Region Archives: Canada

The group Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) is trying to convince the District of Sechelt and the Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) to sign on to a memorandum of understanding that would put one of the forest’s planned harvest blocks on hold. The window for contractors to bid on road building and timber cutting on a block in Halfmoon Bay and two in the Wilson Creek area, EW23 and EW28, known by some as the Chanterelle Forest, was due to close Nov. 24.  ELF has long opposed logging in EW28, and several of its supporters were in the public gallery Nov. 15, when SCCF chair Glen Bonderud delivered his quarterly update for Sechelt council. As well as the usual facts and figures, Bonderud mentioned the impact controversy has on the SCCF’s volunteer board. 

Mark Worthing

Over ten days in November, Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee hosted six public meetings in six different communities to talk about forests on Vancouver Island. All six communities are – or were – forestry towns. The meetings were well-attended and full of passionate people. It’s clear that forest ecosystems and forestry rank as some of the most vital sectors for improved management, reconciliation and a renewed vision in the scope of climate change and land-use planning in BC. … Among the public, however, there is a huge amount of mistrust in large logging corporations and a strong perception that these corporations aren’t managing forests in the best interests of local communities. There was a desire for more local processing of coastal timber and more local production of wood products.

The federal and B.C. governments have developed a draft agreement to support recovery of the southern mountain caribou, starting with herds in the B.C. Peace and down into the Rockies. The agreement sets out short-, medium- and long term goals for reversing the decline of the population, known as the central group, according to a statement issued Thursday.  Actions under the plan include range planning, habitat protection and restoration, as well as population management, including maternity penning and access control to sensitive caribou habitat. B.C. is also to establish a fund to support the efforts. Following consultations with Indigenous communities and stakeholders, Ottawa and Victoria are expect to conclude their negotiations on the draft agreement over the next several months and release a final agreement in spring 2018.

Ray Travers

Re: “Huge salvage job ahead in B.C. forests,” column, Nov. 16. Les Leyne describes the urgency of salvaging trees killed during the 2017 record wildfire season, before the lumber value of logs degrades. This, however, leaves out what’s important — making sure that large-scale clearcut salvage logging does not result in a double hit to already-stressed forest ecosystems. Forest health is best understood as the rate of recovery from ecological stresses caused by fire, logging, insects, etc. Greater stress means poorer health and longer recovery. Stewardship is not about “cleaning up the mess.” Salvage logging will rarely contribute directly to ecological recovery. Removing undamaged live trees among the dead and damaged must be minimized.

Ken Christian

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Questions are being raised in the city of Kamloops over the issue of a monument honouring volunteers who helped thousands of people forced from their homes during last summer’s severe wildfire season. Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian says residents have been speaking out since the Thompson-Nicola Regional District announced last week that $100,000 will be set aside in the 2018 budget to commemorate the efforts of volunteers. Christian says he has also talked to several volunteers who told him they helped because it was the right thing to do, not because they expected any recognition. The mayor says many recalled a shortage of computers to process the evacuees and there have been suggestions that the funds could be better spent on computers or other upgrades to emergency services.

Tim Ryan

Forest Practices Board (FPB) chair Tim Ryan, RPF gave an interesting PowerPoint presentation at a recent City of Quesnel council meeting. Noting he’s been with the FPB for four years and he was appointed through an Order in Council by the previous provincial government, Ryan said the board was created because of public concern with the impartiality of government or the industry to police themselves. “We serve the public interest as the independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices on British Columbia’s Crown land. The board acts like an auditor general… and the board is unique in that we’re the only one in the world.” …“We make recommendations to government. We don’t have any teeth. Enforcement of what we call non-compliance or poor practices is left to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development or the Ministry of Environment.”

Scott Nelson

The province needs to move faster on letting forest companies salvage timber damaged by this summer’s unprecedented wildfires, says a Williams Lake city councillor.  “I think that there’s a real disconnect between Williams Lake and Victoria with regards to capturing the opportunity of harvesting the burnt wood in the forest from the wildfire,” said Coun. Scott Nelson. “It should be a pretty significant priority for the province.” “Rural British Columbia’s got NAFTA coming down on it right now. In Williams Lake, we just had one of our sawmills burn down. We’ve known since the fires that this is going to be an emerging issue. It should be a top priority,” he said. “Let’s get the timber out of the woods.”

Bob Simpson

Plenty of work will need to be done to prevent Quesnel from becoming a wildfire victim in the future, according to the community’s mayor. Citing a recent B.C. wildfire management branch report, mayor Bob Simpson said at least 15,000 hectares of surrounding forest will need to be treated. The city of 9,500 people 116 kilometres south of Prince George came close to being evacuated during this summer’s series of massive forest fires. The incidents have renewed a push for more government funding to clear out potential fuel in areas where the blazes could threaten homes and businesses. …But in the decade since Quesnel’s 2007 wildfire protection plan came into play, just 25 hectares of the wildland urban interface has been treated to reduce forest fuels, according to Simpson.

John Horgan & Justin Trudeau

Premier John Horgan has welcomed word of $100 million in additional funds to help B.C.’s wildfire recovery effort, after discussing the issue with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week. Horgan said Wednesday the approval for federal wildfire aid was rapidly received after he bluntly told Trudeau in a meeting last week to “bring some cash” to deal with B.C.’s largest-ever forest fire season this summer. “I raised it with the Prime Minister in the morning and a letter came in the afternoon saying the money was available,” Horgan told reporters at the B.C. legislature Wednesday. …B.C. already has committed additional money for reforestation and Forests Minister Doug Donaldson says salvage logging permits are being expedited to allow sawmills to harvest fire-damaged timber. …Business and tourism recovery is a longer project, Horgan said.

Between 2007 and 2016, there was a total of 111 wildland fire starts within the radius service area of the Village of Burns Lake – an average of 11 per year. That’s according to the village’s community wildfire protection plan (CWPP), which has recently been updated. According to the CWPP, local weather conditions have been changing to a drier climate with the trend toward longer fire seasons, extending several days each year. The impact of this trend on existing forests may be increased probability of fire frequency, intensity and loss of control of wildfires and increased tree mortality. More severe wildfires could pose a threat to the local community.