Wildfire, watersheds, and landscape change

Exploring the co-benefits of collaborative, landscape-scale approaches to managing fire in coastal forests of southern BC.

In regions across Canada, forests and fire co-evolved alongside each other over millennia. In many cases, this coevolution involved Indigenous experts who learned to channel the relationship between forests and fire to cultivate more productive and biodiverse landscapes. Since settler arrival, these relationships have been, at best interrupted, and at worst, entirely lost. 

Aerial footage of a clearcut with tiny trucks and machinery working and smoke rising up from the slash piles.
Poor landscape planning and industrial harvesting practices have historically contributed to the degradation of coastal forests in BC. Photo by Alex Harris. 

In British Columbia, this mass removal of Indigenous landscape management practice, followed by generations of industrial-scale forestry and minimal ecological intervention have stripped a high proportion of coastal forests of biodiversity and resilience. The simplified forest communities that stand today are increasingly susceptible to burning as climate change impacts worsen in this region, often manifesting as hotter and drier seasonal conditions. With so many communities embedded in the wildland urban interface (WUI) and with each consecutive fire season seeming to worsen, pushing the needle on the definition of “unprecedented”, the Climate Adaptation Research Lab (CARL) at Transition Salt Spring has spent the past two years piloting approaches to address local fire risk and building a community of practice to expand their work’s scope of application and efficacy to a wider region. 

With the support of Raincoast, two fire workshops have taken place in that time. The first  was held exclusively online in February 2023, followed by a small in-person debrief on Salt Spring Island. These meetings culminated in the publication of a Practitioners Report, Fire risk reduction in the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone, intended to be a living document that evolved with continuing collaboration. In May 2024, a much larger workshop was held at the University of Victoria with an online component that expanded the event’s reach all the way to the east coast. Together, the community that is assembling around this work aims to secure significant community and decision-maker buy-in to change the way we perceive, react to, and manage for fire at the landscape level.

The in-person experience

On May 10, 2024, regional practitioners gathered in the University of Victoria’s Continuing Studies building for a critical and groundbreaking conversation on wildfire management in coastal BC. This grassroots movement united stakeholders from across a highly populated and jurisdictionally complicated rural landscape to work together on the pressing issues associated with landscape-level wildfire risk. While the day was framed as conversation, it grew to become so much more. Every part of the workshop was geared toward action, conversations were solution-oriented, networking amongst the diverse groups of participants was continuous, and there was a collective understanding that we would aim to build a path forward. It was an inspiring day to listen to experienced individuals so eloquently contribute their thoughts, ideas, and feelings to transition from conservation to action.

Workshop participants sit around a table thinking and collaborating together.
Photo by Alex Harris.

Another stand-out aspect of the workshop was the relationships between participants; many familiar faces reconnected while new connections were also established. Further, it was clear that the organizers strove to create a collegial and collaborative atmosphere to share ideas where everyone was invited to participate on the same playing field. Importantly, Indigenous experts were given space to share their millenia-in-the-making cultural knowledge about coastal forest stewardship. The emphasis on needing to re-integrate traditional land management practices was well-supported by all workshop participants. While many groups were represented (First Nations, conservation, academia, local government, parks, fire departments) there were some groups missing from the discussion, for example, forest industry representatives.

The overall energy in the room was exciting. There was a sense of eagerness from the outset, with a palpable feeling of comradery and allyship from so many like-minded people gathering together. Some participants were honest in saying that their energy stemmed from frustration on having faced barriers in this work previously. They also expressed exasperation about the 1) limited availability of information and practical resources and 2) lack of connectivity between groups with shared problems. Identifying these collective challenges raised questions of leadership (who is responsible for taking action?) and efficacy (how can the community of practice be effective in working together?). Finding a shared purpose in feelings of uncertainty, attendees seemed hopeful that this workshop was an important step toward collective action for coastal forests.

The shape of the day

The workshop started in an auspicious way with an opening prayer from a member of the Songhees Nation, setting the intention for strong community connection, learning, and open-mindedness. After getting familiar with each other via introductory icebreakers, attendees participated in exercises geared toward identifying individual intentions toward this work and challenges that must be addressed to make progress toward establishing community and ecological resilience in fire-prone forests. 

One idea that got a lot of traction throughout the workshop was beaver-based restoration. In essence, this ethos places the reintroduction of beavers, nature’s first ecosystem engineers, at the center of restoration efforts.

Next, a few expert presentations on ‘planning in an uncertain and complex landscape’  explored the different ways cultural burning and western management approaches can be applied to realize co-benefits, multiple values, and the long-view needed to do this work well. For example, traditional land stewardship practices, such as cultural burning, are inherently proactive as they involve creating fire-resilient landscapes. However, it was noted by an Indigenous expert that it can take upwards of 20 years of cultural burning to reach a “good place”, and still, more work will be needed to steward the land into the future. Hearing about this timescale and the necessary investment of energy, resources, and knowledge needed was a humbling reminder that despite the urgency of the issue, rapid response is not the only consideration. Management approaches need to benefit current communities as well as the generations to come. Reintegrating First Nations knowledge, practices, and values into coastal forest management will help to achieve this outcome.

This segued into the first round of small group discussions regarding what success may look like in different regions. One idea that got a lot of traction throughout the workshop was beaver-based restoration. In essence, this ethos places the reintroduction of beavers, nature’s first ecosystem engineers, at the center of restoration efforts. By reversing the mass removal of beavers via the fur trade at the time of colonization,  beavers could reprise their role as creators of dams and rerouters of water flows, forming mosaics of wetland types (i.e., fire breaks) across the landscape. However, such a program would require significant community engagement to prevent human/beaver conflicts. Following a similar idea of diversifying coastal forest landscapes, management of overabundant deer populations was a common discussion topic. Many attendees agreed that reducing ungulate browsing pressure on understory plants would create more natural, moist vegetation breaks on the landscape and thus fewer conduits for fire spread. These discussions acknowledged that a lot of the solutions to the fire problem are already known and being practiced at a small scale. What is needed now is a landscape-level, collective approach to build from existing foundations and advance fire resilience. 

In the final portion of the day, participants dove deeper into small “case study” discussions. Before the workshop, a group of experts were asked to 1) design case studies centered on their unique experience working within the wildfire context and 2) prepare to host a group discussion on their chosen topic. At the workshop, the case study “hosts” provided a <5-minute overview of the topic, then turned the discussion over to group members to unpack and discuss. The case study topics presented were:

  1. Emergency management, watershed protection, and conservation: Interjuriscitional linking hosted by Cari McIntyre (Comox Valley Emergency Management), Dean Seal (K’ómoks First Nations Emergency Management), and Meaghan Cursons (Cumberland Community Forest Society Watershed Protection Educator)
  2. Principles and best practices for the restoration of forested ecosystems hosted by Lyndsey Smith (Coastal Douglas-fir Conservation Partnership) and Adam Huggins (Galiano Conservancy Association)
  3. Private managed forest challenges hosted by David Haley (Registered Professional Forester) and Erik Piikkila (Forest Ecologist)
  4. The use of fire on the landscape: Barriers, challenges, and the pathway forward hosted by Jay Zakaluzny and Becky Miller (Parks Canada)
  5. Cultural Burning: The Salish FireKeepers hosted by Joe Gilchrist and Amy Christianson
  6. Reducing fire severity at the landscape scale on traditional Ktunaxa Territory (Southeast BC) hosted by Bob Gray (R.W. Gray Consulting Ltd and PNW Forest Service Lab) 
  7. Wildfire risk governance in the Capital Region hosted by Jonathan Reimer (Emergency Programs, Protective Services, CRD)

By reversing the mass removal of beavers via the fur trade at the time of colonization,  beavers could reprise their role as creators of dams and rerouters of water flows, forming mosaics of wetland types (i.e., fire breaks) across the landscape. However, such a program would require significant community engagement to prevent human/beaver conflicts.

These case studies and the discussions they prompted will be described in detail in the updated version of the Practitioner’s Report anticipated to be released in late summer/early fall of 2024.

After three lively rounds of case study discussions and sharing key takeaways with the larger group, closing discussions focused on synthesizing key takeaways, brainstorming next steps, and establishing some accountability to actions.  Closing remarks summarized the emerging principles from the day and a closing prayer reminded us to stay grounded, grateful, and engaged with one another as we move forward with this work.

The online experience

In the post-COVID era, it can be challenging to replicate the energy of an in-person experience on an online platform. Yet, online attendees managed to remain deeply engaged throughout the day-long workshop. This level of presence stands as a testament to the importance of this work and the commitment of those who contribute to it. Using a blended approach allowed online attendees to learn from in-person expert presentations, but online tools like surveys, Zoom break-out rooms, and Jam Boards created opportunities to meaningfully contribute within the online space. For the most part, this approach meant that the online community experienced a very similar workshop to those who attended in person. The primary difference was that three unique case studies were presented online (and in some cases in-person attendees signed on to contribute to the online conversations!).

Shauna Doll shows up in a presentation on a big screen while attendees listen from their seats.
Photo by Priya Puri.

The online case studies were largely centered on maintaining landscape-level ecological integrity in wildfire management. Case study topics were:

  • The role of conservation covenants in addressing fire risk hosted by Shauna Doll of Raincoast Conservation Foundation
  • Fire risk mitigation through ecologically informed forest stewardship: Writing our own playbook of beneficial practices for Coastal Douglas-fir forests hosted  by Dr. Emily Gonzales of University of Victoria
  • From fire data to water wisdom: assessing wildfire-watershed risks in Pacific coastal watersheds hosted by François-Nicolas Robinne of the Pacific Salmon Foundation

Early findings and emerging themes

Though further analysis is needed to thoroughly unpack all of the ideas shared during the workshop, an early emerging theme that seems to link discussions between different groups at different points in the workshop are “C” words like “community”, “connection”, “consistency”, “consensus”, “conflict [resolution]”, “conservation”, “collective [action]”, “communication”, “capacity”, and “culture”. These are powerful ideas with common threads between them. For example, “conservation” was identified by many attendees as an important way forward in addressing fire risk, but what it means to conserve a landscape means different things to different groups of people. “Communication” and “collective action” are needed to better understand approaches to conservation that will not only protect places but also “culture” and expand existing conservation networks. These ideas will be more deeply explored in the Pracitioner’s Report update.

Tiny humans walk through a giant glowing forest.
Community, conservation, and collective [action], have all emerged as important components of addressing fire risk. Photo by Alex Harris.

Some initial informative principles that were apparent by the end of the workshop included:

  • Fire and climate change are directly linked.
  • Fire is a landscape process.
  • Collaboration and coordination are required between levels of government, scientists, community members, and others.
  • Continued learning, adaptive management, and diverse perspectives are needed to adequately address fire risk.
  • Ecology and culture are inextricably linked and thus need to be part of solutions.
  • Controlled and cultural burns are vital.

What is needed now is a landscape-level, collective approach to build from existing foundations and advance fire resilience.

Commonly nested within emerging principles related to management was the idea of striving to be proactive rather than reactive. Realistically, it is unlikely that practitioners can catch up with the runaway train of wildfire at this point. Instead, efforts must be focused on mitigating risk by drawing on past experiences. While many new questions emerged as a result of the workshop, many existing ones were answered, emphasizing the importance of collaboration. Taking action to nurture a community of practice around fire risk has laid the foundation for a path forward.

Moving toward a more fire-resilient future

By approaching the subject of wildfire management using a landscape-wide lens, the workshop revealed the diversity of ecological knowledge needed to effectively address fire risk in the climate change era.  Within the context of the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone for example, it is essential to understand the influence of ungulate herbivory, hydrology, and invasive species presence (just to name a few) on fire severity and spread. It is also important to consider how sociocultural landscape legacies can shape fire behavior. For example, as conifers encroach on lands historically managed through controlled cultural burns, the risk of severe and out-of-control fire increases. Likewise, the widespread removal of beaver from the landscape has reshaped watersheds and water flows, likely resulting in drier, more fire-prone landscapes. The workshop made clear that managing for wildfire means managing all the disparate parts that make up an ecosystem and the cumulative pressures they are under. These pressures cascade through the whole system and blanketed over all that complexity is wildfire risk.

A forest of tiny trees and on a sunny day, looks kind of sparse.
Everything from structural complexity, hydrology, herbivory, and climate influence fire risk and severity. Photo by Alex Harris.
Sun streams through the branches and ferns and mossy logs in a west coast forest.
Photo by Alex Harris.

In the weeks to come, the Practitioner’s Report will be revised and updated to reflect the expertise of the growing community of practice assembled around this work. Among other things, this report will include:

  • guiding principles for reducing wildfire risk and increasing ecological resilience; 
  • ideas for cross-cultural and cross-jurisdictional collaboration; and
  • potential strategies to raise awareness and engagement around wildfire issues.

Collaborative meetings will continue, geared at deepening awareness of the wildfire context in coastal BC and exploring best practices to achieve resilience at the landscape scale. Accompanying publications will be prepared to document evolving understanding and to serve as guiding resources for our growing network of practitioners. All communications will focus on building a framework for effectively spreading key messages and actions with the aim of not only uniting the community of practice, but also providing consistent messaging throughout the region. This will create a stronger support system to empower people to steward coastal forests into a more resilient future despite unprecedented change.

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.

Coastal wolf with a salmon in its month.
Photo by Dene Rossouw.