Category Archives: Forestry

Barriere resident Harley Wright has served as the president of the BC Community Forest Association, and is currently the chair of the Lower North Thompson Community Forest Society (LNTCFS). In a December 2021 interview Wright explained, “all community forests have a rural mantra of trying to protect their forests for long term sustainability for the benefit of their community.”  “Historically, the First Nations in particular, were the ones that helped us get a community forest [in the Lower North Thompson] in 2003 after the McLure Wildfire,” explained Wright. …He notes the First Nations operating a community forest have a community forest license, they also have a First Nations woodland licence, and may also have a wood lot as well. However, the provincial government’s regulations for First Nations’ community forests is not the same as other community forest licences – something they would like to change.

…Molly Hudson, director of sustainability, and Colin Koszman, land use forester of Mosaic Forest Management, appeared before Cumberland council in December to update the village on the company. “We’re always happy to talk about our activities,” Hudson said. “Our company is really based on the tenets of responsible stewardship.” The company operates on some Crown land and on a tree farm licence, as well as privately owned land, as is the case with Cumberland forests. Most of their operations take place in second- or third-generation forests. One of the longstanding issues in the Cumberland area, raised at previous council meetings, has been burning, though Hudson said the company is making progress by reducing the level of pile burning by about 10 per cent a year over the last few years. The province, she added, is moving toward having waste chipped rather than burned by the end of this decade.

The beginning of the end might be an appropriate perspective for some when considering the latest initiative to defer old-growth harvesting and the current state of BC’s forest industry. However, in reality, the beginning of the end might turn out to be a somewhat optimistic statement when we look at how far the environmental attack on BC’s forest industry has come and where it might be heading. …when the environmentalists ask why there has been job loss in the industry, one only needs to look at the downward trend in AAC caused by increased protectionism to understand why. …here we are in 2021 with 2.6 million hectares of old growth “temporarily deferred” from harvest as the government “negotiates” with stakeholders and contemplates “strategically coordinated and comprehensive supports to help forest workers”. …Environmentalists continue to locate the next last forest to support their ongoing fundraising protests. And the rural economies of BC continue to collapse. And the AAC goes down.

Robert Gray

The cold snap and high amounts of snowfall in B.C. may have long-term benefits for the province. Thursday saw 30 centimetres of snow in Metro Vancouver and 25 centimetres on Vancouver Island. …Experts say the accumulated snow could have positive effects. …Fire ecologist Robert Gray said the snow could lessen the impact of the 2022 wildfire season, but the persistence of the snowpack will have a bigger impact than the actual amount of snow. “…lingering snowpack … keeps the fuels moist,” he said. “Then it can start to shorten the fire season.” “But if it comes off very quickly in the spring, with most of the climate change models suggesting that we’re going to see quicker snowmelt in the spring, then it really doesn’t matter how much we get.” …he thinks the early arrival of cold weather in B.C. could help quell the impacts of a potential mountain pine beetle infestation.

In this newsletter:

• FESBC’s Winter Accomplishments Update
• FESBC and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundations presentations
• A Chinook Community Forest story in Logging & Sawmilling Journal
• A story from Vancouver Island to turn forest waste wood into sustainable materials
• A story from the Shuswap region to reduce wildfire risk 

FESBC helps government reduce greenhouse gas emissions and wildfire risk while generating green energy, enhancing fibre utilization, and building new economic opportunities for all British Columbians, including many Indigenous peoples and those living in rural communities. 

Access to Loon Lake, just outside of Port Alberni, will be closed as construction of a new campground begins. Mosaic Forest Management announced back in November a partnership with Hupacasath First Nation to build a campground at Loon Lake. The campground is expected to open in spring 2022 with 27 campsites. Jolleen Dick, an elected councillor for Hupacasath First Nation, said the nation has been building and maintaining a relationship with Mosaic “for a number of years.” This relationship was recently solidified by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that crystalizes the mutual commitment to work jointly on business, cultural and sustainability initiatives within Hupacasath territory. Although Mosaic will be managing the new campsite, Dick says that Hupacasath will still be involved.

The municipality will be removing what it considers to be fire hazards at the Brackendale Farmers’ Institute and the area around the Squamish Airport. With an aim to reduce potential fuel for flames, the District said … it will be removing woody debris and trees smaller than 12.5 centimetres in diameter; partially removing trees between 12.5 and 17 centimetres and “danger trees,” which may be larger than those specified. The District has contracted Spectrum Resource Group to do the work, which will take place between Jan. 5 through the end of March. … “Applying fuel treatments to forested areas in the community is one of the recommendations of the 2017 Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and we are pleased to have received provincial grant money to do this work,” said Mayor Karen Elliott … A professional forester will monitor the work, which will include environmental oversight …

The MV Sea Lion, the oldest wooden tug boat on the West Coast, played a significant role in the province’s forestry and maritime industries — and an infamous one in its social past. Now, all that’s left of the 116-year-old tug is a partial skeleton — its planks have been stripped away and salvageable parts stockpiled for museums by crews at the Canadian Maritime Engineering yard in Nanaimo. “…it’s with a heavy heart that I’m doing this project,” said Jim Drummond, project lead on the Sea Lion’s demolition. It was the first tug to pull massive Davis log rafts … some 500-feet long… The tug answered the call for spruce used in aircraft production during the First World War and for lumber during the Second World War. …In his book Against Wind and Weather: The History of Towboating in British Columbia, Ken Drushka called the Sea Lion “the classic log-towing boat.”

Coralee Oakes

The MLA for Cariboo North says there are a few things that she will be paying extra attention to heading into 2022. Coralee Oakes says one of those will be the changing policies around forestry that that the NDP has brought in.  “I delivered a number of speeches in the legislature about A. trying to educate Victoria around how integrated our business model when it comes to forestry and fibre supply utilization is here. And any level of disruption in any part of that business supply model can have some pretty significant consequences.” Oakes says she has also been talking with a lot of our indigenous and First Nations communities. “You know the 30 days to come back with comment on old growth deferrals just simply wasn’t long enough. You can’t expect to have significant types of changes without having accurate consultation with people.”

Dozens of resource roads in B.C.’s Fraser Valley are shut down as crews survey damage left behind by devastating rainfall and flooding, spelling trouble for parts of the province’s forestry sector. As many as 43 forest service roads (FSRs) in the Chilliwack Resource District, which covers large swaths of forest from Horseshoe Bay to east of Hope, have been damaged or lost altogether, cutting off mills from much-needed fibre and posing safety challenges for crews planning to reforest remote areas in the weeks ahead. …Mike Peters, Chilliwack resource district manager, says a number of local mills rely on fibre from forests in areas that have become inaccessible by the washout, leaving license holders scrambling to find logs in other areas. …”They’re doing surveys of the roads right now trying to find other tenure and other volume that they can go to to try and bridge the gap.”

I often wonder if I would have made a different decision when that life-changing phone call came—if had I only known what lay ahead of me? At a time when the forest industry was on a bustling trajectory of development, and foresters were in hot demand, one man embarks on the adventure of his life. Working in British Columbia in the late 70s and 80s carried with it far fewer rules and restrictions than exist today, allowing for creative working practices and many, many adventures. James Girvan shares personal stories from his time as a professional forester, weaving a rich tapestry of a vibrant and important Canadian industry. Readers from within the forest trade will be delighted to see their own experiences represented on the page, and curious outsiders will find their thirst for adventure whetted in Girvan’s exciting (and at times, unconventional) adventures. Partial proceeds from every book sold to be donated to the Truck Loggers Association Forestry Education Fund. 

Snuneymuxw Territory (Nanaimo, B.C.) – First Nations continue to call for an immediate reset to the process used by the province to engage with Nations on changes to modernize forest policy in BC. Letters sent from several First Nations to Minister Katrine Conroy, in December 2021, cite serious concerns with both the forest policy engagement topics and process. “Your government’s proposed timeline does not allow for meaningful and informed consultation required by provincial law,” Chief Councillor Brian Tate of the Ditidaht Nation tells Minister Conroy in his letter. “This behaviour is inconsistent with the Declaration Act, and not conducive to renewing the relationship between First Nations and the Province, which your government claims to be deeply committed to.” “As rights holders over our unceded territory, we are not stakeholders,” says Chief Keith Crow of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band in his letter to Minister Conroy. “Under DRIPA, the changes being proposed to forest legislation, policies and regulations require our prior, informed consent.”

The Winter 2022 edition of BC Forest Professional is now available online. Inside you’ll find:

Our Cover Story

• Seven Decades of Forest Genetics Research and Tree Improvement in BC By Alvin Yanchuk, PhD, RPF and Barry Jaquish, RPF(Ret)

Opinion

• Overcoming our Silence on Old Growth and Beyond By Cynthia Lu, MA, RPF, P.Ag
• Reducing Wildfire Damage to BC Forests By Murray Wilson, RPF

Features

• Mission Municipal Forest: Canada’s First Community Forest By Chris Gruenwald, RPF
• Connecting through Partnerships: Growing an Indigenous Forestry Workforce By Karen Sorensen and Charlene Higgins, PhD

The B.C. government says three quarters of the 204 Indigenous communities in the province are interested in its old-growth forest preservation project, but so far only one has moved ahead with its own resource management plan.  The Huu-ay-aht First Nation on Vancouver Island has been at the centre of progress and disputes over forest management. In 2021 it took over controlling interest in a major Island timber licence from Western Forest Products, and purchased an interest in one of Western’s sawmills.   Huu-ay-aht was also the first Indigenous community to sign on to Premier John Horgan and Forest Minister Katrine Conroy’s province-wide deferral program for endangered old-growth forests, after joining the Ditidaht and Pacheedaht First Nations in a declaration of sovereignty over their traditional territories in June.

The RCMP has spent nearly $9 million in about six months to enforce a court injunction in Fairy Creek against old-growth logging protesters blocking roads in Fairy Creek.  A breakdown of RCMP costs obtained through an access to information request shows the police force has spent just over $8.91 million on the old-growth logging protests up to Nov. 30.  At $6.22 million, personnel accounts for the majority of the total costs, with transportation and telecommunications in second at $1.68 million. The RCMP spent $826,525 on rentals and leases and $108,823 on utilities, materials and supplies.  …The amount spent by RCMP “pales in comparison” to the costs incurred by Teal Jones as a result of the protests, said ­Conrad Browne, director Indigenous partnerships and strategic relations, although he wouldn’t disclose exact figures on the financial damage to the company. 

Younes Alila

The compounding effects of climate change and logging are contributing to the degradation of Pacific salmon habitat, experts say, adding a reassessment of watershed logging and restoration practices will be key to helping struggling fish populations. Younes Alila, a professor in the department of forest resources management at the University of British Columbia, said decades of clear-cut logging across B.C. have disrupted the landscape’s natural mechanisms for mitigating floods and landslides. Such events along with heat waves, wildfires, drought and so-called atmospheric rivers of heavy rain are becoming more frequent and severe, which could have significant consequences for freshwater salmon habitat, Alila said. Before logging, the forest canopy helps to collect rainfall and shade snowpack, slowing down the springtime melt, Alila said. The trees also pump moisture out of the ground, increasing the soil’s capacity to absorb run-off, he said.

Bob Brash

2021 proved to be another year of uncertainty and anxiety for many British Columbians, as we experienced the ups and downs associated with the pandemic and catastrophic flooding events that significantly impacted many parts of the province. It was also a year marked by extreme wildfires and it’s important to acknowledge and thank workers and contractors who stepped up to help protect people and communities in the face of these extraordinary events. During the year, the BC government took a positive step by amending the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation. In doing so, they created transparency in contract negotiations and improved the dispute resolution process between forest tenure holders and the contractors they hire, including log harvesters, log haulers and road builders who have replaceable contracts. Unfortunately, other government actions set in motion an unprecedented level of uncertainty and concern among the thousands of hard-working men and women in our sector.

Harley Wright is voicing his concerns about the future of community forests in British Columbia. Wright is the chair of the Lower North Thompson Community Forest Society, and is the past president of the British Columbia Community Forest Association. In a recent interview with Black Press, Wright says he is concerned to see B.C.’s community forest organizations struggling in trying to show what the positive benefits are they are creating for their communities and for the land, as a result of their community forests. “That’s something that the provincial government hasn’t necessarily recognized,” said Wright, who says the provincial government is currently conducting a review of all of the community forests within B.C. …The review includes all of the community forests within the province, along with the Intentions Paper (which discusses the current intended direction of new legislation being considered)…

Sustained funding for ecosystem restoration in B.C.’s forests and waterways could reap billions of dollars in savings down the road. The systematic defunding of natural resource management has delivered exactly what you would expect: Some of the worst fire seasons in B.C.’s history have come in the past five years, along with two equally catastrophic flood seasons. The share of the provincial government’s budget dedicated to renewable natural resource management has shrunk by about 75 per cent over the past 30 years, with obvious consequences: People put out of their homes, more than one million farm animals killed, hundreds of people dead from smoke-related illness, and record low fish and wildlife populations. …While the provincial government committed to a watershed security fund and strategy before the last election, neither of those have been implemented. Projects that are desperately needed are simply fading away.

After a year marked by sweeping legislative changes and anti-logging protests and arrests on Vancouver Island, B.C.’s forest industry is bracing for big changes during 2022 in how the province’s vast Crown forest land is managed. After the 2020 B.C. election, Premier John Horgan and Forests Minister Katrine Conroy laid the groundwork for a revolution in forest management that includes transferring or buying out traditional forest harvest licences. The new model establishes 10-year landscape plans where the province resumes control of details like where roads are built, after Indigenous land title holders determine the extent of logging. Indigenous leaders with logging operations have clashed with mostly urban protesters over a simultaneous effort to defer logging of old-growth trees while landscape plans are being developed. …Professional forester Garry Merkel, a member of the Tahltan Nation in northwest B.C., is a key figure in the remake.