Category Archives: Forestry

In June, the B.C. government released a forestry modernization plan which outlines a broad look on how to improve forestry policies. One of the main focuses in the plan is diversifying the forest sector and providing more support and opportunities for smaller communities and Indigenous communities through the redistribution of tenures, which in theory would benefit both the Burns Lake community forest as well as the Chinook community forest. However, according to Burns Lake Community Forest Manager Frank Varga, that may not be the case. “In my opinion, the current structure of the community forest agreement of area-based tenures held by communities in combination and collaboration with First Nation partnerships and ownership are a very effective tenure system.

Murray Wilson [How B.C. can start to break forest fire cycle, Sept. 15] omits the fundamental reasons for the Okanagan turning into a tinderbox. His prescription of “chainsaw medicine” to remedy the situation will only make matters worse. …Scientists Meg Krawchuk and Steve Cumming tell us that fire ignition by lightning is more likely to occur in a clearcut than it would in the forest the clearcut replaced. …The forest industry would have us increase the rate of clearcutting …under its fear-mongering mantra of “cut it down or let it burn.” …So industrial forestry is feeding a deadly cycle: clearcut logging worsens wildfire, which in turn worsens global warming, which intensifies wildfire.

The Association of BC Forest Professionals has prepared a new brochure, Introduction to the ABCFP, with information about the ABCFP, the practice of professional forestry, and how to become a forest professional. We’ve shared this new brochure with First Nations in BC as a way to encourage dialogue about the practice of professional forestry. In the course of your professional work, you may have opportunities to talk with First Nations and Indigenous communities about the ABCFP and your work as a forest professional. You may find the information in the brochure helpful and we encourage you to read and share the brochure widely.

Some other resources available on the ABCFP website:

• information about the practice of professional forestry in British Columbia,
• an overview video about forest professionals and what they do,
• the ABCFP’s Working with Indigenous Communities e-course, and
• educational resources for youth considering a career in professional forestry.

Larry Pynn

Regarding the article: “More balanced approach is needed in forestry discussions, advocate tells council.” This article is based on a presentation to North Cowichan council by industry lobbyist Stewart Muir of Resource Works. Muir addressed the topic of logging generally in B.C. and did not present specifically on the 5,000-hectare municipal forest reserve. …Manhas voted in favour of the consultation process and should keep an open mind on the future of the forest reserve until the process is concluded rather than using his position to champion yet more industrial logging of our backyard. He insults the electorate by making up his mind long before the process is concluded. …That article revealed that Muir wrote Manhas’s motion asking Muir to speak before council. Manhas said in an email to Muir: “If you agree please send me a motion that would do Justice to your organization and the sane people of North Cowichan.”

Did you know that young trees are a better carbon sink than mature old growth trees? An interesting read is found in “Forestry in BC, setting the record straight” [Report by industry lobby Resource Works]. It negates many of the claims made by protesters. Many of these same protestors fly all over the world professing their claims. How good for the environment is that? They have become an industry that is very lucrative and spreads much false information. Stop logging and: import lumber and furniture from countries with less stringent environmental practices; harm mills; harm local business; harm economy; harm your children’s future. …Yes we need to protect Mother Earth but we need to do the lesser evil until such time as we have better solutions. …Canada has stringent environmental regulations. We are a resource based economy …If you agree with what I have to say, please speak up and voice your comments too. 

Devin Dreeshen

National Forest Week celebrates 101 years of commemorating Canada’s forests from September 19-25, 2021. For Alberta’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Devin Dreeshen, celebrating Canada’s boreal forests fills him with a sense of pride, not just for the sheer beauty of the landscape or recreational aspects forests offer but also for the huge part they play in the economy. For him, the week is an opportunity to highlight the importance of the industry and the tens of thousands of jobs it supports, not only across the country but throughout the province of Alberta. …”To me, it’s a really exciting industry, and it has tremendous growth potential as a renewable resource in the province. …When you compare it to other places around the world, we have the best forest sector here, and Albertans really should take pride in it,” said Dreeshen.

Mission, BC – The City of Mission forestry department is launching a new book during National Forestry Week to celebrate over 60 years of managing a municipal forest. “The Tree Farm – the Evolution of Canada’s First Community Forest”, captures the history of Mission’s Tree Farm Licence #26, guiding readers through the 10,000-hectare diverse eco-system, highlighting the importance of the area to First Nation Communities, the province, and Mission community. The event takes place on Friday, September 24 at 7:00 pm at Steelhead Hall and is in partnership with the Mission Folk Music Festival, which has a new event series, Folk and Words, which partners musical artists with authors in performance spaces. The evening will include book readings from author Michelle Rhodes and music from third-generation logger John Gogo.

B.C.’s 2021 wildfire season has burned an area of 8,680 square kilometres, third highest on record but only 61 per cent of the all-time high three years ago. Total area burned in 2018 was 13,542 square kilometres, passing the previous record of 12,160 square kilometres set in 2017. …This year’s wildfire area is more than twice the 10-year average, according to B.C. Wildfire Service statistics up to Sept. 21. More than half of it was in the Kamloops fire district, with the Cariboo and Prince George regions second and third in area affected. Premier Horgan said three severe forest fire seasons in the past five years have convinced him the provincial government has to shift its budget priorities to do more before summer fires get out of control. …B.C.’s spending on wildfire control passed $500 million by September this year, approaching the 2017 total of $649 million and the 2018 expenditure of $615 million.

Richmond, BC – Paper Excellence commends the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program decision to accept the Howe Sound Biosphere Region into its family of Biosphere Reserves. …UNESCO Biosphere Regions are learning places for sustainable development. They are sites for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems. …Graham Kissack, Paper Excellence’s VP of Environment, Health, Safety and Communications commented that, “This is an important project that recognizes the ecological uniqueness of Howe Sound. We have been operating in and working hard to protect this area for many decades now and we’re proud of our state-of-the-art emissions controls equipment and our facility’s salmon hatchery. We look forward to building new partnerships as Howe Sound becomes a learning place for sustainable development.”

Tek Manhas

There is a crisis of understanding about the forest industry in B.C., according to Stewart Muir.  Muir is a two-term director of the Nature Trust of B.C. and the executive director of Resource Works, an organization that “communicates with British Columbians about the importance of the resource sectors to their personal well-being”, according to their website.  Coun. Tek Manhas invited Muir to speak to council and said he wanted to ensure that council and the public were being presented with a balanced approach towards forestry.  He said he feels that almost all the information that has been presented to council so far during the ongoing review of North Cowichan’s 5,000 hectare municipal forest reserve has been one-sided against logging it.  ….He said in North Cowichan, along with a lot of the rest of the province, forestry is a valuable presence.

Ben Strelkov’s decision to join the University of Alberta’s forestry program after high school graduation is bound to be music to the ears of Alberta’s forest industry. According to the Alberta Forest Products Association, the sector creates jobs for more than 40,000 people in the province, directly or indirectly. But more than a quarter of those working directly in the industry are within 10 years of retirement age — well above the provincial average. In short, Alberta needs thousands of foresters in the next decade. …Last year, several factors led the faculty to reimagine the school, which is required for graduation, said Ellen Macdonald, a field school instructor and past chair of the Department of Renewable Resources. …Field school now consists of 10 one-day field trips — a more cost-effective option that still teaches students the field skills they need to graduate and builds strong social connections among classmates.

In British Columbia, there are local people throughout the province taking action on climate change through their work in forestry. A new video released by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC)  highlights the nature-based forestry solutions people within the forestry sector are implementing to take action on climate change… Another solution is planting trees, a collaborative program with the Office of the Chief Forester which saw a significant number of trees planted throughout the province. “If we want to achieve the global goal of becoming carbon neutral, forests must be a part of the equation,” said Steve Kozuki, RPF, Executive Director of FESBC. “…the hard-working women and men in British Columbia’s forest sector are climate change heroes.”

NANAIMO — A BC Supreme Court judge suggested Thursday he will consider new options to address the future of an injunction against blockades by people opposed to logging old-growth trees. Justice Douglas Thompson expressed concern about the situation that’s unfolding in the Fairy Creek area  after hearing from lawyers representing protesters and the RCMP. …“Perhaps, the only thing everybody agrees upon right now is what’s being done is not working,” said Thompson, who instructed lawyers to come to court Friday prepared to discuss the structure of the injunction. He said… his ruling will come after Sept. 26. …A lawyer for the Mounties said police are being tasked with enforcing a court injunction under increasingly difficult circumstances. …Lawyer Elizabeth Strain showed the court videos and photographs of police allegedly unsafely removing protesters from trees and ditches. Thompson told Strain the videos “rankled” him because the protesters appear to be employing tactics to make enforcement of the injunction more difficult. 

The BC Supreme Court heard Thursday from lawyers who say peaceful protesters with concerns about protecting old-growth trees from logging on South Vancouver Island are being treated like terrorists by the police. …Teal Cedar lawyer Dean Dalke told the court Tuesday the blockades are impeding the company’s legal rights to harvest timber and alleged the protesters’ actions pose dangers to employees and the RCMP. …Nanaimo lawyer Elizabeth Strain argued that police were intentionally terrorizing protesters. “There are [people] who’ve put themselves in terribly dangerous situations … because they are terrified for their future,” she said, “and they’re being met with militarized, aggressive force.” …Donnaree Nygard, an Attorney General of Canada lawyer, on behalf of the RCMP, said the police are, on the whole, acting lawfully to enforce the injunction. …She said “it’s not surprising that … with that size [and] numbers of arrests … there will be errors in judgment made by the RCMP.

According to a survey commissioned by the National Police Federation, the vast majority of British Columbians support RCMP enforcement of the BC Supreme Court injunction in the Fairy Creek watershed, but numbers are split when it comes to supporting civil disobedience to stop old-growth logging. Pollara surveyed 800 randomly selected British Columbians … and 82 per cent said they agree with the statement that “the police have a duty to enforce Supreme Court injunctions.” …Numbers are split with regard to the justification that civil disobedience is justified to stop old-growth logging, with 43 per cent in agreement and 42 per cent opposed. …“Our members have maintained their professionalism and composure against a steadily increasing barrage of verbal taunts, racial slurs…” said National Police Federation president Brian Sauvé.. “Protesters … have also undertaken a campaign of online and personal stalking and harassment of individual officers for which the NPF is considering legal action.”