Maria Church

December was a tough month for our industry. Things were looking grim on many fronts. In a matter of weeks, several large western producers announced mill curtailments in B.C., blaming high log costs and diminishing supply; lumber prices in North America were at yearly lows; and the results of CFI’s Contractor Survey were released, showing mounting concern for the sustainability of Canada’s logging contractors. Add to that concerns about the so-called “weirding” climate change trend and its negative affects on Canada’s forests (more unpredictable weather, insects, and wildfires) as pointed out by Natural Resources Canada forestry researcher Barry Cooke in a Canadian Press article published in late December, and things were looking downright bleak heading into the end-of-year holidays.