Daily Archives: March 29, 2018

Today’s Takeaway

US media alliance seeks help from Superman in newsprint tariff battle

March 29, 2018
Category: Today's Takeaway

A US media alliance formed to fight tariffs on Canadian newsprint is making progress in raising awareness of the risks to publishers—with the help of Superman. Related stories appeared in Florida and Michigan. In other Trade news: Canada’s ambassador to the US is promoting trade in Virginia; the US trade representative has little faith that softwood lumber will be resolved soon; and Jack Mintz opines about today’s “dumbed-down” trade deals.

In Forestry news: West Fraser gets high marks on its TFL 52 audit; Newfoundland is increasing its harvest levels; and NRCan is exploring the use of wood has as a forest fertilizer. On the campaigner front: the Sierra Club says BC’s rainforests are as rare as white rhinos; and Biofuelwatch says the use of biotechnology in forests is another ill-conceived human intervention likely to add to our crises. 

Finally, a gaggle of stories in support of wood, wood pellets, mass timber and climate change, including Christ’s “crown of thorns” tree.

–Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Special Feature

Scientists study the future of BC’s most treasured tree

Natural Resources Canada
March 29, 2018
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada

Cosmin Filipescu, a research scientist with the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre of Natural Resources Canada, is leading a series of projects to answer key questions about the future of British Columbia’s Western redcedar, one of the province’s most valued trees. Although Western redcedar has served a multitude of uses to society over thousands of years, scientists know little about it. at’s the main reason a multi-year research project is looking at Western redcedar from a range of viewpoints covering econom- ics, ecology, diseases, quality and value of forest products, and cli- mate change. Recently published, An Economic Assessment of the Western Red- cedar Industry in British Columbia, shows Western redcedar is a $1.3 billion annual industry, providing 1,900 jobs across B.C. It is also important for its cultural value to First Nations and for its ecological value as wildlife habitat and for biodiversity.

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Froggy Foibles

Stowaway tree frog from the Caribbean is discovered more than 4,200 MILES away in a bunch of bananas in Tesco in Blackburn

UK Daily Mail
March 29, 2018
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: International

An eagle-eyed Tesco worker was shocked to find a live frog hidden in a bunch of bananas. The tree frog, native to the Dominican Republic, is better known for hopping from tree to tree in the rainforest – rather than turning up in a bag of fruit in Blackburn, Lancashire. The worker immediately contacted the RSPCA, whose staff advised her to make tiny air holes in the plastic and add some water for moisture. Staff then took the frog to an exotics rescue centre Reptilia, which identified the critter as a Dominican tree frog and fittingly named him Nana.

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Business & Politics

A diplomatic mission

By Jessica Sabbath
Virginia Business
March 29, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

David MacNaughton

Sometimes it’s difficult for Canada to remain best friends with its neighbor to the south. David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. since March 2016, has the delicate task of building relationships between the countries at a time when Canada often has taken the brunt of President Trump’s trade actions. “At the working level, relationships between the countries are extraordinary,” says MacNaughton, who was visiting Richmond in March to speak at the annual Virginia Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade.  “But I will tell you from a domestic political point of view and from a public opinion point of view in Canada, the situation has become quite tense.” …Canada and the U.S. have had trade disagreements before Trump became president. Disputes over softwood lumber and dairy products, for example, have gone on for decades. “We have $2 billion in trade a day. It’s inevitable that there are going to be some tensions,” MacNaughton said.

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Nothing free about today’s dumbed-down free trade deals

By Jack Mintz
The National Post
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Have you ever noticed a rather subtle change to naming trade agreements? Unlike the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement and the 2014 Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, some recent ones no longer mention the words “free trade.” …The response from some senior Canadian government officials took me aback. They suggested that the term “free trade” is no longer used for this reason but instead “partnerships”. This seems unfortunate since the whole raison d’etre of these agreements is to create economic gains from free trade. …While we turn up our noses when U.S. President Donald Trump uses lumber, aerospace, steel and aluminum tariffs to target unfair trading practices in other countries, we feel no shame in protecting any industry, big or small, from competition. No country can brag it is truly open to trade, including Canada.

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U.S. trade rep shows no urgency on Canadian softwood lumber trade dispute

By Robert Dalheim
Woodworking Network
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has little faith that the Canadian softwood lumber trade dispute will be resolved anytime soon, he revealed at a March 21 hearing on U.S. trade policy agenda. “Right now, I would say there’s probably not much going on in terms of those negotiations,” said Lighthizer. “Are they part of NAFTA? Not as far as I am concerned. As far as I am concerned this a function of the trade laws working the way Congress designed them to work.” The answer comes after Texas Representative Kenny Merchant said that Texas home builders are concerned that lumber tariffs have escalated lumber prices by 40 to 60 percent over the past year. …“To me, it is unlikely I think, I wouldn’t put it at zero but it’s unlikely that I’m going to end up solving this issue or trying to resolve this issue,” Lighthizer added. “Right now the positions are kind of intractable.”

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80 years of conservation is no joke – Ducks Unlimited Canada celebrates milestone anniversary on April 1st

By Ducks Unlimited Canada
Cision Newswire
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Oak Hammock Marsh, MB – On April 1, 1938, Ducks Unlimited Canada’s (DUC) founders had the nerve, or rather the confidence, to launch the organization on April Fool’s Day. Eighty years later, as one of the country’s largest conservation charities, DUC’s track record of conservation achievements is proof that science surpasses superstition. Science is at the heart of DUC’s history and success. It provided our first conservationists with the tools they needed to restore wetlands across the drought-stricken Prairies. Today, it continues to inform every decision we make. It’s the driving force behind DUC’s on-the-ground conservation achievements, which now exceed 6.4 million acres (2.6 million hectares) country-wide. This includes 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) restored. “We have a rich heritage at DUC,” says national director of conservation operations, David Howerter.

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Hundreds of thousands of dollars in B.C. grain, lumber and other products sit idle due to rail backlog

By Andrew Kurjata
CBC News
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of grain, lumber and other products are sitting idle in northern B.C. due to a months-long backlog on CN rail lines, causing industry groups to warn Canada is losing its competitive edge in international trade. The province’s trade minister has also asked the federal government to step in, saying CN’s “unreliable” rail service is hurting the region. “Companies looking to invest in northern B.C. communities are understandably discouraged from doing,” Bruce Ralston said Wednesday in a statement. The Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association has also asked the federal government to step in with a long-term strategy for rail lines and ports across the country.

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FPInnovations Welcomes the Quebec Government’s Reaffirmed Vote of Confidence

FPInnovations
March 29, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Montreal – FPInnovations is looking forward to continuing its close collaboration with the government of Quebec, as expressed in the Quebec government’s latest economic plan. This Plan économique du Québec provides for an additional $6.5 million not only to train a highly qualified workforce to meet the needs of companies in the forest sector, but also to turn to advantage the wealth represented by Quebec’s hardwood forests, and particularly in southern Quebec. “We are proud to contribute toward the success of the forest sector through our partnerships with industry, communities, and governments. Improving productivity requires innovation and the introduction of new processes and technologies. These innovations call for renewed skills that must be mastered by the workforce active in Quebec’s forest sector,” stated Stéphane Renou, President and CEO of FPInnovations.

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Tariffs on Newsprint Push Papers to the Breaking Point

By Paul Boyle
Newspapers and Technology
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

When Superman made his comic-book debut in 1938, he and his red cape were distributed to comic fans across the country on pages of newsprint. …But that tradition of opening a printed newspaper or comic book and finding something new and delightful inside could be in danger of ending. With preliminary countervailing and anti-dumping duties …American publishers that use newsprint — such as newspapers, books, directories, etc. — could take a significant financial hit or, worse, could be without an adequate supply of their most important raw material….Newspapers can help in two ways: First, let your readers know what is at stake… Second, contact your representatives and senators in the U.S. Congress.

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South Bend alder sawmill gets new life after $1.5 million infusion from state

By Dan Hammock
The Daily World
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

The planned restart of the Pacific Hardwoods alder sawmill in South Bend — funded with $1.5 million from the Legislature — has Port of Willapa Harbor manager Rebecca Chaffee hopeful it will encourage the development of high-end wood production facilities in the area. …“Alder is the perfect wood for that,” said Chaffee. “I think there is value in high-end custom made solid wood products.”She said these companies couldn’t necessarily compete with the Asian markets’ mass-produced furniture, but when it comes to custom higher-end products, the region is a perfect fit for production. The Pacific Hardwoods mill is owned by the Port of Willapa Harbor and sits on seven acres of land owned by Pacific County.

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Trump’s trade war targets newspapers, too

Editorial Board
Sun Sentinel
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

FLORIDA — To protect the interests of just one manufacturer, the Trump administration this month imposed a hefty tariff on Canadian paper imported by newspapers, putting thousands of media jobs at risk and threatening the ability of the press to hold government accountable. America’s newspapers already face significant financial challenges as readers switch to digital media. In the last 10 years, print subscriptions are down more than 30 percent and advertising revenues are down about half. …So the imposition of these tariffs …is rocking the foundation of the free press. …A government that calls itself fiscally conservative has no business picking winners and losers in the marketplace, let alone protecting a single company at the expense of an entire industry.

 

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Universal Forest Products to Buy North American Container Assets

By Zacks Equity Research
Nasdaq
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Universal Forest Products, Inc. yesterday announced that one of its subsidiaries will acquire majority assets of Marietta, GA-based North American Container Corporation. Financial consideration of the buyout has not been disclosed. North American Container Corporation specializes in making structural packaging products – including wood/corrugated, laminated bulk boxes, wood replacement, recyclable and reusable packaging products. Its nine production facilities in Wisconsin, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia enable it to cater to customers’ demand effectively. Founded in 1967, its revenues in 2017 totaled $71 million.

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Pair of paper tariffs could rip publishing industry

The Traverse City Record-Eagle
March 28, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

TRAVERSE CITY — Worry is spreading across a wide swath of U.S. publishers who are concerned about import taxes the U.S. Commerce Department is placing on uncoated groundwood paper from Canada. At issue is the type of paper typically used in newspapers, directories, book publishing, printing and writing papers. “I don’t think we’re going to be impacted in the short term”… said Doug Weaver of book publisher Mission Point Press in Traverse City. “But inevitably it will trickle through the system.” …Some publishers, already feeling pressure from internet competition and a changing marketplace, could find it difficult to handle the added cost.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Podcast – The Case for Designing with Nail-Laminated Timber

By Lauren Honesty and Wanda Lau
The Journal of the American Institute of Architects
March 28, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, United States

Perkins+Will senior sustainable building adviser Rebecca Holt shares insights from the inaugural design and construction guide for the mass-timber product. …Enticed by the aesthetic, sustainability, and versatility of engineered wood, architects, building owners, and developers continue to express interest in mass timber design and construction in the United States. Nail-laminated timber (NLT) is one of the simplest and most accessible products in the growing family of engineered wood products, which also includes cross-laminated timber, glue-laminated timber, and dowel-laminated timber. As its name suggests, NLT consists of stacked dimension lumber nailed together to create a multilayered construction material. …In this podcast episode, Holt shares the benefits of NLT as well as what developments are on the horizon for mass-timber construction in the U.S. since the landmark 2014 survey.

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Advances in wood construction driving development innovations

By Sharon Crowther
The Globe and Mail
March 29, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The entrants in the Prairie Wood Design Awards point to the potential of timber-based residential development. An unconventional cabin raised up on recycled gas pipes and an estate home with a floating roof took centre stage at the 10th annual Prairie Wood Design Awards earlier this month on March 13 as architects, designers and engineers were applauded for pushing the boundaries of wood construction in residential buildings. The category winner, a net-zero townhouse development in Edmonton by Habitat Studio, was credited with demonstrating how timber can support aesthetic goals as well as sustainability and passive house standards. …”The projects shortlisted demonstrate Alberta’s increasing commitment to exploring options for wood in construction,” says Rory Koska.

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Construction Corner: Is heavy timber a new trend generating environmental wins?

By Korky Koroluk
Journal of Commerce
March 29, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

…the first brick-and-beam buildings in Toronto and New York City are underway …When people first began experimenting with laminated timber it was seen as an environmentally friendly way to use less steel. But architects and developers are finding these engineered wood products combined with brick instead of concrete, appeals to clients. …In New York City, two relatively low brick-and-beam buildings are going up in Brooklyn. These buildings, designed by Flank Architects, are framed with nail-laminated timber using wood harvested in Chibougamau, Que., then manufactured by the Montreal firm, Nordic Structures. …Architect Mick Walsdorf says the wood “is much more appealing than the drywall box we’re all used to living and working in.” …Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and that carbon is embodied in the trees when they are harvested and shipped off to mills to be turned into glue-laminated timber, cross-laminated timber or nail-laminated timber.

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Washington state to include mass timber in building codes

By Kim Slowey
Construction Drive
March 28, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Washington’s willingness to embrace mass timber in such a significant way is no surprise given its ties to the wood industry. Oregon, which is home to the nation’s tallest in-progress mass timber building, also has a strong timber industry, though it doesn’t have legislation yet requiring its use. In other parts of the U.S., mass timber is still having to prove itself structurally sound and fire resistant enough for use in tall buildings. In 2016, officials in Sandy Springs, Georgia passed a regulation banning the use of wood in multifamily projects more than three stories high and larger than 100,000 square feet. However, the Georgia legislature recently passed a measure that would keep the state’s cities from banning the use of wood… Local officials from around Georgia are preparing to petition Gov. Nathan Deal to veto the law, citing safety concerns and claiming that the state is trying to assume control over local matters.

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Adolfson & Peterson breaks ground on Platte Fifteen site

By Kris Oppermann Stern
Colorado Real Estate Journal
March 28, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) recently began demolition of the now-vacant building … the future site of Platte Fifteen, a five-story, 151,736-square-foot mixed-use development. …A first of its kind for Denver, Platte Fifteen’s use of highly engineered cross-laminated timber panels will combine the unique characteristics found in historic brick and timber buildings with the added strength of a traditional steel or concrete structure, while reducing environmental waste and improving energy efficiency through use of a more sustainable renewable material. …“AP is excited to be building the first CLT building in Denver,” said Doug Johnson, vice president of Adolfson & Peterson. “The modern, natural look, combined with the sustainability aspects of the material, will be a great fit for our downtown area and I expect to see more of this product used as Denver continues its tremendous growth.”

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A glimpse behind the doors of NYC’s rare wooden houses

By Zachary Kussin
New York Post
March 28, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

…Wood-frame homes are less common in Manhattan because of their fire risk. Beginning in the mid-19th century, when the borough was a separate city, a number of fires that destroyed hundreds of buildings led to codes banning the construction of the flammable residences. Officials implemented the first ban on wood frames in 1816 for the area below Canal Street. In 1849, the zone grew north to 32nd Street. By 1882, no wood-frame construction could rise below 155th Street. (Brooklyn implemented similar rules in various waves, but at later, unspecified dates.) “They’re miraculous survivors,” says Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. He estimates the number of existing wood-frame homes in Greenwich Village and the West Village — including the well-preserved 17 Grove St., which dates to 1822 — is in the “low double digits.” Adds Berman, “They maintain an element of surprise, history and charm that you can’t recreate.”

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Forestry

Feeding the forest… with leftovers

By Danielle Gravesande
Natural Resources Canada
March 27, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Scientists at Natural Resources Canada are exploring the potential of using wood ash as a forest fertilizer. This wood ash is a leftover or by-product of biomass boilers that use sawdust, bark, woodchips and other wood waste products as fuel to supply heat and electricity, and can be good for forests in the same way that ash from a wildfire can help the forest to regenerate. The scientists conducting this research are part of a network called AshNet, which is exploring wood ash application to improve forest soils in field trials across a range of Canadian forest ecosystems. “We are working with research collaborators, industry, government, and people across the country looking at the impact of ash on forest soils,” says Dr. Paul Hazlett, a Forest Soils Scientist at the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada. “[This research] has led to new questions about ash application, new trials, and some joint projects.”

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No to logging on Boer Mountain

Letter by Karen Cyr
BC Local News
March 28, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

I was recently asked to speak to the Burns Lake Mountain Bike Association (BLMBA) directors about the history of my time on Boer Mountain, the plants and animals, and the Community Forest plan to log. I had visited the Comfor office and have a copy of the logging plan. The dead tree areas are marked on the map and I encourage anyone who uses the park to visit the Community Forest office and view this map. The bike park people have a very real problem with dead trees and blow-down. Not only are these trees a danger to the users of the trails but also to the volunteers who maintain the amazing trail system. There is a real danger of a rider, walker or maintenance volunteer being injured or killed by a falling tree. …In my opinion the least amount of tree removal, to the satisfaction of the bike group, creates the most value in the park and to the community.

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Vancouver Island rainforest stands are becoming as rare as white rhinos

By Jens Wieting, Sierra Club BC
The Province
March 28, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

For millennia, Vancouver Island was mostly covered by spectacular, globally rare ancient rainforest. Many trees were 1,000 years old or older. …Shortly after the arrival of Europeans, logging began in earnest. In less than 100 years, the majority of the ancient trees have been logged. …A new Sierra Club B.C. map entitled State of Vancouver Island’s Coastal Temperate Rainforest shows with in-depth detail the scarce remaining endangered old-growth ecosystems and recent destruction. …It’s not too late to move beyond the mindset of short-term profit that leaves communities with scarred landscapes and help Vancouver Island continue to exist as a rainforest island.

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West Fraser gets good audit on TFL 52

BC Forest Practices Board
March 28, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA – An audit of Tree Farm Licence 52 (TFL 52) has found West Fraser Mills Ltd. met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, according to a report released today. TFL 52 consists of two areas. One is east of Quesnel, extending to Bowron Lakes Provincial Park, and one is 40 kilometres northwest of Quesnel, along the Fraser River. The annual allowable cut for the TFL is about 900,000 cubic metres. “This is a large operation in the Cariboo, and is subject to the requirements of the  Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan, as well as forest practices legislation,” said Audit Director Chris Mosher. “West Fraser did a good job overall, and we were particularly pleased to find compliance with the wildfire hazard assessment requirements — something we often find lacking in our audits.”

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First Nations sign historic Ogoki Forest Agreement

Thunder Bay News Watch
March 29, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

A partnership involving three First Nations has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to harvest and manage the 11,000-square- kilometre Ogoki Forest. Aroland, Eabametoong and Marten Falls own the Agoke Development Corporation (ADC), which they established in 2015. In an announcement Wednesday that described the deal as “historic,” the First Nations said ADC now has the right to implement an interim forest management approach in the forest while it negotiates a long-term management license with the MNRF.  

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New measures aim to increase Newfoundland and Labrador timber allocations and harvest levels

The Telegram
March 28, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Bill Dawson

ST. JOHN’S, NL – Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne announced new measures for the province’s timber industry this week that he says will open up opportunities for both new entrants and existing operators. The provincial government has set a goal to increase timber allocations and harvest levels by 20 per cent by 2020. “These new measures will promote better use of our valuable timber resource,” Byrne said. …”Approximately 90 per cent of the province’s commercially available forest resource is allocated every year, yet less than 60 per cent of that allocation is harvested,” said Bill Dawson, executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Forest Industry Association.

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Government of Canada Supports Forestry by Tackling the Spruce Budworm Pest

Natural Resources Canada Release
Cision Newswire
March 29, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Kim Rudd

FREDERICTON — …Parliamentary Secretary Kim Rudd, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Carr, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today highlighted the federal government’s recent $74.75-million, five-year investment to combat the spruce budworm in Atlantic Canada. The funding, announced in Budget 2018, will help reduce the effects of the spruce budworm, protect our forests and forest-dependent communities, fund science and research, and strengthen Atlantic Canada’s economy. The spruce budworm is the most destructive pest for spruce–fir forests in Canada. …The Early Intervention Strategy is a new pest management approach that involves a suite of integrated research, insect monitoring and treatment activities.

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The forests are in crisis but biotechnology is not the solution

By Rachel Smolker et al
The Hill
March 28, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has a study under way to consider the “potential for biotechnology to address forest health.” …That many forests in the United States are suffering health crises is not in question. Much of this troubling condition, however, has come as a result of human activities. …Suppressing natural wildfires, for example, served to build up vast stores of fuel in the forests, resulting in unprecedented and devastating firestorms. …The use of biotechnology in forests, as the National Academies is examining, is yet another ill-conceived human intervention likely to add to, not alleviate, forest health crises. The body is debating the intentional release of trees genetically engineered in ways that could never occur in nature, with no knowledge of the long-term social or ecological risks.

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Oregon State University study: Coast Range trout thrive after logging

KRVZ TV
March 28, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A decade-long study of cutthroat trout in the Oregon Coast Range has found that logging practices conducted in accord with the Oregon Forest Practices Act had no adverse impacts on coastal cutthroat trout and coho salmon populations or movements, Oregon State University reported Wednesday. In studies of logging practices prior to passage of the act in 1971, changes to fish habitat were documented from the use of stream channels as transportation corridors for logs and from other changes to riparian areas adjacent to streams. One of the landmark studies of such practices occurred in the Alsea River watershed in the late 1960s. …“We can confidently say that, in this watershed, cutthroat trout were not negatively affected by logging activities over the course of the study,” said Bateman. “

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California fights wildfires aggressively—but prevention takes a back seat

By Julie Cart
CALmatters
March 28, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

…Last year’s wildfires, the worst in modern California history, have put a microscope on the forests …–in particular, on managing … the frequency and intensity of such blazes. California is grappling with the counterintuitive dilemma of too many trees, packed too closely together, robbed of the space they need to thrive—and with how to clear out more than 100 million dead trees, felled by drought or insects, that provide tinder for the next infernos. …At stake is nothing less than life, property, air quality and the lands that hold most of California’s water. A state commission recently prescribed radical changes to address what it terms the “neglect” of California’s largest forests. … Sierra Institute for Community and Environment are looking at the final piece of the forest-health puzzle: creating a market for trees removed from California’s forests via a Wood Products Working Group to develop commercial uses for the piles of trees beside the state’s roads.

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Labor vows ‘full scientific assessment’ of logging agreements

By Gregg Borschmann
The Guardian
March 29, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Federal Labor is promising to revisit and fix any logging agreements with state governments that are not based on “proper, independent and full scientific assessments”. In a pledge that could have implications for the rollover of nine agreements due to expire in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia over the next three years, the shadow minister for agriculture, Joel Fitzgibbon, and shadow minister for environment and water, Tony Burke said; “Labor will always support proper, independent and full scientific assessments of RFA [regional forestry agreement] outcomes as part of the agreed framework. “This includes all relevant science, including climate science and impacts on threatened species,” the ministers said in a joint statement.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Northwest B.C. pellet plant to provide energy to Asia

BC Local News
March 28, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

The decision to redevelop the former NewPro particle board facility into a wood pellet production plant was celebrated last Monday at the side of a giant pile of wood chips. …Production is expected to start in the third quarter of this calendar year. The plant is a major redevelopment of the former NewPro particle board plant along the railroad track. West Fraser, which owns Pacific Inland Resources in Smithers, is a partner in the project with a 30 per cent interest. West Fraser vice president Larry Gardner… believes the plant will be a big benefit to the community in jobs and environmentally. …“For us, this gives us a secure outlet for both our sawdust from our sawmill, as well as an opportunity to utilize pulp logs from the bush, which will ultimately reduce the amount of material we have to burn on site in the bush.”

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It Takes a Forest to Fight Climate Change

By Kevin Edgson, EACOM Timber
Media Planet in National Post
March 28, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Kevin Edgson

Climate change mitigation requires action on many fronts and across all sectors of the economy. Forests are a great Canadian treasure and a source of life, inspiration, and endless innovative products. They also offer solutions to climate change. The Canadian forest products sector can make a major contribution to mitigation efforts. Canada’s forests cover a greater land area than most other nations. Still, less than one percent of our forests is harvested in any given year. By law, these forests must be regenerated after a harvest, so each year, some 500 million trees are planted in Canada to regenerate forests that have been harvested. …At EACOM, we are proud that trees harvested in Northern Ontario are processed in Timmins and used to build homes in Toronto. With growing environmental awareness, architects and builders are choosing to build with wood in an effort to contribute to sustainable development.

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Christ’s ‘crown of thorns’ tree may help in climate change fight -researchers

By Rinat Harash
Reuters
March 29, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

NEOT KEDUMIM, Israel – …While pilgrims prepare to converge on the city at Easter to commemorate the events of Christian tradition, Israeli scientists researching climate change are at work in the surrounding hills studying the Ziziphus Spina-Christi, commonly known as Christ’s Thorn Jujube. They believe it is a “pioneer species” in the fight against desertification because its hardiness makes it resilient to rising temperatures and aridity. It can draw water from deep underground, and it retains the ability to photosynthesise even when exposed to high temperatures and solar radiation. “It’s one of the few species that we can plant on these slopes that have nothing on them,” said Shabtai Cohen of Israel’s Volcani Agricultural Research Centre, who has been working with France’s National Institute for Agricultural Research and researchers at Israel’s Hebrew University.

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Health & Safety

Nanaimo Forest Products fined by WorkSafe B.C. after investigation of 2016 death

By Chris Bush
Nanaimo News Bulletin
March 28, 2018
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

WorkSafe B.C. has fined Nanaimo Forest Products following an investigation into the death of an employee that occurred at its Harmac Pacific mill in 2016. Chris Fletcher, a Harmac Pacific employee who was 37 at the time of his accident in March 2016, was fatally injured when a wood chip pile he was standing on gave way underneath him. WorkSafe B.C. made public its findings from its investigation in the March/April issue of its trade magazine WorkSafe. …According to the article, the company had not conducted a risk assessment or developed safe work procedures for the area. …Grant Brebber, Nanaimo Forest Products administration manager, said the company has addressed the issues described in the report.

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