Forests Fires and our Future Ruth Waldick

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - Since late 2021, a small group of Cortes residents has met regularly to discuss climate change and its impacts on our region. On February 4th, 2023, the “WTF Friday” event featured environmental scientist Ruth Waldick; Dr Waldick gave a presentation on climate change, fire risk, and forestry practise.

We may have no control over the weather, but we do have some control over soil moisture, fuel loads and ignition risk.

— Ruth Waldick, Transition Salt Spring
Her presentation covered two main themes: the increase in fire risk created by traditional logging practises in BC, and methods of forest restoration — accessible to private landowners as well as crown land managers — that can reduce the risk of dangerous wildfires in our area.

Cusheon Lake, Salt Spring Island, Wikimedia Commons
Dr Waldick brings her expertise in weather risk assessment and ecosystem analysis to Transition Salt Spring (TSS), a local chapter of the Transition movement. Among their many projects is the reduction of wildfire risk on Salt Spring Island — a concern that most rural BC residents share.

In her address to the WTF group on Cortes, Dr Waldick discussed forests and forestry, fire risk, common misconceptions, and paths towards better practise. She is part of a TSS project to maintain and monitor a “test forest,” trying out different methods of remediation and restorative silviculture; she discusses their methodology and what they hope to discover or achieve.