Drax announced an agreement to acquire another BC pellet plant — the Princeton Standard Pellet Corporation. In related news: inflation cools BC lumber giants’ profits; Idaho’s industry is making billions in sales; BID to deliver on Canfor’s new Alabama mill; and Western Forest Products, Cascades and Sappi report positive Q2, 2022 results.
In other news: an interview with Nordic Structures David Croteau; David Elstone opines on the ‘jobs/m3 harvested‘ metric; researchers study zombie fires and the changing forests in Canada’s north; and West Virginia seeks to restore its red spruce forests. In wildfire news: evacuation alerts and controlled burns are employed in BC ski resort fire; a California’s fire leaves Klamath River in ashes; Oregon fires double in size; and an old ammunition dump explosion causes havoc in a Berlin city forest.
Finally, guitars made from ‘sinkers‘ recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
One of my biggest pet peeves is the misguided expectations that come from using the number of jobs per thousand cubic metres of timber harvested to compare British Columbia’s forest sector to other jurisdictions. Critics have attempted to associate BC’s comparatively low generation of jobs per thousand cubic metres harvested to issues such as log exports, mechanization, forest management practices and minimal value-added processing. …BC is often compared to Quebec and Ontario, which have much higher jobs per thousand cubic metres harvested. …Jobs per thousand cubic metres of timber harvested is a relative metric useful for comparison to other regions, but it does not tell the behind-the-scenes story. 
.jpg)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Western Forest Products reported net income of $38.6 million and adjusted EBITDA of $66.2 million in the second quarter of 2022. Strong Japan lumber demand and record specialty product pricing drove revenue growth, but earnings were reduced by increased stumpage expense, logistics constrained shipments, higher export tax, freight rates and operating costs. In addition, a significant decline in commodity lumber pricing through the quarter and weaker cedar markets led to increased inventory provisions. Net income in the second quarter of 2022 was $38.6 million ($0.12 per diluted share) as compared to net income of $38.0 million ($0.11 per diluted share) for the first quarter of 2022, and net income of $78.3 million ($0.21 per diluted share) in the second quarter of 2021.
IKEA is one of the largest furniture retailers in the world and a leader in a booming global furniture market. The market hit an estimated value of over $490 billion last year. …there are a lot of unseen costs that go into supplying cheap, mass-produced wooden furniture to major retailers — namely costs from how and where that wood gets harvested. …IKEA has said before that “under no circumstances” would they accept wood that doesn’t meet their sustainability requirements. They’ve also taken action against problematic suppliers before. To balance the growing global demand for wood with conservation of these crucial forests, the EU and national governments have established massive protected areas… Furnishers often rely on something called the Forest Stewardship Certification, or FSC, to vet the sourcing for wood products. …But critics have pointed out some central flaws to the audit process and warned FSC certifications may be giving a false sense of security.
AUSTRALIA — A group of unions have hit out at the Andrews government over proposed legislation designed to criminalise environmental protests, which they say will stifle peaceful democratic action, calling for the bill to be scrapped. The bill, which is before the state’s upper house, would see protesters who illegally enter timber harvesting zones to disrupt workers face 12 months jail time or $21,000 in fines. In a letter sent to the premier, Daniel Andrews, and the state’s agriculture and workplace safety ministers, the unions argued the legislation is undemocratic and will not result in greater worker safety. “Any stripping away of the right to protest eventually finds its way to further limiting workplace action,” the unions said in the letter, seen by Guardian Australia. …“We are deeply concerned that the bill is disproportionate, lacks sufficient safeguards and oversight, and makes a mockery of psycho-social safety in the workplace,” the letter said.
KLAMATH RIVER, California — A week ago, the scenic Northern California hamlet of Klamath River was home to about 200 people and had a community center, post office and a corner grocery store. Now, after a wildfire raged through the forested region near the Oregon state line, four people are dead and the store is among the few buildings not reduced to ashes. …The McKinney Fire broke out Friday and was still out of control on Wednesday, despite progress by firefighters who took advantage of rain from thunderstorms and lower temperatures. But even the welcome precipitation brought problems. …More than 100 buildings ranging from homes to sheds have burned. Identifying the four people who were killed could take several days, Kreider said. The fire has charred nearly 90 square miles (233 square kilometers) and is the largest in California so far this year. The cause is unknown.
BERLIN — A large fire triggered by explosions at an ammunition dump raged Thursday in a major Berlin urban forest on one of the German capital’s hottest days so far this year. A huge cloud of grey smoke hung over the city’s western districts and residents were asked to keep windows and doors shut. A major highway was closed and a train service interrupted, but authorities said no homes or inhabitants were under direct threat. More than 100 firefighters, dozens of soldiers and police officers were battling the blaze in the Grunewald forest, located in west Berlin. In addition, army tanks cut corridors into the forest to contain the fire and allow firefighters to get closer to the flames. …Massive explosions were heard in the morning from the site where old ammunition from World War II, fireworks and explosive ordnance is stored and controlled explosions are carried out.