Region Archives: Canada West

Howe Sound Pulp & Paper Corporation (HSPP) has submitted an application for a disposition of Crown Land to consolidate some in-water and upland tenures for chip transportation. HSPP intends to consolidate nine pre-existing log handling and storage tenures to continue chip transportation and unloading activities at the company’s Port Mellon site. HSPP’s current tenures have a variety of expiry dates, and the application notes four have expired and a fifth is set to expire in the first quarter of 2024. These tenures are used to receive and offload chips and temporarily store empty scows. HSPP began working on renewing some of the water lot leases in 2021, said Blair Dickerson, HSPP’s vice president of public affairs. The leases, which are typically 25 years, were reaching the end of their terms. The existing tenures covered a 17.8 ha which is being merged into a single smaller tenure covering a total area of 8.41ha.

COWICHAN LAKE, BC — The pumping of water from Cowichan Lake into the Cowichan River will begin as early as Sept. 11 while extremely dry conditions persist. Catalyst Crofton will manage the pumping that will continue until water levels are naturally restored later this fall. According to Paper Excellence, water will be pumped at a rate designed to maintain current flow conditions in the Cowichan River. That’s about 4.5 cubic metres per second. …Low lake levels have resulted and reduced flows which now requires water pumping from the lake to preserve the river and its habitat. The pumping is authorized by the B.C. Ministry of Forests. …“Catalyst Crofton has been collaboratively managing Cowichan River since 2002 with First Nations, local government and other key stakeholders,” stated Bruce Eby, general manager. “While curtailed, the mill’s water requirements are significantly reduced.”

On the outskirts of Merritt, a logging truck driver has created the prototype for a new way to haul logs. It’s a hybrid electric/diesel truck that promises more horsepower with a fraction of the fuel costs and emissions. …Chace Barber believes that since logging trucks generally go up the hills empty, and come down loaded, they are perfectly suited for this. “Electric makes the most sense for the logging industry in BC,” said Barber. …Because of range limitations, Barber said fully electric trucks only work for about 10% of the industry. He believes his hybrid model is the answer for most of what remains.

Vernon Seed Orchard Company jointly owned by West Fraser Mills ltd, Canadian Forest Products Ltd and Lakeland Mills Ltd recently unveiled its new Interior Extraction Facility. (VSOC) established in 1989 has been engaged with the Province of BC’s tree improvement program and produced well over 1.5 billion seedlings to date. This new facility will allow seed producers the opportunity to decrease wait times, reduce transportation environmental impacts, manage storage more efficiently and receive their product in a timelier manner. With conifer seed production orchard locations in Vernon and Quesnel (VSOC) is one of the largest seed producers in Canada. “We are committed to reinvesting in our long-term tree improvement goals by building a state-of-the-art facility that will enable seed to be extracted in the interior of BC” stated Jeff Mycock VSOC President and West Fraser Chief Forester.

…a drama is about to unfold in the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. The case pits Teal Cedar Products Ltd. against the Province of B.C. and the Haida Gwaii Management Council. Teal is suing for $75 million — the cost, it claims, of being forced to stop logging old-growth forests on Haida Gwaii. …eye-opening testimony offered a window into the government’s thinking on reconciliation, resource extraction and ecological protection. Trial resumes today, with more high-profile witnesses to come. Chief among them is Pat Bell, B.C.’s former minister of forests, who Teal claims made the company a verbal promise it would be “kept whole” in the wake of sweeping forestry reforms on Haida Gwaii more than a decade ago. Teal’s lawsuit is a dark-mirror inversion of the conflict playing out at Fairy Creek where an awkward fact remains: the elected and hereditary leadership of the nations there oppose the blockades and support Teal-Jones.

B.C.’s Forests Minister says there will be a substantial review of the response to the 2023 wildfire season. Bruce Ralston was asked about Barriere Mayor, Ward Stamer’s call for a third-party review of the record breaking fire season. “This is the first year that we’ve had a much broader full-time wildfire service and that will be evaluated,” Ralston said Wednesday. “I know Minister Ma and her ministry will also want to evaluate the mechanisms that evacuation alerts and orders just to make sure that we can do things better.” Stamer told Radio NL he wants that third-party review to look into the good, the bad, and the ugly of this year’s fire season. “I think without pointing any fingers, I think we really want to get to the bottom of what is going on,” Stamer said.

On his way from photographing a juvenile northern goshawk earlier this year, local ecologist Bob Brett happened to run into a forester and mentioned the rare sighting of the protected, red-listed species. His response? “Well, that’s bad for forestry.” But to Brett, a vocal environmental advocate and co-founder of the Whistler Naturalists, it was anything but negative. “It’s a good news story if we have northern goshawks and those other animals that require specialized habitat,” Brett said. “It’s a sign that we’re doing things well. I would love to have a situation where foresters get excited and happy when we find goshawks, rather than see it as an impediment to logging.” …The impact from the lack of formal protections was clear this summer when Brett said recent logging in the Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF) came as close as 30 metres to a goshawk nesting site.

Last Stand West Kootenay stood united Tuesday morning in blocking logging operations to continue on the West Side of the Duncan Reservoir, north of Kaslo. Last Stand West Kootenay, in light of a record year of wildfires nation-wide, is demanding an immediate moratorium on old growth logging and other clearcut practices — which the group believes puts undue stress on forest, increasing the severity and intensity of fires and thereby contributing to natural disasters and global warming. “As the province declares a State of Emergency, to support ongoing response and recovery efforts caused by wildfire, we are demanding that more emphasis be placed on forestry and natural resources extraction reform,” says Dr. Meghan Beatty, member of the group. …They are asking for the public to write letters of support for the protection of the inland temperate rainforest and immediate implementation of all the recommendations from the old growth strategic review

John Vaillant

John Vaillant’s new book Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast is more than just a series of dramatic interviews with Fort McMurray residents about their terrifying escape from the wildfire that destroyed 2,400 homes in 2016. …Fire Weather is more than a series of pained, frank interviews with the people who fought the kind of fire they had never seen or imagined before. If the book were only that, it would be a gripping wake-up call for the public, to help us understand and prepare for a new kind of wildfire. The book weaves together the political and scientific history of the bitumen industry in Alberta, an examination of the physics of a new kind of wildfire, and an impassioned take-down of the fossil fuel companies’ conscious, ongoing refusal to control emissions. But the heart of the narrative is Vaillant’s vivid attention to the stories of the residents and firefighters.

KANANASKIS COUNTRY – Robert Frost said it best: ‘Nothing gold can stay.’ A coniferous larch tree reaches its full autumn glory, turning from green to gold over a few weeks in what has become an increasingly popular sight to behold in parts of the Rocky Mountains before its needles drop, signifying the onset of winter. This year, though, hot, dry conditions coupled with wildfire smoke have caused the golden larch season to start earlier, and it could last longer than usual. “What we’ve seen here in terms of the similar progression of leaves and larches, is that it has been a bit quicker than normal,” said Michael Roycroft, regional director for Kananaskis with Alberta Parks. “We are starting to see some change in colour and with that comes more visitation. Fall is traditionally a busy time for visitation in Kananaskis Country.” Larch season is typically mid-September to early October.

BRITISH COLUMBIA — It’s going to be another dismal year for Fraser River sockeye, but the sport fishing industry is reportedly enjoying a banner year thanks to improved chinook and coho abundance. Pink salmon are also returning in near-record numbers, though that doesn’t necessarily mean commercial fishermen will have the chance to catch them – if they are mingled with threatened species, like sockeye – nor are they likely to make much profit from them, given depressed prices. …Fraser River pink salmon were expected to come in this year at 6.1 million. But as of last week, based on test fisheries, the Pacific Salmon Commission upped its in-season forecast to 20 million. If that forecast is fulfilled, it would be a near-record return – the record being 24 million Fraser River pinks in 2003. Fraser River sockeye, on the other hand, appear to be coming in closer to their pre-season forecast of just 1.6 million.

The B.C. government doesn’t have a comprehensive wildfire and forest resilience plan unlike California and Washington state, whose plans have helped produce faster and more significant results.  B.C. has set no goals on how much land it wants to reduce wildfire risk on each year or larger timelines, and it doesn’t track and report publicly on progress, as do the two U.S. states, shows a review by Postmedia News of publicly available plans.   …California’s online tool — which provides public transparency and accountability — is part of a strategic wildfire and forest resilience plan launched by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. …Washington state launched its wildfire strategic protection plan in 2019.  …The Forests Ministry didn’t answer a question on whether it sets annual targets or a timeline.  Ministry staff said there is no “singular” database that tracks progress and is publicly available.

The charred hills surrounding Okanagan Lake in the B.C. Interior will likely look very different in a year’s time and beyond as life returns to the wildfire-ravaged landscape, ecologists predict.  An eruption of low plants, grasses, and shrubs will turn the hills green. Birds and small mammals, as well as deer and bears, will return to feast on berries and other plant life. Carnivores including cougars could move in.  But the tall trees destroyed by the fires may never recover or return, said Robert Gray, a wildland fire ecologist.  “When you look at West Kelowna, it’s really rocky, steep ground and trees aren’t going to come back very well there. There is not a lot of moisture in the soil and it’s only going to get drier with climate change,” said Gray. “A lot of that landscape may not see a lot of trees come back.”

In the burned-over hills between Ashcroft and Cache Creek, the Secwepemcúl’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society is getting a glimpse of what the future holds for B.C. forests after a record 2023 wildfire season.  The Society, which represents eight Secwépemc First Nations, was formed in 2017 to advocate Indigenous principles in recovering from the 1,900-square-kilometre Elephant Hill fire of that year. Its researchers are already learning important lessons. “It depends on the severity of the fire,” said society CEO Angela Kane. “In some area’s nothing has come back because (the forest) is burnt so bad.”  “What our technicians, my people out on the land are telling me is that it burned so hot and deep into the ground that some of those seed banks are gone.  …“We’re learning the hard way (about) unintended consequences,” said wildfire ecologist Lori Daniels.

EAST KOOTENAY, BC — This season’s forest fire tragedy unfolding around us is nothing less than an economic and ecological catastrophe and raises a troubling question – how bad can it get? According to UN statistics, the largest forest fire in recorded history occurred in 2003 when a mammoth blaze erupted in eastern Siberia and burned 22 million hectares. …The Donnie Creek fire in northeast B.C., at 120,000 hectares the largest in B.C.’s history. … So, what can we do to prevent forest fires from happening at all? …We can do things on the ground to lessen the chances of lightning strikes setting off major fires. For starters, we can pressure government to live up to its word and stop the cutting of old growth timber which is fire resistant because of its very nature. …What will fire season be like in B.C. a decade from now?

SUNSHINE COAST, BC — The Sunshine Coast Community Forest has established a Wildfire Resiliency Plan in partnership with Frontera Forest Solutions, SCCF announced last month. The three-phase plan focuses on identifying key infrastructure to be protected, as well as reducing excess fuels within the community forest, with opportunities to receive public input. Phase 1 of the project involved fuel management planning using data from the SCRD Community Wildfire Protection Plan and information from the community forest. …This information is used to create a burn model, which will show what sections of the forest are more susceptible to wildfires and will identify key areas within the forest. …Phase 2 is the identification of proposed and prioritized mitigation projects. …Phase 3 of the project is when the proposed mitigation projects will be presented to the public, explaining why these projects are recommended and how they would help reduce risk.

CAMPBELL RIVER – An audit of forest practices on five woodlots in the Campbell River Natural Resource District found mixed results in licensees’ compliance with legal requirements, according to a series of reports recently published by the Forest Practices Board. The board audited woodlot licences W0085, W2001, W2004, W2044 and W2046 as part of its 2022 compliance audit program. Auditors examined whether timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning carried out from Oct. 1, 2020, through Oct. 20, 2022, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, as well as the Woodlot Licence Planning and Practices Regulation (WLPPR). …“It is important for licensees to uphold their timber and forest resource commitments by meeting their free-growing obligations,” said Keith Atkinson, chair of the Forest Practices Board. …The audited woodlots are located within a 100-kilometre radius of Campbell River and within the territories of the Kwakwaka’wakw, Coast Salish, and Mowachaht/ Muchalaht Peoples.

Forest Professionals of BC published their August newsletter. Highlights include:

• Garnet Mierau, RPF joins the Forest Professionals BC as Director of Practice. Garnet, past-chair of the FPBC Board, takes over from Mike Larock, RPF, who will act as a special consultant with FPBC until the end of the fiscal year.
• Sydney Kucera takes on new position as Certifications Lead, a redesigned role based on the former Registration Manager position previously held by Conrad, Malilay, now FPBC Compliance Manager.
• FPBC is hiring: Complaint Investigator and Registration Coordinator
• The FPBC conference and AGM is scheduled for February 7-9, 2024 at the Delta Hotels Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna.

The wildfire that has been rampaging through the Shuswap region of the B.C. Interior has also sparked a fight over whether local Opposition MLAs have been encouraging residents to disobey firefighters, or if the government is refusing to listen to critics of its response to the fires. The Bush Creek East fire has destroyed or significantly damaged nearly 170 properties. …But it has also been in focus because of some residents’ decision to defy evacuation orders and instead stay to defend their homes from the flames. The New Democrat government accused the Opposition BC United of supporting residents who refused to obey the North Shuswap evacuation order, while the Opposition denied the accusation and said it was calling on the government to work with the community. …In recent days, North Shuswap residents with firefighting skills have indeed been recruited to work with government firefighters in the area, BC Wildfire Service officials said.

DRAYTON VALLEY, Alberta — In an effort to fully understand the damage caused by the wildfire in the Pembina Forest Management Area, Councillor Tom McGee and Mayor Nancy Dodds reached out to Weyerhaeuser earlier this month. …The two met with Jeff MacKay, the General Manager of Pembina Timberlands, to get a better feel for the damage that was done and what the fire would mean for residents. MacKay says that even though there were 1.9 million hectares burnt, much of that wood can still be used at the mills. …“Weyerhaeuser’s harvesting operations have already begun salvaging fire-killed trees for our Drayton Valley Lumber and Edson OSB mills,” said MacKay. “We expect to maintain a reliable supply of fibre to operate our mills at forecasted rates for the foreseeable future,” he says.

Many forests, wildlife species and ecosystems in British Columbia are fire-dependent. This means they need fire to revitalize the ecosystems. For thousands of years, fires have varied in frequency, size, severity, and duration. …British Columbia is striving to manage wildfire risk at three levels: Hardening homes and buildings, including reducing nearby flammable materials; Reducing the concentration and arrangement of trees adjacent to communities in the Wildland Urban Interface; and managing fire as part of natural ecosystem function. FESBC has been working with a number of other organizations to provide funding and resources to assist communities in British Columbia in reducing their risk of catastrophic wildfires while learning to live naturally with fire. “With provincial funding, FESBC has supported projects of many types that help First Nations and communities protect themselves against wildfire risks. We hope to see these efforts and collaborations continue,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests.

The province is extending the state of emergency as wildfires and drought continue to plague B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma announced the extension during a wildfire update on Thursday. She was joined by Forests Minister Bruce Ralston. “The nature and unpredictability of the wildfires that we are experiencing this year means that we all need to remain vigilant,” explained Ma. More than 4,200 people are still on evacuation order, while another 65,000 are on alert. …Ma said the northeastern region of the province is expected to continue to see unseasonably warm temperatures, smoke and strong winds, which could then lead to previously under control wildfires becoming out of control again. Of the province’s 34 water basins, 27 of those are at the two highest drought levels. More than 1.91 million hectares have burned so far this year from 2,027 wildfires. There are currently 42 wildfires actively burning in the province, said Ralston. 

Government of BC press release: Use caution, be fire safe this long weekend

During this summer’s drought, the provincial government has been telling farmers who are short of water, or not licensed to use it, to find places to buy it. …It would be more sensible, she said, to give priority to ecosystems and rivers, then make sure farms producing food have enough, before allocating water to golf courses, riding rings, water bottling and less essential uses,” Vancouver Island farmer Arzeena Hamir said. … “My feeling is the Ministry of Forests is using the drought as the excuse to come into the community and enforce water licensing. Nor, in Hamir’s view, does it make sense for the Ministry of Forests to be causing suffering to farmers by restricting water use when logging that could reduce water supplies continues. The land in the area, as on much of eastern Vancouver Island, is privately owned and the forests are managed with even fewer restrictions than they would be on public land.

The Government of Yukon and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency combined financial contributions to launch a new support program offering funding for commercial harvesters and retailers. Commercial harvesters and retailers can now apply for reimbursements of up to $15,000 for purchases, repairs and upgrades to harvest equipment, vehicles, trailers, personal protective equipment and other equipment. For larger harvesting businesses, the funds can be used for things like planning and administrative costs. This program will help commercial timber harvesters and retailers reduce barriers in getting more firewood to market. Commercial timber harvesters and retailers that harvest, process or sell timber and firewood can apply for this program. Applicants have until March 31, 2024, to apply or until the $200,000 in total available funds is exhausted. This program is in addition to the Timber Harvesting Incentive, which is accepting applications until March 31, 2024.

Jim Jones, owner of North Thompson Aprotek Fire Safety offered free firefighter training last weekend to three dozen North Shuswap residents looking to protect their homes. Jones said he was contacted by community members in the North Shuswap looking to get certified so that they could help BC Wildfire Service crews battle the Bush Creek East fire. …Jones said he worked for decades with B.C.’s Ministry of Forests, including extensive wildland firefighting experience. …Dozens of North Shuswap residents were desperate for certification after the BC Wildfire Service last week said it was willing to work alongside those in the community provided they had proper training. …BCWS operations director Cliff Chapman said the Co-operative Community Response Project aims to provide “community members that are willing” basic training to have them work alongside firefighters.

The 1993 protests over clearcut logging in Clayoquot Sound were a seminal moment for environmental activism in B.C. that shaped much of what has happened since, both in terms of forestry practices and the conservation movement. And 30 years later, environmentalist Tzeporah Berman estimates the protest — dubbed the War in the Woods — “had a massive impact,” helping to push forest companies toward eco-forestry practices and government into working with First Nations on co-management of forests to consider ecological values. …Industry rep Linda Coady agrees… who was an executive for MacMillan Bloedel at the time. “On the coast, it really opened up and changed the role of First Nations, (which) continues today. …Government’s response sparked the Clayoquot Sound scientific panel, which made the ecological case for new harvesting methods, such as variable retention logging rather than clearcutting. Those lessons were used in the landscape-level planning [which]… the province now is expanding across the province, Coady added.