Nootka Sound, BC - With oil now removed from the MV Schiedyk, the remediation effort around the 52-year-old shipwreck now turns to examining aquatic life in the area.

The Port Alberni Fire Department has been busier than usual battling small brush fires in the Alberni Valley as the city sizzles under hotter and drier than normal weather conditions.

According to PAFD Chief Mike Owens there have been 13 fires in the past nine days. Most are brush fires caused by either abandoned campfires or unknown but suspicious causes.

After many years working as a health care aid, Kayla Lucas needed a change. Unsure of which direction to go next, the Hesquiaht First Nation council member took a job preparing willow for replanting with the Central Westcoast Forest Society (CWFS).

“I had no idea what I was doing or what to expect,” she described. 

At the time, Lucas said she knew little about working in fisheries, forestry, or environmental conservation. 

With British Columbia now into Step 3 of its COVID-19 restart plan, the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation has re-opened its tribal parks to visitors from across Canada. 

The announcement on Monday, July 5 was made with a “sigh of relief,” said Saya Masso, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation natural resources manager. 

“It feels like we’re winning [against COVID-19],” he said. “We walked this road with our Tribal Park Allies, local businesses and local residents and we’re really happy to make it through this all together.”

After many parts of B.C. experienced record-breaking temperatures, a province-wide fire ban was implemented from June 30 through to Oct. 15.

Around 88 per cent of the 337 wildfires that occurred between April 1 and June 24 were caused by people, according to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.

Despite the fire ban, Timmy Masso said he has been “truly disgusted” to see the number of illegal campfires along the logging roads off Highway 4 leading to Winchie Creek Hydro.

Building a new bridge on the West Coast Trail was no walk in the park, Parks Canada says.

The popular coastal trek reopened June 4 after a year-long pandemic closure, enabling hikers to cross what Parks Canada describes as a feat of construction and engineering, a 113-metre suspension bridge hanging 120 metres above Logan Creek, referred to in Nuu-chah-nulth as wi?e:? (pronounced wi-eh).

It has been several decades since a sea-worthy canoe has been carved in Pacheedaht territory but that is about to change as two PFN youth will spend their summer apprenticing under the guidance of Makah master carver, Hawt’wilth’iayatuk, Micah McCarty.

This rare opportunity came as a result of a partnership between Pacheedaht First Nation and the University of Victoria.

The B.C. government has allocated $12 million to support First Nations examine former residential school sites, following the federal government’s commitment of $27 million.

The funding will be used to support First Nations as they begin their own investigations to identify and locate children who died at residential schools. It is also meant to commemorate residential school sites, along with provide mental health support.

World renowned artist Art Thompson was honored in his home territory June 28, 18 years after he lost his battle to cancer. A carving project, three years in the making, came to a finish with a solemn ceremony under sweltering summer skies.

In 2018, staff of the Ditidaht Community School along with former elected chief Jack Thompson came up with an idea that would not only commemorate Art Thompson, but would also serve as a learning opportunity for the children.

DFO says it is moving swiftly to close 60 per cent of commercial salmon fisheries on the B.C. coast while consulting with First Nations on changes to communal-commercial licences as part of an all-out initiative to reverse steep declines of Pacific salmon.

Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan announced the harvest-based conservation measures Tuesday, June 29 as an initial step towards longer-term reductions in fishing pressure on threatened salmon stocks.