In order to assist with the massive flames ravaging Northern Alberta, the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch is sending 88 personnel and two fixed-wing aircraft to our neighbouring province. Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson made the announcement on Wednesday that 80 sustained action firefighters and eight support personnel will initially be…
The mountain pine beetle has severely affected pine forests across more than 25 million hectares (60 million acres) of western North America in the last decade. In the aftermath of this epidemic, is there a significant increase in wildfire threat? For many given the task of managing wildfires the answer is a resounding yes. However,…
In an unprecedented move, elected municipal officials and forest industry representatives from Quebec and Ontario met in Ottawa today to ask the various levels of government to step up their efforts to promote the sustainable forestry practices of Quebec, Ontario, and Canada on the international scene. At a press conference, Jean-Pierre Boivin, representative of Fédération…
In the wake of increasing threats to Winnipeg’s tree population, city officials undertook a massive project in 2009 to build an inventory of every tree on public space in order to help better protect its valuable urban forest. Nearly a hundred years of monoculture has made Winnipeg’s trees vulnerable to disease, but the decision to…
Simcoe County Forestry has launched a communications campaign to educate residents, municipalities and stakeholders about steps they can take to protect their ash trees against the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB). The EAB is a wood-boring beetle typically eight to 14 millimetres long. It is bright metallic green with a coppery-reddish or purple colour to…
Within one year, Ontario Power Generation brought online two pellet-fueled power stations, both converted from coal. While Atikokan Generating Station uses traditional wood pellets to generate up to 200 MW of electricity, Thunder Bay Generation Station is a peaking plant that uses advanced biomass pellets. Ontario Power Generation has made a name for itself within…
United Steelworkers official Adam Connell is seeking names for a petition calling for a public inquiry into the sawmill blasts that took place at Lakeland Mills and Babine Forest Products. So far Connell, who is in Prince George this week, has gathered 5,200 names and aims to have 10,000 by the time it’s presented to…
Discover the innovative solutions proposed by a minister to protect our valuable forests from encroaching on farmland.
It stands out when visitors pull into the viewpoint to take in the Hope Slide, 170 km east of Vancouver on the old Crowsnest Highway on the way to Manning Park. Within the mountain vista behind the stark, grey rock swath that marks the path of the massive 1965 landslide is a scraggly, rust-coloured bald…
British Columbia’s auditor general says the province has failed to adequately address the long-term environmental impact of its resource-development decisions. Carol Bellringer issued a report Tuesday, saying that building roads, logging forests and exploring gas fields come with environmental, social and cultural consequences, but the government is not doing enough to consider them. Her report,…