Daily Archives: September 23, 2019

A forestry company owned by Ulkatcho (Anahim Lake) First Nation has embarked on a fibre recovery project made possible with funding from Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. The project will last for three years and kicked off in January 2019, said Stephen James, executive director of West Chilcotin Forest Products (WCFP). “The West Chilcotin plateau lacks the infrastructure many other areas of our province take for granted,” James said. “Given the distance to markets for our forest products, enhanced utilization of our forest fibre has always been a struggle.” …Pulp logs of lodgepole pine that would previously have been burned on cutblocks in the traditional territory of Ulkatcho First Nation, are being hauled to Bella Coola where they are loaded onto a barge and are then on to be chipped at Harmac Pacific Pulp mill in Nanaimo.

There has been plenty of discouraging news from the forest industry recently regarding the temporary and permanent closure of sawmills in the interior of BC. A consequence of the reduced lumber production is the reduction in sawmill residual production. …The reduced supply of sawmill residuals has created increased demand especially for pulp chips. West Fraser has two pulp mills in Quesnel: Cariboo Pulp is a Kraft Chemical pulp mill, Quesnel River Pulp is a thermomechanical pulp mill. …West Fraser is currently delivering pulp logs from the Williams Lake area where haul distances to Quesnel are economical. We are also purchasing whole pulp logs from the Chilcotin where government programs to reduce carbon emissions have assisted with the vendor’s costs. …While not creating new jobs, this program maintains the forestry jobs we have especially during poor economic times for our sawmills.