Region Archives: Canada West

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.

In recent years, numerous B.C. communities have been negatively impacted by forest sector closures. …We have already endured the closure of two mines and one mill in recent times. Now we are facing uncertainty on the future of our last remaining major employer and local/regional economy. It is presently unclear on whether the mill will be shut down permanently, or whether it will be rebuilt in future years. At the same time, we know this uncertainty exists in forestry and resource dependent communities across our province. …Why is the industry that built British Columbia being pushed to these extremes? Also, what is being done to support communities and families that are being impacted by drastic shifts in the forestry sector? It is with these sentiments that District of Houston Council is asking leaders from forestry communities from across B.C. to come together.

There is a new frontier in the fight to save BC’s ancient trees. It’s an economic model that argues that leaving them standing is more profitable than cutting them down. It’s called the ‘nature economy,’ and it relies on conservation and stewardship to promote economic growth. …One example of this new model in action is Indigenous ecotourism. Tourists visit communities to learn about Indigenous ways of life, including stewardship practices. …Another way a ‘nature economy’ is finding a foothold is through retrofits to buildings to move them off fossil fuels. …For some environmentalists this work is about combining environmental action with the idea of promoting business. Though still niche, it’s starting to happen. To understand the economic value of their natural assets, some communities are putting a price on them. The District of West Vancouver is one of the first in Canada to do so.

The BC Wildfire Service will be working in partnership with Williams Lake Community Forest and Williams Lake First Nation, conducting a prescribed burn approximately 10 kilometres west of Williams Lake beside the Fraser River. The prescribed burn will cover approximately 75 hectares within the Williams Lake Community Forest. Smoke may be visible from Williams Lake and surrounding areas, and to motorists travelling on Highway 20. The exact timing of this burn will depend on weather and site conditions, beginning as early as April 21, 2023 and continue periodically until May 5, 2023. 

James Steidle

Replanting pine monocrops and spraying and brushing the fire-resistant deciduous is the equivalent of draining a patient of blood to cure an infection. If you attended the Council of Forest Industries conference in Prince George last week, you would have seen a lunatic outside with a couple signs. …maybe you haven’t heard the spiel about our broadleaf trees before – the aspen, birch and cottonwood.  Maybe all you’ve ever heard is that these are the “weed trees.” They aren’t the “money trees.”  If that’s all we’ve heard, I could partially agree. It would be sheer lunacy to want to flip this cash-crop reality on its head with no concern for the industry or jobs that depend on it. …There’s a myth … I heard Minister Nathan Cullen and senior ministry bureaucrats say it – that aspen isn’t stopping forest fires anymore because of climate change.  This is sheer and complete nonsense.

VANCOUVER, BC – A groundbreaking plan developed in collaboration with the federal and provincial governments, the Lhoosk’uz Dené Nation, the Ulkatcho First Nation and Artemis Gold Inc., will see 11,000 hectares secured for 50 years in central B.C. for caribou habitat. In addition, Artemis Gold Inc. will contribute more than $2.7 million in funding over time toward caribou habitat restoration initiatives as part of the company’s Caribou Mitigation and Monitoring plan. Artemis owns the Blackwater Mine project, a gold and silver mine under construction that is located on the eastern edge of the Tweedsmuir caribou range. …The land securement is located in and around Capoose Mountain, adjoining Tweedsmuir Park, in a provincially designated high elevation ungulate winter range for caribou habitat with known recent and regular caribou use. The securement commits the company to not explore or develop its mineral tenures in the securement area.

Former aerospace executive George Whitesides has ideas for bringing new tools to combat the risk of mega fires — wildfire conflagrations greater than 40,000 hectares that are happening with increasing frequency. Those tools include better satellites and more terrestrial remote sensing technologies for firefighters to use in decision making. Mega fires can threaten aquifers, incinerate biodiversity “and even cause forest conversion,” Whitesides said. Then they also have a huge impact on carbon emissions. …Whitesides, the former Virgin Galactic CEO said of his reinvention as “firetech” entrepreneur. He added that firefighting agencies typically don’t have a lot of money for research, so he’s using his venture-capital startup to direct private financing into remote drone-based systems and satellite technology. …B.C.-based wildfire expert Mike Flannigan agreed that satellite imagery has become an important decision-making tool for firefighting agencies recently.

Please join us for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)’s Conservation Impact Sounding Board Workshop. This no-cost and standalone event will be held following the SFI/PEFC Annual Conference on Thursday, May 18, 2023,1:30 PM – 4:30 PM PST in Vancouver, BC. If you plan to attend both the Workshop and the SFI/PEFC Annual Conference, please register using the Conference registration link. If you plan to attend only the Workshop or have already registered for the conference, register using this link. The workshop brings together partners interested in evaluating, supporting, and enumerating the conservation contributions of sustainably managed forests related to climate change, biodiversity, and water. It will feature SFI-funded conservation research projects that study forests influenced through certification to the SFI Forest Management and Fiber Sourcing Standards, and ways new technologies can be incorporated into certification and forest management processes.

The B.C. Prosecution Service says it has withdrawn contempt charges against 11 old-growth logging protesters accused of breaching a court injunction during blockades at Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island.  Spokesperson Gordon Comer says prosecutors were in court Tuesday to enter the withdrawals, and the service is reviewing other cases in the wake of a ruling that acquitted protester Ryan Henderson earlier this year.  Comer says the Crown is reviewing the remaining cases that were impacted by the Henderson decision in February, which tossed out the charge of criminal contempt because of the RCMP’s failure to properly read the injunction to people arrested during the protest. …B.C. Civil Liberties Association president Karen Mirsky, who has several clients facing contempt charges for protests at Fairy Creek, says police didn’t follow long-standing legal principles when they failed to read the full injunction.

Telus has teamed up with Canadian reforestation company Flash Forest to develop and expand its post-wildfire reforestation using drones to plant tree seedlings.  The company will be using some of the funds to re-plant here in the Okanagan.  “Flash Forest will be planting at several post-wildfire sites this spring across the south and central of British Columbia, including the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire location and the White Rock Lake wildfire area,” said Bryce Jones, Flash Forest’s CEO and co-founder.  Flash Forest is a Canadian company that uses drones and technology to regenerate post-wildfire areas that are deemed too unsafe for human tree planters.  The company recently received an $11.4 million investment from Telus that will allow Flash Forest to accelerate their rate of reforestation.

North Vancouver, BC — Planting two billion trees in the next decade is a crucial part of Canada’s climate plan, and the Government of Canada is continuing to work with provinces, territories, local communities and Indigenous Peoples. Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, joined by the Honourable Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests of British Columbia, visited the Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia in North Vancouver to launch the 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program’s 2023 tree-planting season and announce that Canada and B.C. have signed a Contribution Agreement under the 2BT program. Under this two-year agreement, over 37 million trees will be planted in the province through nearly $80 million in joint funding from Canada and British Columbia. The reforestation project will be primarily focused on wildfire-impacted areas. Ecological benefits include converting severely burnt areas into future healthy forests, restoring wildlife habitat and reducing the hydrological impacts of disturbed areas. 

Additional coverage in Business in Vancouver by Brent Richter and in CTV News by Spencer Van Dyk