Daily Archives: December 5, 2018

Today’s Takeaway

Does Nova Scotia’s clearcut response satisfy the critics?

December 5, 2018
Category: Today's Takeaway

Does Nova Scotia’s clearcut response satisfy the critics? According to the Chronicle Herald, “they made all the right noises” but CBC News says “it wasn’t what some were expecting“.

Elsewhere: a major US homebuilder sounds the alarm on a ‘housing slowdown’; sawlog prices were down everywhere but North America in Q2; the wood components sector forecasts US demand to grow; and BC faces headwinds with its forestry mission to Asia.

Finally, Canada imports one fake Christmas tree (mostly from China) for every two real ones it grows. 

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Froggy Foibles

Tuques4Trees

Tree Canada
December 5, 2018
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada

Did you loose your toque on the train? Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift for friends and family? We’ve got you covered. Tree Canada’s toques are good for the noggin and good for the environment! Warm, Stylish and Eco-Friendly toques will keep you warm this winter! With your contribution, you will receive an exclusive Tree Canada tuque and a charitable tax receipt in the full amount of your gift. One tree is planted for every tuque ordered. Do you already have one? Share your #Tuques4Trees selfie in support of green giving!

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Business & Politics

Sawlog prices fell globally in Q2 2018, except in North America

By Wood Resources International LLC
Wood Business – Canadian Forest Industries
December 4, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States
The Global Sawlog Price Index (GSPI) fell by 1.4 per cent from Q1 2018 to Q2 2018. This was the first quarter-over-quarter decline since the Q4 2016. Sawlog prices fell on all continents (in U.S. dollar terms) except for North America, where prices in Q2 2018 were 3.0 per cent higher than the previous quarter and up 13.5 per cent from Q2 2017. Most of the price increases in North America over the past year have occurred in Western U.S. and Western Canada, while log prices in Eastern Canada and the U.S. South have stayed quite stable during the same time period. In the Western U.S., sawlogs prices rose sharply during 2017 and early 2018 but came to a halt in late spring when prices slightly declined. …The biggest price declines for sawlogs from Q1 2018 to Q2 2018 occurred in Russia, Brazil and Eastern Europe. 

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Picket line up at Tolko plant near Lumby

By Roger Knox
The Castlegar News
December 4, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

United Steelworkers (USW) members have begun a 24-hour rotating strike at Tolko’s White Valley veneer plant near Lumby. The picket line went up at 6 a.m. Monday. … There are 1,800 members in USW 1-423, with about 100 employed at the Tolko White Valley plant. The job action is the first such move in the forest industry in the local in 32 years. It was the first job action planned among the southern Interior locals after talks broke off with a provincial mediator in late November. The last collective agreement between the two sides expired June 30.

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B.C. fights trade headwinds on forestry sales mission to Asia

By Derrick Penner
Vancouver Sun
December 4, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Doug Donaldson

The B.C. forest minister’s trade mission to Asia has become something of an annual tradition that, this year, has an air to it of battling back against tough markets that have crimped the province’s exports of forest products. In past years, the event heralded B.C.’s breakthrough into the Chinese market, which rapidly took over as the province’s No. 2 export market after the U.S. for lumber. …That is a concern, Donaldson said, but the province recognizes that economic conditions have been tough in some of the places they are visiting, particularly in China, which is why their efforts will remain on selling higher-value products. “Volumes to some of the countries we’ll be visiting are down this year to date,” Donaldson said. “(But) the value is not down as much, so that shows we’re expanding into value-added areas.”

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Building a stronger future: EACOM helps students pursue their academic dreams

By Christine Leduc
EACOM Timber Corporation
December 4, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Montreal – EACOM Timber Corporation believes that building stronger communities is an important part of living up to our values of respect, integrity, learning, and collaboration. Our Scholarship Program allows us to invest in the education of our talented youth and EACOM is proud to announce that fifteen exceptional applicants have been selected as recipients of our award for the 2018-2019 academic year. “This program allows us to support youth in their pursuit of post-secondary studies, and we were thrilled to get so many applications this year,” explains Kevin Edgson, EACOM’s President and CEO. …As EACOM continues to invest in its relationships with First Nations communities, five scholarship awards were granted to students from Sagamok Anishnawbek, Garden River, Gull Bay, and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nations. Three of the recipients also participated in the 2018 Outland Youth Employment Program, the first ever North Eastern Ontario chapter that EACOM proudly supported.

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The CEO of one of America’s biggest homebuilders sounds the alarm on a ‘housing slowdown’

By Ethel Jiang
Markets Insider
December 4, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Toll Brothers, one of America’s biggest homebuilders, warned Tuesday that the housing market is feeling the pain of rising interest rates. “In November, we saw the market soften further, which we attribute to the cumulative impact of rising interest rates and the effect on buyer sentiment of well-publicized reports of a housing slowdown,” CEO Douglas C. Yearley, Jr. said in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release. “California has seen the biggest decline. Significant price appreciation over the past few years, fewer foreign buyers in certain communities, and the impact of rising interest rates all contributed to this slowdown.” The Federal Reserve has hiked its key interest rate three times this year and signaled one more hike in December. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Trends & forecasts for components & industrial products

By Karen Koenig
Woodworking Network
December 4, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, United States

Tied to other wood products industries, the wood components segment also looks to be on a generally upward growth trend. Included are products used in the cabinetry, furniture, home organization and architectural industries. A snapshot of the U.S. wood moulding and trim market shows demand projected to grow 3.7% annually to $5.5 billion in 2022, driven by a strong rise in commercial construction activity and residential remodeling, with interior moulding continuing to account for the majority of the demand, according to The Freedonia Group study, Molding & Trim in the U.S., 7th edition. Although solid wood remains the dominant material choice, engineered wood and plastics are growing in usage. On the industrial side, wood is also the dominant material for pallets, with U.S. demand for wood pallets projected to reach 1.4 billion units in 2019, according to Freedonia’s Pallets survey.

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Construction Moves Along On New OSU Forestry Building

By Chris Lehman
National Public Radio
December 4, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

The $79 million project will be the OSU Forestry Department’s new home….and is meant to showcase Oregon forest products, including something called “cross laminated timber.” That’s a technology that’s been widely used in Europe but has yet to be widely embraced in the U.S. The project suffered a setback last spring when one of the cross laminated timber panels collapsed after being installed in the building. The incident was blamed on a manufacturing defect, and the College of Forestry’s Geoff Huntington says he’s certain there won’t be any more difficulties. “There’s no concerns, no questions about it in our mind. Everything in that building is squared up and to spec.” Huntington says the way the building incorporates wood into nearly every aspect of its design will drive home the versatility of wood products to the students enrolled at the school.

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UK Timber Expo 2018

Southern Forest Products Association
December 5, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

For the second year, Timber Expo was incorporated into a larger series of shows under the banner of “UK Construction Week”. Held recently in Birmingham’s National Exhibition Center, the three-day event attracted 87 exhibitors and more than 22,000 attendees. American Softwoods was there with a spacious peninsula exhibit, permitting a good flow of visitors, mainly from the UK. Graphic panels identified the source of American products by geographic region along with a graphic promoting the sustainability of America’s forests. “Unlike Carrefour and Interzum, which are international in scope, Timber Expo is predominantly a British show, aimed at British companies,” reported Charles Trevor, the Southern Pine Council’s consultant based in London. The UK is the second largest market in Europe for American softwoods. [END]

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Forestry

Canada exports fresh Christmas trees, imports fakes

By Wolf Depner
Cowichan Valley Citizen
December 4, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

One-thousand-eight-hundred-and-seventy-two. That is the number of farms that grew Christmas trees in Canada in 2016. According to the 2016 Census of Agriculture, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick are the main ‘growing’ provinces. Domestic sales of fresh-cut Christmas trees generated $77.6 million in farm cash receipts, and Canada is a net exporter of fresh-cut Christmas trees. In 2016, Canada sent more than 1.95 million fresh-cut Christmas trees beyond its borders, generating $43.1 million in value. Surprisingly, most of the trees — about 1.866 million — went to the United States, not exactly a place short of trees. Their total value added up to $39.7 million. More surprisingly, Canada imported fresh-cut Christmas trees worth $5.1 million. …But if Canada is a global leader in fresh-cut Christmas trees, Canadians are undermining this position by their choices. Canadians imported artificial Christmas trees worth $61 million in 2016, with China accounting for $59.5 million.

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Wildfire report calls out government practices

By Cole Kelly
MY PG NOW
December 4, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

It’s not the first time government bodies have been under fire for how operations were handled over the last wildfire season. A recent report from the Nadleh Whut’en First Nations, located near Fraser Lake, cites lack of funding, lack of communication and jurisdictional confusion from the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) and both the provincial and federal governments.   Over the summer 111, 966 hectares, around 22% of the Nadleh Whut’en territory, was burned in the Foster Lake, Dog Creek Road, Shovel Lake, and Island Lake wildfires. “Wildfire liaises with municipalities and regional districts during emergencies, but there was confusion as to who was responsible for communicating with First Nations about the emergency. There is no clear map of jurisdictional responsibilities,” said the report. “Good communications practices were the result of individual initiatives, not BCWS protocols.”   

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Wildland firefighter recruitment underway for 2019

By BC Wildfire Service Cariboo Fire Centre
Government of British Columbia
December 4, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC Wildfire Service is accepting applications for wildland firefighter positions for the 2019 fire season. Online applications can be submitted on the BC Wildfire Service website until Jan. 15, 2019. The BC Wildfire Service is looking for new recruits to fill positions throughout the province, including in Williams Lake, Quesnel, 100 Mile House and Alexis Creek. Provincially, between 150 and 200 positions will be available. Applicants who pass the screening phase will be invited to attend an interview and complete a fitness assessment. These steps will be completed in February in various locations throughout the province. In Williams Lake, interviews will be held the week of Feb. 19, 2019.

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Nova Scotia: Does the government’s response to the forestry review satisfy critics?

CBC News
December 4, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

On Monday, the government responded to a review of the province’s forestry practices. It wasn’t what some were expecting.

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Nova Scotia to adopt practices that will see reduced clearcutting: minister

Canadian Press in Halifax Today
December 4, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia will adopt sustainable forestry practices that will see reduced clearcutting on Crown land, although the province’s lands and forestry minister is unable to say yet by how much. Iain Rankin said forest policies will be guided by ecological practices through the so-called “triad” model — some areas protected from all forestry, others dedicated to high production including clearcutting, and others harvested with a “lighter touch” and limited clearcutting. The approach was one of the main recommendations in a report last August by University of King’s College president Bill Lahey. “I want Nova Scotians to know that they will see changes in how we conduct forestry on public land,” Rankin said Monday as he released his response to Lahey’s report.

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Curtailing clearcuts

By the Editorial Board
The Chronicle Herald
December 4, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The provincial government made all the right noises on Monday in its response to the Lahey report, which said the province should revamp its forestry policies. Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin said the government accepts the entire report in principle, but has chosen to implement only Lahey’s recommendations on Crown land cutting, putting off action on private land forestry for the time being. …What the government has tabled here is an actual plan to begin changing a culture that has come very close to irretrievably ruining this province’s forests. A recognition of these things is long overdue and welcome.But none of it makes sense if the Department of Lands and Forestry is not prepared to enforce these rules. Earlier this year, the department admitted it failed to prevent Port Hawkesbury Paper from cutting old-growth forest on Crown land to feed Nova Scotia Power’s biomass boiler. [May require a digital subscription to the Chronicle Herald to access the full story]

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Smart! Cornell engages kids with nest box building workshops

By The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Treehugger
December 4, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a world leader in the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds. But the vast educational opportunities it offers aren’t reserved only for Ivy League students. They include programs for youth, families, and local communities to participate in hands-on learning that benefits birds and the environment. Cornell’s NestWatch citizen-science project recently hosted a series of 18 workshops that engaged afterschool and 4-H groups in building local nest box trails for birds in need of habitat. The project provided nest box materials certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) standards along with activities aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core Standards. Lessons topics include biology, ecology, habitat, mapping and data exploration. NestWatch and SFI are inviting educators all around the country to create nest box trails for birds on school grounds in order to provide habitat and project-based learning.

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