The 2017 Plateau 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). The Plateau Fire spanned an area of 520,885 hectares in the interior of BC west of Quesnel across the unceded traditional territory of the Nazko First Nation, Lhoosk’uz Dené Nation, and Tŝideldel First Nation.
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.
From 2019-2023, CCS oversaw the planting of 15 million seedlings in the Quesnel Forest District portion of the Plateau Fire. This project targets ground that was under no legal silviculture obligations at the time of the fire, including Old Growth Management Areas (OGMAs), stands that had been declared free growing, and wild polygons.
Watch the award winning video OTP made about the Quesnel project below
Restoration and the path forward
Many of the ecosystems affected by this wildfire are lodgepole pine dominated and this species typically is a great post-wildfire colonizer. Objectives of this program included increasing tree biodiversity across this landscape by planting interior spruce and Douglas-fir where they had occurred pre-fire and there was no surviving seed source for them to return naturally.
Western larch and ponderosa pine were also planted on a trial basis on select sites as part of the assisted migration strategy to increase the range of native BC species northwards and upwards in elevation as a response to changing climatic conditions. Lodgepole pine has also been planted on sites where it is ecologically appropriate and where the fire had burned so intensely that few or no trees were coming back at all.
Many lessons have been learned about the extent that intense megafires can alter site characteristics dramatically from what had been there before. The loss of soil organic layers on some sites lead to nutrient poor soils that do not retain moisture. Regeneration on these sites can be very challenging. An important lesson from this project is to try and recognize the areas that need time and natural processes to heal themselves back towards a condition that is good for seedling establishment.
