British Columbia Unveils Forest Recovery Plan

The government of the Canadian province of British Columbia announced $150 million in spending on Friday to “treat” forests to reduce wildfire hazards, rehabilitate forests damaged by fire and disease, and increase the province’s carbon sink. While that treatment will include tree planting, it will also include tree cutting: Beetle-damaged pine stands will be cut down to make room for reforestation. The money will go to the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia, which was created last year with $85 million, Business in Vancouver reported. To date, $5.6 million have been awarded to various projects, most of them aimed at addressing forest fire hazards and cleaning up the still-standing dead wood left from the mountain pine beetle infestation. The funding is in addition to the $85 million in funding provided last year. The new funding is to be added in the 2016-17 provincial budget, which is to be allocated on February 21. The funds will be managed by the Forest Enhancement Society. Some of the funding will go toward tree-planting, which Premier Christy Clark described as a significant climate change initiative, since young forests absorb considerably more carbon dioxide than mature forests.