In its January, 2024 report entitled Stanley Park Hemlock Looper Impact and Wildfire Risk Assessment, B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd., the forestry firm who was relied upon by the City of Vancouver to make recommendations—and then was given the contract for the logging it recommended—suggests that logging may not be necessary after all.
Blackwell undermines its own opinion by stating that before the logging began, despite numerous small human-caused fires, none of those ignitions resulted in a large or catastrophic fire. That is to say, the un-thinned forest (with normal firefighting activities) seems to be resistant to spread of fire.
Indeed, Blackwell specifically states: "Fortunately, forest-wetting, monitoring / reporting by Park Rangers, diligent fire response / suppression, and targeted hazard reductions have controlled fire ignitions to date" (p.21).
It seems that Blackwell is making a strong argument that logging was and is not necessary.