Canfor’s recently announced mill closures prompted much commentary: Vaughn Palmer says NDP seems out of touch with forestry woes; Jim Girvan says the government can’t say it wasn’t warned; Linda Coady says BC needs to move faster to stabilize timber supply; David Elstone says BC needs to shed its ‘high-cost timber’ reputation; and James Steidle says deregulation is the problem. In response: BC’s Forest Minister expresses disappointment, Steelworkers branch president is furious; and Prince George’s mayor wants diversification. Meanwhile: Canada takes steps to delay possible railway strike; and Teal-Jones reopens its Virginia, Oklahoma and Mississippi mills.
In Wildfire news: thousands ordered to evacuate near Fort Nelson, BC and Flin Flon, Manitoba; while Fort McMurray, Alberta is on alert; and harmful smoke is heading to the US. In other news: Canada releases boreal caribou recovery report; Oregon’s governor abandon’s nominations to forestry board; and Quebec forest fire workers vote for strike mandate.
Finally, El Nino is nearly gone and La Nina is on the way. Here’s what to expect.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Premier Eby and his Ministers Ralston and Mercier are often heard saying “more jobs from trees harvested” when talking about the BC forest industry. 
The federal government is asking a labour tribunal to review whether a strike by rail workers would jeopardize Canadians’ health and safety. Prompted by concerns from industry groups, the request to the Canada Industrial Relations Board from Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan may push back a potential work stoppage that could otherwise start less than two weeks from now. The tribunal is set to examine agreements between workers and management about what critical work must continue in the event of a strike or lockout, with any stoppage on pause until a decision on that issue is made. Last week, employees at the country’s two main railways authorized a strike mandate that could see some 9,300 workers walk off the job as soon as May 22. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference… has warned that a strike at both companies simultaneously would disrupt supply chains on an unprecedented scale.
PRINCE GEORGE — 400. That’s the approximate number of how many jobs will be impacted by Canfor’s announcement that they would be indefinitely curtailing one production line at Northwood Pulp Mill as well as the permanent closure of the Polar Sawmill and the suspension of planned reinvestment in Houston, B.C. The President & CEO of Canfor Pulp, Kevin Edgson, told us what led to the decision regarding the Northwood curtailment. …“One year ago, we were forced to shut down the PG Pulp line. At that time, we felt confident that we had enough fibre supply to be able to continue to operate the remaining two lines at Northwood and one at Intercon. Unfortunately, the continued impact of policy decisions have made fibre or chips scarce.” …Owner of Brink Forest Products Ltd., John Brink says that the industry is in “major distress” and that “as long as we have politicians and bureaucrats involved, we will not have a viable industry.”
Teal Jones announced it will reopen all of its mills in Virginia, Oklahoma, and Mississippi on May 13, 2024. The decision follows the company’s restructuring under the Canadian Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), initiated on April 25, 2024, due to declining lumber prices and disputes over logging rights on Vancouver Island. Supported by $56 million from Wells Fargo, Teal-Jones Group is set to resume operations, ensuring job continuity across its locations. This restructuring does not impact its U.S. operations, specifically the Teal Jones Sawmill in Plain Dealing, Louisiana. Teal Jones-Plain Dealing, LLC, which manages the Plain Dealing Sawmill, remains independently funded and is not involved in the CCAA proceedings. Construction at the Plain Dealing Sawmill continues without disruption, with the facility anticipated to start production in summer 2024 and reach full capacity by fall. 
OTTAWA, ON — The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, released the Report on the Progress of the Recovery Strategy Implementation (Period 2017–2022) and the Action Plan Implementation (Period 2018–2023) for Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), Boreal Population, in 
The most celebrated of classic air tanker aircraft, the two surviving Martin JRM Mars water bombers are both headed to retirement in museums. Coulson Aviation recently announced plans to place the air tanker Hawaii Mars in the British Columbia Aviation Museum, while Philippine Mars will go to the world-class Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. The Martin JRM Mars seaplanes represent the pinnacle in American flying boat transport aviation technology. …In 1959, a consortium of Canadian logging interests formed Forest Industries Flying Tankers and purchased the four remaining JRMs for modification as firefighting air tankers. One was lost fighting fires, one was considered irreparably damaged in a 1962 storm, and the last two of the named JRMs, Hawaii Mars and Philippine Mars, served as giant firefighters from the mid-1960s well into the 21st Century. They were based on Sproat Lake at Port Alberni located in the southern third of Vancouver Island.
The Province is updating limited-entry hunting regulations to sustainably manage B.C. wildlife, respect First Nations’ hunting rights and provide hunters with a diversity of recreational and economic opportunities. The recent changes affect the hunting of moose, caribou, elk, bighorn sheep, thinhorn sheep, mountain goats, white-tailed deer and mule deer. Some regulation changes present new hunting opportunities in various parts of the province, including one regulation that was converted to a general open-season hunt for antlerless white-tailed deer in the Cariboo Region. In both the Skeena and Omineca regions, general open-season hunting for caribou is now all limited-entry hunting. In north Skeena, moose hunting for any bull moose or antler restricted moose in many accessible areas is now limited-entry hunting. The general open season for areas that are remote and without motorized access will continue.
