Tag Archives: Ministry of Forests

Rivers & Oceans

‘Shockingly huge’ steelhead salmon escape fish farm, threatening B.C.’s Lois Lake

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Most B.C. fishing guides would be thrilled if a client pulled a 30-pound rainbow trout from the lake during an expedition.

But the scenario is cause for concern on Lois Lake, said Pat Demeester, who has been an angler and guide in the Powell River region on the Sunshine Coast for decades. 

Massive farm-raised rainbow trout — marketed as sustainably raised Lois Lake steelhead — have been escaping from the AgriMarine aquaculture site into Lois Lake and adjoining Khartoum Lake, southeast of Powell River, he said. 

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Forests

Greenwashing complaint filed against Canada’s biggest certifier of sustainable forestry

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Canadian environmental groups have levelled another greenwashing complaint — this time at the largest certification scheme for sustainable forestry in North America.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certifies 115 million hectares of forest within Canada’s borders for companies.

In a complaint filed to Competition Bureau Canada, environmental groups allege the SFI’s claims of sustainability are “false and misleading” because it has “no rules requiring that logging meet prescribed sustainability criteria nor any on-the-ground assessment to confirm sustainability.”

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Environment, Indigenous Nations

The keepers of Cheewaht: Restoring an ecosystem for generations to come

By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Cheewaht Lake, BC – Off the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, inland from the West Coast Trail, is a quiet and remote lake brimming with vibrant ecosystems. From trumpeter swans to black bears, the Cheewaht Lake watershed provides a home for dense and rare biodiversity.

The Cheewaht Lake watershed is on the traditional territory of Ditidaht First Nation, who, for thousands of years, managed the area from villages along the coast at the mouth of the Cheewaht River.

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Forests

Bruce Ellingsen: 2022 recipient of the Jo Ann Green Award

Every year, the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) give the Jo Ann Green Award to a Cortes Islander who has made a significant contribution to the environmental wellbeing of the community. Bruce Ellingsen is this year’s recipient.

“Jo Ann Green was an exemplary environmentalist who came to Cortes in 1969, and she immediately became involved in social environmental activities on the island,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of FOCI. 

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Forests

Community Forest Cooperative seeks proposals to create products from local wood

By Greg Osoba, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

The Cortes Community Forest Cooperative (CCFC) is hoping to reduce logging on Cortes Island by developing more wood products locally.

The organization, in partnership with the local Klahoose First Nation, holds a community forest tenure with the BC Ministry of Forests, covering about 30 per cent of the crown land on the island, according to CCFC President Carrie Saxifrage. Each year the partnership needs to harvest a demonstrable portion of trees under its tenure.

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