Monthly Archives: November 2017

A natural habitat for white-tailed deer, moose and elk near Dundurn will be protected as part of a new conservation project announced by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The NCC announced on Tuesday that it purchased about 160 acres of private land, which was deemed to be in a pristine natural state. The rolling hills made of old sand dunes are covered by aspen trees, wet meadows and native grasslands. Prairie clover, which is considered to be a species of special concern under the Species at Risk Act, can also be found there. According to the NCC, other species of local importance on the property include the sand-dune wild rye, Menzies’ catchfly and red-stemmed cinquefoil.

Jeff Zweig & Chief Jeff Jones

The Pacheedaht First Nation and TimberWest Forest Corp. signed a  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize a long-term collaborative commitment in support of First Nation culture, environmental stewardship and restoration projects, and forestry education, mentorship and business opportunities. “TimberWest believes strongly in collaborative approaches with our neighbours,” says Jeff Zweig, President and CEO of TimberWest. …The MoU commits both parties to work together for mutual benefit and share knowledge and expertise on sustainable forest management practices, while collaborating on important cultural and environmental objectives. …“We have worked closely with TimberWest for many years, specifically on environmental projects through the San Juan Stewardship Roundtable,” says Chief Jeff Jones, Pacheedaht First Nation.

Bob Simpson

Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson told the Nov. 21 council meeting there was a substantial discussion about timber losses at the Nov. 17 Cariboo Regional District meeting. …In the Quesnel Timber Supply area, the mayor said it does not look like there’s a lot of salvage opportunity. “The fire ran hot, plus it was an already infested area, so there was a lot of mountain pine beetle dead timber. “It’s not like Williams Lake and 100 Mile House where there were some close fire areas that were attacked pretty fiercely [that now has] a mix of green and burnt wood. …“What is important to us, and it’s part of what we have to do as a council, is the fuel mitigation work to be done particularly in the forest between the Plateau Fire and the Fraser River.

Several Indigenous and environmental groups have asked the federal government to step in and protect some endangered caribou herds on provincial land in Alberta. In a letter to federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, the coalition said Alberta hasn’t met Ottawa’s deadline for coming up with a plan to save five threatened herds in the northeastern part of the province heavily impacted by forestry and oilsands development. They said if Alberta won’t make the move, Ottawa should. …The formal petition delivered to McKenna on Monday, along with the letter, goes through 11 Alberta laws and concludes none offers legal protections, although Robinson [Ecojustice]  noted some companies try to minimize damage to caribou herds. Alberta and six other provinces continue to fail to meet a federal deadline to release recovery plans for threatened herds in their jurisdictions. That deadline passed in October.

The City of Winnipeg is funneling more money into cutting down on the list of trees with Dutch elm disease that need to be removed. In the 2018 proposed budget, the city wants to spend $4.6 million to remove more trees next year. Between initiatives to identify, prune, remove and replace diseased trees, the city expects to spend $18.7 million. In May the city had about 1,500 trees on the waiting list from the last two years to be removed, according to Martha Barwinsky, the city’s forester. “We are losing on average, anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 trees a year over the past five years,” Barwinsky said at the time. “It’s a crazy amount of trees.” In 2014 there were 5,257 trees removed with Dutch elm disease across the city, in 2015 it dropped to 4,849 and in 2016 it climbed to 6,123 trees cut down with the disease.