A group of four Vancouverites is suing the city over its controversial move to cut down thousands of trees in Stanley Park. The Vancouver Park Board began removing the trees in late 2023, saying they were dead or dying because of a hemlock looper moth infestation. So far, about 7,200 trees have been cut down. The civil suit, filed Thursday, alleges negligence on the part of the park board, the City of Vancouver, the city’s urban forestry manager and consulting group Blackwell and Associates. …“We believe very strongly that the defendants … have been negligent in conducting a logging operation in Stanley Park,” said Michael Caditz, one of the four self-represented plaintiffs. …It claims staff failed to cite “credible science” for why the removal is necessary, and made “no attempt to employ … less-extreme methods” or “obtain corroborating opinions” from experts other than Blackwell.

TAYLOR, B.C. – The District of Taylor has joined the District of Chetwynd in supporting a letter to be sent to the BC Government regarding the province’s forestry sector. During the July 8th regular council meeting, Mayor Brent Taillefer and councillors reviewed the letter sent from Chetwynd, written in support of a May 28th letter from the District of Campbell River. “Our small community of Chetwynd has already directly experienced the permanent loss of many local jobs with the closure of our Canfor mill,” Chetwynd Mayor Allen Courtoreille wrote in the letter. The letter urges Ministry of Forests Bruce Ralston and the province to increase support for the ongoing crisis facing B.C.’s forestry sector and speaks of Chetwynd’s historic and ongoing struggles to support the industry amidst mill closures.

SWAN RIVER, AB — Swan River First Nation (SRFN) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) are pleased to announce the signing of a Relationship and Collaboration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at advancing boreal forest conservation initiatives within Treaty 8 Territory. This MOU represents a significant step towards fostering a mutually respectful and collaborative partnership dedicated to preserving the ecological and cultural integrity of the boreal forest while integrating the deep knowledge and experience Swan River residents hold in the local landscape. Under this MOU, key projects will blend SRFN’s Indigenous Knowledge with DUC’s scientific expertise, building a more sustainable environment. Projects include the development of a wetland field guide and climate change modeling initiatives, which will integrate Indigenous content and perspectives.

Following a stretch of high temperatures and several heat warnings throughout the province, and with potentially challenging wildfire weather forecast, the BC Wildfire Service is implementing a campfire ban in all parts of B.C., except Haida Gwaii. The ban will take effect at noon (Pacific time) on Friday, July 12, 2024, and will remain until further notice. The ban is being implemented to help prevent human-caused wildfires and help protect public safety. The category 1 (campfires) ban is in addition to current provincewide bans for category 2 and 3 fires. This means open fires of any size, except those licensed for prescribed burns, will be prohibited everywhere in B.C., outside of Haida Gwaii. Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, may be fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. 

VANCOUVER – British Columbia’s emergency management minister says the province is proactively working to secure extra firefighters to deal with what she called the “potential for a drastically accelerated wildfire situation.” Bowinn Ma told a briefing on Thursday that B.C. was seeking out-of-province help from six unit crews representing about 180 specialized wildfire fighters. Ma said about 500 of the province’s full complement of 2,000 firefighters were currently deployed, but the province was seeking outside help early as the situation worsened due to a heat wave and ongoing dry conditions. …Wildfire activity has been erupting in recent days, with about 150 active wildfires in B.C., up from fewer than 100 at the start of the week. Ma said most were in the Cariboo and northeast regions, and while some of the the province had benefited from cooler and wetter weather in May and June, the fire season was “well underway” in the north.

Twenty-one years after the spotted owl was listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, the federal government released a proposed recovery strategy identifying critical habitat for the old-growth forest dependent owl. The strategy reinstates about 200,000 hectares of the owl’s critical habitat in southwest B.C. that was quietly erased from maps in a draft recovery strategy last year. …The updated recovery strategy includes an additional 200,000 hectares of spotted owl critical habitat that was not erased from maps — for a total of 416,258 hectares of critical habitat on federal and non-federal lands. The environmental law charity Ecojustice, non-profit conservation group the Wilderness Committee and Spô’zêm First Nation hailed the updated recovery strategy as a “game-changer for conservation efforts” for the spotted owl and a “historic win.” …The release of the proposed recovery strategy launches a 60-day consultation period. A final recovery strategy will be published once consultations are complete.

Additional coverage by Stefan Labbé, the Wilderness Committee, Ecojustice, and the Government of Canada Strategy document.