2017 Hanceville wildfire
In 2017, BC had a devastating wildfire season (1,215,685 hectares burned across the province). 70% of these wildfires happened within the Cariboo region (850,510 hectares).
Hanceville, BC is 90 km west of the city of Williams Lake within the Cariboo-Chicoltin Resource District within Tsilhqot’in traditional territory. The Hanceville Fire in 2017 burned approximately 240,000 hectares (590,000 acres), most of it a stand-destroying fire.
The Hanceville fire had a large social and ecological impact for all. The Hanceville fire is within Tsilhqot’in Nation’s territory. Tsilhqot’in Nation communities have seen their ability to hunt and gather food drastically altered. Ecosystems were greatly simplified by extreme fire conditions threatening their ability to support a broad range of species and life forms
CCS a recipient under the FCI/FIP program
In 2018 Zanzibar signed on to a recipient agreement with the Forest Carbon Initiative (FCI) to begin in identifying, planning, reforesting non obligation areas within wildfire impacted areas, that were not expected to naturally regenerate.
Zanzibar conducted reforestation work under FCI in 3 forest districts: 100 Mile House (DMH), Williams Lake (DCC) and Quesnel (DQU) from 2018-2022. In 2022 Cariboo Carbon Solutions as a company (with the staff previously operating under Zanzibar) entered into a new agreement under the Forest Investment Program (FIP) in the forest districts DCC and DQU.
As a recipient in the Williams Lake forest District (DCC), CCS has experience engaging with multiple clients and partners to develop, build, and carry out large scale reforestation projects. Partners on the FCI/FIP projects such as (not limited to):
- Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development (MOF) of the Province of British Columbia
- Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC)
- Forest Carbon Initiative (FCI)
- Forest Investment and Reporting Branch (FIRB)
- PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC)
- Yunesit’in Government
Restoration in the dry belt Douglas-fir zone
Much of the Hanceville fire was within the interior dry belt Douglas-fir zone. While some of the previous stands were lodgepole pine and many are expected to regenerate themselves, the Douglas-fir stands generally are not. Douglas-fir needs live seed trees present to distribute seed, and in places there are no live seed trees for many kilometers. Without tree planting we believe this area would take many decades to grow back to forested conditions.
The fire has impacted the forest, but also soils, riparian ecosystems, wildlife and water quality. The goal of planting is to establish a forest in less time that it would take if left for natural regeneration to occur. Natural regeneration is expected to take up to 40 years because of the lack of seed trees available. A further goal is to establish tree species that will be resilient in the face of climate change.
Reforestation and Restoration
CCS’s involvement in FCI and the FIP program have seen 22 million trees planted. Planting has greatly sped up the process of returning the area to a forested state. Newly planted trees have begun to sequester atmospheric carbon, and over time will improve the hydrological benefits of the forest.
Read more about the project in the 2021 Williams Lake Tribune article
Watch the video OTP made about their involvement on the FCI project in Williams Lake below!