BC’s forest industry seeks predictability, as the Council of Forest Industries convention kicks-off in Vancouver. In other Business news: Canfor implementing plan to achieve net-zero by 2050; a court decision is due on verdict against Oregon over logging; the US extends it anti-dumping probe into Vietnam plywood; protesters target Drax in London; and US consumer confidence wanes, as home sales fall and pulp prices remain high.
In Forestry/Climate news: carbon credits are the new gold rush in Canada; the 15th World Forestry Congress is set in Seoul; Minister Conroy to keynote at BC First Nations Summit; ENGOs stop logging in Montana’s Castle Mountains; and David Elstone on how may jobs its takes to cut a tree.
Finally, can’t make the COFI meetings — stay tuned as the Frogs will be reporting live from the conference floor.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
HANOI, Vietnam – The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has announced the extension of deadline for issuing the final conclusion on the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tax evasion investigation into hardwood plywood imported from Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). Accordingly, the DOC plans to issue the conclusion on October 17 instead of April 20. This is the third extension that the DOC has made on the case, which was launched on June 17, 2020 following a request by the US Customs and Border Protection. …Therefore, in case Vietnam’s plywood manufacturers and exporters can prove that they are not evading the trade remedy measures the US is applying to China, they will not be subject to the anti-subsidy tax rates.
The Oregon Court of Appeals will deliver a decision Wednesday in the state’s appeal of a $1.1 billion award to 13 rural counties and 151 local taxing districts after a Linn County jury determined in 2019 that the state had broken a contract by failing to maximize timber harvests from state forests located in those counties. Notice of the pending decision was posted on the court’s website Tuesday and comes just two months after a three-judge panel heard oral arguments in the case. That’s an unusually quick turnaround for the court. That may signal the court found the issues fairly straightforward, or that it prioritized a decision because the award is collecting interest at 9% a year, or $260,000 a day, which has nominally added another $200 million-plus to the award since the verdict. …A Linn County jury previously concluded the state breached a decades-old agreement with counties by failing to maximize revenues, costing counties money to pay for local services.
VICTORIA – An audit of Gitxsan Forest Licence Inc. (GFLI) in the Skeena Stikine Natural Resource District found that the company met all requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act for planning and timber harvesting, as well as road construction and maintenance activities. However, GFLI did not meet reforestation requirements on a number of cutblocks that were harvested in 2004 and earlier by a previous owner of the forest licence. “Successfully reforesting harvested sites is a pillar of B.C.’s system of forest practices,” said Kevin Kriese, chair, Forest Practices Board. “Forestry licensees are required by law to achieve free-growing forests within a specified period and meeting this requirement is essential to maintain public confidence in B.C.’s forest management. “GFLI took over this tenure three years ago, and that transfer included the legal and financial obligation to achieve free growing on sites harvested by previous owners of the forest licence,” Kriese said.
Huu-ay-aht First Nations and C̕awak ʔqin Forestry are pleased to announce Honourable Minister Katrine Conroy as a keynote speaker at the Anacla Old Growth Summit on April 28, 2022. As the B.C. Minister of Forests, Katrine Conroy is responsible for the stewardship of provincial Crown land and ensures the sustainable management of forest, wildlife, water, and other land-based resources. The Ministry works with Indigenous and rural communities to strengthen and diversify their economies. Along with Minister Katrine Conroy, there will also be presentations from ‘Namgis First Nation, Skowkale First Nation, Huu-ay-aht First Nations and C̕awak ʔqin Forestry. …The summit is by invite only, but for those wishing to attend, a live stream has been set up for anyone to watch online.
Startups that sell carbon credits are the next big thing to hit Canada’s stock markets. …Nearly a dozen startups are expected to list their shares on Canadian exchanges to finance carbon-credit purchases or invest in climate ventures that generate credits. These carbon credits are in high demand. They are supposed to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by funding things such as new technologies or forest preservation. …Some recently launched Canadian ventures are creating carbon credits by distributing cook stoves that reduce carbon emissions or by growing new forests, which store greenhouse gases. Others are acquiring carbon credits earned by preventing threatened deforestation. One new business is joining with a company that injects captured carbon emissions into fresh concrete. …The market for credits is now valued at several hundred million dollars, but people involved see it growing into the tens of billions of dollars. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
VANCOUVER, BC
LONDON, UK — A protestor wielding a modified fire extinguisher has scaled a Government building and doused it in orange paint as eco-zealots continue to wreak havoc on the capital. Axe Drax, a coalition of protest groups including Extinction Rebellion, has launched a series of protests in London, Liverpool, York, Leeds and Hull against energy giant Drax Group on the day of their annual general meeting. In London, a young male wearing a fluorescent hi-vis outfit scaled the entrance to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and hung banners reading ‘Stop Burning Trees’ and ‘Rise up for Reparations’. …A government spokesperson said: ‘People’s day-to-day lives should not be disrupted and any criminal activity will not be tolerated. ‘Sustainable biomass is considered a renewable, low carbon energy source and forms a key part of our plan to strengthen Britain’s energy security.’
Officials are warning about the dangers of a “pretty” TikTok trend following an investigation into two mysterious deaths in Wisconsin. Deputies responded to a residential fire on April 6 in Marathon County. Officials initially treated the incident as a homicide because, after arriving, the homeowners were not immediately found and investigators suspected foul play. Tanya Rodriguez, 44, and James Carolfi, 52, were later found dead in the garage after the blaze had been extinguished, and investigators went to work to determine the cause of the fire. In the weeks since, officials have determined that the deadly electrocution and fire were caused by a trend that has garnered millions of views on TikTok — fractal wood burning, according to the sheriff’s office. …The technique uses high-voltage electricity to burn tree-like patterns and designs into wood that has been drenched in a chemical solution, the sheriff’s office said.