Columnist Vaughn Palmer says BC is quietly looking to co-manage public lands with First Nations. In related news: the Snuneymuxw First Nation adds to its reserve; TLA addresses BC’s forestry challenges; and a UBC professor says its time for a rethink. In other news: Quebec sawmills were unprofitable in 2023; no date set for Tolko High Prairie mill reopening; CC Allis & Sons’ mill rebuild in Pennsylvania; and Hayward Lumber expands in California.
In Forestry/Climate news: a US bipartisan effort to combat wildfires; a California bill seeks to monitor fire smoke; Oregon trainers look to put more good fire on the ground; Ontario firefighters are exposed to toxin risk; and the Amazon’s record drought is fuelled by climate change. Meanwhile: the American Wood Council announces its new Board; and forest communicator Jess Ketchum branches out again.
Finally the first full-height laminated veneer lumber wind turbine goes for a spin.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
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.
BRADFORD COUNTY, Pa. — “I’m glad that we have it back to where we can keep people employed to keep working here and to keep our family together,” said Shannon Fitzgerald, C.C. Allis and Sons Co-Owner. For Shannon Fitzgerald, a few charred beams are all that remain as her family’s business works to rebuild its decades-old sawmill, which burned to the ground in an accidental fire last spring. Now the mill is well on its way to being rebuilt. Camp says all thanks to community support. “It’s been here all their lives, so they’ve actually wanted to see it come back, and people just wanted it in general to come back because it was so used to being here in the community.” Camp and Fitzgerald expect the project to be completed sometime in June. Then, they can return to supplying the many who have helped keep them in business for more than two centuries.
LEESBURG, Va.
It’s a sign that not every indicator is pointing toward doom — though there is no room for complacency. Think of a planet in the grip of climate crisis, and many of the images in your mind will be carved from wood. Forests in Canada and Australia going up in flames; loggers in the jungles of Indonesia and Brazil chain-sawing ancient trees for lumber; monocultural fir plantations marching in geometric order up the hillsides of Scotland or Sweden. You might be surprised to discover, then, that many of the world’s woodlands are in a surprisingly good condition. The destruction of tropical forests gets so much (justified) attention that we’re at risk of missing how much progress we’re making in cooler climates. [to access the full story a Bloomberg subscription is required]
