Region Archives: Canada West

Southern Alberta could be in for an early and potentially longer larch season this year. …Master arborist Gerard Fournier says he first noticed larches starting to turn at his tree farm in the beginning of August. …An early spring means the larches had an early growing season, he said. Now, they could be in the process of downloading all the sugars they’ve been making in their leaves and “that unmasks the pigment that is in the leaf that we see as yellow,” he said. …Fournier said he expects the larch season to reach its golden peak no later than mid-September this year. …For David Bird, an associate professor at Mount Royal University, it’s too soon to say for sure whether all larches will turn early. He says heat, drought and wildfire smoke can be big stressors for trees and plants often respond to stress by dropping leaves.

KANANASKIS COUNTRY – Thousands of Albertans are voicing opposition to a plan to clearcut about 2,000 football fields worth of forest in Kananaskis Country’s Upper Highwood set to begin this winter. Conservationists and other concerned groups say Spray Lakes Sawmills’ (SLS) plan to harvest the 1,100-hectare plot – including a stretch along the Highwood River – threatens environment, wildlife habitat and recreation in the area. “There’s a number of concerns. A lot of it has to do with implications on habitat itself,” said Amber Toner with Take a Stand for the Upper Highwood, an advocacy group formed in 2017 in response to another logging project in the area that saw 450 hectares removed. “The logging is happening along 21 kilometres of the Highwood River and that river is home to some species like our at-risk native trout species here in Alberta. That area is also home to grizzly bears and so many other species that live there.”

RCMP said they arrested three protesters Tuesday as they resumed enforcement of an injunction against old-growth logging protesters at a controversial Vancouver Island blockade. Police Liaison Team spoke with demonstrators who were blocking a bridge over the Gordon River in the Fairy Creek watershed. Police said protesters were given the opportunity to abide by the order by leaving or moving to a designated protest area or face arrest. Three people refused to move, were arrested. Mounties alleged someone also assaulted an officer before fleeing into the woods. Earlier Tuesday, RCMP said Teal Cedar had reported “numerous violations of persons obstructing, impeding and interfering with” work the Fairy Creek watershed. …Mounties said they had been “monitoring” protest activities in the area, but that the company had now requested they enforce the court order.

Stewart Phillip

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has demanded a special RCMP unit responsible for responding to pipeline and forestry protests be disbanded during a federal review launched earlier this year. A day after the First Nation group made the call in an open letter, the RCMP announced it would resume police enforcement of a court-ordered injunction granted to Teal Cedar Products to allow logging to continue unimpeded in the Fairy Creek Watershed area near Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. The federal investigation by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP was launched in March over concerns the RCMP unit’s tactics may not have been consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. …The complaints commission has said it will be investigating the unit’s actions in at least three court-ordered injunction sites.

The College of New Caledonia Research Forest Society (CNCRFS) has selected two projects to support through its legacy fund. The Stellat’en First Nation and School District 91: Nechako Lakes will each receive a $50,000 grant to go towards their respective projects. Launched in 2019, the CNCRFS legacy fund supports projects with a focus on environmental improvement, renewable natural resource education and/or outreach programs, outdoor recreation improvement, or social/environmental commitment to local communities. The legacy fund is providing $100,000 to support the efforts of these two projects. …With help from the CNCRFS legacy fund, the Stellat’en First Nation will launch a multi-year project to reduce densities and increase foraging opportunities in a 40-hectare pine monoculture near the community of Fraser Lake. …School District 91: Nechako Lakes will use the CNCRFS funding to build an educational trail system within the W.L. McLeod Wetland in Vanderhoof.

With drought conditions forecasted to persist into fall months, the Urban Forestry team have ramped up efforts to hydrate the city’s 160,000 street trees using ground probes, 400-gallon water trucks and cannons, and are now asking residents and businesses to join the cause. “Trees are incredibly important to the health of this city,” said Joe McLeod, Manager of Urban Forestry at the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. “Besides adding moisture and purifying the air, they provide shade; an essential in protecting communities through extreme heat events due to climate change. Protect trees and they will protect us.” For effective watering: Pour 3 to 5 gallons of water around the drip line of a tree, twice a week. …In line with current water restrictions, trees are exempt from seasonal watering restrictions on residential and non-residential properties if watering is by hand or using drip irrigation. Sprinklers may be used between 5 am and 9 am on residential properties.

Forest Professionals British Columbia (FPBC) is recruiting for a Complaint Investigator to address and conduct (potentially disciplinary) investigations arising from complaints against registrants as directed by FPBC bylaws and the Professional Governance Act (PGA) and its regulations. …FPBC is also recruiting for the new position of Business Services Lead in our Vancouver office. This role is responsible for fulfilling governance obligations set out by the FPBC Board of Directors and the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Government. …The FPBC conference and AGM is scheduled for February 7-9, 2024 at the Delta Hotels Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna. Be sure to save this date in your calendar. As we did this year, the 2024 conference will be a hybrid event. …FPBC is now seeking nominations for the 2023 Distinguished Forest Professional, along with a host of other awards recognizing outstanding contributions to the profession and furthering the organization’s principles. The deadline for nominations is October 31.

The RCMP’s federal review agency recently hired an Indigenous-led law firm as concerns grow about delays in its probe of the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG). …The watchdog, created to ensure complaints against Mounties are handled fairly, launched a systemic investigation in March into the controversial C-IRG outfit, which is known for its Coastal GasLink and Fairy Creek tactical operations. “Progress is coming along well although delays in receiving the relevant material is a concern,” said the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) in an Aug. 3 email. B.C. Mounties formed C-IRG in 2017 after the massive anti-pipeline resistance led by the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota. Over the next six years, activists, academics, civil liberties groups and even the courts would criticize the squad, which faces lawsuits and hundreds of individual CRCC complaints on top of the systemic investigation.

City crews in Saskatoon have started to cut down trees that were identified to be infected with Dutch elm disease. Over the coming days, the City of Saskatoon said it could cut down as many as 31 trees that have been impacted directly by Dutch elm disease. The city announced the discovery of the infected trees on Friday. Other trees located directly to the south of that stand of trees are currently being tested for Dutch elm disease and might have to be removed if they test positive. Robin Adair, the owner of Arbor Crest Tree Service in Saskatoon, explained, “Dutch elm disease moves quickly. We’ve been lucky and Saskatchewan as a whole has not really had a lot of Dutch elm disease compared to out east in Ontario and the northern United States. We’ve kind of been out on an island here in Saskatoon,” Adair stated.

Wildfires are breaking out more often, persisting for extended periods, and burning with greater intensity. So, what can be done to protect communities, save lives and preserve ecosystems? In many territories, the main causes of fire are lightning, humans, or poorly maintained powerlines. Can drones provide advantages in fire fighting situations? …“Fire has an ecological and historical role in many Canadian ecosystems,” John Davies, a senior wildland fire specialist in British Columbia, told us. “Our grasslands and our forests have evolved with fire as a natural means to regenerate. But these large, destructive fires are not natural and they can negatively impact ecosystems. Wildfire patterns are changing, and that’s causing us concern. We need to detect them early, hit them fast, and try to keep them small. By providing real-time, persistent, actionable incident information, we increase the efficiency and safety of our operations.”

Canada’s Forests Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, said he is reflecting on hard lessons from this year’s record wildfire season, including the possible need for standardizing firefighter training across provincial borders and beyond. Wilkinson said while the curriculum for firefighter training remains primarily a provincial responsibility, all levels of government and firefighting jurisdictions need to look deeper into “greater interoperability” of crews regardless of where they are based. …The season has seen firefighters from across Canada and overseas converge on hot spots, particularly in British Columbia. Wilkinson announced $400,000 in funding for a pilot project with the International Association of Firefighters. …A Kris Liivam, president of Arctic Fire Safety Services said Canada needed to create a national training standard for firefighters, rather than each province and territory having its own. Adding, the U.S. had already implemented a countrywide training standard, and a similar system should be introduced in Canada.

Canada’s highest court has refused to hear an appeal of a British Columbia Supreme Court decision that acquitted a demonstrator of criminal contempt for taking part in a blockade of old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. In its decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed the appeal application from the B.C. Crown and awarded costs to the demonstrator who now uses the name Emily Henderson. As is customary, the high court did not provide reasons for its ruling. Henderson was cleared of contempt in February when B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson found RCMP officers only read a shortened version of an injunction to hundreds of protesters, including Henderson, who were arrested at the Fairy Creek logging blockade on southern Vancouver Island. …Henderson’s acquittal prompted the B.C. Prosecution Service to withdraw contempt charges against eleven old-growth logging protesters in April, while many similar cases remain before the court.

Prosecutors in B.C. have withdrawn cases against nearly 150 protesters who were arrested for participating in a blockade around old-growth logging on Vancouver Island after a judge this year found Mounties did not read the full text of a court order to the group. A statement from the B.C. Prosecution Service on Thursday confirmed cases against 146 protesters have been dropped because their ability to succeed was “placed in doubt” by a ruling that acquitted protester Ryan Henderson in February. “Those cases are now concluded as a result of this ruling,” read an email to CBC. The confirmation comes hours after the Supreme Court of Canada said it would not hear the Crown’s appeal of the Henderson decision, marking the end of the legal road for prosecutors trying to keep the cases against protesters alive. The ruling is also a victory for demonstrators who said officers’ script did not pass the legal test.

In British Columbia, forestry is not just an industry; it’s a way of life, deeply interwoven with our communities and environment. But misconceptions and misinformation often overshadow this crucial aspect of our province. Logging and forest product manufacturing support British Columbians’ quality of life, and debates about the future of the sector require a clear and factual look at forestry management. …Despite its balanced approach, it’s not uncommon to hear some voices online call for a shutdown of part or all of the forest industry. In fact, some say the sector is a drain on BC’s economy. And if that was truly the case, it would make sense to place a higher priority on conservation than economic activity. But the truth is, forestry is the lifeline for many of BC’s rural communities and small cities, especially in the interior.

The the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, together with President and Chief Scientist Jodi Hilty from Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), announced a contribution of more than 1.9 million dollars to improve ecological connectivity in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta. This collaboration supports the Highway 3 Wildlife Mitigation Initiative by enabling infrastructure projects, communications, research, and Indigenous engagement activities. The funding, originating from Parks Canada’s National Program for Ecological Corridors, will minimize the impact of Highway 3 on wildlife in the area, particularly by decreasing collisions and linking habitat currently fragmented by the highway. It will also help support Reconnecting the Rockies, a project BC has prioritized, and is already underway …to improve connectivity at a critical point along the 3,200 kilometre Yellowstone to Yukon wildlife corridor.

Starting this fall, a timber harvest will begin in an area of Kananaskis Country in southwest Alberta and it is sparking worries among some environmentalists. The 1,100 hectare plot of forest borders the Highwood River and is close to the B.C. border. It has been identified as a harvest area through the province’s Forest Management Plan, which was last updated in 2021. The harvest will be carried out by Spray Lake Sawmills over the course of two years. Groups concerned about the harvest have begun a campaign calling on people to write to the provincial government to re-think the decision because of how it may impact wildlife and reduce recreation opportunities for people. …Ed Kulcsar, VP of Woodlands for Spray Lake Sawmills said there has been lots of work done beforehand to determine this was an appropriate spot for a harvest, and previous rounds of public consultation did not identify much negative feedback.

VANCOUVER — As another BC summer unfurls in the shadow of massive wildfire devastation, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that all fires are bad. But a growing community of forestry experts, Indigenous firekeepers, and fire specialists are advocating for controlled burns—which can actually help keep our forests safe. Cultural burning, also called prescribed fire and intentional fire, does not damage the land, but rather allows it to grow back healthier, says Joe Gilchrist co-founder of the Interior Salish Firekeepers. …While the provincial government is helping to reintroduce cultural burning, Gilchrist finds the approval process slow and onerous. It usually takes between two and five years to get permission for a burn, and even then, if conditions aren’t ideal, it can’t happen. He also says that the BC Wildfire Service wants to control the process, and he wishes it was more of an Indigenous-led partnership.

Nelson, BC – The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is proud to announce over $8 million in funding for 167 fish and wildlife conservation projects across B.C. this year, with over $1.2M allocated to projects in the Kootenay region. For over 40 years, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) has provided grants to a large network of recipients who undertake conservation projects. With support from the HCTF, a wide range of nonprofit organizations, First Nations and Indigenous communities, Provincial ministries, and community groups implement projects that protect B.C.’s wildlife, freshwater fish, and their habitats. Since 1981, the HCTF has funded over 3,550 projects representing an investment of over $215 million for conservation in B.C. Among this year’s projects in the Kootenays is the enhancement of the elk winter range in the Upper Kicking Horse Canyon. …The project is being supported by the HCTF and the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC) with $63,580 in co-funding this year.