Last week, President Obama arrived in Ottawa to address Parliament. He spoke at length about the partnership, values and shared economic vision between Canada and the United States. Absent from his lengthy speech was an update on the March commitment made between himself and the Liberal government to put in place a framework within one…
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the B.C. government against Canadian Forest Products and one of its contractors over a 6,100-hectare forest fire on Crown lands near Vanderhoof in 2010. The province alleged that Canfor and the subcontractor, Barlow Lake Logging, were negligent in the blaze, which began on a cutblock granted by the government…
Emera Inc. is sinking $1 million into a new forestry innovation “hub,” based in an Innovacorp office in Dartmouth. Provincial and federal government partners are jointly contributing another $667,000 to this enterprise.But what is this hub? Who, exactly, is receiving the money? And why is Emera investing so heavily? The provincial funding partners, which are…
There is an old saying about not being able to see the forest for the trees, in essence that details can obscure the big picture. In light of the debate that has swirled around forestry-related policies and practices for far too long in Nova Scotia, it might be useful to adapt this saying to emphasize…
Southern Manitoba may not be known for its lumberjacks, but after this weekend, that could change. Manitoba’s very first professional lumberjack championships are happening at the Carman Country Fair in Carman, Man. both Saturday and Sunday. “When we first came over to meet these folks and check it out… we are looking and we are like,…
The emerald ash borer is continuing its spread across the region. “We are starting to see exit holes in the trees in areas we hadn’t seen them before so that tells us the pest is there,” Donna Lacey, forestry technician at the Saugeen Conservation Authority, said Thursday. “In some cases people are actually catching the…
Two levels of government and Emera are investing $1.67-million in a type of business incubator for the forestry industry in Nova Scotia. The forestry “innovation hub” will help startups make a business out of using wood byproducts in new ways, the provincial government says. “Over the last number of years it’s become painfully apparent that we need to…
Saulteau First Nations is preparing for an invasion from the south. Armed with lessons learned from the pine beetle outbreak, SFN, together with the provincial government and industry partners are taking steps to get ahead of the next big problem for B.C.’s forests: the spruce beetle. Already, more than 156,000 hectares of forest in the…
Now that crews have contained the 78 hectare wildfire that has been burning in Burns Bog since Sunday afternoon, ecological experts are anxious to visit the site so they can survey the damage. Delta Mayor Lois Jackson said it is essential the recovery of the bog is guided by science. “We determined that we had…
Research based on satellite imagery shows that almost all industrial activity in Canada’s intact forests is occurring on the home ranges of endangered species. A report released Tuesday by Global Forest Watch Canada says 92 per cent of the land affected supports at least one endangered species. It says 14 per cent of activity —…