Canfor Pulp is extending a curtailment at its Intercontinental pulp mill in Prince George, due to a lack of fibre. In related news: Resolute provides update on Menominee pulp mill fire; and Rayonier AM faces permit challenge in Georgia. On the Market front: US Builder confidence tumbles, Canadian home construction is up; and analysts anticipate lumber rebound in 2023.
In other news: BC launches council in support of forest communities; ENGO’s pan Canada’s approach to GHG accounting for forests; Peter Templeton named CEO of US Green Building Council; the search is underway for BC Forest Practices Board Chair; UPM’s CEO Jussi Pesonen is retiring; and BC Wood announces new cohort for its Export Readiness Training Program.
Finally, Fast + App wins award for wood roof at Simon Fraser University’s football stadium.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
VANCOUVER, BC — Canfor Pulp Products announced a temporary curtailment of its Intercontinental Pulp Mill due to the lack of available economic fibre. Following its annual turnaround maintenance that began on September 24, 2022 and lasted for two weeks, the facility has implemented a two-week curtailment. Regular operations are expected to resume on October 24, 2022. In total the four weeks of downtime is reducing Canfor Pulp’s production output by approximately 28,000 tonnes of market kraft pulp. “Despite strong global pulp markets, we are experiencing a shortfall of economic fibre in BC. The fibre for pulp mills is increasingly constrained due to the impacts of the decreasing allowable annual cut, the end of the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic, wildfires and reduced sawmill capacity in the province,” said Kevin Edgson, President & CEO, Canfor Pulp. “We regret the impact of the downtime on our employees and are working to support them through this time.”
BC Wood is once again launching their Export Readiness Training Program. The program is an in-depth webinar based 10-module program developed for BC’s wood products industry that will guide participants through the complete process of exporting. Starting October 26th, the modules are broken into three phases, starting with determining export readiness, then offering tactical lessons in performing research, learning about key markets, building Export Plans and identifying the best fit partners, followed by a number of hands-on webinars with experts on dealing with logistics, international finance, virtual selling, how to price your product and other trade topics that will provide specific and actionable advice on expanding internationally. This program has been developed using best practices of other export marketing training programs, but focused on wood products manufacturers specific needs, and will be delivered with input from industry members representing a variety of wood manufacturers.
We have embarked on an important search for the next Board Chair for the British Columbia Forest Practices Board. The Board is the provincial government’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices. The Board plays an important role in the application of the Forest and Range Practices Act (the FRPA) and the Wildfire Act to improve forest and range practices in the province. The Board Chair is the full-time head of the organization, and they may be based in Victoria or any major regional centre in the province. The Chair is accountable for effective planning, organization, coordination, and overall direction of all operations and business affairs of the Forest Practices Board. They provide administrative guidance, direction, and support to Board leaders and staff and accurate interpretation and application of Board policies. We’ve partnered with Leaders International on this important search and encourage you to reach out to them if you have referrals or interest. 
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While homeowners with variable-rate mortgages brace for another expected hike next week from the Bank of Canada, fixed-rates are rising too, according to rate insiders. …Scotiabank announced last week that it was raising its five-year fixed-rate by 25 basis points to 5.69 per cent for 25-year amortization, and 5.79 per cent for a 30-year, according to Ratesdotca. TD also announced a 20-basis point increase in fixed-rate mortgages, bringing the five-year fixed to 5.59 per cent. Mortgage rate analyst Robert McLister says “borrowers are undergoing a rate shock, that of which we’ve never witnessed before.” …Meanwhile, economists are going over the latest bit of data in efforts to predict how big a hike we can expect from the Bank of Canada next week.
Get ready for another lumber rally, Despite its epic fall since March, lumber could be about to surge once again, experts say. The price for random length lumber futures took an epic dive this year falling to around $509 per thousand board feet recently. …The reasons for the dip were multifaceted. …Then move on to this year and the Federal Reserve began its war on inflation. …Housing starts dropped to an annual rate of 1.4 million in July. …They have subsequently bounced back a little. What the smart money now anticipates is a housing recovery late next year. …Traders are bullish on lumber because they see a healthier economy in around a year’s time. That would likely coincide with lower inflation and hence lower interest rates. …There’s another tailwind as well. Russia and its ally Belarus together account for 12.2% of the global exports of sawn timber, commonly dubbed lumber.
Bob Simpson plans to keep busy after losing his reelection bid for mayor of Quesnel. According to a news release by B.C.’s Ministry of Forests, Simpson has been named a member of a new advisory council in support of forestry workers and communities. Simpson said he had known for a while that he would be part of the Forestry Worker Supports and Community Resiliency Council, which includes 18 members from across the province. …Simpson previously served two terms as Quesnel mayor and was defeated by longtime city councillor Ron Paull on Saturday, Oct. 15. …Following his loss, Simpson believes he will be able to further enjoy the simpler things in life and looks forward to volunteering in the community and consulting on projects that interest him, such as forestry innovation, food security and zero waste initiatives. …He said he is also interested in possibly getting involved with those working to address some of the social issues within the community.
The province could see a shortage of naturally grown Christmas trees over the next decade. As a result of B.C.’s extreme weather conditions in recent years, many Christmas tree farmers have noticed a decline in the amount of quality trees they are able to produce in a year. This has caused worries about a possible increase in the popularity of plastic trees and how they will affect our climate. According to Richard Davies of Langley’s Oh Christmas Tree Farm, it has been difficult for young trees to thrive in the province’s current conditions. “The seedlings can’t withstand these long periods with no rain,” said Davies. …He expects a large number of families to opt for a plastic tree… “Plastic Christmas trees are not fixing any CO2, in the end you end up with a worse environmental footprint than cutting the natural tree,” said Richard Hamelin, UBC Forestry.
The Province has convened a new advisory council in support of forestry workers and communities. “As someone who has worked in forestry and lives in a forestry community, I know personally how vital the sector is for our province,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. The Forestry Worker Supports and Community Resiliency Council will advise the Province on improvements to existing programs and the development of new, forward-looking initiatives aimed at supporting forestry workers and the economic resiliency of rural communities. The council will assist government in ensuring programs are targeted, effective and responsive to community needs and priorities. Chaired by Doug Routley, Parliamentary Secretary for Forests, the council includes 18 members from broad sectors of B.C., including local government, Indigenous communities, forest industry and labour representatives, academics, and non-governmental organizations. [See press release for a full list of council members]
…a new study from US Department of Energy suggests the harmful impact of western wildfires may extend much further. The study… links extreme hail, dangerous deluges, and the growing risk of flash floods in states like Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Nebraska to the growing intensity of wildfires in the west. As fire season in the west stretches longer… big blazes are increasingly coinciding with storm formations in other states. “Western wildfires significantly increase the intensity of severe storms over the central US,” said Dr Jiwen Fan. …“We’re seeing an increasing impact in the midwest and even as far away as New York City, where smog events are fueled by wildfires happening in the western US,” Dr Michael Jerrett, chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of 
ALABAMA — An Auburn University research team received a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service to fund an ongoing effort to combat pine blight, a condition that affects pine trees. The team will use the funds to “determine the impacts on productivity and biological causes of needle blight,” said a press release from Auburn, which said that non-native pests and pathogens have caused an estimated $4.2 billion in damages to the forest industry. The disease affects pines of various types and are marked by the discoloration of needles, often looking like they have been burned. It is commonly spread by wind and rain. Pines have been affected by the disease in 36 counties out of the 67 in Alabama. Landowners who believe that their pines are being affected are encouraged to call their local Alabama Forestry Commission office.
An analysis suggests Canada is using questionable methods to dramatically underestimate greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry industry, which it says equal those from Alberta’s oilsands in some years. “Canada is taking credit for carbon removal from vast forests that have never been logged as a way of masking emissions,” said Michael Polanyi of Nature Canada. The report was also sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council. …Federal government figures suggest carbon emissions from harvesting the “managed forest” are almost evenly balanced overall by carbon absorption from forest regrowth. NRCan has long defended its approach, saying it conforms with United Nations guidelines. But the report says the government’s calculations are misleading. The government doesn’t attribute carbon released by wildfires to industry. However, it does credit industry for carbon absorbed by forest regrowth, even if that forest has never been harvested. …The authors tried to isolate emissions directly attributable to industry using government data. 
NORTH CAROLINA — A new partnership announced last month could see “green” aviation fuel derived from Tar Heel State trees helping connect cities and countries around the world. Last month, Enviva, which turns trees and wood products into pellets that are burnt for energy, announced a deal with Alder Fuels to supply up to 750,000 metric tons of wood biomass to the privately owned green crude producer beginning in 2024. The move would help meet an urgent demand by the aviation industry to develop a greener power source. … “Sustainable airline fuel made from renewable biomass and waste resources have the potential to deliver the performance of petroleum-based jet fuel but with a fraction of its carbon footprint, giving airlines solid footing for decoupling greenhouse gas emissions from flights,” states the US Dept of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.