Grizzly bears are an iconic but threatened animal in Alberta under the provincial Wildlife Act, and thanks to a West Fraser-funded study, we understand more about the populations of this species. Although only gaining their official status of Threatened under the Act in 2010, grizzlies have been at the center of conservation efforts for decades. However, to know if we’re successful, we need to see if there’s an increase in the bear population. …It’s work-intensive to estimate the grizzly population, requiring well-coordinated timing, funding, and expertise. This is where collaborations between research groups and industry blossom. One of West Fraser’s many research collaborations has recently yielded critical information for grizzly bear conservation. What do these results mean for West Fraser? With three different Forest Management Areas (Slave Lake, Blue Ridge, and Sundre) located within these study Bear Management Areas alone, understanding the population and the effectiveness of conservation efforts is critical.

Unceded Sinixt, Ktunaxa, Syilx and Witsuwit’en Territories (Nelson, BC and Smithers, BC) – The 2020 Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) identified the need for immediate logging deferrals of the highest value, most at risk old forest in the British Columbia. Temporary logging deferrals maintain options during ongoing land-use planning discussions with First Nations and allow time for the recommended paradigm shift in forest management that prioritizes Indigenous rights and interests, ecological integrity and long-term community stability over timber volume. …We have identified a total area of about 2.6% percent of the forested land-base in BC. A small portion of that will overlap with existing and upcoming permits and that area should be deferred from logging based on the provincial commitment to the Old Growth Strategic Review and the intent to prevent irreversible biodiversity loss.

Just before last fall’s election, the B.C. NDP released its report on old growth logging. They said they were implementing all the panel’s recommendations and that they were protecting hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest. One of the recommendations was immediate deferral of logging old growth forests. But forestry experts tell us that the cutting of old growth big trees has not significantly decreased, and in fact cutting permits have gone up by over 40 per cent. …Far from managing B.C.’s forests in the best interests of British Columbians, the NDP business-as-usual government is allowing the remnants of our ancient forests to be mined, not for the benefit of working people, but for the profit of forestry corporations. Nelson-Creston MLA Brittny Anderson should hold a public town hall as soon as possible to hear concerns about the crisis in B.C.’s forests.

Members of a group campaigning to preserve what remains of unlogged forest in the region say they have come across evidence of loggers targeting trees more than 300 years old.  Conservation North has made the claim on a video, now online, showing a log from a spruce tree they say dates back to 1691. It was found at a log sorting yard on the Pass Lake Forest Service Road which they have been monitoring for the past three years.  The video opens with a bird’s eye view of the site.   “These stacks of logs come from the Inland and Boreal rainforests, representing a legacy of old growth and primary forests that are quickly being annihilated,” the group says in a statement. …Earlier this year, the group issued an online map showing the cumulative impact industrial activity has had on the province’s forests. 

A woodlot belonging to the Klahoose First Nation on Cortes Island was vandalized multiple times over the last week.  Tactics right out of writer Edward Abbey’s novel The Monkey Wrench Gang were used on the Klahoose wood lot since the First Nation put up ribbons marking a road into the site.  “About three weeks ago we had it all ribboned off for a road to go back. After about four or five days someone went in there and ripped all of the ribbons out. We had to hire somebody to come back and engineer it again,” said Klahoose Chief Kevin Peacey. “A few nights ago, one of the guys went to jump into his machine and it wouldn’t start. He looked through his whole machine and somebody had put a bunch of dirt in the gas tank.” 

Police have arrested seven people at the Fairy Creek logging blockade on Vancouver Island as they enforced an injunction Tuesday. …The force announced Monday that it is temporarily controlling access to the Fairy Creek watershed northeast of Port Renfrew, B.C., enforcing the April 1 injunction that allows Teal-Cedar Products to start logging activities. …Tuesday, dozens of RCMP officers converged on a series of camps along a remote Vancouver Island logging road to begin the process of clearing the site for forest workers. …The Rainforest Flying Squad say they were given 24 hours to leave the controlled area or face arrest. …The RCMP set up a checkpoint along a forest service road leading to the Caycuse camp and about two dozen police vehicles moved past it earlier today. RCMP Const. Alex Berube said “police action” will occur but a “measured” approach will be used so no one is hurt.

Additional coverage in the Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun – Police arrest five protesters who refuse to leave anti-logging blockades in B.C.

Also, TV coverage in Global News:

VICTORIA – Managing recreation resources on public forest land outside of parks is the subject of a special report released by the Forest Practices Board. The report identified issues and improvements needed and said better planning is key. “Forest recreation is important in B.C., both as a valued part of residents’ lifestyles and for the economic benefits derived from tourism,” said Kevin Kriese, board chair, Forest Practices Board. “Almost 80% of B.C. is public forest land outside of parks. These areas provide significant recreation and tourism opportunities, including hiking, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, backcountry skiing and more.” The board identified three improvements B.C. can make to better manage its recreation resources: collect better information about recreation resources; conduct planning for recreation resources that involves First Nations and stakeholders; and set objectives for specific recreation resource values to ensure they are adequately protected from the impacts of forestry activities.