News in timber

Over the objections of B.C.’s Liberal and Green party members, the NDP used its majority to cut off debate on two major bills to remake B.C.’s forest industry. The two bills in question are a 160-page set of amendments that gives cabinet the authority to change or end timber licenses, determine what compensation may be paid to forest companies, and redistribute Crown logging rights to community and Indigenous land title holders.

Skeena Sawmills has announced that they are temporarily suspended operations at their Terrace, B.C. sawmill this week. This is the result of a lack of sufficient log deck to justify operations. The mill is scheduled to re-open next week.

In California, wildfires are an expected occurrence for the state’s timber industry and natural and restorative to these ecosystems. However, the severity of wildfires in 2020 and 2021 are expected to result in significant — some are calling it catastrophic — destruction in the timber industry, posing a threat to 32 million acres of territory blanketed by forests and the people who live and work there.

The fight over whether or not to ban roads on the more than 9 million acres of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest has been ongoing on for over 20 years. The Biden administration plans on settling that question once and for all. The restrictions had managed to stay in place for years through a series of court battles; however, the Trump administration reversed those legal decisions.

The B.C. government is moving forward with its far-reaching measures to remake the forest tenure system. The measures include reducing existing company cutting rights, paying compensation, and reassigning logging rights to Indigenous and community forests. It also is requiring transparency by requiring area-based tenure holders to share forest inventory information with the chief forester

It was about 25 years ago that managers in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park noticed a patch of beetle killed pine trees. It is popularly believed that this was the starting point for the infestation that ravaged much of the BC interior Lodgepole pine stands and, had aggressive measures been taken, the extent of the damage might have been reduced.

On Monday afternoon (11-15-21), legislation was introduced that will help bring forth the B.C. Provincial government’s vision for forest care. According to the government, The Forest Amendment Act, 2021 is legislation to help build a more diverse and inclusive forest sector that works for people.

On Wednesday (11-10-21), the Province of British Columbia celebrated a milestone in its reforestation efforts. This year, the province recognized planting its one billionth tree since 2018. There were over 300 million trees planted in 2021 throughout the province by around 5,000 silviculture workers.

On Monday (11-8-21), the Alberta provincial government approved the renewal of Tolko Industries’ 272,441-hectare forest management area (FMA) near High Prairie. The renewal allows Tolko to harvest Crown timber from the FMA for the next 20 years.