Forest Stewardship Council releases global strategy, sets direction and intended outcomes to 2026. Related forestry announcements or events of note include: BC Forest Professionals (AGM speaker profiles); UBC Faculty of Forestry (webinar with Robin Wall Kimmerer); BC Truck Loggers Association (today’s suppliers’ showcase); Canadian Institute of Forestry (new diversity initiative); and FPInnovations (fibre utilization workshop).
In other news: why there’s a lumber shortage in the US; KB Home’s positive 2021 outlook; a grim forecast if Boise closes Elgin, Oregon mill; a mass timber showcase for Seattle; and why capital flows to forests in the US South.
Finally, a heads up as we send out our 2021 support request. Thanks in advance to the generosity of our sponsors and frog friends.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Mattawa, ON – The Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF-IFC) and the Centre for Social Intelligence (CSI) are pleased to announce the official launch of Free to Grow in Forestry, a microsite that communicates to all stakeholders in the forest sector the resources developed through the Gender Equity in Canada’s Forest Sector National Action Plan. The National Action Plan is a three-year initiative spearheaded by the CIF-IFC and the CSI, with strategic guidance from a National Steering Committee of forest sector leaders from government, industry, academia, Indigenous, and non-profit organizations to achieve gender equality and meaningful inclusion of women, Indigenous peoples, and new Canadians at all levels, from technical to executive level positions, in the forest sector. The Free to Grow in Forestry microsite is a culmination of this effort and will share the actions undertaken in this initiative including, but not limited to, communication “shareables” that individuals and organizations are encouraged to utilize in their spheres of influence.
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What will Waterloo Region’s forests look like in 80 years? …Andrew Trant is partnering with rare Charitable Research Reserve to study how the forest in Waterloo Region is responding, what it looked like in the past and what it could look like in the future. Trant, an assistant professor in the school of environment, resources and sustainability at the University of Waterloo, says Waterloo Region is a particularly important area to study landscape shifts as the climate warms, because the region is in the middle of an ecotone — an area where two biological communities meet. …The goal of the project is to build an understanding of the next generation of forest in this area looking forward to roughly 2100, a common period of time to study in climate prediction science.
In the US South, most timberland is held privately. …Non-industrial private forest landowners make up approximately 55% of all ownership types, and corporate landowners make up approximately 32%. …In the wake of the Great Recession that began in 2007… while timberland owners across the South waited for a quick recovery, their trees kept growing and southern sawmills simply learned to do more with less tree volume. …Southern forests now have more trees that are larger in size, and sawtimber prices in the region have demonstrated minimal volatility since 2007. As a result, capital investment has been pouring into the South due to the region’s oversupply of cheap logs. …With world-class resources, a vast amount of privately-owned timberland acres, low costs and the capabilities to manufacture and market a myriad of wood products, the US South will remain the land of forest products opportunities for the foreseeable future.