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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.

Blueberry River First Nations in B.C. says its new native plant orchard will help restoration efforts on land ravaged by industry and wildfires, while creating economic and cultural opportunities for the nation. Grandmother’s Greenhouse’s Native Plant Orchard is located around 50 kilometres from Fort St. John on about 50 hectares of agricultural land owned by the First Nation, and produces commercial seeds, seedlings, and seed capsules. Blueberry River Chief Sherry Dominic, said the orchard’s plant products will be sold to industry, “so when they’re doing reclamation of the lands that they are restoring, they’ll use these native plants, seeds that we’ve grown, that our members had picked in this Blueberry traditional area.” …The orchard is a $9.7 million initiative funded through Blueberry River Restoration Society, a Blueberry River First Nations organization. The venture will see 1.7 million seedlings in the orchard this season, which has been designed to reflect a healthy diverse and resilient forest ecosystem.

Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) is proud to announce that Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (CCR) is the inaugural recipient of the Indigenous Small Business of the Year Award, in recognition of its work creating economic opportunities through Indigenous-led forestry, wildfire rehabilitation and environmental stewardship. CCR is an Indigenous-owned forestry organization representing the communities of Tŝideldel, Tl’etinqox, and Yunesit’in in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia. Established to restore and protect traditional territories while creating sustainable prosperity for Nations, CCR has become a recognized leader in Indigenous-led forestry and land stewardship. “Today, we are demonstrating that Indigenous-led forestry can create jobs, restore forests, help reduce wildfire risk, support economic independence and deliver lasting benefits for communities,” said Percy Guichon, CEO of CCR. “This award reinforces the importance of Indigenous leadership and collaboration in shaping the future of forestry in British Columbia and across Canada.”

Robert Gray

As a fast-growing fire near Pemberton forced an evacuation order and alerts Thursday, a veteran fire ecologist questioned whether the region’s forest-edge communities are as ready as officials say. …Robert Gray, a Chilliwack-based fire ecologist with four decades in the field, said that preparation often falls short because it’s done at too small a scale. Municipalities point to FireSmart programs — assessments that urge homeowners to clear brush, screen vents and strip flammable material from around a house to create “defensible space” — and to fuel treatments, the thinning of dense stands of trees and removal of dead wood that can carry a fire. Gray said both work only when carried out across whole neighbourhoods and the land around them. “You can do everything that’s required and you can still lose your home,” he said, if neighbouring properties and the forest beyond go untreated.

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are calling for the protection of an at-risk forest on Vancouver Island known as the “Jewel of the Tahsish.” According to the old growth advocates, this stand is nationally significant and one of the largest remaining unprotected old-growth karst forests in BC. Karst forests are located in areas where trees grow atop limestone,and are among the rarest, most productive and sensitive old-growth ecosystems in Canada.  The karst forest the AFA are referring to with this call to action is around 235 hectares in size and is located in the upper watershed of the Tahsish River near Cross Lake on northwestern Vancouver Island, within the territories of the Kyuquot/Checleseht and Quatsino First Nations.

Teamwork was key for bolstering an Indigenous forestry operation in central B.C., stakeholders stated at a business conference in Nanaimo. Lake Babine Nation was front and centre at the Seeing the Forest and the Trees panel discussion June 4 at the Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference in Nanaimo, with Duane Crouse, Lake Babine Nation Forestry operations manager; Jeff Mycock, vice-president of Canadian Woodlands for West Fraser Timber Co.; Mike Beck, operations manager of Capacity Forest Management and Mike Hykaway, B.C. Ministry of Forests’ assistant deputy minister of regional operations for the north area, providing insight. A collaborative effort between Lake Babine, West Fraser and the B.C. government, was announced in July 2025, which saw the First Nation’s woodland licence grow by over 120,400 hectares, to 126,000 ha, after a transfer from West Fraser with the harvestable land northeast of Smithers, B.C., according to a B.C. government press release.

Riley Browne ©WCH

West Coast Helicopters general manager Sean Smyth was in his hangar at the company’s ­headquarters in Port McNeill on Tuesday ­morning, about to make his morning coffee, when his cellphone rang. On the other end of the line was West Coast Helicopters’ dispatch. One of the company’s helicopters had crashed in rugged terrain in the remote Loughborough Inlet area, between Knight Inlet and Bute Inlet, which is steep and heavily forested. It was 6:20 a.m. and the crash had taken place just minutes earlier, at about 6:13 a.m. Three men were onboard the Hughes 500 helicopter when it went down: a pilot from West Coast Helicopters named Riley Browne and two forestry engineers from Campbell River-based Crowhurst Forest Management Group. Smyth was told that two of the people involved in the crash were unresponsive. The survivor had radioed the information to the logging camp where the men were based, who then called dispatch.

Also covered in Chek News by Liz Brown: ‘It’s gutting’: North Island community mourns the loss of one of their own following Tuesday’s helicopter crash

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo is celebrating the birth of a baby caribou… The male calf was born on June 25, 2026, to mother Mira. He weighed 9.4 kilograms at birth and has since grown to 12.8 kilograms. Mom and baby are currently receiving care behind the scenes while the Zoo’s Animal Care Specialists closely monitor their progress and support this important early bonding period. …“Our Animal Care Specialists are providing Mira and her calf with the time, space and support they need during these important early days,” said Jeff Mitchell, Zoo Manager, Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo. “It is especially meaningful to name this calf Lyall Petrie in honour of Dr. Petrie, whose guidance, generosity and dedication left a lasting mark on so many in the veterinary community.” …The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo is proud to support the Caribou Conservation Alliance.