Bill Tieleman’s opinion  https://tinyurl.com/ybmdau8h is neglect in wildfire protection due to low investment by BC Liberals was a major factor in the current wildfire situation. Whether you agree with the analysis or not, it is clear we need to invest in the forest relative to a number of issues previously identified in HFHC documents as part of long-term forest stewardship.  This is critical if we are to have forests contribute to community resiliency.  Government must act on this, if their commitment to rural development is to become reality.

UBC research shows BC foresters are including climate change into reforestation decision-making in “change & changes in silvicultural practices,” Julie Sheppard  https://tinyurl.com/ybusrkbx

The BC Government and forest industry promote a high level of Sustainable Forest Management.  Their rationale is usually based on the existing legislation, regulations and policies and the fact a large percentage of BC forests have third part forest certification.  However, there are a number of deficiencies in this approach that could be rectified, in-part, by adopting the recommendations presented in SFM-what needs to be done to demonstrate status.  Taking these actions would either show support for their positions or identify the required actions to get to this point.  Regardless, these actions would demonstrate to communities and the public the level of SFM in BC forests.  For several decades we have known and had the capability of doing this.  It just needs leadership and commitment by Government and the industry to practice long-term forest stewardship.

Now that the BC NDP has formed Government with support from the BC Greens, what can we expect from the new Government based on recent commitments compared to what is needed to move toward long-term forest stewardship and community resiliency? A discussion regarding this comparison and required actions are presented in Required Action-forest stewardship-community resiliency.