Paul Beltgens
A Ladysmith man heads a worldwide forestry organization, meaning he has earned the lofty title of ‘snark of the universe.’ Paul Beltgens is assuming leadership of the Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo for 2024. The organization, founded in 1892 and based in Gurdon, Arkansas, has nearly 10,000 members in 23 countries. Hoo-Hoo came to the Cowichan Valley in the 1960s when Herb and Gordie Doman decided to initiate a chapter in the area. Today Hoo-Hoo No. 229 Cowichan has more than 65 members who are all involved, one way or another, in the forestry industry. Beltgens is owner of Jemico Enterprises and Paulcan Enterprises and has been a member of the Cowichan Valley’s Hoo-Hoo club since 1983. “The spirit of Hoo-Hoo is expressed in nine fundamental values which encourage members to be fraternal, helpful, grateful, friendly, tolerant, progressive, industrious, ethical and loyal and those are all important to me,” Beltgens said.
His company Paulcan provides customized mill work to global markets, manufacturing any size of wood product, building material, and kiln-dried lumber for domestic and international customers. The Jemico mill produces products such as hardwoods for furniture, doors, mouldings and frames, and Beltgens said it’s the largest producer of alder and maple – and at times cottonwood – products in all of B.C. …Part of the snark position involves visiting Hoo-Hoo clubs in various locations. So far Beltgens has visited Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Houston and Gurdon headquarters, and has plans to visit other clubs in the U.S., Australia and Asia. He pays for his own travel, but said he’s “looked after incredibly” in the places he visits. …Aside from leading to business connections, Hoo-Hoo also has an impact in communities, donating to post-secondary institutions and forestry museums, and providing wood products for school woodworking courses, for example.
The Province will help made-in-B.C. manufactured wood products access new market opportunities with $250,000 to promote B.C.’s competitive and sustainable wood products suppliers. …The funding, provided through the Ministry of Forests, is for BC Wood to market the province’s wood manufacturing sector in global markets. “Showcasing and marketing B.C. wood products on the global stage is important work that spotlights the innovation our sector is known for,” said Brian Hawrysh, CEO, BC Wood. …To further support local wood manufacturers, the Province has a Value-Added Manufacturing Program, run by BC Timber Sales, which provides a dedicated, open-market supply of fibre for small and medium-sized manufacturers. …This is going to help us access the fibre we need to make the high-value products Silva Timber Products manufactures, and create jobs here at home,” said Richard Kaufmann, CEO, Silva Timber Products.
VICTORIA — The New Democrats have quietly launched public consultation on their plan to begin co-management of government-owned land with B.C.’s 204 First Nations. “The province wants to know your thoughts on sharing public land-use decision making,” says the call for submissions on the government website. “The government hopes to be able to negotiate agreements with Indigenous governments and begin sharing decision-making on public land use in the late spring of 2024″. The overseer Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship posted the call for submissions at Engage B.C. (engage.gov.bc.ca) earlier this month. The ministry did not publicize the invitation with a news release, suggesting the government is not all that keen to attract attention to the exercise. …The tight time frame, like the minimal publicity for the consultations, suggests the New Democrats have already made up their minds on how to proceed.
The Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change says eastern and southern Alberta are facing some of the worst drought conditions on record. …He says the snowpack in the Rockies is overall around 70 per cent below the median for this time of year, and the recent warm spell has started significantly melting. Snowpack and glaciers help keep reservoirs up, limit low water levels during summer months and keep rivers cooler and better oxygenated. “It’s lower than it was last year at this time, and last year turned out to be a disaster,” Pomeroy said. “So I’m quite concerned.” …Last year – 2023 – was the worst fire season on record – hot, dry and destructive, triggering mass evacuation orders and stretching the world’s firefighters to the limit. …He cautions it’s too soon to know for sure what the upcoming season will bring.
Felling Short), from the B.C. chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), found 29 per cent of the area contained in legally protected Old Growth Management Areas (OGMA) actually have old-growth forests on them. Active cutblocks, meanwhile, were found to overlap on more than 27,000 hectares of land designated as an OGMA, an area more than double that of the City of Vancouver. …As the B.C. government moves to protect 30 per cent of its land base by 2030, the latest findings suggests it is overestimating how much is really protected, according CPAWS’s conservation research and policy coordinator Meg Bjordal. …Bjordal said the B.C. government agreed to meet with CPAWS after it shared a copy of the report. 
A grassroots campaign to preserve what is left of primary mature forests in B.C. is taking shape in the southern Interior. Their fundraising target is $218,000, which will be used to cover the expenses associated with meeting with other groups across the province and drawing support to the campaign, initiated by the Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society (BFWS). Speaking at a Zoom information meeting co-hosted by the Interior Watershed Task Force and the Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance, BFWS co-founder Jennifer Houghton sees the campaign as a 12 to 14-month project to galvanize support and stand up to opposing pressure from the forestry industrial lobby. …Michelle Connolly, who runs the Conservation North, also spoke in the meeting, reinforcing the importance of legislation to protect the ecosystem in our remaining primary forests. …Both Connolly and Houghton said their volunteer groups include experts who have valid contributions to make to any debate on preserving primary forests.
The BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) is pleased to collaborate with the Forest Enhancement Society of BC to provide safety information for workers and employers in B.C.’s forest industry. For 20 years, the BCFSC has been the dedicated Health and Safety Association for B.C.’s forestry industry. Our vision is to see every forestry worker goes home safe – every day. We are committed to helping reduce the potential for forestry worker injuries and fatalities in B.C. and ensure safety remains a top priority in all forestry workplaces. We work closely with subject-matter experts and industry advisory committees to help keep workers safe and assist companies in fostering a strong safety culture. …We also develop and provide resources, safety planning tools, information, education, and training for forest harvesting, sawmills, and wood pellet manufacturing throughout B.C. …Our customized programs are tailored to the specific needs of B.C. forestry workers.
Our Policy, Regulation and Research Department (PRRD) is proposing amendments to policy concerning activity-related soft tissue disorders (ASTDs) of the limbs. The proposed amendments are intended to address two ASTD projects in the PRRD’s current workplan: ASTDs — CPR Recommendations #36–37 and Establishing Work Causation for ASTDs of the Limbs. The proposed amendments clarify policy on the issue of whether an ASTD is due to the nature of the worker’s employment, and are informed by recommendations from two external reviews. The discussion paper and information on how to provide feedback can be found here: