Category Archives: Opinion / EdiTOADial

Jason Krips

The wildfires that swept through Jasper National Park in 2024 were devastating — but they weren’t unpredictable. They were the foreseeable result of years of policy choices: the decision to leave forests untouched, to restrict active management, and to allow risk to build in the name of preservation. Alberta’s forests are disturbance-driven — they rely on natural events like wildfire to renew, diversify, and maintain ecological balance. But over the past century, we’ve suppressed these disturbances to protect communities, infrastructure and wildlife. Without fire, forests don’t regenerate naturally. And without policy tools that allow for active interventions like harvesting, we’re left with dense, aging stands vulnerable to fire and pests. Now, in 2025, we face an urgent question: will we continue down the same path, or will we modernize our approach to forest management — even in places long considered off-limits, like national parks?

…Our members don’t operate inside the park, but they do operate next to it, and what happens within the park’s boundaries doesn’t stay there. …In 2017, we warned that aging forests, pine beetles, and hot, dry summers were creating a perfect storm. In 2024, that danger became reality. …We need a national parks policy to reflect this reality. It should encourage science-based, ecologically sensitive management tools like thinning, selective harvesting, and prescribed fire across the entire park — tools that reduce fuel loads and restore healthier forest structures. Beyond parks, we also need to revisit legislation like the Species at Risk Act. In Alberta, this law currently prevents management in large areas of older forest, ironically putting caribou and other species at greater risk when those forests inevitably burn. …Canada’s forests, inside and outside of parks, are among our greatest national assets. But if we want to protect them, we need to manage them. 

Additional coverage in the Rocky Mountain Outlook, by Glen Grossmith: LETTER: In support of rethinking forest management “It’s encouraging to see attention drawn to the real, actionable strategies that can make a difference in the face of escalating wildfires.”

David Elstone

Forestry in BC is more than harvesting trees, it is also becoming about wildfire resiliency. …As a broad generalization, the future of wildfire management is more than putting fires out but increasingly it is learning how to live with fire. …That happens with active forest management work such as stand thinning and fuel reduction treatments. Specifics of such depend on the ecological characteristics of the areas to receive treatments. Another reality is that forestry is no longer practiced without First Nations consultation and input. In fact, due to growing forest tenure ownership and now with leadership in forest landscape planning, forestry in BC forestry… is clearly evolving from an industry centric sector to one that looks like a triangulation of Wildfire Resiliency: Indigenous Forestry: Forest Industry….To effectively and urgently treat millions of hectares of forests for resiliency to wildfire, the amount of required funding is magnitudes greater than what is being applied today.

…So here is an idea that does not need government funds, just motivation that brings together the three sides of the triangle as described above: Create large scale temporary stewardship areas, in the thousands of hectares where there are homogenous forests of an age range – say between 20 years to 40 years old – where qualified operators could thin stands from below, following a broad stand management prescription for the area. Planning work with First Nations should be done in advance for the entire area. …No tenure, no conventional cutting permit, just an application/timber mark. No appraisal – just say $1/m3 stumpage. Make it so there are no negative repercussions to AAC cut control so existing forest tenure licensees should have no concern. …Doing this work at scale will drive investment in more efficient equipment. Mills receive steady and reliable fibre to keep operating and maintain jobs. Government and First Nations get more wildfire resilient forested landscapes, raising the quality of forests increases other values like moose, and carbon management etc.

David Elstone

Forestry in BC is more than harvesting trees, it is also becoming about wildfire resiliency. …As a broad generalization, the future of wildfire management is more than putting fires out but increasingly it is learning how to live with fire. …That happens with active forest management work such as stand thinning and fuel reduction treatments. Specifics of such depend on the ecological characteristics of the areas to receive treatments. Another reality is that forestry is no longer practiced without First Nations consultation and input. In fact, due to growing forest tenure ownership and now with leadership in forest landscape planning, forestry in BC is fast becoming synonymous with Indigenous forestry. …To effectively and urgently treat millions of hectares of forests for resiliency to wildfire, the amount of required funding is magnitudes greater than what is being applied today. …So here is an idea that does not need government funds, just motivation that brings together the three sides of the triangle as described above:

Create large scale temporary stewardship areas, in the thousands of hectares where there are homogenous forests of an age range – say between 20 years to 40 years old – where qualified operators could thin stands from below, following a broad stand management prescription for the area. Planning work with First Nations should be done in advance for the entire area. …No tenure, no conventional cutting permit, just an application/timber mark. No appraisal – just say $1/m3 stumpage. Make it so there are no negative repercussions to AAC cut control so existing forest tenure licensees should have no concern. …Doing this work at scale will drive investment in more efficient equipment. Mills receive steady and reliable fibre to keep operating and maintain jobs. Government and First Nations get more wildfire resilient forested landscapes, raising the quality of forests increases other values like moose, and carbon management etc.

The BCTS Review that was launched in January 2025, and co-chaired by Brian Frenkel, Lenny Joe and George Abbott, is nearing an end for public input intake. The BC government describes this initiative as a periodic review to ensure BCTS is evolving in an ever-changing marketplace while meeting its mandate commitments. The reality is that BCTS performance has been seriously impacted over the last few years. This review comes as the Premier seeks to meet his mandated target for a timber harvest of 45 million m³. Raising the BCTS harvest off its historic lows will help the Premier in his drive to 45!

BCTS harvest data speaks for itself. Although BCTS is supposed to represent 20% of the harvest on average, it has rarely met that 20% level over the past decade. The BCTS harvest fell to a low of just 10% of the overall provincial harvest in 2023. Given that the overall provincial harvest was also severely depressed, a BCTS harvest at 10% of total was a pretty dismal achievement. However, in 2024 and based on a running 12-month moving total, BCTS has increased it’s proportion of the provincial harvest to approximately 12%. BCTS harvest performance actually outperformed non-BCTS harvesting in 2024 and so far, is continuing to do so in the first quarter of 2025. Despite the recent improvement, the overall issue for the forest sector is that an average BCTS harvest of 10 million m³ has shrunk to 4 million m³.

According to the BC government’s recently announced BC Budget 2025, the outlook for BCTS harvest is positive. Elstone continues in his piece by pointing out the challenges ahead, and proposing his own suggested solutions.

Well, 2025 will prove to be an interesting year ahead. …Provincially there are some glimmers of hope for some directional changes to the current trajectory of BC’s forest sector through the appointment of an energized and determined Minister of Forests. At the recent TLA convention, there also seemed to be acknowledgment that the need for change was recognized with the Premier and Minister. …The government’s forestry mandate appears to be granted for firm actions, even more so with our obvious need for more self-reliance as a country. But muddying the background is the reality that anything that needs to be accomplished must be done within the spectre of massive provincial deficits and a hiring freeze. Where to start?

There needs to be a review of all the current policies, legislation, and regulations to ensure they mesh with the overall vision and contribute towards its successful implementation. It is fair to say the cumulative array of constraints over the last decades encircling the forest sector have been decidedly negative. …Albeit a complex and onerous task, the hope is the creation of renewed investment certainty for all those making their decisions towards the future of the sector. …There must be a meaningful transition plan and set of actions in place to ensure the components of the sector survive while these changes are being contemplated and implemented. …An effective transition plan requires government to work hand-in-hand with the industry towards ensuring a level of harvest is agreed upon and delivered to at least minimally sustain all concerned over these next few years. And it means giving decision-makers of permitting and delivery programs the authority and support to make those tough interim decisions. It also means that the short-term harvest level to sustain our sector is not the plus or minus 32 million m3 currently happening.

Denise Mullen

David Elstone

The longstanding softwood lumber dispute, wherein the US persistently alleges BC subsidizes its lumber industry already has the Americans imposing a 14.4% duty on BC lumber, so an additional 25 per cent tariff could prove catastrophic, triggering layoffs, mill closures and economic turmoil in forestry-dependent communities. … Given the escalating risk of a full-scale trade war, BC must adopt innovative and assertive countermeasures to safeguard its forest sector. These measures are emergency response actions to address the regulatory and tax regime in BC and, while temporary, some could have long-term benefits after the tariffs are gone. …Given the potential for widespread sawmill closures, BC must actively seek alternative markets, particularly in Asia. Furthermore, in such extreme times as the province faces, consideration of less politically popular exporting opportunities may need to be explored.

These include temporarily eliminating fee-in-lieu charges on unmanufactured log exports… Eliminating the provincial sales tax where applicable on forestry-related transportation. …Repeal of the carbon tax and other fuel consumption-related taxes. …BC could look to pause, for now, the introduction and implementation of new environmental and forestry policies. …It is imperative to emphasize that… none of these proposals require direct financial handouts from the provincial government. Instead, the focus should be on targeted regulatory relief and cost reductions, ensuring business continuity and workforce stability. BC now faces a critical juncture — either accept mass unemployment and economic stagnation, or implement bold, temporary measures to keep the proverbial lights on for its forest sector. A decisive and calculated response is not just desirable, it is essential for the long-term sustainability of BC’s economy and the forest sector, in particular.