News in timber

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the number of new wildfires in the U.S. so far this year is at a 10-year high. Since January, more than a million acres have burned from more than 28,000 wildfires — the highest number of fires for this date since 2011. There are currently 33 active large fires across the West.

According to a press release provided by the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership (SCOFMP), as of Friday morning (6-11-21), the Fire Danger level in the area has been elevated to “High”. Early season summer-like hot, dry weather, depleted snowpack and rapid drying of forest fuels have resulted in fire danger levels reaching “High”.

With fire conditions and behaviors typically seen in mid-to-late July currently taking place, forest managers in northeast Oregon are declaring an early start to the 2021 fire season. The announcement was made on Tuesday (6-8-21), as Oregon Department of Forestry firefighters worked to contain two wildfires ignited by lighting in the region.

Elevated prices for finished lumber and panel products have led several Canadian provinces to raise the timber royalty rates they are charging to lumber manufacturing companies. New Brunswick is not, at least not as of yet. The province instead continues to standby a decision made to keep its royalty rates frozen at levels set 6-years ago by the former government.

When Canfor Corp. closed its Vavenby sawmill in 2019, due to the shrinking timber supply, and sold the cutting rights to Interfor for $ 60 million, B.C.’s NDP government had its first chance to use its new authority to intervene in long-term corporate forest tenures…

The British Columbia provincial government is promising to boost Indigenous engagement in forestry as it sets out on the largest series of policy updates for the sector since the early 2000’s. According to the strategy plan unveiled on Tuesday (6-1-21). there would be a near doubling in the amount of replaceable forest tenure held by Indigenous nations from the current levels of 10%.

According to a leader of the Bigstone Cree Nation, just as lumber prices hit record highs, a drive to increase Alberta’s forest harvest is allowing members of a northern First Nation to become resource owners, as well as timber-gathering contractors.

The British Columbia provincial government on Tuesday (6-1-21) released a paper that lays out far-ranging “policy intentions”, including diversifying the ownership of forest tenures, or harvesting rights, and establishing a framework of compensation in the event those rights are redistributed. The series of B.C. goals and an initial yearlong timeline will work towards modernizing the province’s regulation of the forest sector.

Last year’s wildfire season in the western U.S. set new records for damage and destruction. This year’s wildfire season is shaping up to be potentially worse. According to scientists, the soil is at record dry levels for this time of year — so is the vegetation that can fuel wildfires.

According to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), more than 120 wildfires have already been reported in Idaho in 2021 and we are just approaching the official start of wildfire season. Fire management chief, Josh Harvey, with the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) is worried, saying “We’re definitely below our level of moisture that should be sitting in the ground right now.”