Southern Alberta didn’t see much rain in April, but May came in cold and wet. …According to Christie Tucker with Alberta Wildfire, the moisture across the province this week has made a difference. “Recent cooler weather and precipitation has meant wildfire activity has been subdued this week,” she says. “We’ve managed to extinguish a number of wildfires, including carryover fires that have been burning since last year.” She says there are currently 43 wildfires burning in the forest protection area of Alberta, with 3 of those being classified as held, and the rest considered under control. Tucker says the break in the weather has been helpful to contain those fires, but the province isn’t out of the woods yet. …The drought code still showing very high to extreme wildfire danger in some parts of the province. They would need a week of heavy and steady rain for the situation to improve.

As B.C. heads into what is predicted to be a hot summer, the need to build wildfire resiliency is a top priority across the province. Last week’s FireSmart Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit in Prince George brought together representatives from municipal governments, fire departments and other stakeholders to discuss insights from last year and what communities can do to recover, rebuild and repair. Lucy Grainger, FireSmart BC’s education officer, said… wildfires have become a collective responsibility, and they now require more interagency co-operation than ever before.  The annual Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit, which is now in its fourth year, is an opportunity to connect people working throughout the region. …Alongside large fuel mitigation projects happening at the municipal scale in Prince George, free FireSmart assessments are now available to people living in the community.

ALBERTA — Participants in an Alberta Wilderness Association sponsored talk with West Fraser Timber of Cochrane got a primer course in general forestry planning from company officials Tuesday, but little in the way of hope they’ll have any success in stopping or even slowing down clearcut logging in the recreation areas of West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain. West Fraser recently made more detailed maps available to the public, showing the actual cut blocks in West Bragg Creek, along with the names of the biking/hiking /horseback trails affected, prompting anti-logging groups like Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation (BCKOR) to declare their “worst fears realized” on social media. West Fraser plans to clearcut 900 hectares, the size of 833 soccer fields. near West Bragg Creek and another 450 ha. in the Moose Mountain Trail Networks.

Tony Kulbisky

Westlock County, Alberta — Westlock County chief administrative officer (CAO) Tony Kulbisky will be providing his expertise as a firefighter for more than 15 years to a new provincial working group whose purpose is to establish a long-term strategy for the management of wildfires outside of Forest Protection Areas. Council agreed to sign a letter of support and to appoint Kulbisky to the working group, which is being established by the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA). Last November, RMA members passed a resolution to have the association engage with the Alberta Government, Alberta Municipalities (AM), and the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association (ACFA) to develop a long-term strategy for managing wildland fire events outside of Forest Protection Areas. 

WHITEHORSE, YT – The forest and wood products industry is an important contributor to the Yukon’s economy. Businesses that harvest timber or manufacture products from wood provide essential goods, such as heating fuel and lumber, to people and communities and contribute to a diversified economy. Today, the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, PrairiesCan and Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, announced that the Government of Canada is investing up to $341,600 in the Yukon Wood Products Association’s (YWPA) Yukon Forest Resources Capacity Support Initiative. …Through this initiative, the YWPA will provide training, build new opportunities for Yukon’s forest sector, and expand its membership to include artisans, craftspeople, woodworkers and non-timber forest products. It will also increase public awareness of the benefits of local forest and biomass opportunities as a way to reduce the territory’s reliance on imported goods and fossil fuels.

OTTAWA, ON – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB – Agrilus planipennis) in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia. These detections, which are outside of currently regulated areas for emerald ash borer in Canada, are the first detections of EAB larvae in BC. Emerald ash borer is a highly destructive insect that attacks and kills ash trees (Fraxinus sp.). It is a federally regulated pest in Canada. EAB is currently found in parts of six provinces and is spreading to new areas via the movement of firewood and ash material (such as logs, branches and wood chips). This pest poses no threat to human health. …The CFIA is conducting surveillance activities to determine where EAB may be present, and is collaborating with the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, the Province of British Columbia, to slow the spread of this pest.

Brian Barber

Re: Canada should avoid the mistakes the U.K. made in biomass for energy. As a forester living and working in British Columbia, I have a good understanding of how BC’s forests are managed and harvested. Our current logging practices do not “risk devastating ecosystem collapse” everywhere, as suggested by Bertie Harrison-Broninski and Richard Robertson. …I am also aware of the export of wood pellets from BC and elsewhere to generate electricity at Drax’s facilities in the UK. Pellets are made from wood unsuitable for milling into higher-value products, and which would otherwise be burned on site. However, shipping pellets half-way around the world does not make sense. …BC Hydro is making funding opportunities available for climate action projects as its large hydro-electric dams can’t keep up with growing demand. Certainty there must be a business case for burning BC’s wood pellets in BC, while also protecting old growth.