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In October 2025, the Regional Parks Committee tasked staff with looking at a potential Strategic Forest Management and FireSmart Plan, including budget. With a report in hand, the committee agreed to embark on a phased approach to develop a forest management plan for regional parks with key considerations including wildfire risk reduction, ecological values, cultural considerations and FireSmart principles in 2027. The first step would include a request for proposal process, with a price tag of up to $75,000 from the 2027 budget, to retain a qualified consultant to assist in developing a Strategic Forest Management Plan framework guiding future wildfire risk reduction and forest resilience efforts, the parks committee agreed during its April 22 meeting.

Council heard from Mosaic Forest Management representatives Jimmie Hodgson and Francis Guyver, who provided an overview of the company’s role in the coastal forestry sector, including timber markets, sustainability initiatives and wildfire preparedness. The presentation also highlighted watershed management work in the Ladysmith area and ongoing partnerships with Indigenous communities. Representatives invited council to participate in a field tour of Mosaic-managed lands.

The board of the Regional District of Central Kootenay voted on April 16 to write a letter to the provincial government in support of a group of rural water users near Nelway. The Rosebud Community Watershed Protection Group wants two adjacent watersheds preserved as a provincially protected area or as ecological reserve. The Lomond Creek and Rosebud Creek watersheds provide water for about 25 households… Rosebud Creek drains into the Salmo River and Lomond Creek into the Pend Oreille River. The total area of the two small adjacent watersheds is 2,250 hectares. “We’re trying to get the province of B.C. to declare this area a protected area to protect the wildlife corridor and to also protect our watershed from logging by B.C. Timber Sales,” said group spokesperson Dave Lang. B.C. Timber Sales is building roads, he said, preparing to log in the area, and residents are worried about … their water supply. 

Fire Information Officer Amanda Cullum said effective at noon tomorrow (April 23) all Category 2 and 3 open fires must be fully extinguished. “The prohibitions will remain in place until noon on October 31, 2026, or until the Orders are rescinded. These prohibitions apply to the entire Cariboo Fire Centre including the Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Title area, the 100 Mile House Forest District and the Quesnel Forest District.” …Cullum said the prohibition does not include Category 1 campfires that are 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide or smaller, and CSA-rated or ULC rated outdoor stoves for cooking, heat or ambiance that burns charcoal briquettes, liquid fuel or gaseous fuel, and has a flame height that is less that 15 cm tall.

See all Fire Prohibitions and Restrictions on the BC Wildfire Service website

The Sunshine Coast Regional District Board is set to weigh in on 15 new or modified cutblocks BC Timber Sales is proposing over the next five years — and may withhold support for eight of those. On April 30, the SCRD board is slated to consider a large package of local comments responding to BC Timber Sales’ 2026-2030 operating plan. According to BCTS’s website, its Chinook region (which includes the lower Sunshine Coast) led this initiative, “to provide more detailed information on planned activities over a longer time period to our identified stakeholders.” At the April 16 electoral services committee meeting, rural area directors supported forwarding comments from the five area advisory planning commissions to BCTS. That would be in addition to recommendations from regional staff reviewed by committee of the whole on April 9.

Ben Parfitt

You would be forgiven for thinking that British Columba’s Ministry of Forests is really the Ministry of Logging. A recent ministry news release boasts of a 30 per cent increase in timber auctioned, legislative amendments that will result in 17,700 more truckloads of logs coming out of the province’s forests each year, and a new streamlined permitting process that will add another 11,100 truckloads of logs to the mix. Ravi Parmar, the man overseeing all of this as forests minister, is certainly working hard to meet the mandate given to him by Premier David Eby, one that instructs him to increase logging rates and that sets a numerical target. But what of old-growth forest conservation, which is also part of Parmar’s mandate? There, Parmar has acted with decidedly less zeal. …Parmar and his predecessors have clearly encouraged more logging by First Nations on the grounds that it fosters a long-overdue new relationship with Indigenous Peoples and governments in the province.

On Saturday, March 28, 2026, a fire at Evans Lake resulted in the loss of two buildings, including four cabins. We are deeply grateful that no campers were on site and all staff are safe—but the loss to our community is significant. We want to sincerely thank Squamish Fire & Rescue, Britannia Beach Volunteer Fire Department, RCMP, Conservation Officers, our team, and a member of our community for their quick and compassionate response. Right now, our focus is on recovery. While we are insured, there are always substantial costs that aren’t fully covered. As we begin to rebuild, many have asked how they can help. Donations made here will directly support urgent recovery needs, replacement of essential spaces, and ongoing operations—helping ensure we can continue to provide meaningful outdoor experiences for thousands of children and families.

On May 2, volunteers will converge on the Bush Creek hatchery in Ladysmith to haul illegally dumped waste out of the surrounding forest and watershed. Over the past three years, the community cleanup has removed nearly 160 tonnes of garbage, the equivalent of 23 fully loaded dump trucks. “Illegal dumping is a serious offence – one that harms our forests and puts communities at risk,” remarked Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. Mosaic Forest Management will once again supply staff volunteers, donated materials and disposal support …This summer, Mosaic is expanding its response beyond cleanups. The company is launching See Something, Snap Something, a public reporting pilot that will invite anyone recreating on Mosaic lands to photograph and report online illegal dumping they encounter. The data will help identify hot spots and trends and build an evidence base for working with local authorities on enforcement. …More information on Mosaic’s reporting pilot will be available at MosaicForests.com this summer. 

A new old-growth logging controversy is unfolding in British Columbia, dividing Indigenous leaders and pitting the provincial government against scientists and conservation groups. The Tsitika River watershed …was deemed to be at such high risk of biodiversity loss that the B.C. government placed it in an old-growth deferral area, off limits to logging. But last year, the government quietly removed a large tract of the forest from its old-growth deferral list. And then in March, the government agency BC Timber Sales auctioned off 24 hectares for clearcutting. …The B.C. Forests Ministry told The Tyee it approved the Tsitika cutblock following consultation with Tlowitsis Nation, We Wai Kai Nation, Wei Wai Kum First Nation and Kwakiutl First Nation, “on whose territory this cutblock overlaps.” But other Indigenous leaders, including Ma’a̱mtagila Hereditary Chief Rande Cook, whose ancestors stewarded the Tsitika area, strongly object to logging.