Region Archives: Canada West

Has an atomic bomb exploded over Cranbrook? …What you’re looking at is commonly called a “prescribed burn.” It’s part of a process to “renew” the forest. Most fires are caused by lightning and have been occurring since time immemorial. So far, so good. But then man gets into the act and that’s when things can go sideways and often do. …Foresters say prescribed burns “imitate nature” and there’s some truth in that. However… let’s be honest, when man says he’s “imitating Nature” he’s really making money and so-called “prescribed burns” are really an attempt to turbocharge the renewal process. …Are there alternatives? Couldn’t this kind of work be better done by hand with a minimum of fire and using small hand tools to cut and pile the unwanted timber and burn it in a more controlled manner?

VERNON, BC — The Interior Logging Association will be gathering this week in Kamloops for its 65th annual general meeting and convention. …“It’s the full show, with a couple of additions,” ILA general manager Todd Chamberlain says. “We’re going to have chainsaw carving demonstrations going on, and then we have a log loading competition going on as well.” The event begins on Thursday with the all-day BC Forest Safety Council conference, followed by registration and a meet and greet at Coast Kamloops Hotel. …Many are passionate about the B.C. logging industry, and Chamberlain would love it if members of the public checked out the convention to get to know those who work in the industry and what they are all about. Find this week’s schedule of events here. More information about Interior Logging Association can be found on its website.

‘By not logging it, they would be respecting the will of the community reflected in the Roberts Creek Official Community Plan, and expressed in SCRD Bylaw 641, to conserve the park proposal area. As hiwus Craigan has stated “Our forests have already been studied to death, it’s time to rebuild and restore.”’ This paper reported on plans by Sunshine Coast Community Forest  (SCCF), to conduct research within the proposed Mt. Elphinstone Park expansion area in block EW19, directly adjacent to one of its three disconnected park parcels that currently total only 139ha. SCCF is claiming that the Ministry of Forests is forcing them to conduct a “Mother Tree” research project that involves cutting 50 per cent of the stand in EW19. Though such research may have merits, we ask it not take place within the park proposal area, the lower Coast’s last and best chance for at least one substantial size, lower elevation protected area. 

Nanaimo, BC — On Saturday, April 22, Mosaic Forest Management marked Earth Day 2023 by joining an annual cleanup event led by the Ladysmith Sportsmen’s Club. The effort saw Mosaic’s employees and community volunteers collect tonnes of illegally dumped garbage from Mosaic’s private forest lands near Ladysmith. Mosaic provided an excavator to help move the larger items, including an abandoned RV, while volunteers loaded pickup trucks with mountains of garbage collected from the backcountry. The cleanup event was an extension of Mosaic’s year-round commitment to addressing the problem of illegal dumping. Mosaic spends $100,000 each year cleaning up illegally dumped garbage on its private forest lands. “We’re grateful for the many responsible recreational users who visit Mosaic’s private forest lands during weekend gate openings, by staying at our dedicated campsites, or through our Access Agreements” said Mosaic’s Director of Sustainability, Molly Hudson. “Unfortunately, illegal dumping places our forests at great risk and ruins recreational opportunities for all.”

Our forests make British Columbia one of the best places to live. They have shaped our past and will continue to define our opportunities, no matter where you live in the province. Forestry is – and will remain – a foundation of B.C.’s economy. The future of forestry increasingly is about managing for resilience, climate change and multiple values. This includes the contribution of old forests, cultural values, and products derived through getting the most out of every tree harvested, to create maximum value and the greatest number of jobs. …The Forest Enhancement Society of BC is a proven partner in delivering projects on the ground that benefit communities, workers, and the health of our forests. That’s why we are further supporting its work with $50 million over two years to expand funding for projects that increase access to fibre, reduce emissions from slash pile burning and reduce the risk to people from wildfire.

Lennard Joe

Lennard Joe, the new CEO of the B.C. First Nations Forestry Council, likes to be called Lenny because it’s more familiar, and familiarity or intimacy is one of the three components of the trust equation. Trust, he says, is not just a feeling, it’s measurable. Lenny is a registered professional forester with more than 30 years of natural resources and business experience. He is member of the Nlaka’pamux First Nation and is among the first dozen Indigenous graduates from UBC’s forestry school. CFI sat down with Lenny to get to know him, his mission for the organization, and what Indigenous inclusion in forestry means to him.

Highlights of the April newsletter include:

• With just 6 weeks until the conference, the program is now available with more details of the conference sessions and speakers coming soon. Get your tickets now – Early Bird Ticket sales end May 5th.
• As reported last month, the Province, in collaboration with BC First Nations developed an Intentions Paper to support long term stewardship of BC’s watersheds. The BCCFA made a submission to the Watershed Security Strategy engagement process.
• The BC Wildfire Service and BCCFA partnership, launched in 2021, has supported the investment of $5 million of economic recovery funding targeted to projects in 15 community forests to complete wildfire risk reduction activities.
• A survey with specific questions on each of the 14 recommendations has been created to allow an additional opportunity for contributions from First Nations, forest sector participants, communities and other partners regarding how to implement the Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) recommendations.

The BC Wildfire Service will be recruiting more than 400 new firefighters this year, due in part to an increase in the number of people who will staff the agency’s initial attack crews and unit crews. Hugh Murdoch, wildfire officer for BC Wildfire Service in the Kamloops fire zone, told a Thompson-Nicola Regional District committee initial attack crews will involve four people instead of three, and many 20-person unit crews are increasing their numbers to 22-person crews. “This year, in part because of that bump-up from three to four person crews, two more people in the unit crews, and people being promoted upward, we will hire more than 400 new firefighters — probably well over 400,” Murdoch said. …He said in previous years, there would be about 200 to 225 new recruits, noting there are growing pains that come with such an increase in new personnel.

Nora Casson

Research by a University of Winnipeg team is illuminating the complex ways in which climate change is affecting ecosystems in the Churchill region. Dr. Nora Casson, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Influences on Water Quality, and Dr. Matt Morison, Adjunct Professor of Geography now with the Province of Manitoba, are authors of Snow, Ponds, Trees, and Frogs: How Environmental Processes Mediate Climate Change Impacts on Four Subarctic Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems. …The paper suggests the effects of climate change on ecosystems around Churchill are species-specific and, at times, counter-intuitive and feedback-driven. …Wetland frogs are sensitive to changes in external temperatures, but two species found around Churchill—the wood frog and boreal chorus frog—are maturing faster and growing larger as wetland temperatures increase. …The Hudson Bay Lowlands are projected to warm at a rate three to four times the global average in the coming decades.

A proposed cut block near a rural neighbourhood, outside of Vernon, B.C., is raising a host of concerns for area residents. A petition flagging potential issues with the project has more than 1,000 signatures, and there are signs the outpouring may be causing the province to backtrack on the proposal. Last month, BC Timber Sales wrote to Tim De Freitas to inform him it was planning a 23-hectare cut block near his home in the BX area east of Vernon. “I am concerned about the wildlife habitat destruction and instability of the slopes,” said De Freitas. Those are concerns shared by his neighbour Regan Truscott who says the proposed cut block straddles Brookside Creek which also runs under their properties. … Truscott says BC Timber Sales hasn’t been forthcoming with residents about its plans. She started an online petition raising concerns about the proposed cut block. 

Advocates for the marbled murrelet have launched a court case seeking to halt old-growth logging on southwest Vancouver Island. The Friends of Fairy Creek Society filed its petition in the B.C. Supreme Court registry in Victoria. It names respondents as Canada’s attorney general and the federal minister of environment and climate change, as well as B.C.’s attorney general and minister of forests. The society is seeking a judicial order that the Migratory Birds Act 2022 does not allow “indiscriminate destruction” of nests of these seabirds through logging old growth in tree farm licence 46 which includes Fairy Creek. Teal Cedar Products Ltd. is authorized to carry out forestry activities in the area near Port Renfrew. …In an updated petition … the society said the question is whether logging is exempted from the prohibitions in the bird act regulations.

Fourth in a six-part series. Canfor is closing its sawmill and pellet plant in Chetwynd and pulp mill in Taylor. The reasons given relate to the lack of fibre supply to keep all their facilities operational, and plans are to use the Chetwynd wood supply to help with the sustainability of Fort St. John and Prince George facilities. …This week, more on what happened to those trees. In 2014 and again in 2022, Tree Farm License (TFL) 48 experienced devastating losses to its timber supply by two wildfires. …The B.C. government has committed to increasing the protection for old growth forests. The ages used depends upon the type of forest, but generally somewhere between 140 and 250 years old. …In June 2021, the BC Supreme Court found that Blueberry River First Nation rights as defined in Treaty 8 had been infringed. … The judge gave directions to government as to the remedies.

The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) wants meaningful and durable transformational shifts to greener economies, healthier ecosystems, reduced risk of mega wildfires in forests, improved wildlife habitat, and more. Therefore, FESBC took a very strategic approach to funding projects, seeking to maximize multiple long-term benefits. The projects are about the local people, communities and organizations who are doing the hard work to create a different future. Their stories needed to be told. …Recognized with a Gold Hermes Creative Award in the Print Media category, The Accomplishments Report highlights eight forestry stories of transformation that have benefited communities, workers, and the environment. It celebrates the outstanding work being done with the many millions of dollars allocated by the Province of British Columbia to support forest enhancement initiatives throughout the province. 

In 2021–2022 the Ministry of Forests Research Program continued to produce high-quality, relevant research and share knowledge through innovative means and strong collaborations. Evidenced by a survey conducted in collaboration with BC Stats, 95% of respondents were aware of the work conducted under the Research Program, and 89% had accessed information or extension work it had produced. In 2021–2022, the Research Program funded 144 projects. Another 31 collaborative projects were funded externally, for a total of 175 projects. Under the Research Program, a broad range of topics were investigated, including the effects of climate change on British Columbia’s ecosystems, regenerative silviculture treatments in post-wildfire areas, and landslides to the diet and population dynamics of grizzly bears. Ministry researchers continue to collaborate extensively with academia, research institutions, First Nations, provincial and federal governments, and industry. These collaborations support the Ministry in its commitment to world-renowned stewardship and natural resource management, and advancing the Ministry’s culture toward reconciliation.

Forestry PhD candidate Ira Sutherland says one way to understand the importance of forests is through the big tree registry, a community-driven initiative to record some of the province’s biggest trees. Neetu Garcha has the details.

A B.C.-based non-profit has received $60 million to work with some of the world’s top clothing and publishing brands to decarbonize their supply chains and avoid sourcing wood from ancient forests.  Headquartered in Vancouver, Canopy Planet already works with 900 companies, including some of the world’s top brands like H&M Group, Zara, Walmart and Penguin Random House.  The latest injection of funding, which comes from the TED Talks-affiliated The Audacious Project, will more than double the group’s resources, and allow it to expand several regional hubs around the world. Those hubs will have the goal of sourcing more than 60 million tonnes of low-carbon fibre — largely through the recovery of textiles and waste food destined for landfills or agricultural residues that would otherwise be burned.

The federal government has contributed $331,000 to help plant 70,000 trees as part of the Osoyoos Indian Band’s Nk’Mip Creek Wildfire Restoration project. The project will see 70,000 trees planted on the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) Reserve land that was burnt during the 2021 Nk’Mip Creek wildfire. The OIB has partnered with Vaagen Fibre Canada on the restoration project which is being driven by Nk’mip Forestry LLP. “Recovery efforts in these sensitive areas of the Reserve post-wildfire are essential to replenish wildlife habitat and provide refuge from predators and the elements,” said Vern Louie, Nk’Mip Forestry Manager. “Combined with the positive carbon- capturing effects these trees and shrubs will have, it’s an important project, and we are happy to have support from Natural Resource Canada.” …“The Osoyoos Indian Band Nk’Mip Creek Wildfire Restoration project merges cultural values and Western science to create multiple long-term benefits,” comments Dan Macmaster, Registered Professional Forester.

Canadian startup Flash Forest’s name says a lot about its mission. “It’s a forest, in a flash,” says Bryce Jones, the Toronto-based company’s chief executive officer. Founded in 2019 by Mr. Jones, his brother Cameron Jones and Angelique Ahlström, Flash Forest uses specially designed drone technology that brings innovation to the reforestation industry. …The startup is working with the Federal government to help deliver on the Canadian government’s reforestation goals through the 2 Billion Tree Commitment and has recently closed an $11.4-million series A raise co-led by the TELUS Pollinator Fund. “Flash Forest directly supports one of our key investment theses in caring for our planet,” says Blair Miller, managing partner of the TELUS Pollinator Fund. “We are excited to invest in Flash Forest as they address the impact of climate change using technology to help regenerate forests devastated by wildfire.”

Third in a six-part series. Read part one here, and part two here. Canfor is closing its sawmill and pellet plant in Chetwynd and pulp mill in Taylor. The reasons given relate to the lack of fibre supply to keep all their facilities operational. The plans are to use the Chetwynd wood supply to help with the sustainability of their Fort St. John and Prince George facilities. Last week, I wrote about how appurtenancy, the mountain pine beetle, and changing government regulations all shaped Canfor’s decision-making process. This week, what happened to those trees? In the 1990s, B.C. experienced a mountain pine beetle epidemic. It began west of Prince George and spread rapidly across the province. The subsequent increase in the pine harvested left everyone with the knowledge there would be future impacts with reduced harvest levels and some facility closures. 

A Vernon-area woman has launched a petition to stop logging above a BX neighbourhood. Regan Truscott created the change.org petition in opposition to a proposed cut block scheduled to be logged this summer above Hartnell Road. …She says the 24-hectare cut block is located at the end of Hartnell Road, in the hills east of Vernon. It borders and crosses Brookside Creek. …She says slopes along the creek exceed 30-40 per cent, “and the area is underlain by thick, muddy soils, which are prone to downslope movement (landslides) without the root anchoring provided by these large, old-growth trees.” Truscott plans to take her concerns – and the petition – to the Ministry of Forests “in the hopes of stopping this outrageous development.” The deadline to lodge a complaint to the ministry is May 31.