The Ministry of Forests has confirmed only three to four per cent of residual fibre reports are verified in the field. A ministry spokesperson said 75 to 100 per cent are given an office review and three to four per cent are checked in the field. “An office review of survey data checks for consistency with policy, as many survey errors can successfully be detected from the office.” Limits are set by the province for the amount of residual fibre left following harvesting, as well as requirements for measurement, reporting and how much companies are billed for the residual left behind. Between 2017 and 2023, the residual level after harvest declined by 37 per cent on the Coast and 24 per cent in the Interior, meaning more fibre was hauled out of the bush with less slash burning taking place, the ministry noted. In Budget 2024, the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. is receiving $60 million to increase the use of low-value or residual fibre from logging…

Last year, Canada experienced its most devastating wildfire season in recorded history, both in terms of carbon emissions and area burned. Our community experienced that firsthand when wildfires forced the sudden evacuation of the University of British Columbia‘s beautiful Okanagan campus last summer. Already, this year is predicted to be at least equally dire. …The Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, led by Dr. Lori Daniels, is taking a balanced scientific approach to wildfire research grounded in Indigenous knowledge. This approach recognizes wildfires as natural ecological processes that, when properly managed, contribute to the health and diversity of forests. Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais at UBC Okanagan, a former wildland firefighter himself, is working closely with the BC Wildfire Service and rural and Indigenous communities. …This is one example of how Canada’s universities contribute tangible, evidence-based solutions to mitigate climate change and its consequences.

Premier David Eby has issued the following statement marking Earth Day: “Earth Day is a time to honour this incredible place we call home and renew our commitment to preserving it for future generations. Throughout the province, people are celebrating and taking action … committing to small changes that can add up to a big impact on our world. In B.C., we are fortunate to be surrounded by natural beauty, from the rugged coastline to lush forests. But climate change is threatening the places we all love, as well as the health, safety and well-being of people and communities. In recent years, British Columbians have endured record-breaking wildfire seasons, heat waves, floods and droughts – and we are now facing record-low snowpack. The trend is clear and profoundly concerning. Our government is a leader in climate action, and we are ramping up our efforts to address the growing threats of a changing climate.

Community members and environmental organizations recently gathered to discuss their discontent with the state of forest protection in BC at a town hall meeting. Attendees at the April 13 meeting expressed frustration with the government’s recent change in pricing and procedures for forest salvaging in the wake of wildfires. “The government is telling us that to help communities, they’re going to make the access into all burned areas of BC easier, they’re going to give the industry, and loggers, and forest corporations, easier access, less red tape and no environmental protection agencies to access all the burned lands. “You know why? Not for community health, not for forest health… but just to get more money for the sawmills,” Taryn Skalbania, with the Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance. “We need our forests standing behind us for wildlife, for habitat, for water.”

James Steidle

Recently Lower Mainland MLAs Bruce Ralston, our Minister of Forests, and our fresh-eyed Minister of State for Sustainable Forestry Innovation, Andrew Mercier were in town. I have no idea what was said… They don’t talk to critics like me who volunteer their time to highlight forestry issues. But I suspect it was the usual “solutions.” The moose will pay. …Our primary forests will pay. And of course, eventually, you will pay. …We will scrape the forests barren of life … plaster the landscape in monocrop pine plantations … as every last dollar of investor profit [is] siphoned out of our region to keep the global shareholder happy. …Last week at COFI, the investor class actually had the nerve to say red tape was to blame for the decades-long decline of the forestry sector, a sector that lost nearly half of its work force at the same time the floodgates were opened to deregulation and big capital.   

Thanks to drastic and evidence-based solutions, more southern mountain caribou roam Western Canada today than in previous decades; however, herd numbers are too fragile to sustain themselves without continued intervention. That begins the conclusion of a new research paper published in Ecological Applications by a team of wildlife and biodiversity researchers led by Dr. Clayton Lamb, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC Okanagan. …Researchers found that while caribou have declined dramatically over the past few decades, there are 52% (or less than 1,500) more caribou on the landscape than if no recovery actions had been taken. …“We have 1,500 more caribou than we would have had without these actions,” says co-author Dr. Rob Serrouya, Co-Director of the Wildlife Science Centre with Biodiversity Pathways. “There is strong evidence that predator reductions have increased caribou populations and avoided further caribou extirpation events.

Whistler is leaning into its fire preparedness as a drier-than-normal winter comes to a close and another warm summer looms. “The need for emergency preparedness is becoming more evident each year with the growing fire season, and the risks associated with that,” said Chief Thomas Doherty of the Whistler Fire Rescue Service (WFRS). …Doherty said the WFRS and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) are adapting to climate change by increasing their emergency preparedness through, among other things, simulating a community-wide evacuation. The fire department, the RMOW and the RCMP will simulate the scenario of a fire triggering an evacuation from the Spring Creek area in order to prepare them for the real possibility of a wildfire, and hopefully plug any operational gaps. …The event is a first for the WFRS.