Daily Archives: February 19, 2019

The operators of a popular tourist attraction in Canada are proposing to build an elevated “tree walk” that spirals more than 100 feet into the sky above a pristine Northwest forest. The project would create a 4,100-foot wooden walkway through the treetops and over wetlands near Squamish, B.C., which is about 40 miles north of Vancouver. At the end of the walkway, a huge spiral staircase would lead to an overlook with 360-degree views of the area. Operators of the Sea to Sky Gondola said in a press release the elevated walkway would be the first of its kind in North America. “The tree walk will preserve, connect and enhance access to natural areas while protecting environmentally sensitive areas,” said Kirby Brown, general manager of the Sea to Sky Gondola, in a press release. The project still needs the approval from local and provincial governments, as well as cooperation from First Nations tribes.

Robert Gray

The wildfire burden to B.C.’s society, economy and environment over the past decade can be measured in the tens of billions of dollars. And yet, successive provincial governments have significantly underfunded programs that would mitigate the destruction. …This, unfortunately, is an all-too-frequent pattern: a minuscule, upfront investment in mitigation and prevention, but a massive expenditure in response and recovery during and after the fire. …If we focus only on promoting FireSmart as the solution, as some suggest, and don’t make the big investment in landscape hazard mitigation, we have to accept a wildfire threatening a community or even worse, burning into a community. …A different strategy would see significant investment in treating the fuels on the landscape adjacent to the community so that in the event of a wildfire, fire behaviour would be mitigated, suppression would be more effective and potential damage would be significantly reduced.

The B.C. government is stepping up its attack on a potentially dangerous pest living in a corner of Surrey, which it worries could wipe out orchards, farms and trees in the province if left untreated. The gypsy moth has stubbornly remained in the northwest corner of the Fraser Heights neighbourhood in Surrey, despite the hand application of pesticide at ground level over the past two years. …Because the pesticide, called Foray 48B, is a derivative of soy, the very small percentage of people who are allergic to soy should take precautions. …Foray 48B is used in organic farming and contains bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki, or Btk. Btk has been approved for use in Canada for almost 60 years. It doesn’t harm humans, mammals, birds, fish, plants, reptiles, amphibians, bees or other insects, according to the forests ministry website.

Forget about Tuesday’s provincial budget: in northeastern B.C., the biggest source of political speculation surrounds a plan to protect the caribou population.  For months, the provincial government has been developing its blueprint to create a secure long-term habitat for the approximately 200 caribou still in the south Peace River region. It’s set to be released by the end of February, and it’s hard to find a local official who isn’t worried that it could put significant restrictions on future use of the region, both for industry and recreation.  “The frustration is there,” said Tumbler Ridge Mayor Keith Bertrand.  During last year’s local elections, Bertrand lobbied for more consultation. But he says it’s been the equivalent of slamming his head against a wall — and in a town where mining is the dominant industry, there’s worry a decision might be imposed that affects peoples’ way of life. 

In a recent Government of B.C. press release, the spraying of forests to control deciduous plants was reduced from 16,000 hectares to 10,000. Most of the herbicide treatment was taking place between Prince George and Quesnel, and the main reason for the reduced use of herbicides was over concerns about the impacts on wildlife; particularly in moose populations. There has also been a growing concern over the reduction of biodiversity (amphibians and insects) due to aerial spraying glyphosate (the main constituent of Roundup) on wetlands adjacent to treated forests. Suzanne Simard, a forest science professor at the University of B.C. has had some concerns that coniferous forests don’t do better when the broadleaf plants are killed off using herbicides.

The citizens of North Cowichan and surrounding areas are indeed blessed to have the municipal forest reserve in their backyard. This rare and unique resource has provided citizens with a multitude of benefits not available to most communities. A community forest such as the MFR has the potential to provide sustainable benefits in terms of local employment and generation of revenue while providing many of the social and ecological values of importance to the community. Since inception, the harvest of forest products from the MFR has provided economic benefits. …In terms of the future management direction of the MFR, it has been said that the MFR is owned by the people of North Cowichan and that as such the future should be determined by the people. I fully support this comment but also believe it should never be translated into following the direction of the vocal minority. 

Wildfire impacts on community forests will be the focus of a provincial workshop taking place in Williams Lake next month. Alex Fraser Research Forest manager Stephanie Ewen said they will be hosting the seminar with the British Columbia Community Forest Association from March 11 to 13 and already many people are expressing an interest in attending. “I’m excited about the number of people who want to attend, despite how overwhelmed I think people are with dealing with these issues, such as wildfires,” Ewen said. “I’m also excited about the fact they are willing to come together and learn collectively on how to manage for wildfire, how to recover from wildfire and new ways of thinking about our forests going forward.”

The gallery was packed in North Cowichan council chambers for a major decision regarding options for 2019 forestry operations in the Municipal Forest Reserve. Council endorsed completing the existing 2018 forestry contracts and harvesting the blowdown that was left in the wake of the vicious December windstorm. Municipal Forester Shaun Mason explains some of the practices used in the forest reserve. “We harvest roughly 50 hectares a year, generally it has been less, roughly a percent of the Municipal Forest Reserve,” said Mason. “The tree retention is at least ten plus trees per hectare and those trees are given preference to non-merchantable timber that should stay there. Any older second growth with old growth characteristics, foot-tops, anything that has some sort of wildlife value will remain standing.”