.png)
VICTORIA, BC — About 100 people gathered in front of the offices of the Ministry of Public Safety. The event, put on by national coalition, Abolish C-IRG, and local partners, was calling for the suspension of an RCMP unit that polices opposition to resource-based projects on Vancouver Island and elsewhere in BC. RCMP’s “E” Decision Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) has faced criticism from rights groups and activists. This month, the federal government body’s independent reviewer of RCMP announced that it will launch an official investigation. …Abolish C-IRG is asking for the suspension of all C-IRG deployments until the review is complete. …At the rally, Molly Murphy detailed her experiences of being arrested by C-IRG while participating in the Fairy Creek blockades. …Murphy said that her experience is minor compared to what’s happening up north in Wet’suwet’en territory.
One in four Canadian tree species is at risk, reveals a recent report from Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, including many found in Guelph. The 
If you were unable to attend the 2023 ABCFP conference you can still register and gain access to recordings of all 13 conference sessions — each of which qualifies for 
On July 7, 2022, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint about the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) efforts to control the Lytton Creek wildfire near the Manning Creek Forest Service Road (FSR) between Spences Bridge and Merritt. The complainant believes that the BCWS intentionally lit a fire, known as a ‘planned ignition’, when it should not have. The Board investigated whether the BCWS complied with the requirements of the Wildfire Act related to fire control and whether the decision to carry out fire control, in this case, was reasonable.
On August 3, 2022, the Forest Practices Board received a complaint from a Chase resident about forest planning and practices within woodlot W0337. The complainant was concerned about notification of local residents, mapping water licences, fire hazard abatement, water management, the achievement of a visual quality objective, and government enforcement. The investigation considered whether the licensee met legal requirements for hazard abatement, water management, visual quality objectives, and whether government enforcement was appropriate.
A team of volunteers from all over B.C. is dedicating their time to protect communities from wildfires. Dubbed Team Rubicon, the group is made up of vets and retired first responders. “We’re hoping that as we continue to build depth in this program, we’ll be able to offer our services to more communities and property owners as we continue down this pathway of mitigation,” says Jeff Becker, national training manager for Team Rubicon Canada. The “skilled civilian disaster technologists” offer their services at no cost to homeowners and are engaging with communities with a proactive response before the disaster strikes. …Their new fire mitigation program hopes to support communities at risk from wildfire. …“Really what we’re trying to do is reduce or remove the fuel sources, whether it be surface fuels, ladder fuels… pruning trees up to about two meters above the ground,” he says. 
TORONTO – At this time there are at least 650 vacant positions waiting to be filled within the forest industry in Ontario. The Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA) and Forests Ontario have been actively pursuing strategies to recruit and develop manpower to meet the needs of the industry. …In 2022 work had been taking place under the name of Bridging the Gap, examining what is needed to develop a workforce for the forest industry. Three reports are now available on the websites of 
TORONTO – Ontario is ready to respond to this year’s wildland fire season, which lasts from April 1 until October 31. “We are ready to protect people and communities across the province from wildland fires,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. “Our teams are closely monitoring weather conditions to detect fires early. When they do hit, Ontario’s fire rangers, pilots and support staff are prepared to battle these fires and protect Ontarians.” The province has action plans in place to manage large, complex fires, especially near communities and critical infrastructure. “Ontario’s Provincial Emergency Management Strategic Action Plan is our emergency response toolkit to ensure Ontario is safe, practiced, and prepared at all times. Our commitment to communities across the province is that Ontario remains emergency-ready and resilient—both now and into the future,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Emergency Management in Ontario.
You’ve no doubt seen the impassioned ENGO fundraising claims warning that… “deforestation is accelerating at a rapid pace.” …But “Facts are stubborn things.” …And the fact is that sustainably produced North American paper products are not a cause of deforestation, no matter what some ENGOs say or how many times they say it. …Deforestation is defined by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other credible environmental organizations as the permanent conversion of forestland to non-forest uses. …The UN FAO also reports that those areas of the world that consume the greatest amount of wood have the least amount of deforestation – areas like the United States and Canada. …In North America, it is the consistent demand for responsibly sourced paper products that provides the economic incentive to keep land forested and sustainably managed, land that might otherwise be converted to non-forest uses.
Tree rings are record books of annual growth, and the width of each ring is correlated to that year’s environmental conditions. In a new study, Cameron Lee and Matthew Dannenberg use machine learning to demonstrate that ring width is well correlated with the types of air masses a tree experienced over the past year. Previously, scientists linked tree ring variability to discrete climatic elements like temperature, precipitation, and drought. However, weather is not experienced as individual elements, but as a collective of all the different components acting together. …The study gathered tree ring records for 130 species across 904 observational sites in the Northern Hemisphere. They also pulled weather data on the air masses at each site and on each day dating to as far back as 1979… using artificial neural networks, the researchers correlated a tree ring’s width to the number of days the tree experienced each different class of air mass 
A forest in British Columbia is a test case for a global shift in how consumer product companies are trying to achieve deforestation-free supply chains and climate change goals. The 3.2-million-hectare tract … has brought together the indigenous Tsay Keh Dene First Nation people, who have occupied the territory for centuries, and global consumer giants – Nestle, Mars Inc and 3M – whose complex supply chains tap into the lumber and wood pulp to help meet their product packaging needs. What’s unique about the partnership is that the Tsay Keh Dene are calling the shots: the companies have all committed to support the First Nation’s management plans for the territory, including protecting key parcels with cultural significance from unwanted harvesting for pulp and paper. …The new focus on indigenous rights is part of a larger pendulum-swing that has governments worldwide scrambling for new ways to slow forest and biodiversity losses and escalating climate impacts.
A new study has uncovered that forest loss is changing weather patterns in the world’s three largest remaining tropical rainforests. The study, 
In February 2022 the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) announced the start of a process to discuss GE (Genetic Engineering) outside of FSC certified area. The FSC International Board appointed a Panel of Experts to provide advice on how a GE Learning Process could help FSC gain sufficient and trusted knowledge on developments in genetic engineering in forestry. 