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Leonard Krog

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog argues forestry still underpins jobs, sustainability and public prosperity, while warning misinformation and policy drift threaten one of British Columbia’s enduring strengths. Leonard Krog has seen forestry from nearly every angle. He knows it as a worker, as a family story and as a policymaker. A lawyer and politician, Krog served 18 years as an NDP MLA before becoming Mayor of Nanaimo in 2018. Born in Nanaimo and raised in Coombs, he has long been a prominent voice in B.C. public life. That background shaped the force of his argument: forestry remains central to the province’s future. Krog’s perspective is rooted in history, but his focus is firmly on what comes next. Krog places forestry at the heart of Nanaimo’s economic identity, even as the city has diversified. …Krog’s sharpest comments target public misunderstanding. …“There is just far too much myth and mythology and misinformation out there.”

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit forest planning and practices on three woodlot licences in the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District, beginning August 3, 2026. Woodlot licence W0314, held by Agnes Jackson, is near Lac Le Jeune, approximately 25 kilometres south of Kamloops. Woodlot licence W0315, held by Adams Lake Indian Band, includes areas around Adams Lake and north of Chase. Woodlot licence W1602, held by Indian Gardens Ranch Ltd., is near Tunkwa Lake, approximately 20 kilometres south of Savona. Auditors will examine harvesting, roads and structures, silviculture, protection activities and associated planning. All three woodlots have been significantly affected by wildfires in recent years. This audit will take place within the territories of numerous First Nations in the Thompson Rivers region. …Parties that may be adversely affected by the findings will have an opportunity to respond before the final report and any recommendations are released publicly.

By taking action and creating a FireSmart property, you will dramatically increase the resistance of your home and property to damage caused by wildfire. The best part is, it’s surprisingly easy to do. The actions recommended in this manual start from the home, and progress outward. Changes made to the area closest to your home, and your home itself, have the greatest potential to reduce the risk of wildfire damage.

©Wikipedia

Nettie and Thomas Rempel-Ong had uninvited guests living in their 91-year-old home in Winnipeg’s Old Tuxedo neighbourhood — chimney swifts, a migratory bird species classified as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act. …Chimney swift populations have declined 88 per cent since 1970. How a bird became reliant [chimneys] has to do with European settlement, urbanization and forestry. Pre-colonization, chimney swifts in North America nested in old growth leafy trees, often dead or dying, with hollows large enough to raise a family in during the summer months. …Logging and land-clearing for housing and agriculture eliminated much of their historical habitat. …And the style of chimneys that swifts became reliant on fell out of fashion architecturally. …Chimney swifts are part of the second-most at-risk group of birds in Canada, called aerial insectivores. …they feast on insects in flight, including mosquitoes and beetles, the latter of which have experienced declines associated with DDT pesticide use.

Nk’Mip Forestry, with support from Siya Forestry, has planted more than 900,000 trees and native plants across Osoyoos Indian Band territory this year as part of the federal “2 Billion Trees Program.” The restoration project focuses on areas damaged by wildfire and other disturbances, including land severely burned during the 2021 Nk’Mip Creek wildfire where natural regeneration has been limited. “These sites were severely burned by the 2021 Nk’Mip Creek wildfire and were not regenerating on their own,” said Peter Flett, head of operations for Nk’Mip Forestry, in a press release issued Tuesday. “By planting now, we can help establish mixed-species forests that are better suited to future environmental conditions.” …In addition to restoring forests and wildlife habitat, the initiative is creating employment opportunities for local crews through seed collection, nursery work, planting and monitoring. The project is funded through the Government of Canada’s 2 Billion Trees Program

Len Vanderstar ©SAFT BC

Len Vanderstar is a retired professional forester and professional biologist who worked in various capacities for the B.C. government before retiring. …[Since the late] 1980s, Vanderstar witnessed a steady progression of logging, with companies extracting much of their trees from forests at middle and low elevations. But that logging caused the companies to run short of commercially attractive trees close to town… Now, timber companies are pushing into the hinterland in search of trees … going higher up mountains. …Vanderstar believes that the price paid [for logging that timber] will be even deeper ecological, social and economic pain ahead. [Higher elevation trees are] smaller and may be centuries old. …To deliver enough logs …companies must sometimes log twice the number of such trees at higher elevations… B.C. chief forester Shane Berg said the Ministry of Forests doesn’t track how much logging occurs by elevation zones but rather calculates logging on an area-by-area basis.

A First Nation north of Williams Lake has filed a petition to the Government of Canada to issue an emergency order to protect southern mountain caribou (selcwéycen) and work collaboratively with First Nations to implement immediate habitat protections and long-term recovery measures. Xatśūll First Nation (XFN) announced in a press release on Monday, July 20, they were filing the petition under Section 80 of the Species at Risk Act arguing years of provincial and federal efforts have failed to halt the continued decline of selcwéycen that has been a federally listed endangered species for over two decades. Additionally, according to the release, existing federal and provincial measures have not prevented the continued destruction and degradation of critical habitat or the ongoing decline of selcwéycen populations. XFN reiterated it is not calling for an end to forestry. Rather, XFN is advancing practical solutions through its proposed First Nation Woodland License

Arnold Reimer is among the Manitoba loggers concerned their supply is turning to ash as wildfires continue to burn through forests across the country. Last year’s wildfire season burned around 8.9 million hectares nationwide. In Manitoba, 445 wildfires and 2.38 million hectares burned, according to the government of Manitoba’s 2025 wildfire report. Canada’s forest sector supports nearly 200,000 workers and contributes more than $20 billion to the GDP, according to the government of Canada. …John Morris, executive director at the Forestry Industry Association of Manitoba, said the loss of timber means job losses, fewer economic opportunities, and impacts on rural and northern communities that depend on the industry.

Additional coverage in CTV News, by Alex Karpa: ‘Huge concern’: Manitoba loggers worried as industry continues to feel impacts of wildfires

It was December 2024, and a four-year looper moth infestation had ravaged Stanley Park. The City of Vancouver estimated that 160,000 of the park’s 600,000 trees were dead or dying… The hemlocks had faced years of drought …which made them more susceptible to the ravenous looper larvae that stripped the trees of their needles. …Bruce Blackwell has spent 38 years watching this slow-moving disaster unfold. …Blackwell says the stress on the trees and the increased forest fire risk is being exacerbated by our longer, drier summers. “Historically we would’ve had significant rains in April, May and June. And in some of these driest years, the precipitation is stopping in May,” he says. “And we’re not getting significant precipitation for months on end.” As a result, municipalities are rethinking the trees they plant… “These things take resources—and when it comes to green spaces, we’re good at planting them… but we’re not managing them to the standard we need to manage them,” says Blackwell.

People in British Columbia are invited to provide feedback on proposed improvements to the Province’s natural resource appeals process. The Province has launched public engagement on potential legislative and procedural changes affecting appeals heard by the Environmental Appeal Board and the Forest Appeals Commission, two major natural resource tribunals in B.C. If approved, changes are expected to help deliver timelier decisions, strengthen compliance and enforcement, and support more efficient permitting, while maintaining environmental protections and the Province’s obligations to First Nations. These independent tribunals hear appeals related to environmental protection, natural resource management and land-use decisions.