The University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Forestry is excited to announce the launch of our new Professional Micro-Certificate on Skills for Assessing Climate Change and Adaptation. This program aims to foster a better understanding of the relationships and application among climate science, vulnerability assessments, adaptation development, and how this is applied in a management context, and finally translated into the business case for adaptation. Today, government and certification agencies are requiring more accountability in meeting climate change, and green industry standards. This has resulted in a surge in demand for working professionals who wish to advance their knowledge in the field of climate science, assessment and application of climate impacts and adaptation in a forestry context. The Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Micro-Certificate offers science-based, practical, hands-on training for professionals, including those currently working and those seeking to gain additional skills to better their employment opportunities. 

Cartoon with no story in Prince George Matters

Cassy Emerson owns Youbou’s only coffee house, a gathering place for locals and visitors. It’s a good place to catch a glimpse of the local celebrities – a gang of hulking, male Roosevelt elk who have given up the forest life for the comforts of this B.C. town.  Mostly the elk are a welcome sight and locals have even named them and catalogued their unique personalities. Sometimes, though, they can be a pain.  …Given their status around town, one might think there was an abundance of such elk in the area, but in reality, this important species is in need of protection.  …Canada’s biodiversity is shrinking – and Roosevelt elk are an important indicator of the health of the ecosystem.  …Vancouver Island is the last remaining stronghold of Roosevelt elk in Canada, but logging and poaching threaten their future. 

The Forest Practices Board is recommending regulatory changes, following a review of logging in the Prince George area that it found to be technically compliant but outdated.  Basically, the existing regulations need updating to better protect biodiversity, the board states in a recent report.  The review of logging in the Prince George timber supply area (TSA) was prompted by a complaint, and conservationists are hailing the board’s report as confirmation that biodiversity in old growth forests is not being well-managed.  …“The investigation found that licensees were complying with the legal requirements for managing biodiversity,” the report states. “However, those requirements were established almost twenty years ago and have not been formally reviewed or revised. …The board makes two recommendations: Map old growth management areas in the TSA, and review and update requirements for managing biodiversity.

The Burns Lake Community Forest’s (BL Comfor) 2020 season went pretty well, however for 2021, hurdles from the local district manager’s office might make things difficult, according to General Manager Frank Varga.  “I think it went pretty well. I mean we did have a very wet year, so we were definitely challenged and had to be shut down a few times because the conditions just didn’t give us the opportunity to continue carrying out the harvesting salvaging activities. But we fully took on the Wildfire Management (WFM) project’s WFM Area 1 and got through probably a good 50 per cent of harvesting activities that we wanted to,” he said.  The WFM Area 1 is the the area just south of Burns Lake. This area has been extensively impacted by Mountain Pine Beetle and has been blowing down as can be observed from town, said Varga. This area is 60-80 per cent dead pine leading.