Canada’s RCMP watchdog launches probe into complaints over police tactics in resource standoffs in BC. In related news: a US ENGO pans Canada’s pushback on US anti-deforestation bills; and CBC’s investigation into Paper Excellence spurs call for more transparency. Other Companies making news include: Centurion Lumber’s First Nations benefit agreement; Resolute’s newest Ukrainian employees; Drax’s biomass export milestone; Hunt Forest Products’ pledge to Louisiana’s Forest Products Innovation Center; and Doman Building Materials’ 2022 financial results.
In other news: raising the timber roof on Portland’s airport; shifting the US recycling burden onto manufacturers; a book on managing boreal forests in the face of climate change; an industry veteran on the forest/forest products disconnect; and a recap on our Wildfire Resilience and Awareness week.
Finally, upcycling coffee grounds can add energy to your wood pellet stove.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
In the world of sustainable living, coffee grounds are basically low-waste gold. After they’ve been used to brew the perfect cup of java, they can be given a second life in your compost, as part of various recipes, and even as a bug repellent. But beyond that, they can be used to heat your home. …There are a number of reasons why you might want to opt for wood pellets that contain coffee grounds — far beyond the fact that the smell of the pellets themselves is reminiscent of your morning cuppa. …The real reason is because the coffee makes your pellets burn more efficiently. According to Material District, coffee grounds add more caloric value to your regular sawdust-based wood pellet, which means they are more dense… and contain about 25 percent more energy than other types of pellets.
Forests are critically important for slowing climate change. They remove huge quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – 30% of all fossil fuel emissions annually – and store carbon in trees and soils. Old and mature forests are especially important: They handle droughts, storms and wildfires better than young trees, and they store more carbon. In a 2022 executive order, President Joe Biden called for conserving mature and old-growth forests on federal lands. Recently Biden protected nearly half of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from road-building and logging. The Biden administration is compiling an inventory of mature and old-growth forests on public lands that will support further conservation actions. But at the same time, federal agencies are initiating and implementing numerous logging projects in mature and old forests without accounting for how these projects will affect climate change or forest species.
Taylor County, Wisconsin — With additional bat species expected to gain endangered status, Taylor County is working with the state and other forest agencies to be proactive about having guidelines in place to continue forest activities near protected habitat areas. This doesn’t necessarily make members of the county’s forestry committee any happier when needing to deal with additional regulations. “It is another regulation,” said committee member Jim Gebauer. County forest administrator Jake Walcisak presented the Lake States Forest Management Bat Habitat Conservation Plan. He said the heavy lifting in developing the plan was done at the state level in cooperation with the other Great Lakes States in preparation for the potential listing of additional bat species due to the sharp decline in bat populations due to the white-nose syndrome. The plan includes additional protection to reduce logging around caves where bats could nest as well as trees that are home to maternity colonies and day roosts.
That’s a wrap on our Wildfire Awareness week. We’d like to thank the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee for partnering with us to make it happen. And, a special thanks to the team at Forsite (John Davies and Garnet Mireau), Bruce Blackwell at B.A. Blackwell and Associates, and FireSmart BC for contributing stories. If you missed it, here’s a summary.