BC Hydro executive vice-president Susan Yurkovich will become the new president and chief executive officer of the Council of Forest Industries on Sept. 14, COFI announced today. Yurkovich will replace James Gorman, who has accepted a new position as vice-president of Vancouver-based wood products company West Fraser. Gorman joined COFI in September 2013 after previously…
Canadian softwood lumber prices have fallen substantially in the past nine months, but that long, steady decline should end soon, according to industry analyst Hakan Ekstrom. The president of Seattle-based Wood Resources International said early signs of a resurgent U.S. housing market should boost the demand for Canadian wood. “We probably reached the bottom on…
On the occasion of the re-start of Paper Excellence’s Chetwynd pulp mill, the media-shy company opened up a bit in an interview with Business in Vancouver. The company’s deputy CEO, Pedro Chang, said the company is in Canada for the long haul. “Many pulp manufacturers look at the pulp industry [to be in] sunset,” Chang…
One by one ash trees are being cut down across the City of Barrie and some people are disappointed it’s come to this. The reason for this massive tree removal is a tiny bug called the Emerald Ash Borer. The bugs are small, but they do a lot of damage to ash trees. “This tree…
I am writing in response to an article I read in the Timmins Daily Press that can be found at http://www.timminspress.com/2015/06/11/greenpeace-responds-to-eco-terrorist-portrayal. While I respect Mr. Richard Brooks of Greenpeace having an opinion, I remain offended by the suggestion that somehow, as leaders and people of the North we are so naïve and incapable of making…
There have been almost triple the number of forest fires in N.W.T. so far this season compared to the 20-year average. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources says there have already been 65 forest fires this year, 48 of which are still burning. Yellowknife lifts fire ban Based on the 20-year average, the typical number of forest fires for this time…
Squamish was filled with smoke Monday due to a forest fire burning 67 kilometres west of Pemberton. Due to the smoke, the air quality in Squamish was up to a 6 by 10:30 a.m. and an 8 by noon and a 9 by the end of the lunch hour. A 9 means people should consider…
An SFU professor explains that British Columbians need to be aware of the looming danger from the extraordinarily dry spring we have experienced: an elevated risk of forest fires. With several fires burning in BC already, including the Dunedin River Fire and the Little Bobtail Lake Fire, the upcoming fire season is predicted to be…
Don’t even think of flicking that lit cigarette butt right now. From the backyard to the back country in Chilliwack, it’s really dry out there. That means heightened fire risk and extra vigilance by everyone is needed to prevent fires from breaking out, say officials. By comparison to this time last year, it’s about 20…
Tree planting is a job so demanding that when the BBC sent three young Brits to B.C. to give it a try, two didn’t even make it through the first week. “It really is the hardest job in the world,” said Dirk Brinkman, whose company, the Brinkman Group, hosted the three woefully unprepared twentysomethings at…