A grant from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) is helping Valley Carriers take a new approach to bring 24,000 cubic metres of wood fibre into Merritt to be used to generate electricity instead of burning it in slash piles. With the FESBC grant, Valley Carriers initially explored an opportunity to use a forest slash bundler to see what they could recover in waste residual forest fibre piled along forestry roads in the area. The pilot hoped to prepare biomass bundles that could be transported by regular logging trucks.  Valley Carriers modified their approach after a full evaluation of the bundler and approached the remaining utilization opportunities with a more conventional grinding operation. “Our small community has been hard hit by the mountain pine beetle and mill closures,” said Ben Klassen, CEO, Valley Carriers. “Being able to keep our people working and producing fibre for our customers is critical.”

A forest-focused conservation group is holding a rally in Prince George tomorrow advocating for provincial action on biodiversity in old-growth forests. Dubbed the ‘Rebellion for Forests,’ the rally will feature speakers like UNBC scientists Art Fredeen and Pam Wright, along with Lheidli T’enneh singer-songwriter Kym Gouchie. “We are holding this COVID-aware event to bring attention to the absence of leadership from Premier John Horgan on old-growth forests and biodiversity,” says Jenn Matthews, spokesperson for Conservation North. …The group says the Premier and the Minister of Forests are dragging their heels on implementing the recommendations of their own old-growth report.

…The Fairy Creek Blockade has been defined by this kind of urgency. This little valley — one of the last unlogged watersheds on the Island — has become the epicentre in the kind of fight to save B.C.’s temperate rainforests that hasn’t been seen in a quarter century. Now an injunction application by Teal-Jones threatens to break what’s been building over the past eight months. On Friday, the B.C. Supreme Court will decide whether to grant the injunction and authorize arrests. …In a world wracked by climate change and species loss, the Fairy Creek blockaders occupy a desperate frontline. …It’s not clear what Friday’s showdown in court will set in motion. Will an injunction scatter the blockaders? Or might it accomplish what they hope — a heightened awareness of their fight, catalyzing the kind of broad, even international, support that fuelled British Columbia’s previous War in the Woods?

Work has begun in the Beaver Lodge Forest Lands as part of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development’s restoration and maintenance work in the area. Some trails will be closed temporarily in the areas of active falling. The goal of the work is to enhance recreational opportunities and to deal with a number of safety concerns in the area. Some trees in the Beaver Lodge Lands have been affected by root rot disease and those trees have become unstable. They also pose a safety risk to walkers especially during high winds. Crews are in the area this week to remove those diseased trees. “The public is encouraged to observe safety signage and watch for flagging crews,” said Ministry representative Tyler Hooper

Opportunities to work on more than 180 land-based projects are helping people begin their economic recovery from COVID-19, as part of the provincial response plan. “We’re working hard to support workers and contractors who have been impacted by the pandemic, while also creating more good job opportunities and building stronger communities,” said Premier John Horgan. …B.C. expanded its existing Forest Employment Program with an additional $12 million.  This will support more workers and contractors in more communities, enabling them to complete priority land-based projects. “Forest-dependent communities were especially hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests… Projects include improving recreation sites and trails, forest service roads, wildlife areas and wildfire safety. …Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, said, “this expansion of the Forest Employment Program is going to help more workers in forest-dependent communities, while improving and strengthening B.C.’s forest lands so more people can enjoy them safely.”

Michele Babchuk

North Island MLA Michele Babchuk is welcoming 24 investments in small, land-based infrastructure projects from the province that will support people in their economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Forestry workers in our region have faced some significant challenges over the last few years,” Babchuk says… “It’s our government’s role to respond to economic concerns, and I’m glad to see that happening in a positive, productive way. Focusing on small-scale local infrastructure projects helps keep people employed and also keeps our beautiful back country safe and accessible for people to enjoy.” The Forestry Enhancement Program (FEP) supports workers and contractors who were impacted by downturns in the forestry sector. The program was expanded with an additional $12 million to support more people in more communities across the province in their economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

Mountain pine beetles are advancing across Alberta and finding footholds in forests so quickly they don’t have time to genetically differentiate, according to a study from the University of Alberta’s biological sciences department. In what is the first attempt to track spread of the pests across the province, researchers sampled pine beetles from locations such as Slave Lake, Fox Creek and Lac La Biche, using genetic information to find out where the beetles originated. Alberta has seen infestations grow since the early 2000s when the beetles began blowing into the province from B.C. in swarms sometimes large enough to be detected by radar. The swarms used updrafts to cross the Rocky Mountains and into the Grande Prairie and Jasper areas.  

What is more essential to our current lifestyle and economy than roads? … We cannot sustain our economy and lives without transportation. Yet as important as roads are to people, they are also an impediment to wildlife, their habitats, and a big headache and complication for wildlife managers. … Roads, or as we refer to as access, help create some of B.C.’s most complex wildlife management problems. B.C. used to be known as a place … where our abundance of wildlife could live out their lives relatively free from human hindrance. Not so much anymore. Although we still have our north and extensive park systems with limited road access, the rest of the province is now extensively roaded. It is these road networks that create most of our management issues.