The new Growing Alberta’s Forest Sector Amendment Act 2020 has passed its first reading in the provincial legislature. The bill would replace the existing Forests Act, which has not been updated since 1971.
News in timber
Oregon Wildfires Hit Logging Companies and Their Families Hard
The wildfires in Oregon continue to smolder and some are still burning.
The United Kingdom Urges Timber Traders to Prepare for Changes Effective at End of 2020
New due diligence checks to ensure timber and timber products have not been illegally harvested will be required by UK.
Significant Improvements to New Brunswick Wood Market Benchmark Announced
According to Auditor General Kim Adair-MacPherson, a major irritant that helped to provoke US tariffs has been fixed and with it a potential lifeline to the New Brunswick (NB) forest industry. Her report released on Tuesday (10/20) says the province now has a better system for accurately calculating sales to mills from private woodlots, a benchmark that helps set royalties paid for timber from publicly owned Crown lands.
New Brunswick Woodlot Owners Want Changes in Crown Log Pricing
According to Rick Doucett, the president of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners, the royalties paid to woodlot owners for raw materials have not increased during the pandemic even as the price of finished lumber has gone up.
Estimates of Hurricane Laura’s Impact on Loggers and Landowners in Louisiana is Staggering
According to a report by Jeff Zeringue, in the Louisiana Logging Council’s Louisiana Logger publication, loggers and landowners in Louisiana experienced a year’s worth of timber harvest overnight when Hurricane Laura badly damaged more that 758,000 acres of timberland in Louisiana in late August.
Holmen AB, Completes Acquisition of Martinsons
Holmen AB, one of Sweden’s largest forestry companies has announced that they have completed the purchase of Martinsons, one of Sweden’s leading sawn and processed wood manufacturing companies.
Demand for Railroad Ties Continues to Hold Steady, Despite Remaining Wood Fiber Concerns
Most lumber dealers experience with wood-ties (aka railroad ties) are usually limited to selling used ones that have been taken up from track beds and which homeowners and landscapers use as part of a decorative feature.
Oregon Board of Forestry Approves 70-Year Proposed Western Oregon Habitat Conservation Plan
The Oregon Board of Forestry, on Tuesday (10/6), approved a 70-year proposed Western Oregon Habitat Conservation Plan. Analysis of the plan by the Oregon Department of Forestry reports that the plan would provide long-term protections and conservation plans for endangered species and secure forest management practices.
Alberta Announces Five-Way Plan to Increase existing Forestlands Usage
Alberta has announced a five-way plan to increase by 13% the usage of existing forestlands.