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ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13 | PAGE 1
US shutdown hits wood, log traders
THIS ISSUE • slashing of red tape in building sector • China’s eucalypts overtake Brazil
Mills running short of lumber to feed national housing industry in recovery THE federal shutdown in the US is taking a heavy toll on secondary wood manufacturing, primary lumber and timber businesses and exports and is affecting business loans and trading activity. While Congress battles over a budget impasse, the federal government has sent home employees deemed “nonessential”, including thousands who serve the finance and trade needs of the wood industry or who work in logging operations. The US Department of Agriculture, now on furlough as a result of the shutdown,
• • • • has ceased inspection of outbound wood shipments to verify they are free of insects.
Without inspectors, thousands of containers of furniture-
industry networks at FPWA dinner FwPA r&d works webinars industry supports possum ‘recovery’ Flexible program for Frame Australia us wildfires: something bigger is going on
Cont Page 2
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www.osmose.com.au Call: 1800 088 809 ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13 | PAGE 1
industry news
us housing demand builds as timber supplies dwindle From Page 1
Improving our industry’s capacity to develop and maintain a skilled workforce ............................
FREECALL
1800 177 001
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(03) 9321 3500
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(02) 8898 6990
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(08) 8219 9028
Launceston
(03) 6331 6077
forestworks@forestworks.com.au
www.forestworks.com.au
ABN: 58 006 212 693
PAgE 2 | issuE 291 | 14.10.13
grade lumber are marooned on wharves and in yards. Thankfully, although the small business administration loan approval process has been halted, disaster recovery programs – key funding sources for reconstruction in eastern areas affected by the 2012 ‘superstorm’ Hurricane Sandy or the western forest fires – are still operating. The US government shutdown has entered its third week with no signs of an end starting to rattle markets. The direct cost of lost income to federal workers and contractors has reached about $6 billion a week, say economic observers. Defiant Republican speaker John Boehner, opposed to the Obamacare health care reforms, says he will not pass measures to pay America’s debts without concessions from President Barack Obama. A government default could trigger a financial crisis and recession that would echo 2008 or worse. While Treasury expects to have $US30 billion of cash on hand on October 17, that money will be quickly exhausted in paying incoming bills given that the government’s payments can run up to $US60 billion on a single day. The stalemate means about one third of the 2.1 million public service workers in the US have no job to go to, with delays in other areas of public life, from new mortgage applications to patents and drug trials. All this sits on the back of a housing market that came out of a tailspin last year and has been the driver of continuous growth in the economy. Economists expected more than one million housing starts would occur in 2013, a 28% increase from 2012. Federal loans for homebuyers
Walking out .. US forest workers on furlough as federal agencies shut down.
and small businesses has been suspended and this will have an economic ripple effect should the shutdown be of significant duration.
Also, there’s a lot of pent-up demand for housing and timber supplies are dwindling and Cont Page 15
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industry news
New chief executive of the NSW Forest Products Association Maree McCaskill (right) is introduced to industry at the FWPA industry dinner in Sydney by Lexie Hurford of Hurford Hardwood, Lismore.
Special dinner sets scene for round of key talks in sydney By JiM BOwden
A SPECIAL dinner in Sydney last Thursday night set the scene for two days of industry board meetings and seminars that led into the gala TABMA Australia awards night on the Friday at Doltone House, Pyrmont. The dinner at the Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour, hosted by Forest and Wood Products Australia, allowed more than 50 industry leaders and special guests to network socially before getting down to business on Friday at the FWPA R&D forum and the Building Stronger Value Chains seminar, a joint venture between Forest and Wood Products Australia, the Australian Timber Importers Federation and the Timber and Building Materials Association. The FWPA dinner gave guest speaker Senator Richard Colbeck his first opportunity to talk directly with industry leaders following his appointment as Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, with responsibility for forestry and fishing, in the new Abbott government. Also introduced to industry at the dinner was Maree
McCaskill, the new executive director of the NSW Forest Products Association who replaces Russ Ainley OAM who is retiring after 39 years’ service to the state’s timber industry. Ms McCaskill has wide experience in administration in the rural sector and in publishing. Prior to her new appointment, she ws CEO of the Australian Publishers Association and was executive director of the Australian Cotton Foundation, becoming Australia’s first female CEO of an agricultural commodity group. Ms McCaskill’s experience includes a role as federal political affairs adviser for the NSW Forest Products Association. She served on the board of the Australian Agricultural Research Institute 1997-2000 and was chair of Australian Wool Innovation 2001-2002. A report and picture coverage of the seminars and TABMA dinner and awards night will appear in the next issue of Timber&Forestry enews. • More industry dinner pictures, Pages 9 and 10.
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issue 291 | 14.10.13 | Page 3
wOOd in ArCHiteCture
‘tree canopy’ wins best world building in Singapore event
Queensland leads housing recovery What do the next 12 months promise for timber industry? Australia’s housing sector remains on track to recovery. Queensland was the best performer, with housing approvals up 12.2% for the year.
Housing IndustryAustralia’s Association’s ExecutiveExecutive Housing Industry Queensland
Director WARWICK TEMBY will address a special Timber United Group all-industry dinner in Brisbane THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 24, 2013
THE Auckland Art Gallery was awarded World Building of the Year at the prestigious World Architecture Festival in Singapore last week – a building that used only timber from already-felled trees. The entry beat out competition from a shortlist of more than 300 projects from 50 countries. Well over 2000 attendees from 68 countries, including some of the world’s best-known architects, gathered at the festival for three days of parties and seminars. The gallery was one of 12 buildings shortlisted in the Completed Buildings: Culture category, and one of seven New Zealand projects to make the 2013 shortlist. The nine-year building redevelopment, completed in 2011, was a joint project between Australian architecture firm Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp and Auckland studio Archimedia. Since its expansion and restoration, Auckland Art Gallery has attracted over a million visitors. Archimedia principal Lindsay
Mackie who attended the festival in Singapore said: “One of our early aspirations for the project was to achieve for the gallery, for Auckland and for New Zealand a degree of international recognition that would elevate both the institution and the city as only modern global media can, without resorting to architectural sensation or departing from the truly local.” Since the re-development, the gallery has received 16 architectural and four design related awards, including the Jørn Utzon Award for International Architecture from the Australian Institute of Architects, New Zealand Architecture Medal from the New Zealand Institute of Architects and Royal Institute of British Architects International Award, all in 2012. The gallery’s renovation saw the original building doubled its public exhibition space. The airy new design is distinctly tree-like, its sloping ceilings reminiscent of the canopies of the surrounding landscape.
River Room, Hamilton Hotel 442 Kingsford Smith Drive (cnr Racecourse Road), Hamilton
Networking starts at 5.30 pm
Pre-dinner drinks compliments of Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218.
Cost per person: $59:00. Payable to Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218, PO Box 3236, Sunnybank South Q 4109 .. or at the door.
Early registration recommended. R.S.V.P. October 16 Contact: Alfred Chapple on 0417 746 522, Jim Burgess on 0438 199 670, or Don Towerton on 0428 745 455 Email: chapples2@bigpond.com PAgE 4 | issuE 291 | 14.10.13
World beater .. the Auckland Art Gallery is characterised by a series of fine ‘tree-like’ canopies creating a memorable image and character referencing the overhanging tree canopy of adjacent Albert Park.
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wHAt’s On? OCtOBer
24: Timber United Group dinner – Queensland housing industry trends. River Room, Hamilton Hotel, 442 Kingsford Smith Drive (cnr Racecourse Road), Hamilton. Networking starts at 5.30pm. Cost: $59 p.p. Speaker: Warwick Temby, executive director Queensland, Housing Industry Association. Pre-dinner drinks compliments Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218. Early registration recommended. R.S.V.P. October 16. Contact: Alfred Chapple on 0417 746 522, Jim Burgess on 0438 199 670, or Don Towerton on 0428 745 455. Email: chapples2@bigpond.com
nOVeMBer 1: Building with timber, managing fire risk industry networking breakfast. 7.30-9.30 am Bruce County, 445 Blackburn Road, Mount Waverley. Speakers: Mark Grouis, Carter Holt Harvey; Boris Iskra, FWPA and Wood Products Victoria; and Nick Vlahandreas, Alpine Shire Council. Contact: Ingrida Matulis, Timber Merchants Association. Tel: (03) 9875 5000. Fax: (03) 9877 6663. www.timber. asn.au 8: 50th Anniversary of the tasmanian Forest Contractors Association. Country Club Casino, Country Club Avenue, Prospect. 6.30pm till late. Cost: $900 per table or $100 p.p. The TFCA is one of the oldest employer organisations that represent primary industries in Australia. Presentations from industry leaders throughout the evening will take us back through the many achievements of the TFCA over the last half a century. Numbers limited – bookings essential. RSVP
to Denise DeBattista on (03) 6343 3398 or admin@tfca.com.au 8: Forest Valuation Seminar. Venue: Cliftons, 444 Collins Street, Melbourne, 10 am-4 pm. Institute of Foresters of Australia, in conjunction with Pöyry Management Consulting (Australia) Pty Ltd, presents a one-day seminar on commercial forest valuation covering valuing natural forests and plantations for financial management, investment and reporting. Unique opportunity to meet with skilled practitioners to discuss compliant approaches to forest valuation. Fee: $550 non-members; $275 IFA members. Contact: Institute of Foresters of Australia, PO Box 7002, Yarralumla ACT 2600. Tel: (02) 6281 3992. Mob: 0414 287 079. Email: ifa@ forestry.org.au Web: www.forestry. org.au 23: tABMA Queensland timber industry gala dinner. Moda Events Portside Level 2, Portside Wharf Hamilton. Contact Alicia on (07) 3254 3166 or alicia@tabma. com.au 26-27: Foresttech 2013 (including the forest industry safety summit and steep slope wood harvesting conference – Rotorua, NZ. www.foresttech2013. com
FeBruAry 2014 17-21: Gottstein Wood Science Course, Melbourne. Inquiries to Dr Silvia Pongracic (Gottstein Trust), 0418 764 954 or secretary@ gottsteintrust.org or www. gottsteintrust.org
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EVENTS
MArCH 2014 19: ForestWood 2014. Politics, Policies and Business Impacts. Pan-industry conference jointly hosted by Forest Owners Association, Wood Processors Association, Pine Manufacturers Association, Forest Industry Contractors Association, and supported by Woodco, NZ Farm Forestry Association and the Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Registration opens October 2013. Contact conference organisers Paardekooper and Associates on +64 4 562 8259 or email info@forestwood.org.nz Visit www.forestwood.org.nz
MAy 2014 19-20: Frame Australia – Park Hyatt Melbourne. National event for engineered timber and building pre-fabrication, providing a unique forum on markets, products and systems for timber and wood used in the detached housing and multi-residential markets. The conference – Prefab Timber and Engineered Wood in Building Construction – covers truss and frame pre-fabrication on Day 1 and pre-fabrication in building on Day 2. Frame conveys the very latest information at a global and local level to provide valuable knowledge on timber and engineered wood as sustainable and cost-effective construction systems for residential and commercial building. Spponsorship options available. Contact: Frame Australia Pty Ltd, PO Box 242, Albert Park, Viic 3206. Tel (03) 9537 3800. Fax (03) 9537 3822. Email: info@frameaustralia. com.au
Australia’s forest, wood, pulp and paper products industry now has a stronger voice in dealings with government, the community and in key negotiations on the industry’s future, as two peak associations have merged to form a single national association. The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has been formed through the merger of the Australian Plantations Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P) and the National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI). AFPA was established to cover all aspects of Australia’s forest industry: - Forest growing; - Harvest and haulage; - Sawmilling and other wood processing; - Pulp and paper processing; and - Forest product exporting. For more information on the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) or to enquire about membership , please call (02) 6285 3833.
ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13 | PAGE 5
industry KnOwLedGe
FwPA r&d works webinars: bringing the research to you FWPA’s fortnightly series of webinars continue to highlight the beneficial outcomes of research projects for those in the wood and timber industry. Research scientists and industry specialists present information about their research ‘live’ to an audience who watch and listen on a computer in their own office or workplace. At the end of each 45-minute presentation audience members are encouraged to ask questions of the presenter that may help them to consider how the research findings can aid their business. The webinar format provides a time and cost effective means for industry members to receive summaries of recently completed research studies. Once the webinar is completed a recording of the presentation is put on the FWPA website for those who weren’t able to participate at the time, or for future reference. This new platform offers a cost efficient and accessible way of informing industry of up-to-date research, development and extension activities. Additionally, it also fosters linkages with leading researchers and consultants
PAgE 6 | issuE 291 | 14.10.13
Cost effective .. the webinar format provides industry members with summaries of recently completed research studies.
and enables a forum for discussion. Forest and Wood Products Australia will be presenting the following webinars over the next month: • Predicting wood quality to improve sawlog value in radiata pine. • Accelerated drying of Australian hardwoods. • The extent, severity and causes of second rotation productivity decline in blue
gums. [To be part of the audience, register at the website www.fwpa.com.au/ Webinars]. Past webinars are available for viewing on the web and cover a range of topics, including forest grower opportunities in the biorefinery sector; forest productivity optimisation system – a decision support tool; prefabricated timber ground floor systems; opportunities for using sawmill residues in Australia; new
Audience members are encouraged to ask questions of the presenter that may help them to consider how the research findings can aid their business
market opportunities for timber products. Another FWPA service, the Forest Productivity Optimisation System (FPOS), is a new web-based decision support tool which allows plantation managers to explore the impacts of different management options, climate models and soil types on productivity and profitability of plantations in the current planting areas, and at the margins of the current planting areas. The tool can be used with key plantation species Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus nitens, E. globulus, E. smithii, and P. pinaster, while management options include stocking and thinning regime, fertiliser application, and profitability of a range of product types, including pulpwood, peeler logs and sawn timber. The system can also incorporate new knowledge as it is developed in the future. The project is focused on profitably growing the resource, ensuring that the downstream processors continue to have raw materials available to support their industries.
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CertiFiCAtiOn
Public comments sought on revised draft standard As4707 THE Australian standard that underpins the traceability of wood from well-managed forests into the wood and paper products used every day is under review. Public comment is now sought on a revised draft Australian standard for chain of custody of forest products (AS4707). This standard, along with the Australian Standard for Sustainable Forest Management (AS4708), was developed by Australian Forestry Standard Ltd and is a key component of the Australian Forest Certification Scheme. The draft revised standard has been prepared by a standards reference committee (SRC4707) made up of experts and representatives from a broad range of stakeholders. The committee invites public comment on the draft standard by November 8. The draft revised standard and a submission form are available from the AFS Ltd website. AFS Ltd understands that members of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) have voted in support of a proposal for the development of a chain of custody standard. The work item proposal on CoC of forest products requirements was submitted to ISO by ABNT (Brazil) and DIN (Germany). This proposal is for standardisation in the field of forest management requirements for a CoC control system for forest products. The objective is to create an information link between the raw material included in a forest-based product and the origin of that raw material ensuring the traceability. Standards Australia, the Australian member of ISO, requested that AFS Ltd, as the standards development
organisation whose scope covers the proposal, consult with relevant stakeholders and provide advice as to how Australia should respond to the new work item proposal and how Australia should engage with the project if it goes ahead.
Forest certification .. substantial challenge still exists.
Based on the feedback received, AFS Ltd advised Standards Australia to vote in favour of the proposal and that Australia should be an observer in the process if it proceeds.
Wood Protection
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Contact the Australian Lonza team for full details of the Lonza value package. phone:1300 650 636 issue 291 | 14.10.13 | Page 7
industry news
report recommends slashing of red tape in building sector A NEW research report should assist the Abbott government’s determined push to slash the red and green tape burden for small business, according to Master Builders Australia. “Every day thousands of small and medium building and construction businesses are diverted from productive activity by unnecessary and overregulation,” said CEO Wilhelm Harnisch commenting on the report – Regulator Engagement with Small Business. “The Productivity Commission’s recognition that the impact of regulation falls heaviest on small business is a good first step but must be followed up with a structured deregulation process that seeks to remove and reduce the compliance burden. “Regulation often overwhelms
the limited staff, time and resources available to small building enterprises, drowning them in red tape and diverting them from what they do best – driving economic growth and employing people.” Master Builders also welcomed the Productivity Commission’s recognition of the effectiveness and efficiency of utilising industry association networks to disseminate regulatory information to members. “But this should be kick-started at the front end of the regulatory process by consulting with industry about the likely effects of new regulation or increased compliance processes,” Mr Harnisch said. He welcomed the report’s identification of more efficient targeting of regulatory resources
another contractor annually to the Australian Tax Office” Mr Harnisch pointed out. “This is a classic case of legislation
(passed
by
the
previous government) requiring regulators to wield a big stick to catch a minority who may be breaking the law. Mr Harnisch said the new government
indicated
it
would examine this particular Bruce Billson
to ensure lesser compliance costs, for example fewer onerous reporting requirements. “An example is the thousands of contractors in the building industry who must report each and every payment to
requirement during the election; we look forward to working with the Small Business Minister Bruce
Billson
to
advance
measures to reduce red tape for small businesses, boosting productivity and resulting in more jobs.
Sponsorship Opportunity Frame Australia 2014 Conference and Exhibition Frame is the only national event for the complete supply chain of structural timber, engineered wood products and pre-fabricated frames for the detached housing and multi-residential dwelling markets, and embraces the key industry sectors from manufacturing through to building construction. Frame offers an exceptional opportunity to suppliers for access to target markets, and a Sponsorship Proposal is available at www.frameaustralia.com. For further information contact conference director Kevin Ezard: kevin@frameaustralia.com or phone (03) 9537 3800.
Prefab Timber and Engineered Wood in Building Construction PAGE 8 | ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13
2014 Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au
FwPA industry dinner – sydney
Conferring at the FWPA industry dinner in Sydney are Dr Hans Drielsma, director, Australian Forestry Standard and PEFC council director, Canberra, Ross Hampton, CEO, Australian Forest Products Association, and Peter Wallbank, general manager, Koppers Wood Products Pty Ltd, Grafton, NSW. John Halkett, general manager, Australian Timber Importers Federation, Sydney, chats with Andrew Hurford of Hurford Hardwoods, Lismore, NSW, at the FWPA dinner in Sydney.
timber & Forestry e-news is the most authoritative and quickest deliverer of news and special features to the forest and forest products industries in Australia, new Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. weekly distribution is over 7,000 copies, delivered every Monday. Advertising rates are the most competitive of any industry magazine in the region. timber&Forestry e-news hits your target market – every week, every Monday! HEAD OFFICE Custom Publishing Group unit 2- 3986 Pacific Highway Loganholme 4129 Qld, Australia Address all correspondence to PO Box 330, Hamilton Central, Qld 4007
dennis@industrye-news.com Enjoying pre-dinner drinks at the FWPA PUBLISHER industry dinner in dennis Macready Sydney are John McNamara, CEO, dennis@industrye-news.com Parkside Group Milling and director, FWPA, and Julie Coco, national credit manager, Hyne.
mAnAgIng EDITOR Jim Bowden Tel: +61 7 3266 1429 Mob: 0401 312 087 cancon@bigpond.net.au ADVERTISIng Tel: +61 7 3266 1429 cancon@bigpond.net.au
Getting together at the FWPA industry dinner are Malcolm McComb, Pentarch Forest Products, Vince Erasmus, director FWPA, and Vince Hurley, CEO, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, Heyfield, Vic.
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Opinions expressed on timber & Forestry e news are not necessarily the opinions of the editor, publisher or staff. we do not accept responsibility for any damage resulting from inaccuracies in editorial or advertising. the Publisher is therefore indemnified against all actions, suits, claims or damages resulting from content on this e news. Content cannot be reproduced without the prior consent of the Publisher- Custom Publishing Group.
issue 291 | 14.10.13 | Page 9
FwPA industry dinner – sydney Dinner speaker Senator Richard Colbeck, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry (right) and David Cunningham, assistant secretary, natural resources, Department of Agriculture, Canberra (left) are welcomed to the FWPA industry dinner in Sydney by Ric Sinclair, managing director, Forest and Wood Products Australia, and Dr Michele Allan, director, FWPA.
Spiro Notaras, managing director, J. Notaras and Sons, Grafton, NSW, chats with Paul McNamara, Department of Agriculture, Canberra. Scott Poynton, founder and executive director of the Tropical Forest Trust catches up with John Simon, chief executive, Simmonds Lumber Group, Sydney, and deputy chairman, FWPA, at the Sydney industry dinner. Stephen Dadd, executive general manager, Boral Timber, Jim Bindon, managing director, Big River Group, Grafton, NSW, Nick O’Brien, New Forests, and Geoff Harris, general manager, sales and marketing, Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts, Melbourne. Welcoming Carmen Gloria Cerda, coordinating secretary, Department of Industry, Pro Chile, Santiago, Chile, to the FWPA industry dinner in Sydney are Tim Rossiter, MiTek Australia Ltd, Robert Cairns, state manager, Tasman KB Pty Ltd, Campbellfield, Vic, and John Halkett, general manager, Australian Timber Importers Association.
Paul Michael, chairman, Timber Development Association (left) and Chris Lafferty, research and development manager, FWPA., welcome Ros Marsden, national communications manager, Fairfax, to the FWPA industry dinner in Sydney.
Update on future FWPA hardwood programs A SECTORAL workshop for hardwood processing members of Forest and Wood Products Australia will provide an update on future FWPA programs. The workshop in Melbourne on October 24 will focus on: • An overview of the new FWPA statistics and economics program and opportunities for the hardwood sector with respect to collective data input and reporting. Since statistics and economics
PAgE 10 | issuE 291 | 14.10.13
manager Jim Houghton joined FWPA in March a lot of activity has been completed in terms of the softwood sawn timber survey. Each contributor to the survey can access their specific data sets in greater detail on www.fwpa.com.au FWPA seeks to build on earlier work undertaken by industry bodies to develop a similar service for the hardwood sector. • Technology and research
opportunities for the sector available from the SWI research consortia. A number of the technologies and systems developed via the Solid Wood Innovation consortia are of direct relevance/opportunity to the hardwood sector, particularly with respect to products targeting the appearance market. Marco Lausberg from SWI will present an overview of market-ready technologies
as well as some close to completion technologies that all FWPA processor members have access rights to. • Update on current FWPA promotion and marketing programs. • Emerging issues and opportunities for the hardwood processing sector. Information about the workshop and registration details: www. workshop-for-hardwoodprocessors.eventbrite.com.au
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EVENTS
speaker format allows for flexible program at Frame Australia 2014 THE 2014 Frame Australia conference will have a new format for the speakers’ program with the first day – Monday, May 19 – devoted to truss and frame prefabrication, followed by prefab systems in building on May 20. Conference director Kevin Ezard said the new flexible registration format for the conference would allow fabricators and timber suppliers who were primarily interested in truss and frame manufacturing to attend Monday, and for designers and builders to attend the Tuesday sessions. The Monday morning session – Data Input and Software – will focus on digital building data and design software for estimating, detailing and manufacturing. The afternoon session – Manufacturing Plants – will commence with a keynote address by Hansbert Ott, managing director of Weinmann Germany. Mr Ott is an international expert in production equipment. He will outline the latest developments in equipment and systems available for truss and frame manufacturing. The Prefab Products and Building Systems session on Tuesday morning will examine the manufacture and supply
Hansbert Ott of Weinmann Germany .. focus on manufacturing plans.
of timber and engineered wood products and building systems to the building market. The afternoon session, Prefab Building Projects, will detail examples and case studies in design and construction of international and local prefab construction projects. The Frame Australia 2014 event on May 19 and 20 will be staged at the prestigious Park Hyatt Melbourne. Further information is available from the conference website www. frameaustralia.com
You’re walking the plank if you put your trust in imported untested non-certified wood The risk is too great. • Damage to your business • Possible loss of life • Legal action • Media exposure Not everything is what it seems. Trust only tested and certified products that are guaranteed*. Untested and non-certified structural plywood, wood panels, LVL and formply can cause serious accidents – even deaths – on building sites, resulting in litigation. They can be traced to the source of supply.
The choice is obvious
Kevin Ezard .. flexible program.
Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia Tel: +61 7 3250 3700 Fax: +61 7 3252 4769 Email: inbox@ewp.asn.au Web: www.ewp.asn.au
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* Independently tested to the highest standard; guaranteed to comply with Australian and New Zealand building codes and standards; certified under JAS-ANZ accredited product certification scheme; guaranteed to be safe and to carry the designated design load; meets the safety and quality requirements of trade unions; meets all workplace health and safety standards.
issue 291 | 14.10.13 | Page 11
FOrest industry
There are now more than 5000 veneer mills with capacity to process over 20 million cub m of logs
eucalpt plantations in China now overtaking area in Brazil AT the 2013 China eucalypt conference at Chengdu in the Sichuan province last month, it was announced that the latest estimate of the area of eucalypt plantations in China had risen to 4.4 million ha from the 2010 figure of 3.7 million ha. It is not possible to verify this figure but if it is accepted as the best estimate then China probably now has more area of eucalypt plantation than any other country in the world, certainly ahead of Brazil. The total area of eucalypt plantation can be broken down into three broad classes – planted with Dongmen clones 3.2 million ha; four-around plantings 0.4 million ha; other areas 0.8 million ha. The four-around plantings are largely historic and refer to trees planted around canals, roads, railways and buildings. The other areas include those established with clones of origin other than Dongmen forest farm and those established with seedlings. The bulk of the clonal plantings are hybrids between Timor gum (Eucalyptus urophylla) and flooded gum (E. grandis). Of the area planted with Dongmen clones (developed during the Dongmen project 1981-89), it is estimated that 80% is established with clones from two half-sib families (DH32 and DH33) which have the same E. urophylla mother (from Mt Egon, Indonesia) and E. grandis pollen parents from Davies Creek near Mareeba in North Queensland and from Coffs Harbour, NSW, respectively. While it is recognised that there is some potential danger in using material of such a narrow genetic base, planters want to
PAGE 12 | ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13
Observations by diCK PeGG, a respected Queensland forester who has just returned from China where as team leader he helped in Australia’s contribution to the highly successful dongmen forest farm eucalypt project in China from 1982 to 1989. Mr Pegg was recently presented with the institute of Foresters President’s Award for outstanding professional service to the international domestication of tropical and sub-tropical eucalypts.
Eucalyptus panorama in Guanqxi with coppice in the foreground.
use the most productive clones
plantations
and to date there have been no
Guangxi, the province in which
major problems.
the Dongmen forest farm is
About
half
the
eucalypt
are
located
in
situated. During the Dongmen
Dick Pegg inspects veneers on a visit to a Chinese plywood mill.
‘He outlayed $A800. He cut the stand for veneer logs with the smaller material going to a particleboard plant. He received $A23,150 and has the next coppice crop coming along’
project, the area of eucalypt plantations in Guangxi was only 100,000 ha. Originally, it was planned that the bulk of the eucalypt plantation resource would be used for a pulp and paper industry in China. Around 1990, a eucalypt chip export business started, pending the development of local pulp mills. This trade reached a peak of about 2 million t/a in 1997. With the construction of pulp mills in Hainan, Guangxi and Guangdong and the rapid development of a veneer industry, this export has virtually ceased by 2008. Plywood production in China has increased rapidly over the past 15 years. Associated with this has been a proliferation of small-scale eucalypt veneer mills processing young (3-6 Cont Page 13
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FOrest industry
eucalypt forestry: interest in setting up a sawlog industry From Page 12
years) small diameter logs (mostly about 12 cm small end diameter). There are now more than 5000 such mills in China with a collective capacity to process well over 20 million cub m of logs. Mill door prices for veneer logs increase with size from around $A90/cub m for lengths of 1.3 m with a s.e.d. of 4-6cm to $140/ cub m for the 8-12cm class to $160/ cub m for >16cm. With such prices available, there is considerable incentive for the production of veneer logs. A friend who works in the research unit at Dongmen forest farm has a lease of 1.33 ha from the farm. He grew sugarcane for a few years but decided three years ago to plant Dongmen eucalypt clones. His outlay was $880. This year, he cut the stand for veneer logs with the smaller material going to a particleboard plant. He received $A23,150 and has the next coppice crop coming along. [Generally in China, the first cut if from the original planting with two coppice rotations]. Another Chinese friend, who worked on the Dongmen project and subsequently made a fortune by growing eucalypts in Guangxi and Guangdong, told me there were two ways to make a lot of money in China: “You can plant eucalypts or you can sell the white powder; you will probably make more money selling the white powder but if you are caught, the consequences are extremely serious. It is much safer to plant eucalypts!” The main domestic application for plywood made in China is construction (for concrete form work) followed by packaging, furniture and interior decoration. The country’s rapid economic growth has caused a surge in the construction of both commercial and residential buildings as
Truckload of veneer logs at Dongmen .. returns great incentive for eucalypt growers in China.
well as infrastructure; high rise buildings and infrastructure, especially express road ways and high speed rail lines, consume huge quantities of plywood for concrete formwork. Many Chinese ply producers have a preference for eucalypt veneers for the core layers of plywood over poplar or pine. Eucalypt veneer has higher stiffness and strength over pine veneer and it is relatively hard in comparison to pine, resulting in the production of a more durable panel with less cracking
and splintering than softwood panels. With the use of large amounts of small-sized eucalypt material for veneers, it is understood that Stora Enso in the construction of its mill east of Beihai in Guangxi are initially installing a paper line – only with pulp being sourced from other areas. The Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer plans to establish a pulp line at a later date to utilise material from its own and other plantations in the Guangxi-Guangdong area. The total value of output of
Air drying eucalypt veneers.
with the rapid escalation in the area of eucalypt plantations in China, there is increasing pressure in some areas to prevent further plantings of eucalypts
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eucalypt wood processing and pulp and paper making in Guangxi is about $A35 billion, accounting for 65% of Guangxi’s total forestry output value and 85% of Guangxi’s wood processing and pulp and paper making value. For China, the value can be estimated at $A60 billion. With the rapid escalation in the area of eucalypt plantations in China, there is increasing pressure in some areas to prevent further plantings of eucalypts. Some of the opposition is based on the argument that short rotation plantations on very steep slopes and in drainage lines lead to increased erosion. Others are similar to the disinformation used by ‘greenies’ in their opposition to pine plantations in Australia some years ago – the so-called creation of ecological deserts and excessive water use. Another development in eucalypt forestry in China is an interest in setting up a sawlog industry. To date, there has been a limited amount of flooring and furniture produced from eucalypt plantings. The Guangxi FRI has hired Dr Kevin Harding (who served the Dongmen project as a timber technologist) for two months to assist in planning for this industry. Currently, there is considerable interest in planting Gympie messmate (E. cloeziana) for this end use. However, there are several other options including the use of the Dongmen hybrid clones. At present, there is an uncertainty about the size of sawlog desired. Some people think a DBH of 1820 cm is what is desired because large logs would be difficult to handle with the current methodology. However, this will undoubtedly change in time.
issue 291 | 14.10.13 | Page 13
industry news
Supporting possum population recovery in sustainable forests
Stakeholder forums work to build constructive solution A SERIES of stakeholder forums in Victoria has worked to build a constructive solution for the population recovery of the Leadbeater’s possum, an endangered species restricted to small pockets of old growth mountain ash. The Leadbeater’s Possum Advisory Group, established by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith and the Minister for Agriculture Peter Walsh, held the recent stakeholder forums as part of its work to support the recovery of the species while maintaining a sustainable timber industry. The group engaged with stakeholders from universities, conservation groups, economic
Leadbeater’s possum .. constructive solutions for population recovery.
interests
and
community
representatives through a series of
workshops,
submissions
and an online forum.
Chief Executive
Victorian Association of Forest Industries
Graham Mitchell .. chairman of stakeholder sessions.
Victoria, VicForests and the Leadbeater’s possum recovery team. The sessions were chaired by Graham Mitchell, chief scientist to the Department of Environment and Primary Industries, and featured presentations on the latest science from Dr Dan Harley of Zoos Victoria, Professor David Lindenmayer of ANU and Dr Lindy Lumsden from the Arthur Rylah Institute. The group will work with a broad range of experts and stakeholders, using the most up-to-date science and data to develop its recommendations. “The recovery of the Leadbeater’s Possum is of vital importance to Victoria as our faunal emblem,” the Zoo’s director of wildlife conservation and science Rachel Lowry said. “We encourage people to have their say on the recovery of this species.” VAFI CEO Lisa Marty said that they were working closely with the forest and wood products industry and that the industry understood action was needed in the short, medium and long term to help the possum population recover from the 2009 bushfires. “VAFI is committed to ensuring both the recovery of the Leadbeater’s possum and the sustainable use of our forests to benefit Victorian communities,” Ms Marty said. “By working cooperatively with other stakeholders we have the best possible chance to balance multiple needs and find innovative solutions to support the recovery of the species.”
The Victorian Association of Forest Industries (VAFI) is the peak industry organisation for forest and wood products businesses in Victoria. It represents forest growers, harvest and haul businesses, wood and paper processors and associated businesses and organisations. As Chief Executive of VAFI you will lead and manage a small but highly professional team which develops and recommends to the Board strategies for dealing with a wide range of complex issues facing the industry. You will be expected to develop strong relationships with Government, Opposition, the public sector and other key stakeholders, and to represent VAFI in a range of public forums, including the media. You will also be required to work closely with members and counterpart organisations. Your overall objective will be to advance and protect the interests of the Association and its members. This role is a maternity leave position (14 month term or longer – negotiable) with the opportunity to build your Executive experience and networks. To succeed in this role, you will need to have Executive skills with an understanding of government, strong communication, advocacy, policy and relationship management skills. Before applying, please obtain the selection documentation by emailing lmarty@vafi.org.au Applications close 28th October 2013.
Co-convened by Zoos Victoria and the Victorian Association of Forest Industries, the workshops with a set of key stakeholders were designed to build a constructive solution for the possum population recovery. Zoos Victoria and VAFI are co-convenors of the possum advisory group and the state government has allocated $1 million to fund short-term recommendations from the group, which includes Parks
PAGE 14 | ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13
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‘industry understands action is needed in the short, medium and long term to help the possum population recover from the 2009 bushfires’ – Lisa Marty
industry news
If it goes on for a period of time, it could start impacting sawmills and really start putting people out of work: timber chief From Page 2
could get worse as the winter months approach. If loggers can’t work now while the going is good and they can’t get enough wood into the mills, then the impacts will really occur in March, April and May next year. Meanwhile, the US Forest Service is closing logging operations in 150 national forests nationwide due to the federal shutdown. The agency is contacting each logging company in writing to tell them how to close down operations. In general, loggers will have seven days to finish cutting and hauling out logs on timber sales where they are already working. The shutdown comes as loggers typically look forward to one more month of work before winter weather makes conditions tougher. The Forest Service has also notified 450 timber purchasers across the country that timber sales and stewardship contracts will be suspended. In national parks, more than 21,000 workers have been
laid off and millions of visitors prevented from entering any of the 410 national parks and other sites operated by the National Park Service. Hundreds of national monuments and other historic sites have been closed, including the Smithsonian museums, the Statue of Liberty and Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone national parks, to name a few Tom Partin, president of the timber industry group America Forest Resource Council, says he got word that the Forest Service would be posting details of the shutdown on a White House website last Monday. “I would have hoped they would have considered timber sale contract officers essential personnel, but apparently at this point they are not,” Mr Partin remarked. “If it goes on for a period of time, it could start impacting sawmills and really start putting people out of work.”
Tom Partin .. timber sale contract officers essential personnel.
He said the shutdown was another reason the Senate should join the USD House in passing legislation to increase logging on national forests. The Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act would return more active management to federal forestlands. The Bill requires foresters to determine the sustainable yield a forest could
the Act would return more active management to federal forestlands
provide and then harvest half of that, and only on land that is suitable for timber harvest. It also limits costly and complex paperwork, and it requires that it be completed in a timely manner. The Bill also includes provisions specific to the unique Oregon and California lands that put about half in a trust managed under the Oregon Forest Practices Act with a requirement to manage them for active harvest. This trust would stop the endless appeals and litigation that stall active forest management and create jobs and revenues. Although the Bill has passed the House, it is considered unlikely to pass the Senate. The White House has issued a statement saying if the Bill gets to the desk of President Barrack Obama, he will be advised to veto it because, it is claimed, it would harm habitat for endangered species, increase the chance of lawsuits, and limit the president’s ability to create national monuments.
Opportunity: new engineered product Project seeks access to on-going timber resource
ThIs engineered product is manufactured from small diameter treated true round plantation logs that would normally be chipped or destroyed. Resource cost is minimal. The production system is low capital cost and can be set up in a minimum of time and at a minimum of cost. Compared with current systems such as LVL, sawn timber etc. this product has unrivalled versatility, fire resistance, projected longevity and sustainability. This product has the ability to lower the costs of floor and wall framing in modern homes, as well as being ideal for low-cost housing The entire buildings can be erected on site using unskilled labour. The product has undergone comprehensive testing at the engineering faculty of the University of Technology Sydney under the guidance of internationally renowned timber engineer Prof. Keith Crews.
Engineered Timber Products
The project is keen to establish a plant near a guaranteed resource. Loggo products have undergone comprehensive Contact: (02) 4256 4767 or email pat@loggo.com.au testing at the engineering faculty of the University www.loggo.com.au of Technology Sydney. Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au
ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13 | PAGE 15
enGineered wOOd
now the trilog: utilising waste for low-cost building systems
Cut at convenient lengths for joists, lintels or beams NSW-based timber engineering company Loggo claims a world breakthrough in engineered wood technology that aims to revolutionise floor and house frame building systems. Company principal Pat Thornton said the system focused on the low-value ‘throw-away market’ of small diameter waste logs of 80 mm diameter and under. “We have developed a new product - the Universal Triple Log – which allows us to retain the desired flooring system 3.6 m spans at 600 mm spacings. “We hypothesised that we would also get an extra advantage in strength; we are doubling the shear face area by going from the double to the triple log system,” Mr Thornton said. “This transfers into considerable cost savings.” Mr Thornton said for simplicity Loggo had named the new product the Trilog – a triple lamilog 80 mm diameter (80 mm wide x 207mm high x 3.6 m in length). Applications included: • Far fewer composite materials. • Lower value timber resource – 80 mm diameter and smaller logs with shorter lengths of what is virtually a waste material. • Greatly reduced production costs (manually if cheaper to do so). “Advancing to this three smaller diameter log system we took a giant step in cost reduction and cost efficiency,” Mr Thornton said. “Height and strength are still maintained while at the same time there is a large reduction in costs of materials, materials waste and carbon emissions.” He said the new Trilog beam/
PAgE 16 | issuE 291 | 14.10.13
joist fitted into or aligned with any other traditional building system used in the western world, Asia or Europe. “Importantly, it will also be a very cheap tool with which to fortify houses in third world countries against earthquakes, wind, fire and floods with local resources,” Mr Thornton said. “It can be cut at convenient lengths for joists, lintels or beams.”
Pat Thornton .. Trilog means far fewer composite materials.
Built from waste .. the new Tri-log building system.
The new engineered wood technology has developed from an original idea by structural engineer Peter Blair of Structured Projects Management Australia that joined two logs together by secreting a webtruss of galvanised rebar within the logs that act compositely. From 2007 to 2011 the Lamilog Beam and I-Log were extensively tested with great success and surprisingly positive results at the University of Technology Sydney under the guidance of renowned timber scientist Professor Keith Crews. Early testing resulted in this two-log Lamilog Beam being more than six times stronger than a single log.
Tri-log engineered wood technology .. greatly reduced production costs.
‘Advancing to this three smaller diameter log system we took a giant step in cost reduction and cost efficiency’ – Pat thornton
Loggo has filed the new Trilog technology as a provisional patent and also as a patent of addition in Australia, a forerunner to replacing the company’s former international patent applications with selection patents. Joint venture partnerships as well as license agreements are invited.
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wildfires in the us: something bigger going on, say foresters
Can humans adapt as quickly as nature can? FIRE fighters in the US say they’ve never seen fires burn the way they did in 2013. That sentiment has been heard before. In 1988, 2000 and 2007, fires grew in size and ferocity across the American West, exceeding the experience and knowledge of fire fighters and scientists alike. This year, fire returned to places that had burned before: Colorado Springs, Pine, Ketchum, Yellowstone and Yosemite. The fires of 2013 burned through many previous ideas about how we can live with fire. What’s different this time? Science is connecting hotter, bigger fires and a longer, more intense fire season with changes in the climate. • Long before fire season, the mountains are undergoing change. Winters are warmer, meaning smaller snowpacks that melt sooner. That means runoff ends earlier and the forests dry out earlier; fire season starts earlier and lasts longer. When summer arrives, hotter, drier Julys get fires started earlier and bigger. In August and September, low humidity, wind and other unstable atmospheric conditions create erratic burning that overwhelms the best prevention and fire fighting tactics. • During fire season, fire bosses are changing tactics. They might pull their crews out of the way of extreme fires and evacuate communities more promptly. The bosses work to ‘herd’ fires into previously burned areas, making them easier and cheaper to fight.
Fires return, again .. forest blaze in Yosemite National Park.
Communities can clear brush and other fuels away from homes, providing fire fighters with ‘defensible space’. But those measures have to be regularly renewed. In some rural residential areas, topography and fuel still make them nearly indefensible, as the Fall Creek area west of Pine found this summer. And once homes in the ‘urban interface’ do start burning, wildland fire fighters have to adopt urban tactics. • After the fires, forests face tougher conditions in which to recover. Fires in parts of the Northern Rockies now burn so frequently or so hot that the trees don’t get a chance to grow big enough to produce seeds for the next generation. Even in forests with enough trees, hotter, drier conditions cause fewer seeds to germinate and more seedlings to die. Some won’t be forests again. Sun-baked south slopes are turning from forests to brush, as can be seen near the
Lowman-area fires of 1989. Over time, more low-elevation forests could return to brush and grasslands. Low-elevation species such as ponderosa pines will move higher and farther north to cooler, moister conditions; high-elevation species such as Douglas firs will recede as fire frequency increases. The bottom line: nature is adapting to changing conditions. The fires of 2013 taught us that humans have to adapt to new realities about fires and forests, too. Practices and developments were designed for conditions that no longer exist. Stephen Pyne, noted fire historian from Arizona State University, says we can’t “solve” the fire problem in any technical sense because it will always be changing. “Our task is not to fix what can’t be fixed,” he wrote recently, “but to pass between the flames as best we can.” In California this summer, ghost
Our task is not to fix what can’t be fixed, but to pass between the flames as best we can
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trees were in the path of the Rim Fire that burned through an area near Yosemite National Park. The fire followed the scar of a 1996 fire that left brush and big dead trees on the ground that have held their moisture for hundreds of years in the relatively wet conditions of the High Sierra. This year, they turned to ash. “Really big logs take a really long time to dry out,” say fire ecologists at Yosemite National Park. “They are indicators that something bigger is going on.” Idaho’s Elk Complex burned through trees in an area that had just been logged and through thousands of hectares of state forest land that had been aggressively managed for 20 years. In the moister Sierra forest, the Rim Fire burnt through foothills with four different forest types up to the high-elevation lodgepole pine. “If four different types of forest wouldn’t stop the fire, no fuel treatment will,” the ecologists say. Fire scientists say that the West’s ecosystems evolved with fire. “We can’t stop it. When we do temporarily, we end up triggering the even bigger fires we see today”. In southwest Idaho, most of the landscape has burned in the past 30 years. More than 56% of the Boise National Forest has burned since 1985 and 71% of the Payette, according to Forest Service numbers. The forests have grown back where many of the older fires were, presenting land managers with new challenges. They not Cont Page 18
ISSUE 291 | 14.10.13 | PAGE 17
internAtiOnAL FOCus
Bark beetle and wildfires kill more trees than logging in western usA A NEW study of forestry in western USA shows that bark beetle outbreaks and wildfires are killing more trees than commercial logging. Over the last few decades, bark beetles and wildfires combined have potentially released a staggering 9% of the carbon stored in trees in this region. Wildfires and insect outbreaks have wiped out millions of hectares of forest in western North America in recent years. In particular, the mountain pine beetle has destroyed vast areas of lodgepole pine forest, including more than 16 million ha in British Columbia alone. Tree scientist Jeffrey Hicke at he University of Idaho and colleagues used tree mortality maps and logging data to estimate the amount of carbon released by trees in the western US. Using existing spatial datasets of forest biomass, burn severity and beetlecaused tree mortality, they were able to tot up the amount of above- and below-ground carbon in killed trees across the region. Their results, published in Environmental Research
with later fire suppression, have led to dense forests today and a high proportion of larger and older trees, which bark beetles prefer. Different forest management techniques could help to reduce a forest’s susceptibility to fire and pests. “The reintroduction of fire and other ways to reduce fuel loads, through thinning for example, will reduce severe fires as well as susceptibility to beetle outbreaks,” Dr Hick said. A US forester in Nevada shows bark beetle damage on a pine tree.
Letters, showed that between 1984 and 2010, wildfires released between 5–11 Tg of carbon a year in the western US. Meanwhile, between 1997 and 2010, beetle outbreaks killed enough trees to release between 2–24 Tg of carbon a year, with the outbreaks peaking after the year 2000. Added together, these disturbances have killed a volume of trees equivalent to 9% of the total forest carbon in the western US – all in the
space of three decades. “The annual amount of carbon in trees killed by fires and beetles exceeds that by harvest in the western US in recent years, which came as a surprise to us,” Dr Hicke said. Anecdotal evidence indicates that these disturbances have increased in recent years. A warmer and drier climate is favourable to bark beetles and helps encourage fire. Meanwhile, forest clearing and wildfires around 1900, together
Bark beetles prefer certain tree species, so harvesting carefully to maximise diversity – in both tree species and tree sizes – will also help. For western North America at least, these natural disturbances are having a significant effect on the carbon budget, and need to be considered in any calculations. The figures will be different for other parts of the world, but it looks like carbon loss from natural disturbances can’t be ignored.
Nature adapting to changing conditions only have to mechanically thin and prescribe-burn to lessen fire risk in unburned areas, they also have to do the same with forests that have grown back from earlier fires. “If we do not do these treatments outside of the fire season, it will be impossible to catch up,” says Paul Bryant, Boise National Forest resource and planning officer. Some previously burned areas are burning again on their own. The Pony Fire burned young ponderosa pines that were growing back after the Foothills Fire of 1992. Foresters are watching whether the forest will
PAgE 18 | issuE 291 | 14.10.13
shift to brush. Silviculturist Ray Eklund is determining now where the Forest Service should try to replant ponderosas, where it can expect natural regeneration and where it should let the area change to rangeland. His decisions are based both on ecology and economics: with tight budgets, there isn’t the money to replant every acre when many trees won’t survive. “We have to be more judicious where we plant,” Eklund said. Monica Turner, a landscape ecology professor at the University of Wisconsin,
has studied the forests of Yellowstone National Park since 1988. She has seen reduced regeneration where fires occur before the trees grow big enough to produce sufficient seed and where post-fire drought prevents germination. She hopes to expand her studies to the entire Northern Rockies to determine how climate change will transform the forests. Right now, she and agency scientists have little data on which to make predictions for the future. Research has shown that fires can be fought within the
communities, and that raging fires on public lands don’t need to be stopped in the wilderness to protect private property. But when you get hundreds of homes threatened, there just aren’t enough fire fighters to save them all. And when crown fires are especially extreme, the fuel thick, the topography steep and the wind blowing, it becomes too dangerous to try to protect some areas, Forest Service officials say. – Extracts Statesman.
from
Idaho
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CLAssiFieds
Alex Young Dekens Trust
Alexandra Jade Young tragically lost her loving parents Louise Dekens and David Young at Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on August 21.
• More than 6700 deliveries and 15,000 viewers each week
Louise’s father Anton Dekens was a long-time worker in the Queensland timber industry. This trust has been established to aid Alex in counselling assistance; living expenses; and education. The Trust is a Non-Profit, Necessitous Circumstances Fund, managed by three trustees who are required to comply with strict guidelines as to the use of the funds. It is audited by an independent auditor to ensure compliance with the law relating to charities, the trust deed and the trustees’ guidelines.
PLEASE HELP ALEX Donations can be made at any Westpac branch. Alternatively, you can complete an electronic funds transfer using the following details: ACCOUNT NAME: ALEX YOUNG DEKENS TRUST BSB: 034185 ACCOUNT NUMBER: 156954
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Once the tax deductibility has been approved, receipts will be issued upon request to alexyoungdekenstrust@gmail.com Please advise your name, amount paid, date paid, postal address, email and contact number. For further information contact... Gerry Gardiner on 0411 075 134 or Alfred Chapple – Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218 – on 0417 746 522 issue 291 | 14.10.13 | Page 19
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