to support the replacement of its closed mill in Houston. This replacement mill would produce less-finished goods, provide fewer jobs and already has a share of the timber supply. Timber supply should not be a political decision influenced by Canfor public relations lobbying. …I support investing in sustainable forest jobs. I have worked with foresters, ecologists, researchers and the public to develop sustainable plan options which maintain local forestry jobs and our economy while maintaining a healthy forest ecosystem. …I disagree with political guarantees of economic fibre based on lobbying and I am for corporations making their own economic decisions.

Bruce Morrow

As a lifelong resident and a professional forester in B.C. for more than three decades, with a 40-year wildfire suppression background, and previously recognized by the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) as a wildfire specialist, I am angered by the present state of wildfire management in our province. The people of British Columbia deserve an independent review of how the BCWS manages wildfires. We need an in-depth analysis of the operations on the fireline, not another high-level report with a laundry list of recommendations that are largely ignored. The present model has proven itself totally inadequate. It has failed to effectively respond to the growing threat of wildfires. A wildfire management model that does not communicate with, organize or utilize First Nations and experienced local forest professionals is guaranteed to fail. …We will only be successful if our entire forest industry is organized and involved in wildfire management.

Mathieu Bourbonnais

In 2023, Canada experienced one of its worst fire seasons in modern history, with more than 25 million acres burned and hazardous smoke covering large swaths of the country at any given time. In response, Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais and a team of researchers at UBC Okanagan are advocating for a specific approach to help prevent these fires in the first place. Start more fires. While it sounds unorthodox, carefully planned, small-scale controlled burns in strategic areas can yield a variety of benefits, says Dr. Bourbonnais. They remove accumulated dry fuel for future fires, make breaks in massive expanses of forest and even help regenerate entire ecosystems that can restart and thrive in burned-out areas. It’s an idea the general public may be hesitant to embrace. …He and his colleagues have established the Living with Wildfire Research Cluster—a multi-disciplinary team of experts from across the university.

In September 2020, the B.C. NDP released a report that made 14 recommendations to overhaul forestry management in the province and promised to implement those changes within a three-year timeline.  This week marks the third anniversary of that announcement, and while the government says it is making good on its promise, critics say the deadline has passed and not enough has been done.  …Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee, was hopeful when the report first came out, but he says its recommendations have yet to become reality and his optimism is waning.  …Forests Minister Bruce Ralston, also speaking to On The Island, said his ministry remains “fully committed” to acting on the report’s recommendations and has already deferred logging on 2.25 million hectares (22,500 square kilometres) of old growth and is currently engaging with over 200 First Nations.

Near-record drought conditions across the province created conditions for B.C.’s worst wildfire season on record, but winter rains may not bring replenishing relief. The soils in drought-shrivelled landscapes become “hydrophobic” — so dried and packed down that rainfall runs off before soaking in — which increases the risk of flash flooding in atmospheric-river storm events. “It depends on when they come,” said University of B.C. hydrologist John Richardson. “If we get sort of gentle rains for a few weeks, that will reduce some of the risks, but there’s nothing that can really guard us against a storm like we had in November 2021.” Climate change stacks the deck in favour of the likelihood for atmospheric-river events to occur, said Richardson, a professor of forest and conservation science at UBC’s faculty of forestry. “It’s a storm’s intensity, not the total amount of rainfall, that will be most important,” Richardson said.