Saskatchewan is recalling firefighting crews two weeks earlier and hiring eight new crews as it prepares for what could be an early start to the wildfire season. An air tanker and a bird-dog aircraft, which directs the operation of the air tankers, are scheduled to be ready by March 27. Seasonal staff will start in…
We always hear that everything’s bigger in Texas, but what about Alaska? It’s bigger than Texas, California and Montana combined, and its forests hold almost half the living wood of the United States, while its marshes, bogs, and tundra comprise 63% of the country’s wetlands. These ecosystems store massive amounts of carbon in their trees, soil, and…
Parc national d’Opemican, a 252-square-kilometre tract of lakes, rivers and old pine forests in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region along the Ontario border. The work, expected to be completed in about three years, will include the creation of a main park hub, Pointe-Opemican, on Lac Temiscamingue. The site was a centre of forestry operations in the region…
Western Forest Products (TSX:WEF) has resorted to layoffs at its Port Alberni sawmill, says the Truck Loggers Association (TLA), but not because of falling revenue. In fact, the company last week reported a doubling of fourth quarter earnings over Q4 2014, and year-over-year, the company’s annual revenue for 2015 grew by $1 billion – a…
A migration of toads described as a croaking, moving carpet and one of the world’s environmental wonders is dividing a southeastern British Columbia village over forestry jobs and the protection of tiny amphibians. The western toad migration near the Village of Nakusp attracts tourists every summer to the Toad Festival at Summit Lake, where people…
Domtar said it has reduced particulate emissions at its Mission Flats pulp mill by 68 per cent over the past seven years, a time period during which it has spent more than $35 million in new technology. The information is contained in a report from Domtar going to Kamloops council on Tuesday. While documenting emissions-reduction…
The Cree nation is urging the Quebec government to take a stand against the logging industry. A project that involves building two access roads into a forest is causing concern among the Cree and several environmental groups. The two access roads would be built into the Broadback Forest, about 800 kilometres north of Montreal. The…
One of the largest pulp-and-paper producers in the world has launched a major wildfire prevention initiative in the wake of large-scale forest fires in its home country of Indonesia last year. And the company is turning to its B.C. connections to do it. Asia Pulp and Paper has contracted Parksville-based TREK Wildland Services to provide…
A key B.C. construction-industry trade association is calling for speedy regulatory approval of major infrastructure projects as the industry prepares to gather for its biggest trade show of the year in Vancouver this Wednesday and Thursday. Organizers for the Buildex conference are expecting some 14,000 attendees at the Vancouver Convention Centre for sessions on the…
The Yukon Government has officially adopted a strategy to get Yukoners to heat their homes in a way that it says is cost-effective and environmentally sustainable. The government drafted its biomass strategy last year, noting that wood-fueled heating systems are present in just 20 per cent of Yukon homes. Yukoners spend $60 million a year on fossil fuels, a figure the government wants…