Daily Archives: January 3, 2019

The BC Wildlife Health Program is again asking for help assessing the effects of winter ticks on the province’s moose population as part of its annual moose winter tick surveillance program. The program relies on observations from wildlife professionals, wildlife enthusiasts and the general public to: monitor the number of animals with hair loss; assess the amount of hair loss on each animal; and estimate the overall prevalence and distribution of winter ticks. Tick infestations can, at times, result in severe behavioural and physiological changes and directly affect the survival rates of moose, especially in younger animals. Winter ticks can have a significant impact on moose populations when climate and habitat conditions promote high tick numbers. …The findings of the surveillance program will contribute to the Provincial Moose Research Program, which was initiated in 2013 to investigate factors influencing moose populations in British Columbia.

DUNCAN, BC — Staff at the BC Forest Discovery Centre are assessing the damage after the windstorm levelled more than 20 trees. Trees crushed one of the buildings that house three logging trucks and some big trees blocked the train tracks. General Manager Chris Gale says it was heartbreaking to see the damage. “The trouble is all the volunteers, all of us walked around the property and it almost brings a tear to your eye when you see all the work we’ve done and the changes that happened overnight,” said Gale. …A couple exhibits are destroyed, but the Forests Forever exhibit, set to open in the spring, didn’t suffer any damage.

John Russell

John Russell, a B.C. forester and the world’s leading expert on the western red and yellow cedars, has died. He was 63. Russell was the principal research scientist examining growth, genetics and survivability of the western red cedar and yellow cedar for the B.C. Ministry of Forests. He co-authored more than 40 papers in scientific journals and organized an international symposium in Victoria on the two species in 2010. Russell, who lived in Maple Bay, died Dec. 20. He had kidney cancer. …Barb Hawkins, a professor in the Centre for Forest Biology at the University of Victoria, said Russell’s work was part of a provincewide effort begun in the 1950s to improve the forest health of various tree species. Russell’s work on the two cedar species took him all over B.C., she said. …Russell is survived by his wife, Valerie, and three grown children, Heather, Andrew and Christopher. A celebration of his life is being planned, possibly for the spring.

Roger Wiles

I attended North Cowichan council chambers on Dec. 19, where many concerned citizens eloquently challenged the existing management regime that governs our municipal forest reserve. …Notably included among the speakers was a coterie of naysaying, retired foresters who thought current policies were just fine. During their careers, this fraternity had dutifully served their corporate masters, and mutely acquiesced to the final liquidation of Vancouver Island’s native forests. …But stop and think! Hasn’t our reliance on these established experts often been ill founded? …It is time to consult a new breed of progressive forester who understands the vital importance of biodiversity, the cumulative impacts of poor management, and the holistic balance of all intrinsic values.

Maryann Chichak

Looking back on 2018, Whitecourt Mayor Maryann Chichak said that compared to previous years, it was a rather “flat year for the Town.” …This was due partially to a number of events that occurred during the year that were beyond the control of the Town. “Things like the ice jams at the beginning of 2018 along the Athabasca River and two floods — one at the Carlan centre and the other was at the Forest Interpretive Centre. …Two of the major initiatives that the Town will move into 2019 is working with the forest and energy sectors, the provincial and federal governments regarding the Caribou Range Plan and the Mountain Pine Beetle strategy. “It’s still such a huge issue for not only industry but for us as a municipality and for local business owners,” Chichak explained.