Daily Archives: September 4, 2019

Today’s Takeaway

Interfor to permanently close its Hammond Cedar mill

September 4, 2019
Category: Today's Takeaway

Interfor announced that it is permanently closing its Hammond Cedar mill in Maple Ridge, BC—a facility that dates back to 1908. In related news: despite Canfor’s recent BC curtailments, local businesses remain optimistic; while some Mackenzie residents wonder if they’re not the new ‘species at risk‘. 

In Forestry/Wildfire news: Ottawa is ready to act on caribou conservation if BC can’t; deer browsing is not stopping the densification of Eastern US forests; BC helicopters to fight Amazon fires; and a new wildfire takes hold in Yellowstone National Park.

Finally, mass timber continues to make headlines in Ontario and Oregon.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Business & Politics

US Court of International Trade Dismisses Duties Case in Favor of Canadian Lumber Companies

By Kyra Thompson
The Door & Window Market Magazine
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has partially dismissed a complaint from several US-based companies about a ruling that releases five Canadian lumber companies from paying duties. The CIT filed an order on August 21 partially granting a dismissal request from the government of Canada among others as defendant-intervenors. The request claimed in part, that the “complaint must be dismissed as prematurely filed,” which the courts granted. …The Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber… first filed on July 15 for an appeal to the final results of a countervailing duty expedited review. …However, presiding Judge Mark A. Barnett deemed it just and appropriate to shut out the appeal instead, claiming the Committee had “not shown that it will incur irreparable harm in connection with liquidation of entries without regard to countervailing duties.”

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B.C. aviation company sends helicopters to fight fires in Amazon

By Susie Quinn
BC Local News
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Two aircraft from a Canadian aviation company are enroute to Bolivia to help fight forest fires that have devastated the Amazon rainforest this summer. Coulson Aviation, a global aviation company based in Port Alberni, B.C. signed an agreement last week with the Bolivian government to send helicopters to help with firefighting in the Amazon. Coulson has sent two Sikorsky S-61 helicopters with the promise of a third aircraft to Santa Cruz, Bolivia in South America, where an estimated 165,000 fires are burning. They are the first Canadian company to send aircraft to help fight the Amazon fires. “We are honoured that the Bolivian government has chosen to work with Coulson Aviation in order to help offer support during their time of crisis,” Coulson Aviation’s president and CEO, Wayne Coulson, said in a statement. …“We hope one of these days we’ll get to support B.C. We would really love to continue to support our province but at the end of the day we have to go where we’re wanted.”

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Canfor curtailing an additional 75 million board feet of production capacity in Canada

Lesprom Network
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canfor Corporation announced additional operating curtailments which will reduce production capacity by 75 million board feet between September, 3 and the end of the year. Its Houston, Polar, Prince George and Fort St. John sawmills in Canada will be curtailed the week of September, 3. In addition, Canfor’s Plateau and Houston mills will transition to a four-day work week in September, which will remain in effect until market and economic conditions support a return to the full operating schedule of five days per week. The curtailments are due to the ongoing low price of lumber and the high cost of fibre, which are making the operating conditions in BC uneconomic.

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Interfor closing B.C.’s historic Hammond Cedar sawmill

By Tom Fletcher
BC Local News
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Hammond Cedar sawmill, a fixture of the B.C. coastal lumber industry since 1908, is closing as part of a reorganization of Interfor Corp’s coastal operations. …The closure is to take effect before the end of 2019, after current inventory of logs and lumber are processed and shipped. …The reorganization includes efforts to increase log supply to Interfor’s last B.C. coast sawmill, Acorn in Delta, which cuts hemlock and Douglas fir mainly for the Japanese housing market, said Ric Slaco, Interfor’s vice president and chief forester. Selling the Hammond site on the bank of the Fraser River is part of the plan to improve the company’s financial situation …The B.C. government’s latest forestry changes include banning the export of cedar and cypress logs, as well as changes to log export limits from Crown land. Interfor will focus on selling cedar logs domestically rather than milling, Slaco said.

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Resilient local businesses remaining optimistic in midst of curtailments

By Ethan Ready
My Prince George Now
September 2, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Despite the news by Canfor last week of additional curtailments, which will come into effect Tuesday, there’s some confidence of resiliency from local businesses. …Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Corrigall did admit a certain level of concern, however, as he told MyPGNow, they’re not getting ahead of themselves. “Anytime you see issues like this swirling around, there’s always a concern of what the expendable income looks like. Particularly given our place in the region, and being a shopping centre for those surrounding communities, it’s always got to be a consideration,” said Corrigall. “…it’s too early to tell what those impacts look like. …at this point, we’re not seeing anything too damaging to our local economy.” …Canfor’s Plateau and Houston mills are expected to transition to a four-day workweek this month, which will remain in place until the market and economic conditions support a full operating schedule.

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Interfor to close Hammond sawmill in Maple Ridge at cost of 147 jobs

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

Vancouver-headquartered timber giant Interfor will close its Hammond sawmill in Maple Ridge by the end of the year, eliminating 147 jobs at a facility with a history that dates back to 1908. …The Hammond mill was built to process Western red cedar logs and Davies added that cedar lumber has “been disproportionately impacted by duties on shipments,” under duties imposed as part of the Canada U.S. softwood lumber dispute. Interfor said that the Hammond mill, with a two-shift capacity, has only been operating on a one-shift basis for several years and its closure is part of a larger plan to reconfigure its coastal B.C. business. Of the 147 employees affected by the closure, 131 are unionized members of the United Steelworkers Local 2009. Interfor said the mill as it exists now was built in 1963, but the union, on its website said the facility dates back to 1908.

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Interfor Announces Plan to Reconfigure its B.C. Coastal Business

Interfor Corporation
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Interfor announced a plan to reconfigure its BC Coastal business, including the permanent closure of its Hammond sawmill, located in Maple Ridge, BC, and the reorganization of its forestry and woodlands operations. This plan is expected to result in the repatriation of working capital tied up at Hammond, the monetization of related real estate and improved results in the years ahead. “We recognize the impact this decision will have on our employees who have contributed so much to the business over the years,” said Duncan Davies, Interfor’s President and CEO. “We will be working closely with them to mitigate the impacts.” …“The Coastal B.C. forest industry has faced significant log supply challenges over the past two decades and manufacturing capacity needs to be brought into line with available log supply,” said Davies. “Cedar producers have also been disproportionately impacted by duties on shipments into the US as a result of the Softwood Lumber Dispute.”

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U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner tours Aspen Wood Products Mill

By Jim Mimiaga
The Journal
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner visited the Aspen Wood Products Mill in Mancos Tuesday as part of a tour of Colorado. The mill, owned and operated by David Sitton, was formerly the Western Excelsior Plant, which burned down in 2016. Sitton purchased the business in 2018, salvaged and restored equipment, built a new warehouse for excelsior mill operations and cleaned the property. “We geared up fast and filled a market niche,” Sitton said. “It took a lot of support from Mancos, First Southwest Bank and many others to make it happen.” The mill produces excelsior, a shredded aspen product made from trees logged in the San Juan National Forest. The material is packaged and sold for erosion control wattles, air conditioners, packing material and acoustic tiles. “It’s impressive,” said Gardner. “Operations like this help sustain the forest and create jobs for the community.”

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Maine loggers poised to unionize

By Beth Brogan
News Centre Maine
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

…Cameron Jackson spends at least 15 hours a day …cutting trees for Bangor-based Seven Islands Land Company. …He’s one some 2,000 loggers in the state who work as independent contractors for large, private landowners who dictate every aspect of the logging industry. It’s a hard job – made harder, loggers say, by the conditions like quotas and deadlines imposed by landowners such as JD Irving of Canada, the state’s largest landowner. …But as of Sept. 19, that may change. Under an exemption to federal anti-trust laws shepherded through the Legislature by Jackson’s father, Senate President Troy Jackson, loggers and tree haulers will be allowed to unionize. …The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers – the same union that represents Maine potato farmers and lobstermen under similar exemptions – will lead this effort. …Jay Wadleigh (IAMAW) said the union has begun outreach efforts to loggers, started a buyers co-op, and will consider “a few dozen” workers a success at the beginning.

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Company fined $500k for Formaldehyde Rule violation

By Karen Koenig
Woodworking Network
September 3, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

WASHINGTON — A New Jersey importer of cabinetry is the first company fined for violating the national Formaldehyde Rule. Global Sourcing Solutions, a Division of Turner Logistics, has agreed to pay a settlement of $544,064 for violations associated with the importation of non-compliant composite wood products. …While the Turkish-made cabinetry met European E0 and E1 formaldehyde emission standards, some of the E1 laminated particleboard was found to exceed U.S. formaldehyde emission requirements. According to a statement from the U.S. EPA, as part of the settlement GSS, although not admitting liability, has modified its practices in construction projects across the country to assure future compliance with the Formaldehyde Rule requirements.

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Finance & Economics

Softwood lumber prices bounce prior to Labour Day

By Madison’s Lumber Reporter
Wood Business – Canadian Forest Industries
September 3, 2019
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

The price of benchmark lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr last week gained +$24, or +7%, to close the week at US$370 mfbm compared to $346 the week before. In a reversal of trend for the past month, this week’s price is up, by +$24 or +7%, from one month ago. Compared to one year ago, this price is down -$114, or -24%.

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Recent trends in wholesale and retail softwood lumber prices

By Statistics Canada
The Government of Canada
September 3, 2019
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The average selling price for framing lumber was up 34% in 2018 compared to 2016. This was due to rising purchase prices which increased 32% during the same time. …Selling prices of framing lumber peaked in July of 2018 averaging $4.7 per unit followed by a sharp decline in the latter half of the year. …From 2013 to 2018, retailers’ gross margins for framing lumber fluctuated between 20 and 27 cents of every dollar of sale. …Wholesalers also reported similar price trends as retailers.

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Lumber and other construction materials wholesalers report 1.5 percent increase in year-over-year June sales

By the US Census Bureau
The Palmetto Business Daily
September 3, 2019
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Sales by lumber and other construction materials wholesalers in June 2019 were $11.8 billion, an increase of 1.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Lumber and other construction materials wholesalers reported total sales of $12 billion in June 2018. The data is after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading day differences, but not for price changes.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Use timber in large-scale building projects

By Mike Yorke, Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario
The Toronto Sun
September 2, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Mike Yorke

Over the past few years, Canada has seen a rise in the use of timber as a construction material for large-scale building projects. Just a decade ago, many viewed timber as a poor alternative to more traditional materials like concrete and steel. …I have watched with excitement as those arguments have been proven wrong and attitudes have started to change. This shift has largely taken place thanks to a better understanding of mass timber and its new applications. …When I learned that Sidewalk Labs intended to make extensive use of tall timber in their Quayside development proposal, I was especially thrilled. …In my decades of experience in carpentry, I’ve seen a lot of new opportunities for our economy and our future, but none in my view have had the same potential as mass timber. It’s time for Toronto and Canada to seize that potential.

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How universities are leading mass timber research

By Cailin Crowe
Smart Cities Dive
September 4, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The use of mass timber for construction is increasingly gaining popularity, most notably with the recent announcement of Alphabet-owned Sidewalk Labs’ Waterfront Toronto project that will be built entirely out of wood. Mass timber is lauded for its ability to help cities reduce carbon footprints. The structures can last up to 100 years and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. A piece of land with no building on it has a higher carbon footprint than land with a cross-laminated timber (CLT) building, according to The Climate Trust. Karim Khalifa, director of buildings innovation at Sidewalk Labs, ​told Smart Cities Dive that he considers the Quayside smart city neighborhood designs not as buildings, but instead as big timber [CO2] vaults. Other benefits of building with mass timber include fire resistance and faster construction. …Universities have served as a test bed for the material in recent years. 

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University of Oregon Projects Use Mass Timber as the Product Takes Off in the US

By Jennifer Hermes
Environmental Leader
September 3, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

…mass timber [is] a category of wood construction material that can replace steel and concrete for load-bearing functions and is considered a more sustainable option. …Mass timber… is being increasingly used by builders in the US, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, according to the WoodWorks Wood Products Council …WoodWorks says nearly 600 mass timber projects have been finished or are being built in the United States since 2011. California has the most mass timber buildings, followed by Washington, Texas and Oregon. …recently approved changes to the 2021 International Building Code will increase the allowable height of wood structures to 18 stories, per WoodWorks, making it a good time for the building and construction industries to explore and understand newer types of wood building systems. Still, American builders have not yet embraced mass timber at scale yet. “You’ll see a much grander adoption as people get more comfortable with it,” WoodWorks regional director Ethan Martin told the Register.

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Forestry

Canada funds 52 new projects to protect and recover species at risk

The Government of Canada
Cision Newswire
September 4, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Catherine McKenna

TORONTO — Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced that the federal government is investing up to $7.6 million in 52 projects across the country. …Funded projects include 15 community-nominated priority places. In each community, multiple partners will take action together to protect and recover species at risk. These projects will complement ongoing species at risk conservation in 11 priority places already identified by federal, provincial, and territorial governments. One of the projects under the Community-Nominated Priority Places program targets The Land Between bioregion. It covers almost 3 million hectares, from Georgian Bay to the Ottawa Valley. This project is expected to benefit 57 species at risk, including the little brown bat, the eastern (Algonquin) wolf, and the golden-winged warbler.

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Forests on Utah’s public lands may soon be torn out. Here’s why.

By Jennifer Oldham
National Geographic
September 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

IN AMONG THE quietest places in the continental United States, where the discordant whine of newly hatched cicadas is usually the loudest sound, the metallic growl of a 28-ton masticator overpowers all as it shreds towering pinyon pine and gnarled juniper into fragrant bark piles. …Machine tracks in the sand frame the site near Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument… The federal government plans to remove an unprecedented number of trees here, it says to reduce fire risk, improve habitat for greater sage grouse, and increase forage for cattle and a world-renowned trophy-hunting deer herd. And it plans to do it fast. The Bureau of Land Management failed to conduct a thorough environmental analysis of the project that considered the impacts of cutting trees on the climate, said scientists who appealed to a federal review board to stop it. If approved, the effort could define how the nation’s most sensitive public lands are managed for a generation.

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Ottawa ready if First Nations, B.C. can’t produce caribou conservation plan soon

By Wendy Stueck
The Globe and Mail
September 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The federal government says it is hopeful that it can work with British Columbia and First Nations to come up with a caribou-conservation plan soon – and if not, Ottawa is prepared to issue an emergency protection order. Ottawa is talking with the provincial government and First Nations, particularly the West Moberly and Saulteau, federal Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in response to questions… He said he hoped for a plan either before the Oct. 21 election or shortly after, but that an emergency order could still be issued. …The draft partnership agreement was released this spring, but faced a backlash over concerns about the impact to forestry and recreation in caribou habitat. …Reached Tuesday, Mr. Lekstrom said a process is under way to set up a “leadership table” that would bring together representatives from governments, First Nations and industry and said he did not expect an emergency order.

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We are Mackenzie

By Trudy Klassen
The Prince George Citizen
September 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Trudy Klassen

Currently, the interests of small communities across the north, like Fort St. James and Mackenzie, and the people that live here, seem to be ignored. Our northern communities are in decline. What can we do to change this? Perhaps we could get the attention of those living on the other side of Hope if we were as important as the mountain cariboo? Perhaps if we added another species to the Species at Risk Act? How about we add a new endangered species – rural and remote Canadians. …Maybe then we would have their attention? …If you live in the north, we need to know that we are all in this together. …We need to make the needed changes now, because rural and remote Canadians are in danger of becoming the new species at risk. …Because the north matters. Because Mackenzie matters.

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How to get free forestry training and certifications in Kamloops

By Jenna Wheeler
InfoTel News
August 30, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

KAMLOOPS – A free program is available for those wishing to get into the forestry industry or advance their skillset further. The Advanced Forestry Training program is a free 19-week course that offers training, hands-on field experience, and various certifications in hopes to expand the B.C. forestry sector. About 80 people have graduated from the program that runs in Kamloops, Cranbrook, Nanaimo and Squamish. The program is run by Stillwater Consulting and has been running since 2015. Kamloops is currently going through its first cohort of students, according to Heather McManus, marketing specialist with Stillwater Consulting. McManus says the program is made possible through Work B.C. with federal and provincial funding. She notes $3.3 million from the B.C. Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction will help to carry on the continued learning program.

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Salmon-stocking plan for Miramichi again denied permit by DFO

By Connell Smith
CBC News
September 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

For the third year in a row, federal fisheries officials have denied a New Brunswick company permission to release thousands of hatchery-raised adult salmon into the Miramichi River. Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists and a non-profit company called CAST have been at odds since 2017 over the merits of the restocking plan, which got underway with the capture of several thousand three-year-old salmon smolts that were then raised to adulthood in large tanks in a hatchery. CAST, backed by J.D. Irving, wants to return the hatchery-raised fish to the river in the same place they were captured to allow them to spawn. But Sylvie Lapointe, the assistant deputy fisheries minister, said the department, while committed to Atlantic salmon conservation, continues to believe the Miramichi is not the place for this “experiment.”

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University of New Mexico Prof uses new technology to conduct wildfire risk assessment

By Alex Heitt
UNM Daily Lobo
September 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

University of New Mexico professor of Economics Richard Bernknopf is embarking on research in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Forest Service that aims to use remote imaging and satellite photography in risk-assessment and response to wildfires. This project is focusing on the Sierra and Stanislaus National Forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, but if proven useful it is expected to expand to other states. …According to a May 2019 press release by the California Department of Insurance, there was over $13 billion worth of insurance losses in California in 2018 alone. …The technology behind this program is referred to as Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE). …LANDFIRE takes satellite data and uses it to create a pre-fire map that shows vulnerability and other indicators, and a post-fire map that shows the severity of the wildfire in different areas. 

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Partnership with North Carolina State to expand graduate degree options while better diversifying the forestry, natural resources industry

By Brittney Dabney
Tuskegee University
September 3, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

A new accelerated graduate degree program is just one of the outcomes of a recently established partnership between Tuskegee University and North Carolina State University. With Tuskegee bachelor’s and NC State master’s degree in hands, students participating in the partnership will be poised to serve and further diversify the forestry and natural resource industry. The partnership centers on an accelerated graduate degree program for students from underrepresented groups who are interested in pursuing forestry careers. The initiative is beneficial to both land-grant universities, as this collaboration will help strengthen the sustainable forest management program for all underserved groups.

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Deer browsing is not stopping the densification of Eastern forests

By Jeff Mulhollem, Pennsylvania State University
Phy.org
September 4, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Selective browsing by white-tailed deer has been blamed by many for changing the character and composition of forest understories in the eastern U.S.; however, its impact on the forest canopy was previously unknown. Now, a new study led by a Penn State researcher suggests that while deerbrowsing has impacted tree regeneration in the understory, it has not had much of an impact on forest canopies—and in fact likely has slowed the forest densification process slightly. “Forests in the region are becoming increasingly dense, and that is a major ecological problem,” said Marc Abrams, professor of forest ecology and physiology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “Indeed, deer can be thought of as an agent slowing down the densification problem, albeit not very effectively.”

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Europe’s cork oak forests ‘ripe for expansion’

By Nick Breeze
The Ecologist
September 4, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: International

…Cork Oak is the keystone species that support a whole web of life both above and below ground. Amazingly, the largest store of subterranean water in the Iberian Peninsula is in the cork forests. Although nearly all Cork Oak forests are in southern Europe and North Africa, the majority, around 34%, grow in Portugal. In Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the cork forests literally face down the Sahara that, to date, has pushed further north as the temperatures around the midlatitudes rise as a response to climate change. …Even with the succession of forest fires that have become more frequent and extreme in recent years, the Cork Oak can withstand partial burning and even protect buds that stay pocketed within the bark. …The Cork Oak forests that line the Mediterranean shores, holding back the Sahara desert, offer a glimpse of how the natural world has developed its own materials for withstanding higher temperatures. 

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Environment champions want voters to make climate their main priority this fall

Canadian Press in Vancouver Sun
September 3, 2019
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

OTTAWA — Two leading Canadian activists say voters need to think about climate change as if we are a country at war against greenhouse-gas emissions. “There’s never been a moment quite like this in human history,” said Stephen Lewis, a former Ontario NDP leader, who chaired a 1988 international conference on climate change on the initiative of then prime minister Brian Mulroney. …“We really have to motivate people to get involved and here we have an election coming when climate can be made the major issue,” he said. …He and longtime environmentalist David Suzuki are joining to run a series of campaign-period talks aimed at encouraging young people to stand up and make this election entirely about saving the planet from what Lewis calls “self-immolation.” …Suzuki said voters often get distracted by other things as a campaign goes on, and he is hoping to find a way to keep [environment] front and centre.

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Health & Safety

14th Annual Vancouver Island Safety Conference

BC Forest Safety Council
September 4, 2019
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Join us for the 14th annual Vancouver Island Safety Conference (VISC) – our annual, forest industry-driven safety conference. Saturday, October 5, 2019 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in Nanaimo. This year’s conference, Succeeding in Today’s Evolving Work Environment, will cover pivotal topics on how we can address and actionably manage increasing concerns impacting the forest industry today. Our keynote speakers are three leading industry experts who will present high-impact sessions focussing on the following topics: Change Management – presented by Dr. Mark Devolder, Drugs and Alcohol – presented by Dr. Ray Baker, and Mental Health – presented by Jennifer Sparks. Thanks to the generous sponsorships from industry, WorkSafeBC and other organizations, VISC is free to attend. As a reminder, we encourage you to pre-register early as registration closes on Friday, September 20, 2019. Attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for donation to the Loaves and Fishes food bank.

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Province Supporting Forestry Sector in Kenora

The Government of Ontario
September 3, 2019
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada East

Greg Rickford

Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, announced that Devlin Timber is receiving $268,010 to purchase logging trucks that will provide additional safety for drivers and enhance log hauling service in the region. Devlin Timber is a local forestry company in Kenora that cuts and hauls timber for several forestry companies in the area. “Our government is committed to creating good jobs and helping local economies grow,” said Minister Rickford. “This investment retains jobs in the region, and sends a signal to the world that Northern Ontario is open for business.” The investment made by the Ontario government will retain 43 full-time jobs.

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Forest Fires

New fast-moving wildfire burns east of Yellowstone Park

Casper Star-Tribune
September 3, 2019
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

CODY — A new wildfire has grown rapidly east of Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming. The fire was reported Monday evening in the Washakie Wilderness about 40 miles west of Cody and south of U.S. 14/16/20. It quickly spread because of gusty winds and burned an estimated 4,000 acres of forest, with no containment reported. Safety is the top priority of fire managers, who are also focusing on protecting buildings in the area. “Appropriate actions will be taken when it is needed and where it is safe to do so with the highest probability of success,” said Mark Giacoletto, the Shoshone National Forest fire management officer. “The amount of standing dead timber and the hazardous terrain in the vicinity of the fire makes it unsafe to put firefighters near the current location of the fire.”

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