Daily Archives: April 3, 2019

Today’s Takeaway

Forest industry drives one out of every 17 jobs in BC

April 3, 2019
Category: Today's Takeaway

A new study says one out of every 17 jobs in BC is generated by the forest industry; while challenges faced by the sector are the focus of this year’s COFI’s conference in Vancouver.

In other news: the Canadian government is investing in forest innovation; WoodWorks US celebrates design innovation; the cement association pans BC’s tall wood allowance; FSC says mass timber is climate friendly ‘if it’s FSC certified‘; and US insurers seek to reduce home flammability.

In Forestry/Climate news: Canada’s environmental watchdog says the country’s climate inaction is ‘disturbing’; Ontario farmers want to use biomass energy byproducts as fertilizer; BC’s caribou consultations are underway; early feedback on the plan points to an urban/rural divide; and BC’s Liberal leader calls the caribou consultations “a sham“.

Finally, Romeo—the endangered Bolivian frog—weds his Juliet.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Froggy Foibles

Unfroggetable: endangered Bolivian amphibians get long-awaited first date

Associated Free Press in Egypt Independent
April 2, 2019
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: International

Happily, the first date between Romeo, once the last-known Sehuencas water frog, and Juliet, who was discovered deep inside a Bolivian cloud forest in January, went so well the two have been living together in the male’s aquarium since. …“Romeo has been really sweet to Juliet, following her around the aquarium and sacrificing his worm meals for her,” said Teresa Camacho Badani, chief of herpetology at the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny in Bolivia… “After he’s been alone for so long, it’s wonderful to see him with a mate finally.” …Romeo hasn’t fully figured out amplexus — the mating position for frogs… Since meeting Juliet, Romeo has also exhibited a behavior water frog experts had not encountered for this species: a performance in which he rapidly twinkles the toes of his back feet, likely intended to impress the female.

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Business & Politics

Pioneer, entrepreneur and leading scientist Staffan Melin retires

Wood Pellet Association of Canada
April 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Staffan Melin

After 25 years in the wood pellet industry, Staffan Melin, the Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s director of research, has retired effective March 31, 2019. Melin’s career in the wood pellets industry was preceded by five years as a trade commissioner for the government of Sweden in Canada during which time he developed relationships that resulted in the first wood pellet exports from Canada to Europe. In 1996, Melin started the company Delta Research Corporation with the objective of developing renewable energy trade between Canada and Sweden. That same year, Melin began his relationship with the BC Pellet Fuel Manufacturers Association, which eventually became the Wood Pellet Association of Canada. …Melin has had a remarkable career. …Not only was Melin a visionary entrepreneur, he also distinguished himself as a leading scientific expert on all aspects of wood pellets. We wish him all the best in a well-deserved retirement.

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Canada Invests in Forest Innovation to Grow the Economy and Create Good Jobs

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
April 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

QUEBEC CITY – Investing in research and development (R&D) creates tremendous opportunities for the forest sector and will result in new technologies and good jobs for our communities. That is why Budget 2019 proposes up to $91.8 million over three years, starting in 2020-21, for the Forest Innovation Program. This proposed investment will help Canada’s forest sector continue to innovate and grow, while supporting the adoption by Canadian forest companies of new and innovative technologies. Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today highlighted the importance of this Budget commitment… The Parliamentary Secretary also announced a $22.7 million investment to help FPInnovations diversify markets and fight climate change. These investments in FPInnovations are funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Forest Innovation Program – a part of the Softwood Lumber Action Plan – which promotes research and development on new technologies and products across Canada’s forest sector.

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Western Forest Products, Huu-ay-aht First Nation ink forestry deal

Victoria Times Colonist
April 2, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Don Demens

Western Forest Products and the Huu-ay-aht First Nation have finalized a deal for a seven per cent stake in a Port Alberni forest operation, which includes Tree Farm Licence 44. The deal, worth $7.2 million, is being hailed as a step toward reconciliation and revitalization of the Alberni Valley forest sector. The deal includes opportunities for increased participation of area First Nations through tenure ownership, employment and business opportunities, sustained domestic manufacturing, increased training, effective marketing and value-added product innovation, and strong environmental stewardship. “This new partnership will directly increase First Nations participation in the forestry sector, while creating greater stability for our business, our customers, and our employees,” said Western chief executive Don Demens in a statement.

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Changes made to forest and range legislation

The East Kootenay News Online
April 2, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Garry Merkel

Amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act will support the health and sustainability of B.C.’s forests and range lands, while strengthening public confidence in how these vital resources are managed, says the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. …Initial changes to the act will be followed over the next two years by more substantive changes, which will be informed by a public consultation later this spring. …“I am excited to see what the next engagement process yields,” stated Garry Merkel, co-chair, Minister’s Forest and Range Practices Advisory Council. “Forest professionals increasingly find themselves caught between the government’s statutory requirements and communities’ desire for a greater say in land-use decisions. We are optimistic the proposed changes to increase public input will improve clarity for both the public and the forest professionals,” said Christine Gelowitz, CEO, Association of BC Forest Professionals.

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Williams Lake defers decision whether to pen letter of support for Pinnacle Pellet

Williams Lake Tribune
April 2, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Williams Lake City Council has decided it will need additional information before it will decide whether to write a letter supporting Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.’s permit amendment application with the Ministry of Environment. “There’s no question we have to wait,” Mayor Walt Cobb said after a 15-minute conversation with other members of council and staff during the Tuesday, April 2 committee of the whole meeting. Last week Pinnacle made a presentation to council at its regular meeting on Tuesday, March 26, and held an open house at the Tourism Discovery Centre on Thursday, March 28 to share details of proposed upgrades to the plant in Williams Lake. Cobb said from the open house two distinct issues emerged. One is the permit amendment itself and what it actually means in terms of emissions. The other issue is the dust around the site and other industrial sites in the city.

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Vancouver convention focuses on forest industry challenges

By Derrick Penner
The Vancouver Sun
April 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The challenge of producing lumber from B.C.’s mountain-pine-beetle and wildfire-ravaged forests will be a top topic at the Council of Forest Industries’ annual convention in Vancouver on Thursday and Friday. For producers such as Canfor and West Fraser Timber, adjusting has meant reducing mill capacity in B.C. while continuing to buy and build mills where trees are more plentiful, such as the U.S. south and even Scandinavia. “Fibre availability is obviously critically important,” said Susan Yurkovich, CEO of the Council of Forest Industries, about the need for companies to “rightsize the industry” in response to declining timber harvests. …Yurkovich likened it to an investment fund not putting all of its money into one stock. “You diversify to mitigate risk,” Yurkovich said. …For the province, [Forest Minister] Donaldson said the province’s focus remains pushing the industry to get more value, and create more jobs, from every tree that is logged.

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Forest industry helps grow one in 17 jobs in B.C

By Susan Yurkovich, Council of Forest Industries
The Vancouver Sun
April 2, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The forest industry has long been known as a key driver in B.C.’s economy, but a new study reveals its economic impact is even more profound, in generating significant economic activity. …The study, conducted by PwC… assesses the industry’s local economic impact in B.C.’s seven region. Provincially, our forest industry drives 140,000 jobs — one out of every 17 jobs in the province. B.C. is home to 140 forestry-dependent communities with nearly 60,000 men and women directly employed in the industry, generating $8.6 billion in family-supporting wages. Another 80,000 jobs are supported through indirect and induced economic activity. …While forestry is a robust B.C.-based industry, we are facing challenges both globally and locally. With increasing global protectionism, growing competition, and ongoing punitive U.S. tariffs, we face obstacles reaching our customers around the world. Locally, we have been impacted by beetle infestations, major wildfires and increasing operating complexity.

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Northern Pulp’s future is in McNeil’s hands

By Jim Vibert
The Chronicle Herald
April 2, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

If we take everyone at their word — and that’s a big ‘if’ — Northern Pulp will be permanently shut down on or before next Jan. 31. That’s the date the provincial government etched into law as the last for Boat Harbour to receive waste water from the Pictou County pulp mill. …Then, last week, the provincial environment department sent Northern Pulp back to the drawing board to fill in the gaps in its application for environmental approval of the new system, and the prospects for the new treatment facility became even more remote. …Northern Pulp is integrated into the province’s forest economy to such a degree that the industry believes the mill’s loss would have devastating consequences for saw mills and wood harvesters throughout Nova Scotia. As the deadline approaches without an alternative to Boat Harbour to treat the mill’s effluent, the pressure from Nova Scotia’s forestry sector to extend that deadline will only intensify. [Access to the full story may require a digital subscription to the Chronicle Herald]

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Achieving the Promise of Mass Timber with FSC Wood

By FSC
FSC Canada
March 26, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Mass timber has captured the imaginations of architects and builders. Supporters argue that mass timber can replace steel and concrete in construction, reducing carbon pollution from those sectors. …By replacing structural steel and concrete, the argument goes, mass timber can reduce carbon emissions from construction materials. 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from concrete manufacturing and another 5 percent comes from steel. Yet recent research by engineering firm Arup in “The New Carbon Architecture,” found that “the final life cycle emissions of the timber design could arrive very close to the final emissions of the concrete design option if both worst-case sourcing and worst-case transport scenarios were realized.” In other words, mass timber can be a climate solution as long as the wood is sourced from a local, responsibly managed forest.

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Cement association critical of B.C. 12-storey tall wood allowance

By Russell Hixson
The Journal of Commerce
April 3, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Local governments in B.C. will be allowed to adopt mass-timber technology for construction of buildings up to 12 storeys. …The announcement has drawn heavy criticism from the Cement Association of Canada (CAC). The association accused the province of bypassing the ongoing 2020 National Building Code of Canada processes and putting residents at risk. The CAC noted B.C. is at risk for earthquakes but there are no approved seismic design specifications for 12-storey cross-laminated timber buildings for the 2020 National Building Code and recommendations regarding this will not be approved until later this year. …The association also added the policy won’t create jobs as the province claims, but instead, shifts them. …Lynn Embury-Williams, executive director for Wood WORKS! BC, called the policy shift a positive change. “It’s a significant advancement from the national code,” said Embury-Williams, noting the changes will require a high degree of encapsulation for fire protection.

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WoodWorks US 2019 Wood Design Awards

By WoodWorks US
PR Newswire
April 2, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Washington — WoodWorks – Wood Products Council has announced the winners of its 2019 Wood Design Awards, which celebrate innovation and excellence in wood building design across the US. Awards are an opportunity to recognize building designers for their skill and ingenuity, and to showcase projects that demonstrate the attributes of wood that make it so appealing. “I’ve heard people call it a wood revolution but whatever the term, this year’s nominees seem to reflect genuine interest in maximizing the potential of wood building design in this country,” Jennifer Cover, WoodWorks’ President and CEO said. “At one end of the spectrum, winners include an 8- story apartment building, which exemplifies the interest we’re seeing in taller wood structures; at the other, an adaptive re-use project that includes original wood framing from the 1880s.

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Step 1: Build A House. Step 2: Set It On Fire

By Rebecca Hersher and Ryan Kellman
WBUR News
April 2, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

An hour south of Charlotte, N.C., a freshly constructed house sits in a wind tunnel waiting to be set on fire. …The past two years have been particularly costly for insurance companies that are on the hook for billions of dollars in damage done by hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other disasters. As these disasters become more frequent and expensive, in part because of climate change, insurers are investing more in this research facility that studies how to protect homes and businesses from destructive wind, water and embers. …The most recent full-scale test was a wildfire simulation. Engineers designed and built a full-size duplex home. On one side, the house has cedar siding, vinyl gutters, single-pane windows and bark mulch around the foundation. On the other side, the house is designed to be fire-resistant, with cement siding, metal gutters, double-pane windows and gravel around the foundation.

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Scottish research purpose robotic timber construction

Construction Times 24
April 3, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

A new research programme at Robert Gordon University (RGU) will concentrate on robotic fabrication of cross-laminated timber joints. Analysts from the college’s Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment will be working on the undertaking with the Construction Scotland Innovation Center and timber engineering firm Glulam Solution. The aim is to help address housing market issues in Scotland and further away from home. Robotic, off-site fabrication will bring the advantages of production systems to construction, said the team. …“The innovation lies with the integration of a house design prototype and its robotic fabrication out of complex CLT panels manufactured off-site. At the end of the project, we envision that the consumer, the house buyer, will be able to select various options from a website and then we will be able to produce all components based on consumer demand.”

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Forestry

Cobb shares wildfire recovery, planning at BC Mayors Caucus

By Monica Lamb-Yorski
Williams Lake Tribune
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Walt Cobb

Mayor Walt Cobb spent Monday attending the BC Mayors’ Caucus in Prince George where he participated in a panel discussion about wildfire recovery. “We had a good session on recovery and fires, and there were other sessions about a whole range of issues,” Cobb said, noting there were about 30 mayors from all over. “It was a good cross section. Some from the Lower Mainland, some from the North.” When it was his turn to talk on the panel, he said he discussed what Williams Lake went through during the 2017 fires. …Cobb …leaves again on Wednesday to attend the Council of Forest Industries convention in Vancouver. “There we will be talking about industry and the future and there will be lots of guest speakers,” Cobb said. …One speaker Cobb is looking forward to hearing is David McNaughton, Canada’s Ambassador to the United States…

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Communities Rally for Better Forest Management Across BC

By BC Coalition for Forestry Reform
The Boundary Sentinel
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Boundary City has been listed as one of the sites where people across the province will… march in support of changing current forest management rules. Marches are being held in Peachland, Port Alberni, Cowichan, Nanaimo, Vernon, Kelowna, Kimberly, Johnsons Landing, Salt Spring Island, Nelson, Golden and Grand Forks. Forest March BC is a province-wide, grass-roots campaign aimed at creating a unified voice to tell the government what B.C. residents want for their forests.  Residents are asking that forest legislation include eco-system restoration, sustainable forestry, and meaningful community consultation about forests. …To find the location and start time of a march in your community, visit this link.

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Caribou consultation a sham

By Andrew Wilkinson, BC Liberal Party Leader
The Castlegar Source
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Andrew Wilkinson

British Columbians have seen right through Premier Horgan’s last minute “public consultation” on caribou recovery efforts. It is clear that staging a half-hearted public engagement was the only thing the NDP deemed necessary to move forward with their pre-determined plan. Forget listening to local residents with years of experience and deep knowledge of the wildlife and land base, this sham consultation is meant simply to placate every rural and northern British Columbian. …Thankfully, nobody is buying it. …This plan will have a major impact on the forest, mining, and tourism industries. …We all want caribou numbers to rebound to a healthy level, but this can only be achieved if the public becomes an active part of the conversation. …Let’s have a meaningful conversation and develop science-based solutions to save caribou before it’s too late.

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Caribou engagement sessions set for week of April 8

By Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Government of British Columbia
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Members of the public are invited to attend community engagement sessions to provide their feedback on two draft agreements to conserve southern mountain caribou populations. The two draft agreements have been developed under section 11 of the federal Species at Risk Act. A draft section 11 agreement between British Columbia and Canada sets a framework for co-operation between the two governments to recover southern mountain caribou. A draft partnership agreement between B.C., Canada, West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations proposes specific habitat protection and restoration measures to recover the central group herds of southern mountain caribou. Staff from the provincial and federal governments will share information about the draft agreements and will be available to answer questions. Staff from the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations will attend the sessions in Prince George and Mackenzie.

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Caribou consults: already a forgone conclusion?

By Austin Cozicar
The Mirror
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

On Monday night a large crowd packed into the Chetwynd Rec Centre for the first of the provincial government’s caribou draft agreement consultation sessions. ..,“We’re here to listen,” opened Tom Ethier, BC assistant deputy minister, resource stewardship. Dale Seip, a wildlife ecologist with the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, took the lead, explaining that Central Mountain Caribou… have come down from about 800 animals in the early 2000’s to about 220 today. The reason? Largely wolves. …The options for saving caribou… include sheltering caribou, reducing the moose population, protecting and restoring core and matrix habitat, and simply letting them disappear. The protection options are costly and all have some form of consequence. …“West Fraser has invested $150 million into this community, into our operation. …That’s 500 jobs,” said West Fraser general manager Rodger Roy.

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New red tape restricts cutting, Unifor

By Mike Aiken
DrydenNow
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Provincial regulations are resulting in a 25 per cent reduction in softwood being cut in the Wabigoon Forest, along with a 50 per cent cut in hardwood. The union representing mill workers in the area, Unifor, says the new Boreal Landscapes Guide released earlier this year is behind the reductions. …”The reality is that in order to meet the Boreal Landscape Guide, Domtar is now required to bypass significant areas of mature wood under the new plan and allocate younger wood that should have been left growing for at least another 10 years to increase their volume. This makes no sense for jobs and simply creates a situation more extreme for forest fires,” it says in the letter. Boreal landscape guides use groupings of management units that approximate ecoregion boundaries.

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Lakehead Forest plan proposes cutting near camps around Thunder Bay, Ont.

CBC News
April 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Camp owners near Thunder Bay, Ont. may have an interest in the plans for the Lakehead Forest over the next decade. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is reviewing its long-term plan for the forest. The plan lays out where logging and road development will take place in the forest, which stretches from roughly the western shores of Northern Lights Lake to the Township of Nipigon. The ministry notes in the new plan that harvesting is expected to increase by 15 percent compared to the 2007-2017 management plan. …The updated plan also calls for more road rehabilitation after logging is completed in the forest, while also calling for small pockets of road networks to be developed.

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Tough Times for the World’s Oldest Trees

By Luke Groskin and Daniel Peterschmidt
Science Friday
April 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Brian Smithers, a researcher assistant professor at Montana State University, is standing in front a massive tree in California’s White Mountains, an arid range near the edge of the Great Basin. “It’s been around for quite possibly longer than the entirety of Christianity, never mind Western civilization,” he says. …The key to the tree’s long-lived lives is its incredibly slow growth, which results in very dense wood. The dense wood is useful—the trees can withstand insects, rust, and winds up to one hundred miles per hour. The bristlecone pine’s germination process, like the environments it thrives in, is unforgiving. …The question is how these trees will struggle, or thrive, with a changing climate. As the climate warms in this region, the bristlecone moves upslope to continue to live in its ideal temperature range. 

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Commissioner of Public Lands highlights fire suppression bill in visit

By Paul Gottlieb
Peninsula Daily News
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Hilary Franz

PORT ANGELES — It’s barely springtime, but wildfire season is already in progress, Washington’s top public lands officials said recently. Elected state Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz paid a visit to Port Angeles on Friday, discussing a fire suppression-forest health legislative initiative to increase the tax on premiums for property and casualty insurance from 2 percent to 2.52 percent. It would beef up wildfire suppression measures by creating a permanent Wildfire Suppression and Prevention Account for emergency fire costs, firefighter training and positions. It also would foster activities to improve forest health through contracts for thinning and other practices that would prevent drought and susceptibility to fires. SB 5996 is being proposed in the wake of longer fire seasons of seven to eight months compared to three months.

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Federal Judge Imposes New Probation Terms On PG&E To Reduce Wildfire Risk

By Richard Gonzales
National Public Radio
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A federal judge in San Francisco is barring utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric from reissuing dividends in favor of using the funds for reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires in Northern and Central California. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, in a court hearing Tuesday, also said that he will closely monitor PG&E’s compliance with new wildfire prevention rules governing tree-trimming near power lines. Alsup is supervising the utility company’s felony probation stemming from its conviction in the case of a massive natural gas pipeline explosion in 2010. “A lot of money went out in dividends that should have went into tree trimming,” Alsup said to PG&E acting chief executive John Simon as quoted by the Associated Press. “PG&E pumped out $4.5 billion in dividends and let the tree budge whither. So a lot of trees should’ve been take down that were not.”

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Beadnell named master logger of year

Herald Star
April 2, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

James E. Beadnell, left

BERGHOLZ — The Ohio Forestry Association has named James E. Beadnell of Bergholz the Ohio Master Logger of the Year. Beadnell started his business in 1985 and has a reputation for doing the best job possible on his timber harvest sites. Jeremy Scherf, ODNR, service forester, said Beadnell frequently comments that, “if my job isn’t right, I shouldn’t be doing this at all.” Scherf nominated Beadnell for the award, and the announcement was made during the OFA Annual Meeting in Columbus. …The Ohio Forestry Association maintains a safety training and voluntary certification program for logging contractors and their employees known as the Ohio Voluntary Master Logging Company Program. The program involves training loggers in chainsaw safety, best management practices for soil and water protection and first aid and CPR.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Canada’s failure to fight climate change ‘disturbing,’ environment watchdog says

Canadian Press in Victoria Times Colonist
April 2, 2019
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Julie Gelfand

OTTAWA — Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand says Canada is not doing enough to combat climate change. Gelfand delivered her final audits Tuesday before her five-year term expires, looking at fossil-fuel subsidies, invasive aquatic species and mining pollution. But her final conclusions as the country’s environmental watchdog say it is Canada’s slow action to deal with the warming planet that is most “disturbing” to her. “For decades, successive federal governments have failed to reach their targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, and the government is not ready to adapt to a changing climate,” she said in a statement Tuesday morning. “This must change.” Gelfand’s rebuke came a day after Environment Canada scientists sounded an alarm that Canada is warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world, causing irreversible changes to our climate. Gelfand said neither Liberal nor Conservative governments have hit their own targets to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

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From mill to field: Thunder Bay farm conference looks at using forestry industry byproduct

By Cathy Alex
CBC News
April 3, 2019
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

A researcher from Thunder Bay, Ont., is helping farmers learn how they might be able to improve their soil by using a byproduct from northwestern Ontario mills. Amanda Diochon said Resolute Forest Products in the city generates energy by burning conifer bark. However, the combustion process is incomplete and it produces “a black ash material that farmers in the past have applied to their fields.” She said the material acts as a liming agent by boosting the soil’s pH balance, and provides some additional nutrients. …”The net benefit to Resolute would be that they don’t have to landfill their ash because that comes with a cost, and there’s also an environmental cost as well, because all that material is sitting in a big pile, while it could be doing a lot of good on the landscape.”

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