Daily Archives: May 29, 2019

Today’s Takeaway

Interfor to cut production as lumber demand remains elusive

May 29, 2019
Category: Today's Takeaway

Interfor plans to curtail production in its Southern Interior BC operations as Madison’s says lumber demand remains elusive. In other Business news: more on Tolko’s cuts; a dryer fire sets back Skeena’s pellet plant in Terrace; Stora Enso invests in CLT; and forestry employment is up in Idaho.

In Wood Product news: mass timber makes progress in BC’s mid-rise and high-rise market; as well as in Oregon and Australia; while researchers at the U of Maryland develop ‘air conditioning‘ wood. Meanwhile, a coalition of non-wood associations call US support for CLT unfair; while the concrete industry questions the safety of stick-built construction in Philadelphia.

In Wildfire news: Alberta’s wildfire smoke dominates the weather; as other reports say wildfires are here to stay, and continuing to grow. Meanwhile, Canada is seeking ‘space-based capability‘ to monitor them. 

Finally, BC looks for input on the management of its private land forests.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

Read More

Business & Politics

Most softwood lumber prices drop as demand remains elusive

By Kéta Kosman
Madison’s Lumber Reporter
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

…The entirety the North American sawmilling and lumber sales industries were last week at a total loss for why demand for solid wood construction framing dimension softwood lumber products was so low. Wholesaler prices of almost all standard lumber prices fell last week. With production order files at sawmills “prompt on everything”, sellers could do little but drop prices in an effort to get buyers to even pick up the phone and talk. It is really very unusual to be able to get any prompt wood at this time of year — apart from extremely specific higher-value specialty products — so for a sawmill’s entire range of products to be immediately available upon ordering during this normally high-volume production time of year could be troubling. …Veteran traders of Kiln-Dried Douglas-fir lumber and studs were agog at this “historically bad” spring building season.

Read More

Interfor to reduce Castlegar, Grand Forks mill hours next month to cut production

By John Brown
The Nelson Star
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Workers at the Interfor sawmills in Castlegar and Grand Forks are getting some unexpected time off next month. The company said Tuesday it was planning to temporarily reduce production across its operations in the southern interior of B.C. “due to a combination of weak lumber prices and continuing high log costs”. “We’re taking a little bit of down time in each of our three mills in June. It doesn’t mean it’s down for the month of June,” said Martin Juravsky, a senior vice-president and CFO for Interfor. The curtailment will see the mills shut down for several days in June, though Juravsky wouldn’t say what days the company will close. He also couldn’t say how many jobs would be affected. Juravsky said the curtailment is expected to reduce production in the region by approximately 20 million board feet in June.

Read More

Government consultation processes must change

Letter by Brad Sperling, chair of the Peace River Regional District
Alaska Highway News
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Dear Minister McKenna and Minister Donaldson, On behalf of the Peace River Regional District Board, we would like to express our disappointment with the engagement process and lack of public disclosure by the Federal and Provincial Governments regarding the Southern Mountain Caribou Recovery. This process has led to division and strife within our northern communities that could have been avoided. While we in Northeastern BC have worked hard to build relationships with our communities, matters that could potentially threaten the way of life and livelihood of residents around the region understandably cause tension and conflict. Engaging together on important issues could offer communities the unique opportunity to encourage and strengthen relationships through partnership and shared problem-solving. Unfortunately, the processes followed by our governments on Southern Mountain Caribou have only served to add additional barriers to relationship building and cause unnecessary conflict in our region.

Read More

Dryer fire damages Terrace pellet plant

By Brittany Gervais
Terrace Standard
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

An investigation is underway after an early morning fire sparked inside the new Skeena BioEnergy pellet plant on Hwy 16 Saturday morning. A small fire started on the belt of the sawmill’s flatbed dryer, which lays out the material and dries it out with temperatures reaching a maximum of 110 degrees. It was detected around 2:12 a.m. on May 25 using safety monitoring technology installed in the system and was quickly extinguished. Staff then carried out emergency response training and were joined by Terrace and Thornhill fire departments, with seven firefighters from Terrace, four from Thornhill. The sawmill does have a system to prevent any sparks or fires from spreading. Hot spots can be detected by sensors set up throughout the process.

Read More

Tolko’s Okanagan cuts a sign of bigger problems for B.C.’s forestry sector

By Megan Turcato
Global News
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

These are uncertain times for many Okanagan residents who work in the forestry industry. Dozens of mill workers are receiving layoff notices after Tolko announced it’s cutting a shift at its Kelowna operation. Meanwhile, its Armstrong mill is also facing a temporary closure. With more B.C. sawmills expected to close in the years ahead, Tolko’s Okanagan slowdowns are a symptom of larger challenges facing the province’s forestry sector. …“We are seeing lumber prices at levels that are probably anywhere between 15 and 25 per cent below costs, and at those kind of levels, mills either curtail or in some cases close,” Russell Taylor, the managing director of Forest Economic Advisers Canada, explained. …Taylor is predicting up to 12 more B.C. sawmills will close in the next decade and business strategy will determine which ones will shut their doors.

Read More

Bio-refinery pilot plant commissioned at Resolute

By Doug Diaczuk
The Thunder Bay News Watch
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Stephane Renou

THUNDER BAY – A pilot project that will look into the commercialization of bio-chemicals harvested from wood products is officially underway at Resolute Forest Products Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper Mill, which researchers and industry leaders hope will show the successes seen in the labs can transfer to new economic opportunities for the industry. The thermo-mechanical-pulp biorefinery plant was first announced last January as a pilot project involving FPInnovations and Resolute Forest Products. On Monday, the plant was officially commissioned at the pulp and paper mill in Thunder Bay. …Stephane Renou, president and CEO of FPInnovations, said this process has already been seen in the lab, but the plant in Thunder Bay will demonstrate it at a commercial scale. Renou added nearly everything we touch that contains plastics or solid material could contain fiber, from chairs, tables, plastic products, even cars.

Read More

Idaho’s Forest Products Sector: Hopeful for Stable 2019

Idaho at Work
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Forest products, a traditional mainstay sector in Idaho, continues to play an important role in many Idaho communities. Idaho’s forest products sector — logging, wood product mills, paper factories and furniture manufacturing — provided more than 11,700 jobs in 2018. In addition, a few thousand more worked at trucking companies transporting logs, wood products and pulp. Employment has grown 35 percent from the recession-caused low point of 8,705 in 2010, but it is still 18 percent below its 2006 peak of 14,327 and far below its heyday in the 1970s. The job losses mostly resulted from the impact of technology. F…rom 1990 to 2000, the timber harvest on federal lands in Idaho fell from 704 million to 149 million board feet.

Read More

Stora Enso invests Euro 45 million in a new CLT production unit at Gruvön sawmill in Sweden

Lesprom Network
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

Stora Enso’s investment in a new production unit for cross laminated timber at Gruvön sawmill in Sweden was inaugurated by CEO Karl-Henrik Sundström, Joakim Sveder, Mill Director, Gruvön sawmill and Leif Haraldsson, Municipal Commissioner of Grums. The investment in Gruvön sawmill amounts to Euro 45 million. The project has proceeded according to plan from the investment decision made in July 2017 to the start of commercial deliveries in the 1Q 2019. The investment has had a total employment impact of 60 new employees for the mill. This is Stora Enso’s third production unit for cross laminated timber as the company already has two production units in Austria.

Read More

Gove warned: Renewable subsidies threaten Scotland timber industry

By Jody Harrison
The Herald Scotland
May 28, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

SCOTLAND’S vital £1billion a year timber industry is coming under an increasing threat from renewable subsidies that have left the country facing sever wood shortages, it has been warned. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for the Environment Food, was told of the impending crisis during a meeting with wood panel producers to hear about the challenges they’re facing sourcing their main raw material. Mr Gove, one of the candidates standing to be Prime Minister, was given a guided tour of Norbord’s operations in Cowie, Stirlingshire, accompanied by local MP Stephen Kerr. …The strain on the UK’s wood basket is being exacerbated by renewable energy subsidies and is creating real uncertainty for wood panel manufacturers while endangering the supply of key materials in the construction and house building sectors.

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Please take the naturally:wood survey – Enter to Win a Book on CLT Projects

naturally.wood
May 29, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

naturally:wood is conducting a short 5-minute survey about user experience on naturallywood.com.  Please help by completing their survey below.  Once you complete the survey, you can enter a draw to win a copy of 100 Projects UK CLT. Your opinion matters. As we work on improving naturallywood.com, we are looking for your feedback to tell us what information you would like to see on the website. Help us better understand how we can enhance our content and resources to better serve your needs. To begin the survey, click the link below. TAKE THE SURVEY Thank you for your participation!

Read More

Vancouver wood building would be world’s tallest 40-storey

By Frank O’Brian
Business in Vancouver
May 29, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

If plans are hammered into reality, Vancouver’s Broadway corridor will see the world’s tallest wood residential tower and the largest Passive House project in the world ascend on West 8th Avenue over the next two to three years. Delta Land Development, working with Peter Busby of the architectural firm of Perkins+Will, has outlined a proposal for a mixed-use building that, if approved, would catapult Vancouver’s aggressive green building standards ahead by nearly a decade. BC recently approved mass timber buildings as high as 12 storeys, but Delta’s senior vice-president believes the Canada Earth Tower could win approval to push much higher. …“The best-case scenario is approval by the end of 2020, but it could easily be beyond that,” Robinson said. …The tower would use B.C. manufactured and processed mass timber, as well as engineered wood such as cross-laminated, glue-laminated and dowel-laminated timber.

Read More

61 new homes and retail proposed for former Esso gas station site on East Broadway

By Kenneth Chan
The Daily Hive
May 28, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC — A vacant property – formerly an Esso gas station – at the southeast corner of the Guelph Street and East Broadway intersection could be redeveloped. A consortium comprised of local developer Port Living, Caulfield Rock, and Hudson has submitted a development application to the municipal government to transform the 19,400-sq-ft site at 452 East Broadway into a new 50-ft-tall, four-storey building. …“The building honours Mount Pleasant’s legacy of forestry by celebrating wood construction employing a combination of light wood framing and Cross-Laminated Timber structure, exposed CLT wood ceilings in the dwelling units, wood accented lobbies and common spaces, and a hybrid wood cladding, both at and above grade,” reads the design rationale by Formosis Architecture.

Read More

Running Out! Supply of Ipe Wood Running Short for 2019

By Ipe Wood USA
ReleaseWire
May 28, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

…Ipe, the Brazilian hardwood lumber is again in short supply for 2019. Ipe is a natural wood that comes from central and South America… Because the wood is primarily used for decks, the season for decking is typically in March-July whereas the wood is mostly cut and exported in November-January. This means that lumber companies must properly prepare for the decking season to meet consumer demand. …in 2019 the supply does not seem adequate for the demand. In early 2018 Ipe Woods USA warned that prices were expected to increase. Within one month …prices were increased over 19%. …In 2019 we expect again that prices will increase towards the summer, luckily not by the same astronomical amounts that we saw in 2018. Ipe cannot be freely cut in Brazil either, it has areas and quantities that are pre-determined to help with sustainable harvesting practices.

Read More

Federal grants unfairly promote wood: Construction associations

The Construction Specifier
May 28, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Several construction industry groups have asked Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, to review the use of taxpayer dollars to fund projects that supposedly promote one building material over others. …While acknowledging the increase in cross-laminated timber projects domestically in recent years, the joint letter by the associations expressed concern about key questions that still exist about the performance of CLT on a large scale. …“We hope you agree that these grants unfairly promote, at taxpayer expense, one building material—mass timber—in the construction materials marketplace. This would advance an unbalanced promotional program for only timber products. In any event, the federal government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers among competing materials in the construction marketplace by so blatantly putting its thumb on the scale in favor of wood products,” the letter concludes.

Read More

The growing market for mass timber

By TJ Martinell
The Lens
May 28, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

In recent years, significant state legislation and building code changes have occurred related to cross-laminated timber (CLT) – also known as mass timber – a product that has the potential to invigorate rural economies by creating commercial value for certain trees. One driver of its growing popularity are the advantages it provides builders, along with the environmental benefits favored by conservationists. However, it remains to be seen how closely the CLT industry ultimately matches that of a demand study conducted by Forterra, one of the state’s largest conservation organizations. So far, the future looks bright. Forterra Interior Design Architect Craig Curtis told Lens there is “unbelievable interest in this new way of building. (I’ve) never seen anything like it in my career. Obviously, there’s huge momentum behind code changes that are in flight now, and it will happen.”

Read More

Wood, the New Steel? New Fangled Wood Product Showing Strength

By Robbie Harris
Radio WVTF Viriginia
May 29, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

A new kind of wood is taking root among forward-thinking designers and builders. It’s a called cross laminated timber, CLT for short.  The blog, Tree Hugger calls it a ‘dream material’ and Architect Magazine says it’s a trend to watch. A project now underway in Radford, will showcase not only the building material, but also and the new vista it opens in the forest. Everyone from bird watchers to train buffs, able-bodied and disabled, can get up there near the tree line to see the sights. …Kay Edge and her grad students in the school of architecture at Virginia Tech … began working on this viewing platform project, now nearing completion. …The CLTs are made from yellow poplar, also known as the Tulip Poplar … in their raw form, there’s no industry demand for them. But with the CLT process…their strength is competitive with steel, and just half the weight. 

Read More

Philadelphia Legislators, Industry Groups Discuss Non-Combustible Construction

A Coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
For Construction Pros
May 28, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, hosted a roundtable discussion last week to address safety standard and building code improvements in Philadelphia in order to keep residents and first responders safe. The event was part of the organization’s ongoing campaign to educate citizens, local and state officials, and industry experts about the potential dangers of wood-framed construction, particularly in multi-story, residential and commercial buildings. Taking part in the discussion was State Rep. Joe Hohenstein. …“Fire safety, strength of materials and quality of the contractors—that’s what makes the difference,” adds Wildsmith. “People live in these buildings, they have families, they have kids. They’re living on the third floor of a stick-built; it’s crazy to me.” 

Read More

Scientists develop a super-strong wood that completely reflects the sun’s heat

By Christian Cotroneo
Mother Nature Network
May 28, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

…Researchers at the University of Maryland have re-designed [wood] to make it entirely impervious to visible light, while only absorbing the slightest levels of near-infrared light. Translation? Rather than absorbing sunlight, the new wood could bounce it right back into the environment. In effect, homes made from this material would be able to prevent virtually all heat from seeping indoors, potentially easing our reliance on air conditioning in summer months. “When applied to building, this game-changing structural material cools without the input of electricity or water,” noted Yao Zhai, one of the study authors, in a press release. …The University of Maryland team claims the new wood packs a tensile strength of around 404 megapascals, or more than eight times that of natural wood. That puts it somewhere in the neighborhood of steel.

Read More

Britain Vowed Big Changes After Grenfell Tower Burned. Why Are Thousands Stuck in Firetraps?

By Benjamin Mueller
The New York Times
May 29, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

LONDON — When fire broke out at Grenfell Tower in London, the flames were whisked through the 24-story structure with astonishing speed, killing 72 people in Britain’s deadliest housing fire since World War II. Outrage spread quickly when Britons learned the cheap cladding that shrouded the tower had turned it into a death trap. …Nearly two years after the Grenfell fire in June 2017, this is what we found of the government’s efforts: About 16,000 private apartments are still wrapped in the kind of exterior cladding that fed the Grenfell fire. Their owners feel trapped in tinderboxes they cannot sell. …A year before the fire, contractors re-clad Grenfell Tower with a form of low-cost aluminum paneling. The cladding was banned in the United States and many European countries because if a fire breaks out, it allows the flames to spread quickly. But English building rules were more lenient. 

Read More

Plans Revealed for Melbourne’s Tallest Timber Tower

The Urban Developer, Australia
May 29, 2019
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Diversified property major GPT Group has unveiled plans to build Australia’s largest timber building that will sit atop Melbourne Central mall at 300 Lonsdale Street. The new 10-storey building will be a 19,400 sq m tower comprising a frame structure that will be exposed through a glass facade and made of cross laminated timber. The office extension, known as Frame, Melbourne’s first premium office tower to use timber will sit among rivalling towers being currently built by Mirvac, Dexus and Charter Hall in the city’s central business district. Timber construction has taken off around the country featuring in a new wave of new buildings, including Tzannes-designed International House Sydney in Barangaroo being built by Lendlease and Bates Smart’s CLT tower at 25 King Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

Read More

Forestry

Canada explores potential of new satellite to help monitor wildfires

By Jeff Lewis
The Globe and Mail
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Canada is looking to the stars to help combat wildfires that researchers say are growing more intense and frequent as a result of climate change. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) and Environment and Climate Change Canada are soliciting proposals to develop “space-based capability” to provide near real-time information to support wildland fire management, measure carbon emissions and improve air-quality forecasting, according to documents posted on the Public Works and Government Services Canada website. Wildfire officials already glean information from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites, as well as those of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the European Space Agency. But none of those are tailored to Canadian needs, said Joshua Johnston, a fire research scientist with the CFS and the principal investigator for the Canadian effort, known as WildfireSAT.

Read More

Dry soil a challenge for treeplanters, seedlings

By Blair McBride
The Burns Lake Lakes District News
May 29, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Dry conditions are presenting challenges for the reforestation work of dozens of treeplanters working in the Burns Lake region in May. “It’s drier than normal this year,” as Earl Hughes, owner of forestry service company Waterside Ventures told Lakes District News. “If it stays dry the soils compact and it’s harder to put the shovel in the ground. It’s not too bad right now because we still have moisture from the winter.” The reforestation effort in the Nadina District will see more than 16 million seedlings planted this year, said Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) spokesperson Dawn Makarowski. …For the May-June contract period, Hughes’ company of 50-60 planters is scheduled to plant 3 million trees, mostly pine and spruce and some fir and larch.

Read More

How should B.C.’s private forests be managed?

By Kimberley Vlasic
BC Local News
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbians can now have their say on how private forests are managed. On Tuesday, the Province formally announced a review of the Private Managed Forest Land Program. It was established in 2003 with the introduction of the Private Managed Forest Land Act to encourage sustainable forest management practices, including protecting key public environmental values. “We want to hear from the public about whether there is room for improvement in the management of private forests and also whether the private managed forest land program is a benefit to private forest owners, and the communities they live in,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. …The City of Fernie and City of Nelson have called on the Province to strengthen regulations and standards for private land logging by bringing them in line with those on Crown land. …A summary report will be ready in fall 2019.

Read More

Province charges polluters more than $1 million in 2018

By Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Government of British Columbia
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Province has released its quarterly environmental enforcement summaries for the third and fourth quarters of 2018 to provide transparency on action taken against polluters in British Columbia.  The summaries detail a total of 1,728 environmental enforcement actions taken by the provincial government during this time period, along with $885,907 in associated penalties and fines. …The most frequently contravened acts were the Wildlife Act with 1,040 violations, the Fisheries Act (Canada) with 375 violations and the Off-Road Vehicle Act with 344 violations. …In addition, B.C. conservation officers issued 95 violation tickets related to activities that could spark a wildfire in the third quarter of 2018. The Province has taken a strong stance to protect forests and communities in the face of one of the worst fire seasons in British Columbia’s history, with more than 1.3 million hectares burned. Fines for these violations were $1,150 each and totalled $108,900 during this same period.

Read More

Feedback requested on the management of private forests

By Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Government of British Columbia
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The public is invited to provide input on a program that helps to ensure the sustainable management of private forests in B.C. until July 9, 2019. “We want to hear from the public about whether there is room for improvement in the management of private forests and also whether the private managed forest land program is a benefit to private forest owners and the communities they live in,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. …Feedback forms and more information are available online. The objectives of the review are to confirm the primary goals of the program, which are to encourage private landowners to manage their lands for long-term forest production and encourage sustainable forest management practices, including protecting key public environmental values. Government also wants to increase public awareness and understanding of the program.

Read More

Forest companies outline harvesting plans

By Richard Froese
The South Peace News
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Local forest companies outlined their proposed harvesting plans at an open house May 23 in High Prairie. West Fraser and Tolko both presented their five-year plans for public comment at the Legion Hall. …Proposed areas for West Fraser include the Snipe Lake area, south of Driftpile, south of Slave Lake and northeast of Red Earth, says assistant forester Lyndsay Kohn. Current wildfires in northern Alberta are affecting forest areas planned for harvesting, says planning forester Kyle Rosychuk. …Tolko proposes to harvest in the Salt Prairie area, the Sweathouse area south of Snipe Lake and in the Whitemud area south of Falher, says Hilary Wait, forestry superintendent for the northwest region.

Read More

University of Toronto begins Faculty of Forestry disestablishment process

By Michael Teoh
The Varsity
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

U of T’s Planning and Budget Committee (PBC) has unanimously recommended the disestablishment of the Faculty of Forestry and its restructuring as a graduate unit under the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. The proposal must still be voted on by the Academic Board and the Executive Committee before being approved by Governing Council on June 25. If approved, the Faculty of Forestry would be disestablished, effective July 1. Under this plan, the existing Forestry programs would continue to operate, but administrative and financial duties, including Forestry’s budget, would be moved under the jurisdiction of the Daniels Faculty. Financial aid would continue at current levels following the potential restructuring, as would Forestry endowments. The restructuring proposal is motivated in part by the Faculty of Forestry’s projected long term financial unsustainability, and by the synergies between Daniels and Forestry programs.

Read More

Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans rolls out new plan to bring back ‘wild’ Atlantic salmon stocks

By Connell Smith
CBC News New Brunswick
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans has rolled out a new three-year plan to conserve and bring back wild Atlantic salmon. The wild Atlantic salmon conservation policy implementation plan… also emphasizes caution when faced with potential genetic risks, a development that could sink a high-profile plan to stock as many as 13,000 adult salmon in the Miramichi River system. That program — dubbed SAS, saw three-year-old salmon captured from the Miramichi River and raised to adults. …The plan has been to return fish to the river in the same place to allow them to spawn. SAS is backed by CAST… a New Brunswick registered non-profit company with James Irving, of J.D. Irving… as directors. …Opponents fear the partial hatchery raised fish — untested by natural selection at sea — will weaken the overall population when it breeds in.

Read More

Open House for forestry plan a go today in Espanola

By Rosalind Russell
My Espanola Now
May 29, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

ESPANOLA, ONTARIO — EACOM is hosting open houses for public review of the Spanish River 2020-2030 Forest Management Plan. As the licensee for the Spanish Forest management unit, EACOM is responsible for managing all forestry activities including access, harvest renews and preparing plans. …EACOM invites forest users, members of the public and organizations to participate in open houses. Set up as information centres, these sessions present an overview of the access, harvest, renewal and tending operations planned for the ten-year period and provide an opportunity for participants to meet planners and provide feedback on the plan.

Read More

Fighting fire with fire: Should California burn its forests to protect against catastrophe?

By Ryan Sabalow, Dale Kasler and Maya Miller
The Sacramento Bee
May 29, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

It seemed like a good day for a fire — the kind that could safely thin out an overgrown forest, eliminate combustible underbrush and reduce the risk from an out-of-control wildfire. …But when a lightning strike ignited a small fire May 10 in the Tahoe National Forest… federal firefighters did what they almost always do: They raced to snuff it out. …A growing body of experts say California is neglecting a major tool in its battle against mega-fires: the practice of fighting fire with fire. These experts say state and federal firefighting agencies should allow more fires that don’t threaten the public to run their natural course. …“Nothing affects fire like fire,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics & Ecology in Eugene, Ore. …In California, the debate is complicated by a deadly history with wildfires.

Read More

Alabama faces shortage of loggers in the next 10 years

By Bryan Henry
WSFA 12 News
May 28, 2019
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

BUTLER COUNTY, Ala. – Jared Brogden is a 17-year veteran logger and easily manhandles a 25 ton, $300,000 loader. He loves his job. “To this day, I still enjoy it,” said Brogden. The industry faces a problem because there is a shortage of loggers on the way and forestry experts say they know why. “Over 60 percent of our logging workforce is over the age of 50,” said Ashley Rowe, director for workforce development for the Alabama Forestry Association in Montgomery. Coupled with the fact that not enough younger people are getting in the business. …The Alabama Forestry Association has come up with a plan to try to fill the gap: classes to recruit more harvesters. “Students who have never been in the woods before, no experience on equipment and we train them to give them basically everything they need to start out and work on a logging crew,” said Rowe.

Read More

Forest Fires

Alberta wildfire continues to grow, but is spreading away from High Level

The Canadian Press in Global News
May 28, 2019
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A fire burning near a northern Alberta town has grown slightly, but officials say firefighters are making good progress. The Chuckegg Creek fire, currently the largest in the province, is about three kilometres southwest of High Level, where crews have been creating a fire break to protect the town. “We are still experiencing the main area of spread away from the town of High Level,” Alberta Wildfire information officer Victoria Ostendorf said Tuesday afternoon. “The wind has actually been in our favor and allowed us to make great progress on the fire guard… It’s enabled our firefighters to work safely.” Ostendorf explained the active fire is now pushing back on an area that’s already been burned so there’s no substantial fuel for it to grow.

Read More

More intense wildfires are here to stay, and we need to adapt, says report

By Micheal Brown, University of Alberta
Phys.org
May 28, 2019
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

…Zac Robinson, a mountain historian at the University of Alberta and former U of A mountain ecologist David Hik decided wildfires were going to be the main focus of the Alpine Club of Canada’s 2019 State of the Mountains Report. In its second year, the is a collection of expert summaries written to raise awareness about the ways a changing climate is transforming the alpine. The pair, along with fellow editor Lael Parrott, reached out to Lori Daniels, a University of British Columbia conservation researcher, to write an essay on the vital role wildfire has on ecosystem function and how that understanding has exposed shortcomings of past fire suppression and timber production, and how “learning to coexist with wildfire is critical as our society adapts to climate change.”

Read More

B.C.’s wildfire smoke expected to blanket Alberta this summer — and could reach as far as Ontario

By Amy Tucker
The Star Calgary
May 28, 2019
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

CALGARY—Smoke from wildfires is going to be a big issue for Albertans again this summer, according to one meteorologist. While Alberta is shaping up to have mostly average temperatures and precipitation, the northern part of the province could be drier. …On top of that, a jet stream is expected to push potential wildfire smoke from British Columbia into Alberta. “Wildfire smoke is going to be a big story, I think, for the province of Alberta this summer,” said Kelly Sonnenburg, a meteorologist with The Weather Network. …“The wildfire (season) is already off to a fairly strong start in northern Alberta. That, along with B.C. for this summer, is not an ideal pattern. We are going to have to watch out for the threat for more wildfires, and certainly, for more smoke as well.”

Read More