In response to concerns expressed by local communities, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations staff have been analyzing potential opportunities to increase timber supply. A draft summary of detailed technical analyses for the Lakes, Prince George, Quesnel and Williams Lake...
SFM in British Columbia
British Columbia: Mid-Term Timber Supply Project
B.C. plan would open Interior’s protected woods for logging
Old-growth forests, wildlife corridors and other long-protected timber zones in the British Columbia Interior could be opened up to logging in order to keep mills operating, according to a cabinet document detailing a proposal under consideration by the provincial government. The document, stamped...
Power Grab Eyed by Clark Gov't to Set Logging Levels
A leaked provincial cabinet document indicates that the provincial government is contemplating "suspending" the powers of one of its most powerful public servants in order to expedite a controversial logging program that has raised alarm bells in the professional forestry community.
Thousands of forestry jobs on the line in central British Columbia
A confidential report was leaked this week indicating the British Columbia government is expecting north-central B.C. to lose 32% – 67% of its timber supply due to the mountain pine beetle epidemic without a mitigation plan.
Opposition mounts to government talks on opening forest reserves to loggers
The B.C. government is holding talks with the forest industry over ways to supply more timber to beetle-hit Interior sawmills, including the option of opening forest reserves that have until now been out of bounds to loggers.
Confidential report warns pine beetle set to destroy B.C. forestry jobs
The full, devastating impact of the pine-beetle epidemic that has swept across British Columbia will be felt in the next few years when up to half the forest-industry jobs in the province’s interior will vanish, according to a government report meant to be confidential. The document, a briefing...
A Shocking Glimpse of BC's New Forest Plan
For more than a quarter century, logging companies at the government's blessing have been on a tear through British Columbia's expansive interior forests. In the name of "salvaging" economic value from forests attacked by mountain pine beetles, beginning with a smaller outbreak centered in the...
British Columbia releases new Forest Sector Strategy
British Columbia released its Forest Sector Strategy today. Titled “Our Natural Advantage, Forest Sector Strategy for British Columbia”, the strategy aims to build upon the report of the Working Roundtable on Forestry to support a more vibrant sector that supports employment in every part of the...
Logging in forest reserve areas within MPB epidemic area
Honorable Steve Thomson Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations PO Box 9071 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC, V8W 9E9 Honorable Pat Bell Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation P.O. Box 9049, Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC, V8W 9E2
Panic in the government should not descend into head-over-heels panic
Minister Bell Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4 Dear Minister Bell, There are many reasons why what the Globe and Mail terms “panic in the government” should not descend into head-over-heels panic. Logging long-protected forest areas will certainly appear as panic and a government that...
Transforming forest management in B.C
The recent auditor-general's report on government mismanagement of our forests should serve as a wake-up call to the people of British Columbia to demand transformation of forest governance and management. Healthy forests provide us with clean water and clean air. They store three-quarters of the...
A crisis of neglect in the province’s forests
In 1985, the rapidly growing amount of not-satisfactorily-restocked (NSR) land in B.C. forests became a crisis. This resulted in a joint provincial and federal $300-million funding plan, the Forest Resource Development Agreement (FRDA) that restocked many thousands of hectares.
Politics trumps reason as B.C. eyes bid to raid protected forests
The fire that destroyed the lumber mill in Burns Lake this winter was sudden and catastrophic, sending a small town into shock. Overnight, 250 jobs vanished. Imagine a blow that severe landing on a dozen different communities and you have a sense of what is coming in central and northern British...
BC Government Killing Forest Industry: Auditor General
Worse, the government lacks reliable information on the state of the forest and has no plan for what to do about it, he said. Various observers said Doyle's report confirmed what critics have said for years, but the minister responsible insisted the province has a plan and is doing the necessary...
Aging Forests Ministry in poor health
The ravages of age usually affect people more than institutions. But successive reports on two of the oldest government functions in B.C. have found they are in failing health. A searching look last week at the justice system - a ministry since 1871 - portrayed it as floundering badly. And this...
B.C.'s resources need support
We pride ourselves on being Super, Natural British Columbia, province of pristine lakes, spectacular wilderness, friendly resource communities and vibrant, sophisticated cities. We market B.C. as "the best place on earth," a place where tourists have unparalleled opportunities to view wildlife,...
Timber inventory a guessing game, critics charge
The B.C. government is not adequately keeping track of its inventory of timber lands, according to NDP Leader Adrian Dix. And that means the province is putting off some tough decisions, he says, on managing what’s left of pine-beetle-ravaged forests. While the mountain pine beetle has been...
B.C. risks becoming a silvicultural slum
Re: B.C.'s resources need support, Column, Feb. 17, Province fails to protect, restore beetle-ravaged area: report, Feb. 17 Both Stephen Hume and Auditor-General John Doyle have pointed out in spades the neglected state of B.C.'s forests. Without corrective action - and yes, that means money and...
Foresters join warning cry over risk to forest sustainability
B.C. forest inventories are so far out of date that the foresters' professional association is questioning whether provincial forestlands can still be managed sustainably. A report by the Association of B.C. Forest Professionals released Monday says that at a time when wildfire and insect pests...
Auditor General report on forestry - A trust betrayed
The Auditor General of British Columbia has released a report that is sharply critical of the BC Government and Ministry of Forests’ management of BC forests. Indeed, it would be hard to find a government report that is more withering in its criticism.