Thoughts on BC Politics and More

... Last month, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District's (CSRD) board of directors voted to decline participation in the program and to seek any funding.   A letter sent to the provincial government cited numerous problems, including lack of consultation, the administrative costs involved and the scope of the program. "We were surprised in October to learn …  that regional districts were solely responsible for administering the program and essentially, the revised program was downloaded to regional government and done not only in terms of responsibility, but also fully in cost," said CSRD board chair Natalya Melnychuk ... CLICK HERE for the full story

As we begin this new fire season it’s important to look back to see what is occurring in our forests, and evaluate what can be done to limit the devastating impacts of uncontrolled wildfires. B.C. is a large area (double the size of California), and 64 per cent of our land base is forest. Unfortunately, this also represents the amount of fuel that can burn during a dry summer. Fire is nature’s way of renewal, yet large high intensity uncontrolled fires are destroying forest areas that will take many generations to reforest. It is also bringing about recurring environmental damage with additional water runoff, sedimentary deposits in streams, and a host of other challenges because of the intensity of the fires. Since the adoption of Forest Practices Boards and Codes (B.C. 1995) many different countries, governments and jurisdictions have tried to maintain a balance between conservation and production of a renewable commodity. I say ‘renewable commodity’ because a forest is a living, bre...