Mapping glyphosate use in B.C. forests

All three parties that now hold seats in the B.C. legislature promised major changes to the use of glyphosate in forestry operations during the recent provincial election campaign.

The BC Greens promised to ban the use of all chemical herbicides, including glyphosate, in forestry. The BC Conservatives committed to stop all aerial spraying of glyphosate. And the BC NDP, returned to government in a slim majority, promised to phase out the industry’s use of the controversial herbicide.

Ecologists and advocates welcomed the commitment, but they warn it’s not just glyphosate that needs to go — it’s the broader policies that prioritize timber over diverse ecosystems.

Those policies have resulted in more than one million hectares of forest in B.C. sprayed with herbicides since the 1970s to kill off plants and trees — from berries and wildflowers to groves of fire-resistant aspen — that industry and government view as unwanted competition for conifer plantations. Those same species have been manually cut back from another 1.5 million hectares across the province, according to data analyzed for The Narwhal by Nikita Wallia, a spatial analyst and cartography specialist.

While glyphosate use has declined significantly in recent years, the impacts of past spraying are still visible in forests today.

Explore where forestry companies have sprayed or cut back plants across B.C.

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B.C. government data shows herbicides have been sprayed across more than one million hectares of forest since the 1970s to control plants that industry and the Forests Ministry view as competition for conifers destined to become timber. Companies have also manually cut back aspen, berries and other plants across roughly 1.5 million hectares of the province. Map: Nikita Wallia / The Narwhal

Click here to explore our interactive map

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The Narwhal reviewed more than 2,000 pages of herbicide reports forestry companies submitted to the B.C. government in response to a freedom of information request. Those reports show companies target a host of species with herbicide treatments, from aspen and cottonwood to willows and rose.

Many of the targeted plants provide food not just for deer, moose, bears and birds but also for people, who harvest berries and medicinal plants from the land. Mixed forests, made up of diverse species, have been found to be more resistant to pests and disease. Aspen, maples, poplars and other deciduous trees return nutrients to the soil when their leaves fall each autumn.

Aspens play an important role wherever they’re found. Beavers prefer aspen trunks and twigs to build their dams. Birds nest in their cavities. Moose, deer and black bears eat their leaves. And, during the height of wildfire seasons, groves of relatively moist aspens can serve as a natural fire break. But those benefits are eroded or lost entirely when aspen are culled from forests where timber production is prioritized.

A spokesperson for the provincial Forests Ministry reiterated the government’s commitment to phase out the use of glyphosate and said the ministry is considering amending the policies that prioritize timber over other ecological values.