https://thenarwhal.ca Deep Dives, Cold Facts, & Pointed Commentary en-US Copyright 2026 The Narwhal hourly 1 https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-glyphosate-forestry-map/ Thu, 19 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=128176 B.C. government policies have prioritized timber values over trees that act as natural fire guards. We mapped the one million hectares of cutblocks in B.C. forests where some spraying of herbicides like glyphosate occurred Ainslie Cruickshank Explainer B.C. biodiversity boreal forest climate adaptation forestry Wildfire Photo: Supplied by James Steidle a photo of a helicopter spraying herbicides over a recently planted stretch of forest https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-glyphosate-in-forestry-explainer/ Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=127998 Aspen is a natural fire guard — and a frequent target of industrial herbicides. In B.C., over 430,000 hectares of forest have been sprayed Ainslie Cruickshank Explainer B.C. biodiversity boreal forest climate adaptation forestry Wildfire Illustration: Alex Boersma / The Narwhal An illustration of fire moving across a forested landscape, in the foreground the trees are paced farther apart with grass between https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-glyphosate-forestry-impact-aspen/ Tue, 17 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=127480 The BC NDP government promised to phase out its use in forestry, but decades of herbicide spraying has reduced biodiversity and the potential for wildfire mitigation Ainslie Cruickshank In-Depth B.C. biodiversity boreal forest climate adaptation forestry Wildfire Illustration: Alex Boersma / The Narwhal An illustration of a helicopter flying across a young forest spraying herbicides https://thenarwhal.ca/woodland-caribou-wildfire/ Wed, 21 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=116239 A biologist’s daughter recounts his decades chasing woodland caribou. How does a wildfire crisis threaten an already fragile species? Trina Moyles In-Depth Alberta boreal forest caribou Endangered Species Wildfire Illustration: Simone Williamson / The Narwhal Illustration of caribou fleeing wildfire smoke https://thenarwhal.ca/wildfire-boreal-forest-birds/ Fri, 07 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=82603 Fire in nature isn't necessarily bad: some birds nest in the shrubland that sprouts after a blaze, while others make homes in burned trees. But hotter, bigger wildfires are still disrupting habitats and increasing air pollution Anna Gibbs In-Depth boreal forest Wildfire wildlife Photo: Tom Reichner / Shutterstock It's hard to study how birds change their behaviour due to wildfire, but in 2020 researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey got lucky. When migrating Tule Geese wearing GPS trackers for an unrelated study encountered a dense plume over Washington, researchers watched them fly in disorganized paths and taking rest stops as if waiting for the worst to pass. One goose ended up in Idaho, where Tule Geese had never been observed before. https://thenarwhal.ca/canada-wildfires-cause/ Tue, 27 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=82403 Decades of fire suppression have made forests more flammable. Add lightning, human error and climate change and it’s a recipe for disaster Drew Anderson Explainer News Alberta Alberta Wildfires B.C. boreal forest climate change Ontario Quebec Wildfire Photo: Kyle Brittain Fire burns in the boreal forest in Alberta. https://thenarwhal.ca/manitoba-duck-mountain-park-logging/ Thu, 04 May 2023 22:21:41 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=77539 Decades after the province vowed to phase out logging in Manitoba’s provincial parks, a recent audit finds Duck Mountain Provincial Park’s old forests are still being ravaged — and oversight is nowhere to be found Julia-Simone Rutgers News boreal forest forestry Manitoba Image and video: Eric Reder / Manitoba Wilderness Committee Cutblocks seen from above in Duck Mountain provincial park in Manitoba https://thenarwhal.ca/manitoba-government-caribou-agreement/ Thu, 02 Mar 2023 23:30:55 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=72346 A new agreement, years in the making, will see the federal government help Manitoba monitor, protect and manage its boreal woodland caribou Julia-Simone Rutgers News boreal forest Endangered Species Manitoba wildlife Winnipeg Photo: Robby Dick / The Narwhal A bird's-eye view of a caribou standing alone in the snow https://thenarwhal.ca/saskatchewan-sakitawak-ipca/ Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:30:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=44298 The historic fur-trading community of Île-à-la-Crosse wants to create an Indigenous protected area named Sakitawak to protect the region's forests, ways of life and vast carbon stores. Getting the province on board has proved to be a challenge Drew Anderson In-Depth boreal forest caribou climate adaptation climate change forestry Indigenous protected areas nature-based climate solutions Saskatchewan Photo: Jeremy Williams / River Voices Productions Peter Durocher, manager of Sakitawak, on his boat in the lake. https://thenarwhal.ca/opinion-cop26-deforestation-carbon-accounting/ Wed, 10 Nov 2021 15:22:02 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=38206 Until we find a way to protect the last remaining primary forests, Canada will continue to lose some of its oldest ecosystems — and the carbon they keep locked in the ground. Jennifer Baltzer and Oliver Sonnentag Opinion boreal forest climate change COP26 forestry nature-based climate solutions Photo: TJ Watt COP26, deforestation, old-growth, carbon cache https://thenarwhal.ca/canada-emissions-boreal-logging/ Fri, 29 Oct 2021 00:23:55 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=37475 New research finds that by overcounting the carbon storage of intact forests and undercounting emissions from logging, the Government of Canada is vastly underreporting the climate impacts of clearcutting in one of the country’s greatest carbon sinks Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood News boreal forest climate change forestry logging nature-based climate solutions old-growth forest Photo: River Jordan / NRDC