B.C.’s forest industry is one of the most diverse in Canada, if not the world. The breadth of wood products that are produced in the province on an everyday basis is impressive. The industry employs hundreds of thousands of British Columbians. And according to COFI’s 2019 Regional Supply Chain Study, the forest industry purchased $7 billion worth of goods and services in 2019.
To help showcase the diversity of this industry, CFI and COFI recently launched its fifth annual forestry photo contest. The submissions we have received so far reflect the importance of the industry and show what forestry looks like to different British Columbians.
Check out our submissions below. One grand prize winner will be featured on the cover of CFI’s January/February 2021 issue and will receive a $500 Canadian Tire gift card. Three runners-up will receive a $75 Canadian Tire gift card and be featured in the pages of CFI, alongside various selected photos. The contest is now closed.
Logging in Gold River. Photo by Steven Carrier, Gold River, B.C.
Logging in Gold River. Photo by Steven Carrier, Gold River, B.C.
Taking in the view while yarding away in the North Hirsch Valley, Terrace, B.C. Photo by Stephen Chipman, Williams Lake, B.C.
Road to nowhere. Photo by Nicholas Dormaar, Prince George, B.C.
The road is rarely smooth. Photo by Nicholas Dormaar, Prince George, B.C.
Bewildered first-year tree planter stands on a log to find a path to line-in in British Columbia’s Central Interior. Photo by Miriam Faucher, Victoria, B.C.
A pair of Seaspan of barges, loaded with wood chips, passes by Mt. Baker, as an eagle watches overhead. Photo by Mike Lane, Saanichton, B.C.
A dozer boat waits to push logs just being dumped from a truck. Photo taken at Kingcome Inlet, B.C. Photo by Mike Lane, Saanichton, B.C.
This is the display suite for Tresah, a new condominium development. The promo material says “A progressive and dynamic first-of-its-kind Mass Timber project in Victoria, B.C., Canada. Tresah serves as an example of how we can build new infrastructure, transition to a cleaner economy, and use local wood to create comfortable, healthy living spaces and energy-efficient homes.” Photo by Mike Lane, Saanichton, B.C.
The beautiful red cedar soffits add colour and a sense of warmth to the steel and glass facade of this modern office building in Victoria. Photo by Mike Lane, Saanichton, B.C.
Planters in quarantine camp. Photo by Michael Ross, Nelson, B.C.
Nostalgic photo of my last day planting in Kuyukot Sound April 2012. My own private heli pad on a misty mountain side. I bruised my ribs the day before and unbeknownst to me then I would be pregnant in five months, ending my tree planting career on the coast. 8 years and 3 children later I’m still planting and still hold on the to wish of having my own private heli pad on the Coast again. Photo by Layla Proulx, Smithers, B.C.
Photograph of Scott MacDonald overseeing slash bile burning for
Huu-ay-aht First Nations forestry group near Bamfield, B.C. Photo by Kenrick Block, Vancouver, B.C.
A vibrant rainbow appears after some much needed rain. Photo by Jeff Roberson, Kimberley, B.C.
A smoky sunrise in the Rocky Mountain Trench. Photo by Jeff Roberson, Kimberley, B.C.
Photograph taken of David Guise tree planting in remote region on Vancouver Island near Sayward, B.C. Morning dew sprays off the shrubs as the sun rises. Photo by Everett Burnstead, Vancouver, B.C.
Misty morning yarding on Vancouver Island. Photo by Del Ferguson, Comox, B.C.
Monty Mitchell, renowned B.C. Coast Archaeologist, searching for the truth. Photo by Del Ferguson, Comox, B.C.
Floating logging camp. Photo by David Morrison, Campbell River, B.C.
An ice storm of terpenes on my B.C. bud. Photo by David Bundas, Woodbridge, Ont.
A snowstorm of terpenes on B.C. bud. Photo by David Bundas, Woodbridge, Ont.
“A sea of green.” A photo taken in 2019, approximately eight to nine-year-old pine coming up after the 2010 Binta fire. Photo by Daniella Oake, Campbell River, B.C.
Naka Creek Vancouver Island. Cypress 7280C Dickson Timber. Photo by Dan Nepraunig.
Outside the back door of the office at Kelfor Industries, a few cherry blossoms littered across the top of a load of second-growth kiln dried Douglas Fir 4×6 timbers on a sunny day in early May 2020, at Port Kells in Surrey, British Columbia. Kelfor Industries is a multi-generational family business established in 1974 that specializes in custom kiln drying and resawing. Photo by Clint Laffin, Surrey, B.C.
Pine plantation northeast of Prince George. Sections have been spaced to encourage growth. Photo by Caleb Kruger, Kelowna, B.C.
John Deere forwarder brings logs to the roadside for loading on a private land site near Fort Fraser, B.C. Photo by Wayne Ray, West Kelowna, B.C.
VIH Heli logging in Rivers Inlet. High value cedar ripper. Photo by Roger Gage, Campbell River, B.C.
The preservation of our old growth is one of the most special ways to appreciate and celebrate our forests. The Tsawwassen First Nation is building a youth center and Durfled Log Homes has provided the most beautifully preserved logs for its frame. Photo by Mitchell Cheek, Kamloops, B.C.
Development and planning forester Melissa Harborne, reviewing a logging plan with Bill Todd Logging Ltd. in Kamloops, British Columbia. Bill Todd Logging Ltd. owns this John Deere HAAS forwarder, efficient in skidding on conventional and steep slopes. Photo by Melissa Harborne, Columbia Shuswap, B.C.
To maximize the quality and value of our cedar pole grades, Mission TFL26 completed single stem heli-selection along an undeveloped right-of-way to reduce the amount of log handling required during road construction. Mt. Slesse looms in the background across the Fraser Valley. Photo by Kelly Kitsch, Mission, B.C.
Managing wildlife habitat is one of the many values that a diverse forest industry manages on a day-to-day basis. Western screech-owl is a species at risk and some forest companies have programs designed to monitor and conserve them. Photo by John Deal, Campbell River, B.C.
Sharing the road on Stillwater Main with Western Forest Products in Powell River. Photo by Greg Hemphill, Powell River, B.C.
I am a forester with SuavAir, based in Campbell River. This is a photo the I took of Western Aerial Applications Ltd. Hiller Soloy 12ET helicopter, taking on another load of forest grade fertilizer on Vancouver Island. I have been involved with late rotation fertilization projects for a number of years – Feeding the Forests. Photo by Gary Scriven, Campbell River, B.C.
I am a forester with a company called SuavAir based in Campbell River. This is a photo that I took of Western Aerial Applications Aerospatiale 315B Lama Helicopter circling in for another load of fertilizer on a snowy day in the Heber Valley on Vancouver Island. I have been involved with late rotation fertilization projects on forest stands for a number of years – Feeding the Forest. Photo by Gary Scriven, Campbell River, B.C.
I am a forester working for a company called SuavAir, based in Campbell River. During a field trip to check out the progress of some tree planting activities in the Bonanza Lake area (northern Vancouver Island, near Telegraph Cove) I happened to come across a Blue Grouse and managed (I always pack a camera) to capture a few photos before it flew away. Photo by Gary Scriven, Campbell River, B.C.
December 2020: Rejuvenating in B.C.’s forests where there are no people and no fears of a pandemic. Photo by Elske von Hardenberg, Dewdney, B.C.
Great to be in a place that has so many multiple uses on the land base. Bike trails, cross country ski trails, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting – and all in a working forest. Photo by Dan Battistella, Kamloops, B.C.
Student field day at the VIU Woodlot 0020… A forest filled with the voices of a younger generation of forest professionals. Photo by Chris Cole, Nanaimo, B.C.
Vancouver Island University Woodlot 0020 in use by forestry students on a beautiful fall day. Photo by Chris Cole, Nanaimo, B.C.
Evergreen reforestation – planting in the Powell River Community Forest. Photo by Anji Smith, Powell River, B.C.
A wildfire deployment tour in the southeast of B.C. Physically, this was the hardest one we would endure. At this particular fire we would drive in to the staging area and then have about a 45 minute hike in to the base of the fire, which happened to be on the side of a very large mountain. By the third day of this, everyone was starting to feel the fatigue creep in, and getting to the top seemed more and more daunting as time went on, especially with all the gear that was to be brought up and down each day. After hauling ourselves up for the final time and being able to take a quick break before getting to work, the sun was just coming up and the sense of camaraderie, that yes, we all did it, was overwhelming. Photo by Andrea Robinson, Kamloops, B.C.
Taken at Campbell River during a motorcycle holiday with my brother in 2014/ Photo by Alan Forseth, Kamloops, B.C.
John Deere 959 Feller Buncher working on a cold winter day in the Cariboo. Photo by Julie Backer, Quesnel, B.C.