A group of climate change activists called “Save Old Growth” are prepared to make their voices heard through public protests in the upcoming weeks.  … The group made headlines earlier this year by supergluing themselves to major highways and bridges to halt traffic and protest old-growth logging. …After a 2-month hiatus from protesting, the group has decided that on April 4th they will once again be taking to the streets to protest. Protestor Brent Eichler … is currently on a 2 year probation period. Although Eichler will no longer be on the front lines of the protest, he says that he will continue to play a small part in their campaign. Eichler began a hunger strikeon March 26th and says he won’t stop until the Minister of Forestry Katrine Conroy speaks with the group and develops a plan on how to save the last remaining old-growth trees.

Dear BC Elected Officials, I concerns me that we have BC taxpayers so committed to saving forests and battling climate change that they embark today on a 25 day hunger strike. Is there any other issue in BC that has ever spawned such ardent actions for no personal gain? “Deforestation is at the root of the climate emergency in British Columbia.” – says old-growth forest activist Howard Breen joined on this strike with Brent Eichler. They embark on solidarity fasts TODAY, seeking NDP Forestry Minister, Katrine Conroy meet their demand for a public meeting to discuss significant forestry concerns. Howard’s platform is to save all BC’s remaining old growth and spotlight NDP’s 2017 election promise to curb raw log exports. …it was the actions of hunger strikers in 2020 that galvanized the Fairy Creek Forest Defenders to initiate the blockades in TFL 46 .

Warren Hansen

Plans to log an 11.7-hectare site near residential areas of ts’ukw’um (Wilson Creek) are in the works. Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) has called for industry bids for harvesting of cutblock EW24… Along with harvesting of 6,300 cubic metres of timber, the work to be completed includes activation of 600 metres of road in the Husdon Creek area. Operations Manager for SCCF, Warren Hansen told Coast Reporter that he plans to apply to the Ministry of Forests for a cutting permit for the work as soon as endorsement of that step in the process is received from shíshálh Nation council. …On March 27, local forest conservation group Elphinstone Logging Focus issued a press release opposing the plan to log in the cutblock. The group is copying its correspondence related to the block to the province’s Forest Practices Board to show that it has attempted to resolve issues of concern with SCCF.

Why are the old growth trees and forests being cut down, (often clear cut instead of selectively logged), when the Fraser River near the Lower Mainland cities is full of floating pods of lumber, growing larger with time, much of it visibly rotting around us? Enough is enough! Be innovative. Start building with new, safer materials. Enough is enough! Be innovative. Start building with new, safer materials. [End of story]

Are you looking to enter into a new career or improve your abilities in the environmental sector? BCIT is offering a new micro-credential: Essential Field Skills for Environmental Professionals made up of 5 hands-on, field-based courses. These five courses will help you develop the most commonly-needed skillsets for environmental professionals. Each course is standalone and developed and taught by subject matter experts in the field. When you complete all five courses, you receive the micro-credential. Courses can be taken in any order. Starting May 2022, three of the five courses are being offered to help you reach your goal of advancing your environmental careers or honing your field skills. These hands-on, field-based, 12 to 24-hour courses are designed for environmental professionals, current natural science/resource management/forestry/ecological restoration students or nature enthusiasts looking to acquire or refresh skills in these three areas. 

Houston residents have expressed concern over timber being transported from the Canfor Houston mill to the Canfor Plateau mill located in Vanderhoof. The reasoning, according to Canfor, is due to a shortage of logs at Plateau. “From time to time we move logs from one facility to another to support continued operations. Currently our Plateau facility requires some additional logs and we have volume available from our Houston facility. The transfer will not impact Houston’s operations and it provides extra employment for our logging contractors and trucking workforce in the Houston area,” said Canfor Senior Director of Communications Michelle Ward. …In the summer of 2021, both mills experienced temporary closures due to railroad transportation issues caused by the wildfire situation. Production cuts lasted at the Houston mill until Jan. 3, 2022 when the mill returned to full operations.

Despite recovery efforts from federal and provincial governments, caribou populations across Canada continue to decline, largely due to human activity. But as a new UBC Okanagan study finds, in central British Columbia there is one herd of mountain caribou, the Klinse-Za, whose numbers are going in the opposite direction—all thanks to a collaborative recovery effort led by West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations. In partnership with many organizations and governments, the Indigenous-led conservation initiative paired short-term recovery actions such as predator reduction and caribou guardians at maternal pens, with ongoing work to secure landscape-level protection in an effort to create a self-sustaining caribou population. Their efforts paid off. …Though the partnership has yielded great success, Dr. Ford is the first to acknowledge that more time and effort will be needed to fully recover the Klinse-Za.

Bill Soprivich

District of West Vancouver council voted March 28 in favour of writing a letter to the B.C. provincial government, requesting an extension to the feedback period of the South Coast pest management plan and its use of herbicide sprays, set to come into effect April 1. The unanimous vote comes as outcry grows against the proposed five-year BC Timber Sales Pest Management Plan, which covers Squamish to Hope, and targets native hardwoods and Indigenous medicines and food in efforts to increase the provincial agency’s lumber output. … Coun. Bill Soprovich said the reason he brought it to council was to “emphasize the need again, by this municipality, yourself and this council, to give another reminder to the government that it’s coming from not just one citizen.” “Quite frankly, Madam Mayor, if [Angelina Hopkins Rose] did not pick the ad out of the paper in Hope, no one would have known about this,” he said.

Did the provincial government bungle the rollout of its old-growth deferral strategy? Sure it did. …Do they deserve criticism for creating unnecessary stress within the industry, for giving First Nations an unrealistic timeline and not providing the resources for a response until after that timeline had elapsed and for putting stakeholders in a reactive position rather than a proactive one? Sure they do. …It is time to put all of that behind us and work together toward preserving the industry while still improving land-use management practices. The town of Smithers, the Bulkley Valley and most of the towns around us were largely built on the forestry industry. And while our economy has diversified significantly, forestry is still one of the biggest contributors to the vibrancy of this community. Nobody really wants to think about what Smithers would look like without it although that is precisely what we should be thinking about.

Are you interested in helping shape the content of the ABCFP quarterly magazine? As a member of the editorial advisory panel, you can help determine the topics we feature in BC Forest Professional (BCFP), spotlighting the latest research, case studies, and information relating to the practice of professional forestry or emerging issues that may affect the practice of forestry. Editorial Advisory Panel (EAP) members provide peer review on articles submitted for publication and working with the BCFP editor, suggest topics and authors for future articles. The panel meets four times a year via video conferencing and requires approximately a 12-16 hour annual time commitment. Joining an ABCFP committee, such as the editorial advisory panel, counts towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and can also help grow your personal network and gain other interpersonal skills as you meet and work with other forest professionals from across the province.