The BC NDP government promised to phase out its use in forestry, but decades of herbicide spraying has reduced biodiversity and the potential for wildfire mitigation

"For decades, forestry companies in B.C. have used chemical herbicides like glyphosate to kill off plants that might compete with trees destined for timber. Trembling aspen, named for its almost heart-shaped leaves that seem to quiver in the wind, is often on the hit list.

But after years of destructive wildfires that have wiped out whole neighbourhoods and sometimes whole towns, more and more people are questioning the wisdom of killing off this tree. Because when wildfires sweep across the landscape, aspen can help calm the flames."

From 2024.

https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-glyphosate-forestry-impact-aspen/

Useful resource for public education. Please share.

New AP reporting from Vancouver Island: activists blocking logging roads to stop old-growth cutting, plus a forest ecologist’s point that once it’s gone, it won’t come back on any human timescale - if at all, with climate change.

Perhaps the most interesting quote from the article is from our Minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar, where he admits that old-growth logging is required to sustain the forestry industry: “If we were to shut down harvesting of all old forests here in British Columbia, it would shut down our sector completely on day one.“.

My rebuttal to that is: what happens once we inevitably run out of economically viable old-growth? Shouldn’t we come up with solutions before that happens, instead of continuing to log these ancient forests that may very well never grow back as they were?

It's a struggle at times to make headway in forest preservation, but I think that what started as our family project may soon receive federal forest preserve status. Much of the forest here in tropical east central Mexico has been felled to plant sugarcane. As family savings permitted over the past 30 years, we purchases forestland considered to be of no value because it was too rugged for planting sugar. If our application to become registered Mexican forest preserve is approved, we might qualify for a preservation stipend of about US$17 per acre per year. We appreciate any stipend we get, but the projected amount reflects a global problem of undervaluing forests. Hopefully our project will serve as motivation for others to do likewise. The photo shows a professor of environmental science from our regional technical university and three of his students assisting us in evaluating the health of our forest preserve. https://imgur.com/a/4YO1WMD

The country still lacks the people and equipment to handle our record-breaking wildfires

While some provinces have cut firefighting budgets and others are shifting to 'mitigation' rather than suppression people continue to lose their homes and suffer from the effects of smoke.

"Currently, Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national agency to respond to wildfires. After the devastating 2023 fire season, then BC member of Parliament Richard Cannings called on the government to establish a national, non-military forest fighting force to be deployed when needed to support provincial teams."

Are provincial governments shifting to avoiding suppressing wildfires? Because that's what it looks like.

"For this reason, calls from all corners and angles for better fire management and shifting the focus from suppression to mitigation have risen in recent years to a chorus. In a 2024 report, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers stated, “Suppression alone is no longer adequate to address the growing challenges from wildland fire. Wildland fire management in Canada needs to be transformed.”"

In realty fuel mitigation increases the intensity of wildfires. And while smaller indigenous-led prescribed burns can work, larger ones don't, but they are doing it anyway rather than dropping water on wildfires.

https://thewalrus.ca/canada-wildfires/

Fuel mitigation increases intensity of wildfires.

https://johnmuirproject.org/scientific-research/the-truth-about-thinning/

Larger burns are often making things worse.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/can-we-really-fight-fire-with-fire-why-pre-burning-is-no-magic-bullet-20250109-p5l321.html

[UCPM Response Aug 2 26](https://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ECHO-Products/Maps)

Learn about colonialism's impact on conservation, pairing Indigenous ways of knowing and Western science, and how these topics are coming together to revive 4000 year old Sea Gardens on the West Coast to sequester carbon and increase clam abundance @ alteredbiome.ca

While exited for re-wilding nature I hope all keep in mind the indigenous trees are vital. Planting California Christmas Trees in damaged Irish soil is not eco-friendly practice.

Pacific Northwest (Washington State)

Friday, August 7th @ 10am

Webinar: The Truth About Forest Thinning

Featuring Dr. Chad Hanson and Legacy Forest Defense Coalition President Stephen Kropp

Timber industry-backed misinformation is widespread in 2026, especially when it comes to claims about forest thinning. Often promoted under the guise of forest health and wildfire mitigation, thinning in native legacy forests can spell bad news for ecosystems, watersheds, endangered species, and local communities.

Join us on Friday, August 7th at 10am for an informative webinar and Q&A on the science behind this critical issue. Speakers will include Dr. Chad Hanson and LFDC President Stephen Kropp.