1. Approval and release of the 2010-11 Workplan
Following approval by the Resources North Association (RNA) Board of Directors and the Canadian Forest Service, RNA’s 2010-2011 Annual Work Plan has been released and may be downloaded from the RNA home page. The Work Plan provides details of the 10 projects which will be the focus of RNA’s efforts over the coming year. We will continue our efforts to promote integrated resource management practices in the region, expansion of the bioenergy and agroforestry sectors as a means of diversifying economies, providing adaptation strategies for climate change impacts, and numerous other communications and educational activities. We invite you to contact us for further information or to get involved in any of the planned project work.
2. Canadian Model Forest Network update
The Canadian Model Forest Network (CMFN) is comprised of 14 Model Forests across Canada, and the hundreds of partner organizations that are involved with one or more of these Model Forests. A meeting of the General Managers of the Canadian Model Forests was held in Ottawa from March 29-31, 2010 to discuss marketing and funding strategies, a new CMFN membership structure, collaboration and knowledge-sharing opportunities, an engagement strategy for international Model Forest projects, and communication tools.
Following the retirement of former CMFN President Dave Winston, Daniel Ryan has been hired as the new President. Daniel “has extensive experience in both government and non-governmental organizations at the national level, most recently as President of the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada (AOFA).” Among other accomplishments, he is “well known and highly respected in the business community, … is fluently bilingual and a strong communicator with creative management skills, whose many endeavours have brought him into prominent board rooms to deal with senior corporate and government officials in all parts of Canada and other parts of the world.”
Following the retirement of former CMFN President Dave Winston, Daniel Ryan has been hired as the new President. Daniel “has extensive experience in both government and non-governmental organizations at the national level, most recently as President of the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada (AOFA).” Among other accomplishments, he is “well known and highly respected in the business community, … is fluently bilingual and a strong communicator with creative management skills, whose many endeavours have brought him into prominent board rooms to deal with senior corporate and government officials in all parts of Canada and other parts of the world.”
In March 2010 the CMFN released a new report for the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, “Canada’s Model Forests and Canadian Model Forest Network: Helping Communities Address Forest Sector Transformation and Climate Change.”
3. Bioenergy: Moving Forward
Following RNA’s successful Bioenergy Workshop in March 2010, Resources North will be moving forward on three bioenergy projects over the coming year:
1. Sustainable Bioenergy in the Circumpolar Boreal Forest;
2. Feasibility of Biomass Energy for Economic Diversification and Stability; and
3. Community Support in Exploring Alternative Energy Systems.
2. Feasibility of Biomass Energy for Economic Diversification and Stability; and
3. Community Support in Exploring Alternative Energy Systems.
Details regarding these three projects may be viewed in RNA’s 2010-2011 Annual Work Plan (see article above).
The Canadian Bioenergy Association is leading a 5-day technology mission that will tour bio-heat, power and pellet facilities in Austria and Northern Italy that are excellent models for bioenergy in Canada. RNA’s General Manager, Kathi Zimmerman, will be one of Canada’s representatives on the mission. Delegates will see modern technologies in action, learn how the project economics work, and discover how many jobs are created in the community while producing renewable energy. The tour will provide valuable information on current leading-edge technologies as well as costs, economics and job creation of bioenergy options. RNA will utilize this information in its 2010-2011 work plan projects noted above.
4. Caribou – Hart ranges census results (by Doug Heard)
The Province of BC counted mountain caribou within the Prince George Forest District between the 22nd and 31st of March 2010. The census followed the standard mountain caribou survey protocol of flying in a helicopter along treeline within each watershed searching for caribou tracks. The absence of any tracks during a flight over part of George Mountain supported the 2006 conclusion that this caribou herd has been extirpated. We estimated only 18 caribou in the Narrow Lake Herd. The herd has declined steadily from an estimate of 81 in 1999. We estimated 92 caribou within the Sugarbowl and Haggen blocks which was only about half the number estimated in those blocks in 2005 and 2006. The caribou estimate in the Hart Ranges has increased and then decreased since 2002. In the southern part of the Hart Ranges the 2010 estimate was considerably lower than in 2006. In the northern part of the Hart Ranges, the Parsnip Herd numbers have shown little change.
To promote caribou recovery the Ministry of Environment liberalized moose hunting regulations in the Parsnip drainage in 2006. The reasoning behind that approach was that by increasing moose hunting permit numbers, moose numbers would decline and therefore support a smaller wolf population. Fewer wolves would mean reduced predation on caribou, and caribou and caribou numbers should increase.
The 2010 survey results suggest that caribou numbers in all parts of the Prince George Forest District are declining, except in the Parsnip. The lack of a decline in the Parsnip Herd may be a result of moose reduction. Alternatively, mountain caribou numbers first declined in the southern end of their range and declines have progressed from south to north over time. Perhaps that trend is continuing and the Parsnip, being the most northerly herd, may simply be the last to decline.
5. Northern Climate Change Network update
In order to support northern communities in addressing climate change impacts and related adaptations, RNA established the Northern Climate Change Network (NCCN) 4 years ago to provide information, support and networking opportunities for interested community members across northern BC. The NCCN website features past listserv newsletters, profiles of individuals and organizations engaged in climate change action, and other related information. This year the NCCN’s activities will be expanded through developing new partnerships, extending the range of climate impacts and adaptation information available through the web portal (including an updated list of regional organizations involved in climate change work), and broadening the scope of extension activities. For more information, please contact Dave Leman, the NCCN Coordinator.
