Region Archives: Canada

A retired forester and a Kelowna entrepreneur have joined forces to produce a documentary focused on British Columbia’s wildfire crisis by exploring forest management solutions. The project is the brainchild of Rick Maddison, who lost his home in the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire, and retired forester Murray Wilson. The pair teamed up to create a film focused on solutions rather than the devastation. The documentary is being produced by the Kelowna’s Distill Media, and filming has taken place throughout B.C., Nevada, and California. The documentary focuses on innovative forest management techniques designed to make wildfires more controllable and less destructive and features interviews with leading experts… The team is hoping to raise $45,000 to finish the production and distribution of their film.

The Kaslo and District Community Forest Society (KDCFS) revisited previous board discussions about future logging plans needed to mitigate fires. During a Feb. 20 meeting, KDCFS members highlighted the demand for cedar and fir while highlighting that several blocks of hemlock trees have been damaged by past fires, rendering some unusable. The Briggs Creek fire that occurred in 2022 led to the destruction of many hemlock trees that will need to be harvested in the next two years before deteriorating. Society forester and treasurer Jeff Mattes explained that the society’s logging plans for the year 2025 will include utilizing a patch-cut system to reserve some of the trees. A patch-cut system refers to the removal of an entire stand of trees less than one hectare.

Devices used to detect and prevent wildfires in remote forests are expensive, but the one that Northeastern University student Anson He is making will be cheaper to launch on drones over dense woodlands. He is pursuing his master’s degree in computer science at Northeastern’s Vancouver campus. In January, he started a co-op at Bayes Studio — a Vancouver company that uses robotics and machine learning to make forest fire detection tools. He is helping to produce a device that uses less expensive components than others on the market. His role is core to the small company’s success: He is in charge of prototyping the hardware and coding the software for what Bayes calls its Edge device.  Other team members work on integrating artificial intelligence into the device’s functionality and connecting the device to servers.

YELLOWKNIFE, NT – The Governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories are working together to protect nature. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, alongside the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for the Government of Northwest Territories, jointly announced the signing of the Canada–Northwest Territories Nature Agreement to advance nature-related priorities, in collaboration with Indigenous governments, across the territory. The 10-year Agreement reflects the governments’ shared commitment to long-term environmental sustainability and addresses the critical challenge of biodiversity loss. This is done by providing support for Indigenous-led Protected and Conserved Areas, improving outcomes for key species at risk, supporting Indigenous leadership in conservation and stewardship, and facilitating data exchange. The Government of Northwest Territories will work with Indigenous governments and organizations toward the protection and conservation of 6% of the territory by 2028, with the potential to protect and conserve up to 9.6% of the territory by 2035. 

A Kootenay-based conservation group is calling on British Columbia to enact an interim logging moratorium in the critical habitat of endangered mountain caribou. The call from Wildsight comes four years after the B.C. and federal governments signed an agreement committing to immediate and long-term actions to stabilize endangered caribou population. Over that time, B.C. has blown past deadlines to release recommendations that would protect the species. With one year left before the agreement expires, Wildsight says caribou habitat continues to be logged. …Responding to the call for a logging moratorium, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said in an email it has made “significant progress” recovering southern mountain caribou in the four years since signing the bilateral agreement. That includes implementing logging moratoriums on over 724,000 hectares of land, read the statement unattributed to any individual at the ministry.

Bat species considered to be at risk seem to be in “relative abundance” on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Scott Wilson, wildlife research biologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, gave a first look into data he’s been gathering during a presentation Feb. 20 hosted by Nanaimo and Area Land Trust and Nature Nanaimo. “I’ve worked on migratory birds most of my life and the bats a bit more recently, and we know so much less about bats in comparison to migratory birds,” said Wilson. “I’d say we’re where we were 30 years ago with birds in terms of understanding their habitat needs and their ecology.” …The data shows that in the Nanaimo area, wetlands were significantly preferred by the myotis species, with a relative abundance 6-10 times higher compared to non-wetlands. They were also preferred by the silver-haired hoary and big brown group, but less significantly, with the species also frequenting meadow bluffs. 

In 2019, the residents of Glade, B.C., learned they had no right to clean drinking water, after members of the Kootenay community waged a legal battle against forestry companies logging in their watershed. A judge sided with the timber companies, arguing that their economic interests outweighed the community’s concerns about its water supply. A similar story has emerged in Wynndel, B.C. — another town in the drought-stricken region — as residents worry about planned logging in their watershed, Duck Creek. Here, in the Kootenays, logging on both private and Crown land is pretty widespread. One resident told reporter Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood that forestry in the area has gotten out of hand, and lack of management on sustainable practices has turned the practice into “corporate slaughter.” …about five per cent (or 4.5 million hectares) of B.C.’s forests are privately owned, which means that the public has little insight, and even less say, into what happens.

Kelowna, B.C. – A new documentary, B.C. is Burning, is tackling British Columbia’s wildfire crisis by exploring forest management solutions. The project was sparked in 2024 when Kelowna entrepreneur Rick Maddison, who lost his home in the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire, came across an article by retired forester Murray Wilson about wildfire prevention. The two teamed up to create a film focused on solutions rather than devastation. “I’m hoping if these ideas in the film are adopted, more communities can be protected from this ongoing threat,” says Maddison. …The documentary features interviews with leading experts, including scientists, carbon specialists, and forestry professionals, providing a comprehensive look at the problem and potential solutions. “We’ve spoken with some of the leading people in the field,” says Wilson. “Their insights could change how we manage our forests—and how we protect our communities.” The team is hoping to raise $45,000 to finish production and distribution of their film.