A Kamloops photographer has won the fifth annual Forestry Photo Contest and her photo is the most recent cover of Canadian Forest Industries (CFI) Magazine. Kamloops shooter Andrea Robinson was the top photo winner of the contest put on by the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) and CFI. “The forest industry has strong roots across B.C. and the photos we receive every year reflect that,” Susan Yurkovich, president and CEO of COFI, said in a press release. “As always, the photographs show the diversity and beauty of our forests and forest products.” Participants from all over British Columbia sent in photos portraying forests as part of everyday life. Forty-one photos were submitted between October and December, and 10 were selected for the January-February edition of CFI. As the top winner, Robinson will receive a $500 gift card for Canadian Tire.

The Quesnel Tillicum Society/Native Friendship Centre will be running a Wildfire Firefighter program. Executive Director Tony Goulet says it will be a 6 week program beginning on March 1st. “We’re going to train 20 indigenous youth, or 20 indigenous people in fire fighting, give them all the skills, all the equipment, everything that they need, and at the end of the program we’re hoping that Quesnel Tillicum Society will have a crew ready to go out and fight forest fires.” Goulet says they are working with the senior governments to make sure that they are registered and can bid on forest fighting contracts. He says they received more than 300 thousand dollars in funding in the form of a Community Workforce Response Grant, a federal program that is run through an agreement with the province.

It still has to be determined exactly how many species-at-risk there are in North Cowichan’s municipal forest reserve, according to Shaun Mason. Mason, North Cowichan’s municipal forester, said a consultant’s draft report written in 2018 that states there are an estimated 141 species-at-risk in the 5,000-hectare MFR is not based on solid information. …“Just because the draft report states the number of these species that could be there doesn’t mean that they are there,” Mason said. …After hearing that an updated version had been submitted to the University of BC’s forestry faculty, that is working with North Cowichan on a management plan, sixmountains.ca filed a freedom-of-information request for a copy. …A recent complaint by sixmountains.ca alleging there is too much secrecy in North Cowichan’s public consultation process has led to an investigation by the provincial Office of the Ombudsperson.

NORTH OKANAGAN — Spallumcheen civic leaders have taken notice of community opposition to proposed logging on Rose Swanson Mountain, and are pressing the province on the issue. The province is planning on opening up a section of the beloved green space for logging this year and a petition to stop the project has collected more than 23,000 names. In a letter to BC Timber Sales, the township said it is “supportive of the concerns raised by its citizens” and is requesting extensive consultation before any logging takes place. Spallumcheen officials are “requesting a meeting with the Ministry of Forests to request the process be suspended until extensive community consultation, including environmental studies, long-term impacts, and clearly outlined harvesting plans, have been provided prior to any further decisions taking place in the Rose Swanson Mountain area.”

Could we take a deep breath, please, and take a fair and factual look at forestry in B.C.? Could we recognize and acknowledge that the only crisis is one manufactured by opponents of sustainable forestry? The truth is, logging in this age is highly regulated by government and carefully managed by forest companies. But that’s not what you might think if you only read campaigner Torrance Coste’s oped of Jan. 26. Coste employs all the standard activist spin to lobby government to halt all logging of mature forests in B.C. British Columbians, including First Nations, are overwhelmingly supportive of forestry. …A moratorium on all mature logging in B.C. would devastate thousands of working families across the province in a time of economic and social stress. …So let’s stick to the facts of our forestry situation. The B.C. government tells us that old-growth forests are not disappearing. That’s great news. 

In response to a new study published by Sierra Club BC that linked climate change risks to current forestry practices, the province said that it would consider the findings and recommendations of the study. The report prepared by Dr. Peter Wood and released earlier this week, Intact Forests, Safe Communities, claimed industrial logging in the province as one of the factors accelerating the risk of climate change disasters in the province. In its recommendations, Sierra Club BC called on the province to reform its forestry practices, restore intact forests and to include Indigenous expertise to mitigate climate risks. ….The ministry said that sustainable forest and timber management is a priority for British Columbians and the government. …In response to the report, members from the forest industry have said that the industry adheres to the strict environmental rules and regulations laid down by the province when it comes to Industrial logging.

It was another quiet year for Whistler’s Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF), with no real harvesting taking place aside from the ongoing fuel-management project on Cheakamus Lake Road. “That’s been the focus of the community forest for the last couple of years … the fuel hazard reduction treatments, and yeah, there’s just not a lot of logging that we’ve been doing for the last decade, really,” said CCF manager Simon Murray. “There is just not a lot of opportunities there for us right now just because of the economics of it.” … While commercial logging around Whistler remains a sore spot for many—particularly in terms of old growth—the CCF is built on a complex relationship, said Councillor Arthur De Jong, who sits on Whistlers’ Forests, and Wildlands Advisory Committee. 

Residents of Nelson and users of the Great Northern Rail Trail will notice some unconventional activity in the forest just above the city this summer. The forested mountainside above the rail trail and south of the cemetery, some of it visible from the city, will be selectively logged by Kalesnikoff Lumber Ltd. … Forests surrounding Nelson have been identified many times by experts as dangerously prone to wildfire. Most of that forest is Crown land licensed to timber companies. When the Regional District of Central Kootenay moves in after the loggers are done, they will be doing three things: thinning the crown canopy so there is a patchwork of trees rather than a continuous fuel available to a fire; limbing trees to get rid of ladder fuels that allow a ground fire to climb trees; and cleaning up or burning surface debris to prevent dangerous accumulation on the ground.

One day, the only trace of old-growth forests might be virtual replicas. The trees, plants, streams and animals all rendered in pixels and projections, a ghost version of something that was once wildly alive. But before this happens, art and activism can combine to offer a clear picture of what’s at stake. Sanctuary: The Dakota Bear Ancient Forest Experience, on now at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver, is a 360-degree projection installation that recreates the experience of being in the forest — and imagines its possible future clearcutting. Located on unceded Squamish First Nation lands on the Sunshine Coast, the Dakota Bear forest dates back to the last ice age and derives its name from the black bears that make their home there. Ancient hollow cedars offer places of respite and shelter for mother bears and their babies.

VICTORIA – An audit of BC Timber Sales (BCTS) and timber sale licence (TSL) holders in the Clearwater Field Unit portion of BC Timber Sales’ Kamloops Business Area found general compliance with B.C.’s forestry legislation, according to an audit report. “BCTS complied with requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. However, auditors found one of the TSL holders did not ensure a section of the Oliver Creek forest service road was safe for industrial use, and several TSL holders’ practices for assessing fire hazard require improvement,” said Kevin Kriese, chair, Forest Practices Board. “The section of forest service road is unstable and has had several landslides that deposited sediment into Oliver Creek, which is an important fish stream,” Kriese said. “Since the audit took place, the ministry has closed the road.” The area audited extends from Adams Lake north toward Valemount and includes the communities of Clearwater, Vavenby, Avola and Blue River.

Additional coverage in Castanet, Unsafe Forestry Road Closed.