Woodworker and commentator Scott Wunder recently posed this question: Why is walnut lumber graded lower than other hardwoods? Having spent the last 36 years in the walnut sawmill business – including eight years as a lumber inspector – I was very curious to read the article. But as soon as I did, I knew that…
When Greg Mancuso got tired of working his regular desk job at Folklore Reforestation, he pestered his boss for a change of scenery. Shortly after, he got what he asked for: a 12-day gig setting large piles of branches, logs and tree tops ablaze. The job gave him some nail-biting thrills. “When you look at the size…
Deep in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Clemson University forestry students are hard at work. As they trek up Whiteside Mountain, they collect an array of plant and tree species while identifying topographical traits of the area. The students were participating in one of the many aspects of the Clemson Forestry Summer Camp, a…
When the European gypsy moth hatches, it is born as a furry little caterpillar. They emerge from their eggs in the spring and proceed to feed mercilessly on the surrounding foliage. Tree leaves and coniferous needles are the primary target of this tiny scourge, and if you happen to live in the middle of an infestation, you may feel as if the…
Eikichi Kagetsu dined with royalty, built up a logging empire in British Columbia, employed hundreds of people and established himself as a leader in the Japanese Canadian community.All that was taken away during the Second World War, when the federal government’s racist wartime policies against those of Japanese heritage saw Kagetsu dispossessed of his properties…
Released today, the 2016 SFI Progress Report –Linking Future Forests to Communities – tells the story of how responsible forestry is helping improve our shared quality of life. The 400 different conservation and research projects reported by SFI Program Participants in 2015, up from 291 projects in 2014, is just one of the powerful stories…
The United Kingdom power is British Columbia’s biggest buyer of wood-pellet biofuels and Thursday’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union just made the province a more expensive place for them to do business. The value of the pound plummeted by seven per cent against the Canadian dollar in currency trading Friday on international markets, which…
One of the most endangered lichens in the world is a canary in the coal mine for human-caused environmental impacts, according to a Nova Scotia scientist. “So many activities that humans do on the landscape this thing is sensitive to. I think that the decline in the population over the last 10 years I think…
The provincial government’s grand strategy for revitalizing the coastal forest industry, upon which many communities outside Metro Vancouver are heavily dependent, is adrift and in the doldrums. At least, that appears to be the view of mayors from 27 coastal forestry communities just surveyed by the Truck Loggers Association for its report Community Perspectives on…
Over 800 trees from Prince Edward Island are putting their roots down in Fort McMurray soil. Veseys Seeds in York, P.E.I. donated the trees, as well as 375 hedging plants and 10 vines to help grow back what was lost in the wildfires. The donation, valued over $13,000, was part of a “series of pay…