Sinclar Group is curtailing three of its BC sawmills for two weeks. In related news: Tolko extends downtime at two of its mills; fire delays Houston Canfor mill re-opening; Mirax Group is acquiring Lyle Forest Products in Chilliwack, BC; Drax expands its Aliceville, Alabama pellet plant; and US LBM divests three divisions. Meanwhile: Keith Baldrey on BC’s forest industry woes; Rayonier announces new leadership; and Louis Bélanger joins FSC Canada’s Board.
In Forestry/Climate news: logging said to threaten Alberta bison; researchers work to protect Nova Scotia hemlocks; US Forest Service unmoved by North Carolina forest plan objections; protests continue in Atlanta’s urban forest; pushback on Fort Drum, New York biomass plant closure; Greenpeace says UK distorts its biomass stance; and Brazil works to reverse deforestation.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Investigators are still determining the cause of an early morning Jan. 22 fire at Houston’s Canfor sawmill which severely damaged an interior control room. The blaze has further set back a full re-opening of the mill which has been closed for five weeks. Houston Volunteer Fire Department chief Jim Daigneault said firefighters were called out just before 1 a.m. and that three engines responded with 17 department members. “We were on scene for five hours. It was a challenge to make sure it was totally out,” he said of the fire in and around the computer equipment in the trimmer room. “The fire had gotten into a couple of walls and the electrical room floor had been compromised by the fire,” Daigneault added. …The mill, as with Canfor’s other sawmills in B.C., was closed for three weeks in December with the company citing weak markets and high log costs as reasons.
PRINCE GEORGE — Sinclar has announced temporary production curtailments at its lumber operations at Apollo Forest Products in Fort St. James, Lakeland Mills in Prince George, and Nechako Lumber Co. in Vanderhoof. The company says they will last two weeks, starting January 30. “There are factors outside of our control that are having a detrimental impact on our business,” said Sinclar President Greg Stewart. “Regrettably, it is necessary to curtail our lumber operations at this time.” Weak market conditions and constraints on an economical fibre supply are having a significant negative impact across the B.C. forest industry. “Sinclar remains committed to the long-term sustainability of our operations, while continuing to support our employees, local First Nations, and communities,” said Stewart. The Premium Pellet operation will continue to run, and Lakeland will continue to provide heat to the Prince George Downtown Renewable Energy System operations at this time.”
VERNON, BC — Tolko Industries announced that downtime at its Soda Creek and Armstrong Lumber divisions will continue through the month of February. “We do not make these decisions lightly,” says Troy Connolly, VP of Solid Wood. …These temporary curtailments will reduce production by approximately 35 million board feet of stud lumber. …“While we strive to ensure consistency and stability for all of our operations, the upward cost pressures in the province combined with the notable decline in lumber demand make the decision necessary.” …As an additional update on Tolko facilities, operations will resume this week at White Valley and Armstrong Plywood Divisions. These locations were forced to take downtime due to a December 28 substation fire, which caused an ongoing power outage at Armstrong Plywood and Armstrong Lumber. Temporary repairs to the substation are complete, and teams are working through the process of restarting.
OMAHA, Nebraska — Construction is underway on Omaha’s first known mass timber commercial building. It’s promoted as being more environmentally friendly than most newer commercial buildings in downtown Omaha. …Plans call for a four-story building that houses mainly offices, with street-level stores and restaurants. …Zac Gemar, the VP of Construction with Noddle Companies said the building is expected to be 50% mass timber. David Corbin, with the Nebraska Sierra Club, is hopeful. “I appreciate anybody that tries to use innovative practices to be environmentally friendly.” However, Corbin is also cautious. “The main thing that is of concern is how they source the wood, where it comes from.” …Corbin says the Sierra Club recommends using products that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The building is expected to be completed in the spring of 2024.
In a recent letter critical of the history of the forest reserve, the writer made reference to remarks by our new tall premier. The impact attributed to the remarks and their significance on the Municipal Forest Reserve was the equivalent to the Sermon on the Mount to Christians, the Gettysburg Address to Americans, of Churchill’s “We will fight them on the Beaches” to the Allied nations. So I checked and what I found was run of the mill “we must do better” with our forests. No stop logging and make your money with carbon credits as I had anticipated. And then a few weeks later the tall premier shows up in the middle of North Cowichan with $20 million to employ people using the products of logging, not selling carbon credits. No municipal person in sight… Contact our municipal council and tell them to join Canada and B.C. in a responsible economic use of our forest. 
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UK — Greenpeace has accused the government of misrepresenting its stance on burning trees for electricity, giving a minister the impression of public support for the highly controversial practice in meetings with the power company Drax. Greenpeace is firmly opposed to most forms of biomass burning for power generation, and suspicious of claims that the resulting carbon dioxide can be captured. …Doug Parr, the chief scientist at Greenpeace UK, said Greenpeace opposes biomass burning for power, except in special circumstances, for several reasons: burning wood releases carbon dioxide now, but regrowing trees to reabsorb the carbon can take decades; growing trees for power generation takes up land that could be better used; cutting down trees destroys wildlife; and there are few safeguards to ensure that wood for burning comes from well-managed sources. 