Stephen Joyce
The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada (WPEFC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen Joyce as our new Seed Orchard Coordinator. This appointment continues WPEFC’s legacy of successfully coordinating the establishment of Canada’s first disease-resistant whitebark pine seed orchards and clone bank. Whitebark and limber pine are keystone species that are of serious conservation concern. They stabilize soils, moderate snowmelt, and provide important habitat to species such as grizzlies, birds, and squirrels. Unfortunately, they are in a precarious position primarily due to white pine blister rust disease. With Stephen as the new Seed Orchard Coordinator, WPEFC is poised to expand and establish additional seed orchards to help maintain the integrity of these unique ecosystems. WPEFC President, Randy Moody says, “we are so fortunate to have Stephen’s experience and expertise on the team, supporting the recovery of endangered whitebark and limber pine ecosystems.”
Vernon, B.C. — Tolko welcomes the British Columbia government’s announcement that it will increase the amount of forestry revenues that will be shared with First Nations across the province. This is a step in the right direction in terms of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. It is meaningful action with real commitment to the government’s stated intentions to modernize provincial forest policy, including as it relates to the participation of First Nations in the forestry industry. While there are a number of significant challenges facing BC’s forestry industry — most notably around fibre availability and cost — we have always been optimistic that a modern, thriving, and sustainable industry is achievable. As a company, we are very eager to play a leadership role in building that future and working to ensure a more prominent role and position for First Nations in BC forestry.
ONTARIO — Election promises should be examined carefully, from all parties, not just believed because they sound good. The recent Earth Day promises of the NDP and Liberals were simply reported without being questioned. …In their attempt to win the June 2 Ontario election, the NDP and Liberals tried to outbid each other on how many trees they would plant. Steven Del Duca’s Liberals were first out of the gate on Earth Day with a promise of 800 million trees over 8 years followed shortly thereafter by Andrea Horwath saying her party would plant 1 billion trees by 2030 if elected. It’s hard to be against trees, and I’m not, but these promises simply aren’t based in reality. …These promises are attempts by both parties to show they care about the environment while doing little to actually improve the environment.
A fund for emergency forest firefighting in Ontario has been cut. The Ontario budget shows $100 million is being set aside for 2022. Last year, Ontario spent $239 million, more than double the amount of money that had been set aside. The province had a record setting year for forest fires in 2021 with nearly 800,000 hectares of land being scorched, a majority in Northwestern Ontario. The Conservative government released the financial plan Thursday, however it will likely not be approved before the Ontario Legislature dissolves Wednesday.[END]
A forest’s ability to regenerate after devastating wildfires, droughts or other disturbances depends largely on seed production. Findings from two new studies led by Duke University researchers could boost recovery and replanting after these disasters by providing foresters with new guidance on which trees species produce more seeds and how their productivity can vary from location to location. …One of the most unexpected findings from the studies is that trees in the wet tropics collectively produce 250 times more seeds than those in dry boreal forests. …Another key finding is that seed production is not constrained by seed size. This dispels a popular assumption that species that produce larger seeds must produce proportionately fewer of them and, as a result, be more susceptible to loss. …A third finding is that gymnosperms, have lower seed production than angiosperms, possibly because gymnosperms expend so much energy on making protective cones for their seeds. 
Last month, in honor of Earth Day, President Biden signed an 
A new study suggests fires in North American boreal forests will emit substantial amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding an additional challenge for countries to reach their carbon emission goals. The wildfires could release nearly 12 gigatons of new carbon emissions by 2050. The study’s authors argue that improving fire mitigation in Alaska, which served as the primary area of study for the paper, will help decrease overall carbon emissions. …By 2050, the burned area in the Alaskan boreal forests could increase as much as 169 percent and burned area in Canada could increase by 150 percent, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances. …To avoid this, the world needs to reach carbon-emissions of net-zero by mid-century, a goal that is proving to be difficult to achieve. 
SEOUL, Korea — Greenpeace set up a large prop depicting a forest fire in front of the convention center in Seoul, where the opening ceremony for the 15th World Forestry Congress took place, urging attendees to stop forest destruction. …Greenpeace’s protest was aimed at telling the world about the excessive carbon emissions that have led to climate change, heightening the risk of forest fire, as well as the government’s biomass and forest development policies that are destroying the forests responsible for absorbing carbon. …Greenpeace sent an open letter to the transition team of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol asking it to reduce the production of bioenergy, overhaul trade policies and introduce legal institutions to govern the inspection of the supply chain in order to prevent forest destruction and fulfill its vows made under international agreements for forest protection.
Tropical regions of the world lost 11.1 million hectares of forest cover in 2021, new data shows, calling into question global pledges to end deforestation by 2030. Taking in the Amazon and the Congo Basin, the tree loss included 3.75 million hectares of “critically important” primary rainforests, according to the World Resource’s Institute’s Global Forest Watch. This resulted in 2.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, equivalent to the annual fossil fuel emissions of India, the forests monitor said. Global Forest Watch deputy director Mikaela Weisse told a virtual press conference: “The team specifically focused on the loss in humid tropical primary forests, which are areas of pristine rainforest that are important for carbon storage and biodiversity. …The report described the rate of primary forest loss in the tropics in recent years as “stubbornly consistent.
In 2011, two Australian environmentalist millionaires bought themselves what was then the world’s largest woodchip mill and infuriated both the state government and local forestry industry by closing it down. Wood was unapologetic. …What he might not have known was that their decision to shutter the Triabunna Mill brought about a “profound and unheard of miracle”, one of Australia’s most acclaimed scientists. According to Griffith University’s Professor Brendan Mackey and Lindenmeyer, the closure of Triabunna meant that in the years that followed Tasmania was one of the first jurisdictions in the world to become not just net zero, but carbon negative. Unlike mainland Australia, Tasmania relies mostly on hydroelectric power. As a result, Mackey explained, the state’s main cause of greenhouse gas emissions was logging in native forests. When old-growth forests were logged, massive amounts of carbon were released into the atmosphere.
The pattern is clear: First, the forest is razed. Then the cattle are moved in. If the Amazon is to die, it will be beef that kills it. And America will be an accomplice. Cattle ranching, responsible for the great majority of deforestation in the Amazon, is pushing the forest to the edge of what scientists warn could be a vast and irreversible dieback. Despite agreement that change is necessary to avert disaster, despite attempts at reform, despite the resources of Brazil’s federal government and powerful beef companies, the destruction continues. But the ongoing failure to protect the world’s largest rainforest from rapacious cattle ranching is no longer Brazil’s alone, a Washington Post investigation shows. It is now shared by the United States — and the American consumer. Since Washington lifted a moratorium over food safety concerns, the US has grown to become its second-biggest buyer.
