Region Archives: Canada

Will Vohs

Cruise the countryside in certain parts of Alberta, and there are bright-yellow signs stapled to power poles advertising that someone is ‘Looking For Wood.’ After reading what Caroline-area farmer Will Vohs has discovered, landowners may want to think twice before signing over their woodlots too quickly. That’s because Vohs says he can manufacture a 12-inch by 12-inch by 20-foot timber on his band sawmill and sell it for about $250… And raw log prices have gone down since then, he said. The idea to custom cut his own wood products occurred to Vohs when he agreed to sell some standing timber to a forest company to raise some cash. That gave him time to try something new, which turned out to be custom raising cattle for neighbours and custom sawmilling timbers and lumber for himself.

One of Vancouver Island’s local treasures is the BC Forest Discovery Centre (BCFDC) in Duncan. Every year, the centre welcomes close to 60,000 visitors from all over the world, Canada and the province to explore the history of forestry. …The list of innovations used today in a 200+ year old industry is impressive, and that is why the BCFDC chose to update its exhibit and feature the old industry next to the new Modern Innovations in Forestry. …“We are pleased to support this major improvement to the BC Forest Discovery Centre,” says Jeff Zweig President and CEO of TimberWest. “The upgrades at the Centre will give visitors a modern overview of the forest sector – highlighting how science and innovation are transforming the industry. 

Local environmental group Friends of Seven Sisters hopes to stop planned logging adjacent to Seven Sisters Provincial Park. …Rod Major, spokesperson for Friends of Seven Sisters, said the group is concerned the proposed logging will not only negatively affect the scenic value of the park but mushroom picking areas, the Coyote Creek watershed and access to the park as well. …The group will discuss their concerns with Forests Minister and Stikine MLA Doug Donaldson on Jan. 9. “We’re just hoping the minister, since he’s from this area, will be kind enough to listen to us,” said Major. “Our particular platform jives with the NDP platform and the green platform so hoping we’re that the minister will see where we’re coming from.” …“We’re not anti-loggers,” said Major. 

The B.C. Ministry of Forests is proposing new limits to mule deer hunting regulations to help declining buck populations in parts of the B.C. Interior. …Currently, hunters are allowed up to three bucks shot in different regions, but the province wants to limit that number to one mule-deer buck per hunter. “This province has the most liberal mule deer hunting opportunities in all of North America and, historically, that has been considered sustainable, but the landscape is changing out there,” said Steve MacIver, a regulations and policy analyst with the fish and wildlife branch. He says mountain pine beetle, wildfires, oil and gas development and forestry have all changed the landscape resulting in a declining mule deer population.

[Hans Penner, Laurie Annette Bloom and Ross Muirhead, three anti-logging activists with a history of illegal blockades against forestry operations on the Sunshine Coast] have secured a temporary halt on logging plans for a favourite plot of forest, but whether they’ll have a chance to make that permanent depends on their ability to pay up to $250,000 in potential damages. Last week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lisa Warren extended a temporary injunction against logging in the so-called Chanterelle Forest, a section of the Sunshine Coast Community Forest known in the local community for its namesake fungi. …The activists, founders of Elphinstone Logging Focus, are asking for a judicial review of the forests ministry’s decision to grant a cutting permit for the 25.3 hectares of Crown land known as EW28.

The Valhalla Wilderness Society(VWS) is calling on the government to do more when it comes protecting the endanger mountain caribou. Last November saw a draft agreement between the BC government and Environment Canada which would identify and reserve all untenured high-elevation caribou range. According to VWS this does nothing for the core habitat, which is covered with overlapping tenures. …Director of VWS Craig Pettitt says the high elevation habitat isn’t where the government should be focusing on. “What is being hammered in caribou habitat is principally the lower elevation habitat, the old growth forest. This is the habitat they need an early winter and spring.” …It’s clear the government is only protecting areas where resources aren’t needed says Pettitt.

Laura McLean

Laura McLean, the last surviving McLean in the Alberni Valley, has passed away at the age of 92. Laura is remembered as the woman who gave the McLean Mill to the city of Port Alberni on behalf of the McLean family. But Laura is also remembered by her family and friends as a community-oriented woman who loved the Alberni Valley. …The McLean Mill was established in 1925 by Robert Bartlett McLean, his wife Cora, and their three sons. It was a family-run operation. …Laura donated McLean Mill to the city shortly after her husband’s death in 1983 because she—and her late husband—wanted to see the mill’s history preserved. The McLean Mill was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989, and opened to tourists in 2000. 

They’re known as Canada’s tall trees the gorgeous giants part of the old growth forest in Port Renfrew are a magnificent sight to see. …So, it was no surprise they caught the attention of internationally acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson, who took a job with the University of Victoria to be closer to the ancient giants. Richardson is known for creating hyper-real digital films of rich and complex landscapes using CGI, animation and sound. …Infatuated with their beauty she hopes to bring the old giants to life on the  IMAX screens for her latest work to celebrate 50 years since its invention. …But for her, it’s about more than just a visual experience. …Because while clearly magnificent to look at and a giant in size, the old growth trees are endangered.

A recent opinion article ‘Logging in Watersheds’ was submitted to the Nelson Star by members of the Interior Lumber Manufacturer’s Association. In the face of climate disruptions and the knowledge that resource extraction is exceeding supply, the public and provincial /regional governments are becoming aware that something needs to change. The current archaic system of clearcuts and slash burning are not viable today. Questions are being asked about professional reliance and ‘best practices’, and doubt is being raised about how logging fits into the landscape of B.C. today, both economically and environmentally. …In her article “Bringing Public Confidence to B.C.’s Forest Management”, the CEO of the BC Association of Forest Professionals, Christine Gelowitz stated that the forest industry generates $12.9 billion in GDP. This echoes the CEO of the ILMA “The importance of the forest industry can’t be overstated.” Actually, it can be overstated, and it often is.

Mountain pine beetles continue to decimate forests in the area surviving prolonged winter months. The pesky bugs have become an issue at the Jasper National Park recently, as foresters have seen a tenfold increase in beetle infestations, according to the Calgary Herald. The buggers however seem to fade away from Grande Prairie. “The majority of the beetle issue has passed, here in town. Most of our beetle issue now is further south of town like around Musreau Lake and south. That’s where our level one programs are taking place,” said Devin Letourneau, forest health officer of agriculture and forestry for the Grande Prairie forest area. …Letourneau said the bugs should die if left exposed to -40 degree celsius temperatures, which the province hasn’t seen lately.

It’s not necessarily the roads in the backcountry that bother grizzly bears. Sometimes, it’s the people on them. That’s one of the conclusions of new research from the University of Alberta — and it could have big implications for resource development. “There’s no doubt that roads themselves are probably not that bad for bears,” said Clayton Lamb, a University of Alberta biologist and co-author of a paper published Tuesday in the Journal of Applied Ecology. …But keep the public off resource roads and grizzlies rebound. Industry use of such roads is sporadic. Public use is regular. “Closing roads to the public restored bear density in some small areas where this was done,” Lamb said. “We would close those roads to the public and then we would elevate bears back up.”

The outbreak of spruce beetle infestation in north-central B.C. rose to record-breaking levels in 2017, and the latest government data shows no sign of it slowing down. Aerial surveys revealed 340,000 hectares of forest are now impacted by the beetle — more than 45 times the pre-outbreak levels of 7,653 hectares recorded in 2013. “This is a significant concern,” said Jeane Robert, the regional forest entomologist for the Omineca and Northeast regions with B.C.’s Ministry of Forests, calling the outbreak “larger and more severe than we have seen in the past.” Robert explained that spruce beetle outbreaks are normal, but changing weather patterns and warming winters are likely contributing to the severity of the current situation.

A logging truck driver was killed last week near Fort St. James, according to the B.C. Forest Safety Council. The driver was behind the wheel of a loaded truck on December 29 when it struck another logging truck that had stopped after losing traction on a hill. The driver’s truck consequently left the road and the load of logs shifted forwarded and partially crushed the cab. “The road conditions were reported to be icy,” the agency noted in a posting on its website. It said the RCMP, Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC are investigating what was the 10th logging-related death in the province in 2017. The name of the driver was not provided. [END]