Category Archives: Woodlands

British Columbia’s Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson applauded today’s decision of the Legislative Assembly to form a Special Committee on Timber Supply to examine and make recommendations about mid-term timber supply in British Columbia, as a result of the mountain pine beetle infestation.

The committee will be conducting public consultations and has been asked to deliver a report by Aug. 15 this year.

The committee’s terms of reference are to specifically consider recommendations that could increase timber supply, including direction on the potential scope of changes to land-use objectives, rate of harvest and conversion of volume-based tenures to area-based tenures. The committee will also consider whether any changes to legislation are required.

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Recently, the most common question ForestTalk is asked is, “Whatever happened to that Boreal Forest Agreement?”, and “Have you heard anything about that Boreal Forest Agreement lately?”

To refresh our memories, the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement was signed 2 years ago.  21 forest companies, all members of the Forest Products Association of Canada, and 9 environmental organizations signed the agreement.  Through the agreement, the forest companies committed to the highest environmental standards of forest management and conservation, while environmental organizations commit to global recognition and support for the forest companies efforts.

Last year, in April 2011, the signatories of the agreement unveiled a Boreal Business Forum that would be a roundtable for the participants of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, as well as leading corporations and investors that have a strong interest in conserving the boreal forest.

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Nova Scotia is repealing its Stora Forest Industries Limited Agreement Act and amending the Crown Lands Act.

The province feels the changes will provide economic, environmental and social benefits to Nova Scotians by revising the way forests on Crown land can be managed.

“Nova Scotians want government to change the way their natural resources are managed to ensure that they are used sustainably and these legislative changes will bring the long-term stability needed in good forestry management,” said Charlie Parker, Minister of Natural Resources. “We are helping to protect forestry jobs while managing our forests in a sustainable way.”

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A confidential report was leaked this week indicating the British Columbia government is expecting north-central B.C. to lose 32% – 67% of its timber supply due to the mountain pine beetle epidemic without a mitigation plan.

What are British Columbia’s mitigation options?

• Forest Management – intensive silviculture and stand fertilization
• Harvesting – in areas currently considered uneconomical – due to tree size, volume, or species composition
• Harvesting – in areas managed for non-timber values such as biodiversity, wildlife habitat and scenic areas

Currently, in timber supply areas of Lakes, Prince George, Quesnel, and Williams Lake, there is estimated to be sufficient timber, harvested at pre-beetle levels, until 2020. However, most of that timber is pine that has already been dead for 5-10 years. It is not currently economical to harvest dead pine with a long haul distance from a mill. With the haul distance factored in, there is an estimate of 1.5 years of economically feasible harvest supply in Quesnel, ranger to about 5 years in the Prince George timber supply area.

Whatever mitigation options are used by the provincial government, they indicate in their report that they wish to make their decisions before December 31, 2012 to avoid conflict with the May 2013 election.

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British Columbia released its Forest Sector Strategy today.

Titled “Our Natural Advantage, Forest Sector Strategy for British Columbia”, the strategy aims to build upon the report of the Working Roundtable on Forestry to support a more vibrant sector that supports employment in every part of the province.

The Working Roundtable on Forestry has identified six priorities:

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A British Columbia task force is analyzing the timber supply in the Lakes Timber Supply area.

The Lakes Timber Supply Area – Quick Facts

• 1.1 million hectares of land in north-central BC
• includes the  Village of Burns Lake, and smaller communities including Decker Lake,  François Lake, Grassy Plains, and Danskin
• forest is mostly lodgepole pine and spruce, with balsam at higher elevations and some small isolated areas of Douglas-fir along the shores of Babine and François lakes
• current AAC  is 2,000,000 cubic metres, effective July 12, 2011
• AAC was doubled in 2001, from 1.5 million cubic metres, to about 3 million cubic metres, to slow the spread of the mountain pine beetle, and to recover damaged timber
• AAC was increased again in 2003 to about 3.2 million cubic metres
• pine beetle infestation appears to have peaked in the summer of 2009 and has killed 90% of pine trees available for harvest

What is at stake?

There are big decisions awaiting the analysis of the timber supply, including whether Babine Forest Products will rebuild its sawmill in Burns Lake that was lost to an explosion and fire in January.

Depending on the amount of beetle kill, it is estimated the annual cut could drop to just a quarter of what it was, from 2 million cubic metres, to just 500,000 cubic metres, in five years.

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There is a new joint council, called the Haida Gwaii Management Council, that has been established between the Haida and the British Columbia government to govern the forest management of Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands).

The new council’s first decision has been to reduce the annual allowable harvest level by 48% to 929,000 cubic metres.

“This new AAC which is a 48% reduction from the prior AACs reflects the spirit and intent of the recently signed Haida Gwaii Strategic Land Use Agreement and the Kunst’aa guu – Kunst’aayah Reconciliation Protocol. This is an historic moment for the people of Haida Gwaii since it is the first time that the decision about how much commercial forest to cut on our islands has been made by anybody other than the Government of British Columbia,” said Trevor Russ, an appointed Haida Gwaii Management Council (HGMC) Member and elected member of the Council of the Haida Nation Executive.

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J.D. Irving Ltd. has several concerns with New Brunswick’s new Crown forest management plan.

Among their concerns are that the new standards will require that they cut younger, smaller wood before it has properly matured to maximum volume. This will result in more pulp wood in a market that is already oversupplied with pulp wood since most of New Brunswick’s pulp mills are closed.

Irving believes New Brunswick should complete a full economic impact study of these proposed changes before implementation.

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The New Brunswick provincial government announced today a Crown forest management plan that balances social, ecological and economic needs.

“This balanced plan reflects the significant and helpful input I received from New Brunswickers during more than a year of consultations,” said Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup. “It will keep our public forests vibrant and healthy while providing benefits in terms of a wide range of jobs and recreational opportunities.”

Northrup said he was especially thankful to First Nations for their input on how the province’s public forests should be managed.

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In August 2011, an Ontario Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Grassy Narrows First Nation (Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek), by deciding that the government of Ontario does not have the power to take away the rights in Treaty 3 by authorizing development including logging and mining.

The Ontario Court of Appeal is considering an appeal of Keewatin versus the Ministry of Natural Resources case. While that appeal is being considered, the government of Ontario has agreed to suspend logging north of the English River.

This legal battle has continued for 11 years. The Grassy Narrows First Nation feels it is likely the matter will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

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