Are we putting too much emphasis on targetting trees as a fire threat while we trustingly leave our highly flammable, plastic-laden vehicles parked in or next to our residences?
In honour of our urban and established forests, Creatively United presents this free webinar/conversation and Q&A with some of BC’s leading experts on tree preservation in light of a changing climate and the threat of fire.
Learn how to discern truth from half-truth (or fiction), protect and preserve trees, your community, home and loved ones from the growing threat of fire in an era of climate uncertainty.
Featuring Herb Hammond, forest ecologist, professional forester, author; Rachel Holt, independent ecologist, professional biologist; and Dave Daust, forester, landscape analyst. Together they dispel some of the myths perpetuated by government agencies and social media to reveal how the public can better protect trees and nature in their community and elsewhere.
Todd Carnahan, a conservation biologist and member of FireSmart Emergency Cowichan (CVRD), shares FireSmart recommendations for natural landscapes around homes.
Moderated by conservationists Grace Golightly and Creatively United founder Frances Litman.
Links & Resources
Galiano Conservancy
Convention on Biological Diversity
Closer to the Brink report
Rights of Nature information
David Boyd book on Rights of Nature
Protect BC Forests petition
Nature-First Cities provides advice on how nature and human communities can coexist and deal with the heat island effect in urban areas.
Top 10 Native Plants
“Gardening With Native Plants” distributed by Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT) in Victoria
Letter template to push back on COFI’s “Forestry is a Solution Campaign”
Improve Old Growth Ecosystem Conservation resolution passed by the City of Revelstoke and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District
The Tyee – The Forest Quietly Removed from BC’s Old-Growth Deferral List
Improve Old Growth Ecosystem Conservation
Nature-Directed Stewardship Planning – David Suzuki Foundation
Nature-Directed Stewardship – A Short Definition by Herb Hammond
Trouble in the Headwaters Film
Dr. Rachel Holt on Instagram
Additional Q&A
I read an article a few years ago about how, every nine year cycle, twice as much area of forest burnt in wildfires, compared to the previous nine year cycle. Is this true?
Dave Daust: The increase in area burned depends on location, but doubling every nine years seems too extreme for anywhere over a longer time frame. In parts of BC, area burned has more than doubled over the last decade, but the rapid increase is unlikely to continue. Projections for BC suggest area burned may double again in 50 to 100 years. But beware of crystal balls.
Herb Hammond: I am not aware of this relationship. The cycles of wildfires depends more on weather. With climate change weather is becoming progressively warmer and drier, which equates to higher likelihood of wildfire.
Rachel Holt: Our weather in BC is influenced by the decadal cycles of the PDO/ENSO.. maybe it is that.
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South East of Penticton, BCTS has put up 500 hectares for logging and I’m worried about how poor forestry practice and the risks to flooding and fire. What can we do to stop this or to have a voice in this project?
Rachel Holt: Unfortunately, it is a matter of engaging directly with them – and pushing them to ‘do better’. It is almost impossible to stop BCTS (in my experience), but you can get media and shine a light on what is happening, which encourages them to perhaps be more accountable.
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Could you talk about the relationship between intact forests and the water cycle. What could be done now to help restore clearcuts to ecologically healthy landscapes or is it too late?
Dave Daust: Clearcutting can substantially increase the frequency of extreme flooding events. For example, clearcutting a third of a watershed could cause big “100-year” floods to occur every decade. Rapidly growing plantations can suck moisture out of the ground in summer and reduce streams flows when fish need them most. Hydrology recovers over time, once we stop or reduce logging.
Herb Hammond: Intact, natural forest intercept, store, filter and circulate water from precipitation, both snow and rain. This not only conserves water locally where precipitation occurs, but also distributes water across watersheds and larger landscapes. These functions of intact, natural forests are lost with clearcuts and tree plantations. To fully reestablish these functions after clearcutting requires plantations to reach at least 70 years old or more, depending upon the productivity of the soil and the effects of climate. It is never too late to restore degraded ecosystems, but that has to be done in concert with stopping clearcuts and tree plantations that create the need for restoration.
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How do we shock these decision makers into accountability? This is not a knowledge gap problem it is a willful ignorance problem.
Rachel Holt: We three all work daily to change things – but what the politicians need is to continuously hear from all of you that this really matters to you. Call / email the premier .. often .. and say what you are seeing is not enough.
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With so many slash piles around, why is Drax getting permits to clearcut primary forests?
Dave Daust: Using slash is not as profitable.
Herb Hammond: The yield of pellets is greater from logs and at a lower price than producing pellets from slash and other forms of milling “waste”. Burning pellets to produce electricity produces more greenhouse gases per unit energy than burning coal. Using wood pellets to produce electricity is a bad idea from many perspectives. Drax is highly subsidized by the UK government.
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What about lobbying for a New Forest Act? We need a concerted effort by citizens to bring in new policy altogether, and stop accepting the “talk and log” obfuscation.
Herb Hammond: Supporting the New Forest Act is very important. This can be done by donating time or money to the New Forest Act campaign. As the public demand grows for change, government becomes more likely to implement the changes well articulated in the New Forest Act.
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What resources do we have to reach councillors, MLAs, and regional district directors to stop logging?
Herb Hammond: Check out the New Forest Act website.
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Is there a comparable docu film available or in development to “BC Is Burning” that is scientifically based that could capture public hearts and minds to pressure government to change forestry practices?
Herb Hammond: Trouble in the Headwaters by Daniel Pierce is a good example of the problems created by industrial forestry practices.
Rachel Holt: Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire (available online). It has some good science and much less of the industry rhetoric than BC is burning.
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Is partial cutting the same as selective cutting?
Herb Hammond: Both terms have a wide range of meanings depending upon the source. Ecologically responsible partial cutting and ecologically responsible selective cutting are largely identical. The key in using these terms is to always specify what they mean in relationship to a specific forest. Only after careful definition of what the terms mean is one able to determine whether they are appropriate or not.
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I have noticed that people who have not lived near or experienced and understand the value of an Old Growth forest do not see the difference between an Old Growth forest and second growth. I think there needs to be a huge effort made to establish government leaders and citizens a connection to nature. What are your thoughts on this?
Dave Daust: Agreed, huge problem. In the very short term, we need government decision-makers to appreciate the benefits of natural forests.
Herb Hammond: Agree. A good way to demonstrate the difference is to take people on a walk through an old-growth forest, followed by a walk through a clearcut/tree plantation. With this approach, the differences between the two become striking.
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Do we need to change building codes to include metal roofing, solar panels, rainwater harvesting and fire proof hempcrete buildings?
Todd Carnahan: Building codes currently address all of the above. Metal roofing is similar in wildfire resistance to ashphalt roofing. Keep roof and gutters clean because this is the number one cause of home ignitions.
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What about hemp “forests” to harvest and replant clearcuts to naturalize? Hemp has 4 times the fibre an acre and faster regeneration. Fire proof hempcrete for buildings, etc.
Frances Litman: The most natural way to “naturalize” our forests is to leave them in their natural state and not cut them. The growing and harvesting of hemp is best managed in flat, well drained fields. While hemp is arguably a fast growing crop with a multitude of purposes, including hempcrete which is an excellent, fireproof building product, it is not a crop intended to be grown in forest ecosystems.
CreativelyUnited.org created a video called The Harmless Home, about one of the world’s first hempcrete homes, located in East Sooke, BC. The company who manufactured the hemp blocks is, unfortunately, no longer in business.
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Do we need to change building codes to include metal roofing, solar panels, rainwater harvesting and fire proof hempcrete buildings?
Todd Carnahan: Building codes currently address all of the above. Metal roofing is similar in wildfire resistance to ashphalt roofing. Keep roof and gutters clean because this is the number one cause of home ignitions.
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Is a rhododendron hedge classed as a herbaceous perennial and Firesmart?
Todd Carnahan: Yes, if they are outside the 1.5m zone around the home and outbuildings within 10m of home. https://firesmartbc.ca/landscaping-hub/
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What are some of the FireSmart standards for landscaping that new home developers should adhere to, or that homeowners can adjust for?
Todd Carnahan: Please visit: https://firesmartbc.ca/landscaping-hub/
Presenter Bios
Herb Hammond
Forest Ecologist, Professional Forester, Author
Herb Hammond is a forest ecologist and retired Registered Professional Forester with more than 45 years of experience in research, industry, teaching and consulting. He is best known for his concept and application of nature-directed stewardship, which he formerly referred to as ecosystem-based conservation planning. Hammond defines nature-directed stewardship as the protection and ecologically responsible use of ecosystems through all scales of time and space. This goal is achieved through identification and establishment of networks of ecological reserves at multiple spatial scales. Working primarily with Indigenous Nations and other rural communities, Hammond has developed more than 25 ecosystem-based conservation plans across Canada and in other parts of the world.
Hammond holds a Bachelor of Science in forest science from Oregon State University and a Masters of Forestry in forest ecology and silviculture from the University of Washington.
He is the author of Seeing the Forest Among the Trees: The Case for Wholistic Forest Use (Polestar Press), which won the Roderick-Haig Brown B.C. Book Prize in 1992 and “Most Significant Contribution” at Bumbershoot Book Fair Awards, 1992; and Maintaining Whole Systems on Earth’s Crown: Ecosystem-based Conservation Planning for the Boreal Forest (Silva Forest Foundation).
Along with two other authors he recently released Nature-First Cities: Restoring Relationships with Ecosystems and with Each Other (UBC Press). The book focuses on applying nature-directed stewardship/ecosystem-based conservation planning to restore urban areas. The concepts explained in the book apply to any space where humans congregate, not just to cities.
Herb is also working on a book about Nature and our place in her complex fabric. This book draws on the Indigenous knowledge and ways of being shared with him by many Indigenous people through the years. With assistance from Indigenous collaborators, Herb hopes to describe a new reality for settler cultures—a reality that is necessary for our survival, and how to get there in the face of the biodiversity and climate crises.
Rachel Holt
Independant Ecologist, Professional Biologist
Rachel is an ecologist who remains amazed that the global importance of ecosystems and forests in BC are not recognised by many of the management decisions occurring within BC’s forests today.
Rachel has worked for the last 30 years for the provincial and First Nation governments, aiming to change how policy recognises and maintains the values of BC.
Rachel has been Vice-chair of the Forest Practices Board, a member of the Ministers’ Technical Advisory Panel on old growth and engaged in the successful Blueberry River First Nation court case relating to infringement of treaty rights. Instagram: dr.rachelholt. Veridian Ecological Consulting Ltd, Nelson.
Dave Daust
Forester, Landscape Analyst (M.Sc., RPF)
For more than three decades, Dave has worked with his ecologist partner Karen Price (PhD) on regional and provincial land management and conservation and developed and applied approaches for assessing the impacts of human activities, including the heating climate, on forest biodiversity, watershed health and focal species, primarily with Indigenous Nations and the provincial government.
They have analysed the influence of climate zone and forest vegetation on wildfire extent and severity and have prepared wildfire ecosystem restoration plans.
In 2021, they participated in the Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel that identified at-risk old growth suitable for harvest deferral in BC.