FSC Forest Week is being held the week of September 24th, with a theme of ‘Choose Forests, Choose FSC’. Previously known as FSC Friday, the campaign is designed to raise consumer awareness of FSC and responsible forest management. With climate change raising awareness about the critical role of forests … it is more important than ever to highlight actions that companies are taking to protect forests. While there are many climate solutions under development, today forests offer the best way to sequester and store carbon at a global scale. FSC Forest Week offers a great opportunity to communicate with your customers about forests and climate. With assets available for FSC Certificate Holders and Promotional License Holders to use worldwide, FSC Forest Week is a great opportunity to showcase your commitment to forests, conservation, and sustainability.
As extreme heat events intensify in Canada, efforts are under way to better manage and respond to wildfires across the country. Canada’s wildfire season got off to a slow start this year but …wildfire activity has picked up in the west, including British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. “We are preparing for the potential of significant fires in the next two to four weeks as we trend into August,” said Cliff Chapman, director of provincial operations for the B.C. Wildfire Service. …The B.C. Wildfire Service is using artificial intelligence and data from multiple sources as well as collaborating with space agencies to predict fires. Chapman said there’s room to grow when it comes to potential growth modelling … and that “allows us to put the right people in the right place for the aggressive initial attack.” …The 
Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased to lend its support to the Global Network for Forestry Young Professionals (ForYP) – a new global community for young forest sector professionals to network, develop professional skills, and become empowered to engage and lead the future forestry. Bringing together forestry networks and associations from around the world, ForYP aims to increase the visibility of young professionals in the forest sector by providing an inclusive space to share ideas and showcase contributions through online networking, monthly peer-to-peer sessions, and providing access to meaningful connections and mentors in the sector. …ForYP was launched at the World Forestry Congress in Seoul, South Korea in May. …ForYP aims to fill a niche by providing a sense of international community and career development opportunities for early-mid career professionals, helping this demographic grow their network and learn from one another.
Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 Green Dream Internship Program. The national initiative is set to showcase the experiences and perspectives of eleven summer students working in the forest sector over the next six weeks. Theprogram is designed to promote young Canadians who are passionate about working in the forest sector and have a strong commitment to the environment and their community. Interns are selected to create influencer-style content – including videos, blogs, podcasts, and TikToks – that provide an inside look at the work being done in Canada’s forests and communities from coast-to-coast. “The program provides a first-hand look at our sector’s commitment to sustainable forest management and innovation – while offering a glimpse at how forestry supports hundreds of Indigenous and rural communities through an inclusive workforce that values sustainability, diversity, and opportunity across the country,” said FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor.
Temperatures in the Okanagan are rising, which means the risk of the increased fire activity is too. The Kamloops Fire Centre says conditions don’t fully meet the criteria for a campfire ban yet, however, it could be implemented very soon if hot and dry conditions persist. “One of the indices that we look at when implementing bans and restrictions is the build-up index. That’s the amount of fuel available to burn and the dryness of those fuels. It does consider the fuel moisture content that could affect the fire’s intensity. With that being said, we have not met the threshold yet to implement that restriction,” said BC Wildfire Information Officer Karley Desrosiers. …Over the last week, 67 new fires sparked across the province, 47 being lightning-caused and 13 attributed to human activity. …by the end of the week, Category 2 and 3 open fires are expected to be banned right across BC.
British Columbia – In a report released today, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) has published information on the stunning outcomes of the Province’s $150 million investment under the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund (LCELF), showcasing the tremendous progress made through this fund toward the Government of Canada’s targets under the Paris Agreement. In 2017, the Provincial government deployed $150 million of its $250 million in funding from the federal government to FESBC, as a part of the federal government’s made-in-Canada climate plan. …Through the LCELF funding, FESBC provided grants to 134 projects throughout the province to create 1,300+ full time-equivalent jobs, plant 66 million trees, and sequester approximately 4.2 million tonnes of CO2e by 2050… Through these projects, FESBC met the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the forest sector and increase the capture of carbon through the restoration of forests damaged by disease, insects, and wildfire, under B.C.’s Climate Leadership Plan.
This month Logan Lake kicked-off their youth FireSmart program. The team approach to the project includes the District of Logan Lake Fire Chief and the Logan Lake Wellness, Health and Youth Society and the Logan Lake Community Forest. The team will be conducting fuel treatments over 4.8 ha of a wildlife tree retention area in the southern portion of Logan Lake Community Forest fire salvage permit. Hand treatments will be applied to green reserve patches to improve resilience in the areas where there is expected green tree survival post the 2021 Tremont Creek fire. 
Canfor Corporation today announced a $50,000 contribution to help the Village of Radium Hot Springs reach its $400,000 campaign goal to Save the Radium Bighorn Herd. Radium Hot Springs’ magnificent Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are recognized as a species of special concern, reflecting the vulnerability of these beloved animals. “As a forestry company with a significant presence in the Kootenay Rockies region of B.C., we are very proud to make this contribution supporting conservation of the Radium-Stoddart herd,” said Michelle Ward, Senior Director, Communications & Government Relations. “The community, including our own employees who call Radium home, has shown great commitment to increase awareness of the risks faced by the sheep and to accelerate the building of a safe wildlife overpass for Radium’s One Mile Hill.”
About two hours north of Los Angeles, stands an ancient grove of big-cone Douglas fir trees. The telltale signs of decades-long droughts from centuries past lie deep within the trunks of its oldest trees. But inscribed just beneath the bark are traces of the worst drought these trees have ever withstood. …The rings inside the Douglas firs record a continuous climate history stretching back 500 years, nearly five times farther than rain-gauge records. But even though these trees are well adapted to this rugged landscape, they cannot survive without sufficient rainfall and moisture. For some of the trees, their unbroken story may be coming to an end. As a dendrochronologist, I examine tree rings to study climate. A 
China plays an important role in international forest governance. It is the largest importer of soy, beef and forest products and the second-largest importer of palm oil. The global value chains of these four soft commodities are responsible for at least 40% of global deforestation. …At last November’s COP26 climate conference, China committed itself to work alongside 140 governments to reverse global deforestation by 2030. How will the world’s second largest economy turn words into action? A 
Australia has suffered catastrophic losses of wildlife and habitat, according to the official five-year scorecard on the state of the environment, as leading scientists plead with the Albanese government to urgently ramp up protections to halt the escalating rate of extinction. …Tragically, the 39 mammal species that have disappeared since colonisation in 1788 represent 38 per cent of the world’s lost mammals. Since 2016, 17 mammal species were added to the endangered list. The extinction risk this month for greater gliders has been upgraded by the federal government, which now rates the species once common in eastern forests as a risk of disappearing. Once common in eastern forests, the animal has been pushed to the brink by habitat loss from logging, land clearing for agriculture, intensifying bushfires and rising temperatures. Prepared by a panel of 32 experts, the report says “increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction” have taken their toll”.
CANBERRA, Australia — A five-year government report found Australia’s environment continues to deteriorate due to climate change, resource extraction and other causes, prompting leaders to promise new laws and enforcement of them. The State of the Environment report also adds political pressure on the government to set a more ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target when Parliament resumes next week for the first time since May 21 elections. The previous conservative government received the report in December but decided against making it public before the elections. The center-left Labor Party won on pledges including greater action on climate change. …That number will increase substantially after wildfires in 2019 and 2020 destroyed vast tracts of southeast Australian forests, the report said. Kelly O’Shanassy, of the Australian Conservation Foundation, an environmental organization, said land clearing was the major cause of habitat loss.