Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation (SXFN) in the Cariboo has signed a memorandum of understanding with West Fraser to provide a forest management framework which will benefit both parties. The MOU provides a clearer path forward for West Fraser to continue business while ensuring the economic and cultural values and concerns of SXFN are met. “This shows that we are in the forefront of stewardship of the land,” said Kateri Koster, special projects advisor with SXFN’s stewardship department. She said fibre security is a real issue in the region, but the support for local mills needs to be reconciled with the values of SXFN, such as managing forest stands in a way which helps with wildfire protection. The memorandum has been in the planning since 2020 and was signed on Sept. 27.

OLIVER, BC — Oliver has adopted an in-depth wildfire resiliency plan, which will serve to steer the town’s priorities for the next five to seven years. The large 97 page report lays a five-year road map for the town, ultimately identifying seven categories of recommendations for developing wildfire resiliency. These categories are education, legislation and planning, development considerations, interagency cooperation, cross-training, emergency planning, and vegetation management. The Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (CWRP) was created and presented to council by Kai Kaplan, Oliver’s FireSmart coordinator and Quentin Schmidt, RPF, with B.A. Blackwell & Associates who were retained to assist in the development of the plan. Kaplan explained that this plan for the next five to seven years would be implemented based on considerations around actions that can have an immediate impact and larger goals will be pursued based on grant funding. 

ALBERTA — The geographical landscape in and around the Bow Valley will be gradually changing in the coming years. Though new development for a growing population is often the go-to thought when change is occurring, new fireguards and prescribed burns will aim to offer greater protection to both the population and communities. One only has to look at archived photos from 100 or more years ago to see a considerably different landscape. Not only were the communities far smaller than they are now – which is true of the majority of towns and cities across the country – but the forests surrounding the valley municipalities were far thinner and more widely dispersed. …With the exception of smaller wildfires, the Bow Valley hasn’t seen a large-scale one in more than 100 years. …In the coming years, a greater priority of decision-makers in different levels of government needs to put emphasis on increased fire protection.

While it’s been done in the past, the N.W.T. won’t be relying on staff in towers to detect fires on the landscape. That’s according to Mike Gravel, the director of the N.W.T. government’s forest management division. His comment was in response to Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya during a committee meeting Monday to discuss the Department of Environment and Climate Change’s response to the 2023 wildfire season. Yakeleya said she’d like to see a return to the use of towers as a detection method. Gravel, however, said there’s been an industry-wide shift away from the practice because of safety concerns. The question was part of a larger conversation around the use of Indigenous traditional knowledge in fighting fires and forest management. “Traditional knowledge plays a big role in how we fight fire in the Northwest Territories,” said Jay Macdonald, minister of Environment and Climate Change.