UBC Forestry students can now enrol in the new Bachelor of Urban Forestry degree program. According to UBC Forestry’s website, “Urban forestry is about planning and managing urban green-spaces and ecosystems for human welfare, ecological health and protection of our cities’ support systems.” Approved seven weeks ago by the Ministry of Advanced Education, the program…
In Alberta’s $4-billion a year forest products industry, concerns about the ending next month of the Canada-United States softwood lumber agreement have never been higher. “If you look at the significant challenges facing Alberta’s forest sector, if Item 1 is the mountain pine beetle, Item 2 is the future of the softwood lumber agreement,” Paul Whittaker, president and…
The federal NDP says it will take measures to boost B.C.’s forestry sector should it win the upcoming Canadian federal election. At a campaign stop at Harmac Pacific mill in Cedar Wednesday, Peter Julian, NDP House Leader, andSheila Malcolmson, NDP Nanaimo-Ladysmith candidate said the NDP will work to lessen the amount of raw log exports. Julian said…
A fibre action plan announced today will help generate more value from the province’s forest resources. The plan contains actions that will support forestry-related jobs in British Columbia and increase the efficiency of fibre utilization in the short-term while durable longer-term solutions are developed. The actions are designed to increase efficiency of utilization of lower-quality…
Amid weak commodity markets and a shaky domestic economy that have hammered freight volumes, Canada’s largest railway is counting on the resilient U.S. economy to help it post double-digit earnings growth. Luc Jobin, chief financial officer of Canadian National Railway Co., said forestry carloads for the U.S. housing industry and automotive shipments are helping offset poor…
A laser-based instrument for mapping the 3-D structure of Earth’s forests has passed a major milestone toward deployment on the International Space Station (ISS). The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI), led by the University of Maryland, College Park, and built by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, successfully transitioned to “Phase B,” moving…
The Canadian Institute of Forestry conference is underway in Kenora. Acting Natural Resources Minister and Conservative candidate Greg Rickford covered an array of topics in his opening address. Rickford’s big message was defending the country’s sustainability practices from smear campaigns. He says we have to do a better job promoting the industry and its sustainability…
Struggling to make the deadline? Waiting for photography? Don’t worry! There’s still time to nominate your project for a 2015 Ontario Wood WORKS! Wood Design Award. The deadline has been extended one week, to Friday, September 25, 2015. Click HERE to nominate a project for a wood design award. Need help? Click HERE for more…
Softwood lumber prices (in US $) have fallen throughout a majority of the main markets in the world during the 2Q/15 because of weaker demand, ample supply throughout the distribution chain and a strengthening US dollar. The biggest declines have occurred in the US, Canada and the Nordic countries, while the drop in import prices…
The peeling walls and old rusted pipes that cling to life on the deteriorating stone walls inside of a dark and dampened Gatineau buildings conjures images of a scene straight from an old horror flick. Any minutes now, the origin of all the echoed clinks and clanks that creep into the abandoned agoraphobic-inducing rooms will…