State of the Mountains Report 2019

June 26, 2019 Webmaster

This 2019 State of the Mountains Report begins with a feature essay, by Dr. Lori Daniels, one of Canada’s foremost experts on wildfire. Over the past two years, multiple large wildfires have burned millions of hectares of mountain forests in western Canada. The resulting smoke smothered much of B.C. and Alberta for weeks during the summer, and visitors to the Rockies and Columbias were left to only imagine the peaks surrounding them. The long-term effect of fire on these mountain ecosystems and mountain communities are profound, and Dr. Daniels summarizes the factors that have contributed to these large fires, including the decades long policy of fire suppression and climate change. But optimistically, she also provides a road-map for learning to better manage fire, and to improve forest and community resilience to present and future wildfires.