Daily Archives: October 19, 2018

Today’s Takeaway

San Group, Georgia-Pacific, Mercer and Kenora FP announce expansion plans

October 19, 2018
Category: Today's Takeaway

The San Group announced plans to build a new sawmill in BC; GP will expand its OSB plant in South Carolina; Mercer buys a sandalwood company in Australia and Kenora FP will increase production in previously shuttered plant. In other Business news: US housing starts fall, Canada helps two BC First Nations participate in the forest sector; and  Canada’s Ambassador to the US talks pot and [softwood] trade.

In other news: a Canadian fisheries expert says climate change is on a disaster path for fish; a US ecologist urges 3-step solution to mega wildfires; the USDA and Domtar develop carbon foam from lignin; and UC San Diego to receives upgrade for earthquake simulation and first up is a 10-story CLT building.

Finally, Quebec’s forests appear to breath in a video; and award announcements for: US custom woodworkers; SFI leaders; and Scottish structural timber designers.

–Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Froggy Foibles

Intense winds cause Quebec forest to ‘breathe’

By Cheryl Maria
The Weather Network
October 17, 2018
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada, Canada East

A video taken in Sacre-Coeur, Quebec Tuesday, has captured Weather Network viewer’s attention. In it, strong winds push and pull at the forest floor, making it look like it’s ‘breathing’. 

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Business & Politics

Canadian ambassador to U.S. talks pot, bridge and trade

By Dave Waddell
The Windsor Star
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

David MacNaughton

The concerns over how the legalization of cannabis would impact Canadians crossing the U.S. border dissipated like a puff of smoke in a breeze in the first couple of days since the change. David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the United States… said the reality is the issue of cannabis legalization is one Americans are wrestling with themselves. …MacNaughton pointed out the irony of seeing an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal bemoaning Canada’s early jump into the cannabis industry at the expense of potential U.S. producers. …The more pressing concern for MacNaughton is getting the loose ends tied up on the new USMCA trade deal. …Discussions on softwood lumber tariffs are also ongoing. MacNaughton said if no progress is made on that file, the Canadian government will pursue its case to the WTO and through dispute resolution mechanisms available in USMCA.

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Forestry giant Mercer International buys Indian sandalwood company Santanol

By Courtney Fowler and Matt Brann
ABC News, Australia
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, International

An Indian sandalwood company with plantations in Western Australia’s Kimberley region has been bought by global forestry giant Mercer International, for an undisclosed sum. The NASDAQ-listed Mercer runs a number of timber operations and pulp mills in Canada and Germany, producing around 1.5 million metric tonnes of pulp each year. Its acquisition of Santanol Group, which was finalised this week, includes 2,500 hectares of plantations in the Kimberley’s Ord Valley, a processing facility in Kununurra, and an oil distillation and refining facility in Perth. Mercer’s chief executive, David Gandossi, said the sandalwood industry had a big future, especially in the fragrance market. …”Our interest from Mercer, is that this [Santanol Group] will become a subsidiary of our company, which we will support and provide capital to facilitate growth and expansion.”

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Canada Promotes Indigenous Participation in British Columbia’s Forest Sector

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Amarjeet Sohi

TERRACE, BC – Canada’s forest sector continues to play a key role in our economy and our efforts to address climate change. The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, announced over $669,000 in funding for two forestry projects for Kitselas First Nation to position the community to pursue new business opportunities, provide training to workers and lay the foundation for future economic development. The first investment of $600,000 enables Kitselas First Nation to pursue business development activities related to land reclamation and other restoration opportunities. …The second investment of $69,443 is for launching a feasibility study on biomass combined heat and power energy systems using local wood residues to reduce  the community’s reliance on diesel.

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San Group announces plans to build new sawmill in Port Alberni

By Susie Quinn
The Alberni Valley News
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

San Group Inc. has signed an agreement to purchase land on the Port Alberni Catalyst Paper mill site to build a new sawmill. The announcement comes less than a week after San Group announced it will start a third shift at its Coulson Mill on the outskirts of Port Alberni, expanding its workforce. Under terms of the deal, San Group will purchase 25-acres of the Catalyst Paper mill site in Port Alberni, in the corner bordering Stamp Avenue and Roger Street. It is anticipated construction of a new sawmill will create 50 new jobs in phase one, followed by an additional 85 jobs, once phases two and three are operational. The deal also provides additional supply of wood chips to supplement production for Catalyst’s operations in B.C., which will ensure greater viability and security for the company and its more than 1,500-person workforce, according to San Group.

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Supreme Court to hear case on clean-up of mercury at northern Ontario mill site

The Canadian Press in the Times Colonist
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says it will hear a legal dispute over whether the Ontario government can force Weyerhaeuser Co. and Resolute Forest Products to clean up a contaminated site upstream of the Grassy Narrows First Nation. The two sides have been at odds since the province ordered the companies in 2011 to remediate the former mill site in Dryden, Ont., where some 9,000 kilograms of toxic effluent was dumped in the English-Wabigoon River system in the 1960s. The two companies claim that indemnity granted some 30 years ago to the company that owned the site at the time applies to them as well. An Ontario Superior Court judge ruled in favour of the companies in 2016. …The Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the ruling, stating that context was essential to a final determination.

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US housing starts fall more than expected in September

CNBC News
October 17, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

U.S. homebuilding dropped more than expected in September as construction activity in the South fell by the most in nearly three years, likely held down by Hurricane Florence. Housing starts fell 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.201 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Data for August was revised down to show starts rising to a rate of 1.268 million units instead of the previously reported pace of 1.282 million units. Starts in the South, which accounts for the bulk of homebuilding, tumbled 13.7 percent last month. That was the biggest decline since October 2015. …Building permits fell 0.6 percent to a rate of 1.241 million units in September. …Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts declining to a pace of 1.220 million units last month.

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Company halts multimillion-dollar Mat-Su timber deal, blaming U.S.-China trade war

By Zal Hollander
The Anchorage Daily News
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

PALMER, ALASKA — A log export deal that promised to bring up to $1 million a year to the foundering Mat-Su port is on hold indefinitely. Chinese tariffs are largely to blame for suspension of the planned export of Susitna Valley logs to China, according to the company behind the venture. …Borough officials had estimated the project could drum up roughly $900,000 a year in wharfage, dockage and rental fees at the port, which is losing $800,000 to $1.5 million each year. “There’s no loss of interest, loss of appreciation or passion for this project,” Denali Timber Management owner Eric Oien said Wednesday. “We’re in a suspended position, meaning there’s an unexpected abrupt market disruption that we’re essentially waiting out.”

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Georgia-Pacific Invests $4.5M to Expand Plant in S.C.

Powder Bulk Solids
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Koch Industries-owned Georgia-Pacific plans to invest $4.5 million in an expansion project its oriented strand board (OSB) production plant in Clarendon County, S.C. that will add a 30,000 sq2 warehouse, new laminating line, and upgraded equipment to the site, economic development organization Central South Carolina Alliance announced Thursday. Coming after an investment of $6 million during the last year to add an automated digital operating platform to the Clarendon County site, the company said the latest improvements will prepare the site to operate on a 24/7 run schedule and future deployments of automatic guided vehicles.  “Adding to our digital platform raises the technical knowledge bar for current and future employees. Raising the bar also puts us on similar footing with other high-tech manufacturers in our region – so we can successfully compete for the same qualified workforce,” Tobey Elgin, plant manager at the OSB facility, said in a statement. 

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Kenora Forest Products increasing production

By Ryan Forbes
Kenora Online
October 18, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, US East

Kenora Forest Products is looking to increase their production efforts, as they begin a weekend production shift next month. “We are extremely pleased to see Kenora Forest Products running at full production and now expanding even further to take advantage of a low Canadian dollar and rebound in softwood lumber prices,” said Unifor National Representative, Stephen Boon. …Kenora Forest Products is looking to hire 15 to 20 new employees for their new seven day production week. …”Most of Ontario’s sawmill industry was shuttered after the 2008 housing crash and many of these operations were almost written off. It is extremely gratifying to see both of these operations thriving 10 years later and providing over 250 well paying mill jobs in Ear Falls and Kenora.”

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

EACOM to spend the day at Habitat for Humanity build

Soo Today
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

On Friday, Oct. 19, EACOM employees from the Sault Ste. Marie I-Joist mill, as well as staff from the Ministry of Natural Resources will be at the Habitat for Humanity Sault Ste. Marie and Area build site to spend a day working with staff and volunteers. “Habitat’s mission of building safe and respectable homes and giving families hope for a better future resonates with EACOM’s commitment to supporting thriving communities,” said Kevin Edgson, president and CEO of EACOM Timber Corporation. “Our quality Canadian wood products will be put to good use in Habitat homes; that is something our employees can be proud of.” …On July 12, EACOM Timber Corporation committed $100,000 in lumber and engineered wood products, certified to the SFI standard to support 2018 Habitat builds, including Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Bracebridge, Wiarton and Ottawa.

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Telegraph Creek a ‘construction zone’ as crews rebuild after wildfire

By Philippe Morin
CBC News
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The chief of the Tahltan First Nation says Telegraph Creek, B.C., is a “construction zone” these days as crews continue their work to rebuild after a wildfire wreaked havoc on the community earlier this year. But it may still be a month before people start moving back. The community has been under an evacuation order since August. Chief Rick McLean said eight mobile homes are being installed in Telegraph Creek to serve as a temporary home for families. About 30 workers are in the community every day. …Federal Minister of Indigenous Services Jane Philpott toured Telegraph Creek this week to see the aftermath. “The Tahltan Nation itself incurred the worst structural damage of any First Nations community in recorded Canadian history.”  

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Revolutionary Carbon Foam from Wood

By Shannon Kelleher and Tom Moreland
U.S. Department of Agriculture
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Carbon foam — a stiff, porous structure formed from a web of carbon atoms — is the stuff of manufacturers’ dreams. The breakthrough material is strong but lightweight, non-flammable and able to maintain its performance at high temperatures, and capable of absorbing sound and radiation. …It is ideal for aircraft and ship insulation, wall panels, stealth technology and more. …Scientists at the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Products Lab and Ligsteel LLC are working with Domtar, Inc to develop high-value carbon foam from lignin, the substance in a plant’s cell walls that makes it rigid. Lignin is cheap and readily available — 70 million tons are produced by the pulping and paper industries each year. …The Forest Service has already filed an application for a patent on the novel carbon foam in Canada, where Domtar has a large paper mill, and in China, which is also known for its large-scale paper mill operations.

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Join us in celebrating U.S. National Forest Products Week from October 21–27

Two Sides
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

For the past 58 years, the third week of October has been designated as National Forest Products Week.  Forest products are critical to our day-to-day activities. From wood and lumber to paper, tissue, and packaging, forest products provide the materials essential for our daily lives. Forest products help us build, learn, communicate, inform, clean, protect, and transport. We often overlook the benefits these products have on our activities every day and their unique sustainable features. Not only are forest products part of our daily life and culture, they are also sourced from a  truly sustainable resources – trees! In North America, paper is recycled more than any other commodity which not only extends the wood fiber supply, but also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and saves landfill space. …Celebrate the value of our forests by following #ForestProductsWeek and #PaperFacts.

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Costs of Resin National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Cut by EPA

By William Schillaci
EHS Daily Advisor
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

In response to separate petitions for reconsideration from the Sierra Club and two affected companies, the EPA has amended its National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic Resins (APR). …APRs are used in the manufacture of plywood, particle board, adhesives, wood furniture, and plastic parts. …The Agency received petitions for reconsideration from the Sierra Club, Tembec BTLSR (now Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc.), and Georgia-Pacific. …In its final amendments, the EPA addresses portions of the petitions for reconsideration, noting that other parts of those petitions will be addressed in future rulemaking. …Overall, the Agency believes the final revisions will reduce the total $4.2-million-per-year cost of complying with the 2014 rule to $2.1 million in 2014 dollars.

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Earthquake simulator at UC San Diego to get major upgrades

ABC 10News
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

SCRIPPS RANCH — The “shake table” at UC San Diego will soon be able to move just like a real earthquake, thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation. Researchers at UC San Diego received $16.3 million for upgrades to the machine. “This would become one of the very best centers for earthquake engineering worldwide,” says Professor Joel Conte, who teaches in the school’s Department of Structural Engineering. …Building designers and researchers use the shake table to test how structures will react to an earthquake, what kind of damage they’d sustain and whether or not they’d be usable immediately afterward. …The first structure scheduled to be tested after the upgrade is a 10-story building made from cross-laminated timber.

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Classes offered to support growing hardwood industry

By Leah Knicely
WBOY.com
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

ELKINS, W.Va. – Students from all over the nation are in Randolph County to learn more about the state’s hardwood industry.  The West Virginia Wood Technology Center hosted a four-day lumber grading short course to fulfill a need in the growing hardwood industry.  The workshop is designed to teach the basics of hardwood lumber inspection and grading rules to yardmen, sawyers, edgermen, sales staff and management personnel. “We do have a growth in the hardwood industry right now with announcements such as Armstrong and things of that nature.  Lumber graders are needed.  It’s a combination of both.  It’s just a really good industry for West Virginia right now,” said West Virginia Wood Technology Center Executive Director Robbie Morris. Officials said there is a growing need for certified graders in the area and throughout the state.

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Wood Pro Expo first day draws larger crowds to new venue

By Karl Forth
The Woodworking Network
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

MANHEIM, Pa. –Wood Pro Expo drew larger first-day attendance than the event a year ago in Lancaster, according to show management. WPE is being held October 18 and 19 in Spooky Nook Sports, the country’s largest indoor sports complex. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn as well as take in almost 12,000 square feet of exhibits. More than 740 attendees have pre-registered for Wood Pro Expo Lancaster.  This represents a 30 percent increase in preregistration numbers compared to last year’s event, also held in Lancaster.

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2018 Best In Wood winners announced at Wood Pro Expo

By Michael Bradford
The Woodworking Network
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

LANCASTER, P.A. – Winners of the 2018 Best In Wood competition were announced during a presentation at the 2018 Wood Pro Expo. The contest, which is given annually, honors custom woodworkers for their outstanding craftsmanship. Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, located in Lake City, Iowa, took home the 2018 Best of Show. …The 2018 winners were selected from the following categories: architectural millwork, custom furniture, custom kitchen/bath cabinetry, residential built-ins and specialty items. 

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The Macallan leads the way with prestigious timber industry award

Scottish Construction Now
October 18, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Macallan project team

Robertson Group is celebrating after its most significant project received the overall ‘Winner of Winners’ award at the prestigious Structural Timber Awards. The infrastructure firm was part of the project team recognised for delivering the flagship £140 million distillery and visitor experience for The Macallan in Speyside – close to the town of Elgin where the company was founded over 50 years ago. Robertson, who delivered the complex architectural design, was joined on stage by engineering company Arup, installer L&S Baucon GmbH, Wiehag GmbH and architects Rogers Stirk Harbours + Partners. Brian Anderson, project director for Robertson, said: “The Structural Timber Awards highlight the exceeding levels of innovation in building with wood – from architectural design and engineering to construction.

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Forestry

River Denys man to compete in STIHL Timbersports World Championships

By Jeremy Fraser
Cape Breton Post
October 18, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

RIVER DENYS, N.S. — George Williams first competed in logger sports events during his time at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. But the River Denys resident never expected his passion for the activity to take him to national and world tournaments — but that’s just what it has done. Williams will be one of six people to represent Canada at the 2018 STIHL Timbersports World Championships in Liverpool, England, on Friday and Saturday. He will join Stirling Hart of Vancouver, B.C., Mitch Hewitt of Scotch Creek, B.C., Marcel Dupuis of Memramcook, N.B., Ben Cumberland of Keswick Ridge, N.B., and Connor Morse of Kingston, N.S., on the Canadian team. The 25-year-old Williams will compete in team competitions on Friday including the stock saw, the underhand chop, the single buck, and the standing chop relay.

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U.S. Forest Service ecologist says mega wildfires require more than suppression, urging 3-step solution

By Nina Culver
The Spokesman-Review
October 18, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Hotter, dryer summers have led to increased megafires and Paul Hessburg, a research landscape ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, said he fears our wildfire seasons will get much worse. …Decades of effective fire suppression have led to forests densely packed with trees with the ground littered with dead trees and other fuels. …But there are changes that can be made, Hessburg said, though some may not be popular. …The first step of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy calls for creating a wildfire resistant landscape. One way to do that is to use prescribed burning to burn debris on the forest floor to reduce the fuel load. …The second step is mechanical thinning. …The third step is managing wildfire by herding it into areas where fire can be beneficial.

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New deputy forest supervisor joins Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Tahoe Daily Tribune
October 18, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

There’s a new deputy forest supervisor in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Danelle Harrison arrived in the basin a few weeks ago, U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) recently announced. She previously served as district ranger for both the Williams and Tusayan Ranger districts in Kaibab National Forest, located in Arizona. …Harrison began her career with the Forest Service in 1999 as a seasonal trail crew member on the North Bend Ranger District of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and worked for several seasons on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, both in Washington state. She also worked for Louisiana’s Southern Research Station in research entomology. …In 2013, Harrison served as both acting deputy district ranger and acting forest timber management officer on the Klamath National Forest and in 2017 served as acting forest supervisor for the Modoc National Forest, both in Northern California.

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South Carolina SFI Implementation Committee Wins Award for Strong Partnerships that Improve Sustainable Forestry and Promote the SFI Program

Sustainable Forestry Initiative
October 17, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Westminster, CO — The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced today that the South Carolina SFI Implementation Committee is the winner of the 2018 SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award. The South Carolina committee was selected for its ability to build strong partnerships in ways that improve sustainable forestry and promote the SFI Program. “SFI Implementation Committees do such good work and to be recognized among our peers is really special. The whole South Carolina committee deserves credit because recognition like this always comes down to excellent teamwork,” said Bart Copeland, Chair of the South Carolina SFI Implementation Committee and the Manager of Procurement and Certification Standards at Collum’s Lumber Products. This award recognizes the exceptional work of the grassroots network of 34 SFI Implementation Committees across the U.S. and Canada.

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Jay Jensen Wins the Dr. Sharon Haines Memorial Award for Innovation and Leadership in Sustainability

By The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Global Newswire
October 17, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Westminster, CO — The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced the 2018 SFI Dr. Sharon Haines Memorial Award For Innovation and Leadership in Sustainability at the SFI Annual Conferencetoday. Jay Jensen, Director of the Southern Regional Office at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is this year’s winner. “This is a true surprise and its extremely gratifying. SFI sets such a strong sustainable forestry exampleto follow and to be recognized by such a body is truly a humbling experience. My thanks to the peopleand the teams and the collaborators I’ve worked with over the years who helped make this possible.”Jensen said. The award, created by SFI and sustainability leader International Paper, celebrates Dr. Sharon Haines,who was International Paper’s Director of the Office of Sustainability before her sudden passing in 2007.

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Lake George Land Conservancy Hosting Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Info, Training

Adirondack Almanack
October 18, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) is set to host a series of informational and training sessions for the terrestrial invasive pest, the hemlock woolly adelgid. The sessions are free and open to the public. There are two opportunities to hear from LGLC staff and Charlotte Malmborg of the NYS Hemlock Initiative to learn about the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), including its threat to our forests and water, current research, and what residents can do to help. …The hemlock woolly adelgid is a terrestrial invasive insect native to East Asia that attacks hemlock trees and has been killing large swaths of hemlock forest from the Great Smokey Mountains to the Catskills since first discovered in the 1980s. The pest spreads primarily by hitch-hiking on birds and other animals, and has been making its way north to the Adirondacks; in 2017, a very small population was found on Prospect Mountain in Lake George.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Ignoring climate change poses potential catastrophe for B.C.

By Barry Gerding
The Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News
October 18, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

KELOWNA BC — Environmental disaster will be our global reckoning if “we continue on our current path” regarding response to climate change, says a leading Canadian fisheries research scientist. Kim Hyatt said fish are already being forced to adapt to the current impact of climate change and how it affects water flows and temperatures, and if left unchecked that adaptation will continue at an evolutionary rate unprecedented in history with potentially dire consequences. …Hyatt’s expressed his thoughts on global warming as one of the speakers at the two-day 2018 Environmental Flow Needs Conference on water management science, policy and structure…Grand Chief Stewart Phillip… said already Okanagan Valley residents are starting to look at spring in the Okanagan in terms of how bad the flooding will be, or at summer for how bad the forest fire situation will be.

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Can sustainable forest management save us from climate change?

ET Energy World
October 18, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

WASHINGTON DC — If you think that sustainable forest management can be a major contributor to mitigating climate change, then you better not hold your breath. A new study has found that managing Europe’s forests to maximise carbonsequestration has a negligible effect on the global climate. The scientists found that the additional climate benefits through sustainable forest management will be modest and local rather than global. Even if Europe’s forests are managed in such a way that their carbon sequestration is maximised it will not impact the climate significantly. Instead, it seems that the forests themselves will need to be adapted to climate change.

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