Daily Archives: February 15, 2018

Today’s Takeaway

BC to bring back appurtenancy, tying timber harvest rights to specific mills

February 15, 2018
Category: Today's Takeaway

The BC government signalled it will begin restoring the requirement that timber harvested from public lands be processed in nearby mills, according to Vaughn Palmer in the Vancouver Sun. However, a case-by-case approach may be required so as to avoid “unintended consequences” in the fight for a softwood deal with the US.

In Forestry news: Moose-ion accomplished [through culling] in Newfoundland after years of moose-caused forest conversion; while Northern Ontario’s caribou-management involves a helicopter ride to a new home. Elsewhere, Peru moves to protect one of the “last great intact forests”; and a story on why India’s forest cover is overstated.

In other news: CLT is rising at Oregon State University College; related building code changes are in the works for Washington State; and the future of architecture in the UK is [per the Roca London Gallery] engineered wood.

Finally, bioenergy breakthroughs include a new way to remove contaminants from treated wood waste (Canada); and recycling and biofuel efficiencies are possible via mapping carbohydrates in plant matter (Sweden).

 — Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Business & Politics

B.C. government trying to re-connect resources to communities

By Vaughn Palmer
The Vancouver Sun
February 14, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vaughn Palmer

VICTORIA — Over a few brief sentences in the throne speech this week, the NDP government signalled it will begin restoring the requirement that timber harvested from public lands be processed in nearby mills. …“By encouraging the development of new products and processes, your government will work with industry, First Nations, workers and communities to make forestry even stronger, and maximize the value B.C. gets out of each log.” Did that last bit… mean that the New Democrats would be moving to restrict raw log exports? “That’s certainly my intention,” Horgan told reporters. …In a followup conversation with the premier Wednesday, I suggested he was proposing to bring back “appurtenancy,” a requirement in the Forest Act that tied specific timber harvesting rights (tree farms and other tenures) to specific mills in communities within reasonable distance of  the trees. Horgan confirmed he was indeed proposing to bring back “appurtenancy.”

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A bleak picture of the forest industry in northern B.C.

Houston Today
February 14, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

John Rustad has recently spoken about the challenges that the forest products industry is currently facing in northern B.C. The MLA for Nechako Lakes painted a bleak picture of the industry, mentioning challenges associated with the softwood lumber agreement, annual allowable cut reductions, spruce beetle and duties imposed by the U.S. “There’s no real opportunity in my mind to see a softwood lumber deal any time soon,” he said during a recent event. “It looks to me that it’s going to be between three to five years before we get to another softwood lumber deal.” …“Quite frankly, with lumber prices as high as they are, if we can get tariffs down to 15 per cent, with free access to the United States, I think that’s good enough,” he said. 

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West Fraser Announces 2017 Annual and Fourth Quarter Results

By West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.
Cision Newswire
February 14, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Our lumber segment generated operating earnings of $232 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $258 million.  This quarter’s results were favorably impacted by higher product pricing, higher SYP production and shipments, offset by slightly lower SPF production and shipments.  Countervailing and antidumping duties, which were adjusted to reflect the final CVD rates and the estimated ADD rate, resulted in a recovery of $17 million for the current quarter. …Our panels segment generated operating earnings in the quarter of $20 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $24 million. …Our pulp & paper segment generated operating earnings of $48 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $60 million. The major factors contributing to the increase in operating earnings were higher Canadian dollar pulp prices and an increase in BCTMP shipments offset by lower NBSK shipments.

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Assessment of Northern Pulp mill’s effluent plan proper according to rules: deputy

By Keith Doucette
Canadian Press in CTV News
February 14, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

HALIFAX — A leadership candidate for Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives says he believes the provincial Environment Department made a judgment call that has failed to instill public confidence in its environmental assessment process for a proposed effluent treatment plan for the Northern Pulp mill. Tim Houston made the comment while questioning deputy environment minister Frances Martin, who appeared Wednesday before the legislature’s public accounts committee. Houston, whose Pictou East riding neighbours the pulp mill, equated the decision to go with a Class 1 assessment with a similar decision for the Alton Gas natural gas storage project near Stewiake, which has been through the courts and has been subject to protests from environmentalists and local Mi’kmaq bands.

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Process ongoing for new Mattawa sawmill

By Lindsay Kelly
Northern Ontario Business
February 14, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Donna Maitland can understand why people are impatient to see some development happening at the site of a proposed sawmill in Mattawa. But in this case, she said, no news is good news. “Things are moving really well,” said Maitland, who heads up the Mattawa-Bonfield Economic Development Corp. “They have their application into the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for the facility licence, and the facility licence then gives them permission to operate a mill.” The facility in question is a proposed $145-million sawmill operation slated for a vacant parcel of land located in Bonfield Township along Highway 17. …Medwid’s plan calls for a multi-dimensional sawmill operation, which would include drying kilns, a planer mill, a moulder mill, and CNC facilities.

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AWC, AF&PA Call for Serious Reforms in New Source Review Permitting Program at House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee Hearing

By AF&PA and AWC
4-traders
February 14, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON – The American Wood Council and American Forest & Paper Association called for serious reforms in the New Source Review (NSR) permitting program in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee. Paul Noe, Vice President for Public Policy for both associations, testified as one of six panelists at the Capitol Hill hearing…  Robert Glowinski, President and CEO of AWC, said ‘The existing New Source Review permitting program has created gridlock that threatens needed facility and environmental improvements. EPA needs to adopt more flexible policies and allow use of realistic emissions data and modeling.” …Donna Harman, President and CEO of AF&PA, said, ‘The New Source Review permitting program is broken and must be updated to achieve the twin purposes of the Clean Air Act to promote public health and welfare, as well as the productive capacity of the nation. …an inflexible NSR permitting program impedes beneficial projects and job creation…”

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Loggers endorse Stauber in 8th

SouthernMinn.com
February 14, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Pete Stauber

Pete Stauber, the Republican candidate for the 8th Congressional District, picked up the endorsement Wednesday of Minnesota’s logging industry. The Associated Contract Loggers & Truckers of Minnesota (ACLT) endorsed the St. Louis County commissioner from Hermantown after backing retiring Congressman Rick Nolan in past races. Nolan, a Democrat, announced he would not seek reelection last week. The ACLT said the announcement was met with “mixed emotions” among its members. “Congressman Nolan succeeded in routing logging trucks around Duluth and other communities for safer and more efficient transportation of timber to area mills,” the ACLT said in its endorsement. “Congressman Nolan has been the timber industry’s lead Congressional Representative on timber and transportation issues.”

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Time to get real about forestry

By ForestX
Scoop Independent News
February 15, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

Graham West

Last year I commented on the high returns from current harvesting, however I don’t believe this is being translated into significant interest in new planting, certainly not at the rate of the governments aspirational target of 50,000ha per year. The Crown Forestry action is clearly around doing deals to secure land for leasing and other deal makers, like Toitu Te Waonui, and various forestry consultants, are doing the same, good on them. But this doesn’t really raise the general awareness of the forestry business opportunity for land owners and investors. The challenge is how to create a pipe line of prospects who are considering land use change. The target group must be the approximately 25,000 drystock farmers in New Zealand, owning 9.5m hectares. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Machine vision optimizes wood processing

By John Lewis, editor in chief
Vision Systems Design
February 14, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

3D imaging, line-scan cameras and sensors are combined to optimize lumber quality. Manufacturers of forest products such as lumber rely on machine vision systems to help optimize the cutting process, while maximizing profits. Characteristics such as knots, bark, voids, splits, checks, decay, resin, discolorations and grain formations impact the strength, durability, manageability and appearance of the wood material. Consequently, the lumber’s usability and final value ultimately depend upon these characteristics. By accurately identifying the surface features, geometry and internal flaws that have the greatest impact on the value of lumber produced, and then guiding the production process based on current market pricing, machine vision systems can help producers maximize the value of the lumber they produce.

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Helping cross-laminated timber go mainstream

By TJ Martinell
The Lens
February 14, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) isn’t a silver bullet for Washington’s rural economy and public forestland health, but it may be as close as it gets. The result of gluing several layers of lumber to form a single wood panel, CLT offers the promise of efficient construction for developments, a revitalized mill infrastructure for struggling rural economies and improved forest health by removing small-diameter trees that are susceptible to overcrowding and ill-suited for other uses. However, obstacles for increased use of CLT include a building code not yet updated to reflect technological advances, as well as the need for state officials that issue necessary permits to become more aware of and familiar with the product. …It has been cited by conservationists and forestry experts alike as a way to improve the health of state forestland while decreasing the costs for those projects.

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OSU College of Forestry builds new facility (with video)

KEZI.com
February 14, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

CORVALLIS, Ore., — Construction is underway for a new building to house Oregon State University’s College of Forestry. Construction crews on Southwest Jefferson continue to make progress on the unique, three story building, which will house classrooms, offices and labs once completed. The interesting thing about this facility, the structure will be made primarily out of wood. All the wood used in the project comes from Oregon. Anthony Davis, Dean of the College of Forestry, said it is one way to connect the classroom with the community. The new building received some pushback from students and faculty who don’t think it is necessary but Davis said it is was the college needs for the program long term. …Officials expect it to be ready for classes in the spring of 2019. 

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Crowds gather as Wood Pro Expo begins

By Robert Dalheim
Woodworking Network
February 14, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Crowds gathered for Wood Pro Expo, North Carolina’s robust furniture, cabinet, and wood products industry, which show opened February 14. The Charlotte Convention Center will play host to the event through February 16 – featuring woodworking machinery, supplies, educational sessions and plant tours. 50 companies will begin exhibiting on the show floor Thursday, February 15, and over 850 attendees are pre-registered. …According to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the state boasts 600 lumber wood product manufacturing establishments.

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A wooden eco-car with a green bio-based heart…and it’s on the move

Bio-Based World News
February 15, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

…there is a concept car which is much closer to being completely sustainable that uses bio-based materials in much of its construction. UPM’s Biofore Concept Car has attracted plenty of interest… UPM’s Biofore Concept Car is like the whole innovative forest industry packed into just one product on wheels. It is a resource-effective car demonstrating a totally new type of thinking, driving sustainable change and replacing oil-based materials with advanced, renewable biomaterials, explains Anneli Kunnas from UPM Biofuels. In the Biofore Concept Car the majority of parts traditionally made from plastics have been replaced with high quality, safe and durable biomaterials – which can significantly improve the overall environmental performance of car manufacturing. The vehicle runs on UPM’s wood-based renewable diesel…

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The future of architecture lies in engineered wood at Roca London Gallery

By Clare Dowdy
Wallpaper*
February 14, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

City dwellers could soon become used to seeing more and more tall buildings made of timber. Engineered wood like cross-laminated timber (CLT) is being increasingly adopted by environmentally-minded architects. Some of the best and most experimental examples are on display in Roca London Gallery. ‘Timber Rising: Vertical Visions for the Cities of Tomorrow’, which runs till 19 May, features live projects like Waugh Thistleton’s Dalston Lane apartment block in London – the world’s biggest CLT building to date – and proposals such as Michael Green Architects’ Parisian tower. According to the show’s curators, engineered wood has the potential to answer many urgent urban needs: it would be a quick way of increasing housing stock; it’s sustainable; and studies show living in a timber building improves well-being. 

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Forestry

Open house on Douglas fir beetles in Prince George area

By Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Government of BC
February 14, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

PRINCE GEORGE – A community information meeting and open house about increased Douglas fir bark beetle populations in the Prince George area will be held on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome… The Douglas fir bark beetle is native to B.C., but some areas of the province are experiencing higher than normal populations of these forest pests, including the area around Prince George. The beetles can infest and kill Douglas fir trees wherever they grow in British Columbia, especially in the Interior. Staff from the ministry, City of Prince George and Industrial Forestry Service Ltd. will host the information meeting, and answer questions about Douglas fir beetles and their elevated populations in some areas.

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Foresters benefit from practical technology

forestTECHX
February 15, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver, BC – Practical foresters with ‘boots on the ground’ experience will feature an international forest technology conference coming in March. They’ll demonstrate how strong provider-user partnerships can speed implementation and adoption of timesaving forest management technologies. One international keynote speaker, David Herries from Interpine, leads a company well versed in creating partnerships to improve measurement for forest management clients. Herries says, “We work with our forest management client shaping the forestry of today with the technology of tomorrow. Our research and practical innovation set us apart from other providers.”

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Moose-ion accomplished: Gros Morne reports forest growing back after 7-year cull

By Geoff Bartlett
CBC News
February 14, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Gros Morne National Park says a seven-year effort to control the area’s moose population seems to have been a success. Hunting within national park boundaries is usually prohibited. But in 2011, Parks Canada began allowing a small hunt in Gros Morne. About 200 moose were killed that year, and about 600 in each subsequent year. It was an attempt to cut down the population, after studies showed that the roughly 5,000 moose in the park had eaten so much regenerating forest that up to 65 square kilometres had been converted to grasslands. Now, those overseeing the project say they’ve reduced the population to their target of about 2,000 moose, which equals roughly two moose for every square kilometre of forest and scrub in the park.

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Why is Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association backing Resolute’s fight?

Letter by James Brown
The Timmins Press
February 14, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

TIMMINS – Re: “Fighting mad” photo of Coun. Mike Doody (The Daily Press, Feb. 9, 2018). That’s how I felt when I discovered you appeared before Queen’s Park Standing Committee on Justice Policy on Bill 52 Protection of Public Participation to oppose free speech and endorse Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). Remember the Northern 9 when it was SLAPP suited for a half-million dollars by the MIC’s Health Care Group? We stood up for health care and free speech then. You stood up for Resolute Forest Products, the most destructive force ever to hit the forestry industry in Northeastern Ontario in their pursuit to silence ENGO’s.

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Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry relocating more Lake Superior caribou

Thunder Bay News Watch
February 14, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

One month after successfully relocating nine caribou from Lake Superior’s Michipicoten Island to the Slate Islands to the north, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is moving more animals to a new home. This time, the helicopter journey is southward. MNRF biologists hope to complete the transfer this week of at least six animals to the more remote Caribou Island, where there are currently no caribou. …Biologists hope that transferring the animals to other islands will help ensure the survival of the Lake Superior caribou herd. Michipicoten Island is owned by a U.S.-based charity, the Elizabeth Elliot Foundation.  The MNRF says the caribou relocation is being done in collaboration with the Michipicoten First Nation.

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Acre by Acre

By Thadeus Greenson
The North Coast Journal
February 15, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

…McKee, now the water program director for Sanctuary Forest, and April Newlander, the nonprofit’s executive director, are taking the Journal on a tour of a section of the 1,300-acre Van Arken watershed that Sanctuary Forest is hoping to purchase from Boyle Forest LP. The nonprofit’s ambitious plans would transform the property — a ruggedly steep swath of working timberlands —into a community forest, with watershed restoration efforts to bolster threatened salmonids, sustainable timber harvests and a host of recreation opportunities. But to hear McKee tell it, Sanctuary Forest’s push to “save the Van Arken” is about much more — it’s about restoring a symbiotic relationship between people and the environment, environmentalism and economic growth, loggers and hippies.

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State on track to keep Elliott State Forest publicly owned

By Emily Hoard
The News-Review Today
February 14, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Department of State Lands told the State Land Board on Tuesday that it is moving forward to establish a public solution for the Elliott State Forest. State Land Board members are Gov. Kate Brown, State Treasurer Tobias Read and Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. “We’re on track with the projected timeline for the two major elements of this project,” State Lands Director Jim Paul told the board on Tuesday morning in Salem. “The first is we’re continuing to look at potentially a full decoupling of the Elliott trust lands from the Common School Fund, and the second parallel track is the development of a Habitat Conservation Plan.” The state was constitutionally mandated to use revenue from timber harvests on the Elliott to benefit public schools, but has instead been losing money on managing the forest.

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Department of Natural Resources honor 2017 Forestry for Wildlife Partners

Coosa Valley News
February 14, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Gov. Nathan Deal

Gov. Nathan Deal recognized three corporate forest landowners today for their stewardship and land management practices benefiting wildlife across Georgia. CatchMark Timber Trust, Weyerhaeuser and Georgia Power were honored by Gov. Deal as 2017 partners in the Forestry for Wildlife Partnership. Administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, Forestry for Wildlife Partnership is a voluntary program that promotes sustainable forest and wildlife conservation in corporate forestry practices. Partners tailor guidelines to improve management for reforestation, harvesting techniques, recreation, sensitive natural sites and outreach. …According to Garrison, Forestry for Wildlife Partnership is a key program involving corporate forest landowners who voluntarily manage their lands to benefit wildlife and Georgians who enjoy that wildlife and the outdoors.

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Peru moves to protect ‘one of the last great intact forests’

By Joanna Klein
TODAY Online
February 15, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

LIMA — The remote rain forests in Peru’s north-east corner are vast — so vast that the clouds that form above them can influence rainfall in the western United States. The region contains species, especially unusual fish, that are unlike any found elsewhere on Earth. Scientists studying the area’s fauna and flora may gain insights into evolutionary processes and into the ecological health and geological history of the Amazon. Now the area has become home to one of the Western Hemisphere’s newest national parks. Yaguas National Park will protect millions of acres of roadless wilderness — and the indigenous people who rely on it — from development and deforestation. “This is a place where the forest stretches to the horizon,” said Dr Corine Vriesendorp. …”This is one of the last great intact forests on the globe.”

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In Fact: Why India doesn’t lose forest cover

By Jay Mazoomdaar
The Indian Express
February 15, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Despite deforestation and human encroachment, the country’s forest cover has remained stable around 20% since Independence. This is because the loss of natural old-growth forests is compensated on paper by expanding monoculture plantations. Since Independence, a fifth of India’s land has consistently been under forests. The population has increased more than three times since 1947, and from 1951-80, a total 42,380 sq km of forestland was diverted — some 62% of it for agriculture. And yet, the country’s forest cover continues to hover just over 20%. …It’s green, but is it forest?

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Rare butterfly found breeding in Scotland for first time in 130 years

By Patrick Barkham
The Guardian
February 15, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The microscopic eggs of an endangered butterfly have been found in Scotland, suggesting the insect has returned to breed in the country for the first time in more than 130 years. Lepidopterists discovered white-letter hairstreak eggs on wych elm trees at Lennel, Berwickshire, this month after an adult butterfly was spotted last summer 10 miles away – the first sighting in Scotland since 1884. “Last year was an impossible find, but this year’s egg discovery is beyond anything we thought possible,” said Iain Cowe, butterfly recorder for the Borders, who found the adult butterfly last summer.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

A second life for old treated wood

By Gisele Bolduc
National Science and Engineering Research Council
February 14, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Every year, several thousand tons of treated wood waste is buried, incinerated, or mixed with untreated wood waste. The management of this waste is problematic because treated wood contains preservatives such as arsenic, chromium, and copper to slow its deterioration. To remedy this, INRS researchers have found a simple, effective, and environmentally friendly solution. They have developed a process that successfully removed more than 90% of the contaminants present in treated wood waste in experiments conducted on a small scale in the laboratory. …Once decontaminated, the wood waste can be reused as a raw material for the manufacture of value-added products such as particleboard or heating pellets. In addition, recovered metals could potentially be used to manufacture by-products, such as chromium oxide and copper sulphate.

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One big problem with recycling and biofuel

By Karolinska Institute
Phys.org
February 15, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have developed a quick and non-destructive method to map the carbohydrates of plant matter. By making composition analysis more easy and accessible, this method will help to understand where inefficiencies lie in many processes from paper recycling to the production of biofuel and will eventually lead to less waste and higher quality output. The team led by Professor Agneta Richter-Dahlfors at the Swedish Medical Nanoscience Center developed a molecular probe that binds to carbohydrates in the plant material and emits a distinct fluorescent spectrum depending on what it has bound. …The hope is that this probe will shed light on processes in recycling and biofuel production that are currently inefficient.

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Health & Safety

Snowpack level increases Okanagan Lake dam discharge

By Barry Gerding
BC Local News
February 14, 2018
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

The higher than average snowpack buildup across the valley so far this winter would normally be a leading indicator for controlling the level of Okanagan Lake. But after the extreme changes in last year’s winter and spring weather conditions, Shaun Reimer says extreme weather patterns is raising unknowns about managing the lake level. As the section head for public safety and protection at the regional office for the provincial Ministry of Forest, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Reimer is in charge of releasing water from Okanagan Lake at the Penticton dam. “The shadow hanging over us right now is not from what happened last year, but rather climate change and the lack of understanding about where that is going to lead in causing extreme weather pattern changes,” said Reimer.

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Fire destroys five townhouses at Friday Harbour

CTV News
February 14, 2018
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada East

Investigators are trying to figure out the cause of a fire that ripped through several townhouses that were under construction in Innisfil. Large flames tore through five units at Friday Harbour on Tuesday night. Officials say the fire had been burning for some time before Innisfil firefighters arrived on scene. “It was a very difficult fire. The five townhomes were under construction with varying level of completion. Some units didn’t even have drywall all the way up, so once the fire got into the wood it spread very fast,” says fire chief Jon Pegg. The chief says crews went inside, but the stairway had burned down and the flames moved to the roof. The homes don’t have all of their fire safety features built in yet, such as firewalls between units.

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