Weyerhaeuser will be able to grow and harvest timber in the Grande Prairie area for another 20 years. The Alberta government confirmed Thursday it has renewed its forest management agreement, along with one for the Pembina Timberlands near Drayton Valley. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development Nate Horner says, combined, these agreements are expected to maintain more than 1,250 full-time, contract, and seasonal positions. They will reportedly potentially contribute $12.2 million and $14.7 million in annual holding and protection charge payments, $313 million and $277 million in timber dues, and $3.2 billion and $3.5 billion to Alberta’s gross domestic product.

Today is the final day for Early Bird Tickets! Visit our website to register. We are pleased to announce that the Minister of Forests, Katrine Conroy, will join us to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the BCCFA at the annual banquet on October 20th. Tickets for the banquet are included in the full ticket price and can also be purchased separately. Minister Conroy will also present the 2022 Robin Hood Memorial Award to a deserving community forest. The conference program has been updated with a new opportunity for a tour of the Downie Mill in Revelstoke. There is no fee for the pre conference field trips. Please note that the Continuing Professional Development workshop is not included in full ticket price, but must be purchased separately. We encourage all professionals and interested lay people to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Read more about it in the conference program.

Every couple of years or so, FESBC publicly reports on our progress. The recent FESBC 2022 Accomplishments Report was an opportunity to take stock of the achievements and what we’ve learned since 2016. We have: reduced greenhouse gases equivalent to taking 1.1 million cars off the road for a year; reduced wildfire risk in over 120 communities; improved significant amounts of wildlife habitat; accelerated the growth of the bioeconomy in B.C.; increased Indigenous participation in the forest economy; and created over 2,100 full-time-equivalent jobs. We learned that forests are part of the solution for creating a great many social, economic and environmental benefits for British Columbians. The key to FESBC success is the enabling of local people to take action in their local forests, which then leads to powerful and long-lasting transformations with a multitude of multi-faceted benefits. .

A pilot project to set up public access to privately-managed forest lands in the Alberni Valley has been going well, says Mosaic Forest Management. Representatives from Mosaic provided an update on their work in the area. Colin Koszman said the company has been working with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, the Ministry of Forests and other groups to open up public opportunities for access within private-managed forest lands. A pilot project was started in 2021 on Ash Main to allow increased public access on a trial basis. Koszman says the goal is to open the road “basically 24/7” so the public can access these areas. …Details are still being worked out with the province …but in the meantime, a kiosk has been installed at the start of the line to communicate to the public that they need to yield to industrial traffic.

Drought and water scarcity continues to affect the west coast, south coast and northeastern areas of B.C. that have experienced little to no rainfall over the past five weeks with continued dry weather in the forecast. Areas under Drought Level 4 include the Fort Nelson basin, the Sunshine Coast basin, Lower Mainland basin, and the east and west Vancouver Island basins. At Drought Level 4, conditions are extremely dry and adverse effects to socio-economic or ecosystem values are likely. Drought is a recurring feature of climate that involves reduced precipitation, such as rain, during an extended period, resulting in a water shortage. …If conservation measures do not achieve sufficient results and drought conditions worsen, temporary protection orders under the Water Sustainability Act may be issued to water licensees to avoid significant or irreversible harm to aquatic ecosystems. Provincial staff are monitoring the situation and working to balance water use with environmental flow needs.

Forestry students at North Island College are learning the ropes in the classroom and out in the field. Two new Coastal Forestry programs at North Island College have been teaching students how to put down roots in the forest industry, giving them entry-level skills for a wide range of positions within the forestry sector. …“Where they would have spent five to six days in the field, now that work is done in the office,” said Coleen MacLean-Marlow, the program coordinator. The college offers both a one-year certificate program and a two-year diploma program, which were developed in collaboration with the BC Forest Safety Council. Teachers in the program are professional foresters themselves. …Although the certificate program officially launched in 2020, it was piloted in 2019 out of Port Alberni with Huu-ay-aht First Nations [and] Western Forest Products had been a part of the program advisory team.