Canada’s 2023 wildfire season is blamed for the increase in global tree cover loss (outside the tropics). In related news: tropical forest loss declined 9% in 2023; Garry Merkel defends the slow pace of BC’s old growth deferrals; Quebec wildfire fighter image wins world photo award; carbon credits revive a burnt forest in Montana; and a new report on the main source of recent CO2 emissions.
In Business news: Nelson Bennett on creating the investment conditions for mass timber in BC; new research on mass timber’s fire safety; the Drax Foundation lists $4.6M in community contributions; Maine Woods Company secures grant; and JM Lumber and Pallet is rebuilding after fire. Meanwhile: FSC Canada hires Sean Dolter as Director of Policy & Standards; Canada’s latest housing market report; and slow progress on addressing the US housing crisis.
Finally, for Wildfire Week—Bruce Blackwell opines on the risk of wildfires on private land and lack of guidance for landowners.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Over the past three years various regions of British Columbia have experienced significant drought. Already the Prince George and Cariboo Fire Zones have put burn bans in place for commercial (Category 2 and 3) burning as of March 28, 2024, prior to the official start of the wildfire season (April 1st). These are sound proactive measures given the current conditions throughout a large part of the Province. However, even with these measures in place there is still a significant risk of wildfires starting on private land that is not regulated by the Wildfire Act. This year the risk is significant and elevated by the drought and potential for a drier warmer spring. …Typically, private landowners start unregulated fires to burn organic debris or grass to either dispose of waste materials or to protect their properties from wildfire. While under the right burning conditions, this can be a sound and effective practice but can easily go wrong when landowners do not have the right experience and knowledge to burn.
VANCOUVER, BC — Drax released an annual report for its Drax Foundation and Community Fund that shows more than $4.6 million has been donated to support communities across Drax’s global operations. The company focused on funding organizations that help underrepresented groups, advance gender equality, and support indigenous communities. …In Canada, Drax provided more than $960,000 to organizations in 2023, including STEM workshops and mentoring partnerships with the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology as part of its work to invest in girls and indigenous communities as future STEM leaders. …A three-year partnership with Science World to increase the educational opportunities for students in the most remote school districts. …The University of BC’s Faculty of Forestry received $81,500 in grant funding supporting 316 children from underserved communities with access to bursaries. The programme called Wild & Immersive encourages children and young people to care for the environment through nature-based experiences.
When U.S. governors gathered in Washington this February, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte… shared a practical political lesson about the nation’s housing shortage. He detailed his state’s efforts to add homes by removing restrictions on development, in response to a surge in the state’s population. Gianforte offered a simple sales pitch to disarm the opposition to new development. “Every time I got pushback from the left or the right in our legislature, I would say, ‘Do we want our nurses, teachers and police officers to live in the community where they work?’” the governor said. The result was a package of reforms passed in 2023, and he cited early progress: rents have dropped over the past year. Across the country, there are states and municipalities tackling the same pervasive but tedious problem: overly restrictive zoning that makes it challenging or nearly impossible to build new housing.
Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison pointed to three factors that are planted firmly in the positive column of the home improvement industry. He calls them “core demand drivers.” Disposable personal income is up. Home prices are up. And housing stock is getting older, and therefore in need of home improvement retailers like Lowe’s. Against these positive factors are several negatives and unknowns, including high interest rates and low existing home sales”. …All those factors played into the company’s performance of 2023, during which the company’s net income of $7.7 billion was up from $6.5 billion in the previous year. Net sales for the full year were $86.4 billion, down 11% from $97.1 billion in the prior year. …The big decline came in the lumber aisle. But despite lumber deflation, the company generated positive comparable sales for the pro customer for the year. And the stand-alone building materials category stands out starkly as a bright spot in year-over-year sales.
Progress made when it comes to the protection of the world’s forests was thwarted by last year’s historic wildfire season in Canada, according to a new report. The annual survey, published Thursday by the World Resources Institute, a research group, found that global tree cover loss outside of the tropics increased 24 per cent in 2023. The change is attributed to the enormous loss of tree cover last year in Canada. Canada’s wildfire season was the worst on record, with five times more tree cover lost due to fire in 2023 than the year before. Experts say drought and hot temperatures made more likely by climate change created the conditions that resulted in Canada’s historic season. According to the tree cover report, Canada accounted for more than half of the world’s forest loss due to fire last year, and 92 per cent of the forest lost in the country was due to fire. 
As the region braces for another hot season of wildfires the regional district has stepped up its game in preparation. Approval has been given by the board of directors for an additional Emergency Program coordinator at the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) Nelson office to address several immediate and ongoing needs, including preparing for and responding to — as well as recovering from the increasing frequency, intensity and uncertainty — of floods, wildfires, drought and extreme heat in the RDCK. “…new provincial emergency management legislation, and seasonal Emergency Operations Center (EOC) staffing challenges could impact our capacity to deliver excellence of the Emergency Management Program,” said Dan Seguin, RDCK manager of Community Sustainability. The newly approved position will allow for the capacity to plan for, operationalize and implement the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (in force since Nov. 8, 2023).
VERMONT – I’m writing to express my dismay at the misinformation again being spread about the Telephone Gap timber project. Timber harvesting on the Green Mountain National Forest is good for Vermont and the environment. Stopping harvesting is not a magic bullet to stop climate change, an incredibly complex problem with many possible pieces to the solution. Yelling “Stop harvesting timber and save the planet” makes for a catchy headline and pushes some fundraising but misses the mark. For more on our thinking about timber harvesting go to the Vermont Forest Products Association website video page: vtfpa.org/videos. I have been working in the forest products industry my entire 49-year career. I have learned that trees 80 to 150 years old are in the prime range for harvesting, providing the best quality forest products and fitting in with sound management practices. We harvest trees in that age range regularly and produce vibrantly healthy forests as a result.
