National Forest Week 2019

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

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TIME TO REDEFINE PRIORITIES FOR B.C.’S FORESTS

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re we facing a turning point in how we think about and value B.C.’s forests?

In recent years, pine and spruce beetle outbreaks ravaged B.C.’s forests. Two years of significant wildfires destroyed a record amount of timber.

Campaigns against old growth logging have been renewed and the forest sector has been hit with a spate of mill closures.

Against this backdrop, the provincial government earlier this year conducted public consultations on the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), with an eye to making changes it said will “support the health and sustainability of B.C.’s public forests and rangelands, while strengthening public confidence in how these vital resources are managed.”

Most British Columbians have likely never heard of FRPA. Yet the law is one of the most important for managing B.C.’s forests and environment.

Introduced in 2004, FRPA outlines how all forest and range practices and resource-based activities are to be conducted on

CHRISTINE GELOWITZ View Through

THE TREES

Crown forest land in B.C., while ensuring protection of everything in and on them, such as plants, animals and ecosystems.

The Act is critical to forest professionals, who since 1947 have been responsible for protecting the public interest in the use and management of B.C.’s forests.

The Act has been criticized by a variety of groups, in part because it stipulates that any forestmanagement decisions, including those involving protection for wildlife habitat and water quality, should not unduly reduce the sup-

ply of timber.

And, while FRPA was drafted with an eye to balancing trade-offs between timber supply and other forest uses, subsequent years have seen an increase in demands that forests be protected for wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, ecotourism and more.

Increasingly, this leaves forest professionals trying to find ways to accommodate these differing uses, while at the same time conforming to the legislation’s stated aim about timber supply.

Put simply, forest professionals are trying to balance legal (government-required) and non-legal (locally desired) priorities that often conflict with each other.

Finding “win-win” solutions for objectives that are completely at odds is almost impossible and leaves everyone unhappy.

Clearly, it is time to review and update the Forest and Range Practices Act to clarify how regional communities, Aboriginal Peoples and other special interests want to use and manage the forest today.

In our submission to the government review of FRPA,

Inland is proud to celebrate National Forestry Week with the hard working loggers of British Columbia!

the Association of BC Forest Professionals, which regulates and registers the 5,500 forest professionals working in the province, called on the government to clearly define the resource values, clarify the desired results and establish a hierarchy to guide the necessary trade-offs between economic, social and environmental objectives based on consultation with the public and Aboriginal Peoples.

This is not a new request. We made this same point in 2018 in our submission to the government’s review of the professional reliance framework and 10 years ago to the Forestry Roundtable.

With 94 per cent of B.C.’s forested land publicly owned, the government has a responsibility to understand what the public wants from its forests and set priorities for the use and management of that forest land.

This is not a small or easy task as there are a multitude of voices clamoring for government to impose their preferred solution.

One need only look at the difficulty establishing a strategy to preserve the caribou population

in the province’s northeast as an indication of the complexity of determining the relative values of natural resources.

And therein lies the challenge.

What is the public’s interest in B.C.’s forests? What are the preferred values and uses?

A growing number of British Columbians want more say in how our forests are used to reflect their current and future interests.

That’s fair. But at some point, decisions need to be made about what is the priority and how we balance the many desires for different uses of our forest land.

Forest professionals are passionate about B.C.’s forests; they have the experience and knowledge to best look after our forests and meet the needs identified by those who own the forests.

In order to properly care for our forests, we need clarity on what British Columbians expect from their forests and where priorities lie.

Christine Gelowitz, RPF, is a registered forest professional and CEO of the Association of BC Forest Professionals.

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

It’s time to think about shifting into winter Nearly 28 per cent of all workrelated crashes resulting in injury and time loss in B.C. occur during November, December and January.

Truck drivers account for nearly one-third of these crashes.

Winter conditions — including colder temperatures, rain, snow, fog, black ice, reduced visibility and fewer daylight hours — all play a part.

In B.C., these challenges are exacerbated by its uncompromising terrain.

So, prepare now by going online to shiftintowinter.ca and typing “commercial carrier” in the search bar at the top page to find such resources as the Winterizing Your Safety Plan: Information for Commercial Carriers and Winter Driving Tips for B.C. Log Haulers.

These guides describe various steps to take before and during winter and covers vehicles, people and activities. As well, consult your tire provider about your winter tire options.

CHAINING UP In 2018, to account for late-

Visibility during winter can be a challenge. Snow, rain and fog can impact drivers’ view of the road and prevent motorists from seeing one another.

season snowfall, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure extended the winter tire and chain regulations on select highways to run from Oct. 1 to April 30.

Between those dates, commercial vehicles with 11,794-kilograms licensed gross vehicle weight and greater must carry tire chains on designated highways, including mountain passes and rural routes in high snowfall areas.

The Coquihalla Highway between Kamloops and the Lower Mainland is one of those designated highways.

In addition to carrying tire chains, commercial vehicle drivers must also know how to properly install the devices and where chain-up/pull-out locations and fuel stops are located.

New commercial vehicle operators should take the time to practise chaining up in a safe and controlled environment. Learning this skill in the elements and on the job is not fun.

PREPARING FOR OTHER WINTER DRIVING HAZARDS Driving in winter poses its own

unique hazards. Learning to identify them in advance is one way to reduce these risks.

Thoroughly planning your trips is also a good defence against winter driving conditions.

Anticipating hazardous road conditions, like snow, ice, rain and cold temperatures, and knowing how to read the road will help drivers safely respond to changing road conditions.

Driving to conditions and ensuring traction by avoiding skids and spinning out are more important in this season, too.

USE SHIFTINTOWINTER.CA ShiftintoWinter.ca offers other free commercial carrier information and resources to help employers, supervisors and employees reduce the risks employees face when they drive during winter.

There is a winter driving safety employer tool kit, template policy and procedures and an online course designed specifically for employers and supervisors.

Road safety is smart business.

Use these resources to help reduce the risk of a serious crash, which in turn can enhance employee morale and retention, lower organizational costs, improve business performance and keep your drivers on the road.

— Louise Yako, program director, Road Safety at Work

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

‘True environmentalists in our own hearts’ TODD SULLIVAN

STAFF REPORTER

todd@kamloopsthisweek.com

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he forestry sector is one of the most vital industries in B.C., but employment opportunities in the industry are broader than many realize.

It’s not all about logging and mills.

For example, Gord Pratt is an operations manager for the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia, a provincial program of funding to help the government meet five goals: wildfire risk reduction, improving wildlife habitat, increasing fibre utilization, improving low-value stands and reducing greenhouse gases.

“So, on a provincial nature, my responsibility, as one of the three operations managers here, is to help deliver those funds effectively on behalf of the province,” he said.

Pratt said finding the right way to prioritize those five goals

is an ongoing challenge for the program, but noted the last few years have led to a mandate to place a strong focus on wildfire risk reduction.

That includes some recent work assessing fire risk in and around southeast Kelowna, a project being led by the Ministry of Forests.

“What they’re doing is going out and analyzing wildfire behaviour that’s expected, identify the treatment areas that would reduce the wildfire risk in and around that part of the province — and then they’re planning to implement the project starting next year,” he explained.

Pratt said getting into the forest sector wasn’t initially his plan.

His dad worked in the forest service and was heavily involved with wildfires, and Pratt wanted to pursue a different path.

But that path eventually led him back to the woods.

After working for a friend of his dad’s for a few years, Pratt fell in love with the vocation and

eventually obtained his forestry degree from the University of Alberta.

That has led to more than 20 years of forestry work.

“I’ve been really fortunate to work in different parts of the province and have similar goals,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re on the industry side of things, or the ministry side, or the environmental side, we actually all share a common goal.

“I think maybe, as a forestry worker, we get labelled as, sometimes, the bad guy.”

“I actually firmly believe most of us that are in the forest sector are true environmentalists in our own hearts,” Pratt said.

“We want to take care of the bush out there and we want to enjoy it — and there is economic opportunity that’s real.”

Gord Pratt is an operations manager for the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia.

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

invests in all areas of B.C. and “theFESBC projects we fund create a triple win for British Columbians because they provide meaningful social, economic, and environmental benefits.

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— STEVE KOZUKI executive director, Forest Enhancement Society of BC

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

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Enhancing B.C.’s forests, project by project

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he Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) was established in February of 2016 to enhance Crown forest lands throughout the province.

With the unprecedented wildfire seasons of 2017 and 2018 and the current economic downturn in the forest industry, there is greater media coverage and public interest on wildfire risk reduction and innovative fibre utilization projects.

As work is implemented to mitigate wildfires and fight climate change, plus enhance wildlife habitat, FESBC fulfills an important role.

“Since our inception, FESBC has awarded funding for 225 projects with a combined total value of $217 million throughout the province,” FESBC executive director Steve Kozuki said.

“Our society deploys grant funding to organizations like community forests, municipalities, and First Nations who implement these projects. The team of forest professionals helps organizations apply for funding, makes project recommendations, and does this collaborative work province-wide,” he said.

“They also figure out the best strategies to ensure the money is well spent on projects that will have a measurable

and meaningful impact.”

The projects advance environmental and resource stewardship of B.C.’s forests, including the prevention and mitigation of the impact of wildfires, improving damaged or low value forests, improving habitat for wildlife, supporting the use of fibre from damaged and low value forests and treating forests to improve the management of greenhouse gases.

“FESBC invests in all areas of B.C. and the projects we fund create a triple win for British Columbians because they provide meaningful social, economic, and environmental benefits,” Kozuki said.

“We’ve especially seen funding help strengthen our province’s rural economies and First Nations communities, which is positive.”

In 2018, FESBC received a mandate letter from Forests Minister Doug Donaldson, directing the society to assist the province with wildfire recovery and prevention, along with helping to achieve climate change objectives.

“Climate change targets are vitally important and achieved in part through healthy forests, and these forests in turn impact the health of the rest of our environment,” Kozuki said.

Through FESBC funding, the society contributes to achieving both the pro-

vincial and federal governments’ climate change targets in three ways: • growing more trees and planting forests on Crown land that otherwise wouldn’t be reforested; • growing trees faster by fertilizing forests that captures greater amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide faster; • using more wood from the forest for bio-energy, which displaces fossil fuels.

In recent years, FESBC has funded 68 projects with a planned fibre recovery/ utilization component, 33 of which have a primary focus on recovery and utilization.

To prevent and mitigate the impact of wildfires, FESBC funds projects that specifically reduce and manage forest fuels as well as projects that accelerate postwildfire recovery efforts by planting trees in damaged forests thus speeding up forest recovery.

The society has been involved in funding some exceptionally effective and innovative projects, also hoping others within the sector replicate these initiatives in their communities for the future resilience of the province’s forests.

Go online to fesbc.ca to see details of the projects.

Another important focus is improving wildlife habitat. To do this, FESBC partners with organizations like the Habitat

Conservation Trust Foundation on a wide range of projects.

“We’ve had the opportunity to fund projects from the monitoring of B.C.’s bat populations to research a fatal wildlife disease to the reintroduction of fire into the low-mid elevation dry forest and grassland ecosystems to restore and improve forage nutrition and availability, primarily for mule deer and big horn sheep,” Kozuki said.

FESBC contributes to improving B.C.’s damaged or low-value forests by funding projects such as stand rehabilitation, which returns poor or damaged stands or blocks of forest back into healthy production levels.

Projects like this help provide a full range of values, including timber supply improvements for future generations of British Columbians.

Funding for FESBC has been provided by the provincial and federal governments and the society is accountable to the forestry ministry.

“Looking forward, the focus for FESBC in 2019-2020 and beyond will be to ensure current and newly funded projects reach their specific outcomes and objectives to help contribute to a strong and sustainable provincial economy,” Kozuki said.

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

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NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

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FUNDING FOREST REHABILITATION IN FALKLAND A large area on Highway 97C — eight kilometers east of the Falkland and 80 kilometres east of Kamloops — previously burned by a wildfire 14 years ago was the focus of a forestrehab project.

Local natural resource district staff, Tolko Industries, and the Forest Enhancement Society of BC funded the project for forest rehabilitation and to improve the area for mule deer winter range.

The Cedar Hills fire of 2005 in the Okanagan Shuswap Forest District burned approximately 1,200 hectares of forest land.

Of the land affected by the fire, 830 hectares were salvage logged and reforested by Tolko, BC Timber Sales and local woodlot holders. A significant area of land was left untreated and, until recently, was severely degraded due to the intensity of the fire.

Difficult growing conditions, including drought, existed for some in the remaining area and previous attempts to reforest for timber productivity had been largely unsuccessful.

Tolko, working with the local Forests, Lands, Natural Resource

Operations and Rural Development District staff, assessed the site and concluded there was an opportunity to reforest portions of the burnt area.

Fourteen years since the fire, the area has experienced some deciduous brush growth and recovery of the soil, which led the professional foresters to conclude it would be worth another try to regenerate the area.

Local biologists also supported the work as the area is part of a critical mule deer winter range.

The treatment area is Crown land that has not been harvested and therefore falls to the provincial government to do the reforestation.

Although Tolko has no legal obligation for the treatment area, the company wanted to help and applied for FESBC funding to undertake the reforestation work on behalf of the province.

FESBC and local natural resource district staff reviewed and supported the application and committed to just under $200,000 of funding in 2017.

Extensive planning ensued and included consultation with wildlife specialists and First Nations, followed by detailed prescriptions for reforestation and habitat improvement.

Winter wildlife surveys concluded the area held significant importance as winter range for mule deer. Tolko foresters then developed silviculture prescriptions, obtained seed for sowing, grew seedlings in nurseries and prepared for planting for the spring of 2019.

The planting started in April, when 9 workers planted 129,000 trees — 1,600 trees per hectare — with three different ratios of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, depending on the bio geoclimatic zone of the site.

Planting was completed by midApril.

The area is reported to have good soil moisture, with rain adding to the probability of successful survival for the newly planted trees.

Tolko’s silviculture forester, Stefan Albrecher, expressed a personal interest in the project and indicated he would be visiting the area to check survival and growth.

He noted it will probably be 10 years before trees can be seen above the brush from the road, but that it will be a great sight to see when it happens.

— Forest Enhancement Society of BC

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

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NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

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Work continues on a pulp barge. Ulkatcho First Nation Coun. Charlie Williams said a fibrerecovery project in the Chilcotin is a great initiative as it provides a few extra, much-needed jobs for the community and reduces the amount of wood left in the bush to be burnt.

HANS GRANANDER PHOTO

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

More reasons to show why fibre is good for you

A

fibre-recovery project in the Chilcotin is increasing utilization of forest fibre by 20 per cent and the number of fulltime jobs by 20.

Funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) is enabling Ulkatcho First Nation-owned West Chilcotin Forest Products to bring forest fibre to market that would normally be left behind or burned as waste in cut blocks.

Last winter and this past spring, West Chilcotin was unable to haul pulp logs into Bella Coola due to the severity of seasonal storms that hit the Bella Coola Valley, which prevented safe log hauling, storage and barge loading.

Now, with better weather, workers are transporting and using the fibre that otherwise would have been wasted. This is an environmental, social and economic triple win for British Columbians.

The West Chilcotin plateau lacks the infrastructure many areas of the province enjoy and, given the distance to markets for forest products, enhanced utilization of the area’s forest fibre has always been a struggle.

FESBC funding is allowing West Chilcotin to do its part to fight climate change as thousands of cubic meters of pulp wood that would have been burned

This picture of a barge being loaded gives one a better sense of the scope of the project.

STEPHEN JAMES PHOTO

this time last year are now in bundles at the reload area in Bella Coola and being loaded.

The fibre will be barged to a chipper and then on to Harmac Pacific Pulp mill to be made into pulp.

Historically, fibre has been left in piles along forest roads and is legally required to be burned. By moving and utilizing the fibre instead, less is burned and there is a reduction in greenhouse gases. Some greenhouse gases contribute to climate

change so by avoiding these emissions, the project is contributing to the provincial and federal climate change mitigation agreements.

The project brings economic benefits to the region in terms of jobs and there is a benefit via relationship-building between the communities of Bella Coola and Harmac Pacific.

When family-supporting jobs are created, communities are stronger.

Ulkatcho First Nation Coun. Charlie Williams said he project is a great initiative as it provides a few extra, much-needed jobs for the community and reduces the amount of wood left in the bush to be burnt.

Even though there were some implementation delays for the project, it is clear that during an economic downturn in the forestry industry, the project supports coastal pulp production, provides economic benefits for the west Chilcotin area and reduces carbon production and environmental impacts.

— Forest Enhancement Society of BC

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Ensuring BC’s Forests are in Good Hands | www.abcfp.ca

WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK Keeping campers safe at Agur Lake Camp

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WILDFIRE-RISK MITIGATION WORK DONE AT B.C.’S ONLY FULLY ACCESSIBLE CAMPGROUND FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Agur Lake Camp, located 20 kilometres west of Summerland, is B.C.’s only fully accessible campground for people with disabilities and their families and caregivers.

The camp provides an oasis for rest and rejuvenation from the challenges of living with an illness or disability.

Recently, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) funded a wildfire risk-reduction project that resulted in the removal of fuel from more than six hectares of land, a project critically important to protect those who visit and operate the camp, as well as the infrastructure of the camp itself.

“There are a lot of families and groups that service people with disabilities who return every summer,” said Debbie Schneider, office manager and director of the camp.

“We had over 400 visitors join us in 2019. Many of them come from the Okanagan, but a large number also come up from the Lower Mainland. We are a camp open to people with many disabilities, not just physical.”

In 2015, the BC Wildfire Management Branch identified that the camp was in the wildland urban interface and categorized the area as a high to extreme fire threat.

The Agur Lake Camp Society board of directors wanted to reduce the amount of fuel and reduce wildfire risk to the camp’s 10 structures and camp users. Camp volunteers had been reducing fuel loads on the Crown lease area, but the size and scope of the work required expertise and additional resources to be effective.

“It would have taken 10 years for volunteers to get the work done,” said Janice Mallory, Agur Lake Camp Society board president. “Through the FESBC-funded projects, we were able to extend the safe area out as far as possible away from the camp and keep it safer for the campers and the camp itself.”

Mallory also noted the additional cleared areas will allow for trail expansion into wooded areas that were previously inaccessible.

Steve Jones, consulting forester with Southern Interior ForestCraft Ltd., was retained by the camp’s board to facilitate

the funding application to FESBC and the subsequent work.

“We treated over six hectares and removed 85 per cent of the hazardous fuels — this created approximately 1,000 debris piles which will be burnt later this fall,” said Jones, who worked with the Penticton Indian Band to complete the project.

The band also conducted a cultural assessment of the worksite with a fuel-management crew with archeological training, looking for cultural resources that needed to be protected. Jones noted no cultural resources were identified, likely due to the site being previously logged in the 1940s.

FESBC approved funding for the initial work to prepare the wildfire risk-reduction planning and prescription and then provided additional funding for the on the ground forestry work undertaken by the Agur Lake Camp Society and its partners.

“FESBC is very pleased to see the project nearing completion,” said Dave Conly, FESBC’s operations manager.

“Reducing wildfire risk is one of our society’s primary purposes and, through this funding, the project thinned out the forest and reduced the accumulations of wildfire fuels adjacent to the camp.

“This camp is certainly a special place and provides a great service to B.C. communities by enabling people with disabilities, plus their families and caregivers from across the province, to experience the forest environment in a safe and responsible manner.”

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WE DO THAT TOO. TOMORROW’S EDGE TODAY

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

NATIONAL FOREST WEEK

WILDFIRE RISK-REDUCTION PLANNING IN LOGAN LAKE The management of wildfire risk is increasingly important to British Columbians.

A collaborative planning project funded by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) in the Logan Lake Community Forest (LLCF) brought together First Nations, registered professional foresters and key stakeholders to develop an implementation plan focused on areas of highest risk to ensure work is strategic and priority-based.

The LLCF covers an area of approximately 16,700 hectares and is a vital resource for the community of Logan Lake, having contributed more than $3 million to the community since 2012.

A grant from FESBC enabled the Logan Lake Wildfire Risk Management Plan to be initiated.

The plan involved many steps, including documenting internal and external considerations with respect to wildfire-risk management, conducting a risk assessment and developing management strategies in response to the risks identified.

The final report highlighted the areas of most significant risk to

Face Lake and Paska Lake residents meet to discuss wildfire risk.

GARNET MIERAU PHOTO

wildfire and the LLCF team started the work on the ground to mitigate the risks to the community forest.

The risk-management process was directed by the management team of the LLCF and a planning team included internal B.C. government specialists from the BC Wildfire Service and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and

Rural Development.

The risk of fire was analyzed using a modified burn probability — and that probability was combined with a strategic review of values on the landscape threatened by fire and values that may benefit from fire.

Important to the process was alignment with the four provincial resource strategic wildfire allocation protocols: human life and

safety, critical infrastructure, high environmental/cultural values and resource values.

The planning work resulted in the identification of a range of wildfire risks and values across the landscape, outlining 13 management strategies to guide the planning team in the years to come.

The findings revealed key areas of higher wildfire risk, including corridors of human presence and

development surrounding Logan Lake and along the Coquihalla corridor.

High-value areas were identified based on concentrations of homes, businesses, schools, civic water, power, emergency evacuation routes, communications and such, as well as wildlife habitat, timber, recreation and important environmental attributes.

Logan Lake Mayor Robin Smith noted the engagement and collaboration of the planning project was outstanding and the advance planning provided the community forest management team with the opportunity to proactively and strategically plan next steps to mitigate wildfire risk, starting with the areas that pose the greatest risk.

The project created additional employment, will save important wildlife habitat and will protect transportation corridors and infrastructure, including cabins, resorts and homes.

— Forest Enhancement Society of BC

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WEDNESDAY, September 25, 2019

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