The rate at which the world is losing its forests has halved, but an area of woodland the size of South Africa has still been lost since 1990, a UN report revealed Monday. Improvement has been seen around the globe, even in the key tropical rainforests of South America and Africa, according to a surprisingly…
A summer long research project on spruce budworm on P.E.I. has been completed. About two dozen citizen scientists assisted the Canadian Forest Service project that is tracking the migration of the spruce budworm. Spruce budworm feed on balsam fir and spruce trees and outbreaks have already destroyed millions of hectares of forest in Quebec. The…
Alberta’s plan to fully protect the Castle wilderness area in southwestern Alberta is being both panned and praised by opposition parties. The Notley government announced Friday that it would create two parks along the eastern slopes of the Rockies by expanding the existing wildland provincial park and adding a new provincial park. It will shut out logging, mining, and…
The B.C. government is calling for stiffer penalties for the illegal use of drones after unmanned aerial vehicles flew dangerously close to wildfires this summer. Mike Morris, parliamentary secretary to the minister of forests, said the provincial government is looking for ways to stop the use of drones near wildfires. Fighting forest fires is already…
Following decades of lobbying for a provincial park in the Castle wilderness area, the province’s NDP government will Friday make good on its campaign pledge to better protect the iconic area in southern Alberta. Sources say Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips will announce plans to change the boundaries of the protected area, both expanding the existing wildland park and…
The Nova Scotia government is looking for someone who can study the pulp mill waste treatment plant in Boat Harbour. The province has issued a request for proposal for a hydrogeological study and a geotechnical and contaminant assessment. Labi Kousoulis, minister of internal services, says the assessments and test will help planners better understand surface and groundwater…
A windstorm that toppled trees across British Columbia’s south coast could fuel many fireplaces over the coming winter, but officials hope it will spark something creative, too. The Vancouver Park Board estimates at least 500 trees came down in parks and along boulevards during the Saturday storm, with large canopied trees such as maples, among…
One of the Okanagan’s largest employers, Gorman Bros. Lumber Ltd. has thrived throughout multiple fires, industry changes and an increasing scarcity of raw material. And one big reason for that business longevity is due to the dedicated work of its employees. It’s a story well known all over the Okanagan: A menacing fire broke out…
One of the largest tree-planting exercises in B.C. history is in jeopardy due to drought. Many in the know are worried because the newly planted trees — roughly the size of two toothpaste tubes stacked together — are vulnerable to the parched conditions. This year’s planting is one of the largest on record, with 265…
Canada’s softwood lumber trade agreement with the U.S. expires one week before the Oct. 19 federal election, yet almost no one seems to be talking this long-contentious issue. We ignore it at Western Canada’s peril. Not having a softwood lumber agreement leaves Canada vulnerable to punishing tariffs at the whim of the protectionist U.S. industry….