The town of Logan Lake spent 18 years preparing for a wildfire they hoped would never come. And then, in the summer of 2021, it did. The Test is the story of the town of Logan Lake’s efforts to make their community more fire resilient, eventually becoming the first FireSmart community in Canada. But when the 2021 Tremont Creek Wildfire roared toward them, all eyes were on the little community as nobody knew if all of that work would pay off and if they would pass the test. Many thanks to FireSmartBC, The District of Logan Lake, The Co-operators, The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, and Teck Highland Valley Copper for helping to make this possible.

From massive kelp forests to monumental old-growth on land, British Columbia’s biodiversity — which is unrivalled in Canada — provides an array of cultural, economic, social and other benefits. …However, current conservation initiatives lack co-ordination and there is no independent organization or provincial governing body overseeing the many actions underway. …The fragmented nature of B.C. biodiversity work is a missed opportunity that can lead to gaps and blind spots that ultimately undermine action. Potential interconnected threats like diseases, invasive species, ecological impacts of new developments and a range of other issues may be missed. …Establishing a system of natural capital accounts would provide a clear picture of the value our ecosystems provide empowering decision-makers. …We may not have to look far for an effective model. Québec recently launched Biodiversité Québec — a partnership across government, scientific and Indigenous partners — to create an integrated monitoring system for nature.

The B.C. government has released a report on its progress protecting old-growth forests, but some First Nations and environmental groups say the plan released Friday falls short. …Sarah Korpan, B.C. government campaign specialist with non-profit Ecojustice, said she was disappointed to see the province change its timeline for implementing enhanced old-growth protection. …Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said in a press release the action plan is a “welcome step,” but the B.C. government must accelerate its timeline. …Tegan Hansen, senior forest campaigner for Stand.Earth, said the government’s plan lacks a commitment to bring a long-term end to logging in old-growth forests. …Jens Wieting, the senior policy and science adviser for Sierra Club B.C., says that the last time the province collected data, covering a full year of old-growth logging, was in 2021.

AI and other technologies may help detect wildfires sooner, but the human element is still integral to preventing fires from spreading, says a local researcher. A wildfire solutions symposium is scheduled to run in Kelowna from June 3 to 5, and one of the co-hosts has been leading the charge to snuff out the flames before they explode into the kind of destructive infernos we saw last summer in parts of the Southern Interior. Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, with the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence at UBC Okanagan, has been working with Rogers Communications for the past three years. His team has been installing low-cost sensors in the forest that collect data on moisture levels and other elements used to predict fire risk. There are about 100 scattered around the Okanagan. The data is helping craft models to predict where fires might start and what that fire might do.

[This story is making a second appearance in the news. It was first published in Vancouver is Awesome on April 23, 2024] …Many of the speakers at the annual B.C. Council of Forest Industries (COFI) convention focused on how the sector could return to higher levels of harvest or slow the pace of government regulations. Then the conversation turned to wildfires. David Coletto, head of the market research firm Abacus Data, presented the results from a poll he designed with COFI. After Canada’s most destructive wildfire season on record, the results suggested the B.C. public was ready to accept a narrative that the forestry industry could act as a saviour. As Coletto put it, everybody in this province agrees who is the villain: it’s the fire. …The call to re-frame forestry as the solution to wildfire comes less than a year after the most destructive season in Canada’s recorded history burned an area roughly half the size of Italy.

KANANASKIS COUNTRY – A planned logging operation in the upper Highwood River watershed threatens critical habitat for at-risk trout species, raising concerns over increased erosion, sedimentation and altered stream flows that could harm sensitive fish populations. A new report from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and Freshwater Research Ltd. found lumber company West Fraser’s 1,100-hectare logging plan poses a high risk of significant changes to watercourses, riparian zones, and hillslopes in the Loomis Creek watershed – a tributary of the Highwood River – due to increased peak flows and surface erosion. …Based on what was presented at West Fraser’s annual open house earlier this month, no changes have been made to the logging plan. Joyce Wagenaar, director of communications for West Fraser, said the plan is still paused as the company continues to seek out actionable feedback. 

Explore the evolution of sustainable forestry practices through the lives of Indigenous families deeply rooted in the industry, as showcased in the documentary ‘Stewards of the Forest.’ “My dad was a boom man, my brother was a boom man, my uncle George was a boom man,” says Squamimsh’s Tom Harry, in the new Indigenous Resource Network documentary,”Stewards of the Forest: Indigenous Leadership in Forestry.” A “boom man” is a skilled worker who walks on the logs in the water and uses a pole to move them into a bundle. The 16-minute documentary, which is now available on YouTube, features many other locals who work in the forest industry, including Paul and Roger Lewis, Kayla Buckley, and Daniel Morckinson. Each local talks about their deep connection to the forest industry and the land. They also speak to the changes in the industry over time that have made it more environmentally sustainable. 

The Province and Kwiakah First Nation have created a new Special Forest Management Area supporting regenerative forestry and conservation in the southern Great Bear Rainforest. …Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests said, “This partnership with Kwiakah represents a continuation of our joint work to ensure the Great Bear Rainforest will continue to provide sustainable jobs and healthy forests for our children and grandchildren.”Chief Steven Dick of Kwiakah First Nation, said: “By creating the M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area, we are asserting our inherent responsibilities and creating an Indigenous-led conservation economy that will steward, heal and mend our territory while allowing our people to thrive.” …The M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area covers 7,865 hectares of forested land within the Great Bear Rainforest. …Any lost harvesting revenue is intended to be counteracted through the generation of carbon credits and regenerative forestry jobs.

Additional coverage in the Globe and Mail by Wendy Stueck (subscription only): New forest management area inside Great Bear Rainforest aims to offset lost revenues with carbon credits

PORT ALBERNI, BC — Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle met with Minister of State for Sustainable Forestry Innovation Andrew Mercier and Local 592 and 686 leadership to tour the Paper Excellence Port Alberni facility. …Unifor representatives met with Mercier to discuss B.C.’s forestry industry, including the state of the Port Alberni pulp mill and long-term economical fibre supply. …Despite the province’s enormous supply of timber, most of B.C.’s pulp and paper mills are struggling to find the fibre they require to operate on a consistent basis. …Fibre supply and strengthening B.C.’s entire forestry industry to grow good jobs and support forestry communities is a core component of the joint campaign initiated by Unifor, the United Steelworkers, and the PPWC. …Unifor representatives were joined on the pulp mill tour by Tseshaht First Nations Chief Ken Watts to explore working together on forestry and employment initiatives to help secure an ongoing local fibre supply.