Research Partnership brings Climate Change and Weather Monitoring to New Heights on Mosaic Lands
Nanaimo, BC — A partnership between Mosaic Forest Management, Vancouver Island University (VIU), the Comox Valley Regional District and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) has brought a new state-of-the-art weather station to Mosaic Forest Management’s private managed forest lands.
Identified as a priority in the Comox Lake Watershed Protection Plan, this high-elevation station located in the upper reaches of the Cruikshank River will transmit real-time data to researchers at VIU and FLNRORD while monitoring important weather data related to the role of snow and ice in the water balance of the Comox Watershed.
Photo Credit: Eric Courtin
Dr. Bill Floyd is a Research Hydrologist with FLNRORD and Director of the Coastal Hydrology Research Lab at VIU, who led the installation and will be primarily responsible for collecting these data. “This weather station will provide important data on high elevation climate conditions, and the long-term partnership commitment with Mosaic and others sets the stage for us to track critical metrics and trends over time,” said Floyd. “The project is an excellent example of collaboration between multiple organizations and leverages the strengths of each by providing opportunities to apply the results to help solve both current and future problems.”
Data collected by the VIU team will also be shared with other agencies such as the BC Wildfire Service, BC Hydro and the Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre, to support other resource management, meteorological forecasting and public safety initiatives.
“Supporting research and science-based decision making is fundamental to our sustainability, so it makes sense for us to provide access to our lands for this project,” said Domenico Iannidinardo, Mosaic’s Vice-President and Chief Forester. “This newest weather station joins the dozens of others in our network to provide important data that scientists and resource managers will put to use in adapting management practices in a changing climate.”
“Water is one of our most valuable resources, and protecting the quality and quantity of water in the face of climate change is central to the Comox Lake Watershed Protection Plan,” said Kristian La Rose, Senior Manager of Water Services at the Comox Valley Regional District. “Data collected from this high elevation station fills a critical gap in understanding the impacts of changing snow and ice conditions, and we are grateful to VIU and Mosaic for their partnership in making this possible.”
For more information on the Coastal Hydrology Research Lab, including data summaries from the Upper Cruikshank and other VIU-affiliated weather stations, visit http://www.viu-hydromet-wx.ca/.
About Mosaic Forest Management Corp.
Mosaic Forest Management is the timberlands manager for TimberWest and Island Timberlands – two affiliated companies that have operated on Vancouver Island for over a century, delivering sustainable forest management within their private forest lands and Crown tenure areas. Mosaic employs several thousand people directly and indirectly to achieve strong economic, social and sustainability outcomes from the working forest. For more information, visit mosaicforests.com.
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