Members of a Western Forest Products advisory group believe their meetings are dysfunctional and a waste of time, according to an internal review conducted by the forestry company. Amy Spencer, director of communications and government relations for Western Forest Products, said a review of the Mid Island Forestry Lands Advisory Group revealed a degree of…
There were two new fires confirmed in the Northwest Region by the evening of May 11. Thunder Bay Fire Number 14 is under control at 1.0 hectare and is located near Kajander Lake. Thunder Bay Fire Number 15 is not under control at 5 hectares in size. One fire of note is Kenora 018, in…
The provincial government has green-lit a logging project it hopes can strike a balance between appeasing the needs of industry and respecting the territorial rights of the Waswanipi Cree. Last week, the Liberal government authorized the construction of two logging roads that cut deep into Cree territory but imposed a number of environmental safeguards on them. The…
An audit of Community Forest Agreement CFA K1D has found that, while the Fort St. James Community Forest Corporation met many of the requirements of provincial forestry legislation, it also had some problems with operational planning, culvert construction, bridge construction and fire hazard assessments, according to a report released today. “While the auditors found a…
British Columbia industry experts are looking to innovation in materials and methods to push the province forward. Construction consultant Helen Goodland led a seminar at the Vancouver Regional Construction Association’s recent Construction Leadership Forum in Whistler, B.C. She was joined by Craig Mitchell of Britco LP and Sean Kennedy of Equilibrium Consulting to dive into…
Whipped up by wind and fuelled by tinder dry conditions, the wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., grew to about 1,000 square kilometres on Friday. An expert said it’s a dangerous fire because of its location, not necessarily because of its size. “Let’s put this into perspective. That is a high-priority area,” said Marc Mousseau of…
The province’s chief forester has elected to smooth out the annual allowable cut in the Kamloops timber supply area by dropping it more rapidly than an earlier proposed base case. Diane Nicholls, chief forester, said the beetle epidemic in the region and salvage efforts in its wake are over, leaving far less timber availability. The…
Canadian forestry company executives are eager for a new softwood lumber agreement but say they are not interest in a rumoured U.S. proposal to reinstate across-the-board quotas. Resolute Forest Products chief executive Richard Garneau says word surfaced last week that the U.S. is seeking quotas that would put a hard cap on how much lumber could be exported…
Some P.E.I. forestry workers are learning how to safety get in and out of a moving helicopter — a skill they’ll need if they’re eventually deployed to help fight wildfires in Fort McMurray or other fires in remote areas. Ken Mayhew, the information officer with the Forests, Fish and Wildlife division of the provincial government,…
Tucked in the Rockies, the mountain towns of Banff and Canmore are built in a long, narrow valley surrounded by forests of Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir and spruce trees along steep slopes. The Crowsnest Pass, which was spared in the Lost Creek fire in 2003, sits in a low-elevation mountain pass in the middle of mature trees down in southern Alberta. Each community — and dozens of…