Blog Archives

Alison Nicholson

2026 was intended to be the final year of the joint effort by the province and Cowichan Tribes to heal the Xwulqw’selu/Koksilah watershed — bringing back summer river flows, restoring fish habitat, and reducing damaging winter floods. …it is clear we need more time. …Research shows that industrial forestry practices — specifically clearcutting — increase the frequency and severity of winter floods, which directly degrades instream habitat and worsens summer droughts. This tells us that while reducing water extraction in the lower watershed is necessary, it isn’t enough. …we cannot have a healthy river without addressing how the land is treated. …On Feb. 25, Mosaic Forest Management …announced a pilot to test new watershed stewardship approaches in the Koksilah Watershed. While welcome, it must be more than a private initiative. To succeed, the community needs assurance that it will be integrated into the planning process, with public access to data, independent review, and clear timelines.

Quesnel City Council has endorsed the “Forestry is a Solution” campaign. Erin Robinson, Forestry Initiatives Manager at the City, talked about the “Forestry is a Solution” campaign at the most recent Council meeting. “It was launched in January at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George.  The “Forestry is a Solution” campaign is led by a coalition of forest sector organizations, community leaders, workers, and industry advocates to demonstrate strong public support for British Columbia’s forest sector. The initiative highlights forestry’s role in: supporting affordable housing, reducing wildfire risk through active forest management, sustaining family-supporting jobs, generating public revenues, and contributing to lower carbon construction.” Robinson said it is in line with Council’s concerns over the current state of the industry.

Registration is now open for our 2026 Conference & AGM with Early Bird pricing. The event will take place from June 3-5 in Vernon, BC, where community forest leaders, partners, and supporters will gather to connect, collaborate, and inspire action. The field trip will be hosted by Monashee Community Forest, a partnership of the Splatsin First Nation and the Village of Lumby. 

Mosaic Forest Management is testing a new approach to forest management in the Koksilah watershed. The forest company is launching a multi-year pilot program on its private lands in the watershed to demonstrate how working forests can deliver both economic performance and environmental resilience by integrating watershed services, carbon programs, renewable energy, recreation and real estate activities alongside timber production. The Koksilah River has been experiencing persistent problems in recent years, including extreme water fluctuations and severely low flows in the summer months, which led to Cowichan Tribes and the province signing B.C.’s first water sustainability plan for the watershed in 2023, to find solutions. …“This pilot is about figuring out what works by combining sustainable forestry with watershed stewardship and other land solutions,” said Duncan Davies, president and CEO of Mosaic. “We’re committed to building the business model that makes this approach viable and scalable where the right conditions exist.”

Mission, BC – Despite the continuing uncertainty around tariffs on softwood lumber, the City of Mission’s forestry operation saw a net profit of over $1.1 million last year from timber sales. By taking advantage of temporary market upticks throughout the year, the Forestry Department released three timber sales culminated in a net profit of $1,138,769 after fee and fund transfers in 2025. The original forecast for the year was a net profit of $459,133. The revenue from timber sales fuels the City of Mission’s Forestry Legacy Reserve. This unique reserve is used by Council to allocate funding for projects and initiatives that benefit the community now and into the future. Recent examples of this reserve in action include the new Emiry Park in Cedar Valley and the covered lacrosse box at Centennial Park – both of these projects were made possible in part by funding from the Forestry Legacy Reserve, funds that would otherwise need to be raised through taxation. 

A petition to reject a logging project in the Hatzic Valley has collected over 650 signatures. The proposed project would feature cut blocks between Kussman Road and Eng Road east of Mission, along with a new logging road. According to the province’s Forestry Operations Map, the project in question — FOM 2801 — is expected to be in operation from 2026 to 2030. In a statement to the Mission Record on Friday (March 6), the Ministry of Forests said it hasn’t received an application for a proposed road permit or a cutting permit at this time. “The licensee is welcome to submit an application for review by the Ministry of Forests,” the ministry said. The petition notes the history of landslides, flooding and debris flows in the area. It states that approving a new logging road construction would ignore decades of evidence and repeat past mistakes.

Reconstruction of Cliff Gilker Park’s Waterfall and Gorge bridges is to commence shortly and complete “well before the end of the year,” according to Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) staff, thanks to an agreement with the Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF). A contract award to SCCF to do that work was endorsed by the SCRD board at its Feb. 26 meeting. Completing those two replacements as a cooperative project, using wood rather than metal for bridge structures, will save the SCRD time and $578,930, according to a staff report. Rather than spending over $1.2 million as budgeted to reopen the two bridges, which were closed due to damage sustained during the November 2021 atmospheric rivers, the new project cost is $619,920. That price also covers trail resiliency work in the park.

The Alberta government has released a new wildfire mitigation strategy aimed at reducing wildfire risk and protecting communities, forests and critical infrastructure across the province. The Alberta Wildfire Mitigation Strategy outlines measures to improve preparedness and strengthen prevention efforts as wildfire seasons become more frequent and severe. Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said the strategy is intended to help communities better prepare for wildfire and reduce potential damage. …The strategy outlines six focus areas: improving knowledge of wildfire risks, strengthening community and Indigenous partnerships, reviewing legislation and policy, expanding the use of technology and innovation, integrating wildfire mitigation into landscape planning and prioritizing hazardous fuels management.

Prince George is once again surpassing expectations with the sale of two commercial thinning areas in the region, says BC’s forests minister. The sales were made to Freya Logging, a contractor based in Prince George. The total volume between the two sales is 14,005 cubic metres in the West Lake and Greg Creek area. Freya Logging will undertake commercial thinning, a forest management process that removes a portion of trees in a 35-year-old or older stand to create space and provide more light and nutrients for younger trees in the area, while older trees are cut down and sold. The process is also known to decrease the risk of forest fires by reducing fuel loads and increasing forest resilience against pests. BC Forest Minister Ravi Parmar has been a strong advocate for commercial thinning in the province and considers these two sales a milestone for forestry in BC.

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B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar has begun imposing deadlines on some First Nations to try to speed up the drawn-out creation of new regional forestry plans. In a wide-ranging interview, Parmar told The Tyee that he has informed participants in two regional forest planning groups that they will be expected to complete work by the end of this year. Work on 15 forest landscape plans, or FLPs, began more than four years ago as part of an extensive effort to overhaul forest management practices in British Columbia. The plans are to be created after significant discussions with community members, industry representatives and local First Nations. But although B.C.’s former forests minister called the approach “transformational” four years ago, only one forest landscape plan — for a series of watersheds on Vancouver Island south of Port McNeill — has been completed so far. Now, Parmar said he has told some First Nations that discussions will need to produce results soon.

More local governments, contractors and First Nations will take on wildfire-risk-mitigation roles in and around their communities thanks to a $30-million investment in training, equipment and FireSmart programs. “Through powerful partnerships with local communities, we’re doing the work to get ahead of wildfire season,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “We’re investing in local governments, contractors and First Nations to mitigate the risks of wildfire, protecting people and community. This is how we create jobs, support workers and build more resilient forests, restoring confidence in our sector.” The FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program is receiving an additional $15 million to continue prioritizing core FireSmart activities to protect the most vulnerable communities in B.C. The program is part of B.C.’s Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) program. Along with the Crown Land Wildfire Risk Reduction program, it reduces wildfire risk by funding planning, education, co-ordination and fuel-management activities on publicly owned and Crown land.

The Quadra Island Peaceful Grannies are calling on the community to join a peaceful rally on Friday, Feb. 27, taking place outside the post office at Quathiaski Cove. The gathering is a stand against the ongoing over-logging of Quadra Island’s forests and the growing threat to the island’s watersheds, wildlife and ecological integrity. According to the group, across Quadra’s watersheds, from Darkwater Lake and Assu Creek to Beech’s Creek and beyond, the pattern is consistent. Roads are punched into previously unroaded forests, logging proceeds into areas designated for protection and communities are left to fight for their water, their fish, and their safety after the fact. The Peaceful Grannies are calling on the Government of B.C. to make changes to several policies and protections including placing a moratorium on logging of remaining old-growth and mature forests on Quadra Island until proper conservation plans are in place.

The lack of significant snowfall in the mountains around Cowichan Lake could be a problem for water levels during the upcoming dry season, according to Brain Houle, the environment manager at the now closed Domtar pulp mill in Crofton. While Domtar shut the mill down earlier this year, the forest company agreed to continue operations at the weir until the end of 2026. Houle said that while there is still time to accumulate more snow before the winter ends, it is possible that the weather will not bring more snow to the mountains before warm weather begins the annual snow melt. “With the Crofton mill now shut down and water withdrawals from the river significantly reduced, it is even more important to avoid the need to use pumps this year,” …Houle said that a stakeholder meeting was recently held … to discuss water issues related to the Cowichan watershed in 2026, including weir operations.