Daily Archives: February 14, 2019

Today’s Takeaway

Increased log exports are the result of BC mill closures — not the cause

February 14, 2019
Category: Today's Takeaway

Increased log exports are the result of mill closures — not the cause, according to the Northwest Loggers Association. Elsewhere: the Town of Fort Frances accuses Resolute of intimidation; Nova Scotia’s Premier is willing to change policies to end US tariffs; Western Forest Products has a record year; and Mosaic—the timberland manager for TimberWest and Island Timberlands—is hiring bigly.

In Forestry news: a new book on the South Selkirk caribou; and concerns over logging in Campbell River and Cowichan Valley BC, Alaska and Eugene, Oregon. Meanwhile, pro-forestry coverage via Canwel, West Fraser Timber, Forests Ontario, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and the US Dep’t of the Interior.

Finally, BC’s wood design nominees are announced and BC’s forest professionals are honoured. Oh, and happy Valentine’s Day!

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Business & Politics

Increased log exports in the Northwest are the result of mill closures — not the cause

Letter by Brian Lindenbach, General Manager, Northwest Loggers Association
Terrance Standard
February 13, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

In response to the premier’s speech at the Truck Loggers Association (TLA) convention, the solutions to maximizing value and jobs from our forests in northwest B.C. are more complex than stating a simple solution of limiting or reducing the opportunities for local operators to access the international log markets. To be clear, the increase in log exports in the Northwest is the result – not the cause – of mill closures and the economic reality of operating a manufacturing plant here. The ability to access both domestic and international log markets has sustained this region’s forest industry for the past 18 years… Provincial government recognition of the unique challenges of each region of this province should lead to development of policies and regulations that work to the benefit of all. …For domestic sawmills that have a business plan based on the real costs of log supply, this will ensure continued access to logs. When logs move, everyone benefits.

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Local forester honoured

The Prince George Citizen
February 13, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

John Pousette

A Prince George forest industry veteran was bestowed with B.C.’s top honour in the profession. John Pousette was named the 2019 Forest Professional of the Year by the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP). “John’s career serves as an example of how integrity and commitment are key attributes necessary to achieving real and meaningful success in forestry and ensuring we are sustainably caring for B.C.’s forests for future generations,” said Morgan Kennah, ABCFP president. …Another forest professional from the region was also honoured at the ABCFP convention. Jim McLean of Lone Butte was named Registered Forest Technologist of the Year “for his detailed knowledge and understanding of cruising and residue surveying. “The nomination for McLean spoke of how he freely shares his knowledge in a respectful and professional manner with many forest professionals.”

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Campbell River’s Bob Craven earns Distinguished Forest Professional Award

By Dean Pelkey
Association of BC Forest Professionals
February 14, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Lisa Perrault and Bob Craven

Vancouver—Bob Craven, RPF, of Campbell River, was one of three forest professionals presented with Distinguished Forest Professional awards by the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) at its annual forestry conference in Kamloops last week.  The Distinguished Forest Professional award recognizes members for outstanding contribution to the forestry profession and for furthering the principles of the Association of BC Forest Professionals. “Bob’s career serves as an example of how integrity and commitment are key attributes necessary to achieving real and meaningful success in forestry and ensuring we are sustainably caring for BC’s forests for future generations,” said Morgan Kennah, RPF, and ABCFP president. Craven was nominated for his contributions and commitment to the forestry profession, his colleagues, the public, First Nations, and all communities in which he has worked.

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Fourteen forest professionals honoured for outstanding work in research and caring for BC’s forests

By Dean Pelkey
Association of BC Forest Professionals
February 14, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Morgan Kennah

(Vancouver)—The Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) presented awards to 14 forest professionals who made significant contributions to the profession and study of forestry, ensuring BC’s forests are managed to the highest environmental standards. The awards were presented February 7 in Kamloops during a ceremony at the ABCFP’s annual conference.  “These awards recognize the many years of dedication and the work of this group of forest professionals in caring for BC’s forests,” said ABCFP president Morgan Kennah, RPF.  “They are important because nominations come from other forest professionals, so to be recognized for your work by your peers is extremely gratifying.” This year, three forest professionals received the Distinguished Forest Professional award, which recognizes outstanding contribution to the profession and furthering the association’s principles.

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Mosaic Forest Management is Hiring!

By Monica Bailey
Mosaic Forest Management
February 14, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Join Mosaic—Mosaic Forest Management is the Timberland Manager for TimberWest and Island Timberlands. We are a Canadian leader in sustainable timberlands management, and we are recruiting for a few critical positions. Mosaic offers the opportunity to work in highly-engaged teams, in an energised workplace environment, with an attractive compensation package, underpinned by a strong set of values where our highest priorities are all about people. Positions available include: Biology Technologist — Nanaimo; Infrastructure Planner — Nanaimo or Northwest Bay; Log Trader — Nanaimo; Log Purchaser — Nanaimo; Sales & Purchasing Administrator — Nanaimo; Purchasing Accountant — Nanaimo; Inventory and Scaling Administrator — Nanaimo or Campbell River; Contract Manager — Campbell River; Purchasing Accountant — Nanaimo; Temporary – Transaction Services Administrator — Nanaimo.

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Record year for Western Forest Products, Island’s biggest forest company

By Andrew Duffy
The Times Colonist
February 13, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Despite coughing up more than $43 million in softwood lumber duties, Western Forest Products managed to realize a profit of nearly $70 million in 2018. …The Island’s largest logging and milling company managed to deal with several issues in 2018, and set a record in terms of revenue to realize a net profit of $69.2 million, down from the $74 million in 2017. …Chief executive Don Demens said the company’s refined marketing strategy led to higher prices for its lumber products, which helped overcome “the impacts of operating headwinds in 2018 that included a difficult coastal fire season, U.S. export duties, higher stumpage, and volatile commodity markets.” …“We believe the U.S. softwood lumber duties are unwarranted. However, we have not seen any movement to a negotiated settlement,” said Demens. “To protect our business, Western has submitted a NAFTA challenge contesting the U.S. government’s decision to treat cedar products the same as commodity lumber.

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Town of Fort Frances accuses Resolute of intimidation

By Gary Rinne
The Thunder Bay News Watch
February 13, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

FORT FRANCES, ON — Fort Frances town council won’t back down from discussing a resolution criticizing Resolute Forest Products and its handling of the sale and possible demolition of its idled paper mill. Community leaders are supporting the efforts of another party that has said it would reopen the mill with a new product line. After Resolute threatened to sue over what it alleges are false and defamatory statements in a council resolution that was to be debated Monday, council decided to defer the matter. On Wednesday, however, the town announced the resolution will be re-tabled for discussion at a special council meeting on Tuesday, February 19. …The town maintains that Resolute’s bidding process creates a big obstacle for buyers hoping to reopen the mill, because they are barred from talking to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry about a wood supply. 

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Higgs willing to change forestry plan to end U.S. tariffs

By Jacques Poitras
CBC News
February 14, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Blaine Higgs

Premier Blaine Higgs has signalled he’s open to changing New Brunswick’s forest policies ahead of a trip to Washington later this month, where he hopes to bend the ears of key U.S. policy-makers. The Progressive Conservative premier will use a trip to the National Governors’ Association meetings to advance his goal of restoring the province’s traditional exemption from softwood lumber duties. “If we don’t have a fair marketplace, we will fix it,” Higgs told reporters this week. …The government is awaiting a review that will examine whether two reports by two New Brunswick auditors general, in 2008 and 2015, were correct in their criticisms of provincial forestry policy. Those reports were used by the American industry as ammunition in their push to take away the province’s tariff exemption. Higgs says if the review finds that the audits’ conclusions were justified, he’ll change policy accordingly.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

B.C. architect pitches network of Swiss-style alpine huts between Vancouver, Squamish

By Simon Little
Global News
February 13, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

A B.C. architecture firm is pitching the idea of a network of European-style huts, connecting Cypress Mountain and the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish. Stephane Laroye, principal with architecture firm SLA, said he was inspired to work on the concept after a recent trip to Switzerland where he saw the country’s well-developed and easily accessible hut network in the alpine. He said while there are already huts in the south coast backcountry, most are rustic, unstaffed, and dedicated to the advanced-level hiker. …As envisioned by SLA, the network would involve six multi-storey huts along the route from Cypress to Squamish, designed to minimize their footprint in the sensitive alpine environment. The huts would be constructed from B.C. wood and with passive design elements to reduce energy consumption.

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2019 B.C. Wood Design award nominees announced

By JOC News Service
Journal of Commerce
February 13, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER — Wood WORKS! BC has announced the nominees for the 2019 Wood Design Awards for British Columbia. There are 103 nominations in 14 categories, and the winners will be announced at the 15th annual Wood Design Awards on March 4 in downtown Vancouver. Categories range from residential and multi-residential wood design, commercial and small and large institutional design, prefabricated industrial wood design, western red cedar and international wood design. …“We are impressed by the calibre of nominations as well as the variety of building types and sizes of structures using wood. In addition to some very innovative and distinctive buildings, there are more projects this year that are focused on building performance and construction efficiencies, which are two key benefits of using wood. This is exciting as we are celebrating a milestone of 15 years of Wood Design Awards in BC,” said executive director of Wood WORKS! BC Lynn Embury-Williams in a statement.

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Both good and bad news for old corrugated cardboard and recovered paper exporters to start 2019

By Ken McEntee
Recycling Product News
February 13, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The good news for recovered paper exporters as the calendar flipped to another new year was China’s issuance of almost six million short tons worth of import licenses in December. The first batch of permits issued by China’s Ministry of the Environment, covering about 5.5 million tons, was more than double the amount of recovered paper allowed by China’s first batch a year earlier. The bad news: it didn’t spur any sales, at least through the middle of January. According to one exporter in the Pacific Northwest, “There are licenses, but no activity. Exports, especially for OCC (old corrugated cardboard) are dead.” Meanwhile, coming off a holiday period that included two four-day weekends, OCC demand from North American mills was lackluster at best as 2019 began. Notably, International Paper, one of the largest OCC consumers in the U.S., curtailed its purchases in December, reportedly asking suppliers to divert even contract tonnage to other buyers.

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Forestry

Roses are Red, Forests are Green

Sustainable Forestry Initiative
February 14, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

The SFI In Brief newsletter for February was released today. Headlines include: Trusted Sustainability Labeling and Certification Programs Empower Buying Decisions; SFI Names New Chief Education Officer Melina Bellows to Lead Environmental Education and Expand Project Learning Tree; Project Learning Tree Receives $300,000 Pledge from International Paper; New Manager of Indigenous and Youth Relations Joins SFI; How Sustainable Forestry Can Help the Legacy of African American Landowners; Connecting kids to nature: Latest free activity downloads from Project Learning Tree; SFI and AFF Form Partnership to Grow Family Lands Certification; 2019 Conservation Impact Sounding Board and Forest Climate Learning Lab – Time to RSVP; Save the Date for the SFI Annual Conference

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“Caribou Rainforest — from heartbreak to hope” by David Moskowitz

By Sara Cox for The Narwhal
The Castlegar Source
February 12, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In mid-January, B.C. government officials trucked the last survivors of an endangered mountain caribou herd into a pen near Revelstoke. …David Moskowitz, a Washington-state based author and photographer, followed the demise of the transboundary herd. His new book, Caribou Rainforest: From Heartbreak to Hope, explores the rare and threatened rainforest that was home to the South Selkirk population and on which many imperilled caribou herds and a myriad other species depend. …The Narwhal asked him about his connection to caribou and his hopes for the future.

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CanWel defends logging practices at Fernie public forum

By Phil McLachlan
The Nelson Star
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Approximately 175 citizens, members of local government, scientists and community group representatives met at the Best Western Fernie Mountain Lodge to discuss clear-cutting in the Fernie area. Conservation group Wildsight called the emergency meeting amid growing community concern about logging’s impact on trails and the environment. …During the meeting, CanWel explained that they are following the rules and guidelines set out by the B.C. Government for private land use and management. Representatives of Wildsight stated they believe CanWel is doing the ‘bare minimum’ and should ‘do better’. …MLA for Kootenay East Tom Shypitka… addressing some of the issues raised, including sight lines, neglected habitat and the negative impact on recreation and tourism. “We’re getting a collision here… And legislation has to reflect those changes. …So it’s not so much the company but it’s the legislation associated with it that we have to address.”

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City of Campbell River responds to BCTS intention to continue Snowden harvesting plans

By Mike Davies
The Campbell River Mirror
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Yet another call for the province to halt timber harvest activities until long-term plan is in place. There have been calls for a long-term strategy to be developed for the Snowden Demonstration Forest and assurances that stakeholders would work together to get such a plan put in place, but the city has been informed that previously-proposed cutblocks in Snowden’s core are still going ahead without one. Which doesn’t sit well with council. Last June, three stakeholders, including BC Timber Sales (BCTS) – which plans the cutblocks – agreed that a working group would be formed to provide input into future harevsting activities and devlop a long-term strategy for the area. …However, city staff has informed council that “BCTS has indicated its intention to proceed with timber harvest preparations in 2019 immediately following adoption of a short term (five year) plan”.

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Cowichan Valley must recognize the value of a living forest

By Larry Pynn, environmental writer
The Times Colonist
February 14, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Larry Pynn

The other day, I asked Tourism Cowichan where I might go to see an old-growth forest. …Then I asked the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre near Duncan the same question. …That neither organization could point me to an old-growth forest in my own backyard in the Cowichan Valley hints at a troubling legacy that has placed far more value on forest cutting than forest conservation. The municipality of North Cowichan is in a unique position to reverse that trend within its 5,000-hectare-plus Municipal Forest Reserve by adopting a conservation ethic that recognizes the value of a forest for ecological, recreational and tourism reasons. …What’s needed is, yes, greater transparency and public input on logging plans, a wider representation on the advisory committee, and also recognition of the need to permanently preserve considerable areas from logging.

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Sustainably Harvesting Trees in the Winter

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.
February 14, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In Canada, we hold harvesting licences representing 7 million hectares of independently certified, sustainably managed forests. We harvest less than 1% of this area each year. Our woods teams throughout British Columbia and Alberta carefully plan the cycle of reforesting, managing and harvesting trees through detailed forest management plans. These plans are regulated and approved by the government. …While sustainable harvesting operations can take place in different seasonal conditions, many areas in western Canada find advantages in winter harvesting. …Although winter harvesting can be the most ideal for environmental and cost considerations, there can be difficulties that come along with it. Once the snow gets too deep, it is difficult to maneuver machinery. …A lot goes into our harvesting activities with the involvement and support of our employees, local businesses, and communities that all contribute to our success.

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Igniting community generosity, one firewood permit at a time

TimberWest
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Every year in early December, TimberWest gets the opportunity to recognize important local community groups in the Lake Cowichan area thanks to the hard work of Jayne Ingram, co-owner of BRI Security, and retired town councilor.  Over the past several years, Jayne has coordinated the TimberWest U-Cut firewood lots in Lake Cowichan, and developed the giving-back culture strongly associated with the permit sales, where 100% of the funds collected are donated back into the community to worthy organizations during TimberWest’s annual Day of Giving in December.  So far the program has generated more than $45,000 with all proceeds directly supporting important local organizations. …Some of the community groups who have benefitted from the TimberWest program include the 1st Lake Cowichan Scouts, Cowichan Lake Food Bank, Lake Cowichan Fire Department annual Toy Drive, Cowichan Lake Community Services, Cowichan Lake Community Garden, Palsson Elementary School, Lake Cowichan’s Seniors Centre and the Lake Cowichan School.

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Species at risk habitat shouldn’t be open for business

By WWF-Canada
Global Newswire
February 14, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The Government of Ontario’s review of the 2007 Endangered Species Act could put the province’s most vulnerable animals and plants at even greater risk by removing barriers to the harmful activities … say the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Earthroots, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace Canada, Ontario Nature and World Wildlife Fund Canada. Most of Ontario’s 243 species at risk are listed because of habitat loss and disturbance, caused in large part by a lack of limits on industrial activity and development. Due to a regulation passed in 2013, many industries are exempt from current ESA restrictions, including forestry, which for the most part has not had to comply with ESA prohibitions. On the 10-year anniversary of the ESA, the provincial government posted a discussion paper on the Environmental Registry of Ontario and launched a 45-day consultation period. Although the paper offers the goal of enabling “positive outcomes” for species at risk, it focuses on increasing “efficiencies for business.”

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Ontario’s largest forestry conference plants cross-cultural connections

By Miriam King
Bradford Today
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The “largest forestry conference in the province” took place at the Nottawasaga Inn Resort near Alliston recently, drawing more than 430 attendees, from forestry experts and environmentalists, to municipal officials and nearly 100 university students. “This is a new record for us,” said Rob Keen, CEO of Forests Ontario, which hosts the annual conference. …They were gathered to talk about the importance of Ontario’s forests in a changing world, on the theme “Natural Connections” – focusing on connections within the natural world, and human connections. …The call for “connections” and collaboration was echoed by speakers that included Dr. Dan Longboat, who delivered the keynote address. …Despite challenges to the industry, forestry supports approximately 180,000 jobs across Ontario, according to Forests Ontario.

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How sustainable forestry can help the legacy of African American Landowners

By The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Treehugger
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

As we recognize African American History Month, it is important to highlight a lesser known part of this history – the legacy of forest ownership among the black community, and the leaders who are working to preserve it. For over 150 years, forest stewardship and farming have been an important part of African American history. Following the Civil War, many African American families took to the land to seek their future. By 1910, black landowners had accumulated 15 million acres across the US South and by the 1920s, 14% of all farms in the US, nearly one million properties, were owned by black families. However, due to lack of legal resources, many landowners either never prepared a will or prepared a will naming all of their children as heirs. …This is why the Sustainable Forestry Initiative has partnered on three projects to help reverse this trend by providing sustainable forestry education, access to timber market opportunities, and legal support.

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Interior advances plans for active forest management

By Marc Heller
E&E News
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The Interior Department has set out a timeline for increased timber cuts and other “active management” of federal forests embraced by President Trump in December. In a secretarial order, No. 3372, written on Jan. 2 — but posted only this week on the agency’s website — former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke set out a series of deadlines to “identify and remove” environmental hurdles for forest management projects. …Some forest advocates have embraced the order as necessary to protect against raging wildfires, while other environmentalists say it runs counter to science and safety necessary to protect public lands. …Still, groups such as the National Association of State Foresters have embraced the executive order, saying it could boost efforts to prevent catastrophic wildfire on federal, state and privately owned lands that exist side by side.

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Logging contractor explains helicopter logging operations

By Scott Buffon
Arizona Daily Sun
February 14, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A yellow smiley face is painted beneath the helicopter that flew over Mount Elden on Monday carrying felled trees plastered with weekend snow to an area for timber stacking. Nearby, trees that were determined to be good candidates for thinning to help reduce the severity of forest fires are being cut, and logging staff on Mount Elden work to attach cables to fallen trees, and wait for the helicopter to return. This helicopter logging operation, the first of its kind in the northern Arizona region, is being run by Markit! Forestry Management and can be seen from around the city. The operation is considered the second phase for the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project, which aims to prevent high-severity wildfires and post-fire flooding through removing potential fire fuel throughout the forests surrounding Flagstaff and its resources.

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Hungry Deer May Be Changing How Things Sound In The Forest

By Nell Greenfieldboyce
Oregon Public Broadcasting
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Hungry deer in the northeastern U. S. are likely changing the acoustics of their forests by eating up bushes, small trees and other leafy plants that normally would affect the transmission of natural sounds such as bird calls. “The deer are very, very over abundant,” says Megan Gall, an ecologist at Vassar College who studies how the environment shapes animals’ senses. “It’s much lusher when there are fewer deer around, and so that’s a big change in the structure of the environment.” …The results, published in the journal PLOS One, show that the overall loudness didn’t change much… But the structure of a sound changed a lot when it was propagated through a lush, green understory that the deer hadn’t snacked on. …Lohr thinks researchers could look to see whether bird songs have a different structure in areas that haven’t been cleared out by deer.

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Poisoned Pines In Central Oregon To Be Cut

By Emily Cureton
Oregon Public Broadcasting
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The U.S. Forest Service has finalized a decision to fell about 2,100 poisoned pines in the Deschutes National Forest along Highway 20, where officials have long worried about hazard trees falling over on the road. “Our primary objective is to mitigate a public safety hazard, and our No. 1 priority is getting the trees down,” said Ian Reid, Sisters District ranger with the Forest Service. The trees died from exposure to herbicide. The federal plan is to turn them into forest products, but proposed state regulations may prevent that from happening. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the primary threat posed by milling poisoned trees isn’t from the wood, but rather from the sawdust, said Rose Kachadoorian, a pesticides program manager with the agency.

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The big Alaskan land giveaway tucked into a sweeping conservation bill

By Christopher Solomon
The Washington Post
February 13, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

TWISP, Wash. — On Tuesday, the Senate passed the biggest conservation bill in years. The Natural Resources Management Act of 2019 swells with more than 100 combined pieces of legislation related to public lands, water and natural resources. Many environmentalists are happy: Wins for public lands and wildlife have been scarce in recent years. …Slice open this giant haggis and peer inside, though: Something reeks. The act contains language that would hand over nearly a half-million acres of federal lands in Alaska — your land and mine — to private hands. That is an area roughly equal to half the size of Long Island, or 31 Manhattans. Alaska’s two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, say their proposal would correct a lingering injustice by granting up to 160 acres each to Native Alaskans who are Vietnam War veterans. 

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Will Lane Leave the Logging Lobby?

By Asia Zeller
The Eugene Weekly
February 14, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

EUGENE, OREGON — Local environmental groups want Lane County to withdraw from the Association of O&C Counties, an association that advocates for more logging. A lawsuit driven by the AOCC, seeking to shrink the size of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, led Multnomah County to withdraw recently.  Lane County now also faces a decision on whether to pull out of the AOCC. Newly elected Lane County commissioners are being brought up to speed on county issues, and some environmental advocates hope a new board makeup might change the commission’s stance on the AOCC. Lane County is the third largest county in the AOCC, with O&C lands totaling 374,849 acres.

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Health & Safety

Media report cites workplace concerns at site of Alberta plant explosion

The Canadian Press in the National Post
February 13, 2019
Category: Health & Safety

A media report says a wood pellet plant west of Edmonton where a fire and explosion occurred this week was also the scene of a fire early last month. Three people, including one with serious injuries, were sent to hospital after the blast Monday at the Pinnacle Renewable Energy site in Entwistle. CTV News says Alberta Labour reports there was a fire at the complex on Jan. 2 that did not result in injuries. …Andrea Johnston, Pinnacle’s chief financial officer, has said in a statement that Monday’s fire and explosion were a first for the plant and the complex has a strong safety record to date. …Pinnacle has not yet determined the cause of the fire and provincial investigators remain at the plant, which began operations last September.

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