Category Archives: Forestry

Mayors in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) are calling for backup as their resources and volunteers are exhausted. Volunteer firefighters, paid firefighters and emergency personnel have been working for more than a month straight to fight large wildfires raging in the region, according to Merlin Blackwell, the mayor of Clearwater.  “It’s a scary situation going on out there in our region and definitely in the central part of B.C. … We need a break. We need some extra boots on the ground for the times when we have to ramp up and to give some of these human beings a break from the volunteering and paid jobs they have been doing for basically six weeks at full speed,” Blackwell says. The Clearwater mayor is asking for assistance from anyone, but ideally, the Canadian military. 

The B.C. forestry sector has been fighting wildfires since early July, according to both industry and the BC Wildfire Service, despite what a leaked document circulating online suggests… At the meeting, BCWS discussed with forestry companies that there were no additional resources available in neighbouring jurisdictions due to severe fire seasons elsewhere, so industry help was needed. What isn’t mentioned in the meeting minutes — which have sparked outrage among those who allege bureaucracy is strangling the wildfire service — is forestry companies had already been actively fighting fires for at least a week at that time. BCWS director of fire centre operations Rob Schweitzer… says he told industry at the meeting that provincial resources would be focused on protecting communities and infrastructure, and B.C. could use help fighting backcountry blazes impacting timber.

RCMP arrested another 49 people as officers continued to enforce a BC Supreme Court injunction order in the Fairy Creek Watershed area on Wednesday. Police say protesters continued to use locking or tripod-like devices and deep trenches to block access to the area. In a release, the Mounties say officers were also met with a large group of demonstrators who refused to leave the area, resulting in their arrests. Of the 49 people charged, 45 face counts of contempt of court, three for obstruction, and one for assaulting a police officer. RCMP say since enforcement of the court injunction began in May, 690 people have been charged, at least 56 of whom were previously arrested for a combined total of 133 times.

Todd Nessman

As B.C.’s 2021 wildfire season continues … the wildfire service said Thursday it is concerned about the exhausting conditions that crews are facing. “Fatigue is something we have concern with,” said Todd Nessman with the BC Wildfire Service. “We’re starting to see more safety concerns come forward. Slips, trips, falls, that kind of thing.” There are currently more than 3,800 wildfire personnel involved in fighting the fires around B.C. “It’s a hard season, I’m not going to lie, it’s difficult,” Nessman said. “Folks are doing a good job getting through it and thankfully, everyone is getting through it as best they can.” …As the season is expected to last into September, Nessman said they are also aware they will be losing numbers. “We will be looking closely at our numbers as we get closer to our fall drop-off with our firefighters going back to school and post-secondary institutions,” he said.

After helping more than 1,000 forestry workers transition to retirement, the Bridging to Retirement Program is coming to a close. The job placement program will continue to support affected forestry workers through an online platform and three Interior offices. Initiated in 2019, the Bridging to Retirement Program has been a high-demand, crucial support for displaced forestry workers in the Interior and Coast regions. The program has enabled employers to engage with their workers to support early retirement, while creating jobs for younger workers. …For several years, the Interior forest industry has been hard hit by wildfires and the mountain pine beetle. The Province’s actions, combined with rising lumber prices and an increasing global demand for softwood and pulp products, are contributing to the industry’s recovery. Over the past year, 41 closed or curtailed mills have resumed operations, bringing almost 7,500 people back to work.

Karen Deck

Roughly four dozen residents attended a meeting of the Save Our Holmes Society Sunday at Yount School on Sunday afternoon. The goal: to raise awareness and mobilize to let Mosaic Forest Management know the community wants them not to disturb the 28 watersheds, the fish and wildlife habitats and the steep slopes of Mounts Holmes and Good. Save Our Holmes Society president Karen Deck was pleased with the turnout. …“The wide range of attendees at our meeting was very encouraging, because it demonstrated that the community is not as divided on the issue of logging the steep slopes of our neighbourhood forest as we had assumed. There was definitely an energy there that I hadn’t seen since the Open Houses hosted by TimberWest when they first announced their logging plans.”

Re: “BC’s Forests Deserve Facts Not Fabrications,”Aug. 17. The Vancouver Island I explored as a kid is a comparative moonscape today. As a senior resident, I have watched the management and governance of our public forests deteriorate without regard for the public interest in the conservation and protection of the land… and now, even more concerning, the air we breathe. Unfortunately, Bob Brash’s commentary is woefully deficient in facts and does nothing to instil my confidence in a forest industry that Gordon Campbell’s government deregulated in 2000. …Given the task of the Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel to identify and delineate areas of old-growth forest within rich ecosystems important for the survival of biodiversity — a task best suited to scientists, which comprise the majority of the panel — it is very reassuring that the government had the good sense not to include representatives from the forest industry.

James Steidle

After a two-year pause, Canfor has begun aerial herbicide near Prince George, claims the group Stop the Spray BC. They claim spray camp has been set up on the Pass Lake Road, complete with two helicopters. “The goal is to poison deciduous trees like aspen, birch, cottonwood, along with all other vegetation to provide conifer seedlings with, in theory, unimpeded growth,” said James Steidle of Stop the Spray BC, in a statement.  “However, research has shown the forest needs the competition not only for forest health but for fire-resistance. The program is designed to take out the most fire-resistant species, like aspen and birch, to grow the most fire-prone species, namely spruce and pine.” He claims the plan is to use VisionMax, a glyphosate-based formulation.

A notice to proceed has been issued for the transfer of a forest tenure in the Fort Nelson Timber Supply area from Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor) to Peak Fort Nelson Properties Ltd. Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, approved the transfer of Replaceable Forest Licence A17007 from Canfor to Peak Fort Nelson Properties Ltd. The licence has an allowable annual cut of 553,716 cubic metres. The transfer follows comprehensive engagement and considered input from the public, local governments and Indigenous Nations. It is supported by Fort Nelson First Nation, which has been working with Peak Fort Nelson Properties Ltd. to institute a land management framework that will guide operations under the licence. The tenure transfer positions Peak Renewables to continue pursuing the commissioning of a wood-pellet facility in Fort Nelson in partnership with the Fort Nelson First Nation.

Tŝilhqot’in, Lake Babine & Carrier Sekani Territories: On July 6, 2021, British Columbia wrote to First Nations across the Province outlining its plans for Indigenous engagement to move forward with a new initiative called Modernizing Forest Policy, building off of a similarly titled Forestry Intentions Paper released by Minister Conroy in June 2021. Our Nations call on the Province to significantly rethink and revise the Forestry Intentions Paper content that is intended to address Crown Indigenous reconciliation, and commit to a process to co-draft a revised version of the Paper with our Nations, other interested First Nations, and the First Nations Forestry Council. The revised version of the Paper must set out how forestry laws and policies will be changed to address our Aboriginal title and rights in a manner consistent with the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the “Declaration”) and BC’s own Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (“DRIPA”).

Additional coverage in the Prince George Citizen: B.C. First Nations calling for revisions to province’s Forestry Intentions Paper

A coalition of coastal First Nations has achieved a significant step towards protecting the wild shores and waters of the Great Bear Rainforest on B.C’s central coast. The Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv nations signed an agreement with Ottawa and the province of B.C. to do a feasibility study for a national marine conservation area reserve encompassing a significant section of the coast and offshore marine waters alongside the Great Bear Rainforest. …A significant number of important cultural and spiritual sites, such as petroglyphs, burial boxes, and village sites … are in the proposed conservation study area. One of the largest tracts of temperate rainforest in the world, the Great Bear Rainforest is the size of Ireland and covers 6.4 million hectares… The proposed marine conservation reserve area in the Queen Charlotte Sound region would be wed to the shores of the Great Bear Rainforest. 

The RCMP have now made more than 630 arrests related to blockages set up to protest the logging of old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island, including 56 people who have previously been arrested a combined total of 131 times. The Mounties say 462 people have been arrested for breaching a court-ordered injunction against blockades around the Fairy Creek watershed near Port Renfrew, while the remainder have been for obstruction, mischief and other offenses… The BC government has approved the deferral of old-growth logging across about two-thousand hectares of forest in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas for two years, but the protesters who’ve maintained blockades since last August have said all old-growth logging should stop immediately.

Extinction Rebellion West Kootenay once again expressed its concerns over old growth logging, targeting the office of Nelson-Creston MLA Brittny Anderson. Saturday a collection of Kootenay residents fed up with the NDP’s “talk and log” policy congregated in front of MLA Anderson’s office. The group… expressed powerful sentiments, as many protesters have been demanding the same changes for months, some years, some decades. Many people had been to the Fairy Creek blockades, including the Extinction Rebellion youth organizers who were arrested there. Many “lifelong New Democrat supporters” voiced that they will no longer be voting for the party due to their lies and inaction when it comes to the intensely destructive industry of old growth logging. …“As a youth facing a future of larger fires than ever before … standing up for these forests is a social obligation,” said Miguel, 16, arrested while protesting at the Fairy Creek Blockade last month.

Interior politicians are slamming the BC government’s wildfire response after a document surfaced suggesting the province knew it didn’t have enough staff for the challenging season ahead. However, the province is hitting back and arguing claims it is leaving resources on the table are false. The document was written by a forestry organization and details a meeting between the BC Wildfire Service and the forestry industry in mid-July. The meeting minutes say there was a call for the “forestry industry to fight fires independently,” as the BC Wildfire Service “does not have enough staff.” … The chair of the Thompson Nicola Regional District, [Ken Gillis says] …  I get emails daily from private fire-fighting companies from Alberta and Saskatchewan saying, ‘Look, we’ve got all this equipment. We’ve got a thousand people available…’ They are not being utilized by BC Wildfire,” … [T]he province categorically denies it is not using all available resources. 

A woman from Lytton, B.C., has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the town’s residents, claiming two railway companies “caused or contributed” to a wildfire that burned down the village. In a notice of civil claim filed today (Aug. 18) in a BC Supreme Court, Carel Moiseiwitsch claims the fire was caused by heat and/or sparks from a freight train owned by CP Rail but operated by CN employees on CN tracks. “The Lytton Fire was not caused by the Forest Fire or the Boston Bar Fire or a lightning strike,” claims the court document. …The lawsuit says trains have been starting fires in Canada and B.C. for 140 years… CN and CP have 21 days to respond to the lawsuit. None of the claims have been proven in court. 

CLEARWATER, BC — Frustrated a federal election call comes during a devastating wildfire season in B.C., one mayor has a message for candidates —  including Justin Trudeau — thinking of hitting the campaign trail in the Interior: don’t come if you’re not going to help. The Prime Minister arrived at Rideau Hall on Sunday morning to kickstart a 36-day campaign that will culminate with a vote on September 20. That announcement came as the wildfires raging in the B.C. Interior closed a major highway, and amid a growing number of evacuation orders and alerts. More than 766,000 hectares have already been scorched in the province, and while there is some rain in the forecast that brings worries of lightning-caused fires alongside hope for some relief. Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell says people in this province are exhausted, anxious, and overwhelmed, and that what’s needed right now is federal aid and not a federal election.

Mike Morris

Prince George-Mackenzie MLA, Mike Morris says he is seeing a lot of BC residents… share concerns on social media about the province’s response to the 2021 wildfire season. He says he’s been pushing the provincial government to utilize companies such as Safeguard, a mass water delivery system that uses a water pump to put up water walls that can measure up to several kilometres long. “…people living in Merritt are anxious about CKPG: their communities getting engulfed in flames,” Morris explained. He says Safeguard can be used in communities located near a substantial water source and could’ve helped mitigate the fire that tore through Monte Lake. …“The province should be utilizing every tool in the box,” Morris said.

Additional coverage in CKPG: Why doesn’t the government use these guys?

The Chinook Community Forest (CCF) recently held their annual open house. The CCF an equal partnership between six the First Nations and two municipal governments created in 2016 to ensure the timber logging needs of Burns Lake. According to General Manager Ken Nielsen, 2021 has been a positive year to date. Nielsen said, weather dependent, the company hopes to log over 100,000 cubic metres of timber by the end of this year. According to Nielsen, the CCF’s financial return to its shareholders was high this year as well. “This fiscal year, we paid back $1,000,100.00,” he said. …They’ve applied for a new annual allowable cut permit which should be determined by October, though Nielsen believes it will go down from last year’s. …The CCF will also continue work on their Forest for Tomorrow program, which addresses various forest health issues. 

A test project is underway in a 720-hectare area east of the Babine Mountains to increase the moose population by providing an ongoing supply of forage. Workers have been partially cutting through quantities of Scouler’s willow in a technique called hinging whereby saws are used to cut halfway through a tree trunk. The tree is then pushed over to provide cover and forage. Animals then have forage readily available and the technique also encourages stump and tree sprouting so as to provide an ongoing supply. The $107,847 project is being financed by the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. and the Habitat Conservation Trust through the Bulkley Valley Rod and Gun Club.

North Island College’s Coastal Log Scaling program is returning in October with a new part-time option. The eight-month program will be delivered in a blended format, combining online learning with in-person classroom and fieldwork instruction in the Nanaimo region. …Bob Haugen, NIC Continuing Education manager, said, “the central location means this training is more accessible to more students, which is very important.” …“Log scalers play a vital role in B.C.’s forest industry, measuring and categorizing logs by species and grade to determine their volume and value with the B.C. metric scale,” says a release from NIC. …“Log scalers categorize and assess the logs coming out of the woods to ensure our forest resources are used the best way they can be,” said program instructor Scott McKillop. “It’s a key part of the forest industry and very rewarding work.”

A group of about 50 individuals gathered at the Ministry of Forest offices in Prince George today demanding that this year’s herbicide spray maps be made public. The group wants to know where and when Canfor will be spraying glyphosate, a herbicide and the main ingredient in round-up, which is used to curb competition for young coniferous trees. “We want to be told where the spraying is going to happen,” said James Steidle, spokesperson for Stop the Spray BC. …They state 3000 hectares of cutblocks will be getting aerial sprayed with glyphosate weedkiller within the next month. Current policy is to not inform the public of which cutblocks will be getting sprayed or when. There is no legal requirement to do so.

Sally Aitken

As the northern hemisphere experiences earlier, hotter, drier summers and heavier precipitation in the winters, due to global warming, natural selection should eventually result in trees naturally adapting to changing climatic conditions. …Scientists and foresters in B.C. are already beginning to give them a gentle nudge through assisted migration – one of the topics this morning at the University of BC’s ongoing three-day Commonwealth Forestry Conference. …To date, the climate based seed transfer program in B.C. has been optional, but will become mandatory next year, said Sally Aitken, a forestry scientist at UBC. …But assisted migration is a delicate balancing act. Forestry scientists are recommending that only one-quarter to one-third of rotations should be targeted. “If we move trees too far, too fast from warmer to colder environments, we risk cold injury,” Aitken said. “If we don’t move them at all, we risk maladaptation for other reasons.”

The continuing drought, plus an infestation of looper insects, are killing hemlock trees throughout Stanley Park, according to the supervisor of urban forestry for the City of Vancouver. Joe McLeod said the region is currently in the second or third year of a looper infestation cycle that can quickly collapse. Looper larvae feed voraciously on the needles of hemlock. They also target other conifers such as Douglas fir and Western red cedar. Defoliation of new and old growth by looper larvae can kill a hemlock tree in a year. McLeod said the dry, hot summer is also putting stress on the trees in Stanley Park and throughout the city. …The city, he said, is looking to commission a fire risk assessment of Stanley Park, and other urban forests Vancouver parks. He said Stanley Park remains closed nightly due to the high fire risk. He doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.

Make no mistake about it, this is war. The forest fire situation in this province is nothing short of any other description except for war. For years, various governments have down-played the reasoning for having a comprehensive quick-response system for defending our communities and forests from these now-inevitable fires. During the Cold War, our governments had no problem staffing and maintaining …a handful of obsolete fighter planes to escort the occasional Russian Bear bomber away from our airspace. Billions spent. Now, our government again wants to spend billions on already-obsolete F35 fighter planes. For what? Water bombers certainly are not as “glamourous” as fighter planes, but that is what we need now. So does the rest of the world. We in Canada have a golden opportunity to build and sell the excellent CL 215-415 Series water bombers. …Losing the Martin Mars bombers is a lesson in procrastination and stupidity. 

Wildfire season is taking its toll on British Columbia’s forests, and we’re not out of the woods yet. As of the end of July, over 3000 firefighters were battling 277 wildfires in the province. The blazes have already claimed 340,000 hectares of forest, with no signs of slowing down. BC’s woodlots have also suffered substantial losses. While it is difficult to assess wildfire damage while they are burning, the current best estimate (as of August 4, 2021) is 13 Woodlot Licences and approximately 5,000 hectares have been impacted. Post wildfires, there will be much work to salvage any timber and rehabilitate the burned areas. Replanting has always been a priority for woodlot licensees – they’re required to restock cutblocks so that the forest returns to its original state quickly – but it will be a bigger task over the next few years. …Finding seedlings will be a challenge…this year’s seed crop is falling victim to the fires, as well.

Mike Gogo

Being part of a fifth generation of independent loggers on Vancouver Island I was an advisor to the Western Canada Wilderness Committee and pointed out what I thought was right and what I considered wrong with their efforts. …I donated all of the lumber when they attempted to save Carmanah Valley by building trails so the public could see for themselves what was there. …It is now a park containing the tallest spruce trees in the world. …Yes there are sufficient parks and a lot of the old-growth is over-mature and should be harvested and re-forested as young trees are much better at cleaning the air than the old ones – they are the young lungs of the forest. …What is needed is for the Ministry of Forests to create more woodlot licences (a mixture of private and Crown land) because they are better-managed and the community is provided with building material and the money stays in the community.

Shannon and Tyler van Goor’s company, T-Van Contracting, was doing road work when Old Growth Revylution’s blockade went up at the beginning of July. …“It ended up costing our small business around $11,000 to take our equipment out and to park it”. …Nick Arkle, CEO of Gorman Bros. who own Downie Timber… said one of the conversations that needs to be had is what exactly “old growth” is. …According to Arkle, if they couldn’t harvest 140- year-old trees, that “ties up most of the province.” “Do we need to stop all harvesting of old growth? If that is the case then that is pretty serious,” he said. “Do we mean, trying to find a balanced approach where some areas, because of their special nature, need to be preserved? “Then, if that is the case, let’s find out what those areas are, let’s understand the impacts and then we can all collectively make a decision.”