Grassy Narrows First Nation, in northwestern Ontario, is taking legal action Monday to stop Ontario’s plan to allow logging near the community’s traditional territory. Research shows that clear cutting can release methylmercury — a neurotoxin — into the environment, a pressing concern among Grassy Narrows residents already suffering mercury poisoning. Chief Roger Fobister said the court action is…
Note to Nova Scotia Power: don’t burn green wood or wood left out in the rain. And don’t sign contracts with an affiliated company that dings you for energy you didn’t use. Along with revealing such remarkable management practices, new evidence confirms the per-megawatt cost of burning biomass at the utility’s power plant in Point Tupper…
Coun. Don Cody suggests that more can be done to reignite the mill. It’s been almost two years since Paper Excellence provided the last public update about the Prince Albert Pulp Mill’s future. At the time, they estimated that the mill would be developing fluff pulp by the summer of 2014 — a target that…
Reactions continue to pour in to the news that the Canal Flats saw mill will close permanently in early November. On Wednesday, Canfor announced the permanent closure of the mill effective Nov. 9, 2015, which will impact roughly 80 jobs. The USW Local 1-405 immediately decried the announcement, as president Doug Singer noting that the…
Wood pellets have become a favourite for those who shy away from electricity or fuel to heat their home. But they’re becoming harder to find. “My advice is to get them while you can, as soon as you can,” said Home Hardware employee Daniel Anstis. “People have been buying them in August.” In the last few…
More than a thousand people from northern Ontario signed a petition this summer to stop the spraying of glyphosate herbicides, according to environmental groups in Thunder Bay, Ont. Glyphosate herbicide is used by the forest industry to reduce the growth of plants that compete with trees grown for logging and is deemed safe by Health Canada. However, the International…
Alberta is trying different ways to capture value from stands impacted by mountain pine beetle in particular small stem lodgepole stands with over 50 percent mortality. These stands have been avoided by forest companies because of their low commercial value but it left untreated they could have significant impact on the health and production of…
A system installed in the University of New Brunswick’s woodlot in Fredericton to maintain water levels is expected to ease tensions between humans and beavers. The area has a long history of beaver-built structures impacting human-built ones with the flood waters that result from the construction of beaver dams. “This area has been a problem area for quite some time, for…
Canfor Corp.’s Canal Flats sawmill in the east Kootenays has become the latest casualty in the British Columbia forest industry’s struggle to balance its production against timber supplies that are shrinking since the mountain pine beetle infestation. Canfor, on Wednesday announced it will permanently cease operations at the mill Nov. 9 due to “a lack…
Timber harvesting in Enderby’s watershed could be moving ahead. Tolko Industries presented plans for logging in the Brash Creek area to Enderby council Tuesday. “They have new plans for the watershed and we wanted to hear what they are doing,” said Mayor Greg McCune. “They explained the whole process and how the government regulates them.”…