Blog Archives

Okanagan Screen Awards is a two-day celebration of film, creativity, and community, taking place March 28–29, 2026 in the sunny paradise of Kelowna, BC. The Okanagan Screen Awards are proudly presented by the Okanagan Society of Independent Filmmaking (OSIF), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for independent filmmakers in the Okanagan region. Congratulations to “BC is Burning” for winning 1st Place in the Feature Docs category! 

The Bulkley Valley Research Centre (BVRC) is seeking a Manager, Research Development & Partnerships to help expand our research programs by building partnerships, identifying funding opportunities, and developing collaborative research initiatives. This role is ideal for an early- to mid-career professional who enjoys connecting people, ideas, and funding opportunities to support meaningful environmental research. Working closely with BVRC leadership, researchers, community partners, and First Nations, you will help develop new research initiatives that address natural resource challenges across British Columbia. If you enjoy building relationships and turning ideas into funded projects, this role offers the opportunity to grow your career while contributing to research that has real-world impact. The Bulkley Valley Research Centre (BVRC) is an independent nonprofit research organization based in Smithers, BC, on Gitdumden Clan territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. Based in Smithers, BC, this is a full-time, 2-year term with possibility of renewal, hybrid/remote options considered. Closing Date: April 7, 2026, or until filled.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is proud to release a new Indigenous Rights and Relationship Building Spotlight video featuring the Tsuut’ina Nation. The video highlights the Nation’s leadership in land stewardship, including wildfire resilience and community-based forest management, and in strengthening capacity, engaging youth, and advancing long-term sustainability rooted in the cultural values and self-determined priorities. It also shares how the SFI Forest Management Standard supports the implementation of many of these priorities and values, such as mitigating undesirable impacts of wildfire. …For many years, Tsuut’ina Nation has worked closely with SFI-certified organization West Fraser Cochrane, formerly Spray Lakes Sawmills, on land management consultation within its Traditional Territories and land management planning as the Nation advances toward SFI certification. One of their priorities has been wildfire mitigation efforts to reduce the risk near the community. 

Mission’s forestry department hosted its annual ‘CutBlock Party’ last Saturday (March 21). The approximately 150 people in attendance planted 600 trees near Hunter Logging Road at the end of Sabo Street in northern Mission. The newly-planted trees are part of the effort to reforest a recently logged cutblock. They are among the estimated 100,000 trees the forestry department is planting this spring as part of its annual silviculture and reforestation program. Bari Hanus, forestry technician with the City of Mission, said the species that are being planted are mainly Douglas fir, western red cedar and white pine. “We plant really high quality seedlings that are well-suited to Mission’s climate. Those species are all selected for their climate adaptability, their role as a native species, and their ability to thrive in local forest ecosystem,” Hanus said.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) will be jointly working on two fuel reduction measures near Lytton, one in Botanie Valley and the other near Highway 1 north of the town, and one in the Hat Creek Valley. The Hat Creek cultural burn will cover an area of up to 40 hectares, approximately 15 kilometres west of Cache Creek in the Upper Hat Creek Valley. The project, known as the Harry Lake Grasslands cultural burn, is in partnership with the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District and Bonaparte First Nation. The burn is part of a multi-year project meant to introduce fire into the Upper Hat Creek Valley. Key goals of the burn include revitalization of cultural burning practices by St’uxwtéws (Bonaparte) First Nation; reintroduction of fire to a fire deficit ecosystem; and ecological maintenance and improvement of grasslands. It is also part of a research initiative being undertaken by the University of British Columbia into prescribed fire in the area.

Wildfire fuel mitigation will remain a priority for the city, despite the B.C. government’s plans to stem the flow of FireSmart funding. At its March 23 meeting, city council received a presentation by Assistant Fire Chief Carmen Guidos, who was seeking direction on a couple of matters. One had to do with the Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (CWRP) currently under development. The other was in regard of fuel mitigation work already planned for Coyote Park, South Canoe, and a small treatment area on Mt. Ida. The connecting thread prompting Guidos’ presentation was recent changes by the BC government to how it funds community FireSmart initiatives. The province introduced the FireSmart Community Funding and Supports (FSCFS) programs in 2018, providing approximately $175 million since then for communities to hire coordinators, conduct education campaigns and pay for fuel management efforts.

Recovery operations are ongoing after 19 log bundles ended up on beaches in the PQB area after rough weather caused a log boom to break open at Mosaic Forest Management’s Northwest Bay waterfront facility two weekends ago. Mosaic said more than half of the bundles have been retrieved, but crews need favourable tides and calm weather to safely recover the remaining logs. “We’re hoping to have suitable conditions in the next few days to complete the recovery as quickly and safely as possible,” Mosaic told the PQB News on March 24. Mosaic notified the provincial regulator and is in direct contact with Rathtrevor Provincial Park representatives about its plans and timeline. The province has declared the area where the logs went astray as a “closed area in so far as the marine salvage of logs is concerned”. END

A commentary by two forest ecologists who lead Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s ­Forest Conservation Program, and Raincoast’s executive director, who is a Southern Gulf Islands resident. The Islands Trust recently invited public input to help update its Trust Policy Statement, a document that guides how land-use decisions are made across the Trust Area in the Salish Sea. While the draft includes some overdue updates, it drifts from its mandate of environmental protection and fails to connect words in a policy document to decisions on the ground. To work properly, the Trust Policy Statement must clearly show how the Islands Trust will carry out its environmental protection mandate. The Islands Trust is a unique form of government. When it was established 50 years ago, its role was clear: to prevent unrestrained growth and development in the Trust Area of the Gulf Islands. The legislation recognized that the islands’ natural environment and rural character were fragile and irreplaceable.