A battle is brewing over the future of Wildwood, the renowned 31-hectare Vancouver Island ecoforest founded by the late Merv Wilkinson. Each side maintains that its plan is best suited to manage and protect the property and honour Wilkinson’s vision. Created as a demonstration site for sustainable forestry, the site has been owned for the…
Though it has seemed pretty crispy-crunchy in many parts the province for several weeks now, the number of forest fires recorded so far this season is below the 10-year average, provincial officials report. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, there have been 578 fires province-wide so far, compared to an average amount…
The 650-kilometre trek of a radio-collared moose named Alice is the inspiration for a proposed hiking trail from Ontario’s forested Algonquin Park to the heart of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Planners of the A2A — Algonquin to Adirondack — Trail liken it to Spain’s famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, with the added benefit of…
As of 9 a.m. Aug. 10, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) spokesperson Andrew Preeper said the Seven Mile Lake fire had grown from 240 to 350 hectares since the previous day but about 15 per cent of the blaze was contained. “They’re saying that there was good progress,” he said, noting that they’ve seen fire…
Thanks to a $20 million investment over the past two years, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Sudbury Fire Management Headquarters have been able to better meet the mandate of fighting and controlling forest fires across the region. “It allows us to do our jobs a lot more seamlessly,” said Shayne McCool, a fire…
Scientists at Natural Resources Canada say that about 80 per cent of the spruce budworm moths they collected after a migration event in the Campbellton-Dalhousie area last month were female. Millions of the moths descended on the area covering parking lots, gas stations and cars in the northern communities. Rob Johns, an insect ecologist with…
As crews battle three wildfires in western Nova Scotia, the province is restricting activity within forests in a bid to keep more bone-dry woods from going up in flames. “We can manage the fires we’ve got. If we get many more, it’s going to cause great concern for us,” Natural Resources Minister Lloyd Hines said Monday, who warned…
Forty hectares have never looked so good. At the end of June, the Cumberland Community Forest Society (CCFS) took a huge leap forward in their goal of purchasing, protecting and restoring the Cumberland forest that borders the village. Thanks to a $100,000 grant from Mountain Equipment Co-op, the society was able to purchase the area…
Hot, dry and humid conditions have created the perfect scenario for forest fires in the Northeast region of Ontario, which includes South Temiskaming. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) say the North Bay 32 fire, located 12.5 kilometers west of Latchford, measuring 59 hectares is currently listed as not under control. MNRF crews…
The Supreme Court of Canada recently announced it will not hear an appeal, from a forestry firm’s captive reinsurance company, of a ruling arising from a disputed $25-million liability insurance claim. This means that an order for a new trial in British Columbia, of a claim from Swiss Re for recission, now stands. American International…