Parks Canada is preparing to spruce up the province’s only boreal forest. After decades of decline due to insect infestations and hungry moose, the federal agency says it will plant some 56,000 saplings over the next two years. Daniel Sinclair, education officer for the Bring Back the Boreal project, said trees will be planted on…
The B.C. government has approved a permit for logging on one of eight planned “cutblock” areas in the central Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island, which an environmental group says could reignite the war in the woods from the 1990s. “This type of old-growth forest is simply too rare to destroy, and the fact the government…
UBC Forestry students can now enrol in the new Bachelor of Urban Forestry degree program. According to UBC Forestry’s website, “Urban forestry is about planning and managing urban green-spaces and ecosystems for human welfare, ecological health and protection of our cities’ support systems.” Approved seven weeks ago by the Ministry of Advanced Education, the program…
While 3,741 firefighters continue to ensure the safety of California residents by keeping in check the Rough fire – one of California’s 12 currently burning wildfires – firefighters for the US Park Service have been tasked with keeping something else safe: the world’s second-largest tree. The General Grant tree, as it’s known to its many admirers, is…
The province of British Columbia is providing funds to help communities take action and reduce the risks of wildfire. Fifty grants of $10,000, for a total of $500,000, will be made available to local governments and First Nations through the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative (SWPI). “Homeowners who live in interface areas can help protect their…
The number of forest fires in Ontario this year is more than double last year, but still remains well below the average fire season for the province, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The Ministry said 617 fires have burned across Ontario so far this season. In 2014, the total was 297 fires….
The Newfoundland and Labrador Forestry Service is proposing an amendment to the Five Year plan for Forest Management District 2, to accommodate a commercial harvesting request. The request for the amendment was registered with the Department of Environment on Aug. 28, and public comments are welcomed until Oct. 5. The minister’s decision is due by…
Firefighters were working to ensure that California’s famed giant sequoias were protected as a wildfire in the state continued to burn and threaten the land on which the majestic trees stand. The Rough Fire has grown to more than 100,000 acres in Central California, fire officials said in a Friday morning update. Andy Isolano, a Clovis…
Grassy Narrows First Nation, in northwestern Ontario, is taking legal action Monday to stop Ontario’s plan to allow logging near the community’s traditional territory. Research shows that clear cutting can release methylmercury — a neurotoxin — into the environment, a pressing concern among Grassy Narrows residents already suffering mercury poisoning. Chief Roger Fobister said the court action is…
More than a thousand people from northern Ontario signed a petition this summer to stop the spraying of glyphosate herbicides, according to environmental groups in Thunder Bay, Ont. Glyphosate herbicide is used by the forest industry to reduce the growth of plants that compete with trees grown for logging and is deemed safe by Health Canada. However, the International…