There may still be snow on the ground, but the province is already gearing up for wildfire season, which officially begins on March 1st. Preparations include getting crews, aircraft and equipment in place and deploying them to Alberta’s Forest Protection Area as required. Training is also underway for new firefighting personnel and Alberta’s lookout towers are being staffed….

The B.C. government has designated 567 old-growth management areas on the Upper and Lower Sunshine Coast. Announced last week by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, the protected areas cover 18,421 hectares, or about 13.6 per cent of Crown forest within five landscape units of the Sunshine Coast Natural Resource District. The…