Category Archives: Forestry

Utilization of residual wood fibre by coastal pulp mills has reduced pile burning and greenhouse gas emissions from the forested areas near Hazelton in northwest British Columbia. The project was supported by a $484,164 grant from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC and will save approximately 42,000 cubic metres of pulp logs from being burned in the forest. That equates to approximately 1,050 truckloads of fibre not being burned and instead delivered to the point of sale in Kitimat. The pulp logs were purchased by All West Trading Limited and barged to coastal pulp mills to be used to make pulp, paper products, and green energy.

While weather conditions remain dry on Vancouver Island and the 2021 wildfire season is not yet over, Mosaic Forest Management is thanking the public for its help with wildfire prevention and reporting so far this summer. Prompt public reporting helps officials respond quickly to wildfires and has been a key part of rapid response to wildfires throughout BC this season. Early reporting by the public, along with Mosaic’s access to extensive firefighting resources, including air tankers, helicopters, water tenders, excavators and fire crews, helps ensure Mosaic can respond quickly, efficiently and safely to wildfires on its private forest lands. Mosaic thanks the public for the important role it has played this summer in reporting wildfires, observing burning restrictions, and respecting access closures on Mosaic forest lands.

The Fairy Creek blockades on southwest Vancouver Island have already become one of the biggest civil disobedience campaigns in Canadian history, measured by arrests. …At first glance it all looks terribly familiar. Once again, in almost exactly the same place, the clear-cutting of ancient irreplaceable trees on Indigenous turf sparks righteous public outrage. People from all walks of life arrive to jam the gears of industry with the only tool they have: their bodies. The state throws its support behind the loggers. A daily ritual of obstruction and arrest extends for weeks, then months. How much longer can it last? And how can it be that a second war in the woods has erupted, three decades after we thought we won the first one?

VICTORIA — The ongoing battle over old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island is heading back to court where a forest company will seek to extend an injunction order and the RCMP and protesters will face off over police powers. British Columbia Supreme Court is scheduled to hear four civil applications in Nanaimo connected to the yearlong dispute over logging in the Fairy Creek area. …Teal Cedar Products says in court documents it is seeking to have the injunction order extended by one year to Sept. 26, 2022. …The RCMP says it is asking the court to vary its injunction order to allow the Mounties to limit traffic and conduct searches in enforcement areas because of increased challenges from protesters. …“Protesters have… surrounded and trapped police officers on logging roads, disabled heavy equipment used to safely defeat obstacles and destroyed roads such that they risk collapsing,” the police application asserts.

…Mic Werstuik remembers helping his family steward their land by conducting traditional burns for agricultural purposes. …the West Bank First Nation man is still taking care of the lands, but now he’s doing so as a forester. Unlike most forestry companies however, the company he works for – Ntityix Resources – looks beyond the value of the lumber. …Ntityix Resources uses effective techniques to mitigate fuel in the forest, but none of them include prescribed burnings. Werstuik hopes that will change in the future, but he feels like there’s too much red tape in the way. …Werstuik believes that forest fires, when set occasionally, are a part of the natural environment, and by suppressing them for so many decades in British Columbia, “catastrophic fires” have become far more common. 

Phil Burton

A new paper that was featured in the journal Nature looked into how deadwood decomposition contributes to carbon dioxide emissions. An international team of researchers, including UNBC Ecosystem Science and Management Professor Dr. Phil Burton, placed 55 wood samples around the world, three in Northern BC, to determine the CO2 emissions from deadwood, and quantify the importance of bugs to the decomposition. “In the tropics, a tree falls in the forest and it will lose half of its mass within a year or two. Whereas up here in the boreal, sub-boreal, and even the temperate forests the half-life of wood may extend to something like 20 years,” said Burton. He said temperature and moisture play an essential role in how quickly a tree decomposes.

The Municipality of North Cowichan and the Quw’utsun Nation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the establishment of a Municipal Forest Reserve working group to share information in relation to the stewardship and use of the MFR for the benefit of the community. …The agreement signifies the commitment by both parties to continue meeting and discussing activities in the MFR. …Knowledge gained from First Nations consultation will help inform and guide the concurrent technical review of the MFR by the UBC Partnership Group and the public engagement process that will support the review. The outcome will include possible scenarios for council’s consideration on the future management of the MFR, which will then form the foundation and framework for a new long-term forest management plan for the municipality.

On Aug. 23, a group of people marched up the steps of Terrace RCMP in solidarity with protesters across B.C., condemning the actions of the RCMP at the Fairy Creek blockade on Vancouver Island. Multiple rallies were held across the province on Aug. 23, after videos of RCMP pepper-spraying protesters at the Fairy Creek blockade emerged on social media on Aug. 22. While hundreds of protesters gathered outside RCMP detachments in Burnaby and Victoria, the Terrace gathering consisted of a smaller crowd. ….“Right now the province is literally on fire. We are in climate crisis and the government continues to allow destruction of old growth forests,” said Hilary Lightening, of Matriarchs in Training.

The Alberta government has directed a forestry company to harvest old-growth trees in caribou habitat where the province has already spent millions and signed agreements to help the herds survive, environmental groups say. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Alberta Wilderness Association said Thursday that government maps show West Fraser Timber has been directed to clear-cut blocks that contain century-old trees next to a park in northwest Alberta… West Fraser said it’s following direction from the government. “We have been directed by government to operate in this specific area and away from other areas … The province’s direction to operate in these areas is intended as an interim measure to allow harvesting and protect jobs and caribou.”

Gina Thomas

It’s time to stop yelling at each other and start listening. That’s the message behind the first ever Art+Earth Festival Lecture, being held Sept. 19 at the Tidemark Theatre, entitled Falling Boundaries: New Perspectives on Old Growth Forests. With strong local historic ties to the forestry industry that continue today, the contentious subject of logging old-growth trees has lately been top-of-mind for many in our region. This night is a chance to hear from three presenters who take unique views of the current management of old growth trees on Vancouver Island and surrounding areas, offering some potential solutions to some of the competing interests involved. “It’s not a pro-logging or anti-logging discussion,” says Ken Blackburn, executive director of the Campbell River Arts Council…

There will be an increased presence of Tahltan guardians and B.C. conservation officers within Tahltan Territory this year, as the Province of British Columbia and the Tahltan Central Government work together toward co-operative wildlife stewardship and continue their shared commitments to further reconciliation. These joint efforts are to respect and support the Tahltan Nation’s ongoing work to improve wildlife populations, food security and community safety, while ensuring hunting access for licensed hunters visiting Tahltan Territory this hunting season. “Wildlife and wildlife management is critically important to the Tahltan way of life,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. “The B.C. and Tahltan governments are committed to working together on wildlife management for the benefit of the Tahltan and all British Columbians. This is part of the reconciliation path that we all walk together in support of prosperity for future generations.”

An internal email by the acting commanding officer for the B.C. RCMP says “he’s open to the oversight of an independent agency” after recent events at the Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island. In a memo to RCMP members obtained by Global News, Eric Stubbs said a group tried to block police access to roads in the watershed on Aug. 21. He said there was pushing and shoving and one officer suffered a concussion. Stubbs admitted pepper spray was used. Demonstrators have alleged police indiscriminately targeted peaceful protesters with pepper spray. Numerous complaints have been made to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. “I’m always open to the oversight of an independent agency that provides transparency needed in these sensitive and high profile events,” Stubbs said. He ended the memo saying criminality and violence have to be managed to ensure the safety of everyone.

The blockade — which could soon become the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, by number of arrests — is representative of the complex way environmental issues could play out in the federal election. “More and more people understanding that all of those issues that drive policing, racial justice, indigenous sovereignty, economic development are issues of climate justice, that they are threaded together,” said Grace Nosek, a Vancouver-based climate activist and PhD student. …It’s playing out in complex ways at the local level. …David Tindall, a sociology professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver who studies environmental protest movements, says it’s unlikely that Fairy Creek by itself will have a big impact on this year’s federal election — beyond the local level — but the issues it embodies will find their way into the voting booth. 

A company in Yellow Point is helping to re-seed forests in B.C. and as far away as Europe and Asia. Don Pigott, the owner of Yellow Point Propagation on Quennell Road, has worked in forestry for more than 50 years. He spent 13 years working for MacMillan Bloedel, one year of which was when he was ‘traded’ to the Norwegian government to assist with forestry there. In 1982 Pigott started his own forestry consulting company. Pigott collects seeds, especially seeds from coniferous and deciduous trees, as well as shrubs and wild flowers. His company collects the cones, as well as other types of seeds, from the trees, shrubs, etc., and then extracts, cleans, dries, tests, sorts and then bags them, and sells them in B.C. and internationally.

North Vancouver is in the throes of another Western Hemlock Looper Moth outbreak, but there’s no reason to panic — unless you’re a tree. Over the next few weeks, swarms of the moths are expected to descend on North Vancouver forests. During their larva stage, Western Hemlock Looper Moths feed on the foliage of western hemlock, western red cedar, douglas-fir and cypress trees. As the moths devour the foliage, it could look like the trees are dead, but many of the damaged trees will recover given the right conditions. The City of North Vancouver noted that they are in year three of their moth outbreak, which typically lasts four years and happens every 11 to 15 years. This year, trees will be under extra stress due to prolonged drought conditions and extreme heat in much of B.C. The best way to help distressed trees is by giving them lots of water.

A multi-pronged approach is being taken to better prepare the Bragg Creek/Redwood Meadows area for wildfire. Our extremely dry summer has served as a reminder of the imminent threat of wildfire to Bragg Creek, Redwood Meadows, and the surrounding area. With no significant fire in close to 100 years, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has identified the area as one of the most at-risk locations across the province for wildfire. Banff-Kananaskis MLA Miranda Rosin has been meeting with Alberta Agricultural and Forestry officials to discuss ways to better fire-proof the communities and is working closely with local officials to advance initiatives… She says there are fire-smart grants available and many individual property owners are utilizing them but there remains a risk of a massive fire like the one Fort McMurray faced in 2016.

Conrad Lindblom is retired, but many people in B.C. know him as ‘the goat guy.’ …Lindblom and his wife Donna spent two decades travelling across British Columbia with their herd of 400 goats, running Rocky Ridge Vegetation Control. They toured around in a motor home and would work for weeks doing “target grazing,” a tactic used to manage invasive plants and help with fire mitigation. …The idea started when he and his wife were horseback riding through a mountain range and came across a cut block that had been sprayed with a herbicide. “We thought there must be a better way of doing this.” …They were hired by logging companies, communities and cities to have their goats bite out invasive plants. …Goat vegetation control is an industry he wants to see continue.

Footage by Vernon-based videographer Francois Arseneault shows the fury of a forest fire. “This short video demonstrates the ferocity and speed of a forest fire. This is not a wildfire, but a carefully planned and controlled prescribed burn,” said Arseneault. Arseneault shot the video 10 years ago in the Spray Valley on the edge of Banff National Park from 2.2 km away. “The flames were at times some 100-180 feet in height, moving at a frightening speed,” he said of the massive blaze. “The scale and speed should be effective in demonstrating how dangerous this can be. Yes, this is prescribed burn, nevertheless, it’s an effective demonstration.” The controlled burn was done under the guidance and supervision of numerous professional wildfire management staff.

The massive 975-hectare controlled burn conducted on the White Rock Lake wildfire Monday was captured on video by the BC Wildfire Service. In the video, embedded above, fire crews can be seen dropping balls of accelerant from helicopters to start the burn, while ground crews also ignite areas using hand torches. By the afternoon, the fire had created a massive amount of smoke that could be seen from far and wide. The BC Wildfire Service says the area burned had more than 40 years of woody debris build-up.

A logging proposal has a conservation group worried about the potential impact on caribou habitat and endangered trout. West Fraser has submitted a Forest Harvest Plan Compartments Berland 3 and 16, which are areas in the northwest part of the Forest Management Area (FMA) between Hinton and Grande Cache. The operations … will harvest 54 cutblocks.  “As responsible resource managers, we follow government direction to ensure that our harvesting plans occur in approved areas are informed by science and reflect the many forest management values including caribou, wildlife habitat and water quality among others,” said Heather Colpitts, spokesperson for West Fraser. West Fraser has been directed by the government to operate in a specific area and away from the other areas within their FMA until the Berland Sub-Regional Taskforce completes its work on the caribou recovery. “Caribou recovery is a complex issue and their recovery and well-being touches each of us,” Colpitts said.