GreenFirst is selling its two Quebec sawmills to Chantiers Chibougamau, owner of Nordic Structures. In related news: Dryden’s sawmill workers ratify contract with Resolute Forest Products; RoyOMartin upgrades its Louisiana lumber mill; and Enviva signs wood pellet contract with EU firm. Other Business headlines include: Belarus timber products flow to EU via Central Asia; and China is surprising helpful at COP15.
In Forestry/Climate news: BC Premier Eby warns of ‘exhausted forests‘; Canfor addresses deficiencies revealed in forest audit; Drax says MP’s biomass claims are misinformed; a California startup looks to bury wood for carbon removal; paper mills are among Mississippi’s top polluters; and early forests found to have played minor CO2 role.
Finally, Canada’s plastic ban spurs coffee chain giant to switch to wood.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
British Columbia’s forest sector has “never been under greater stress,” Premier David Eby says. There is an “inescapable recognition … that change is needed to ensure our forest industry is sustainable,” he writes in his mandate letter for the new forests minister, Bruce Ralston. Eby’s letter to the minister of water, land and resource stewardship, Nathan Cullen, meanwhile, says “short-term thinking” in land management has led to “exhausted forests.” The new premier’s pointed language to his ministers highlights how British Columbia’s forests sector is in the throes of change, as the province embarks on plans to “modernize” how forests are managed amid ecological concerns, fluctuating lumber prices and dwindling supply of trees for harvesting. Bob Simpson, who served as mayor of Quesnel, B.C. between 2014 and 2022, said the province’s forest sector is “stuck in a time warp,” carrying on with clear-cutting and exporting raw logs and lumber at a pace ecosystems and the timber supply cannot maintain.
MISSISSIPPI — Chemical plants and paper mills are among the top polluters in Mississippi, which has seen a decrease in the total amount of toxic releases reported to the Environmental Protection Agency over the last five years. Certain industries are required by federal law to report every year to the EPA their toxic releases, which include air and water emissions as well as land disposals. Over the last five years, the facilities with the most toxic releases in Mississippi were: Tronox, LLC – 72.6 million pounds of releases… Chemours DeLisle – 72.3 million pounds… Georgia Pacific Leaf River – 15.7 million pounds… Choctaw Generation… Tyson Farms, Carthage – 9.5 million pounds. … Overall, toxic releases reported to the EPA show a 17% decrease in the state from 2017 through 2021, the latest year of available data. The most abundant chemicals in those releases were manganese, nitrate, vanadium, ammonia and chromium.
Nanaimo, BC — Mosaic Forest Management is proud to announce a $50,000 contribution to support First Nations students in the Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) Planning Advanced Certificate at Vancouver Island University (VIU). VIU welcomed their first cohort of students into the IPCA program in 2022. The IPCA program is a comprehensive program relating to protecting and conserving the lands and waters across Canada. Students who graduate from this program will have advanced knowledge of the meaning and purpose of IPCAs and will be able to distinguish between western land use planning and regulatory approaches and Indigenous practices and world views. The Mosaic-sponsored awards are merit-based, research-focused, and of interest to those involved in land use planning, parks, environmental protection, and conservation or other areas relating to culture, lands, waters, air, and wildlife.
VICTORIA – A new investigation report released looks at how well government is investigating, deciding compliance and recovering costs from those responsible for causing wildfires in B.C.The investigation found government has a well-defined and consistent process. Most decisions are appropriate, but there are some opportunities for improvement. Approximately half of all wildfires in B.C. are caused by people, and in the past decade, government has spent approximately $2.7 billion on wildfire suppression. Government has the ability to recover costs related to human-caused wildfires. If government suspects that a person or company has caused a wildfire or contravened the Wildfire Act, it conducts an investigation, offers a hearing and determines whether they were responsible. This is called a determination. If they are found responsible, government may levy penalties, recover costs and order remediation.
