Based on my experience as a professional biologist, board member of an independent watchdog on forest practices, and a sustainability professional, I can assure you that SFI is a respected, solution-focused, nonprofit NGO and standards organization with an independent board equally representing social, environmental and economic stakeholders. SFI is a collaborative advocate for sustainable, forest-based…
Perhaps anyone who takes a minute to stare at the mountains, forests or rivers understands the natural amenities Montanans enjoy have a value with no discernable price tag. While the intangible values may remain in the memories of family hunting camps or river floats, recent studies continue to show that our natural backdrop makes for…
Lakeland Mills appeared to be making progress on the challenges it was facing after adding a third shift to its sawmill to process more beetle-killed pine before a dust-related explosion leveled the facility nearly three years ago, a coroner’s inquest heard Thursday. Alan Little and Glenn Roche died from injuries suffered in the April 23,…
A British Columbia First Nation is one step closer to exerting control over its territory in the wake of a historic Supreme Court of Canada decision last year with the announcement of several agreements with the provincial government. The Tsilhqot’in Nation became the first in Canada to win title to its land, located west of…
The public and conservation groups are voicing a mixture of opposition and support for the BC government’s wolf cull that aims to kill 144 to 184 grey wolves in two separate regions. The cull began in mid-January with aerial sharp shooters in helicopters aiming to kill 24 wolves in the South Selkirks to protect 18 remaining mountain…
One of New Brunswick’s largest producers of wood pellets plans to double production for the domestic market this year to address what’s been described as a severe shortage. Jonathan Levesque says Groupe Savoie, of Saint-Quentin, in the northwestern part of the province, is committed to growing and expanding the market. The company doubled production for the…
One chilly morning in October 2013, Diana Six parked her white Subaru at the edge of a pine forest in southwestern Montana’s Big Hole Valley. Beneath snow-tipped peaks, lodgepole pines in four different colors draped the hillside—a time line of carnage. The gray ones, now just trunks and branches, had died in 2009. Light red trees,…
A fire has destroyed the Kruger Inc. recycling plant in Beauharnois. The fire broke out at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday and produced a thick plume of smoke that could be seen several kilometres away. The local fire department appealed to neighbouring municipalities for assistance to battle the blaze, which was fanned by strong winds. There was…
A recent (2014) and very detailed report provides the current status of forest biomass policy in Canada. According to the authors, B.C.’s harvest in 2009 was about 48 million cubic metres and covered an area of 122,620 hectares. It was estimated that we had the largest volume of roadside harvest residuals (tops, branches and cull…
An annual major maintenance shutdown at Zellstoff Celgar will start Saturday at 6:30 p.m. According to a statement issued by the pulp mill, the critical job for this shutdown is the inspection and repair of the recovery boiler, which recovers spent cooking liquor and converts it to green liquor which is in turn converted into…