If you ask Well Gray Community Forest Corporation Manager, Geroge Brcko to describe the mandate of the corporation in Wells Gray Country, including the District of Clearwater, he speaks with conviction, “We are here to protect the forests, the park, the water, that’s what community forests do. We are committed to managing the landscape to maintain healthy forest ecosystems and promote a future resilient forest.”
During this crucial wildfire season the obvious subject that arises for so many, especially reminded of the 2003 McLure wildfire, has to be preventative planning and fuel reduction in what has again quickly become a very dry situation in the woods throughout the Interior of B.C.
Brcko speaks with a serious resolve when describing the focus of the WGCFC saying, “What we’ve done regarding fire suppression and prevention was to put in place the Landscape Fire Management Plan for the area which includes history and protecting the District of Clearwater along with protecting the three watersheds. What that means is that we are creating a 300-metre-wide landscape fuel break, where its fuel managed. For example, in Gill creek we have about 75 hectares done there against the power line. That would be plantations and mature forests, basically cleaning out all the dead wood and pruning to 3 meters, so the fire can’t get off the ground and travel in crowns. We’ve put approximately $50,000 in this year into those treatments.”
In an interview with Black Press, Brcko uses the example of work currently being done by the WGCFC in the Candle Creek area of Clearwater, “Our plans are to continue the project in that area and access more government funding which will include specific signage as preventative education for those trekking and travelling in the area. A visual message that explains what you are seeing in that treatment area while showing the public the evidence of a fuel mitigation treatment as an example of how people should be treating their private land. It sets a physical example of what it looks like when there is no dry forest debris left underneath the canopy and it’s pruned back to 3 meters. By doing this you’ve greatly reduced the fire getting off the ground. We are really hoping with more strong messaging we can encourage the public to understand the seriousness of this type of fire mitigation on their own properties.”
Wells Gray Country and the District of Clearwater is in an Interior Douglas-Fir Biogeoclimatic zone (IDF). “We live in a dry forest valley,” says Brcko. He gives the example of the Dunn Lake fire that came right to the edge of the community forest, “literally right to the boundary” and says that fighting fires now is completely different than years ago. Brcko stresses that we are now in a very critical situation calling this time in forest management an era of defense. “We are primarily focusing on defense, and these plans that community forests are initiating are prioritizing mitigation with a large amount of work being done provincially on this as well as legislation coming that will require forest professionals to practice mitigation when they cut adjacent to communities.”
When asked what the WGCFC can do to work with the district and the public in bringing more awareness to forestry stewardship, Brcko replied, “For sure it’s got to be a linked District of Clearwater plan. We just had a recent wildfire reduction demonstration and workshop, but it wasn’t well attended. It’s discouraging that people don’t realize what an important role they must play in protecting their own community and personal property as well. What will it take? That’s what I mean about having a role to play. Everyone has a responsibility to protect and preserve our valuable forest and this quality of life we’ve all come to love when living in a forested region.”
Brcko commends some property owners that are leading by example and mitigating on their own land. He feels that is commendable rather than waiting until there is a tragic fire event.
“Forestry minded people get it; they understand the seriousness of living against a working forest loaded with fuel. The last 100 years we’ve mismanaged fuel. Interesting, First Nations used to do indigenous burning. Now there has been an absence of burning on our landscapes and we are fully loaded. Our fuels have not been taken care of well in recent years. We’ve had pine beetle, blow-down and of course, logging, unfortunately we’ve left a lot of sites loaded with fuel. New legislation will be aimed at reducing that. Hopefully by us setting an example as a community forest through responsible mitigation and by individual landowners getting into the practices of prevention on their own property, preventative maintenance will become part of a regular conversation.”
Brcko’s vision includes coming up with inventive ways to benefit the community, possibly reward good stewardship and collectively create a loop that will encourage involvement in forestry clean up while providing some employment opportunities, especially in the transition following completion of the pipeline project in the North Thompson.
With regards to the many grants and funds distributed on an annual basis by the WGCFC to a wide variety of recipients in the valley, Brcko speaks with pride, “We’ve made significant contributions to Evergreen Acres seniors housing, the community seniors bus program, Clearwater Secondary School bursaries, school equipment, and programs, as well as putting a very significant amount of funding towards the Clearwater, Blackpool and Upper Clearwater Fire Departments. We are all part of a working group. Blackpool Fire Department is incredibly advanced as far as triage, pre-planning and having water suppression caches like the huge tanks they are strategically placing along highway 5 and at the community hall-fire department in Little Fort.”
Brcko sees some positive efforts throughout the valley, “People are beginning to implement fuel reduction measures on their own and that is great to see as they develop projects to guard their own property which in turn, protects the surrounding forests.”
George Brcko is the General Manager of Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation in Clearwater, B.C.
For more information about WGCFC visit their website: https://wgcfc.ca/
