Monthly Archives: February 2018

An increase in ground-based steep-slope harvesting brings the need for a greater understanding of how machines can operate safely and efficiently on steep terrain. FPInnovations, as part of its Steep Slope Initiative, recently conducted a study to investigate the sensitivity of different operating positions for non-tilting and tilting machines, and to propose a methodology for determining safe operating parameters. The objectives of the study were to determine the expected operability range of both a non-tilting and tilting feller-buncher for a range of conditions based on stability, and to evaluate the influence of traction line orientation on machine stability.

Caelan McLean

In August, TimberWest had the pleasure of hosting Caelan McLean, a 17 year old Grade 12 student from Highland Secondary School and member of K’omoks First Nation, for a 10 day summer work experience.  Caelan wanted to better understand the career possibilities in the forest industry and we were more than happy to show him. Over the course of his 10 day work experience Caelan got to job shadow our Log Purchase department and go Timber Cruising, learn about Log Scaling and Log Quality, head out with our Silviculture crew, spend time with our biology and forestry summer students, and learn about the importance of water monitoring with our hydrology team.

The Government of Alberta recently announced grants for local municipalities to help them be more aggressive towards the mountain pine beetle. The province will give $29,000 to the Town of Whitecourt and $26,000 to Woodlands County. Oneil Carlier, Whitecourt-Ste. Anne MLA and Alberta minister of agriculture and forestry, explained that the purpose of these grants was for the control and suppression of the mountain pine beetle. …Municipalities will use the grants to develop programs that are effective in their own regions, Carlier explained, adding that these are a few of the many investments the province has made towards mitigating the mountain pine beetle.

Province-wide consultations began Monday in Kamloops as part of a review to hear stories about last year’s devastating wildfires and spring floods. The independent review was launched last fall get feedback on how to better plan for future environmental disasters. More than 65,000 people were displaced last summer. Fires burned 1.2 million hectares of forest and there was widespread flooding in communities like Cache Creek, Kelowna, Vernon and Dawson Creek. …John Horgan appointed former provincial cabinet minister George Abbott and Maureen Chapman, a First Nations leader, as the chairs of the review in December of 2017.

Raincoast Conservation Foundation scientists and associates from the U.S. and Sweden have published a devastating critique of wildlife management in North America and beyond. The international team, led by Dr. Chris Darimont, exposes the faulty underpinnings of how wildlife is managed by many governments across the political spectrum and around the world. Reporting in an open access paper in the journal Conservation Biology, researchers from Raincoast, the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University reviewed the scientific literature for cases in which independent scientists scrutinized government reporting of wildlife population sizes, trends and associated policy. …The authors of the …paper hope their findings will ultimately lead to widespread reform. “In a post-truth world, qualified scientists at arm’s length now have the opportunity and responsibility to scrutinize government wildlife policies and the data underlying them,” states Chris Darimont

Alberta’s fight against the ravenous pine beetle rages on, with the province providing thousands of dollars to control and eradicate the insect’s population, but officials say it’s a war that can never fully be won. “Beetles are in our system now to stay, since they’ve kind of breached the Rockies in large numbers in the early 2000s,” said Mike Undershultz, a senior forest entomologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “Now they’re here.” The only way to have success in managing mountain pine beetle populations is to do it “aggressive and long-term,” Undershultz said. …Upwards of 90,000 infested trees throughout Alberta will be cut and burned this year to help control mountain pine beetle outbreaks and stop the bugs from spreading. The estimated cost to the province is $18 million.