Dave Campbell, the head of the province’s River Forecast Centre, says persistent drought conditions in B.C. stretch back to 2022, so the province is heading into this summer with “multi-year” precipitation deficits. Satellite photos show rivers in the Interior running narrower and shallower than the same time in 2023, which went on to be one of B.C.’s driest years on record. …B.C. officials held a news conference on Thursday to announce several new measures to help people prepare for threats such as drought and wildfires, which include an online tool for household emergency planning, an updated drought information portal and upgrades to the BC Wildfire Service mobile app. Nathan Cullen, minister of water, land and resource stewardship, said the province is facing a “serious” situation with the potential for continued drought, and he asked people to take steps to reduce their consumption to conserve water.

We are thrilled to announce that ten faculty members in Forestry received Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grants in the most recent competitions. Congratulations to Tom Booker, Alex Moore, Isla Myers-Smith, Jeanine Rhemtulla, Lizzie Wolkovich, Nicholas Coops, Bianca Eskelson, Haibo Feng, Jaya Joshi, and Felix Wiesner. The NSERC Discovery Grant Program is a competitive grant program supporting basic discovery research at Canadian universities in the natural sciences and engineering.

Last year, Metro Vancouver set a target to expand its urban forests to cover 40 per cent of the region by 2050. But according to recently published data, that plan is already backsliding. …The latest numbers, presented in a report from Metro Vancouver staff, mean hard artificial ground now covers 54 per cent of the urban containment boundary, while only 31 per cent is covered by trees. The report says pressures from growth, along with new provincial housing legislation, “will likely lead to further tree canopy cover losses and impervious surface increases”. …[This] comes amid the projected arrival of one million more residents over the next 36 years, requiring 500,000 new housing units. …The Metro report says tree planting should prioritize high-density urban cores. Those include downtown Vancouver’s seafront, the Lonsdale area in North Vancouver, Richmond Centre and neighbouring areas, New Westminster, Surrey’s city centre, White Rock and the City of Langley. 

At our Surrey Distribution Center, we recently began a journey towards a cleaner, greener operation by conducting an electric shunt truck trial. As part of looking into adopting an electric shunt truck into our logistics fleet, we borrowed one to try out. “It is really exciting to do a trial with this emerging technology.  We were fortunate that Seaspan Ferries was able to lend us this unit for a trial,” says John Dumbovic, Manager of Transportation and Logistics who initiated this trial. “These EV shunt trucks do the same work using much less energy with minimal C02 emissions. This trial gives us a good understanding of the utility of these EVs and that they can operated in this industrial environment.” Seaspan Ferries, who are one of the first companies on the west coast to use electric shunt trucks, imported the trucks from Sweden.  Currently, Seaspan is in the trial phase of incorporating electric shunt trucks into their operations, having ordered two units.

The chances of putting  a complete stop to clearcut logging in West Bragg Creek and Moose Mountain seem to be fading as more information comes out through the public consultation meetings the BC forest products company is holding before the scheduled 2026 cut. Opponents of the plan to clearcut [are] asking for a variety of things that all amount to pumping the brakes on logging the area. …if the province were to step in between now and 2026 and reverse their decision to allow West Fraser to go ahead, the timber company would be entitled to financial compensation for all the planning work that’s been done. Vice-President of Canadian Woodlands D’Arcy Henderson explained that anyone running a lumber mill has a significant and ongoing investment in people and equipment that requires a guaranteed, continuous flow of raw materials. 

Williams Lake residents attended this morning’s pacific salmon restoration dialogue… The event, hosted by the University of British Columbia Institute for Oceans and Fisheries, had a goal of hearing the views and concerns from various municipalities to bring forward to the Province. Project Lead for Salmon Dialogues, Brian Riddell says there’s some overlap to the different local salmon issues. “There are common themes emerging. There is a lot of frustration with government not addressing particular local needs,” says Riddell. “The other part is forestry is definitely a major concern in BC, extensive logging and then leaving the area so the First Nations are left with a problem to address”.  Riddell added that water management and fisheries management are other common concerns being heard.

Xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səlilwətaɬ Territories, VANCOUVER, BC – The B.C. Watershed Security Fund is launching its first phase of support for watershed projects and initiatives to help communities respond to urgent and long-term watershed needs. The Fund’s first grant program application intake opens June 3, 2024 until June 26, 2024. A larger intake and funding stream is planned to open in late 2024/early 2025. The Real Estate Foundation of BC (REFBC) and the First Nations Water Caucus (Water Caucus) – with the First Nations Fisheries Council (FNFC) – are excited to announce this important early step in flowing critical resources to communities. The group is collaborating as partners to provide interim Fund stewardship, and to support co-development of a permanent, co-governed entity that will oversee and manage the Fund over the longer term. The Fund was established in 2023 through a historic contribution by the Province of B.C. of $100 million to kick start the creation of the Fund.

Natasha Caverley

Phil Burton

Natasha Caverley and Phil Burton have been appointed to the Forest Practices Board for three-year terms. Caverley holds a masters in education in counselling psychology and a PhD in organizational studies from the University of Victoria. …Caverley has more than 20 years of experience in workshop facilitation, management and organizational behaviour, and knowledge product development with an emphasis on Indigenous fire stewardship. She is a co-author of the book Blazing the Trail: Celebrating Indigenous Fire Stewardship… Burton is a registered biologist and a professor emeritus in the department of ecosystem science and management at the University of Northern British Columbia. …Previously, Burton served as a manager with the Canadian Forest Service during the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative and has worked as an environmental consultant. Graduating with a bachelor of science in biology and land-use studies from the University of Saskatchewan, he then earned masters in science and PhD degrees in the United States.