Protecting old-growth forests in the BC interior could generate more than $43 billion over the next century — far more than logging the land, a report says. Research by environmental consultancy ESSA Technologies determined that if all the old-growth forest in regions around the Okanagan and Prince George were fully protected, the carbon storage alone would keep 28 million tonnes of carbon emissions out of the atmosphere over the next 100 years. [Equivalent of] burning 63 million barrels of oil, and worth $43 billion — $33 billion for Prince George and $10 billion for the Okanagan. Even limited protection of only the most at-risk forests would yield $11 billion in benefits. Advisory team included Dr. Duncan Knowler, Dr. Richard Boyd, Dr. Rachel Holt, Dr. Karen Price, and Dave Daust. Funding support for this study’s research … was provided by two anonymous donors. Sierra Club BC provided additional funding to finalize this document for public release.

 A local Indigenous leader is calling into question claims being made by a protester in Stanley Park. A small encampment is growing near the iconic totem poles, led by a woman who says she is the hereditary matriarch of the land. But as Alissa Thibault reports, the Musqueam chief says that isn’t true. 

Officials in Fox Creek Alberta are trying to find ways to better protect the community from future fires. One option includes using fungi. …This summer, researchers from Lac La Biche, Alta.-based Portage College will go into the the boreal forest surrounding Fox Creek to collect local fungi. Spores from that fungi could later be used to inoculate wood in man-made slash piles. Forests are thinned to remove wood biomass so there is less material to burn during a wildfire. Wood that has been removed can be stored in massive slash piles, which can be fire risks themselves. Fungi could be used to break down the wood faster, returning them to soil, said Michael Schulz, research chair in environment and sustainability in the boreal forest at Portage College. 

The Bow Valley—encompassing Banff National Park, the Town of Banff, Canmore, and MD of Bighorn—is at imminent risk of a catastrophic wildfire. Despite commendable efforts in localized fire prevention (e.g., firebreaks, fireguards, neighbourhood mitigation), it is our opinion no comprehensive measures are in place to address the risk of an extreme wildfire—the kind that devastated Fort McMurray (2016) and Jasper (2024). A fire of that scale in this region would be both a national tragedy and a global environmental disaster. …Our call for action for our federal candidates: Acknowledge the real and rising risk of a Class 6 wildfire in the Bow Valley; While working with the Province and Indigenous Peoples, support federal investment in a landscape-scale fire mitigation strategy for the Bow Valley; Advance policy reform recognizing forests as carbon assets requiring active stewardship; and Champion this initiative as a model for national wildfire and carbon management.

Ione Brown

The North Island Community Forest is a small forest tenure that was offered to the towns of Port Alice, Port Hardy and Port McNeill by the provincial government in 2010. These towns then became shareholders and owners of the forest in March of 2011, managing and harvesting it to provide capital for investing in their communities. On April 3, the board of directors’ chairperson, Ione Brown, gave a presentation on how the community forest operates as well as some new information. Currently, the municipalities of Port Alice, Port Hardy and Port McNeill are shareholders of the community forest. In 2019, The Kwakiutl First Nation and the Quatsino First Nation were offered full equity shareholder positions bringing ownership to five partners with 20 per cent each. Brown said, with the new Indigenous partners, they will have the strength of the community and the support to possibly further expand the tenure. 

BC has experienced some of the most destructive wildfire seasons in its history. …So how do we recover from wildfires and reduce threats in the future? One way is to bring back a more balanced and resilient forest ecosystem for people and wildlife through Indigenous-led restoration, which is exactly what the Secwepemcúl’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society (SRSS) is doing. This collaboration by several Secwépemc communities was formed after the 2017 wildfires that blazed through 192,725 hectares of traditional Indigenous territory. To them, restoring forests goes beyond planting trees. Most of the land devastated by wildfires were forests managed to maximize value for commercial logging. SRSS is changing that, using traditional practices that restore mixed forest canopies in a way that benefits communities and wildlife. 

On March 31, the Supreme Court of B.C. released its decision on a historic case with implications for the future of resource management in Canada. The judge sided with the Haida Gwaii Management Council and Province of British Columbia against logging giant Teal Cedar Products Inc., which argued its profitability had unjustly diminished due to the former’s sustainability regulations and improved forestry stewardship standards. In its defence, Haida Gwaii Management Council and the province pointed to Teal’s careless logging and business practices, which it continued despite expert, repeated advice from Haida and Crown governments. Proceedings involved numerous expert witnesses … in 2023. Almost exactly two years later, the judge dismissed Teal’s claims. …If corporations were to earn the power to sue governments any time they passed new legislation to uphold sustainable and ecologically sound practices, then we would witness a nation-wide proliferation of lawsuits arising from every sector. 

Ravi Parmar

Forest Minister Ravi Parmar has needed a positive story for the beleaguered forest sector in BC. Using BC Timber Sales to restore forest health and community safety through treatments like commercial thinning and innovative silviculture is the beginning of one. BC Minister of Forests did say the BC Timber Sale Review would be completed in short order. … “Feedback from the review has made it clear: BCTS is more than just a market-pricing system. It has the expertise and the tools to play a bigger role in active forest management and addressing climate change and British Columbians want to see that happen,” he said at the COFI Convention. The idea that we can mitigate some of the hazards of climate change through actively managing our forests and range landscapes is an idea the WFCA has trafficked in for some time. …In fact, we have put these innovative notions forward to the BCTS Review Task Force.

Ravi Parmar

While a more detailed look at what the upcoming fire season will be is set to be shared on April 16, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar said B.C. is making sure to be prepared for the worst. The provincial minister spoke with members of the media after attending the engine boss training at the Penticton Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit and ahead of heading out to see the structural fire training. …Over 100 structural firefighting units from departments across the province, and hundreds of firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE), are also attending and participating in the summit, which begins with two days of training followed by discussions and planning. …In the Similkameen Valley, the Upper and Lower Similkameen Indian Bands both conducted major cultural burns in 2025, and Parmar said there were more planned across the province.