Latest news with #forestry
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
Could logging companies help mitigate B.C. fire risk?
Vancouver Watch A B.C. watchdog is reporting on its two-year investigation into forestry practices and wildfire risk.
CTV News
7 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. forestry watchdog urges province work with logging companies on wildfire mitigation
The little-known agency tasked with overseeing B.C.'s forestry industry is urging the provincial government to update regulations and consider compensating logging companies to help minimize wildfire risk near communities. (CTV News) The little-known agency tasked with overseeing B.C.'s forestry industry is urging the provincial government to update regulations and consider compensating logging companies to help minimize wildfire risk near communities. In a special investigation titled, 'Help or Hinder? Aligning Forestry Practices with Wildfire Risk Reduction,' the Forest Practices Board found that 'outdated standards, poor implementation, and regulatory gaps' are impacting companies' ability to help reduce wildfire risk near 'interface' zones near homes. 'It affects everybody in B.C., this kind of risk that we have,' explained board chair Keith Atkinson, in a one-on-one interview with CTV News. Of particular focus is a catch-22 identified in the two-year analysis: Many logging companies are doing a good job of gathering branches and other wood waste in piles for burning, which eliminates wildfire fuel near communities. However, they're only allowed to burn that debris – the most cost-effective way of eliminating it – when conditions are right to avoid sending smoke toward the nearby communities. Some of those piles, the report's authors found, can sit for multiple wildfire seasons and add to the risk, rather than reduce it. 'We need the public to support this kind of good burning and getting rid of that material,' said Atkinson. 'We know that industry operating in the (interface) zone is one of the best ways to reduce the hazard around the community.' A troubled industry The association representing the industry is still analyzing the findings, which were made public Thursday morning, but there is support for the idea in principle. 'It's a public safety matter, so industry is keen to be part of the solution,' said Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries. 'But at the same time, we can't do it in a way that endangers companies' financial health.' Logging companies and wood product producers are facing considerable headwinds at the moment, in large part due to incoming softwood lumber duties in the U.S., as well as American scrutiny of Canadian wood and pulp products. Shifting regulatory considerations are adding to their problems, says Haakstad, and the added expense of managing wildfire fuels for the province means the companies would likely need to be compensated to take new steps. 'We think that we can do things in a way that is taking care of the environment, that is balancing social objectives, that includes First Nation reconciliation, and has forest fire management, and is economic, and that allows the forest industry to continue to provide high paying jobs,' she added. The ministry responds The minister of forests was unavailable for an interview, but his staff responded that they would take some time to 'carefully review' the report and its suggested course of action. The five recommendations are to set proactive fire management goals, clarify legal definitions and improve transparency, increase public accessibility of wildfire risk reduction plans, reduce abatement timelines, and update guidelines. 'Reducing the risk of wildfires is a priority for the ministry, we take this work seriously,' reads an email statement from the Forests Ministry. 'Based on a preliminary review of the recommendations, we believe a number of initiatives underway across the ministry address the recommendations.'
CBC
13 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Timber companies worry land could be taken away if Wolastoqey title claim succeeds
J.D. Irving, one of the companies in court this week as the Wolastoqey title claim reaches its next step in litigation, is fighting to have its forestry parcels removed from the claim.
CTV News
13 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
B.C. Forest Practices Board says forestry changes could reduce wildfire risk
A helicopter works on the Dryden Creek wildfire north of Squamish, B.C., on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin British Columbia's Forest Practices Board says a two-year investigation has found 'outdated rules and unclear responsibility' are stopping forestry from becoming a wildfire prevention tool. The board — an independent body that audits B.C. forest practices — says it examined forestry operations between 2019 and 2022 in areas where communities and forests meet, including the Sea to Sky, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Peace districts. It says fire hazard assessments are a 'cornerstone of wildfire risk reduction,' and while the industry assessments met 70 per cent of the requirements, fewer than one-quarter were completed on time. The board says municipalities are excluded from the definition of legal interface, a term used for fires burning close to homes, which means logging debris can remain for up to 30 months, even in high-risk areas. The report makes five recommendations to the province that it says would help support 'faster fuel cleanup, better co-ordination and more consistent protection for people and communities throughout B.C.' The suggestions include encouraging forest operators to actively reduce fire risk, improve co-ordination between government and industry, update legal definitions to add municipalities in the interface, modernize hazard assessment guidelines and incentivize faster logging cleanup. Board chair Keith Atkinson says more than a million B.C. residents live in areas with high or extreme wildfire risk. 'Foresters are already active in these spaces. With better rules and incentives, their efforts can become part of the wildfire solution,' he says in the release. 'This is an opportunity to improve our policies and processes toward proactive, risk-reducing forestry. It starts with better policy and ends with safer, more fire-resilient communities.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
B.C. Forest Practices Board says forestry changes could reduce wildfire risk
VICTORIA — British Columbia's Forest Practices Board says a two-year investigation has found "outdated rules and unclear responsibility" are stopping forestry from becoming a wildfire prevention tool. The board — an independent body that audits B.C. forest practices — says it examined forestry operations between 2019 and 2022 in areas where communities and forests meet, including the Sea to Sky, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Peace districts. It says fire hazard assessments are a "cornerstone of wildfire risk reduction," and while the industry assessments met 70 per cent of the requirements, fewer than one-quarter were completed on time. The board says municipalities are excluded from the definition of legal interface, a term used for fires burning close to homes, which means logging debris can remain for up to 30 months, even in high-risk areas. The report makes five recommendations to the province that it says would help support "faster fuel cleanup, better co-ordination and more consistent protection for people and communities throughout B.C." The suggestions include encouraging forest operators to actively reduce fire risk, improve co-ordination between government and industry, update legal definitions to add municipalities in the interface, modernize hazard assessment guidelines and incentivize faster logging cleanup. Board chair Keith Atkinson says more than a million B.C. residents live in areas with high or extreme wildfire risk. "Foresters are already active in these spaces. With better rules and incentives, their efforts can become part of the wildfire solution," he says in the release. "This is an opportunity to improve our policies and processes toward proactive, risk-reducing forestry. It starts with better policy and ends with safer, more fire-resilient communities." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. The Canadian Press
