Region Archives: Canada West

NANAIMO — A man and a woman facing various charges for their part in several ‘Save Old Growth protests last year will be heading to trial this summer. Howard Gerald Breen, 69, and Melanie Joy Murray, 48, were in provincial court… citing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, claiming clauses around freedom of expression and assembly were violated during their arrests. …Judge Ron Lamperson said their actions conflicted with the values protected under the Charter, specifically section 2(b) the Freedom of Expression, and section 2(c) the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly. “Upon considering the case law provided by Counsel and applying it to the facts of this case, I find that while the activities of the applicants had expressive content, thereby bringing it within the sphere of section 2 for protection, the method and location of the activity removes it from that protection.” 

BC’s forestry sector is experiencing major upheaval. After disastrous wildfires and the mountain pine beetle epidemic, provincial policy is the straw breaking the camel’s back. After a year of what seemed like constant mill closures… Northern Development Trust is forecasting three indirect job losses for every mill job that disappears. …A declining supply of fibre is at the heart of the closures, whether in the interior or Vancouver Island. ….Last I checked, BC isn’t running out of trees. So why the fibre shortage? …Unfortunately, the BC government has been shrinking the timber harvesting land base at a time when the industry already faces a shortage of fibre. …The government needs to return to balance and restore access to BC’s traditional working forests. Until then, the fibre crisis will continue to have devastating effects on the prospects of forestry towns and the livelihoods of their families.

Mill tradespeople and technicians can access specialized entrepreneurship training and coaching to gain the foundational business skills they need to start and grow their own business. “The forestry industry and communities are facing challenges, so we are supporting those affected by helping them land stable, good jobs and move away from the old boom-and-bust cycles,” said Sheila Malcolmson, B.C. Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. …Through a $2.95-million grant to Hubspace, the new Build Your Own Future (BYOF) program will provide foundational business skills to prepare participants to start and grow their own businesses. …The Province has committed $185 million in Budget 2023 for people affected by weakening markets and changes in the forestry sector. In addition, the Province continues to seek innovative ways to support forestry workers and rural communities affected by downturns in the forestry sector.

The provincial government has given the green light to Squamish’s community forest.  The provincial government granted Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the District of Squamish a Community Forest Agreement on Dec. 22, 2022. …Nation spokesperson Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn) said, “Our Indigenous know-how, working in partnership with the District of Squamish, will help create wealth and prosperity for both our communities. More importantly, it is a significant step in the long process of reconciliation as our Nation seeks to reclaim rights.” The Squamish Community Forest is made up of 11,303 hectares on the hillsides east and south of Squamish. …The licence is valid for 25 years with a replacement option every 10  years. Squamish’s is one of  60 community forest agreements operating across the province.

The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada (WPEFC) is hiring a full-time Program Manager to oversee recovery and restoration projects for endangered whitebark and limber pine ecosystems in Canada. This position would oversee various WPEFC programs, track projects funds, liaise with bookkeepers, spearhead reporting and have the option to assist with field projects. Initially, this is a 48-week term June 1, 2023 to May 1, 2024 with the possibility of extension pending job performance and funding. The position must be based in the Columbia Basin. Interested? Please download the full job description, and send in your details, we look forward to hearing from you!

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.