The BC government signalled it will begin restoring the requirement that timber harvested from public lands be processed in nearby mills, according to Vaughn Palmer in the Vancouver Sun. However, a case-by-case approach may be required so as to avoid “unintended consequences” in the fight for a softwood deal with the US.
In Forestry news: Moose-ion accomplished [through culling] in Newfoundland after years of moose-caused forest conversion; while Northern Ontario’s caribou-management involves a helicopter ride to a new home. Elsewhere, Peru moves to protect one of the “last great intact forests”; and a story on why India’s forest cover is overstated.
In other news: CLT is rising at Oregon State University College; related building code changes are in the works for Washington State; and the future of architecture in the UK is [per the Roca London Gallery] engineered wood.
Finally, bioenergy breakthroughs include a new way to remove contaminants from treated wood waste (Canada); and recycling and biofuel efficiencies are possible via mapping carbohydrates in plant matter (Sweden).
— Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
…there is a concept car which is much closer to being completely sustainable that uses bio-based materials in much of its construction. UPM’s Biofore Concept Car has attracted plenty of interest… UPM’s Biofore Concept Car is like the whole innovative forest industry packed into just one product on wheels. It is a resource-effective car demonstrating a totally new type of thinking, driving sustainable change and replacing oil-based materials with advanced, renewable biomaterials, explains Anneli Kunnas from UPM Biofuels. In the Biofore Concept Car the majority of parts traditionally made from plastics have been replaced with high quality, safe and durable biomaterials – which can significantly improve the overall environmental performance of car manufacturing. The vehicle runs on UPM’s wood-based renewable diesel…
PRINCE GEORGE – A community information meeting and open house about increased Douglas fir bark beetle populations in the Prince George area will be held on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome… The Douglas fir bark beetle is native to B.C., but some areas of the province are experiencing higher than normal populations of these forest pests, including the area around Prince George. The beetles can infest and kill Douglas fir trees wherever they grow in British Columbia, especially in the Interior. Staff from the ministry, City of Prince George and Industrial Forestry Service Ltd. will host the information meeting, and answer questions about Douglas fir beetles and their elevated populations in some areas.
On 18 October, 2017, a logger was killed in a tragic incident near Mackenzie in northern British Columbia, Canada. The operator was using a feller buncher to cut timber on a slope when the machine tipped over backwards, cutting off his escape route when the machine caught fire. The logger’s death was devastating for his family, his community and his co-workers. While the cause of the incident is still under investigation by WorkSafeBC, the question arises: What can we do now to try to prevent this from happening again? That was one of the key issues discussed when WorkSafeBC’s Forest Industry Advisory Group met in November 2017 to talk about concrete steps that employers can take to make remote mechanized logging safer. Here are some of the considerations discussed.
Investigators are trying to figure out the cause of a fire that ripped through several townhouses that were under construction in Innisfil. Large flames tore through five units at Friday Harbour on Tuesday night. Officials say the fire had been burning for some time before Innisfil firefighters arrived on scene. “It was a very difficult fire. The five townhomes were under construction with varying level of completion. Some units didn’t even have drywall all the way up, so once the fire got into the wood it spread very fast,” says fire chief Jon Pegg. The chief says crews went inside, but the stairway had burned down and the flames moved to the roof. The homes don’t have all of their fire safety features built in yet, such as firewalls between units.