Poland’s environment ministry has a plan for a huge increase in logging in Europe’s last great primeval forest, writes Zachary Davies Boren. Officials claim it’s to control bark beetles. But ecologists say the insects are regulated naturally within the forest ecosystem, while logging threatens huge damage to irreplaceable biodiversity. One of Europe’s oldest forests is…
The Softwood Lumber Agreement negotiated by prime minister Stephen Harper’s new government in 2006 expired on Oct. 12, 2015, ending nine years of managed trade with the United States. Canadian exporters of softwood lumber now have free access to the U.S. market after more than a decade of poor conditions: Canadian market share tumbled to…
At least one western province plans to get the jump on the 2016 wildfire season by circling a date on the calendar. Alberta will officially start the season on March 1, a month earlier than usual. On that day, all burning activities in forested areas will require a burning permit, except for campfires, and training…
Municipal leaders along with the agriculture and forestry sector have banded together to launch a bold new strategy called Growing Ontario to celebrate the innovation and contribution provided by the agriculture and forestry sectors to the economy of rural and Northern Ontario. Initiated by the Grain Farmers of Ontario, the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities,…
Forest companies appear to have controlled wood dust in their sawmills and pellet plants following deadly explosions in 2012, but WorkSafeBC continues to keep the pressure on to ensure safety. The province’s chief workplace safety agency began a series of inspections targeting wood dust beginning in 2012 after two explosions at sawmills in northern B.C….
A Progressive Conservative MLA says he may rethink his support for the PC forestry plan he voted for in 2014 if there isn’t progress on a new mill in his riding. Jake Stewart says he’s concerned that construction on a new J.D. Irving Ltd. mill in Doaktown has been pushed back to this fall and…
There may be a secret ingredient in your Parmesan cheese: wood. A recent Bloomberg News investigation has found that certain cheeses have more of it than they probably should. The additive is apparently used to prevent clumping, something that can also be avoided with potato starch, according to food scientist Mark Johnson of the Center…
Using prescribed burns to slow the spread of the mountain pine beetle is an expensive method that likely won’t work, according to at least one scientist who’s studied the beetle for the past 20 years. Diana Six, a professor of forest entomology and pathology at the University of Montana, cast doubt on the effectiveness of…
Building Toronto’s first modern wooden mid-rise has certainly been a learning curve, starting with where to get the construction materials. Following the lead of British Columbia, Ontariochanged its building codes last January to allowwooden building structures of up to six storeys. First out of the gates in Toronto is Heartwood the Beach, a six-storey, 37-unit…
The Truck Loggers Association (TLA) applauds the 2016 Budget released today. “It focuses on supporting BC’s rural communities where our forest industry continues to create jobs and support communities,” said David Elstone, TLA Executive Director. The potential impacts of wildfire were addressed on two fronts. A new organization, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, will…