Category Archives: Special Feature

Dr. John Worrall was loved by many. This was clearly evidenced by the large gathering of family, friends, past students and colleagues who came out on Saturday, October 14 to celebrate his life. Held in the Forest Sciences Centre at UBC, guests were treated to a “Worrall Museum” of research papers (yes, he really did write papers!), pictures, huge cones, t-shirts and more. Many came wearing their “Species Please” buttons from Worrall’s retirement party in 2003. A slideshow played out the life and pranks of the great doctor Worrall, and a number of speakers shared their cherished memories. The first to present was John’s younger brother Richard whose voice, mannerisms and physical appearance gave us all a start – it was as if John was with us in the room! Richard talked about their family life growing up in England and “a little about John’s boyhood in rural Lincolnshire on the Humber Estuary”. Other speakers included colleagues and past students, but it was John Davies who made us laugh and cry with examples of Worrall’s past exams, teaching evaluations, and personal stories of their journey together.

We are pleased to present you with the Memorial Slideshow, a Video of the Speakers (and we apologize for the bloopers), a Gallery of Images from the day and Richard Worrall’s presentation script.

In his brother’s words, “Bless you John, you will always be loved, and very much missed”.

In Loving Memory of John Worrall. Please join us for a heartfelt memorial celebration dedicated to Worrall’s life and the lasting impact he made on all of us. All of Worrall’s past students, colleagues, and friends are invited! Let’s gather to swap cherished stories, reminisce, and celebrate the good times. Your presence would mean a lot! After the official welcome at 1:30 pm, the mic will be open for anyone who would like to share with the group. Refreshments will be provided for all to enjoy as we commemorate Worrall’s legacy. 

Saturday, October 14, 2023  |  1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
UBC Faculty of Forestry, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

When you reach a milestone like your 100th Birthday, it’s worth having a party. In the case of renowned forester, Gerry Burch, it’s worth having 10!! Yesterday was one of those momentous events! Organized by his daughter, Brenda Burch, this party took place at the BC Forest Discovery Centre (known by locals as the Duncan Forestry Museum), and was attended by 101 of Gerry’s friends and colleagues. Many of them worked with Gerry at BC Forest Products throughout his career. It was lovely to see people reconnecting with old friends and mingling through the museum exhibits. After cake, we gathered in the “Train Room” where several of Gerry’s friends paid tribute to the birthday-boy! Gerry followed with his comments and thoughts and then the mic was opened up for anyone who wanted to contribute to the story. 

Here is a sampling of pictures from the event, and the beautiful video tribute that was created for the birthday party. We will have more on the event next week when we will be excited to share video coverage of the speeches. If you click the Read More, you can access the full gallery of pictures. More images will be added when the second event photographer adds his pictures, so stay tuned!

Nanaimo-based Coastland Wood Industries, a privately owned manufacturer of second-growth Douglas-fir veneer and other engineered wood products, hosted a mill and log-yard tour on Saturday, September 9th for the International Order of Hoo-Hoo, a fraternal service organization whose members are involved in forestry, logging and forest products industries.

Leading the mill tour on behalf of Coastland was Keith Hall, VP Fibre Supply and his colleague and log buyer Mark Lade. Hall—a member of the Vancouver Chapter of Hoo-Hoo—opened with a summary of Coastland’s establishment in 1988 and its growth from a single line veneer mill to a triple line mill with an offsite drying facility, two barge loading facilities and three log sorts. Coastland currently employs 280 people and operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Speaking passionately about the heart of the operation, Hall noted the speed and efficiency of Coastland’s three veneer lathes, each of which generates between 800 and 1000 linear feet of veneer per minute (which equates to about 1.5 billion square feet of veneer, 1/8th basis annually). Currently, 75% of the veneer is dried at Coastland’s drying facility on Annacis Island in Delta, BC., and 25% is sold as green veneer.

Roy Nagel

A man of few enemies who made the people around him feel important and loved, Roy Nagel died suddenly of a medical condition on Aug. 23. He was 81. In his job as managing editor of the Prince George Citizen, Roy Nagel had his finger on the pulse of the city and found a way to wade through the politics of running a newspaper to present facts and opinions to the community without treading on too many toes. He later transitioned to a leadership role with the Central Interior Logging Association (CILA), fighting for worker safety and the rights of independent contractors who previously felt powerless taking on governments, regulatory agencies and the lumber giants.

In 1997 he moved from the Prince George Citizen to the CILA as general manager. “They needed a communicator and a negotiator and he was a great spear chucker for them,” said his wife Donna. ”He knew nothing about forestry, but he got in there and knew how to negotiate and found it really interesting how many really smart and successful contractors were out there that weren’t being treated fairly and he drew them all together to think as a group, not individually, so that they had a bigger voice.

After he retired from the loggers’ association in 2009 he took up golf and was part of regular foursome at Aspen Grove. He was fond of sipping good scotch or rum, and took an interest in classic cars, woodworking, gardening and antique clocks.

Yesterday we had the great honour of attending a 100th birthday celebration for renowned BC forester, Gerry Burch. The event, organized by CIF Vancouver chapter, was held on the patio at the Van Dusen Gardens in Vancouver. Appropriately, the party was surrounded by trees and the venue was sparkling with sunlight. Gerry was one of the first guests to arrive, proudly bringing along special birthday messages from the King and Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Canada! After a birthday serenade, and a rousing ‘three cheers for Gerry’ lead by his friend Alan Fry, we heard several tributes from friends and colleagues. Finally, Gerry took the microphone. One hundred years hasn’t diminished Gerry’s ability to capture an audience! He started off saying, “This is not the time to talk about the state of the industry … but I’d like to do that!” He wrapped up his address with a personal message to those in the room, saying, “You meet a lot of people in your life and most end up being acquaintances, but then there’s a few who become friends and then there’s a few of those who become special friends. I look upon you people as being special friends!”

Please enjoy the slideshow of images captured at the party (click the read more for the full show and captions). 

John G. Worrall
May 22, 1938 – August 8, 2023

It is with much sadness we announce that Dr. John G. Worrall passed away August 8, 2023, after a two week stay at Vancouver General Hospital. Worrall was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease almost a decade ago and his health has slowly deteriorated since, and more aggressively these last 5-years. After fighting off hospital-onset pneumonia, he just couldn’t recover from the after effects, and quietly slipped away on Tuesday, August 8th with his brother Richard Worrall and ‘surrogate son’, John Davies, by his side.

Worrall arrived in North America on a whaling ship, via the Antarctic, on which he was working as a chemist (his first degree from Newcastle University) in 1965. Upon disembarking, he jumped on a train and made his way the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in forestry before heading to Yale University, to complete a Master’s and PhD (1968). He returned to UBC in 1969 to develop and teach the legendary (infamous?) first year dendrology course, for which he became so well known. For the next 35 years, Worrall dedicated himself to teaching and to his students’ well-being, retiring in 2003. Over his teaching tenure, he made a point of learning (and never forgetting) the name of every new forestry student – and would call on people by last name when they were least expecting it!

A celebration of Worrall’s life will be held in late September or early October and a hike will be planned to Mt. Frosty in Manning Park where Worrall wanted his ashes scattered beneath the golden larch forest of which he was so fond. Further details will be published as plans materialize.

[We would love to hear your stories and see your pictures of Worrall. Please share them with sandy@treefrogcreative.ca and we will include them in a tribute both online and at his Celebration of Life]

You’re invited to the party! Gerry Burch is Canada’s oldest and most highly regarded forester. Born August 2 in Cranbrook, BC, in 1923, Burch attended UBC Forestry in the 1940s, where he was an active student leader. Graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science, majoring in Forest Engineering, in 1948, he went on to receive his Registered Professional Forester designation and pioneer significant improvements in sustainable forestry practices, especially during his 41-year service with BC Forest Products Ltd. as a Chief Forester. Two birthday events are scheduled for September, one in Vancouver and the other in Duncan on Vancouver Island. Read on to find out the details and register to attend!

BC Premier Eby and COFI CEO Linda Coady wrap up the 2023 Council of Forest Industries Conference with the following Q&A [lightly edited for clarity]:

COADY: In your remarks, you talked about your government’s work with and priorities for the forest sector in BC. A sector currently in the midst of a lot of change – and arguably having an “Everything, Everywhere All at Once” kind of moment. …If there is one takeaway from this convention that we would like to leave you with… it involves development of an economic strategy linked to a sustainable long-term future for the sector – and capable of addressing what needs to happen between now and 2030 to get us to that future. What do you think? Is government contemplating this type of thing? If not, do you think we could persuade you and Minister Ralston to do so?

EBY: The ‘everything, everywhere all at once’ comment resonated for me because there is a challenge with government, as governments can only do so many things at once, and without clear direction to government officials from the political level, we run the risk of getting a bunch of things done halfway. …The goals that Minister Ralston and I have been working on in the Ministry of Forests are around permitting times and the pace of BC Timber Sales to get allotted supply out — which is chronic for a number of reasons. …And we have to accelerate the predictability around where companies are able to operate through land use planning. …I’m also happy to do additional work with COFI and with others but making sure these issues are addressed is the priority for the ministry and thus the focus of government. Our longer terms economic plans for the forest industry are not dissimilar from our goals provincially.

COADY: Okay, I’m taking that as a yes…

Linda Coady

The full keynote presentation by BC Premier Eby and follow up Q&A with COFI President and CEO Linda Coady will be in tomorrow’s Tree Frog News. Here’s an excerpt from Coady’s first question: We’ve heard about the work your government is doing and your priorities for the forest sector of BC. And we’re kind of having an “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once Moment“. Your government has made it very clear that you see this sector is foundational to the social, economic and environmental well being of many regional communities, but also the province as a whole. The goals you’ve put out for our sector include:

1. The integral role for First Nations in all aspects sector’s future from governance to stewardship to ownership.
2. To manage BC’s forests to a higher level of performance on resilience to climate change and protecting biodiversity.
3. To innovate, diversity, add more value to the products we produce in ways that increase the sustainability of local communities and jobs. 

If we have one takeaway from this convention that we’d like to leave you with, it would be the support goal that we think should be elevated. It involves the development of an economic strategy for the sector that can relate to the the long term vision for where we are are going and what needs to happen between now and 2030 as we deal with this period of transition. …Is your government contemplating doing an economic strategy for the forest sector, and if not, can we convince you and Minister Rolsten that it might be a good thing to do?

David Eby

PRINCE GEORGE – Premier David Eby made the trek to Prince George to address hundreds at the Council of Forest Industries. The forest sector has been hit with reductions to the AAC, natural disasters, old growth deferrals and the list goes on. The message to government at this conference? …What I look for is predictability,” says Nick Arkle, President of Gorman Bros Lumber. …“What we need is a predictable understanding what the future looks like. Then we can make our plans and then we can make investment plans.” It’s a message the Premier heard loud and clear and vows to enable it. …“Our goal as a government is to help deliver that. There are lots of challenges to that… [and] the solution going forward is partnership. We have land use planning processes that are underway across the province, including First Nations, industry and communities.”

Nick Arkle

And the acronyms on everyone’s lips these days are UNDRIP and DRIPA. Having First Nations at the table in the sector is unquestionable “We need to have everyone at the table. And in my mind, it has to be the right people. People who are held accountable for what they’re saying, how they’re saying it, and the information they’re putting out there, because it’s too important to get wrong.” …With lumber prices fluctuating wildly to competition from abroad, climate change amongst other things, the Premier referred to it as a perfect storm. Regardless, though, there is a sense of optimism. …“I think it’s on a macro level, micro level,” says Arkle. “So the macro level is the future is really good for the forest industry. There’s going to be a large demand for lumber in the future.

Additional coverage in My PG Now, by Will Peters: Predictability in Forestry: Premier’s main takeaway from COFI 2023

This week, over 600 business, government, First Nations and community leaders have gathered in Prince George for the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) annual convention. Greg Stewart, President, Sinclar Group Forest Products and COFI Chair opened the conference saying this is pivotal time for the sector given the accelerated rate of change in people, technology and public expectations, and thus gatherings like this are important to work on solutions. Stewart noted the many provincial, municipal, First Nation and industry leaders present and the many products and technologies pioneered in the province and spread around the world. He then introduced Chief Dolleen Logan, Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, who welcomed the delegates to her unceded territory and spoke of her Nations’ unique forestry-success story; and Prince George, Mayor Simon Yu, who commented on how times have changed and the importance of building trust in BC and creating a 50-year vision for forestry.

MNP’s Jason Fisher introduced the first keynote speaker, Regional Chief Terry Teegee, BC Assembly of First Nations, who spoke on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Teegee reflected how surprised he was when the UN first passed DRIPA in 2007 and the past four years of progress since BC did the same in 1999. Although the implementation process has been slow, recent progress has been significant in BC, thanks to the strong political will to move forward. According to Teegee, “outside of BC and Canada, only Bolivia has been moving forward at a similar pace.” The key priorities for Teegee being the decision making process with pre-and prior consent, and restitution policies related to sharing the wealth generated from their lands. Teegee’s advice to the forest sector emphasized the need for increased communications and understanding of how First Nations govern themselves.

BC Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston, spoke on the need to transition to more resilient forests and to increase the value and values generated from them. In addition to more value-added manufactured products, Rolston said this includes the value of increased forest health, climate change, biodiversity, and wildfire resilience. Key to achieving this are the many government initiatives introduced over the past two years. Examples include increasing fibre recovery, forest rehabilitation after wildfires, sustainable logging practices, fibre distribution to small value-added producers, and the introduction of land use tables. In support of the latter, the Minister announced that the province is investing $38 million for province-wide LiDAR mapping over six years to develop high-resolution data critical to forestry, wildfire and fuels, surface hydrology, agriculture, ecology, wildlife, habitat management and restoration, geology and geomorphology. Although it may take a while to complete, Rolston said he was confident the forest landscape plans will provide more certainty on harvest levels, which in turn will generate more industry investments in the future.

BC Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen, joined COFI president and CEO Linda Coady for an armchair dialogue on approaches to land use planning in BC. Coady introduced the session with an overview of the three key transitions underway: i) DRIPA implementation, ii) How We Plan – more comprehensive, inclusive, and area-based plans; and iii) What We Plan – ecosystem resilience and sustainable management. Coady noted industry’s support for the direction but uncertainty on “how we get there from here”. Minister Ralston noted that his ministry “was created to plan” and has done much of the heavy lifting upfront. DRIPA and the landscape level plans are key, and if done right, Cullen believes the desired certainty is achievable. Questioned on the concern of potential incremental AAC impacts of BC signing onto the recent Biodiversity Summit’s 30×30 goal (30% effective protection by 2030), Cullen said he believes it could be covered within the landscaped plans, adding it’s a “people up process, not a benevolent top down one”.

The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) kicked-off their annual forestry conference in Prince George, BC—after a five year Covid-enhanced absence — with a sold-out Ice Breaker. The two-day conference promises to be an outstanding event given the expected attendance and high profile speakers such the Hon. David Eby, Premier of BC, Regional Chief Terry Teegee, BC Assembly of First Nations, and BC Minister of Forests, Hon. Bruce Ralston. Linda Coady, President and CEO of COFI opened the conference noting her delight to be in a room connecting with so many provincial, municipal and First Nation leaders as well as the many firms and individuals that service and supply our mills. The event sponsor, Shawn Ellsworth, Partner in KPMG’s forest certification, ESG and Climate Change practice shared the stage, emphasizing the importance of the event for networking and dialog on the many issues facing the industry. And the import to KPMG—as auditors, tax advisors, forest certifiers, GHG and climate risk assessors, ESG and forest carbon consultants.

The Prince George Conference and Civic centre was the scene of a forest sector reunion of sorts. This evening was a demonstration of the camaraderie and support within the forest sector as delegates and exhibitors mingled, snacked, shook hands and hugged in a display of mutual respect and friendship. Sandy had so much fun pulling all of these willing faces together for group photos. 

The Tree Frog News sat down with Keith Atkinson, the new BC Forest Practices Board Chair.

It’s been a few weeks since you started in your new role, what are your first impressions? Thanks for that. I’m really excited to be here. One of my first impressions relates to how strong the team is at the Forest Practices Board. It’s a group of professionals doing important work at a very high level, which gives me confidence. Second, the team is located all around the province with many working from home. As such, they don’t just parachute in for an audit – they’re actually in or near the forest communities and know what’s going on. Finally, given how complex forestry is, it is impressive to see how the FPB interacts with the public and how it employs different tools to do its work. For me, it’s been a nice introduction to the start of a new job.

How would you describe the BC Forest Practices Board’s role as a watchdog entity? I was actually hesitant to do interviews before I formed my thoughts on questions like this – but it’s already clear to me that the role of a public watchdog is as relevant today as it was when the board was created in 1995. BC’s forests are owned by the public and when complaints or concerns are raised, it’s important to have a credible, professional oversight body in place. And with today’s social media and related technology, I’m not surprised society is aware and speaking out more. I’m a pretty big fan of this, actually. I believe it’s fair for the public to ask questions and for the FPB to do the work necessary to answer them.

As the new Chair of the FPB, what is your message to the BC forest sector? What I really want the message to be is about investing in forestry transition, whether that’s a personal investment or a financial one. …

[This article is part of our partnership with the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee and our jointly hosted Wildfire Resilience and Awareness Week.]

The FireSmart BC program is directed by the BC FireSmart Committee (BCFSC), collaborating to maintain and improve the delivery of the FireSmart BC program to better support wildfire preparedness, prevention and mitigation in BC. The Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) program was introduced by the provincial government in September 2018 and is intended to reduce the risk of wildfires and mitigate their impacts on BC communities. Through the CRI, communities are provided funding and support to complete FireSmart™ initiatives, including priority fuel management activities, on provincial Crown land and on private land. There are two program streams: FireSmart Community Funding and Supports (FCFS), and Crown Land Wildfire Risk Reduction (WRR).

[This article is part of our partnership with the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee and our jointly hosted Wildfire Resilience and Awareness Week.]

This summer will mark the 20-year anniversary since the Kelowna Mountain Park fire destroyed 238 homes and burned approximately 26,000 ha. It marks a critical turning point in fire management in B.C. and I believe for Canada. … While we have made some progress to address the wildfire problem it is obvious there is still a long way to go.

A key issue that requires complex solutions is the continued growth of development into the wildland urban interface. Local governments in B.C. have been unable to halt the expansion of homes into fire prone areas of the Province. While a few communities have adopted FireSmart bylaws through the Development Permit Area process, these bylaws often don’t go far enough and are limited in. …In my opinion the growing development of vulnerable interface communities can only be managed through a provincial mandate that enforces FireSmart standards in high fire risk areas of the province. …Governments need to direct industry to assist in wildfire risk reduction beyond the current wildfire hazard reduction obligations. … Given the current public forest land management and tenure model in B.C., these costs should be borne by the Crown.

The cheapest and most effective treatment is prescribed fire, and even though it has been highlighted as a big part of the solution we have failed to act on these recommendations. Without prescribed fire our hope of significantly reducing the fire problem is likely to fail.

[This article is part of our partnership with the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee (WCSIC) and our jointly hosted Wildfire Resilience and Awareness Week.] For roughly a century we have been putting out wildfire on the land and we’ve gotten pretty darn good at it. Unfortunately, this well intended policy has had unintended consequences – namely our rural communities, and the very forests that they depend upon, are at extreme risk of catastrophic loss due to a wildfire deficit. Our friend Smokey the Bear has been too successful with his wildfire prevention message! …For a holistic, full circle approach to wildfire resiliency, you must access skills and knowledge from various fire and forest specialties –operational fire experience, fire behaviour knowledge, fire and forestry ecology, fire modelling technology, community level educators, silviculture reforestation specialists …As climate change continues to express itself through larger, more frequent, and catastrophic landscape level wildfires, our ability to prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover (also known as the Emergency Management Continuum) from these events needs to adapt and grow too.  We have been fortunate to be part of these conversations and work too.

Whether it is an alternative view of the landscape, designing forests for resilience first, re-introducing ecologically appropriate wildland fire to the landscape or maximizing the benefit of emerging technology and innovation to ensure informed decisions, there is significant opportunity moving forward – and we must move forward.

The Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee (WCSIC) has partnered with the Tree Frog Forestry News to host Wildfire Resilience and Awareness Week. Under the SFI Forest Management Standard, certified organizations are required to limit the susceptibility of forests to undesirable impacts of wildfire and raise community awareness of wildfire benefits, risks, and minimization measures. With the start of fire season in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, the Tree Frog Forestry News saw this as an opportunity to work with some of our sponsors and give voice to experts in the field of wildfire management. A special Wildfire Resource Page has been created to share information and communications tools with our readers — please join us in sharing this important information with your colleagues and communities.

Throughout the week we’ll be posting articles that feature a variety of perspectives on wildfire management.

Nathanson, Schachter and Thompson LLP is pleased to announce that leading litigation counsel Mark S. Oulton has joined the partnership. Mark has extensive experience at trial, on appeal, and before administrative tribunals in a range of commercial litigation and administrative law matters, with a particular focus on forestry and commercial disputes. Legal publications Lexpert and Chambers Canada recognize Mark as a leading forestry law practitioner. Benchmark Litigation recognizes Mark for corporate commercial litigation and administrative law and Best Lawyers Canada recognizes Mark for these and natural resource law as well. In addition to his counsel work, Mark regularly contributes to legal scholarship and education, including through contributions to the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC and the Advocates Society. …Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 10 Litigation Firms, NST is known for its intellectual rigour, high quality advocacy, responsiveness to clients’ needs, and its outstanding team.

Bill Dumont

William “Bill” Dumont – July 15, 1948 – January 25, 2023. Bill Dumont was born into this world on July 15, 1948, and left it peacefully on January 25, 2023; both earlier and faster than anyone expected. He was B-I-G. Not only in stature, but personality, opinions, his acts of kindness, his love of gardening and travel, life spanning volunteerism and love language of preparing food and serving it to others. Family. Friends. Food. Fun. Faith. Forestry. Fishing. Flowers. Fur-babies. All had his heart, and that heart will dearly be missed by many.

Bill earned a Bachelor of Science (Forestry) from the University of British Columbia in 1971. Next he served as a CUSO Volunteer forester from 1971 to 1973 in Tapah and Ipoh, West Malaysia, with the Perak State Forestry Department. His journey to becoming a Distinguished Professional Forester included being the Chief Forester with Western Forest Products Ltd. for many years. He also served on the Forest Practices Board and was a director and volunteer with many other very worthy organizations, including Indigenous economic development corporations.

A celebration of Bill’s life will take place on February 7, 2023 in Duncan, BC. 

Mirax Group announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Lyle Forest Products (Lyle) located in Chilliwack, BC.  Established in 1972, Lyle Forest Products is a premier value-added lumber facility dealing with Pacific Coast Hemlock and Western Red Cedar. For the past 50 years Lyle has been producing only the highest quality of paneling, moulding’s, S4S finishing boards, and engineered wood products. …This acquisition is one step closer for Mirax Group to become a more vertically integrated forest company in British Columbia. With the addition of Lyle to our family of companies, this is consistent with our value-added business model to further enhance and diversify investment locally in BC and produce high quality finished products ready to be shipped globally. The new operation will be run as Lyle Specialty Forest Products Ltd., where our sister-company Jazz Forest Products will be the sole distributor for Lyle products. 

Salmon Arm, BC – Forsite is excited to announce that Frontline Operations Group is joining the Forsite team as we continue to build an innovative and industry leading fire services team. This collaboration further expands our wildfire and forestry expertise, fortifying our commitment to our clients across Canada as we respond strategically and collaboratively to wildfire risks. Frontline Operations is an industry leader in integrated wildfire and forestry services. Frontline Operation’s partners John and Andy have five decades of combined wildland fire management experience. Along with their staff, they will bolster the Forsite team to apply significant industry expertise, innovation and operational delivery excellence to wildfire risk assessment, community planning, fuel management, cultural and prescribed fire, and wildfire operations. 

Russ Taylor and Paul Quinn

It was perhaps akin to announcing funding for a new fish processing plant in response to the total collapse of fish stocks. In response to last week’s announcement by Canfor Corp. … Premier David Eby announced a $90 million fund aimed at encouraging investments in value-added wood industries… While that is “nice,” it completely misses the point, David Elstone writes in in his View From the Stump  – the point being that there is simply not enough affordable timber in B.C. to sustain the current number of operating sawmills and pulp mills.

Analysts speaking at the BC Truck Loggers Association Convention in Vancouver echoed Elstone’s point. …“If the future is mass timber, you still need lumber to make mass timber,” said Paul Quinn with RBC Capital Markets. …Russ Taylor, with Russ Taylor Global said “You have to have a healthy sawmilling industry, and you have to have a fair stumpage and stable timber volumes to make the sawmill costs competitive and fair.” Quinn went so far as to suggest the current government is indifferent to the plight of forestry dependent communities because that’s not where its voter base is. …Taylor noted that sawmill capacity in the U.S. – mainly the Southern U.S. – has grown 40 per cent since 2014, while B.C. sawmill capacity declined 30 per cent. …Premier David Eby will have a chance to defend his government’s policies on forestry tomorrow, when he gives a keynote address to the TLA Convention.

Vaughn Palmer

VICTORIA — Premier David Eby offered the usual government solution to this week’s news of the permanent closure of pulp production at the Canfor mill in Prince George. Eby expressed sympathy for the 300 workers who’ll lose their jobs add said the government is dispatching a crisis response team to the community. The team will offer “training, transitioning to retirement, or other supports,” the premier told reporters in Vancouver on Thursday. …Eby did hint at more encouraging relief, when he was asked about the proposal from a coalition of pulp and paper producers for a “value-added transformation” of the industry. …“In terms of the specific proposals around support for innovation, we’ll have more to say in the coming days,” Eby said of the coalition submission. The premier is scheduled to deliver two major speeches on forest and resource themes next week — to the 20th annual B.C. Natural Resources forum and the annual convention of the Truck Loggers Association.

The Canfor board includes former NDP Premier Glen Clark. …Clark is also a lifelong New Democrat, who has lately offered to help the current government. “I’m not desperate for work or anything.” he told Jas Johal on CKNW this week. “I’m just saying I’m prepared and interested, but it’s up to others to decide whether they think I can help.” Eby said “that’s great news, and I look forward to working with him.” …But oh, to be a fly on the wall if Eby dared to ask Clark for advice on what to do in the forest sector.

Linda Coady

When the job came up with COFI I was attracted to it because I knew climate-smart forestry was going to be an big opportunity for B.C. And Indigenous reconciliation is now a legal and business imperative here.

…There are certainly flashpoint issues around forestry in B.C. right now, but those also create opportunity. But, generally speaking, things are not as polarized as it might seem from the outside. There are solutions in areas of climate-smart forestry, new types of products and jobs, new relationships, especially with Indigenous communities and organizations, and new markets globally. …I would hope that focusing on the opportunities side of things it will make it easier to get to solutions on some of those flashpoint issues.  I don’t think anybody doubts that we need a good, solid plan for old-growth conservation in B.C. I see that as fundamental to the credibility of B.C.’s claim that we practice sustainable forestry.

…In my first 60 days of talking to people, the one message that people seem to agree on is the long-term goal of where we’re heading in the forest sector. There are different perspectives, of course, on how you get there, but I see it as an encouraging sign that there is a broadly based consensus on the importance of sustainable forest management and the importance of having a globally innovative and competitive forest sector because of the contribution it can make on a number of different levels.  I take that as a good sign that some of the short-term challenges can be worked through if you have people on the same page as to what the general direction is.