Provincial government plans to diversify British Columbia’s resource-based economy by developing markets and exports for Liquified Natural Gas, a project which seems to have dominated cabinet thinking in recent years, is all well and good. But in attempting to realize any dream of future diversification, nobody should lose sight of the pragmatic reality of where…
Lac Seul First Nation and Slate Falls First Nation have signed an agreement with Domtar, Weyerhaeuser, and seven independent loggers which supports resource extraction practices anticipated to benefit all parties. Lac Seul First Nation Chief Clifford Bull commented, “There are mechanisms in the agreement that benchmark opportunities and promote growth for all involved. Too often…
When Duz Cho Logging went into the sawmilling business, the First Nations company went old school, turning to bush mill technology to solve a modern-day problem. Instead of installing its modern high-production sawmill inside its building – a former finger-joint plant in the northern B.C. town of Mackenzie – Duz Cho installed it on the…
Global softwood lumber production is on pace to break the record set in 2015. That production is being driven in large part because the top 10 importing countries increased lumber imports during 2016’s first quarter. Global production is up 20% in the year’s first quarter compared with the same period in 2015. According to Wood…
Nestled in Alberta’s boreal forest, at the confluence of four waterways, is Whitecourt, population 9,600. The town sits at the metaphorical centre of Alberta’s forestry sector, which anchors a network of lumber yards, pulp mills and paper plants that stretch across the nearly two-thirds of this province that is forested. Some of the country’s largest…
The Forest Practices Board will examine the activities of Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor) on tree farm licence 14, in the Rocky Mountain Resource District, during the week of July 11, 2016. The auditors will examine all operational planning, harvesting, roads, silviculture and wildfire protection practices for compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act…
In North America, the building sector accounts for about 37% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. That represents a tremendous opportunity to reduce climate change by building more, and specifically taller, wooden buildings. A recent study by a team of scientists from Yale University and the University of Washington estimated that global CO2 pollution could be…
Iridescent-yellow earmuffs protect the ears of the sawmill owner who’s coming from his lumberyard loader. As he slips off the neon-coloured hearing protection, Leonard McCarty, 68, raises his head, a cautious smile turning up the corners of his mouth to match the angle of his handlebar moustache. A work-toughened hand reaches out in greeting. There’s…
The coastal forest industry is facing economic and environmental constraints, while the municipalities most affected by the industry are unsure how to balance the two. “It’s positive to maintain natural green spaces and protected areas,” said Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams. “It’s also positive that there have been identified areas where there is continued allowable…
Mayors of B.C.’s coastal towns have expressed a lack of optimism for the forestry industry, according to a survey from the Truck Loggers Association. Twenty-seven mayors responded to the survey, said David Elstone, executive director of the association, which represents independent coastal logging companies. Elstone said many of the mayors said forestry in B.C. is in…