In this episode Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), joins Aspen Dudzic at AFPA’s 80th AGM and Conference to share his unique view of forestry in the federal landscape. Join them as they dig into big topics like net-zero carbon and what it means when we hear people talk about nature-based climate solutions, and what a forest bioeconomy is all about. Derek also shares a bit about what drives his passion for Canadian forestry and explores themes of innovation, sustainability, and why as Derek puts it, “this is not your grandma and grandpa’s forest sector.” Join Aspen and Derek for all that and a whole lot more. And if you’re eager for even more, check out ForestryForTheFuture.ca!

B.C. has some of the richest and most diverse forests in the world. But, as everyone knows, these forests are in bad shape now and the forest industry itself is in crisis. How has this come about? There are a host of problems ranging from the over-harvesting of timber to raw log exports, pine and spruce beetle infestations, lack of reinvestment, failure to extract more value from the wood, environmental degradation, and now an acute shortage of wood fibre which has contributed to the closure of the pulp line at Prince George Pulp & Paper and 300 employees losing their jobs. One thing is clear. For too long, government forest policy has been under the thumb of the giant globalized forest companies with just about everyone else relegated to the sidelines. And we are seeing the results of this lop-sided big company domination with the sorry state of our forests today.

BAIE-D’URFÉ, QC – The Hagen Family Foundation announces a donation towards Wildlife Preservation Canada for the conservation efforts to save the Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa), the most endangered frog in Canada. A sum of $10,000 was donated to provide financial relief and support for their recovery plan of this species at risk. Wildlife Preservation Canada’s mission is to save animal species at risk from extinction in Canada… According to the Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC) website, the biggest factor driving the decline of the Oregon spotted frog is likely habitat loss caused by development, agricultural land conversion, resource extraction, and hydrological alterations. Other threats include invasive species and pollution. With just a handful of breeding populations left in Canada, this species could easily disappear without hands-on intervention.

Chief Knox

Lemare Lake Logging Ltd., working on behalf of Kwakiutl First Nation band council, logged a tract of old-growth forest in Kwakiutl territory on northern Vancouver Island after receiving a cease-and-desist order from hereditary leaders. Hereditary Chief N’amugwis David Mungo Knox says that he tried to engage with the province and the parties in question to little effect, and that the nation has called for an old-growth moratorium for over a decade. “I’m trying to save what we have left for the future, because this is our ancient old growth. Once you’ve clear cut it, that’s it,” he said. The cutblocks are located within the Douglas Treaty area, a coastal strip of territory reaching from Port McNeil to Port Hardy… Knox said they include large tracts of red cedar, salmon spawning habitat and active bear dens, and that they reflect rare, old-growth forest in areas that have been heavily logged.

Two years after B.C.’s forestry watchdog warned biodiversity in the Prince George timber supply area may be at “high risk,” the provincial government has mapped important old-growth areas — and told logging companies to steer clear. Though these areas have not been legally protected, Ministry of Forests officials told logging companies in a Dec. 21 letter that they expect the old-growth parcels to be “respected as no harvest areas.” The move is “quite significant,” said Michelle Connolly, director of the non-profit Conservation North. “It’s an extensive area — it’s a quarter of a million hectares of high-value primary forest,” she said, adding, “they’re extremely important areas ecologically.” “The staff that did this actually should be commended,” she said. …The changes come two years after the Forest Practices Board, the forestry watchdog, wrapped up an investigation into the way biodiversity is managed in the Prince George timber supply area, following a complaint from a local resident. 

Forestry workers and communities throughout the province will benefit from new funding for the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) to increase fibre supply aimed at keeping people working and local mills running, while also mitigating wildfire risks and reducing climate emissions.  “The projects funded through the Forest Enhancement Society of BC will help us get more fire-damaged wood and logging waste to the mills that need it. At the same time, forestry contractors will have more work hauling fibre that would otherwise be too remote or costly to access. This also supports our continued focus on getting more well-paying jobs from our forests,” said Premier David Eby. With an investment of $50 million from the Province, FESBC will expand funding for projects and programs that increase the use of low-value or residual fibre, including trees damaged by recent wildfires and waste left over from logging that would otherwise be burned in slash piles.

Addition coverage in BlackPress by Wolf Depner: Province pumps $50-million into increasing fibre supply in B.C.

Ribbons of smoke curl up out of the forests framing the Trans Canada Highway as drivers enter and exit Banff’s townsite in the picturesque Rocky Mountains of western Alberta. There, Parks Canada crews have been hard at work trying to remove the fuel on the forest floor and canopy in Banff National Park. “What that involves is pruning and thinning the forest so we can reduce the amount of fuel load in terms of wildfire risk reduction,” said David Tavernini, Fire and Vegetation Specialist with Parks Canada. “This helps us manage wildfires safely and be able to protect the communities, people and infrastructure,” he added. This season, about 34 hectares of forest with be thinned. The forests in Banff National Park are not only old and beyond what is considered their natural burning cycle, but mountain pine beetle is also wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.

The state of the provincial forestry industry and its future is this week’s focus for Premier David Eby and other key industry leaders. …Bob Brash, TLA’s executive director, told Black Press that the association is looking for specific measures to help reduce what he called the “fair bit of concern and uncertainty” in the industry. …Forest companies have also lamented declines in the annual allowable cut with the proviso that the actual amount harvested is generally less. “Predictability on fibre supply is really critical,” said Linda Coady of the BC Council of Forest Industries. While the annual allowable cut was around 80 million cubic-meters per year around 2007… it will level out somewhere between 40 and 50 million cubic meters by 2030 – quite a swing. …Other issues facing include government’s deferral of nearly 1.7 million hectares of old growth forest.