Daily Archives: January 9, 2019

Today’s Takeaway

BC pipeline blockade creates problems for industry, gov’t and First Nations

January 9, 2019
Category: Today's Takeaway

BC’s natural gas pipeline blockade is creating problems for industry (even if they do everything right), the NDP government (despite their commitment to consultations) and for other First Nations (who desire the development). In other Business news: Western US sawmill production is up 4.8% in 2018; Frank Dotorri’s retirement plans include pursuit of a CLT plant; and Port Hawkesbury Paper’s contribution to Nova Scotia is still strong despite tariffs.

In Forestry news: Ottawa sets new rules for drone use; California’s governor wants social factors considered and more cameras used in fire safety efforts; the economic implications of caribou recovery are a concern for Northern BC communities; and according to a U of Victoria consortium, climate change was the driving force for BC’s record-breaking 2017 wildfire season.

Finally, LBM Journal names its Dealers of the Year Award and Suwannee Lumber makes a big donation to Florida youth.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

Read More

Business & Politics

The two crises of leadership in B.C.’s Wet’suwet’en blockade

By Gary Mason
The Globe and Mail
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

If ever there was a case that epitomized the teeth-grinding frustration that surrounds resource development in this country, it is the one now playing out in a remote area of northern B.C. On Monday, RCMP arrested 14 people protesting against a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run through the traditional territory of B.C.’s Wet’suwet’en First Nation. …By all accounts, Coastal GasLink did everything a company could to conduct meaningful consultations and build consensus among the First Nations whose land the pipeline would cross. …A couple of aspects of the Wet’suwet’en protest are particularly galling. First is the fact that many First Nations leaders in B.C. have complained, rightly, about the economic despair their people face. …And there is also the not-inconsequential question of who, exactly, is allowed to speak for Indigenous people. The other group that has not looked good in this affair is the B.C. government.

Read More

NDP efforts fail to clear B.C. protest camp peacefully

By Vaughn Palmer
The Vancouver Sun
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA — After taking great political credit for the $40-billion LNG Canada development, the New Democrats ran for cover Monday as police moved to clear a protest encampment that endangered the project. The Unist’ot’en encampment, organized by a holdout First Nations clan, sits squarely in the path of the proposed natural gas pipeline that would feed the giant LNG terminal in Kitimat. On the weekend, cabinet minister Doug Donaldson had made a courtesy call to the Unist’ot’en, according to protest organizers. …In retrospect, those efforts went nowhere. The New Democrats, for all their good intentions and commitment to United Nations principles, were unable to persuade the Unist’ot’en to dismantle their encampment and make way for construction of the natural gas pipeline. No wonder Donaldson, Fraser and Mungall were nowhere to be heard as the police moved in Monday.

Read More

B.C. Forest Minister defends meeting with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs: ‘It is my responsibility to listen’

By David Ball
The StarMetro Vancouver
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Doug Donaldson

VANCOUVER—British Columbia Forest Minister Doug Donaldson faced opposition demands to resign from his post Tuesday, after he defended visiting and meeting with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs opposed to a gas pipeline near Moricetown, B.C. …Wilkinson called on Premier John Horgan to censure his minister of forests, lands, natural resource operations and rural development. …What Wilkinson’s tweet did not mention is that Donaldson is the MLA for an estimated 85 per cent of the Wet’suwet’en people’s population, divided between the two largest Wet’suwet’en bands which are located in his Stikine constituency. However, B.C. Liberal statement countered that “the camp is located in the constituency of Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad,” who argued that Donaldson’s “ability to approve resource development permits in B.C. has been compromised.”

Read More

Talks Continue To Reopen Fort Frances Mill

CKDR 92.7 FM Dryden
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Efforts by Repap Resources to acquire the idled Resolute Forest Products mill in Fort Frances continue. Economic Development consultant Tannis Drysdale says the deal is still very early in the process. “They are putting together information with lots of our help on what the value of the assets of the mill are with the goal of presenting that to Resolute as an offer to purchase the mill,” says Drysdale. Drysdale says it’s not known at this time if the company will find any obstacles impacting that purchase from going ahead. She adds the company has also spoken with both the area’s provincial and federal representatives about their plans.

Read More

Frank Dottori turns attention to cross-laminated timber project

By Ian Ross
Northern Ontario Business
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Frank Dottori

Retirement isn’t a word that’s usually associated with Frank Dottori. …”I’m retiring from the White River group,” said Dottori, who will serve in a chairman-type role, overseeing the northwestern Ontario operations from afar. “I’m going to tinker with a few other things.” …Dottori’s next project is the pursuit of a cross-laminated timber plant (CLT) for Ontario. His group is collaborating with Element5, a Toronto and Montreal-based design, engineering and fabrication group specializing in mass timber buildings. …The aim is to be in operation by August 2020. “This one would probably be the biggest industrial fabricator of CLT in North America,” said Dottori. …“One of the reasons we’re looking at CLT is that it needs a superior-type product if want to meet the new standards. We have the mill (in White River) that can do that.

Read More

Economic impact study shows Port Hawkesbury Paper still strong despite tariffs

By Drake Lowthers
Port Hawkesbury Reporter
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

PORT HAWKESBURY: Six years after its re-opening, Port Hawkesbury Paper LP (PHP) continues to significantly contribute to the economy of Nova Scotia with total expenditures exceeding $1 billion since the mill was re-opened in 2012. In the fall of 2018, PHP partnered with Gardner Pinfold to undertake an economic analysis and impact study. The results measured five indicators: the gross value of output, gross domestic product, employment, labour income, and taxes. The report confirms that in 2017, the mill’s operating expenditure in the province exceeded $170 million. The mill generates 325 direct full-time equivalent jobs and an estimated 700 indirect jobs in the region. The average income is $75,000, which is 44 per cent higher than the average industrial wage in Nova Scotia.

Read More

Western U.S. sawmills produced 4.8% more lumber in the first 11 months of 2018

Western Wood Products Association
Fordaq.com
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Western U.S. sawmills produced 13.431 billion board ft. (bbf) of softwood lumber in the first 11 months of 2018, an increase of 4.8% from 12.816 bbf in the same period in the previous year, according to the Western Wood Products Assn. (WWPA) of Portland, Oregon. Coastal mills contributed 8.451 bbf to the 11-month volume, up 6.5% from 7.932 bbf a year earlier, while inland mills accounted for 4.525 bbf – a 2.3% increase from 4.424 bbf. California redwood production dipped 0.7% to 456 million board ft. (mmbf) from 459 mmbf. In November, Western U.S. sawmills produced 1.106 bbf of softwood lumber, a year-over-year drop of 2.7% from 1.137 bbf a year earlier, and down 15.2% from 1.304 bbf in October 2018. [the access the full story, a subscription may be required]

Read More

LBM Journal Names Three Winners in 2019 Dealers of the Year Awards Program

By LBM Journal
Cision Newswire
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Rick Schumacher

LBM Journal, the leading magazine for lumberyards and building material dealers in the nation, has announced three winners in the annual LBM Journal Dealers of the Year Awards program for 2019. Sunroc Building Materials, headquartered in Linden, Utah, has received the award in the category of “Sales Over $50 Million.” Howe Lumber, headquartered in East Brookfield, Mass., is the winner in the category of “Sales of $10 Million to $50 Million.” And, Taylor’s Do it Best Building Supply, headquartered in Eastpoint, Fla., has received the Dealers of the Year Award for 2019 in the category of “Sales of Under $10 Million.” “As we reported, these three businesses all exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit,” says Rick Schumacher, editor and publisher of LBM Journal.

Read More

Suwannee Lumber Company donates $1 million to help Dixie County youth

By Voleer Thomas
WCJ
January 8, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

DIXIE COUNTY, Fla. — Suwannee Lumber Company donated $1 million to Dixie County youth programs. The money will split between four programs: Dixie County’s Education Foundation, AVID program, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and an Anti-Drug Coalition will have the money distributed to them for over five years. The donation was made in hopes of expanding educational opportunities and mitigating the impact of the opioid epidemic. …Suwannee Lumber Company Chairman Frank “Bump” Faircloth enjoys giving back to the county. “Dixie County stood out to us because we had businesses here going all the way back to 1954 and it was our way of saying we wanted to honor the people here,” Faircloth said.

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

California Mass Timber Building Competition Begins January 15

By Woodworks – Wood Products Council
For Construction Pros
January 8, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

The California Government Operations Agency (GovOps) will award $500,000 in grants as part of the statewide California Mass Timber Building Competition. Grants will be awarded to selected proponent teams presenting viable and repeatable mass timber solutions for commercial and multi-family projects in California. The competition is being hosted by GovOps and administered by WoodWorks – Wood Products Council. By showcasing the architectural and commercial viability of advanced mass timber products in construction, the competition is intended to support employment opportunities in rural communities, contribute to the health and resiliency of California forests, and advance sustainability in the built environment. …By showcasing opportunities for mass timber, GovOps seeks to stimulate the demand for buildings constructed using mass timber and generate investor interest in potential in-state production capacity while advancing its climate change and green building objectives.

Read More

World Centric Introduces 100% Compostable, Marine-Degradable Paper Straws

By World Centric
Cision Newswire
January 8, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

PETALUMA — World Centric today announced the availability of new 100% compostable, marine-degradable Kraft Paper Straws designed to reduce the impact of plastic straws on the planet. The new straws are made from sustainable materials, are non-toxic, and will help reduce the buildup of unrecyclable plastic in the environment and our oceans. World Centric’s new Kraft Paper Straws are manufactured utilizing FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) certified kraft paper that meets strict standards for environmental and social responsibility and helps ensure long-term protection of forests. The straws also provide durability unavailable with traditional paper straws, which tend to quickly lose their shape and functionality in liquids; contain no phthalates, BPA, or chlorine bleach; and are compostable. In addition, they fulfill the requirements of the new California Straw Law that took effect January 1, 2019.

Read More

Shigeru Ban Architects burnishes its status as a leader in mass timber

By Jack Balderrama Morley
The Architect’s Newspaper
January 8, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Shigeru Ban Architects (SBA), …has sought out some of the less heroic products of our age, sometimes using trash as inspiration for the next big thing in structural solutions; the firm works with humble materials, but its final creations are no less accomplished for it. Wood is one of these seemingly humdrum materials that SBA has long played with, but in the past decade or so, it has skillfully taken advantage of the material’s flexibility. SBA is quite literally taking timber structures to new heights, and is currently at work on both the tallest hybrid timber structure and the largest mass timber development in the world. With work around the world, the firm has pushed the possibilities of what glulam, cross-laminated timber, and other wood products can do—both formally and functionally—proving to skeptical local administrators that timber is a material that can meet and even exceed their building codes.

Read More

Forestry

Ottawa sets new rules for drones, including mandatory registration

By Daniel Leblanc
The Globe and Mail
January 8, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

The federal government is imposing a series of new restrictions on the use of drones, requiring operators to be at least 14 years old and calling on all owners to register their recreational and commercial devices with Transport Canada, federal and industry officials said. The new, more stringent rules, covering drones that weigh less than 25 kilograms, will be unveiled on Wednesday. They will also include an obligation for drone users to undergo online training and to inscribe a federal registration number on their devices, the officials said. …Police forces and government agencies such as forestry services regularly use thousands of drones to help them conduct law-enforcement operations or to monitor forest fires. …At the time, there had already been concerns over cases in which people flew drones over forest fires in British Columbia, forcing the grounding of water bombers.

Read More

Another caribou recovery meeting cancelled

Alaska Highway News
January 8, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Another meeting between governments and First Nations to discuss caribou recovery plans in Northeast B.C. has been cancelled. The Resource Municipalities Coalition planned to host a roundtable discussion in Fort St. John on Jan. 11 to give the provincial officials and West Moberly and Saulteau leaders a chance to speak about the plan and how to balance the need for caribou recovery with the region’s economy. … The province says local governments and other stakeholders will be consulted. …Still, the possibilty of any closures has the local forestry industry worried. There are reportedly five zones Saulteau and West Moberly have proposed be established in the region, ranging from absolute protection and no industrial and recreational activities, to a modified harvest encompassing 440,000 hectares. That could lead to annual allowable cut reductions of up to 300,000 cubic metres, according to Louisiana Pacific, Conifex, West Fraser, and Canfor.

Read More

Biotechnology Holds Promise for Protecting Forest Health, But Investments in Research Are Needed, Along With Public Dialogue

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
January 8, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

WASHINGTON – Biotechnology has the potential to be a part of the solution in protecting forest trees against destructive pest and disease outbreaks — which are predicted to increase because of climate change and expanded global trade and travel — but considerable investment is needed to further basic understanding of tree genetics, the effectiveness of biotechnology in mitigating forest threats, and impacts on ecosystems, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations. The report also stresses the need for developing respectful, deliberative, transparent, and inclusive processes to engage people on the issue — both to increase public understanding of threats to forest health, and to understand public views on biotechnology and other interventions in order to inform decision making. 

Read More

Gavin Newsom Begins Tackling California’s Wildfire Problem His Second Day In Office

By Lydia O’Connor
The Huffington Post
January 8, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Gavin Newsom

The new California governor announced two executive orders and an interstate partnership aimed at tackling the wildfire crisis. …The first executive order is inspired by the tragedy in Paradise. …Newsom’s charge instructs state agencies to not only consider the science of fires… but also what he calls “social vulnerability factors” such as poverty, functionality needs and language needs. Newsom’s second executive order was crafted with the admission that the government isn’t always qualified to select and apply the best technological solutions for wildfires. Under this direction, state agencies will be allowed to reach out to the private sector… with an initial focus on technology that improves fire detection. As part of the West Coast governors partnership, Newsom, Brown and Inslee are calling on Trump to double his financial investment in managing federal forestlands in their three states. 

Read More

Gavin Newsom wants fire-spotting cameras in California forests – and a lot more

By Dale Kasler
The Sacramento Bee
January 8, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

COLFAX Governor Gavin Newsom called for $105 million in increased wildfire safety funding Tuesday, saying the state needs to make prevention a higher priority in the wake of the devastating Camp Fire and the wine country fires of 2017. Appearing at a Cal Fire station on his first full day in office, Newsom said the new funding would come on top of $200 million already earmarked for forestry management by the Legislature last fall, bringing the total to $305 million in new spending. Newsom, flanked by Cal Fire employees and emergency services officials, said he’ll ask the Legislature for funds to cover a wide variety of fire safety needs. He wants more helicopters, remote infrared cameras that can help detect fires, better alert systems and new technologies for tapping satellite images.

Read More

Auburn starting online graduate certificate in restoration ecology

The Auburn Plainsman
January 8, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

The Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences recently started an online graduate certificate in restoration ecology intended to serve the educational needs of working professionals. “This certificate will provide an essential understanding of ecological restoration best practices for the rehabilitation of degrading forests and other wildlife habitat,” said John Wigginton, southeast regional director at Westervelt Ecological Services.  Wigginton is recognized by the Society of Ecological Restoration as a certified ecological restoration practitioner. The program is designed to help students improve their critical thinking and communication skills while gaining a greater understanding of terrestrial ecosystems and the practices used for their restoration.

Read More

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Climate change was the driving force behind destructive 2017 B.C. wildfire season, study says

By Bethany Lindsay
CBC News
January 8, 2019
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

The record-breaking B.C. wildfires of 2017 may have burned as much as 11 times more land than they would have without the influence of human-caused climate change, according to new research. The study, from scientists at the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium at the University of Victoria and Environment and Climate Change Canada, suggests that climate change was the driving factor for the unusually hot conditions that led to the fires. The probability of abnormally high temperatures being caused by global warming was estimated at more than 95 per cent. The lead author of the paper, published in the journal Earth’s Future last month, is Megan Kirchmeier-Young, an atmospheric scientist with the federal government. “We have demonstrated that human-induced climate change has significantly increased the likelihood of extreme high temperatures, of extreme wildfire risk of large areas burned, similar to what we saw in the 2017 wildfire season in B.C.,” Kirchmeier-Young told CBC.

Read More