The final morning panel of the 2025 COFI Conference tackled what moderator Michael Armstrong called “the elephant in the room”: fibre. With forests stressed by fire, pests, and policy shifts, and mills closing across the province, the session brought together voices from industry, community forests, and public policy to confront the disconnect between fibre supply and fibre access in BC’s forest sector.
Panelist David Elstone, Managing Director of the Spar Tree Group and publisher of View From the Stump, said the province’s target to harvest 45 million cubic metres annually is a good starting point—but only if backed by action. “The drive to 45 is a target. It’s just like the Governor said—it’s a vision, a concrete goal,” he said. “Now we need the conviction. We need decisions made so we can get to that 45 and make it a reality in a very short time.” Elstone pointed to a recent U.S. directive under former President Trump that laid out harvest targets and directives for federal forests. “We could take a page from that approach and apply it here,” he said, urging the government to focus on practical solutions like permitting reform, advancing forest landscape planning tables, and reviewing BC Timber Sales. “The challenge is wood security. We can’t be investable without it.” Elstone also stressed the importance of clarity in government language: “When you say you’re ensuring a land base to harvest 45, you’re saying that’s the target—just to be clear on that.”
Jennifer Gunter, Executive Director of the BC Community Forest Association, offered a different lens — one focused on local empowerment and reliable access to information. “Community forests are often talked about as small tenure holders, but we generate significant benefits for our communities,” she said. Gunter argued that community forests could play a bigger role in solving fibre challenges. “In terms of supporting fibre supply, in community forestry we see that when we combine the best inventory data possible, with Indigenous and local knowledge in long-term plans, we are able to set harvest rates that are reliable”. Elstone noted, “the proof is in the pudding…community forests have consistently been one of the highest performers”. Gunter concurred that community forest licensees are using the volume they have, “we’re harvesting and selling to the full range of manufacturing facilities”. She supported calls for better data transparency and to optimize the tenure system. “We need to think about getting the right tenure in the right place.” And she emphasized that community forests want to help shape solutions. “We want to be part of the conversation about what the future fibre system looks like.”
Nick Arkle, CEO of Gorman Group, said that fibre access is at the heart of the industry’s ability to innovate and invest. “You can’t have value-added without predictability,” he said. “You can’t get capital investment without fibre certainty.” Arkle said his company wants to invest in modernizing its operations, but that it’s impossible to do so without knowing what log supply will look like five years down the line. “We’re not asking for guarantees,” he said. “But we are asking for confidence in the system.” Arkle echoed earlier speakers’ concerns that fibre is not being utilized effectively. “There’s timber out there that’s permitted but not harvested, or that’s being left behind,” he said. “We’ve got to connect the dots better.” He also voiced frustration at the lack of action: “We’ve been talking about these problems for years.”
George Abbott, former BC cabinet minister and current Treaty Commissioner, brought a public policy perspective. He noted that the province has taken on an increasingly complex set of land-use values, and that these need to be reconciled with the operational needs of the forest sector. “We’re trying to do reconciliation, biodiversity, wildfire management, and economic development all at the same time,” he said. “The question is: how do we do this without paralysis?” Abbott said that reconciliation and forest sector reform must go hand-in-hand, and that new governance models are needed. He referenced Indigenous Guardians and the potential for co-management frameworks. “We need to build durable decision-making systems that reflect shared values.” He also noted the broader social impact of mill closures: “When you lose a sawmill, you’re not just losing a payroll—you’re destabilizing a whole community.”
The panel also touched on transportation, with Arkle noting that many Interior mills are struggling with haul distances that make fibre uneconomic. “The cost per cubic metre is going up, and it’s not because of what happens in the bush—it’s the roads, the logistics, the fuel,” he said. Gunter added that community forests face similar issues: “Sometimes it’s there, but we can’t afford to get it to the mill.”
Armstrong asked the panel what a credible fibre strategy would include. Elstone called for clarity on what’s available, what’s not, and why. Gunter suggested more transparency in data sharing and deeper engagement with tenure holders of all sizes. Arkle said government needs to decide whether it wants a strong value-added sector or not. “If you want it, then design a fibre system that supports it,” he said. Abbott concluded by saying the forest sector needs to be part of a broader provincial conversation about land use. “This isn’t just a forestry issue,” he said. “It’s about how we see the land, and who gets to decide.” Armstrong noted that despite the complexity, a common thread emerged: the need to move past vague commitments and toward practical solutions. “We can’t manage what we don’t measure,” he said. “And we can’t fix what we won’t face.”
Drafted with the assistance of digital tools to streamline the process.