Chief Marvin Yahey
…This summer, a B.C. Supreme Court judgment agreed with Blueberry River’s 2015 claim that years of extensive industrial development in the region violated the Treaty 8 rights of the Blueberry River First Nations. The Court said the province failed to maintain the nation’s rights to hunt, fish and trap without interference. …the court said the cumulative impact of a series of projects limited the nation’s ability to maintain its rights. …”What’s left to be negotiated is how we deal with applications for development going into the future, land protection, land management in the future,” said Maegen Giltrow, a lawyer for the Blueberry River First Nations. …The outcome of talks with the province will be significant for Blueberry River First Nations and northeast B.C., but the case has also seized attention in other jurisdictions. …First Nations are examining what it could mean elsewhere, including to future development near Alberta’s massive oilsands.
The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) made a $10,000 commitment to support the Outland Youth Employment Program (OYEP) and its education and training program for Indigenous youth. OYEP’s new is available across Canada to OYEP participants and graduates year-round, and provides holistic and practical approaches to education, training & work opportunities that support and inspire youth to be the drivers of their personal and professional health and well-being – recognizing this path to socio-economic health is different for everyone. The program builds on OYEP’s current national network of land-based education, which provides work opportunities for high school aged Indigenous youth. The summer camps provide youth with work experience, training and education in a supportive space that replicates various work environments. “As Canada’s forest sector builds its talent pipeline of the future and its leaders of tomorrow, we see incredible potential in young people from Indigenous communities,” said Derek Nighbor, FPAC’s President and CEO.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.
We spent 2020 facing a worldwide pandemic – and were still able to continue our work as the pioneering force for responsible forest management. The 2020 annual report shines a light on the past year’s accomplishments. Covid-19 made it an incredibly challenging year… Despite the many changes to … how we work, we were able to grow, learn, and come together better than ever as one FSC. The 
For many years and more so in recent months, the BC Truck Loggers Association has called for a collective vision for forestry in our province. …Forestry has been at the forefront of media attention for the last several months in many areas of the province, including Nelson where a recent protest focused on old growth forests. While I can appreciate the passion of all involved, if we truly and collectively want the sector to prosper, there are solutions to address government and societies’ expectations of BC’s Forest management. However, this requires meaningful collaboration, decision-making that is informed by a true understanding of the issues, and the consequences affecting the livelihood of BC’s Forest workers and resource communities dependent on its success for their ongoing sustainability. …It’s time for a solution and a clear vision – but the BC government needs to lead the way through collaboration, not in isolation.
Delegates will be gathering this week for the first-ever virtual BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) conference, which has formerly been held in-person at various local venues in member communities throughout the province for the past 16 years. Over 100 delegates representing community forests, provincial and local government, First Nations, and other forest industry professionals will be participating in the event on October 21st and 22nd, which features informative speakers and important sessions pertinent to community forestry today. Delegates look forward to hearing from keynote speaker Honorable Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Katrine Conroy as she addresses the conference attendees on Day 2 and announces the 2020 and 2021 Robin Hood Memorial Awards for Excellence in Community Forestry. Additional sessions will include a comprehensive look at modernizing BC forestry policy, reconciliation and relationship building with First Nations, wildfire and fuel reduction, and climate change adaptation as it relates to community forests.
Campbell River, BC – Nanwakolas Council and Western Forest Products Inc. are pleased to announce the completion of a Letter of Understanding (LOU) to develop a Joint Planning and Reconciliation Protocol Agreement. Under this comprehensive agreement, the parties will work towards co-developing an Integrated Resource Management Plan (IMRP) and mutually beneficial business solutions in support of economic reconciliation. Through the IRMP process, the parties intend to work closely together to jointly develop a collaborative approach to sustainable forest management in the traditional territories of the member First Nations on central Vancouver Island. Based on the identification of common and shared interests, the parties will explore options for long-term business partnerships that continue to support local communities and advance BC-based sawmilling and value-added manufacturing. Through the protocol agreement, the parties may propose joint solutions to the BC government to advance reconciliation with Indigenous communities while advancing BC’s leadership in the sustainable management of forests.
The B.C. Prosecution Service has now approved 169 criminal contempt charges and three criminal-code charges against anti-logging protesters arrested at the Fairy Creek blockades. In July, the prosecution service agreed to review the arrests of more than 400 people for allegedly breaching a court-ordered injunction granted to Surrey-based forestry company Teal Jones. …The prosecution service said it has concluded there is a substantial likelihood of conviction for criminal contempt and a strong public interest in prosecuting criminally the alleged breach of the injunction. …On Monday, 121 people made their first appearance, either by phone or in person, before Justice Douglas Thompson in Duncan. …Those facing criminal contempt charges will appear in court again at 2 p.m. on Nov. 15 in Nanaimo to set dates for their hearings. The RCMP acts independently from the prosecution service. 
Re: Bob Brash’s letter that we need the facts on forestry. Yes Mr Brash, we do need the facts. It is true that there are about 13.2 million hectares of old growth forest in B.C. as defined by age. However, much of this old growth is comprised of small trees such as black spruce that have little value to the forestry industry. Importantly, there are only 380,000 hectares left of what the public generally views as old growth forest, i.e., forests with trees taller than 20 metres. And of these iconic old growth forests, there are only 35,000 hectares left with trees taller than 25 metres. These are the iconic old growth forests that impact the public imagination. All old growth forests are important for biodiversity: both the old growth that has little commercial value as well as the iconic tall tree old growth.
GUYSBOROUGH – The Forestry Innovation Transition Trust (FITT) – a $50 million fund focused on accelerating new opportunities within the Nova Scotia Forestry Sector to enhance environmental, social and economic values and adoption of new ecological forestry practices – announced last week the approval of two projects valued at more than $12 million. The Family Forest Network will receive more than $9.8 million for a multi-year project that will assist private woodlot owners in adopting and maintaining sustainable resource management practices through outreach, demonstration and research. The project will include a large-scale pilot of ecologically sensitive forest treatments in a wide range of woodlands across the province, with a special emphasis on restoring degraded stands to their natural diversity and productivity.
The U.S. Forest Service team, based on the Eldorado National Forest, fought the massive wildfire on their home turf while it directly affected many of their own families. …As “fire seasons” evolve into what fire officials dub “fire years,” however, and the pay scale and benefits for crews like [this one] not on par with those of other agencies, a bipartisan group of legislators wants to close that gap. …Among the key provisions of the bill would be an overhauled pay structure and benefits compensation package. Recent analysis of firefighter compensation shows the starting salary for a U.S. Forest Service firefighter is just about half of what an entry-level counterpart at Cal Fire makes. …if [the legislation is] passed, improved pay and benefits for fire crews may help in the recruitment of federal Forest Service employees and may also improve the service’s ability to keep those workers.
ARIZONA — Let it burn. Baby, let it burn. But, like, carefully. The Tonto National Forest has announced plans to burn 1,800 acres near Young in the coming months, perched on the edge of the White Mountain Apache Reservation. The series of prescribed burns over the winter will help restore the forest, protect Young, safeguard a vital power line and improve the watershed. Assuming the fire doesn’t get out of control and do something awful. Alas, that’s the dilemma facing the Forest Service now that a decades-long drought and a century of cattle grazing and fire suppression has ushered in the terrible new era of megafires. One study after another has demonstrated that prescribed fires — combined with small tree logging or mechanical thinning — offer the only narrow, rocky path back to a healthy, fire-adapted forest. 
Tree-planting schemes are common these days, and they’re touted as one of the best tools we have to combat climate change, species extinction, and other environmental crises. But natural regeneration — allowing forests to reestablish themselves — is increasingly being recognized as a more cost-effective strategy for meeting ambitious forest restoration targets. Natural regeneration can occur on its own, just by stepping back and letting trees grow. But sometimes it’s more effective to assist regeneration with measures such as putting up fences, removing weeds, and addressing the pressures that lead to logging and other disturbances. Recent research focuses on identifying the conditions necessary for natural regeneration to occur.