It’s “the year of the forest tent caterpillar” in Saskatoon. Thousands of the tiny black, green, yellow and white insects are crawling their way up local trees and homes in their search for food. The good news, is the bug is relatively harmless. City of Saskatoon pest management supervisor Jeff Boone said tent caterpillar outbreaks…
Provincial officials have issued a warning about a fire northwest of Calgary in the Municipal District of Bighorn. The 63-hectare fire is burning north of Highway 579 just west of Water Valley, and heavy smoke is reducing visibility in the area. “Alberta Transportation has closed Highway 579 at this time (until further notice), as crews continue to…
Consumer demand for eco-conscious products and services is on the rise, and more and more large companies are making high-profile commitments to end deforestation in their supply chains as a result. Given the size and scope of these corporations, it will take not only the corporate will to make the necessary changes, but also the…
A 25,000-hectare wildfire that had been burning out of control for more than two weeks southwest of Prince George, B.C. is about 80 percent contained, the B.C. Wildfire Mangement Branch reported Sunday. Quiet winds, cool temperatures and wetter weather is helping bring the fire under control. An evacuation order for the area around Norman Lake has…
Alberta forest fires have prompted the shutdown of about 9 percent of Canada’s oil sands production. Cenovus Energy Inc. closed its 130,000-barrel Foster Creek operations and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. shut its 80,000-barrel-a-day Primrose project after a forest fire broke out on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range in northeastern Alberta, the companies said. The…
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Habitat for Humanity Canada are helping to put a roof over the heads of Canadian families in need by strengthening their memorandum of mutual support known as Wood 4 Good, through two separate programs: Waste Not Want Not and Habitat Canada’s Aboriginal Housing Program. Wood 4 Good encourages local…
Despite declarations by special interest environmental groups that there is a caribou crisis in Ontario, a review of Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) research, scientific evidence, and an assessment of all available and up-to-date data demonstrates that caribou populations are persisting in Ontario. Jamie Lim, President and CEO of OFIA, explained, “Considering the…
British Columbia’s controversial wolf control program will have to go on for at least a decade, and other animals may also have to be killed if the province’s endangered caribou herds are to be saved, government advisory documents say. The program, in which 84 wolves were shot from helicopters in its first phase this winter,…
The B.C. government is not doing enough to prevent catastrophic wildfires and proactive fire management is “absolutely missing” in its strategy, says Quesnel Mayor and ex-NDP forestry critic Bob Simpson. Simpson’s comments come as the Little Bobtail Lake wildfire, southwest of Prince George, continues to rage, growing to 250 sq. km., with only 30 per cent contained. Another fire, near Pelican Lake,…
The RCMP has joined an investigation into a wildfire in northern B.C. over the possibility arson was involved. The police want the public’s help in the investigation of the Little Bobtail Lake fire southwest of Prince George that has already burned an area nearly 60 times the size of Stanley Park. Prince George RCMP Cpl….