Monthly Archives: January 2018

Today’s Takeaway

Lumberjills dominate logger sports and hemp makes a comeback

January 31, 2018
Category: Today's Takeaway

Did you watch the US President give his State of the Union speech last night? He didn’t say much about softwood, but here’s a few related headlines for you:

Two Aboriginal award nominations have opened in Canada today, both sponsored by the Forest Products Association of Canada; nominate your pick for the 2018 Aboriginal Business Leadership Award and the Skills Awards for Aboriginal Youth.

In other news, logger sports at the University of British Columbia are dominated by women; borrowed from British Columbia, transplanted fishers in Washington are making babies; and finally—the Romans did it—and as more states (and provinces) legalize marijuana, watch for more structures built from hemp!

— Sandy McKellar, Tree Frog Editor

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Canada to US: Give us a softwood deal and we may drop WTO case

January 30, 2018
Category: Today's Takeaway

Although progress was reported by all parties in the Montreal round of NAFTA talks, US Trade Representative Lighthizer called Canada’s [separate] WTO complaint a “massive attack on the US system of international trade”. Not to be outdone, Canada’s Chrystia Freeland fired back, offering to drop the litigation on one condition: that the US “negotiate a softwood lumber deal.”

In other trade news, Trump’s tough talk on trade at Davos has investors rattled; US Democratic leader Schumer wants the trade decision on Canadian newsprint reversed; and the Motley Fool is recommending three Canadian companies (including Canfor) in the face of NAFTA risks.

Elsewhere: Police set up a tip line to find out who started BC’s largest forest fire in 2017; the TLA elected Mike Richardson as their new president, EACOM’s chief forester (Jennifer Tallman) is a trailblazer for women in forestry; and SFPA’s Erin Graham promotes “building to a higher standard” in the wake of recent catastrophic flooding.

Finally, Car and Driver Magazine says “carbon fibre from trees has the potential to wean carbon-fibre production off oil entirely”.

— Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Business & Politics

Trump says global trade will be fair and reciprocal

By Vicki Needham
The Hill
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

President Trump

President Trump said Tuesday night that the days of unfair trade are over and the United States will improve global agreements and make way for new deals. Trump has promised to overhaul U.S. trade policy but so far through his first year has yet to form any new trading partnerships or remake established trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation’s wealth,” he said during his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill.“The era of economic surrender is over,” he said. …In his speech, Trump didn’t mention NAFTA, the deal with South Korea or the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which he withdrew from shortly after taking office.

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Montreal NAFTA talks wrap up, but tensions remain

By Kelsey Johnson
iPolitics
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The North American Free Trade Agreement survived another round of negotiations. Canadian, Mexican and American officials wrapped up negotiations Monday in Montreal where all three countries agreed to more talks in late February in Mexico City. However, tensions remain — notably between Canada and the United States. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer criticized each others trade policies. …The American trade secretary also criticized a unidentified Canadian proposal — which Freeland said was related to services — and said if roles were reversed and it had been tabled by U.S. negotiators, Canadians would have considered it a “poison pill.” Freeland took the opportunity to flag the softwood lumber file, which she said remains an issue separate from NAFTA.

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Launch of Aboriginal Business Award for forest industry

Forest Products Association of Canada
Cision Newswire
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Derek Nighbor

OTTAWA – Forest Products Association of Canada and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business today announced that nominations are open for the 2018 Aboriginal Business Leadership Award. The $5,000 award recognizes and celebrates First Nations entrepreneurs for their success in a forest products business that exemplifies business leadership, exceptional environmental and safety performance and the delivery of high-quality products and services. The recipient must also demonstrate a strong, long-term commitment to the Aboriginal community, particularly in supporting Aboriginal employment. “Aboriginal communities and businesses play a large role in the success of the forest products industry,” said Derek Nighbor, President, and CEO of FPAC. 

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Barrhead reaction to Timeu Forest Products closure

By Barry Kerton
The Barrhead Leader
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

That is how County of Barrhead reeve Doug Drozd characterized the closure of the Timeu Forest Products. It is a blow to the community. That is how County of Barrhead reeve Doug Drozd characterized the closure of the Timeu Forest Products. Like many people in the area Drozd had heard the rumour that the mill near Fort Assiniboine might close, but he didn’t know that it had happened until the Barrhead Leader called asking for his reaction. … “It’s a great loss to the community and it is very unfortunate that those jobs are no longer in the area,” he said, noting a number of workers at the Timeu mill lived in Barrhead. “The forestry industry is very important to the area, but it speaks to the difficulties the industry is having.” 

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A peek at this year’s Council of Forest Industries Convention

By Tamar Atik
Wood Business – Canadian Forest Industries
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Susan Yurkovich

The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) is in full swing preparing for its annual convention taking place this year from April 4-6 in Prince George, B.C. “The COFI Convention is the largest forestry event in Western Canada so it’s a place where we all get the opportunity to gather together, network and share ideas. Delegates will also hear from speakers and presenters on current issues and opportunities facing the industry,” said Susan Yurkovich, president and CEO of COFI.  Taking into account all that has occurred in the past year, Yurkovich said the conference will cover topics including softwood lumber and the Canada-U.S. relationship, the future of fibre supply, wildfire impacts, the impacts of beetle-wood and a look at the markets including U.S. and Asia – the latter of which is being pushed into more in light of recent events with Canada’s neighbour to the south.

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Truck Loggers Association Elects New President from Campbell River

Truck Loggers Association
January 26, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Mike Richardson

Vancouver – Mike Richardson was elected President by the Truck Loggers Association membership at their AGM last week. With 42 years of experience in the forest industry, Richardson will represent TLA member interests to both government and industry. He is currently a partner in Tsibass Construction Ltd., a stump-to-dump logging contactor based out of Campbell River. However, he spent 14 years of his career working for both a major licensee and a First Nations licensee. “I’ve worn a few different hats over the years and I believe there is common ground that can be reached so all parties can be successful,” said Richardson. …Richardson has called Campbell River home for 37 years and that’s no surprise—Campbell River is the heartland of forestry on BC’s coast. “There are 100 TLA member companies based in Campbell River which is just over a fifth of our membership,” said Richardson. 

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President Donald J. Trump Is Promoting Free, Fair, and Reciprocal Trade

The US Whitehouse
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

President Trump

America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs, and our Nation’s wealth. President Donald J. Trump is standing up for American interests and protecting American economic and national security by taking tough enforcement action against countries that break the rules. During 2017, the Trump Administration conducted 82 major antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, a 58 percent increase over 2016. This includes the first self-initiation of an antidumping investigation in 25 years. Many of these investigations resulted in import duties to address dumping and subsidies, including one in response to Canada’s unfair trade in softwood lumber.

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Take a look inside Amazon’s Spheres as they get set to open

By Matt Day
The Seattle Times
January 26, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Sitting on one of the half-dozen lounge chairs in a secluded spot nestled just under the four-story-high steel superstructure that caps Amazon’s glass-paneled Spheres, the feeling is like resting in a space capsule ready to launch. A short walk away, past a living wall of carnivorous Asian pitcher plants and Philippine rhododendrons, tables and chairs are set by beds of succulents. Downstairs, a wooden path circles the leafy canopy of a towering 49-year-old tree, stopping at a few meeting nooks. These different environments in the three connected domes convey the same sensation. You quickly forget you’re in a bustling office park downtown. For the building’s designers, that’s the point. Amazon’s Spheres, the centerpiece of the retail juggernaut’s $4 billion urban campus, will open to employees — and, in a limited fashion, to the public — next week, a milestone in a decadelong corporate growth spurt that has reshaped Seattle.

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Chinese company says it will increase investment in Arkansas pulp plant, could add up to 100 new jobs

By Rachel Herzog
Arkansas Online
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

A Chinese company will put more money and jobs into its Arkansas industrial plant than it originally planned, according to a Tuesday news release. Sun Paper announced the total investment in its pulp mill outside of Arkadelphia is now $1.8 billion, increasing from its initially projected $1 billion. The number of jobs at the mill is expected to top 350, according to the release. Previous reports state the mill expected to employ 250 people. Gov. Asa Hutchinson called the company’s decision “welcome news.”

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Almost 3m m³ more logs taken in by Finnish industry

EUWID
January 31, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

The Finnish timber industry took in a total of 47.5m m³ of logs in 2017, roughly 2.9m m³ or 6.5% more than a year earlier. This surpasses the volumes of 2015 and 2014 by 7.4m m³ and 5.5m m³ respectively. Member companies of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) accounted for 35.2m m³ last year after 32.9m m³ in 2016. The proportion of the total volume accounted for by FFIF members thus remained unchanged at 74.1%. Owing to generally very brisk demand, average log prices rose in Finland as well. The FFIF’s surveys show that the average price for on-stump sawlogs were 4.7% higher than the year before at 57.64 €/m³.

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Timber supply continuity is a growing issue

Timber Trades Journal
January 31, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

As this issue of TTJ went to press, the sad news broke about the failure of Scottish sawmiller James Callander & Sons and the loss of 89 staff there. This Falkirk based £12m annual turnover firm, established in 1946, was a victim, KPMG administrators say, of several issues, including an inability to secure the quantity of supplies necessary to operate at optimum levels. No-one likes to see well-established timber companies fail. It’s difficult to know how big an issue raw material supply was at Callanders but speaking more generally about log prices and product price increases to manufacturers, distributors and merchants for this issue’s Fencing Sector Focus it’s clear that homegrown log supplies/prices is a hot issue at the moment.

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Tasmanian election: Timing of Liberals’ north-west mill deal under scrutiny

By Emily Street
ABC News, Australia
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

The Tasmanian Liberals have defended their decision to approve a $13 million forestry grant in their final days of government and announce it on the state election campaign trail. The Liberal Government signed a deal last week providing the Victorian timber company Hermal Group with $13 million, plus a $30 million loan, to build its new hardwood mill in Burnie. The mill will process plantation timber supplied by Forico and turn it into cross-laminated panels, commonly used in the construction industry. Hermal expects the mill to be operational by 2020, creating 160 jobs in construction and more than 200 jobs in operation….”People were wondering why we weren’t calling an election sooner,” he said.

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NZ export log prices hit new record on strong Chinese demand

By Tina Morrison
Scoop Independent News
January 30, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

New Zealand export log prices advanced to a new record, driven by continued strong demand from China, lower shipping rates and a favourable currency. The price for A-Grade export logs lifted to $131 a tonne from $129/t last month, marking the highest level since AgriHQ began collecting the data in 2008, according to the agricultural market specialist’s monthly survey of exporters, forest owners and saw millers. The average export price for pruned logs jumped to $176/t from $170/t last month and marking the highest level since July 2016, AgriHQ said. New Zealand is experiencing strong demand for logs from China, which has clamped down on the harvesting of its own forests and reduced tariffs on imported logs to meet demand in its local market.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Building code changes could raise housing costs in Saanich

By Wolf Depner
Victoria News
January 29, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Saanich is moving ahead with plans for a program that promises to reduce emissions responsible for climate change, but could also raise the net cost of housing. Council last week asked staff to consult with builders and others about implementing the second phase of implementing the B.C. Energy Step Code. The code consists out of five steps designed to improve the energy efficiency of new buildings with the stated goal of making all new buildings by 2032 net-zero energy ready. Net zero energy ready buildings are buildings that could (with additional measures) generate enough energy onsite to meet their own energy needs.

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Montreal Wood Convention returns in March 2018

By Tamar Atik
Wood Business – Canadian Forest Industries
January 30, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Sven Gustavsson

In Sven Gustavsson’s words, “if you’re anyone in the wood products trade in North America,” the Montreal Wood Convention is a must-attend. “The fact that 20-25 per cent of the people there are American buyers and another 15 per cent are the major Canadian buyers of our products – it’s that interaction which is at the core of the entire event,” said Gustavsson, who is softwood manager at the Quebec Wood Export Bureau. The convention, which is taking place March 20-22 at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, includes a seminar examining the current market and the U.S.-Canada trade dispute. There will also be a focus on the aftermath of hurricanes in the southern U.S. after significant damages in 2017, and what that will mean in terms of building codes and demand for forest products.

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There’s No Place Like Home, Especially if It’s Made of Hemp

By Adam Popescu
The New York Times
January 29, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The Romans have been using it since the days of Julius Caesar, but not to get high. Both Washington and Jefferson grew it. Now that several states have legalized the use of marijuana for some recreational and medical purposes, one of the biggest untapped markets for the cannabis plant itself — at least one variety — could be as a building tool. The most sustainable building material isn’t concrete or steel — it’s fast-growing hemp. Hemp structures date to Roman times. A hemp mortar bridge was constructed back in the 6th century, when France was still Gaul. Now a wave of builders and botanists are working to renew this market. Mixing hemp’s woody fibers with lime produces a natural, light concrete that retains thermal mass and is highly insulating. No pests, no mold, good acoustics, low humidity, no pesticide. It grows from seed to harvest in about four months.

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New ideas for wood: Replacing road salt, making a building (yes, that’s new)

By David Brooks
The Concord Monitor
January 29, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

Considering that New Hampshire is smack dab in the middle of a region sometimes called the Saudi Arabia of biomass – i.e., we have lots of trees to sell – it’s a little weird that our logging and milling industries are struggling. The problem is that many of the industries that used to buy lumber and chipped wood are in decline. As a result, people are trying to find new uses for the trees we cut down and chop up. This column will look at two possibilities. One – replacing road salt – is kind of goofy but the other – replacing structural steel and concrete in mid-rise buildings – is drawing a serious attention.

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Forestry

Forest industry and Canadian Council of Forest Ministers open applications for sixth annual Skills Awards for Aboriginal Youth

By the Forest Products Association of Canada
Cision Newswire
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) are proud to open applications for the seventh annual Skills Awards for Aboriginal Youth program. Since 2012, the Skills Award for Aboriginal Youth has been recognizing exceptional Aboriginal youth who go above and beyond to support their communities and contribute to the forest sector. In 2015, FPAC collaborated with CCFM to expand the program and offer two awards. The two awards, each worth $2500, will honour First Nations, Métis or Inuit individuals with strong academic standing who are committed to their field of study and to pursuing a career in the forest sector. “Aboriginal governments, communities, businesses and individuals play a huge role in the success of the forest sector” says Derek Nighbor, CEO, FPAC.

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Fort McMurray embraces plan to bolster wildfire prevention in region

Canadian Press in Lethbridge Herald
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – Lawmakers in Fort McMurray have approved a plan to help prevent destructive wildfires such as the one that ravaged the community in 2016. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council says the five-year mitigation strategy includes a more robust fire prevention program. The plan calls for more tree and brush clearing and for residents to remove any combustible material within 1.5 metres of homes. The fire that roared through the region in May of 2016 forced more than 80,000 people from the area and destroyed almost 2,600 dwellings. A report on the fire released last year said a blizzard of blazing embers blew over fireguards and a river to ignite fires in residential neighbourhoods.

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‘From the Hill’ — BC’s natural resources Rossland Telegraph

By Dick Cannings, MP South Okanagan-West Kootenay
The Rossland Telegraph
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Dick Cannings

In mid-January I attended the British Columbia Natural Resources Forum in Prince George.  This is one of the biggest gatherings of resource companies, government leaders and nongovernment organizations in Canada, and is always a good place to hear the latest news from that sector. I was happy to see federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr there, as I’d urged him last year to consider attending.  Opening the Forum from the heart of BC’s forest sector, Minister Carr concentrated on issues facing the forest industry, including beetle epidemics, fires and trade disputes.  He reiterated the need to diversify our markets, in part by diversifying our products to take advantage of the mass timber revolution in building. …The wealth of Canada has been built on our shared natural resources, and with careful planning to ensure a healthy environment, those resources will continue to be the backbone of our national economy.

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Thunderjacks and thunderjills: UBC’s loggers’ sports team promotes ‘equity and diversity’

By Stephanie Wood
The Ubyssey
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

On Saturday, January 27, the UBC loggers’ sports team — also known as the Thunderjacks — hosted their third annual intercollegiate competition. However, many of these loggers didn’t fit the lumberjack stereotype people may have in mind — in fact, about half of the competitors were lumberjills. “We have the most diverse team I’ve ever seen,” said Sharman Prior, one of the team’s organizers. “Last year, we had maybe two guys on the team and eight women.” The Thunderjacks, established in 2014 with the loggers’ sports reinvigoration here on campus, long stood out in the typically male-dominated sport, said team president Marie-Eve “Merve-of-Steel” Leclerc. “We’d go to schools in the States which have very established teams and it was the opposite – they had more men than women.”

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Provincial govenment helps fund local pine beetle control efforts

By Spencer Van Dyk
The Crag and Canyon
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canmore is getting a helping hand in its fight against the western pine beetle, thanks to a $75,000 cheque from the province. Alberta’s been in a decades-long battle with the beetle since it crossed the border from B.C. and ravaged trees in the province. “It is a pest that we’re having trouble getting rid of completely, because frankly our winters are not as cold as they once were,” said minister of agriculture and forestry Oneil Carlier at the grant announcement last week. “So the pest is here, it’s going to be a matter of control. We’re controlling it and have been doing a good job of controlling it, it’s probably not a matter of getting rid of it.” …The work must be done before fire season starts, said parks and cemetary coordinator Barbara Buchmann.

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New Vancouver Island University forestry program to start in Woss

By Hanna Petersen
North Island Gazette
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Woss will soon be home to a new Forestry Program. Sponsored by the BC Forest Safety Council and Vancouver Island University, the 12 week Fundamentals of Forestry – Harvesting Practices Program will begin April 16. The program consists of a combination of classroom and hands on training led by an Instructor with over 10 years of coastal harvesting experience. It is designed to provide new forestry workers with the foundational skills and knowledge required to work safely, productively and sustainably in a harvesting environment. The program content is based on competencies identified by the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) and developed with Vancouver Island University.

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Emerald ash borer to drill $105M hole in Winnipeg’s budget over 10 years

By Bartley Kives
CBC News
January 29, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The emerald ash borer is expected to take a $105-million bite out of the public purse as the invasive species lays waste to Winnipeg trees over the next decade. In a new report, Winnipeg’s public works department warns city council of ​the financial costs the city expects to incur in  order to deal with an insect that has the potential to kill all of the city’s 256,000 ash trees, including 101,000 on city property alone. Over 10 years, those costs include $22.5 million to remove 72,000 dead trees, $48 million to plant 65,000 new ones, and $19.5 million to protect 29,000 trees that stand a good chance of surviving the emerald ash borer, city forester Martha Barwinsky writes in the report to council’s parks, protection and community services committee.​

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Police set up tip line to find source of B.C.’s largest forest fire in 2017

Canadian Press in Victoria Times Colonist
January 29, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

CLINTON, B.C. — RCMP say they’re looking for help in finding the source of a human caused wildfire that burned nearly 2,000 square kilometres of forest, brush and buildings in British Columbia last year. The so-called Elephant Hill fire started on July 6 near Ashcroft and was officially declared contained on Oct. 2. Police say in a news release they are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire and a dedicated tip line has been activated for anyone who may know how the flames started. It was the largest blaze in a record-breaking wildfire season in the province. Mounties had said in August that train traffic or maintenance connected with a nearby rail line were ruled out as being the cause of the blaze.

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Bozeman group proposes forest consider more wilderness, wildlife management areas

Ravalli Republic
January 31, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A Bozeman-based coalition proposed Tuesday that the Custer Gallatin National Forest protect 130,000 acres of wilderness in its new plan. “Our groundbreaking agreement will protect the character of our wild backyard — the Gallatin and Madison Ranges — while also maintaining access for all the different ways we recreate in this place,” said Hilary Eisen, a Bozeman backcountry skier and climber, in a statement.  The forest is taking comments on its proposals through March 5. In its document the agency had recommended more than 116,000 acres be considered for wilderness. The document will guide forest management for the next 10 to 15 years. …The Gallatin Forest Partnership, a group that includes mountain bikers, hunters, conservationists, horseback riders, and other recreationists, came up with its own recommendations for several forest attributes.

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Once-Vanished Fishers Are Making Their Comeback In Washington

By Ken Christensen
Oregon Public Broadcasting
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Biologists released a handful of weasel-like animals called fishers into the Washington Cascades in 2015. Two years later, they returned to see if they were surviving and reproducing. …The animals are fishers — sleek, furry, forest-dwelling relatives of weasels, mink and otters. For Lewis, hearing the sound of one of their tracking devices is a long-awaited reunion. Two years ago, he brought them here. In the early 1900s, the fisher disappeared from the forests of the Pacific Northwest, including the Cascades. So Jeff Lewis led a group of scientists in an effort to re-establish the population. Now, he’s searching for clues to find out whether the effort worked… Following the lead of successful recovery plans in other parts of the country, Lewis hired licensed trappers to collect fishers in British Columbia. He transported them in wooden boxes to Washington and set them loose on their former habitat.

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South Dakota Logging Operation Underway After Park Wildfire

Associated Press in the US News
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

RAPID CITY, S.D. — One of the largest operations to salvage timber in South Dakota’s Custer State Park is underway following a wildfire that thinned the forest in December. About 15 contractors will log nearly 6,200 acres of charred Ponderosa pines over the next six to 12 weeks, the Rapid City Journal reported . …”We’ll be dealing with this fire for the next five to ten years,” said Mark Hendrix, the park’s resource program manager. Hendrix said the longest operations will include erosion control and weed spraying, but logging is the focus for the next few months. Forester Amanda Morrison said logging improves safety for visitors and aids the forest floor. She said there will be higher than normal grass and shrubbery growth this spring and summer.

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Foresters’ Ball construction underway

By Kolby Kickingwoman
The Missoulian
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The day got started bright and early Monday morning for some forestry students, with the laying of the foundation for what will turn Schreiber Gym into an 1890s logging town for the 101st annual Foresters’ Ball. …”Of course a lot of people want to see it make it to the 100th (annual), but I think it’s really a lot to be said that we’ve made it passed that point and we’re still going,” said the 21-year-old resource conservation major. …The Foresters’ Ball began in 1915 as a scholarship fundraiser, and all proceeds from the logging town-themed dance go to a scholarship fund for students who put in at least 80 hours of work. 

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Governor’s plan to log state parks is a bad idea

Letter by Robert Beanblossom, member Society of American Foresters
The Record Delta
January 31, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

I retired after 42 years with the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources and worked both for our state park system and the Division of Forestry. I am an active member of the Society of American Foresters (chairman in West Virginia in 2008 and 2009) and am now volunteering with the U.S. Forest Service in North Carolina. With a strong background in professional forestry, I have no problem with timber harvesting performed under the guidance of scientific forest management. It is essential that we do an even better job of managing our forests. I am very proud of the profession of forestry. …However, I also strongly believe that some forest lands should be set aside undisturbed for the enjoyment by man and to preserve their old growth ecological characteristics.

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Sparta Mountain forestry work to start in February

By Bruce A. Scruton
New Jersey Herald
January 31, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

HARDYSTON — Forestry work in two areas of the Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area could begin in two weeks, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The notice said work “will begin on or about Feb. 14, 2018, and end prior to April 1, 2018,” but also noted work could resume after Nov. 15. The April 1-Nov. 15 timeframes coincide with state regulations that ban all but the smallest forestry work in the spring, summer and early fall because of breeding habits and summer habitat for several endangered species, such as birds and bats. …The “treatment” will be to selectively take out either single trees or small groups to “mimic gap-phase replacement,” according to the final forestry plan for the wildlife management area.

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Timbering in state parks can be done responsibly

Editorial Board
Charleston Gazette-Mail
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

There’s been a lot of discussion of whether West Virginia should change existing law and allow timbering in its state parks. Senate Bill 270, introduced Jan. 15 at the request of Gov. Jim Justice, would allow selective timber-cutting in isolated areas of state parks. Money generated from timber sales would be used “exclusively for the purposes of maintaining, improving, and operating state parks,” reported Gazette-Mail Outdoors writer John McCoy. “Goodness knows, parks need the money,” McCoy wrote. “According to some estimates, they need $50 million worth of repairs and upgrades to get them back in decent shape.” …Besides limiting the clearing to an average of four trees per acre, any new legislation should also protect what little old-growth forest exists on state park land.

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Forest owners boss: ‘Sustainable forest management crucial to maintaining carbon cycle ‘

By Samuel White
EurActiv
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Emma Berglund

Sustainable forest management is vital to ensure that Europe meets its climate and energy goals. But over-regulating forest bioenergy would damage the sector’s economic performance and undermine its potential for climate change mitigation, Emma Berglund told EURACTIV in an interview. Emma Berglund is the secretary general of the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF). She spoke to EURACTIV’s Samuel White. …When we talk about forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation, we need to understand the full picture. The best long-term strategy to maximise their potential is to have a sustainable and active forest management strategy. So we can adapt the forest and make it more resilient and ensure it is healthy and vital.

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Australian trees ‘sweat’ to survive extreme heatwaves, researchers reveal The Guardian

By Calla Wahlquist
The Guardian
January 31, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Australian researchers growing trees in climate change conditions have found the leaves “sweat” to survive extreme heatwaves. The year-long experiment showed that trees continue to release water through their leaves as an evaporative cooling system during periods of extreme heat, despite the carbon-fixing process of photosynthesis grinding to a halt. Previously, scientists believed that photosynthesis and transpiration – the process of releasing water – were linked, meaning one would not occur without the other. Prof Mark Tjoelker from the University of Western Sydney’s Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment is one of the authors of the study, which was published in Global Change Biology this month. Tjoelker said the findings had significant implications for climate change because they showed that trees stopped capturing carbon during extreme heatwaves, which are predicted to become more frequent and severe in the future.

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Police get a lift as they try to remove high-rise logging protesters

By Adam Carey
The Age, Australia
January 31, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Police have been lifted into the air in the jaws of a logging tractor as they tried to break up a blockade by environmental activists who have camped out in the remote East Gippsland highlands to obstruct plans to log old-growth forest there. Officers with the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources joined local police in the removal of the group of about 12 protesters on Wednesday so that logging machinery could enter the forest. The protesters, who had camped out for more than a week, had forced the suspension of plans to harvest native timber from a previously untouched area of state forest at Granite Mountain near Buldah​, in one of the most remote corners of the state. 

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First New Species of Temperate Conifer Tree Discovered in More Than a Decade

By Game Popkin
National Geographic
January 30, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

It’s not every day—or even every decade—that a new species of conifer is found in the world’s temperate forests. But late last year, researchers announced a new species of hemlock tree from Korea. The new tree could help save one of its better-known cousins—a North American hemlock species being annihilated by a voracious insect. But the new find is so rare that it’s already being considered for an endangered-species listing itself. “It’s probably the rarest woody plant in Korea, if not the world,” says Peter Del Tredici, a botanist at Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum in Boston, who was on the team that discovered the tree. …Whether or not the new tree helps save American hemlocks, it shows that mega-diverse tropical forests aren’t the only places that still need to be explored, adds Robert Jetton, a forestry expert also at North Carolina State.

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Forestry safety fears feed skill shortage

By Paula Hulburt
Stuff.co.nz
January 31, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

One of New Zealand’s biggest industries is facing a boom, but skilled workers are thin on the ground. Forestry experts in Marlborough say the industry has been branded with an undeserved reputation for poor safety practices; putting potential employees off signing up. Toi-Ohomai Institute of Technology tutor and former forestry worker Jason Gillespie says technological advances and better safety procedures have helped make the sector safer than ever before. And he says the industry is in desperate need of skilled workers as it faces a boom in business. …”These days, no-one is allowed in the forest without a radio, everyone has one … each site does extensive training in escape routes. All our students are taught about safety,” says the Blenheim-based teacher.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Reducing wildfires preferable to ‘cap and invest’

By Nick Smith, Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities
The Register-Guard
January 30, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

Oregon’s political leaders have prioritized passing an expensive and partisan “cap and invest” bill during the February legislative session as a way to “decarbonize” the state’s economy. The legislation is complex, raising questions about its effectiveness, about its effects on homegrown businesses and rural Oregonians, and about how millions in state revenue would be spent. Unfortunately, the proposal pays scant attention to the carbon emissions resulting from wildfires. Nor does it address how carbon can be sequestered in a way that creates jobs and helps adapt our forests to changing climate conditions. As an alternative to “cap and invest” the Legislature should consider House Bill 4109, a bipartisan bill that promotes carbon sequestration solutions that promise healthier forests, cleaner air and a stronger rural economy.

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