Region Archives: Canada

It’s the time of the year when the sun shines, the flowers bloom, and young western toads make their dangerous trek into the forest. “Be on the lookout for the wonderful little local amphibians, the western toad…” advised Doug Fraser, president of Nature Nanaimo. “I think a lot of people mistakenly associate frogs with water, and while it is true all of our frogs lay their eggs and develop in the water as tadpoles, many of them live in the forests.” Western toads are a species of concern due to habitat loss. Once a year, during spring, they travel to wetlands with shallow, sandy bottoms to lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch, hundreds to thousands of small black tadpoles swim together, feeding on aquatic plants, until their metamorphosis into toadlets is complete. Then, during a brief time frame sometime in July or August, the toads make the treacherous journey into the forest.

It didn’t take many hot July days to dry out the forest floor on southern Vancouver Island enough to trigger an “extreme” fire-danger rating. And the recent spate of hot weather is not expected to end any time soon in Greater Victoria and other Island communities. “It’s going to keep drying out those forest fuels and it’s going to get them really susceptible to ignition,” said Sam Bellion, information officer for the Coastal Fire Centre. Bellion said the extreme fire-danger rating is in effect from Victoria to Shawnigan Lake, and from the Hillbank area of Duncan to Nanaimo — including Gabriola Island. Most of the rest of the Island is rated “high” for fire danger, and that won’t change without a good dousing of rain, Bellion said. Colwood Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Greg Chow said the public needs to be aware of the extreme fire danger…

It’s another landmark moment for champions of conservation and the B.C.’s northern spotted owl. A month after Justice Yvan Roy ruled that Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault broke the law, the federal government released an updated version of their spotted owl’s recovery strategy plan that identifies the species’ critical habitat for the first time. Specifically, the new plan identifies that over 400,000 hectares of land in B.C. is critical habitat for the spotted owl.This includes two watersheds within Spuzzum Nation territory along the lower Fraser Canyon, near Hope and Boston Bar. …While news of the critical habitat identification is being being welcomed by all groups, both Ecojustice and Wilderness Committee stress that “immediate on-the-ground action is required.” They also said that waiting another five years is unacceptable and all logging must end immediately in the owl’s habitat while recovery plans are further developed.

The last time we took a deep look at the forest industry in BC, in May, we noted, “At this point, the outlook of BC’s forest sector is full of red ink and red flags,” and,“The current policy environment has been anything but stable and anything but clear.” We went on to note that Premier David Eby had appointed Langley MLA Andrew Mercier as Minister of State for Sustainable Forestry Innovation. Mercier’s official mandate letter from the Premier spells out that there is a need to increase fibre supply, aimed at keeping people working and local operations running, while also mitigating wildfire risks and reducing climate emissions. So what’s been happening?

The City of Vancouver and a contractor are facing a lawsuit by advocates over a plan that would see up to a third of the trees in Stanley Park cut down. The city’s park board had begun cutting down thousands of trees last summer in a bid to mitigate what it said was “imminent” fire and public safety risks posed by dead and dying trees that were affected by a Western hemlock looper moth infestation. …However, four advocates from the Stanley Park Preservation Society say the park board’s plan is not backed up by science and was pushed through without appropriate consultation. They have filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court alleging the city and its contractor B.A. Blackwell & Associates was negligent in going ahead with the tree-cutting plan. …The city states that they have planted over 25,000 seedlings in the park comprising a variety of species, as part of their reforestation efforts.

CEO Letter: The First Nations Forestry Council and all our Nations continue to work towards being full participants in all facets of forestry, and we are making progress by being in the rooms and sitting at the tables. We attended some excellent conferences and want to acknowledge the efforts of all the organizations to showcase First Nations content, highlighting both successes and challenges. Through these interactions, we are developing stronger relationships that allow us to have hard conversations. I see that we are not just saying we will work together, but we are all at the table, truly collaborating to develop shared decisions. 

Other stories include:

• 2024 BC First Nations Forestry Conference Feedback
• Thank you to all who attended the 2024 BC First Nations Forestry Conference!
• First Annual Youth Forestry Conference a Success
• First Annual Youth Forestry Conference a Success

Drought-like conditions in Banff National Park have led to a fire ban being issued – meaning no campfires starting on Saturday. Lighting or maintaining fires is prohibited in the park effective July 13 at 12:01 a.m., Parks Canada announced in a news release Friday. The ban includes all front and backcountry campgrounds. “After several days of hot, dry weather, Banff is experiencing drought-like conditions,” Parks Canada said. “This fire ban is to ensure the safety of visitors, and residents, and for the protection of park infrastructure.” …While naturally occurring wildfires, like ones caused by lightning strikes, cannot be avoided, Parks Canada asked everyone to do their part to prevent human-caused fires. …Earlier this week, Alberta Wildfire announced a fire ban for the entirety of the province’s Forest Protection Area.

When the B.C. NDP was re-elected in 2020… one of the pillars of the party’s campaign was a promise to implement “the full slate” of recommendations an expert panel known as the Old Growth Strategic Review had made that same year. …Instead, the last several years have followed an all-too-familiar pattern: while the province fumbles on its commitments, old growth falls; forest defenders are arrested; mills close; and ecosystems are pushed further toward the brink of collapse by major timber companies. …The places left disproportionately open to logging are the same places where private logging companies like West Fraser and Canfor are targeting old growth right now. …With just a few months before B.C. goes to the polls again, time is running out for the NDP to recommit to its 2020 promises and rebuild the trust of a voter base that continues to overwhelmingly support old growth protections.