Wildfires in the vast and pristine forests of Canada, Europe and the far Northern US could release an enormous amount of planet-warming emissions between now and 2050, putting the world’s climate goals in peril, scientists reported Wednesday. A study published in the journal Science Advances found that wildfires in the North American boreal forests — already increasing due to global warming — could spew nearly 12 gigatons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere over the next three decades. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 2.6 billion fossil fuel-powered cars. Carly Phillips, lead author of the study and a fellow with the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Western States Climate Team, said it’s a “cascade of consequences” brought on by the climate crisis. …Still, Phillips and her colleagues found the North American boreal forests disproportionately receive little funding for fire management efforts.
Better wildfire management in Canadian and Alaskan forests could offer a cost-effective way to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a new study says. Research published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday found wildfires in North American boreal forests could represent about three per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions under the Paris Climate Agreement’s budget to limit warming below 1.5 C. But enhanced fire management could avoid the release of up to 3.87 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050, it said. Carly Phillips, researcher-in-residence on the wildfire and carbon project at the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions at the University of Victoria and lead author of the study, said wildfires were a huge threat to climate change mitigation goals. …The amount of Canadian boreal forest that is burned each year could increase by between 36 per cent and 150 per cent by 2050, if mitigation levels were unchanged, the paper suggested.
The Manitoba government has announced $1.6 million to help upgrade the province’s water bomber fleet ahead of forest fire season. The money will be used in part to put new radios in three bombers to help connect to next-generation networks, while four other bombers will see new warning systems and corrosion protection installed. The province says it is also building a pair of 12-person bunkhouses at the Wekusko Falls base to help keep staff closer to where they’re needed. “Investing in our provincial water bomber fleet is essential as it plays an important role in our government’s climate resiliency strategy,” said Natural Resources and Northern Development Minister Scott Fielding.
Huu-ay-aht First Nations and C̕awak ʔqin Forestry are pleased to announce Honourable Minister Katrine Conroy as a keynote speaker at the Anacla Old Growth Summit on April 28, 2022. As the B.C. Minister of Forests, Katrine Conroy is responsible for the stewardship of provincial Crown land and ensures the sustainable management of forest, wildlife, water, and other land-based resources. The Ministry works with Indigenous and rural communities to strengthen and diversify their economies. Along with Minister Katrine Conroy, there will also be presentations from ‘Namgis First Nation, Skowkale First Nation, Huu-ay-aht First Nations and C̕awak ʔqin Forestry. …The summit is by invite only, but for those wishing to attend, a live stream has been set up for anyone to watch online.
VICTORIA – An audit of Gitxsan Forest Licence Inc. (GFLI) in the Skeena Stikine Natural Resource District found that the company met all requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act for planning and timber harvesting, as well as road construction and maintenance activities. However, GFLI did not meet reforestation requirements on a number of cutblocks that were harvested in 2004 and earlier by a previous owner of the forest licence. “Successfully reforesting harvested sites is a pillar of B.C.’s system of forest practices,” said Kevin Kriese, chair, Forest Practices Board. “Forestry licensees are required by law to achieve free-growing forests within a specified period and meeting this requirement is essential to maintain public confidence in B.C.’s forest management. “GFLI took over this tenure three years ago, and that transfer included the legal and financial obligation to achieve free growing on sites harvested by previous owners of the forest licence,” Kriese said.
VICTORIA, BC — David Eby, Attorney General, has announced proposed amendments to the Professional Governance Act [that] oversees five regulatory bodies that regulate six professions: the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC; the Association of BC Forest Professionals; the BC Institute of Agrologists; the College of Applied Biologists; and the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC. …The proposed amendments will: enable regulatory bodies to address non-compliance with administrative matters, such as continuing education requirements, outside of the discipline process; …enable requirements for professionals to declare they are competent to provide their services… and enable requirements for professionals to declare they are competent to provide their services and that they are free from any conflicts of interest. …These amendments will also allow for the Architectural Institute of BC to be brought under the act this year, and for more professions in the future.
Conservationists filed three lawsuits in federal court Wednesday to stop a proposed logging project on Pine Mountain in Ventura County, roughly 30 miles north of Ojai in Southern California. The U.S. Forest Service wants to “thin” 755 acres of land, mostly within Los Padres National Forest, to reduce wildfire risk. But seven environmental groups, the city of Ojai and Ventura County say the agency violated federal law — namely the National Environmental Policy Act — by using an expedited environmental review process. The project, said Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch, would “significantly transform the Pine Mountain area” by allowing “an unlimited number of trees to be cut.” A spokesman for the Forest Service declined to comment.
New UC Riverside research shows fungi and bacteria able to survive redwood tanoak forest megafires are microbial “cousins” that often increase in abundance after feeling the flames. Fires of unprecedented size and intensity, called megafires, are becoming increasingly common. In the West, climate change is causing rising temperatures and earlier snow melt, extending the dry season when forests are most vulnerable to burning. Though some ecosystems are adapted for less intense fires, little is known about how plants or their associated soil microbiomes respond to megafires, particularly in California’s charismatic redwood tanoak forests. “It’s not likely plants can recover from megafires without beneficial fungi that supply roots with nutrients, or bacteria that transform extra carbon and nitrogen in post-fire soil,” said Sydney Glassman, UCR mycologist and lead study author. “Understanding the microbes is key to any restoration effort.”
Unprecedented wildfires raged across Russia in 2021, burning vast swaths of forest, sending smoke as far as the North Pole and unleashing astounding amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Logging operations continued. Insect infestations wreaked havoc. The relentless expansion of agriculture, meanwhile, fueled the disappearance of critical tropical forests in Brazil and elsewhere at a rate of 10 soccer fields a minute. Around the globe, 2021 brought more devastating losses for the world’s forests, according to a satellite-based survey by the University of Maryland and Global Forest Watch. Earth saw more than 97,500 square miles of tree cover vanish last year, an area roughly the size of Oregon. …The latest findings include silver linings, however modest. The recent figures represent a 2 percent decline compared with losses in 2020, researchers said.
