Kristina Swerhun… who sits on the board of directors of the Whistler Naturalists, is concerned that the way the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) and its contractors are undertaking fuel-thinning prescriptions is resulting in ecological harm to the forest, particularly to the forest floor, by using logging machines. She wants to see more thought put into potential ecological outcomes while thinning is taking place, and a reassessment of the use of thinning by hand. …In 2022, the RMOW received $10.1 million from the federal government to undertake fuel mitigation in several areas across the municipality. …Forest ecologist Rhonda Millikin… argues the RMOW’s current practices are having adverse effects on the ecology of the forest, increasing the rate at which the forest floor is drying out. The RMOW has long enlisted forester and biologist Bruce Blackwell, of B.A. Blackwell and Associates, to build its fire mitigation plans.