Interfor plans to reduce its Q4 lumber output by 17%, spread across each of its operating regions. In other Business news: John Brink says BC’s value-added manufactures need access to fibre; Marinette, Wisconsin’s water is safe to drink after Resolute mill fire; West Fraser’s formaldehyde-free OSB featured in UK; and why Seattle has the worst air quality in the world.
In other news: BC’s new forestry council said to lack full representation; out of the smoke David Suzuki emerges blazing mad; why the East Texas forest economy is thriving; a California fire wipes out years of emission cuts; Brazil’s vote sparks rush to clear Amazon forests; and Timber Development UK signs anti-greenwash charter.
Finally, ‘Invest in Our Planet” named theme for EARTH DAY 2023.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
BURNABY, BC — Interfor Corporation announced plans to reduce its lumber production output in the fourth quarter of 2022 by approximately 200 million board feet, or 17% of quarterly capacity, as current economic conditions and market uncertainty have led to reduced lumber demand. This temporary reduction in output is expected to be spread across each of the Company’s operating regions, primarily timed around U.S. Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods, and used to accelerate ongoing capital and maintenance projects. The Company’s lumber inventories are currently within normal volume parameters, and these plans are expected to maintain the balance between production and market demand through the remainder of 2022. The Company currently expects to resume its normal operating schedule in January 2023, but will closely monitor market conditions and adjust its production plans accordingly. 
Edward Becker, an associate professor in the College of Architecture, Arts and Design says the Southwest Virginia and West Virginia region is the mecca of hardwood resources in North America. Becker’s research focuses on using low carbon, sustainable resources for building construction using mass timber products. Specifically, students work with cross-laminated wood. The crucial element? The joint effort with AAD and the College of Natural Resources and Environment. The Think Wood exhibit is presented by the Softwood Lumber Board, and is a culmination of the collaboration between the two colleges. [Open story to watch the full video]
Nakusp is finally getting its chance to host the BC Community Forest Association’s annual conference. The 2020 event was scheduled to be held in Nakusp, but was cancelled due to the pandemic. This year marks the first time the forum has been held in-person since 2019 and celebrates the 20th anniversary of the BCCFA. “It provides an opportunity to showcase Nakusp and area,” said Frances Swan, project manager of the Nakusp and Area Community Forest (NACFOR), “and of course showcase the Nakusp Community Forest.” NACFOR is the host of the conference, which Swan expects will bring about 120 attendees from across the province, including many industry experts who will make presentations on forestry related topics.
VICTORIA, B.C. — The province of British Columbia has put together a new advisory council for forestry industries in the province with no representation from the northeast. The council looks to help better support forestry workers and communities in B.C. According to a release, the council will accomplish this by advising on existing programs and helping develop new initiatives. The two most northern locations represented on the council are Lori Forgeron from Prince George and Titi Kunkel from Smithers. “This is just, again, another example of not having our region represented at the table of these extremely important issues,” said Dan Davies, MLA for the North Peace River region. Davies said that this lack of representation for the northeast was his biggest concern about the new council. 
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A U.S. Forest Service “burn boss” was arrested by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office after a controlled fire escaped and burned 20 acres of private land near Seneca, about 25 miles south of John Day in Eastern Oregon. A 39-year-old man who was in charge of the Starr 6 controlled burn in Malheur National Forest was charged with reckless burning and released without bail, Grant County officials said. The incident took place Wednesday when the controlled fire — meant to eliminate overstocked forests with low intensity fire — escaped near milepost 2 on Izee Highway. It burned 18 to 20 acres of private land owned by the Holliday Ranches, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The Forest Service confirmed the escaped fire and said it was “caught within the hour.”
As the far-right Bolsonaro prepares to face his leftwing challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a presidential runoff poll at the end of the month, the future of the forest has not been a central issue, with the election dominated by the economy and questions of morality and religion. Under Bolsonaro, deforestation of the Amazon has surged as his administration weakened environmental rules and slashed the budgets of enforcement agencies. Critics have accused the president of giving a green light to illegal loggers, gold miners and ranchers. Satellite data show 8,590 square kilometres — more than five times the size of Greater London — was razed in the Brazilian Amazon in the first nine months of this year, a 23 per cent increase on the same period in 2021, according to the national space research agency. …The possible change of government has sparked a rush by criminal logging gangs, said campaigners.
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A nearly two-decade effort by Californians to cut their emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide may have been erased by a single, devastating year of wildfires, according to UCLA and University of Chicago researchers. The state’s record-breaking 2020 fire season, which saw more than 4 million acres burn, spewed almost twice the tonnage of greenhouse gases as the total amount of carbon dioxide reductions made since 2003, according to a study published recently in the journal Environmental Pollution. Researchers estimated that about 127 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were released by the fires, compared with about 65 million metric tons of reductions achieved in the previous 18 years. “When we look at the contribution of the 2020 wildfires, it becomes almost like a new sector of emissions in the economy,” said Michael Jerrett, a professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a lead author of the research. “Really, we’re about double the reductions.”
