Region Archives: Canada West

A member of parliament from British Columbia has introduced a private member’s motion urging the government to stop old-growth logging on federal land and end the export of old-growth products from Canada by 2030. Liberal MP Patrick Weiler, who represents West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country, says the motion would help protect old-growth forests, which are tools to combat climate change and “iconic” parts of Canada’s natural heritage. “When we cut down old-growth forest, it’s irreplaceable and it’s inherently unsustainable, so we really need to focus on supporting communities and forestry practices that are going to be sustainable in the long term,” Weiler said. …But the provisions banning export of old-growth logs and log products would directly impact logging operations on land controlled by the province.

A B.C. MP has introduced a motion to ban the export of old-growth logs and any products made from them. Patrick Weiler, Liberal MP for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, introduced the private members’ motion Thursday. The motion calls for an end to the export of old growth as soon as possible but no later than 2030. It also calls on the federal government to end old-growth logging on federal lands outside of reserves, including national parks and land held by the Department of National Defence. “This is really about putting this on the radar to really push the federal government to act on this,” said Weiler in an interview. “There’s probably no more important environmental issue in B.C. than protecting old growth. “This is essentially our cathedrals that are being cut down.”

Quesnel hosted a forestry think tank at the North Cariboo Community Campus this week. Former Mayor Bob Simpson, now a forestry consultant, said, “How do we manage the forest differently, how do we manufacture different products from forest fibre, and then how do we retrain the workforce to both of those things ?” …“If anybody walks into our MDF Plant here, that’s the kind of future we’re looking at in our sawmills, if we get into mass timber modular manufacturing etc, where people are sitting in a control booth and there’s nobody on the shop floor.” Simpson says the type of workers will also then change. …Simpson says Quesnel is already a recognized research hub, and has good research partners, UBC, UNBC, Laval University etc, and good partnerships with West Fraser and COFI.

British Columbia’s chief forester, Shane Berg, has set a new allowable annual cut (AAC) level for the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area (TSA). The new AAC for the Mackenzie TSA is 2.39 million cubic metres. The allowable annual cut was previously 3 million cubic metres in 2010 and was revised to 4.5 million cubic metres in 2014 to address the mountain pine beetle outbreak. More than 50% of the annual harvest included beetle-killed timber. The chief forester has set the new determination as part of an overall harvest risk assessment with input received from the public, key stakeholders, local municipal leaders, the forest industry and extensive consultation with First Nations in the TSA. The new AAC considers forest health, climate change influences contributing to wildfire and drought, current and future spruce beetle infestation, old-growth management, species at risk, and wildlife habitat values.

Chief Harley Chingee of McLeod Lake Indian Band said his people remain committed to the natural resources sector despite its current struggles after signing two agreements with the provincial government. The McLeod Lake Indian Band is located north of Prince George and south of Mackenzie. Chingee said his people have been part of the forestry industry since the 1940s. A band company is currently working on the Site C project… “Most of them are loggers and once Site C is done, they will go back to the forest industry or oil and gas … we are part of the forest industry and will be part of the forest industry generations from now because it’s our bread-and-butter,” Chingee said. …McLeod Lake Indian Band — which joined Treaty 8 in 2000, more than a century after its initial conclusion in 1899 — becomes the latest First Nation in the area to sign an agreement.

Early Bird Pricing ends today! Welcome to Evolving Practice 2023, the Private Forest Landowners Association Conference, Field Tour & AGM! Private managed forest landowners will join elected officials and guest speakers at the annual PFLA Conference to explore the idea of Evolving Practice and what it means for sustainable forest management in BC. Our thoughtfully chosen presentations will help foster valuable insights into sustainable forest management, and offer opportunities for connections between private forest land peers and with government, First Nations and industry experts. The two-day event features a full-day conference, an optional full-day Field Tour, a Trade Show, and cocktail and dinner reception. We look forward to welcoming you to the PFLA Conference 2023! When: June 8-9, 2023 Where: Coast Bastion Hotel, Nanaimo BC

People in the Northwest Territories can expect a spring and summer of extreme fire danger that could last well into the fall. That’s the message of the first wildfire briefing of the season, offered by Richard Olsen, who manages fire operations for the N.W.T.’s department of Environment and Climate Change. He said the hot, dry spring is already visible in parts of the territory, where snow has disappeared earlier than usual and plants are already turning green near the southern border. “The weather forecast seems to be consistent … that for most of the N.W.T. we’re gonna see hot dry conditions throughout June, July and into August,” Olsen said. In contrast, the same forecast suggests people in the Sahtu and the Beaufort-Delta region could see below-normal temperatures and above average precipitation.

Local government officials are worried that the Ministry of Forests can’t count trees very well, but still wants to ban forestry in some places. If you’re going to set aside forest-land for future generations, it had better be the right land, Ministry of Forests personnel were told by Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN) directors at a recent public meeting. …British Columbia is underway with consultations, which came to the RDBN directors’ table in March and has resulted in a number of meetings since then… “I don’t think we’re going to have to strive too hard to hit the 30 per cent (due to the amounts of forest already protected), but there will be some reductions (in some local Timber Supply Areas),” RDBN officials were told by Albert Nussbaum, executive director of the Office of the Chief Forester, and deputy chief forester for the province.

After a three-day whirlwind journey to the qathet region, a Danish film crew were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of locals. Chef Anne Hjernøe and journalist Anders Agger, from Denmark, filmed their first episode for a Danish prime-time television show called Anne and Anders. …Agger wanted to connect with his [now past away] grandfather and understand his journey away from his family to be a logger in Canada. “In 1928 my grandpa left Denmark and came to Canada to work in forestry, even though he had six children back home,” said Agger. …The hosts and crew also wanted to know more about forestry in the region. “We met up with this amazing guy [logger and forester] Bob Marquis from Powell River,” said Agger. “He took us on a whole day trip, and we saw how they [foresters] work with the harvest and how they take care of the next generation of trees.

Environmental advocates say it’s time for Manitoba to stop allowing logging in Duck Mountain Provincial Park or risk biodiversity losses and damage to hiking trails. The Wilderness Committee calls logging activities in and around the park excessive and calls on the province to add the 1,424-square-kilometre park to the list of others where commercial logging is prohibited. “This is the place and the time where we end park logging in Manitoba,” Eric Reder with the Wilderness Committee said at a news conference in Winnipeg. “A majority of Manitobans have said they don’t want to see logging in a provincial park.” The latest report from the Wilderness Committee comes as Louisiana-Pacific Corporation seeks approval for a 20-year logging and forest management extension in and around the park, Reder said. The current licence expires at the end of this year. …CBC News has requested a response from Louisiana-Pacific Corporation but did not immediately hear back.

Dear elected ministers of B.C.: I recently saw the film A Cedar is Life and was both humbled and informed about the deep meanings within these beautiful trees. Most of us enjoy forest walks and the restorative qualities of nature, and are glad that governments provide parks and preserve wild spaces for the future. What kept me from sleep was the way we are misled in the apparent but disingenuous so-called “preservation” that lulls us into complacency. …We cannot pay lip service to listening to our Indigenous citizens and at the same time, desecrate what they hold sacred, the ancient cedar trees in which their ancestors dwell. We try to elect people who do care; who are not bought out by economic pressure, and we only have you, Ministers, to turn to.

As wildfire season kicks off in British Columbia, a helicopter equipped with potentially life-saving night vision technology has been sent to battle fires in Alberta. According to North Shore Rescue, the aircraft owned by Talon Helicopters has been in the neighbouring province since April 1 in a multi-month day deal reached with Alberta Wildfire. The North Vancouver-based search and rescue service had been using the helicopter for months … to find and douse wildfires overnight, as well as save stranded recreationalists. “I think for the air carrier, we understand their decision. It’s really about making money for that helicopter. We can’t offer that kind of money to the air carrier here,” said North Shore Rescue team leader Mike Danks. …Night vision helicopters were tested by the B.C. Wildfire Service successfully in 2020. Alberta Wildfire rolled it out, but B.C. did not, citing a lack of time to train crews.

On Thursday, students at Foothills Elementary School will plant 1,000 trees as part of The Exploration Place’s first GenAction project. GenAction is an initiative funded by the federal government and led by the Canadian Association of Science Centres, aimed at teaching children between Kindergarten and Grade 12 more about climate change science and encouraging them to take action. …The trees have been donated by Canfor, and the project is being supported by the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and School District 57.

The public is invited to get involved in the timber supply review for the Kootenay Lake Timber Supply Area (TSA) by submitting comments before July 4, 2023. The public can comment on the timber supply analysis included in the just-released Kootenay Lake Timber Supply Area discussion document. The document describes the geography, natural resources and current forest-management practices in the Kootenay Lake TSA, to be considered by the chief forester in his allowable annual cut determination. Before setting the new allowable annual cut, the chief forester will consider input and feedback from First Nations and the public. The review, the fourth for the Kootenay Lake TSA since the 1990s, examines the impacts of current legal requirements and demonstrated forest management practices on the timber supply, economy, environment and social conditions of the local area and province.

NANAIMO, BC — One of Canada’s most threatened ecosystems – the Garry oak – is coming to life on Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) Nanaimo campus. VIU employees, students and community volunteers have maintained a Garry oak ecosystem restoration plot since 2021. The 500-square-metre plot is located west of Building 370 near the top of campus. Dr. Caroline Josefsson, a VIU Biology Professor and botanist, oversees the project. …According to the Garry oak ecosystems recovery team the Garry oak ecosystem is home to many species at risk in British Columbia. Many of these species aren’t found anywhere else in Canada. Threats to the ecosystem include development, invasive species and habitat fragmentation. “The Garry oak ecosystem is the most biodiverse of all ecosystems in Canada and is home to about 100 rare species of plants and animals,” said Josefsson. 

After the cooler than normal start to spring in much of Alberta, the heat has been turned up to kick off May. Temperatures climbed into the mid to high 20s across the province on Monday, with both Edmonton and Calgary setting new temperature records. A ridge in the upper levels of the atmosphere has pushed this warmer than normal weather into Alberta and parts of the B.C. interior this week, and looks to last at least until the weekend. “A big omega block has formed over Western Canada,” said Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. …In Alberta, spring wildfires are particularly dangerous, can spread rapidly, and are often human caused. “May is the busiest for Alberta,” said Mike Flannigan. Flannigan is the research chair for Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science at Thompson Rivers University.

The province’s choice to continue to log old growth forest in B.C. is not only endangering mountain caribou but also the environment and its people, says a local conservation group. Craig Pettitt, chair of the Valhalla Wilderness Society, said the provincial government has put the welfare and survival of the “deep snow” mountain caribou — otherwise known as the southern mountain caribou — and old growth forests behind logging profits. …With the third largest herd of southern mountain caribou in existence — around 184 animals — the North Columbia herd is one of the last, best chances for saving the species, said Pettitt. But of the 1,917 hectares of active logging in federally-designated critical habitat for the Columbia North herd, 1,764 ha. are old-growth forest 140 years or older, explained Pettitt.