Deadline to get the early bird rate for the virtual 2021 ABCFP Forestry Conference and AGM is January 22. Sign up now for just $75 (plus GST) and join the over 700 delegates already registered. The three-day conference, scheduled for February 3–5, 2021, offers 12 separate professional development sessions on a range of critical forestry topics. Hear from experts on how to deal with some of the most pressing issues facing forest professionals today:

• Assessing and Managing Risk – Glynnis Horel, P.Eng, FEC, HM;
• Making Ethical Decisions – Shawn Ireland, Ed.D;
• Understanding First Nations Considerations on Natural Resource Projects – Clifford White (Nees Ma’Outa), Commissioner, BC Treaty Commission, and Garry Merkel, RPF; 
• Forest Road Bridges and Crosssings: What You Need to Know – Lee Deslauriers, RPF, P.Eng;
• Wildfire Response and the Practice of Professional Forestry – Kelly Johnston, RPF;
• Forest Landscape Planning: Transforming How We Manage BC’s Forests – Diane Nicholls, RPF, ADM, BC Chief Forester;
• Climate-based Seed Transfer – Sally Aitken, PhD, Colin Mahony, Ph.D, RPF, Will MacKenzie, MSc, RPBio; and Pamela Dykstra, MRM, RPBio, P.Ag;
• Enhancing Your Forest Planning and Practices with LiDAR – Colin Chisholm, RPF;
• Fibre Use and the Future of Wood Pellets – Gordon Murray, RPF, CPA, CMA.

Comments are being accepted until March 18, 2021, on a discussion paper released as part of a comprehensive timber supply review for the Okanagan Timber Supply Area. The discussion paper provides the results of the timber supply analysis. It also describes the geography, natural resources and current forest management practices in the Okanagan Timber Supply Area, all of which will be used by the chief forester in the allowable annual cut (AAC) determination. Feedback from Indigenous peoples and the public will also be considered by the chief forester before setting the new allowable annual cut. The Okanagan Timber Supply Area covers nearly 2.4 million hectares in the south-central region of the province, with almost 760,781 hectares available for timber harvesting.

Kevin Kriese

Here in BC the coming year will continue to see a significant focus on big issues from the past year; the economic transition in the forest sector driven in part by declining fiber supply, managing the implications of the COVID 19 pandemic, and implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. The province also has a new government, who has committed to update forestry legislation, to implement the recommendations in the report “A New Future for Old Forests,” and to restructure the current Ministry of Forests…. The FPB is continually stretched in our ability to cover the complexity of issues in BC. With so many initiatives underway, it is critical that our organization identify our priorities and focus on them. The FPB strategic plan, developed in 2019, guides us when setting priorities. …In the coming year, the Board will continue to focus on potential changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA).

Nathan Fillion

The Alberta Forest Products Association has launched an online forest tour that features one of the province’s most famous faces: Nathan Fillion. Fillion got his start in Edmonton as part of the Rapid Fire Theatre and Die-Nasty improv groups. He rose to fame after his role in TV series Firefly. The AFPA launched the Virtual Forest Tour featuring Fillion in hopes of drawing audiences in by combining comedy with education. …Jason Krips, president of the AFPA, said that the agency wanted a way to make the virtual tours stand out. Fillion certainly adds some spice along with the education in his narration. The tour starts with a pick between young, growing, or mature — but “choose wisely,” Fillion says. …The AFPA hopes the virtual tours help Albertans realize the importance the harvesting cycle — which is actually around a 200-year cycle of cutting, planting and growing — is for the environment.