Plans to harvest timber in the Walbran Valley are part of an intensive, collaborative process. The Commission of Resources and Environment Vancouver Island land-use planning process that took place in the early 1990s was a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder process. It resulted in the government enacting the 2000 Vancouver Island Higher Level Plan Order that achieved a…
A big, hairy mystery is unfolding in a remote community off the coast of northern Vancouver Island. Alert Bay residents have been reporting strange screams and howls coming from a forest that surrounds the town – and some think they could be coming from a sasquatch. Mackenzie Mountain said he recently recorded the unusual sounds…
It’s not your typical preschool. Desks are replaced by grass and trees take the place of iPads at the Field and Forest Nature School. There is no list of rules posted anywhere, no set schedule and no limitations to what the four-year-olds can imagine on their natural playground. “We want kids to think for themselves,…
For the last half of the 20th century, one could easily and accurately predict conditions in the British Columbia economy using just one number. That number was U.S. housing starts. The dividing line was 1.6 million starts per year. At this level or higher, the softwood-lumber driven B.C. economy was doing very well, thank you….
A number of communities in the Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding are grappling with the loss of large industries, and the jobs that went with them. Candidates running in the riding during this federal election each have their own take on the issue. Conservative candidate Moe Comuzzi said she’s committed to creating jobs, and there’s potential in the…
Communities in Alberta will have access to $800,000 in funding this fiscal year for wildfire protection projects through the FireSmart Community Grant Program, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry announced last week. Municipalities, municipal districts, counties, Métis Settlements and registered non-profit societies located within the Forest Protection Area of Alberta are eligible to apply for FireSmart grants to a…
The American Wood Council (AWC) and Canadian Wood Council (CWC) have partnered with Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) to develop an online North American directory outlining reuse and recycling options for wood and wood products. The website can be found at: ReuseWood.org. “For wood products, there has historically been a lack of awareness of the…
When local forager Scott Moran talks about his work you can’t help but think of how romantic and daring it is — the ability to live off the bounty of the land and be self-sufficient — but the reailty is he puts a lot of hard work into creating this charming life. With names like…
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) and its partners across North America set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title, planting 202,935 trees in one hour. SFI partnered with 29 teams of 25-100 people each to plant trees in locations from New York City to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. “As SFI celebrates…
A Surrey-based company has been given the go-ahead to start logging a previously untouched piece of Vancouver Island old-growth forest. The move could spark protests and even a blockade as environmentalists say they’re ready to defend one of the battlegrounds of B.C.’s War in the Woods. “People are willing to occupy the forest,” said Gwen…