The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) released its 2017 Annual Report which highlights its most successful year yet and shows its accomplishments in what it has set out to do—protect and grow markets, sell more lumber, and accrue benefits for the entire softwood lumber industry. Third-party analysis shows… over 3.6 billion board feet of new demand since 2012. In that time, the SLB has generated $19.74 of revenue on every $1 invested. SLB-funded initiatives generated 1.02 billion board feet of incremental softwood lumber demand in 2017:
- Mark Brinkmeyer (Idaho Forest Group): “The SLB has become the preeminent industry-sponsored initiative working to advocate for our products in the building sector. ”
- Don Kayne (Canfor): The SLB is a game changer for our industry. It expands markets by creating new opportunities for softwood lumber. We could never achieve the same level of success working individually.”
Forest inventories in Canada are evolving as new technologies are incorporated into the inventory process. Governments and industry are under increasing pressure to reduce inventory costs, while simultaneously producing improved information to support the increasingly complex demands associated with forest management. For forest professionals, keeping up-to-date on technological innovations and understanding the different sources of forest inventory information available (and the associated terminology) can be challenging. Amidst all this change in forest inventories in Canada, there are two acronyms in particular that seem to invite confusion: NFI and EFI. NFI stands for National Forest Inventory and represents a type of inventory with a very specific purpose: an NFI is typically designed to provide high-level information to support national-level forest policy and reporting information needs. 
Lumber is an integral part of your business and how America builds its housing. The Softwood Lumber Board’s (SLB’s) mission is to make it much more than that. Our unique programs are showing what is possible when building with wood across residential, commercial, mid-rise, appearance, and even tall building segments. …So far since 2012, our investments have resulted in 2.59 billion board feet of new demand—reflecting a fivefold increase through 2016. 
Scientists examine how forests and wood products can reduce emissions to the atmosphere. Pacific Forestry Centre research scientists Carolyn Smyth and Werner Kurz model the impact of various strategies on the greenhouse gas balance of Canada’s forest sector. Modeling several decades into the future allows scientists to ask, “What mitigation actions will work best for each region?” and assess how changes in activities or technology can reduce future emissions or enhance removals of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Forests play an important role in the carbon cycle. The carbon cycle is the movement of carbon from land and water through the atmosphere and all living things. …This dynamic process of absorbing and releasing carbon constantly affects the global carbon balance.
Plant diseases threaten many of Canada’s most important timber crops and tree species. Over the years forest pathologists from Mexico to Alaska have worked together to develop important knowledge on how to manage North American forest diseases. Experts work across borders to discuss climate change, mistletoe, foliage and twig diseases, hazard trees, nursery disease, root disease and rusts. Like people, plants catch viruses too. Blueberry Scorch Virus infects our blueberry crops in BC, and infected plants su er with sluggish growth that reduces yields. Another example is Blister Rust of white pine trees; this fungal disease severely a ects this tree’s survival. Pathologists use a range of tools to combat these diseases, but not creating the conditions for them to ourish is one of the most important steps.
VANCOUVER – Innovative architectural and structural design in taller and larger mass timber buildings headlined the 2018 Wood Design Awards event at the Vancouver Convention Centre Monday evening. The 14th annual event, organized and hosted by Wood WORKS! BC, honoured excellence in wood building and design, and recognized leadership and innovation in wood use. Nearly 500 guests attended this year’s celebration of wood, including distinguished building and design professionals, owners, local and provincial government representatives, industry sponsors and guests. …The Brock Commons – Tallwood House was the most celebrated project of the 2018 Wood Design Awards in BC, with a win in a record three categories, including the Engineer Award, the Architect Award and Wood Innovation Award. The 18-storey project, located at UBC in Vancouver, was the tallest hybrid mass timber building in the world at the time of construction.
The Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) kicked off their annual conference with two workshops, a plenary of chief foresters and a public lecture on the future of wildfire in BC. The three-day conference promises to be an outstanding event given the attendance of more than 400 delegates and high profile speakers such as Minister George Heyman (Environment and Climate Change) and Doug Donaldson (Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development) still to come. Al Gorley (the Host Committee Chair) and Diane Nicholls (BC’s Chief Forester) introduced the first plenary “Charting the Path for Truly Sustainable Forest Management”. Gorley and Nicholls spoke of the forest professional’s management challenge given the need to balance ‘expectations and realities’—effectively the conference theme.
The summer of 2017 brought the worst wildfire season in BC history with 1.2 million hectares burned. Is this the new normal? How do we reduce the associated risks to our forests and our communities? Cue Deputy Minister Tim Sheldan to introduce Dr. Scott Stephens, Professor, Wildland Resource Science, University of California, Berkeley. With five of its 20 most destructive wildland-urban interface fires occurring last year, it was a similar story in California. With unbridled passion and considerable knowledge of the Mexican and Australian experience, Professor Stephens spoke of the new normal in California – climate change and larger and more frequent fires. 
Yukon is home to extensive boreal forest that covers an area of approximately 28.1 million hectares (ha) and plays an integral role in the regulation of climate locally, regionally and internationally. Yukon’s forests contribute to the territory’s economy by providing wood and other forest products, local employment, regional development, tourism and recreational opportunities in addition to being valued as a vital cultural, social, historical and educational resource. …Boreal ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate change. Melting permafrost, increased severity of insect outbreaks and drought are driving major forest changes …Potential exists for rapid ecosystem transitions, with parts of the boreal forest nearing ecological “tipping points” by the end of the century. Scientists are already beginning to see evidence of climate associated declines of spruce, pine and aspen in some parts of the boreal forest. 
