Nearly a year after the massive wildfire that devastated Fort McMurray, a climate scientist says there may be more forest fires in Canada this summer. “If the forecast’s right that it’s a warmer than normal summer, we’ll probably have more fires,” says Mike Flannigan, a meteorologist and professor in the University of Alberta’s renewable resources…
Williams Lake city council is tackling the issue of forest health in a resolution it will be submitting to the North Central Local Government Association for consideration. The resolution advocates for the extraction of diseased trees taking precedence over park or protected area designations, as well as other restrictions such as mule deer winter range…
As the days get hotter and drier, the province is reminding Albertans that new legislation aimed at stopping reckless behaviours that could start wildfires includes fines of up to $1 million and even jail time. The changes to the Forest and Prairie Protection Act, which were announced in October, will take effect tomorrow, March 31….
The discovery of the body of a cougar in northwestern Ontario is significant, but don’t expect it to spark big changes in how northwestern Ontario’s forests are managed, says a wildlife biologist in Thunder Bay, Ont. The finding was “quite exciting to hear about,” said Ted Armstrong, adding that if it’s verified as wild, he…
Update: A Campbell River man attacked by a grizzly bear Wednesday will undergo a second surgery and spend up to six weeks in hospital in Victoria, family members say. Ryan Arsenault, a forestry engineer in his 30s, was mauled by a grizzly while working at a remote logging camp about 100 kilometres north of Port Hardy…
This week the first batch of ‘Made in Canada’ parasitic wasps will emerge in the fight against the emerald ash borer. Researchers at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie have reared 12,000 of the tiny wasps, which go by the name Tetrastichus. These wasps will join other parasitic wasps — both American…
Whitecourt and area residents will have to be extra careful with their campfires earlier on this year. Wildfire season in Alberta is starting a month earlier than usual — on March 1 rather than April 1. “That gives the opportunity for our crews to get their equipment ready and do recruitment when they need to…
Wildfires that swept through the northern Alberta forest near Fort McMurray last May continue to frustrate loggers trying to harvest wood from trees killed by the fire before insects and rot make it unusable. The blaze, which destroyed 1,800 single family homes in the city, burned so hot as high winds pushed it through the…
The Moose Cree First Nation is looking seriously at getting into manufacturing as its next big development project. The First Nation’s economic development department is about to begin work on a feasibility study for either constructing or purchasing an existing facility to make wood pellets. Wood pellets are typically used by wood-burning furnaces – which…
The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA), one of the most ignominious deals in Canadian business history, is being quietly euthanized. Last week, its Ottawa-based secretariat was closed, without fanfare or eulogy. However, most of the agreement’s signatories seem as reluctant to admit its demise as they have been to acknowledge its true nature. According to…