Category Archives: Forestry

VICTORIA — A Canadian Press story on Sept. 29 about a B.C. Supreme Court injunction quoted an environmental group as asserting that forestry company Teal Jones is “intent” on logging all the old-growth forest across a valley on southern Vancouver Island. The story left out comment from Teal Jones that said to date, most harvesting in the area of its Tree Farm Licence 46 is of second-growth logs, and that there are numerous protected areas covering old growth trees within the licence. It also says that most of the Fairy Creek area in southern Vancouver Island has been protected for years.

The environmental group Ecojustice has gone to the Federal Competition Bureau to challenge the B.C. forest industry over its use of the word “sustainable” to describe its products. Paul Johnson explains why the stakes are high for the industry.

For more than a century, Canadian wildfire suppression has stuck to the hit-it-hard-hit-it-fast motto — and has been highly effective in snuffing out the flames. The paradox, said Prof. Lori Daniels, who specializes in wildfire and forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, is that we’ve been so good at putting out every fire possible that it has led to overly dense forests and a buildup of burnable material like branches and dry vegetation… “If you want to cleanse the land, if you want to give back to the land, you burn it,” said Daniels. Low-intensity burns, also known as cultural burns, have been lit purposefully since time immemorial by Indigenous firekeepers around the globe to rebalance ecosystems. When woods are groomed this way by burns, Daniels said, the chances of a crown fire occurring in the hotter months decreases.

Mohandas Gandhi would be proud — civil disobedience won another round in B.C. Supreme Court and the rule of law was defined as much more than simply law enforcement. Justice Douglas Thompson’s refusal to extend a one-year injunction restricting protests against logging emphasized the impartial status of courts and civil rights are equally important societal values. …Injunctions are like papal bulls. There is no maximum sentence for contempt and no time off for good behaviour. Not surprisingly, after Clayoquot, one level of government or another, some resource company or Big Business used the technique to transform civil disobedience into contempt of court. It gave the rule of law a black eye. …These cases don’t involve a legal question, but questions of social policy. …The effect of Thompson’s judgment on other disputes remains to be seen in a province beset by rail stoppages, road blockades, pipeline protests, etc.

I write in response to the article “Community Forest set to log in Halfmoon Bay”, Sept. 17 where the Sunshine Coast Community Forests (SCCF) explains why it is necessary to clear-cut the endangered forest, HM 50 block near Trout Lake. I say “endangered” because there is less than one per cent of this ecosystem type left in its older phase in our landscape. The SCCF board chair also explained how a website improvement project limits their ability to share watershed and ecosystem assessment reports, and how proud they are of moving towards an Ecosystem Based Management model. Unfortunately, the SCCF’s land management strategies continue to involve the use of clear-cutting, which eradicates our last remaining ecosystems. …The SCCF has served enough of its mandate. Now is the time to leave all of our coastal carbon-sequestering low elevation forests intact to serve as the natural warehouses of biodiversity that they provide.

…a Supreme Court judge in British Columbia on Tuesday ended an injunction that, at its heart, aimed to protect Indigenous rights to log an old-growth forest. …In arguments before Justice Douglas Thompson, Teal Cedar Products Ltd. warned of “anarchy” at Fairy Creek. …the company’s lawyer described the activist campaign…as being the work of a well-funded band of troublemakers who pose a danger to employees and the RCMP. …The decision, which can be appealed, makes strange reading. In key paragraphs, Justice Thompson talks about the need to protect “the Court’s reputational capital.” …Even veteran activist Berman… was stunned by the decision. Stuart Muir said the “Mounties don’t come out looking great, which to me just means that the … Fairy Creek blockade succeeded in its intended purpose of daubing everyone in sight with their brush de merde” …The Fairy Creek blockade appears set to continue, a campaign that has greater ambitions than halting logging by Pacheedaht First Nation.

Treaty 6 Territory, SK — Pelican Lake First Nation, Witchekan Lake First Nation, and Tolko Industries Ltd. (Tolko) today announced the launch of Kitaskinaw Enterprises Ltd. (Kitaskinaw), which enhances the ability for Pelican Lake and Witchekan Lake First Nations to further their expertise as a logging contractor and develop future business opportunities in sustainable forestry. Kitaskinaw, meaning “our land” in Cree, affirms the importance of the tie to the land of the Pelican Lake and Witchekan Lake First Nations. Kitaskinaw will initially focus on the development of a logging company with long-term growth in harvesting, biomass, and silviculture. This includes training for Indigenous youth and women, both on-reserve and off-reserve, in both forestry and mill positions as well as other future business opportunities such as trucking. The Limited Partnership corporation is co-owned by Pelican Lake First Nation, by Witchekan Lake First Nation and by Tolko.

After a year standing in-between the logging industry and some of the province’s last intact old-growth forest, the Fairy Creek blockaders are celebrating a victory. On Tuesday the Supreme Court of B.C. ruled the logging company Teal-Jones would not be allowed to extend its injunction. …The ruling is precedent-setting, said Matthew Nefstead, one of the lawyers for the Rainforest Flying Squad. “I think it’s the best statement we have so far of the ways in which the public interest should be considered in determining whether to grant an injunction like this or not.” …While it’s still “an open question” what RCMP enforcement will look like without an injunction, Nefstead says it’s clear that the force’s power will be substantially more limited. “If they have to consider in each individual case, ‘What offenses is this person committing? And do we have enough evidence to convict them?’ then that becomes a different situation,” Nefstead said.

Hours after a B.C. court ruling lifted the injunction against old-growth logging blockades in Fairy Creek, the RCMP withdrew most of its officers, leaving protesters and loggers to continue their year-long battle alone. On Wednesday, Teal Cedar Products continued its logging and road-building efforts in Tree Farm Licence 46. …But for the first time since May, the company does not have a large contingent of police on the ground to clear the way. Members of the Rainforest Flying Squad vowed to remain in place until the B.C. government delivers on commitments to protect ancient forests. …The court’s ruling has left the B.C. government under renewed pressure to manage the old-growth logging dispute. In the last provincial election, Premier John Horgan promised a “paradigm shift” around old-growth logging. But that change remains mostly in limbo as the province consults with individual First Nations about how to proceed.

Happy National Forest Week everybody. After reading the paper yesterday it seems apparent that our forests are a thing to celebrate. Why we would reserve that for just one week a year mystifies me. …I do wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Horgan that the RCMP have better things to do such as addressing gang violence. Sadly, the interests they are serving and protecting in the case of forest protest is not the average person but the financial wellbeing of logging companies. …SO this week the CIF-IFC has trumpeted National Forest Week. This group is “the voice of forest practitioners representing foresters, forest technologists and technicians.” Funny, to me, is that they don’t even mention trees in their description. …So, let’s have a fun forest week but call it what it is, Happy Forest Harvesting Week.

Shortly before the Supreme Court of BC refused to extend an injunction against interfering with logging near Fairy Creek, Premier John Horgan defended the government’s approach. “The RCMP is not directed by government. The court issued an injunction, the court then directed the police to enforce the injunction, and that’s where we are today.” …Horgan placed the blame for the ongoing confrontation on people continuing to block logging in the area. …A few hours later, those land defenders were declaring a victory. And both BC Liberal and Green leaders were blaming Horgan and the government for the long, sometimes violent dispute. Interim BC Liberal Leader Shirley Bond said “He made promises that he didn’t keep.” …BC Green Party’s Sonia Furstenau said she was “relieved” by the decision.

The B.C. First Nations Forestry Council is about to start a two-year study to determine the role of mentorship in the attraction and retention of First Nations workers to the industry. The study, funded by the two senior levels of government, intends to identify current and future workforce opportunities, barriers, and solutions that will create a framework for a First Nations forestry mentorship program. “Passing on knowledge to the next generation is an important cultural practice within Indigenous communities,” said Chief Bill Williams, president of the Forestry Council. …The project will look at existing employment practices in the industry as a building block to establish a framework that will mirror First Nations’ practices. …The council has invited individuals from Indigenous communities, industry, and educational groups to take part in an online survey (surveymonkey.com/r/9DRHDCR) to contribute their perspectives on the meaning and role of mentorship.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) defined reconciliation as the process of “establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in this country.”  For reconciliation to happen in Canada the TRC said,“there has to be awareness of the past, an acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.” The BC Community Forest Association is committed to leadership for reconciliation through community forestry. We believe that individual efforts when combined with institutional efforts can lead to meaningful dialogue and improvement in the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Our goal is to encourage, foster and support community forest organizations to invest time, resources, and personal effort to build effective relationships and partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. …September 30th is a day to reflect. It’s a day to learn more about Indigenous history in Canada and in our communities. 

Logan Lake Community Forest (LLCF) day-to-day operations have been managed by Forsite Consultants since 2015. Forsite is responsible for planning, harvesting, silviculture, and other post-harvest activities of the Community Forest licence. Forsite is also involved in the expansion of recreational trails, First Nations engagement, and road rehabilitation. Forsite’s Randy Spyksma and Lindsay Hill talked about their decision to start using the Phoenix Connect Roads module to track road activities in LLCF. “Community Forests have a responsibility to manage the landbase proactively and sustainably.  Maintaining social licence is also a key part of what we do – we have a lot of stakeholders to report out to”, says Randy who leads the team. …“We see Phoenix Connect Roads as a valuable investment. Having all our roads information in one place, knowing that we are doing our due diligence on a regular basis, being able to generate reports easily –  made good business sense for us.”