Region Archives: Canada West

Opinion / EdiTOADial

What Will The Future BC Forest Industry Look Like?

By David Elstone and Jim Girvan
View from the Stump
October 5, 2023
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Elstone

To say that the BC forest industry has seen change over the past 20 years would be an understatement. There have been several editorials and analyses done quantifying how many mills have or will close; how many trees have been killed; and how many jobs have been lost. Interestingly, few have looked where the BC forest industry might end up as timber supply continues to decline. …In 2005, the forest industry was running on all cylinders with a Crown AAC of just under 86 million m3. …In the BC Interior, there were 14 veneer plants and 82 sawmills with a combined lumber production capacity of over 16 bbf operating, …On the coast, there were 3 veneer plants and 29 sawmills with a combined lumber production capacity of over 3 bbf operated. On the residual fibre/biomass side, the province had 16 pulp mills, 8 paper plants and the beginnings of pellet and biomass power businesses. The industry was flourishing with direct employment of close to 70,000 people.

When we look out to 2035, a full 30 years after the industry peak, the picture is sobering. Using a forecast for a province-wide Crown AAC of 38 million m3, only 33 or 40% of sawmills operating in the BC Interior in 2005 will remain and lumber production capacity will fall to a mere 38% of that peak. On the coast, 14 sawmills are expected to continue operating, with 56% of the capacity of 2005. On the pulp and paper side, more closures are forecast… with pulp capacity forecast to settle at 54% of that in 2005 with paper capacity at a mere 11%. For other forest products manufacturers there may be 10 veneer production facilities, 14 shake and shingle mills and potentially just a few specialty operations remaining. …Despite the ever-present prognostications of doom and gloom there are those still willing to invest in this province. Most recently, Canfor’s new state-of-the-art 350 million board feet sawmill in Houston. …The BC government wants more investment to transition the industry, and specifically to add more mass timber manufacturing. Unless a plan can be developed to cut short the current trends, a much smaller industry is forecast by 2035. 

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Business & Politics

Dick’s Lumber Acquires Zytech Building Systems

By RONA Inc.
Cision Newswire
October 11, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

BOUCHERVILLE, Quebec – Dick’s Lumber, a banner of RONA inc., a home improvement retailers operating some 425 corporate and affiliated stores in Canada, has completed the acquisition of ZyTech Building Systems, a leader in the manufacturing and distribution of building components and engineered wood products. This is the first strategic acquisition for Dick’s Lumber under the ownership of private equity firm Sycamore Partners. This transaction will allow Dick’s Lumber to expand its design and manufacturing footprint to better serve developers and builders in Western Canada. …Andrew Iacobucci, CEO of RONA, “This acquisition will strengthen our position in the Alberta and Saskatchewan markets and improve how we serve our valued customers.” 

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International Paper mill in Grande Prairie awarded Alberta Forest Products Association President’s Award

By Tanner Smith
Everything Grande Prairie
October 10, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

International Paper’s Grande Prairie Pulp Mill has been given multiple awards at the Alberta Forest Products Association Conference, held earlier this month. Out of the three awards the mill received, two recognized the work done by the paper and pulp sector, with that sector receiving the Excellence in Safety and Outstanding Achievement Awards. The entire mill earned the President’s Award. A special award presentation was held to commemorate the achievements at the AFPA’s Annual General Meeting. Mill Manager, Lyman Rorem, was presented the awards, from AFPA CEO Jason Krips, and Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen. These awards are given out annually by AFPA, which is a non-profit representing the sustainable forest industry in Alberta.

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Houston mayor to run for B.C. United Party

By Rod Link
Terrace Standard
October 3, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Shane Brienen

BC United leader Kevin Falcon has named Houston mayor Shane Brienen as his party’s candidate in the Nechako Lakes riding for the next provincial election. Elected as mayor of Houston in 2014 after three terms as a council member, Brienen was returned by acclamation in 2018 and again in 2022. Brienen was one of several hundred Canfor sawmill workers to lose their jobs when the company closed the mill in that community this spring, saying the plant was too old and too inefficient to produce high-quality wood products. …As a councillor, and then as mayor, Brienen weathered a first sawmill closure when West Fraser shut down its sawmill there in 2014, also putting hundreds of people out of work. Brienen will face long-standing MLA John Rustad who was ejected from the B.C. Liberal caucus in 2022, before its name change to B.C. United, after questioning whether carbon dioxide was contributing to climate change.

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Pattison attack ‘simply weird’

By Lee Sexsmith
Prince George Citizen
October 4, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

James Steidle‘s scathing rebuke of Jimmy Pattison for opening another store in Prince George was simply weird, especially coming from a person that ran for a city council position in Prince George. …Prince George has quite a few families that have done well in the lumber and mining business. Those families have also quietly invested heavily in Prince George. …Steidle’s monologue attacking business growth and investment, and the successful economic model Pattison represents, is simply classic class warfare for socialism and bigger government. Both socialism and the bigger government that Mr. Steidle champion as the final solution have never failed to leave the populace to starve to death. …Investing in Prince George is not for the faint of heart or small-time businesses as the costs are brutal. …Clearly, Steidle is wrong and I am pleased Pattison has invested, where others have decided against our town, and added another grocery store to Prince George. 

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First-hand Experiences Shared For the National Day For Truth And Reconciliation

Mosaic Forest Management
September 28, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Bob Joseph

Mosaic held its third annual company-wide National Day for Truth and Reconciliation learning event for employees, contractors, and families on September 7. The guest speaker was Bob Joseph, founder and President of Indigenous Corporate Training. Bob has been instructing individuals and organizations on effective Indigenous relations for almost three decades. “It’s critical to align interests if we are to make mutually beneficial decisions,” said Bob Joseph. “Respectful engagement and allyship, is about using our hearts and minds to courageously make decisions, and are key to all of us moving forward together.” He said that Mosaic as a company and all its team members can further strengthen relations with Indigenous peoples and communities by leaning into insights from National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, Canadian history, and related case studies.

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Even with UNDRIP, DRIPA, barriers to economic reconciliation remain

By Nelson Bennett
Business in Vancouver
September 29, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Merle Alexander

…Reconciliation with First Nations may mean different things to different people, but for Sharleen Gale, chief councillor for the Fort Nelson First Nation and chairperson of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, it doesn’t mean much without an economic component.   “There’s no full reconciliation with Indigenous people without economic reconciliation, and one promising route is full engagement with the Canadian economy, not just through labour participation,” Gale told BIV.  …Merle Alexander, principal of the Indigenous Law Group at Miller Titerle + Co., said British Columbia has devoted more resources to – and made more progress on – DRIPA than the federal government has on UNDRIP, and adds that the private sector, in some cases, is even further ahead than government when it comes to using UNDRIP as a roadmap for doing business with First Nations. …“Monitoring both processes really closely, I think the change is fairly minimal so far at the federal level. “

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Meet the B.C. lumberjacks who set out to build a hybrid electric logging truck

By Kate Helmore
The Globe and Mail
October 2, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Chase Barber

Electrifying trucking, especially heavy-duty trucking, is plagued by fundamental problems. Batteries are not big enough, and they are too weighty for long distance and heavy loads. But Mr. Barber believed that heavy-duty trucking could not be left behind. Trucking is responsible for 10.5 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, the majority from heavy-duty trucks. And the business costs of gasoline are substantial. In forestry, transportation is the most fuel-consuming element of the wood supply chain, eating up around 50 per cent of total fuel usage. Driven by a grassroots knowledge of the challenges facing their industry, in 2019 Mr. Barber and his business partner, Eric Little, launched Edison Motors out of a tiny town two hours inland from Vancouver in Merritt, B.C. “We said, if we’re gonna do this, if we want our truck, we’re gonna have to build our own. And that’s what we did.” …The truck is not, however, fully electric. It is a hybrid.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

‘A paradigm shift’: Liard First Nation tackles housing crisis with timber home kits, new production plant

By Katie Todd
CBC News
October 7, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fifteen unique kit-set timber homes have sprung up in the forest outside Watson Lake, Yukon, created by — and for — members of the Liard First Nation (LFN).  The project, run by the First Nation’s economic development corporation First Kaska, is being billed as a game changer.   The frame parts are cut on-site at a brand new production plant, with three different floor plans available.   It takes five days to prepare the frame for each house and just one day to piece the numbered frame parts together on the building site.   Watson Lake is grappling with a housing crisis, and LFN Chief Stephen Charlie said the project is “a paradigm shift.”  Tthe project eliminates the supply chain issues that make it difficult to build new homes, he said.  Charlie said it’s created about 50 jobs and will go a long way toward ensuring the well-being and long-term security of his people.

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BCIT marks funding milestone for Trade and Technology Complex

Mechanical Business
October 5, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

BURNABY, BC — The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) has announced it has reached $33 million in funding towards its new Trades and Technology Complex in Burnaby, BC. The $220-million complex, announced in February 2023, will… train future trades and technology professionals, the complex will have the capacity for 700 new full-time students annually. It will include the Concert Properties Centre for Trades and Technology, the Robert Bosa Carpentry Pavilion, and the Marine and Mass Timber Workshop, as well as offering state-of-the-art workshops, five advanced technology simulation labs, maker space, additional demonstration and learning spaces, and a reconfigured works yard for students and faculty to collaborate across disciplines. While the province of BC and BCIT have committed $162.6 million in funding, the school has already raised $33 million in contributions from 45 industry organizations and individuals through its INSPIRE Campaign. 

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Forestry

Horsefly, Quesnel Lake-area logging topic of discussion at upcoming open house

The Williams Lake Tribune
October 11, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Logging in the Horsefly River watershed will be the topic of discussion at an open house set to take place Saturday, Oct. 14. Hosted by the Horsefly River Roundtable, representatives from the Ministry of Forests, Tolko, West Fraser and BCTS are expected to be in attendance. The meeting was initially requested back in June when the Horsefly River Roundtable and stakeholders requested an immediate moratorium on all industrial forest-related activities in the Horsefly River Fisheries Sensitive Watershed as they sought more information on logging activities. “Obviously we don’t want logging to stop but we would like to put on some pressure to have the area assessed by boots on the ground,” Helen Englund, a member of the roundtable, said at the time.

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Huu-ay-aht First Nations Celebrates the Bamfield Main Road Reconciliation Project

Huu-ay-aht First Nations
October 10, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

ANACLA, B.C. –  Today, Huu-ay-aht First Nations hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Bamfield Main Road at Kilometre 76 to mark the completion of the Bamfield Main Road Reconciliation Project. Following, was a celebration at the House of Huu-ay-aht. This project started back in 2020 with Huu-ay-aht and the Province sharing the same vision of creating a safer route between Bamfield and Port Alberni, and today both partners have made it a reality.  Providing mitigation towards a safe route is one substantial task completed. The Bamfield Main Road is an active industrial road. It supports multiple users from industry to residents living in the Bamfield and Ditidaht area and the growing number of visitors. Over the years, the Bamfield Main, known as a dusty gravel road, has put many road users at risk and in some cases taken their lives. 

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Banff to consider enhanced tactics to protect community from wildfire

By Cathy Ellis
Rocky Mountain Outlook
October 10, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

BANFF – Banff’s elected officials are keen to look at extra tactics to better protect the townsite from future wildfire in the wake of an alarming record-breaking fire season in Canada. Council has directed administration to bring to service review deliberations later this year broad-based funding tactics, including options on where enhancements could be made to address climate resiliency. Coun. Chip Olver said the intent is to help the community of Banff better prepare and respond to the increased frequency, duration and severity of weather events due to climate change. …As well as the Town of Banff’s FireSmart work and incentive programs, such as rooftop sprinkler systems, Parks Canada also does fire protection work on neighbouring national park lands, including logging large-scale fireguards as well as prescribed fires that not only have environmental benefits – including for wildlife – but would also make it easier to fight a future wildfire.

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Osoyoos Indian Band Works to Reduce Wildfire Risk to the Community

Forest Enhancement Society of BC
October 11, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Osoyoos, B.C. – Extending its reach from South Okanagan into the Kootenay Boundary region, the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) has taken a lead role in a project important to users of Mount Baldy. With funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, this project centres on creating an 8.5-kilometre fuel break along Mt. Baldy Road, squarely aimed at mitigating the persistent wildfire threat and creating a safer egress route for public and firefighting crews in the event of a wildfire. “…mitigating wildfire risk is vital for keeping people, communities and First Nations in B.C. safe – now more than ever,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. …Peter Flett, operations manager with Nk’Mip Forestry, OIB’s forestry department said, “completion of this fuel treatment will decrease the risk of a high-intensity wildfire starting along the corridor by removing surface, ladder, and crown fuels in areas where the forest is dense and overgrown.”

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B.C. has doubled its old wildfire record. Experts say we can take action now to slow crisis

By Bethany Lindsay
CBC News
October 7, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

It’s official — B.C. has now more than doubled the previous record for area burned during a single wildfire season.   As the extreme weather of climate change makes destructive summers like this year’s more and more likely, the province’s independent forests watchdog is calling for radical action to make our landscapes more resistant to fire.  “The urgency is really unfortunate. The numbers this year are devastating. The casualties, loss of life is horrific,” Keith Atkinson, chair of the Forest Practices Board told CBC News.  …Atkinson described 2023 as an “alarming” year for wildfires, but said it hasn’t necessarily come as a shock.  …In June, as the wildfire season was ramping up, the Forest Practices Board released a report calling on the B.C. government to take “bold and immediate action” to change how the province’s land is managed. 

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Advanced aerial mapping program delivers better public data

By Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Government of British Columbia
October 6, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Nathan Cullen

People and communities can look forward to more freely accessible high-quality data to support informed and effective decision-making on climate resiliency and land-use planning as the LidarBC program is now underway.  Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data can be used to help communities plan for and respond to climate emergencies, support habitat and ecosystem protection and inform sustainable forestry management.   …“B.C. covers almost a million square kilometres and almost none of it is properly mapped and understood. Working with First Nations, industry and other interest groups, B.C. is taking action to map every corner of the province,” said Nathan Cullen, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. …B.C. has signed a contract with Kîsik Geospatial and Aerial Survey (Kîsik) to collect LiDAR elevation data. This process delivers highly detailed and accurate three-dimensional mappings of landscapes for all of B.C.

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What lichens can tell us about climate and pollution

By Dennis Kovtun
CBC News
October 8, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Diane Haughland

ALBERTA — When you walk past a tree in Edmonton’s river valley, you may notice multicoloured growths, decorating them in yellow, green, grey and bluish spots. These are lichens. They work closely with their photosynthesizing partner — usually algae — which live inside lichens. Lichens are important determinants of air quality, said Troy McMullin, a lichenologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature. “They get their nutrients and minerals from what is floating by, what’s in the air,” he said. “Essentially, they’re eating the air and if there’s pollutants in the air, they’re going to eat those too.” Different lichens have different sensitivities to pollution and other environmental conditions. …Lichenologist Diane Haughland wrote the guide on lichens of Alberta. We took a walk with her to learn more about some of Alberta’s common lichen species, and learned what their presence – or absence – can tell us about local air quality.

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‘Freak of nature’ tree is the find of a lifetime for forest explorer

By Cathy Free
The Washington Post
October 8, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

TJ Watt has spent half his life as a forest explorer, a self-described “tree hunter” in British Columbia. He wades deep into endangered forests to find pristine towering trees that are hundreds of years old and massively wide but have never been photographed or documented.  He draws attention to the enormous old-growth trees to show the importance of saving the natural wonders from logging. The day he approached a gargantuan western red cedar he’d been trekking with a friend for several hours in a remote area on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound in Ahousaht territory off the west coast of Vancouver Island. …As he drew closer to the tree, Watt said he was overcome with disbelief: He was dwarfed by a tree standing 151 feet tall and 17 and a half feet in diameter. The tree, believed to be more than 1,000 years old, was the find of a lifetime.

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Vancouver police expect number of protests to reach 1,000 this year

By Mike Howell
Castanet
October 5, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver police say 800 protests have already occurred in the city and it is expected the grand total will reach or surpass 1,000 by year’s end — a significant and steady increase from 563 recorded in 2020, 785 in 2021 and 810 last year. Police Chief Adam Palmer signalled to the Vancouver Police Board in June 2021 that protests were on the rise in the city,saying “by far and large, the greatest number of protests we’re seeing are environmental — whether it’s logging, [protecting] old-growth forests, TMX pipeline — those sorts of protests [are] way more than anything else.” Palmer updated his comments at a police board meeting last month, where he said the VPD anticipated 1,000 protests or more will have occurred in Vancouver before year’s end. Statistics supplied to Glacier Media show a steady increase on money spent to manage protests and demonstrations, with $478,460 in 2018, $1,033,297 in 2019, $2,835,584 in 2020 and more than $3 million last year.

 

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Piece of logging history installed in Powell River park

By Justin Waddell
My Powell River Now
October 5, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

An old piece of local logging history has made its way back to its original home in Powell River. The city says a steam donkey, also known as a steam powered winch, has been installed at Lindsay Park. It was built in 1918 by Vancouver Engineering Works and was used by the Anderson Sawmill, run by Andy and Clara Anderson on Powell Lake in Block Bay from 1932 to 1960. …After their business was unable to run, they decided to donate the entire sawmill to the Burnaby Village Museum, who said they would get the steam donkey up and running again. However, that proved to be too costly. In 2014, through a grant from the Powell River Community Forest and partnerships with Powell River Forestry Heritage Society, the city and qathet Museum and Archives, the steam donkey has been brought home and installed close to where it was once used.

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Kananaskis logging bridge in dispute, federal fisheries investigating

By Howard May
The St. Albert Gazette
October 5, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

ALBERTA — Spray Lake Sawmills is in hot water again with environmental and recreational groups concerned about logging in Kananaskis, as the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has launched an investigation into the forest products company surrounding the construction of a bridge this summer. The Alberta Wilderness Association says the bridge Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) built over the Highwood River to access forests they plan to clearcut this winter requires a permit from the federal fisheries department. However, SLS did not receive such authorization. SLS insists they have followed all the rules. …SLS’s Ed Kulcsar said, “In general, DFO permits are only required if a project proponent is unable to protect fish and fish habitat while conducting their works. At SLS, we follow all approval processes and implement all measures and best management practices to ensure the protection of fish and fish habitat on all our bridge installations.”

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Creation of forest edges contribute to declines in biodiversity

By Tristan Pearce, Canada Research Chair in the cumulative impacts of environmental change
Prince George Citizen
October 6, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Prince George urban forests are threatened by fragmentation from suburban development and we need to change development pathways to protect biodiversity. Fragmentation is a ubiquitous phenomenon, with nearly 20% of the world’s remaining forest now found within 100 m of an edge, 50% within 500 m and 70% within 1 km. Typically, this means that forests are separated by roads, agriculture, utility corridors, subdivisions, or other human development. It usually occurs incrementally, beginning with cleared patches here and there, perhaps a new subdivision or utility corridor and over time, these non-forested patches tend to multiply and expand until the forest is reduced to scattered, disconnected forest islands. You can see this in Prince George using Google Earth. New subdivisions and other land use seriously threaten the health, function, and value of the remaining forest. …We therefore need to take the impacts of fragmentation into account when making decisions about land use and development within our city.

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British Columbia logged a fifth more old-growth forests than reported

By Stefan Labbé
North Shore News
October 4, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The amount of old-growth forests cut in British Columbia in 2021 was almost a fifth higher than the provincial government reported, according to a new analysis. The report, released Wednesday by the Sierra Club BC, found 45,700 hectares of old forest were logged that year, more than 19 per cent higher than the 38,300 hectares later reported by the B.C. government. “We need more honesty about what’s happening,” said Jens Wieting, the Sierra Club BC’s senior forest and climate campaigner. “We found some really disturbing numbers. …Wieting says the province is using an outdated system to compile annual logging information. That system relies on inputting cutblock information from logging companies and from Landsat satellite data into a government database. …In a statement, the ministry said it has been been working to make data on B.C.’s forests more accessible to the public through satellite-based change detection and data collection.

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What deer poop can teach us about environmental health

By Matteo Cimellaro
The National Observer
October 4, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Sarah Dickson-Hoyle

KAMLOOPS, BC — Gabe Jules has witnessed a drop in both the numbers and health of the deer population in his territory, which has been ravaged by two devastating wildfire seasons in three years. Jules—rights, title and wildlife representative for Skeetchestn First Nation, about 60 kilometres west of Kamloops, B.C… has seen how severe burns from record-breaking wildfires can affect everything, including winter feed for deer.  …The research analyzes deer fecal samples with help from the Toronto Zoo to measure cortisol levels, a stress hormone, said Shaun Freeman, a wildlife biologist. The research will be used to inform Skeetchestn on how environmental factors such as wildfires, logging, and development like road density will impact their deer harvesting management. …The wildfire seasons, alongside other environmental factors like logging and other land management practices, have left Skeetchestn to consider a five- to 10-year reduction in harvest, Jules said. [to access the full story, a National Observer subscription is required]

Related coverage: Skeetchestn wants limits on hunting mule deer after wildfire destroys habitat

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Maps chart wildfire risk in rural areas

By Jeff Bell
Victoria Times Colonist
October 4, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Residents in electoral areas around the Capital Regional District and Islands Trust can now consult a new series of maps that chart wildfire risk linked to the vegetation. It’s a new approach for the two organizations, which said the mapping is developed “through a simple scientific approach that identifies where wildfires are most likely to impact developed areas.” Electoral areas are communities situated outside of municipalities, and tend to be referred to as rural or unincorporated. Severe wildfire activity around the province coupled with dry conditions over the summer raised residents’ concerns. …The new maps have been made for the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, the southern Gulf Islands and Salt Spring Island. Juan de Fuca district maps include Port Renfrew, Shirley, Otter Point, East Sooke and Willis Point, while the southern Gulf Islands maps feature Galiano Island, Mayne Island, Pender Island and Saturna Island.

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BC First Nations Forestry Council Newsletter

BC First Nations Forestry Council
October 5, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Welcome all to our October newsletter. Fall is upon us and we are preparing for the busy year to come! We have engagement, career fairs, and much work to be done – we hope you enjoy this update and that we’ll see everyone soon at one of the many upcoming events. Newsletter highlights include:

  • CEO Letter by Lennard Joe
  • Reconciliation in the Workplace through Allyship
  • BC First Nations Provincial Forestry Forum – October 11-13 in Kamloops
  • Working Together to Modernize Forest Policy

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B.C. government names task force, announces new legislation aimed at improving wildfire response

By Tim Petruk
Business in Vancouver
October 3, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

On the heels of the worst wildfire season in B.C.’s history, the provincial government has unveiled a task force and new legislation aimed at enhancing emergency preparedness and reducing the risk of disasters. According to the province, the proposed emergency and disaster management act aims to “implement a more proactive approach to emergency management,” emphasizing disaster risk reduction to safeguard B.C. residents and communities. The new task force is made up of 14 people, including Tk’emlups Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir, Thompson-Nicola Regional District CAO Scott Hildebrand and Kukpi7 Lynn Keonras-Duck of the Adams Lake Indian Band. Also on the task force are emergency officials, government representatives and the former director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Related coverage on Radio NL with full list of Expert Task Force members.

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Time for government to buy Mosaic

Letter by Chris Alemany
Alberni Valley News
October 4, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Chris Alemany

It has been clear for decades that our forest industry is broken, particularly on the former Dunsmuir grant private lands on Vancouver Island. Many reforms have been advocated, but now … it is time for government to reverse an old wrong and buy out Mosaic Forest Management Corporation to gain back Crown control over these timberlands. One opaque and private company owned by equity firms and pension funds should not control the majority of forest on south and central Vancouver Island. The province should offer Mosaic a takeover and buyout package that would ensure compensation or re-employment for employees. With its lands returned to the public, government and First Nations can get to work managing the landscape on Vancouver Island in a new way for the betterment of all people who live here.

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2023 National First Nations Water Leadership Award

By Indigenous Services Canada
Cision Newswire
October 5, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Warren Brown

VANCOUVER, COAST SALISH TERRITORY, BC – When wildfires threatened Lytton First Nation in 2021, Warren Brown was essential in protecting his community’s water supply by staying behind—as others evacuated to safety—to ensure the water treatment plants remained up and running. He wanted to do everything he could to ensure his community had safe and clean drinking water to come home to. Warren’s commitment to caring for his community’s clean water supply continues to play a significant role in protecting their health and safety. Today, Warren Brown of Lytton First Nation was announced as the 2023 recipient of the National First Nations Water Leadership Award at the 14th annual BC and Yukon Territory Water and Wastewater Operational Excellence Conference held in Vancouver, BC.

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B.C. to eliminate single-use plastics from tree planting

By Stefan Labbe
Vancouver is Awesome
October 3, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. government says it’s moving to eliminate single-use plastic wraps currently used to plant 45 million tree seedlings across the province every year. Traditionally, forestry companies have taken the equivalent of cellophane and wrapped the root bundles to hold them together for transportation into the field. But that old way of doing things has been recognized as unnecessary in recent years, says Randy Fournier, CEO of the B.C.-based seedling company PRT Growing Services Ltd. “The elimination of plastic wrap, quite frankly, is just an elimination of waste,” Fournier said. …Fournier says compacting peat around the seedlings provides enough density for the root system to hold together and keep seedling bundles of up to 20 trees alive before they are planted. The decision to do away with the plastic seedling wraps comes after BC Timber Sales (BCTS) carried out a successful trial using pine and spruce seedlings in the Cariboo region

Release by BC Government: Province tackles climate change by reducing single-use plastics in tree planting

 

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B.C. will bring in legislation meant to boost emergency preparedness

By Gordon Hoekstra
Vancouver Sun
October 3, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. government introduced sweeping changes Tuesday to emergency management legislation meant to step up preparedness for climate-fuelled natural disasters and to provide an expanded leadership role for First Nations. The province also announced who will be appointed to a wildfire task force announced by Premier David Eby three weeks ago. The announcements were delivered on the same day the B.C. Ombudsperson’s office released a report that concluded financial support programs for people displaced by extreme weather emergencies are outdated and are not meeting people’s needs. The new emergency management legislation and the task force are meant by Eby’s NDP government to signal they are serious about helping B.C.’s communities build climate resiliency — to reduce the effects of wildfires and floods, droughts and extreme heat that have been hammering the province in the past decade.

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B.C.-wide call made for protection of old-growth forests

By Jake Romphf
North Island Gazette
September 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

What the climate will look like in the future concerns David Chaplin, and he says the feeling is shared by many.  It’s why he was out to show his support at a Victoria demonstration against the continued logging of old-growth forests in B.C. – joining 17 similar actions outside MLA offices province-wide on Thursday (Sept. 28).  “Three years have passed since the B.C. government promised to implement a paradigm-shift in forest stewardship laid out in its own Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR). Yet the government has made little progress on their promises,” event organizers said.  Intact old-growth forests are one of B.C.’s best allies amid the climate crisis, the demonstrators said, noting they help mitigate environmental disasters and support ecosystems.  Chaplin touted how the forests absorb carbon pollution and help to cool communities.

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West Fraser looks to sustainable forestry practices as wildfires rage on in Quesnel area

By Kim Kimberlin
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
September 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Between April 1 and August 17 of this year, 1,818 wildfires burned across British Columbia, destroying around 1.61 million hectares, according to the B.C. government. Several cities throughout the province also experienced record-breaking temperatures, including Lytton, B.C., which reached 49.6C on June 29, 2023. …In a statement to Black Press Media from West Fraser, they said:  “Sustainable forest management is one of the core values that we hold both as West Fraser employees and as individuals living and working in our communities and forests.  West Fraser aims to always look for ways to continuously evolve and improve our sustainable forestry practices.  …We work with Indigenous peoples, communities, scientists and governments to ensure that our forestry practices are inclusive, responsible, thoughtful and informed. This includes the relationship and partnership built with the Wells Barkerville Community Forest.

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Nelson rally for old growth protection features chainsaw street theatre

By Bill Metcalfe
Nelson Star
September 29, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Members of the group Last Stand West Kootenay cut down some trees on Hall Street in Nelson on Thursday.  The trees were people, who fell to the wet pavement after being cut down by chainsaws that were running but had the chains removed.  This piece of street theatre was performed to dramatize what the organizers say is continued logging of old growth forest three years after the publication of the province’s Old Growth Strategic Review.  Steve McGee was one of the “loggers.”  “The B.C. government has created a situation of duress,” he said, “where us ‘loggers’ feel like we have to cut these trees, but knowing full well that in this day and age it’s unethical and unsustainable, and as ‘loggers’ we need support to move away from this as soon as possible.”

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

City of Revelstoke to host bio-heat summit

By Zach Delaney
BC Local News in the Vernon Morning Star
October 4, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Revelstoke will host its first-ever bio-heat event later this month, sparking conversations around alternative energy sources in the local community. “Community bioenergy systems are a proven way that communities can reduce consumption of fossil fuels, support their local economy, and keep energy dollars local,” begins the description of the event. …As a community that has had a bioenergy system working to provide energy to several of its municipal buildings, Revelstoke has emerged as a leader in community-led bioenergy systems in the province. The purpose of the summit on Thursday, Oct. 19, is to reflect on Revelstoke’s own system while examining it in the broader context of the provincial and national energy landscape. The bioenergy facility, the Revelstoke Community Energy System (RCES), is located at Downie Timber.

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Health & Safety

Fort Nelson was hardest hit for wildfire smoke, with 100+ days of air quality alerts

By Tiffany Crawford
The Vancouver Sun
October 5, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Many B.C. residents struggled with air quality this summer as catastrophic wildfires darkened skies with plumes of smoke containing harmful particulate matter. However some parts were hit harder than others. Fort Nelson had the worst air quality in the province because of the Donnie Creek wildfire, B.C.’s largest wildfire on record, which scorched close to 6,000 square kilometres of forest land. The northeast community had more than 100 days of air quality alerts since April, according to data provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada on Thursday. The Fort Nelson airport recorded 1,054 hours of smoke from May to October, said Alyssa Charbonneau, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. That’s compared with just 26 hours in the 2022 wildfire season and 24 hours the year before, adding the B.C. Peace River and Prince George areas both had more than 70 days of air quality alerts.

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Helicopter crash victim Jerry Edwards remembered as caring boss, devoted family man

By Ted Clarke
The Prince George Citizen
October 2, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Jerry Edwards

Investigation continues into cause of crash near Purden Mountain Resort that also claimed life of pilot Keith Buchanan. Jerry Edwards… The 56-year-old owner of Grizzly Forest Management died last Tuesday morning in a helicopter crash near Purden Mountain Resort. …On Tuesday morning, the 56-year-old Edwards arrived with his crew of four at Purden Lake Resort, 62 kilometres east of Prince George, and they climbed into the Bell 206L helicopter owned and operated by pilot Keith Buchanan to start their day doing contract work for Canfor. Shortly after takeoff the helicopter crashed in a forested area not far from the launch site and Edwards and the 63-year-old Buchanan were killed. The four other passengers were treated for minor injuries and later released from hospital. …The Transportation Safety Board of Canada report will likely take a year to complete.

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Forest Fires

New, fast-growing wildfire threatens more than 2 dozen properties in northeastern B.C.

CBC News
October 10, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Properties near Chetwynd in British Columbia’s Peace region are under an evacuation alert after a wildfire discovered Sunday grew to seven square kilometres. The Mount Wartenbe wildfire is already considered a wildfire of note by the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS), meaning it’s highly visible or a potential threat to public safety. It’s burning near Lone Prairie, about 20 kilometres southeast of Chetwynd and 80 kilometres southwest of Fort St. John. On Monday, the Peace River Regional District put in place an evacuation alert for two dozen addresses along with properties in the vicinity of Highway 97, west of Chetwynd Pulp Mill Road and east of the Guillet subdivision. The alert means residents should be prepared to leave their properties on short notice should the fire expand.

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Forest fire starts near Chetwynd

By Adam Reaburn
Energetic City
October 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

CHETWYND, B.C. – The B.C. Wildfire Service is responding to a wildfire that started Sunday afternoon southeast of Chetwynd.  The fire was reported to the fire service just after 4 p.m. Sunday, and as of 8 p.m., it was already 70 hectares. By Monday evening, the fire had burned over 700 hectares.  The Peace River Regional District issued an evacuation alert for an area near the fire. The alert includes properties near Highway 97 (West of Chetwynd Pulp Mill Rd and East of Guillet Sub) and certain properties on Rimsmith Rd.  The Wildfire Service believes the fire was naturally caused and has initiated a full response. During a full response, a wildfire is suppressed and controlled until it is deemed “out.” There are nine type one firefighters being assisted by three helicopters on scene.

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BC Wildfire Service is on the verge of declaring the end of the fire season

Castanet
October 4, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

After five months of fighting wildfires and battling smoke that choked B.C. residents throughout the spring and summer the BC Wildfire Service is on the verge of declaring the end of one of its busiest, most intense fire seasons, even though large fires continue to burn in the Prince George fire centre region. Two fires that continue to burn out of control are close to Prince George. The Great Beaver Lake fire is about 64 kilometres northwest of the city, while the Tatuk Lake fire is about 73 km southwest. The North Lucas Lake fire is in a remote area, 48 km south of Fraser Lake. There are two other large fires in BC – Big Creek (91 km northwest of Mackenzie) and Gatcho Lake (140 km southwest of Vanderhoof). BCWS unit crews and initial attack remain on the scene monitoring those fires.

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