Monthly Archives: December 2018

For the first time ever, tree-killing mountain pine beetles have been found in forests just outside Rocky Mountain House. “They are like an invading army, waiting at our borders,” said Gary Lewis, landcare supervisor for Clearwater County. Only the voracious beetles, which have decimated B.C. forests before attacking those around Jasper, are not just skirting remote edges of the West Country anymore. …West Fraser’s Sundre operation has been rushing to cut down dead trees before they completely rot, so the company can at least get a reduced price for the stained lumber, said Tom Daniels. …Daniels said the insects are now working their way into Northern Alberta’s jack pine forests, which, to his knowledge, have never had a pine beetle infestation before.

WILLIAMS LAKE – A third year of helicopter logging operations in the Williams Lake area is expected to start this week to help minimize the spread of Douglas-fir beetles on Crown land. These natural forest pests normally attack small groups of trees. A significant infestation can weaken and eventually kill a tree over a period of about one year. However, helicopter logging (to selectively remove infested trees and protect other trees nearby) and related containment treatments have helped slow the spread of the beetles in the Williams Lake area over the past two years. …Monitoring of Douglas-fir beetle infestations within previous treatment areas has identified fewer trees currently under attack, so the helicopter logging project is being expanded to new sites.

A unique wetland habitat and rare Garry Oak ecosystem in the Cowichan Valley make up B.C.’s newest wildlife management area. The Somenos wetlands, just north of Duncan, are a prime wildlife viewing site. Over 200 bird species have been observed, including the second-largest population of over-wintering trumpeter swans on Vancouver Island and year-round habitat for great blue herons. The area is internationally recognized for its significant fish and wildlife habitat. “Wildlife management areas help to meet government’s mandate to sustainably manage B.C.’s ecosystems, rivers and lakes, as well as improving wildlife management and habitat conservation,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “We want to protect these kinds of areas for generations to come.” The S’amunu wildlife management area (WMA) contains about 155 hectares of highly productive lake, seasonally flooded wetlands and riparian habitat, as well as significant cultural features.

An environmental group has filed a complaint over logging in the Nahmint Valley, alleging trees were cut, including one of Canada’s biggest, without regard to values such as conservation or recreation. The Ancient Forest Alliance objects to the B.C. government decision to auction 300 hectares in various-sized cutblocks in the Nahmint Valley, southwest of Port Alberni. Some of the resulting cutblocks logged last spring were 30 hectares. One contained a Douglas fir whose measurements, three metres in diameter, would have placed it ninth on the B.C. Big Tree Registry, a list maintained by the forest faculty at the University of British Columbia. “Elsewhere in the valley, we found cedar stumps over 10 feet in diameter,” said TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner in an interview. “There are a fair number of trees there that we feel should still be standing.”

Eric Andersen

One of B.C.’s leading forestry companies has announced a temporary reduction in lumber production across the province’s Interior due to challenging markets and high costs, as well as log shortages. But a leading figure in the industry says the problems in the Interior do not reflect the situation on the coast. Quite the contrary. …But Eric Andersen, a forest industry consultant with 30 years’ experience, said the challenge for the Interior is practically the opposite of the challenges facing the sector on the coast. …”We have an under-harvest… a significant under-harvest,” said Andersen. …Andersen hears complaints about B.C. selling raw logs to China and other overseas manufacturers. “We absolutely must be able to sell raw logs to China, or we’ll all be shut down. The Chinese market is taking our low-quality hemlock that we are all desperate to sell to keep going.”