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A corner of northeast British Columbia representing nearly a fifth of the province has reached high to extreme drought levels, a water shortage so dire it ranks among the worst drought conditions in Canada. Dave Campbell, head of the B.C. River Forecast Centre, said the latest drought data shows a wide swath of land in the Peace and Fort Nelson districts are facing multi-year drought conditions. In Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, the region’s rivers have experienced nearly two years of record low flows — conditions that impact both local people and wildlife. …B.C.’s northeast has been a major hot spot for wildfires over the past 18 months. About 160 kilometres to the north, holdover fires from the 2023 Donnie Creek wildfire — the largest the province has ever recorded — continue to burn, according to the BC Wildfire Service. This year, wildfires have already prompted the evacuation of nearly 5,000 people across the province’s northeast.

Snow levels in British Columbia are well below normal levels, according to the most recent data from the province. The May 15 snow survey and water supply bulletin, released by the province last week, showed the provincial snowpack is at 57% of normal levels across the province. The May 1 data was 66% of normal. On average, around 17% of the seasonal snowpack had melted by May 15, but this year, 31 per cent of the peak snowpack had melted by that date. This was the result of low elevation melt in April and warm weather from May 9 to 12. …The Vancouver Island snowpack was at 34% of normal as of May 15, while the Stikine snowpack was at 101% of normal. This was the only snow pack reporting above-normal levels. Because of the low snowpack in much of the province, reduced flood risk is expected. In addition, there is an increased risk of drought this year.

BANFF, Alberta — The loggers’ work was unmistakable. Flanked by dense forests, the 81-acre expanse of land on the mountainside had been stripped nearly clean. …The harvesting of trees would be routine in a commercial forest — but this was in Banff, Canada’s most famous national park. Clear-cutting was once unimaginable in this green jewel, where the longstanding policy was to strictly suppress every fire. But facing a growing threat of wildfires, national park caretakers are increasingly turning to loggers to create fire guards: buffers to stop forest fires from advancing into the rest of the park and nearby towns. “If you were to get a highly intense, rapidly spreading wildfire, this gives fire managers options,’’ David Tavernini, a fire and vegetation expert at Parks Canada, the federal agency that manages national parks, said as he treaded on the cleared forest’s soft floor. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]

The Kwiakah First Nation is a small nation of 21 members but it is fighting to save the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. The M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area covers 7,865 hectares of forested land. …“We as Kwiakah people have a vision of the future — where grizzly bears roam through the mossy, misty forests of our territory, and where the youth only know their forests as protected and abundant,” said Chief Steven Dick. The protected forest area will also help create forest steward jobs and a research centre for an Indigenous-led conservation economy. This is the ninth management area within the Great Bear Rainforest, which prohibits commercial harvesting and allows Kwiakah to practice regenerative forestry to bring the forest back to its pre-industrial state.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Firefighters from across Canada have gathered in Strathcona County to learn more about responding to wildland fires in urban areas. The county is the first Canadian community in 2024 to host the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Responding to the Interface (RTI) program to further their specialized training in fighting wildfires that burn in areas where communities meet grasslands and forests. On Tuesday, firefighters took part in an operational readiness exercise, acting as if a wildfire was coming towards the Busenius Estates neighbourhood in the county directly east of Edmonton. …“For structural firefighters, we’re used to having a fire, if you will, inside of box and we’re really good at keeping that fire in that box,” said Mark Brise, master instructor with IAFF. The program equips firefighters with tactics, strategies and skills to respond effectively to wildland urban interface fires and be able to train other firefighters.

Brad Stelfox

BRAGG CREEK, Alberta — According to landscape ecologist Dr. Brad Stelfox, the Greater Bragg Creek ecosystem is an iconic landscape. …One of Stelfox’s slides was a picture of a grizzly bear as it ambled through the West Bragg Creek parking lot adjacent to where a BC logging company is planning on clearcutting next year, in the middle of a heavily-used recreation area. “There is a growing and significant amount of anxiety about a swing towards land uses that are modifying this landscape very quickly, and a new approach to decision-making may be in order.” …Stelfox is an adjunct professor in Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta and the Department of Environmental Design, University of Calgary. …All land uses have benefits, Stelfox said, just as they all have liabilities. The key is to manage land use from economic, social and environmental perspectives at the same time. It’s all about trade-offs. “

Garry Merkel

It’s been four years since a pair of professional foresters hired by the BC NDP government urged the province to take a radically new approach to old-growth forests. In their strategic review, Garry Merkel and Al Gorley said the government should manage B.C.’s old forests as ecosystems rather than a source of timber. …A BC government old-growth update says “significant progress” has been made on implementing 14 recommendations made in the foresters’ review of old-growth strategy. Yet it also cautions it “will take years to achieve the full intent of some of the recommendations.” Environmental groups and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs were quick to criticize the update, saying it lacks concrete commitments to urgently protect B.C.’s remaining old-growth forests. …But Merkel, who is working for the government on contract, urged patience, telling The Narwhal much of the work is taking place behind the scenes.