Conifex Timber is curtailing its Mackenzie, BC sawmill for two weeks. In other Business news: Procter and Gamble CEO faces challenge in shareholder vote; New Brunswick’s electricity rate increase excludes pulp & paper mills; and California’s timber industry and firefighters are at odds over new tax.
In Forestry/Climate news: BC to pay couple who say logging flooded their property; Quesnel’s mayor seeks to reinvent his forestry town; the US Forest Service wants to increase prescribed burns; industry seeks intervenor status in Oregon logging lawsuit; Arizona employs helicopter logging on steep slopes; and Finland releases draft strategy on future forest policy.
Finally, SFI has a new Chief Conservation Officer, and the American Loggers Council has a new president.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Conifex Timber Inc. announced today that it is temporarily curtailing its Mackenzie, British Columbia sawmill operations for two weeks commencing October 11, 2022. BC Ministry of Forests policies and practices which position sawmills in the BC Interior region at the high end of the industry cost curve, combined with a steep decline in lumber prices during a period of softer global market demand, have necessitated Conifex take this step. Conifex will continually monitor and assess industry and market conditions as they evolve. It is anticipated that the temporary curtailment will impact production capacity by approximately 7 million board feet in the fourth quarter. “This was a difficult decision. We regret the impact this will have on our employees, their families and the community. We are exploring various initiatives to address concerns that disadvantage sawmill workers, the District of Mackenzie and other forest industry stakeholders,” said Ken Shields, Chairman and CEO.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A proposed millionaires’ tax that would subsidize electric vehicles and hire more firefighters in California has drawn heavy opposition from a surprising source: the timber industry. …Proposition 30, would set aside up to $1 billion a year to hire firefighters to battle the massive wildfires that have consumed vast areas of wilderness, and prime timberland, in the state. But three timber companies have donated more than $1 million to the “No on 30” campaign for reasons they have declined to articulate, leaving people on both sides of the debate to scratch their heads. …Without an explanation from the timber companies, proponents of Prop 30 speculate that the businesses want to protect money they make [from] a controversial practice known as post-fire salvage logging. …Others point to the wealth that can be generated by logging, which typically goes to families who prefer to stay out of the public eye. 
The BC Green Party has tabled legislation to protect bear dens, which double as winter nurseries. Adam Olsen, Green MLA for Saanich North and the Islands … hopes the bill might garner cross-party support. …Biologist Helen Davis, who has researched bear dens for three decades, said the bill is potentially a positive step to ensure bear populations and forests remain healthy. Coastal black bears rely almost exclusively on hollows in massive old-growth trees to protect them from weather and predators such as cougars, she said. However, the persistent loss of large trees to logging over the past century means good den sites are declining. …The proposed legislation shouldn’t be too onerous for the province to enact or forestry companies to follow, Davis said. Logging companies harvesting on Crown land must already leave some stands of trees untouched for wildlife’s sake, she said.:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tgam/44ZLOXNEWNFOPODZT6TQXTPB6A.JPG)
In September, the Forest Service released its recommendations on how to better implement prescribed fire—laying out additional checks that practitioners must implement before burning, calling for the development of a national strategy on how to perform prescribed burns and building out a labor force dedicated to that work. It could be a fresh start, a way to get much more “good fire” on the land to improve forest health and reduce the overloads of woody fuels that could feed the next megafire. But some fire scientists, land managers and foresters worry the summer’s freeze on such burns may lead to more delays, or restrict treatment on more acres. …“We’re just going to have to flip the way we think about these things and get to work,” said Bill Tripp. “If we don’t, we’re just going to continue to see small towns get wiped off the map.”
The Custer Gallatin National Forest announced it has revised its draft environmental assessment for the (approx 16,500-acre) South Plateau Landscape Area Treatment Project, and a 30-day comment period is open until Nov. 5. If approved, crews would conduct an estimated 5,551 acres of scattered clear-cuts, 6,593 acres of commercial thinning, 2,514 acres of non-commercial thinning and 1,804 acres of additional fuels treatments in the project area. Lodgepole pine stands dominate the area that would be logged, and the Forest Service wrote that over 26,000 of those acres are highly susceptible to mountain pine beetle due to ”the homogenous size, age and tree spacing.” …Mike Garrity, executive director of Alliance for the Wild Rockies, said that the act of adding clear-cuts and logging roads will threaten grizzly bears and Canada lynx — a species that relies on the hiding cover provided by dense trees.
