By Sydney Lobe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter CANADA鈥橲 NATIONAL OBSERVER

Years ago, ecologist Dr. Karen Price walked through a forest ravaged by wildfire that had been logged and replanted. It was a uniform mass of pine trees, devoid of birds and wildlife 鈥� it was 鈥渆cologically boring,鈥� she recalls.

By contrast, the nearby eco reserve 鈥� which had also burned, but was left undisturbed 鈥� was a sound bath of bird calls and rustling leaves, and home to rare wildlife like goshawks.

She notes that while this is just an anecdote, the juxtaposition was a more powerful illustration of the difference between a forest logged for 鈥渟alvage lumber鈥� and one left to regrow naturally than she鈥檇 seen in any graphs of young forests.

Price, alongside other experts, is expressing concern that salvage logging 鈥� the process of logging wildfire-disturbed forests 鈥� has no ecological benefit and contradicts B.C.鈥檚 promise to prioritize ecosystem health over timber. They say, in that context, the process should be reconsidered.

However, the B.C. government released new regulations in April that expedite the practice.

The 2023 wildfires were the most destructive in B.C.鈥檚 history, and burned out more than 2.8 million hectares of forest. In April, the provincial government introduced new measures that make logging wildfire-damaged timber easier and 鈥渕ore economic鈥� for forestry operations and First Nations, according to a press release accompanying the change.

The release explains that 鈥渟alvage allows for quicker reforestation efforts and land recovery after wildfires,鈥� and the new measures streamline the process to allow for these outcomes.

In a panel facilitated by Conservation North, an environmental group, many experts agreed that salvage logging is carried out to compensate for lost timber profits post-fire, but reforestation and land recovery actually occur more productively without such interference.

鈥淲e always think we have to do something, that we have to fix something,鈥� Price told Canada鈥檚 National Observer. 鈥淥ften, the best action to restore an ecosystem is to let it restore itself. Nature does better than humans.鈥�

The Draft B.C. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework, introduced in 2023, describes a vision for resource management that focuses on protecting biodiversity and ecosystem health.

鈥淲e鈥檝e come from a long history of industrialized forestry,鈥� says Lennard Joe, CEO of the BC First Nations Forestry Council, as well as a registered professional forester and member of the Nlaka鈥檖amux First Nation. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e being faced with changes in climate, and it鈥檚 extreme. We鈥檝e got to find ways to move forward.鈥�

The Old Growth Strategic Review, another effort to reevaluate the province鈥檚 natural resource priorities and old growth management, acknowledges that 鈥渟ociety is undergoing a paradigm shift in its relationship with the environment, and the way we manage our old forests needs to adapt accordingly.鈥�

Price says the move to streamline salvage logging is 鈥渧ery concerning, because it goes against any potential `paradigm shift.鈥濃��

Eddie Petryshen, a conservation specialist with environmental advocacy group Wildsight, says the continued practice of salvage logging hinges on a misunderstanding. Also sometimes called harvest or sanitation logging 鈥� and said to promote 鈥渞enewal鈥� and 鈥渞ecovery鈥� 鈥� the implication is that the practice fosters a healthier, more resilient ecosystem, he says.

鈥淲e鈥檙e acting like that鈥檚 a really good thing to be happening on the landscape and that we need to streamline it to make it easier to incentivize it,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is what some of the world鈥檚 best forest ecologists call `attacks on natural ecological recovery.鈥濃��

Price agrees. 鈥淟ogging is logging,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e removing trees from an ecosystem. And in that perspective, it doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e removing it from a live forest or dead forest.鈥�

Price explains that actually, dead trees often have as much or more ecological value as live trees. They continue to store carbon, benefit species that rely on dead or burnt wood and create a biodiverse environment.

Areas where salvage logging and replanting occurs often become 鈥渂iological deserts,鈥� she says, removing natural complexity that is essential for the wellbeing of forests. Disturbed trees, fallen logs, and snags (dead trees left upright to degrade) all contribute to a healthier ecosystem than those that develop after salvage and replanting.

The ministry argued in a statement that salvage logging makes forests more resilient against wildfire.

鈥淏y salvaging dead and dying trees, we are reducing fuel and the risk of future wildfires,鈥� the ministry said in a statement. Experts outside the government disagree, saying salvage and replanting can actually increase that fuel, as well as the severity of future burns. On the other hand, burned forests left alone can resist wildfire for at least 20 years.

A 2021 study from Forest Ecology and Management concludes that 鈥渟alvage logging does not necessarily prevent subsequent disturbances, and sometimes it may increase disturbance likelihood and magnitude.鈥�

For Price, a wealth of factors 鈥� the primary values of the specific ecosystem in question, what kinds of trees are being harvested and fire severity 鈥� need to be considered for salvage to take place in a way that honours a shift away from timber-centric values.

But Petryshen explains that the province incentivizes salvage by reducing fees for logging burned wood and making regular adjustments to the amount of timber logging companies are allowed to log each year on the basis of how much burned wood is available to salvage 鈥� such as the changes made in April.

Since natural resources are managed provincially, salvage logging regulations vary province to province in Canada. In general, salvage logging is noted in different provinces鈥� forest legislation as an option following wildfire or other natural disturbances. Many provinces, including B.C., provide incentives for salvage, like reduced fees for harvesting, or adjusting a predetermined harvest volume to allow for salvage. In Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, the amount of harvest allowed per year can also be adjusted to account for the salvage of wildfire-burned areas.

Salvage logging is an economically important practice across the country. In B.C., companies and First Nations rely on salvage logging to compensate for timber lost to wildfires.

Joe, with the First Nations Forestry Council, notes that for the majority of First Nations reserves in rural areas in B.C., forestry is a primary economic business.

鈥淪alvage is a part of the process,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a number of things you have to balance when you look at it. 鈥� You can鈥檛 just do a simple brushstroke.鈥�

The Ministry of Forests said in its statement that values such as 鈥渞etention, watershed health, water quality, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, burn severity, hydrological systems, soil productivity, cultural values and reforestation鈥� must be considered when salvage logging.

For Price, the solution isn鈥檛 to do away with salvage logging altogether, it鈥檚 to reconsider the approach from a perspective that鈥檚 鈥渆cologically based, so it puts ecological values at the forefront, adding timber as a service that the ecosystem provides for humans.鈥�

鈥淲e are living amidst biodiversity and climate crises,鈥� she adds. 鈥淓very decision we make should be in that context.鈥�

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