Now that the dust has settled a bit about the maple tree, let’s try to gain some perspective. This was indeed an important legacy tree; losing it makes Duncan less unique. However over the last 30 years or so Vancouver Islanders have witnessed the virtual extinction of the ancient rainforest. Log by log, some 1,000…
This year Millar Western is celebrating the planting of their 200 millionth tree seedling since the company’s planting operations began in 1977. Tim McCready, Millar Western Superintendent of Forestry, said that this is a very exciting accomplishment for the company. “It’s extremely rewarding to know that we’ve got a future out there, and that there’s…
Long before Prince William was born, his great-great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, presented a royal staff to a chief of B.C.’s Heiltsuk Nation. The gift was said to be a symbol of the monarch’s commitment to helping Canadian aboriginals. On Monday morning, William and his wife, Kate, were shown the staff to remind them of that commitment…
Last week, on National Tree Day (Sept. 21), NDP MP Irene Mathyssen (London-Fanshawe) announced her Private Members’ Motion proposing the development of a federal leadership strategy to preserve, protect and promote urban forests for their life-giving value to Canadian communities. Given that much of our national identity is tied to the natural environment, I encourage…
Two rare, old-growth Acadian forests near Tusket and Pugwash will be spared the saw. The Natural Conservancy of Canada has announced that the two parcels, covering a total of 316 hectares, will be cared for and conserved. The TD Bank Group invested more than $5 million in a program to protect 16,432 hectares of urban…
A pulp mill near Hinton, Alta., is facing environmental charges after failing to report the leak of a chemical into the air two years ago, according to the province. West Fraser Mills Ltd. is charged with six counts under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and one count under the Dangerous Goods Transportation and Handling Act. The…
There’s some nervousness for Alberta’s forestry companies. But there’s also talk of new opportunity in China. The Softwood Lumber Agreement with the United States is about to close, and Alberta’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade sees reaching a deal as ‘very unlikely’. “It comes to a close in less than three weeks,” Deron Bilous…
An ambitious plan by the city and a private developer to create a low-carbon power plant for the downtown peninsula has received a definitive rejection from the B.C. Utilities Commission, which said it couldn’t support the idea of requiring customers to buy power from a monopoly. That puts the brakes on Creative Energy, a company…
The Conference Board of Canada warns that global economic growth is weakening, exacerbated by the uncertainties of the United Kingdom’s decision to quit the European Union and the coming presidential election in the United States and what its outcome might mean for trade agreements — softwood lumber, for example — both of which have the…
Forestry and lumber businesses make the cut for a prosperous industry during the current economic downturn. High Prairie Forest Products continues to thrive since the parent company West Fraser Timber Co. bought the former Buchanan Lumber in April 2014. “It hasn’t affected us too much,” says Lee Barton, general manager. “We’ve just been forging ahead…