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The Forest Examining the challenges that lay ahead
Since the mountain pine beetle infestation became an epidemic in 1999, an estimated 18.1 million hectares of forest land in British Columbia have been affected. The latest projections indicate that the beetle will have killed between 53 and 70 per cent of merchantable pine by 2021. The infestation has had a severe impact on the central interior of British Columbia where natural forests consist primarily of pine. Mortality levels in the central interior vary between and within timber supply areas (TSAs). The most affected TSAs include 100 Mile House, Bulkley, Kamloops, Mackenzie, Merritt, Morice, Prince George, Robson Valley and Williams Lake, with the highest pine mortality rates (above 45 per cent) in the Lakes and Quesnel TSAs and the Vanderhoof forest district. In response to the epidemic, harvest levels have been elevated since 2001 to capture salvage opportunities, with due regard paid to meeting existing environmental objectives for the areas involved. The province has also committed $884 million to initiatives related to curbing the effects of the mountain pine beetle — including $129 million for spread control and fertilization, and $71 million for energy development and infrastructure in beetle-affected communities. As well, provincial, federal and local governments have funded initiatives to assist forestrydependent communities diversify their economies. For example, since 2005 three beetle action coalitions have received $9 million from the province to prepare communities for transition to the post-epidemic economy. Over the next decades the timber supply in the interior will continue to decrease. When beetle-killed pine is no longer salvageable, the province’s overall supply of mature timber will be reduced, and 10 to 15 years from now it is forecast to be 20 per cent below the pre-infestation levels, a reduction that may last up to 50 years. The projected drop in timber in the allowable annual cut (AAC) for the central interior represents the timber necessary to keep approximately eight mills running. In areas with the greatest percentage of pine in the forest, shortages are already being noted and the drop in the harvest levels will likely exceed 20 per cent. The anticipated decrease in timber supply will have significant negative economic and social impacts on forestry-dependent communities and present major challenges to the industry.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
As a vital contributor to our local economy, the forest industry has a proud history within our region. As your MP, I will continue to promote a sustainable, successful forest industry.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
Timber supply crucial to future
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DELYNDA PILON newsroom@pgfreepress.com
If no steps are taken to mitigate the effects of the mountain pine beetle infestation, the allowable annual cut in the central interior may be reduced drastically. How drastically? By enough timber to feed the equivalent of eight mills. Currently, there are 24 mills operating in the area. A special committee on timber supply, chaired by MLA John Rustad, was formed late in May to design recommendations to temper the damage being done in affected forests, and shared the 22 measures it feels need to be taken last month. During a press conference later the same day, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson said the ministry will be working very quickly to outline a number of steps and create an action plan to put the recommendations in motion. He expects there will be a timeline charting the steps to be taken moving forward within the next week. “We’ll have a action plan in response to all the recommendations by September,” Thomson said. The recommendations include maximizing the value of marginal economic stands, creating an inventory of B.C. forests, and looking at the feasibility of rebuilding the sawmill in Burns Lake following the explosion of the mill, the town’s main employer and source of revenue, earlier in the year. Rustad said that though the future of the Burns Lake mill was not directly within the committee’s mandate, there was some expectation for them to look at the issue. “We tried to come up with solutions we thought were reasonable,” he said. Without removing existing timber rights, Rustad said there are one million cubic metres of pine in the Lakes area to support Burns Lake. The Lakes District is the area most affected by the mountain pine beetle infestation. Following it is Quesnel then Prince George. A reduction in the allowable annual cut in Prince George won’t happen as quickly as in the other areas, Rustad said,
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Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad delivers the timber supply committee’s report in August. meaning it should be of benefit for Sinclar to re-open Lakeland Mills in Prince George, though there will be other factors the company will likely need to take into consideration. “There will be challenging decisions for industry in the future,” Rustad said. Rustad added the committee was aware that industry was nervous of any dramatic shifts springing from the recommendations within the report. Thus far the mountain pine beetle has killed 53 per cent of the pine trees in the affected area. If left unchecked it could destroy 57 to 70 per cent leading to a reduction of 10 million cubic metres in the allowable annual cut. However, with hopes of utilizing marginal
forest areas combined with innovations within the forest industry and a look at some of the infested forests while touring the various areas during the consultation process, Rustad remains optimistic. He said he was happily surprised to note the amount of green, about 25 per cent, left in forests in the Quesnel area. “It’s encouraging to see how much green is left in those mountain pine beetle infested areas,” he said. He added though there will be changes within the forest industry, he believes it will remain a staple to B.C.’s economy. “I am optimistic about the future of the forest industry,” Rustad said.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
Timber supply committee makes
RECOMMENDATION 1.1 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Province: a) Ensure it meets its legal consultation duty and any required accommodations when planning or implementing changes to the forest management regime in a specific area. b) Consider the expansion of First Nation tenures when contemplating material changes to the tenure system.
RECOMMENDATION 1.2 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Assess the feasibility of re-establishing the monitoring committees for land and resource management plans (LRMPs) and, if feasible, task them with conducting a time-limited review of the LRMPs and their relevance, in light of changes to the forested landscape. The appropriate role of local First Nations needs to be reviewed with them. b) Use the best available science to establish key priorities for monitoring committees to review in each management unit under LRMPs and local area plans. The purpose of the reviews is to ensure that the plans are meeting their original intent, given the changes in the forest that have occurred as a result of the mountain pine beetle epidemic.
RECOMMENDATION 1.3 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Undertake a critical assessment of the risks to certification and BC’s sustainable forest management (SFM) image prior to making any changes in response to this report. b) Ensure that proper notification and communication plans are developed where sensitive changes are considered as an appropriate
response, given the wide-ranging impacts of the mountain pine beetle. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry respect the important work that has been undertaken by the beetle action coalitions (BACs) and continue to support their goals and objectives by reviewing policies and programs as appropriate.
RECOMMENDATION 2.1 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Review marginally economic forest types within each timber supply area (TSA) and quantify the types and areas of forest that might be justifiably included in a partition within the timber harvesting land base (THLB). b) Give consideration to revising the Minister’s letter that expresses the social and economic objectives of the Province by requesting that the Chief Forester thoroughly examine the potential of marginally economic forest types to address the harvest opportunities these stands offer. c) Review relevant policies to ensure that they encourage innovations that promote and support the utilization of marginally economic forest types. d) Consider the competing demands for any additional fibre in each unit and ensure that apportionment and allocation decisions weigh and consider those demands, including considering the opportunity that issuing new licences could represent.
RECOMMENDATION 2.2 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Design a science-based review process for local use by monitoring committees, as referenced in Recommendation 1.2 above, in
the assessment of existing sensitive-area designations to ascertain if they are still defensible or whether they need to be modified; and give due consideration to any changes in technology that might help to achieve the objectives for these areas. b) Only consider harvesting sensitive areas within the timber harvesting land base (THLB) if the decision is based on the science-based review process. c) Ensure that the review process is cost effective and justifiable, and that no changes are implemented in the management of sensitive areas in any area where there is a lack of general consensus. d) Conduct this review process with a view to improving overall forest management in the beetle impacted timber supply areas. While potential changes may augment the timber supply, this is not a predictable outcome.
RECOMMENDATION 2.3 Based on the analysis and information available on this topic, the Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Province not consider the amalgamation of timber supply areas.
RECOMMENDATION 2.4 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Province review the feasibility, through business case analysis, of developing road and power-line infrastructure into currently underdeveloped management units affected by the mountain pine beetle as a potential mid-term timber supply mitigation action.
RECOMMENDATION 3.1 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry:
a) Work with industry to establish silviculture-related forest practice requirements that ensure the objectives of growing more fibre and generating more value are achieved. b) Maintain or enhance the current level of funding for the tree improvement program. c) Ensure that, with respect to partial-cutting systems, the appropriate selective-harvesting training materials are in place; survey and stocking standards are adequate; electronic data- capture systems are able to transfer efficiently the disturbance history into the forest inventory; and the growth-and-yield models used to predict timber supply from partially harvested stands are current.
RECOMMENDATIONS 3.2 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Province determine the level of investment in intensive silviculture, such as fertilization, that it will sustain. The Committee further recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Place priority on completion of type 4 silvicultural strategies to guide investments in intensive silviculture in accordance with established criteria. b) Develop a strategy and objectives for reengaging the federal government to acquire funding that will be used to help respond to the mountain pine beetle crisis. The funding would support the planning and implementation of joint federal, provincial and industry programs and partnerships in response to forest management and community challenges associated with the epidemic. c) Establish criteria for the allocation of funding for intensive silviculture on area-based tenures in order to leverage private sector investment. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry:
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Innovation and learning with the forest sector Students, industry partners and the College are working together on applied research projects in the forest. We are very fortunate to have the CNC Research Forest as a land base for exciting projects, and as a testing ground for industry innovation. CNC faculty and students, the CNC Research Forest Society, and CNC’s Office of Applied Research & Innovation work closely with industry to build future forestsector leaders and employees, who think critically, imagine broadly and make ideas reality. Some of our current projects focus on: • • •
Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program This program is for those who need a little more guidance with the business plan development stage. Upon successful completion, clients receive an incentive that they can contribute to start up costs or to leverage additional financing. All Nations Elders The All Nations Elders is a group that works together on projects for the betterment of the Aboriginal community in Prince George. It is open and inclusive to all Elders, regardless of ethnicity and age. Youth are encouraged to participate. Financial Literacy Program The workshops cover topics such as assets, budgeting, consumerism, banking, credit and credit repair. It also includes a matched savings component. ACTION IS THE KEY
Emerging remote sensing technologies such as LiDAR Silviculture opportunities and considerations around climate change Innovative forest management practices
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Aboriginal Business & Community Development Centre is here to meet the individualized approach needed to assist Aboriginal entrepreneurs with developing their business ideas. We have assisted over 1,600 clients since inception. Self-Employment Assistance Services • Business ideas • Market research • Start-ups • Acquiring financing • Mentoring • After-care services
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
22 recommendations to Victoria
a) Continue to fund strategies and activities for the reduction of fuel in the wildland-urban interface. Where these investments reduce overall fire suppression risks and costs, then the Ministry might best fund these expenditures from the fire suppression budget, thereby reducing overall cost to the Province. b) Ensure that tenure holders help to manage fuels across the broader forest landscape in addition to the urban interface. c) Work closely with tenure holders by linking its fuel management programs to type 4 silvicultural strategies. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Determine the most cost-effective means of assessing and classifying the stands that are impacted by mountain pine beetle and then implement a program for their assessment and classification. b) Develop technical and financial criteria for stratifying NSR areas that considers among other things: i. The areas that are likely to be harvested and reforested; ii. The areas that are candidates for rehabilitation through various types of treatment to ensure their timely reforestation; and iii. The areas that should be left to recover on their own, with projected timelines for when they will become sufficiently restocked. c) Ensure that the Ministry’s plans are clear, transparent and publicly communicated, and that the plans are monitored and adjusted as necessary, and changes publicly reported.
RECOMMENDATION 4.1 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Prepare a position paper that: i. States the purposes, uses and objectives of the forest inventories and the many important decisions that it supports; and
ii. Assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the inventories in meeting their objectives, including their current utility in supporting management priorities and strategic forestlevel management decisions that need to be taken in response to the beetle epidemic. b) Review and establish forest inventory priorities for the areas affected by the mountain pine beetle and develop realistic, cost-effective budget projections required to meet them. The Committee further recommends that based on the Ministry’s review, the Province ensure that sufficient funding is provided to support the preparation of a five-year provincial inventory action plan that details how the program will meet provincial priorities, including consideration of the urgent issues emerging in the mountain pine beetle areas. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry maintain current harvest flow policies and allow the Chief Forester to determine an appropriate harvest flow for each management unit during allowable annual cut (AAC) determinations. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry continually review the timber supply in each management unit and advise the Chief Forester on priorities for when the next AAC allocation is required. In management units where the AAC has been previously increased to facilitate harvesting, and where lower levels of mountain pine beetle have been experienced than originally expected, the Chief Forester decide on a new AAC determination as soon as practicable. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry ask the Chief Forester to review how unsalvaged losses are projected in allowable annual cuts (AACs). If the Chief Forester determines that it is reasonable to establish partitions to promote the utilization of fibre that would otherwise not
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be recovered, and thereby reduce the level of unsalvaged losses, then tenure policy experts should work with the forest sector to determine if a workable and effective policy could be developed.
RECOMMENDATION 5.1 Given the history of area-based tenure management in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada, the Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Gradually increase the diversity of areabased tenures, using established criteria for conversion and a walk-before-you-run approach. b) If conversion to more area-based tenures is desirable, give consideration to incorporating a takeback-volume provision, or some equivalent public benefit, on conversion to area-based rights and reallocating that volume to First Nation and/or community area-based tenures. c) Before considering a conversion of a licensee’s renewable volume-based tenures in whole, or in part, rigorously evaluate: the licensee’s past performance; their commitment to sustainable forest management; their commitment to investment in forest management including, but not limited to, silvicultural investments; and community and First Nations support for conversion through a process of public consultation. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Continue to pursue the development and implementation of the Receiving Licence and Supplemental Forest Licence as additional vehicles to improve utilization and maximize jobs per cubic metre of fibre. b) Examine the potential for a fibre-based AAC pilot, while ensuring the necessary and complementary environmental standards (i.e. coarse woody debris), cut control and waste
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measurement requirements are implemented concurrently and as part of the pilot. c) Review the legislation, policies and licence administrative framework to ensure optimum utilization of the forest resource while maintaining environmental standards. The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry review current procedures to ensure that potential timber exports of fibre from Crown lands are identified to assist in mitigating mid-term timber supply in the central interior of the province.
RECOMMENDATION 6.1 The Committee recommends to the Legislative Assembly that the Ministry: a) Direct that a reconvened local planning table in Burns Lake, with appropriate membership, evaluate, consider the appropriateness, and make recommendations on non-spatial management of old growth in the TSA. b) Direct that alterations to the management of visual quality objectives and other sensitive areas in the Lakes TSA are not recommended for review at this time, unless there is absolute agreement by the reconvened planning table to do so. c) Confirm a funding allocation which is intended to be ongoing, to support a targeted fertilization program in the Lakes TSA. d) Complete a type 4 silviculture analysis for the Lakes TSA to guide the fertilization program. e) Consider revising the Minister’s letter that expresses the social and economic objectives of the Province to emphasize the importance of maximizing volume flows in the Lakes TSA. f) Update the Lakes TSA inventory. g) Expedite negotiations with Burns Lake First Nations to determine the feasibility of awarding them a licence for harvesting in the marginally economic forest types.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
Fibre key to Babine re-opening
Steve Zika, CEO of Hampton Affiliates, a joint venture partner in Babine Forest Products and the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation, said in a news release Aug. 15 that while agreeing with the Special Committee on Timber Supply report, it may not be enough to insure a secure timber supply adequate to justify the investment of building a new mill in the Lakes District. “The decision to rebuild the sawmill and undertake the significant investment hinges on having a secure mid-term timber supply,” he said. “We appreciate the efforts of the committee in addressing the pine beetle situation and the attention that has been given to restoring the Burns Lake community. We realize that there are no easy answers to this crisis. We believe the committee correctly identified through short-term actions how the Lakes TSA harvest levels can be set at 1,000,000 m3 indefinitely with no adverse effects on the environment,” Zika continued. “However, immediately lowering the AAC from its current level of 2 million m3 without reducing harvest levels of non-Lakes TSA sawmills will consume much of the timber needed for mid-term timber supply security for the community of Burns Lake. As we pointed out in the testimony to the committee previously, sawmills from adjoining TSAs have already consumed millions of cubic metres of logs from the Lakes TSA, saving the mid-term timber supply in their own districts. It is now time for them to return to their own mid-term timber supply,” said Zika. The mood of Hampton Affiliates has
changed since then as it announced in September that it would re-open the mill, as long as certain conditions are met. The province has agreed on the condition that Hampton formalize agreements with the six first nations in the area and the community of Burns Lake. The few steps that must happen before the board’s next meeting in December, when it will make the final decision to rebuild, include working out a satisfactory timber supply agreement with the B.C. government, First Nations and the Burns Lake comBla ck Pre s s munity forest. Steve Zika (left) and Richard Vossen of Hampton Affiliates speak to reporters in Burns Lake in Then an operating August. agreement must be put in place with employ anywhere from 50 per cent to last, but have state-of-the-art technolthe United Steelworkers Union. two-thirds of the original mill. that ogy and have its doors open for busiCurrently Hampton is proceeding side. ness early early in 2014. with engineering, site preparation and “This is a substantial investment. The older mill put out about 350 equipment selection. million board feet. The newer mill will This is taking a significant amount of If all goes as planned, the new risk,” MLA Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, produce about two-thirds of that. It Babine mill will be smaller than the Tourism and Skills Development. is expected to run two shifts and will
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
Global demand to drive prices
DELYNDA PILON newsroom@pgfreepress.com
According to MLA Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, and a former Minister of Forests, a few key factors will affect the future of forestry in B.C. Global lumber prices is one factor the province has no control over, however he said B.C. is in a good position. “There have been all time lows in the market over the last five or six years, but it’s starting to break that trend,” Bell said. He explained that when the market prices are low, the lumber being extracted from the forests must be close to the mill to keep input prices down so companies can still turn a profit. “If the prices go up then companies can access stands which are harder to get to,” he pointed out. Mitigating the affects of the mountain pine beetle by utilizing marginal forest areas is one of the recommendations found in the timber supply report, a document put together by a committee chaired by Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad. When the price of the product rises, Bell pointed out, companies will be able to invest the extra dollars required to harvest this timber. Currently, when the government compiles its annual available cut numbers, it only considers stands that are economical to harvest. If the price of lumber rises then more stands can be considered. “Companies can go further (to get wood) and can harvest stands on steeper slopes or stands that have a lower volume of trees per acre,” he said. “Econom-
ics will play a key role in this.” China, a U.S. market that is slowly rebounding and a new target market in India may well lead to a far greater need for lumber. “Global demand will drive prices to a new all time high in the next decade or two,” Bell said. Another factor affecting forestry is one that can be controlled. Sometime in the 80s and 90s, Bell said, local land use committees made decisions about the forests surrounding them. “Within committees they looked and established values, deciding what they wanted to accomplish, whether it was to promote tourism or economics, then set out objectives for areas. And they constantly updated these land use plans.” The committees, he added, are being reactivated. This means people will consistently have an opportunity to say whether previous values need to be reiterated or if they require change and updating. For example, an area before the pine beetle infestation might have far different values, etc., than an area post infestation. “Twenty years ago no one contemplated losing 60 per cent of the mature pine stands in the province,” Bell said. A third factor likely to affect the future of forestry is the carbon economy it creates. “It’s kind of fallen off the radar screen a bit in the last three years,” Bell said. “We developed the first carbon tax, the first carbon offset regime. Pacific Carbon Trust is advancing the programs for carbon offset management. The financial crash in ‘08 distracted the rest of the world. I think, though, it will become a
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Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Minister Pat Bell bigger discussion over the next few years. To me, when that is the case, the forest industry is the answer to the carbon challenge.” He added the industry can sequester carbon dioxide when trees are grown, something that will happen if a greater focus is put on growing trees than on offset emissions. “So if we invest in incremental silviculture processes they will be paid for by emitters, and then it isn’t just lumber carrying the forest industry,” Bell said. “We could look at silviculture as a way to lower carbon offsets.” He added the Kyoto Protocol did a disservice to the industry in assuming once the tree hit the ground its environmental
value was lost, but as he pointed out lots of wood stays around for a long time. “Finally, the bioenergy industry is helping us extend the value of the fibre we have. When I was a logger I’d go to the bush and wonder why we were leaving all those trees behind. I thought ‘there’s got to be a way we could use that’.” Now the fibre is being used, in everything from pellets to bioenergy facilities. “If we think about the future of the forest industry China has clearly demonstrated it is hear to stay. It is 30 per cent of our total sales, though it is levelling off a bit. In Japan, we’re seeing a recovery and we are now targeting India. So, diversification of the market for forestry is the key to sustainability,” Bell said.
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U.S. and Chinese markets are key
ALLAN WISHART allanw@pgfreepress.com
John Allan knows there’s still work to be done to get the forest industry in B.C. back to where it was, but he sees light ahead. “I feel better today than I did a year ago,� says the president of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI). Of course, he’s still not feeling as good as did back in, say, 2006. “We were on the way to settling our softwood dispute with the United States. In October, we had a deal in place with them regarding border taxes on lumber.� Then the problems started. “The mountain pine beetle was chewing its was through the forests in B.C, and the U.S. housing market started to slide, which was part of the recession they found themselves in.� Housing starts declined in the United States from 2.2 million a year to about 500,000. “2009 was probably rock bottom for our companies shipping wood to the United States,� Allan says. “Companies were losing money – a lot of money in some cases.� It wasn’t all bad news in the forests though. “The good news in that period was the B.C. government starting pushing to open the markets in China. They need that government-to-government relationship before they’re prepared to talk to individual companies. “That market has grown substantially over the past few years.� The Chinese market has also proven to be key for another reason. “The beetle impacted the quality of the wood in our forests heavily. It was fine for making concrete forms or pallets, which turned out to be something China wanted. “They used a lot of lumber we couldn’t have used otherwise.� While the China market has slowed a bit, the U.S. market is starting to recover. “Lumber prices are up, but it’s going to be a long,
slow recovery,� Allan says. “We figure we need to have about 1.5 million housing starts a year in the U.S. to have an equilibrium, and we’re not there yet.� The mountain pine beetle not only affected the quality of the wood being harvested in B.C.’s forests, it also appears to have impacted the safety of the mills in unforeseen ways. “After the tragedies at Babine Forest Products (Burns Lake) and Lakeland Mills (Prince George), safety is even more of a concern. The official reports on the explosions haven’t been released yet, but all the signs point toward the dust in the mills as being a prime problem.� While the forest industry grapples with problem of safety and juggling world markets, Allan says the biggest problem is the forests themselves. Right now our big challenge is future timber supply. We know the annual allowable cut will start coming down, which means we will have too much mill capacity relative to the supply. “Part of the problem is trees don’t grow that fast in this part of the world.� As well, the current softwood agreement with the United States expires in October 2015, but Allan isn’t seeing that as much of a problem. “We won the most recent beetle-wood pricing dispute hands-down. With housing starts on the rebound in the U.S., the timber supply could be tight, which means higher prices.� The recent Special Committee on Timber Supply, headed by Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, received a submission from COFI, and Allan says the Council of Forest Industries president John Allan final recommendations mirror some of the COFI suggestions. “More attention needs to be put into timber supply, ernment and the other stakeholders. We hope the steps whether it’s improved health of forest, more silviculture. they propose will be bold and creative.� It needs to be looked at in both the the short term and As he looks at where the B.C. forest industry was six the long term.� or seven years ago, where it was a year ago, where it The problem with B.C. forest, he says, is they take is today, and where it hopes to be a year and 50 years time to grow. down the road, Allan has to laugh. “It will take two or three generations to replenish the “There’s never a dull moment in this industry, is forests. We are ready, willing and able to work with gov- there?�
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
Sustainability lacking: Simpson
The Special Committee on Timber Supply’s report raises questions about both the Liberals’ and the NDP’s commitment to a long-term forest strategy, says Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson. “These recommendations will not support sustainable change,” said Simpson, who was the NDP’s forest critic but now sits as an independent. “What I see in this report are politicians on both sides passing the buck to local communities with no long-term strategy for success. They’re willing to let communities decide whether to log their protected forests, but what happens when those are gone? The politicians will have moved on, leaving affected communities holding the bag.” Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, who chaired the timber supply committee, tabled a report listing 22 recommendations for government including looking at marginal timber stands and increased silviculture. Simpson says there are five areas in particular that need attention: 1. Reforestation programs must be directed at growing healthy forests that will be adaptable to climate change. “I am pleased to see the committee highlighted silviculture as an area that needs more attention, but the focus needs to be on managing for healthy, resilient forest ecosystems, rather than simply growing more timber,” said Simpson. 2. A thorough review of the Beetle Action Coalitions (BACs) is necessary. “Before there is any more investment in these BACs, they need to be completely audited for effectiveness and restructured,” said Simpson. 3. Act on the recommendations of the Future Forest Ecosystems Scientific Council. The FFESC report recommends looking at all aspects of forestry and land use planning through the lens of climate change. “Their recommendations must be implemented immediately,” said Simpson. They include promoting resilient forests and developing hardwood management strategies. 4. Prioritize new economic opportunities. “(Forest) Minister (Steve) Thomson has said that uti-
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lizing bio-energy and biomass will be an important part of mitigating the upcoming economic impacts. What we really need is for the minister, or someone in cabinet or even in the opposition, to lead and be a champion for an aggressive bioeconomy strategy,” Simpson said. “The government has several reports sitting in front of them outlining progressive strategies, but they haven’t acted on them.” 5. Do not rebuild the Babine Forest Products mill. “From everything I’ve seen and heard, that mill cannot be rebuilt without sacrificing forest health and putting other communities at risk,” said Simpson. The report and background documents indicate that half of the fibre that Hampton needs to rebuild is not currently available and must be sourced from marginal volume stands, old growth management areas, and areas set aside for visual quality objectives. Simpson noted there were some positives in the report, including a clear synopsis of the concerns heard throughout the consultation process, and a commitment to re-inventory BC’s forests. The Independent MLA for Cariboo North noted that Rustad has acknowledged that a 20 per cent drop in mature timber over the next few years will potentially mean supply shortages for eight other mills in the region. “The bottom line, and the committee report confirms this, is that we’re going to see a dramatic timber reduction in the near term,” said Simpson. “Up to this point the government’s mountain Independent Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson pine beetle strategy has been to log as much The FFESC’s report is available here: http://www.for. as possible. This report essentially recommends gov.bc.ca/ftp/HFP/external/!publish/Web/FFESC/ continuing on that path in order to support the status reports/FFESCsynthesisJune7.docx quo. What we need instead is a bold, long-term proThe Bio-Economy Committee report is available here: vincial forest strategy that takes into account climate http://www.gov.bc.ca/jti/down/bio_economy_report_ change and a changing economy. Unfortunately, you final.pdf won’t find it in this report.”
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B.C. woodlots lead global forest
The United Nations “Year of Forests” came to a close last December, marking the end of a worldwide celebration. It was a year to acknowledge the profound impact the planet’s forests have on our communities, to learn from the experience of others and share successes with peers. Woodlotters at September ’s Federation of BC Woodlot Associations annual general meeting had an opportunity to hear about the differences, and similarities, in forest practices from representatives of Germany, Finland, Scotland, Canada and Zambia. In many respects, Canada - and B.C. in particular - is considered a leader in forest management, and the woodlot model contributes to that reputation; however, there are still lessons to be learned. As Peter de Marsh, who spoke on behalf of the International Forest Alliance, pointed out, the overriding questions about daily life are the same the world over: how can our kids have a better life, how can we sustain what we have and how can we improve upon it? With over one billion of the world’s population directly related to forest life, it’s no surprise that much time and energy is spent exploring ways to improve the relationship. What is surprising, though, is the fundamental difference in how individual countries perceive the value of their forest resource. While in B.C. we see forests primarily through the lens of lumber and leisure, shade is the prized commodity of a forest in countries like China, Ethiopia and Zambia, where trees protect coffee plants, mushrooms and medicinal herbs. In fact, honey is the second most important forest product in Ethiopia, before lumber. By contrast, the forestry sector is the largest employer and the second largest contributor to the economy in Germany. Lumber and its by-products are the valued commodity in this scenario. It’s obvious that, as we try to develop unified global policies to promote long term forest health, it’s important that we stay mindful of the values embedded in different cultures. This is particularly relevant for areas such as Zambia, where food security is so fragile. As Garry Brooks of the African Community Project demonstrated so passionately, efforts to reforest vast areas of land that were completely deforested and left barren have given shape to a type of “social forestry” that creates benefits well beyond ecology. Using their communities as the borders, villagers are managing community forests and, with the aid of the ACP and its local facilitators, are exploring means to secure safe, clean water, improve health, increase opportunities for education and create sustainable, stable lifestyles. Most of Scotland’s forests are in the hands of large private landowners and the government, whose holdings are overseen by Forestry Commission Scotland, a branch of Great Britain’s Forestry Commission. Recently, inspired by the model here in B.C., a Scottish Woodlot Association has taken root and hopes to form a network of “renters” who will manage small parcels of the government owned land and manage it for commercial pur-
poses. This kind of small tenure forestry is lauded by experts; when individuals are responsible for the wellbeing of woodlands - both socially and economically - the resource is managed more effectively and generates greater revenue and stability. Ironically, while demand for timber is rapidly increasing in Germany, interest in forestry is waning. Small tenure holders who have inherited their plot don’t necessarily have the knowledge or equipment they need to make a living off their trees and the general demographic trend is towards greater urbanization. According to Philip Weiner of ForstBW, the state provides support in the form of free consulting, assistance with logging and marketing, and financial support with initial afforestation, but much more needs to be done in order for supply to keep up with demand. Efforts are being made to develop more locally-based associations that can share equipment and form regional logging pools to aid in harvest, transport and marketing, not unlike B.C.’s federation. If the downward trend isn’t reversed, the effects will trickle down to a significant portion of Germany’s secondary lumber sector, and their economy by extension. As the backbone of their economy, forestry shares a similar place of importance in Finland. Taking into account the number of “family forests”, a startling one in five Finns has ownership of a productive forest. In fact, 70 percent of Finland’s woodlands are under private ownership, with holdings under 30 ha each, according to Registered Professional Forester Ian Lanki. Intensely and efficiently managed using industryleading machinery, timber stands are treated as more than lumber. In the face of UN and European discussions regarding sustainability in the early 90s, Finland shifted its own policies to reflect the changing ecological, social and economic demands of the forest resources. Where the focus had been solely on sustainability of yield, it expanded to capture biodiversity and other uses of the forest beyond pure lumber production, i.e. recreation, mushroom harvests, and wildlife habitat, similar to the mandate of B.C.’s woodlot program. Forestry practitioners in regions around the globe are taking great strides to preserve and enhance forest growth for social, environmental and economic benefit. While the political and social values and geographic constraints may vary from region to region, the universal imperative is to balance rights and obligations with regards to forest use. As we arrive globally at a point where we no longer see trees as an expendable commodity and, instead, as a deciding factor in our long-term quality of life, it’s encouraging to know that the trend towards smallscale, community-based forestry is gradually reasserting itself in the industry, with B.C.’s woodlot program leading by example. – Federation of BC Woodlot Associations
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Forestry Forestry has a bright future in Mackenzie! While many communities are planning for a sharp drop in available timber supply and reduced timber harvesting in the near future, Mackenzie is gearing up for a period of increased harvesting, without a drop in long term timber supply. Forestry: Mackenzie’s Forest Industry is here for the long term Major forest companies in Mackenzie are making significant capital investments in their operations Mackenzie Timber Supply Area has a solid softwood timber base Opportunities around bioenergy are being developed Forest companies are looking for people to join their teams. Many openings available for logging truck drivers, equipment operators and in the mills. Source of Graphic: Mackenzie Mid-Term Timber Supply Review, June 8, 2012, available at: Timber Supply Review Website: http://www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/39thparl/session-4/timber/5-39-4-39-9.htm
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Mackenzie is a welcoming community that has: · Many developing industries and job openings · Low housing prices and low taxes · Within easy reach of a major urban center (Prince George)
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Forest health and silviculture
The following is the Western Silviculture Contractors’ Association presentation to the Special Committee on Timber Supply. It was prepared and presented by John Betts, Director, WSCA; Bruce Blackwell, Forester, B.A. Blackwell and Assoc. Ltd. ; Robert W. Gray, Fire Ecologist, R.W. Gray Consulting, Ltd.; John Lawrence, Chief Operating Officer, Brinkman Group of Companies and President, WSCA. The impact of the mountain pine beetle infestation in particular is being felt in a number of ways; including a dramatic fall down in the timber supply, increased incidence of catastrophic fire, and increased flooding as the capacity of watersheds to attenuate water flows is dramatically reduced. A spatially and temporally strategic approach is required that can mitigate all of these challenges. Specifically, what is needed is a landscape level plan which will prioritize watershed restoration and fuel breaks while also contributing to the long term fibre supply. Government must be bold in order to navigate the various constraints to a landscape level approach. Specifically, government must outline a landscape level plan and provide the policy and incentive framework which will create buy-in amongst the various stakeholders. Implementation of a plan will have multiple benefits. Right now the province is beginning to experience the high costs associated with
increased fires and flooding, as well as the fall down in the timber supply. Strategic investments in watershed restoration and fuel breaks, as a component of an investment in the future timber supply, will offset the high costs that will result if these actions are not taken and create immediate employment opportunities and provide direct spinoffs to the local and provincial economy. The province and the federal government are already paying the costs in terms of fire and floods, as well as the reduction in employment and taxes associated with the imminent closure of forest products facilities. Investing in a landscape level restoration and mitigation strategy will contribute to offsetting those costs. The federal government made a commitment to fund up to $1 billion to deal with the impact of the mountain pine beetle. To date they have spent less than 40 per cent of this commitment directly towards dealing with the mountain pine beetle (not including the various programs since 2008 for stimulus which all provinces enjoyed). The federal government continues to fund direct investments in silviculture in most of the other provinces, none of which are yet experiencing the scale of the mountain pine beetle infestation. Provincial and federal governments routinely provide direct subsidies to the oil and gas sector, without a similar program of investments in the forestry sector – yet forestry fulfills the majority of the landscape level
management responsibility that is expected by the voting public. Current commitments by provincial and federal governments for carbon sequestration initiatives in the oil and gas sector are in the multi billions of dollars, for unproven and highly speculative technologies. Restoring the health of the forests is a proven means of carbon sequestration, and deserves adequate investment in the face of the impact of the mountain pine beetle. Projections around timber supply and economic impacts must be tempered with the realization that wildfire activity is projected to increase with warming climate and changed fuels conditions (“… changing weather and climate and fuel types will result in longer fire seasons, more area burned, and more extreme wildfire behavior that will reduce wildfire suppression success” - Wildfire Management Branch 2012). With this increase in fire activity will come significant impacts on resource supply, and costs to the treasury, society and the environment. The provincial Wildfire Management Branch estimates that between 2012 and 2052 area burned in 23 mountain pine beetle impacted units could reach 2.2 million ha and 331.5 million m3. The B.C. silviculture industry, among other things, is in the timber supply business. It establishes and manages the growing stock on the 22 million hectares that make up the timber harvesting land base. Forty-five per cent of that area,
equalling 9.8 million hectares of second growth, are managed stands the silviculture industry has had a hand in. Next year the industry will plant its seven billionth tree by current accounting. That work represents an investment on public lands in the neighbourhood of $10 billion. Those stands, when harvested in the future, depending on the purpose and product, are estimated to be worth as much as $125 billion: a good return on the investment. And this only values that land base as a commodity, leaving out other significant ongoing ecological and social values and services. Restoring forests is labour intensive. The industry has little to fear from downsizing through automation or mechanization. It takes approximately 6,000 silviculture workers to plant 200 million seedlings per year at about 120 trees per second during the peak spring plant. It takes the industry at current capacity five years to plant a billion seedlings. About 1,500 to 2,000 other workers fight fire, space and brush plantations and do forest fuel reduction work in the province. The industry generates a seasonal payroll of at least $120-million annually if additional nursery workers, silviculture surveyors and silviculture forest technicians are included. Seventy per cent of every dollar spent on silviculture goes into wages and benefits for workers. An additional 15 per cent goes into rural communities in purchases of materials and services.
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crucial to the entire province
Silviculture investments exceed all other resource sectors and construction dollars spent when it comes to rates of job creation. Because of its high capacity to create jobs, silviculture investments can provide work in communities when mills shut or other setbacks occur. This short term benefit can give hard struck communities some breathing space as they adapt to new circumstances and adapt to the next economy. As mentioned previously silviculture investments can create long term benefits by providing enduring effects on the landscape in terms of forest hazard mitigation, future timber supply and other values and services forests provide. It is well understood and repeatedly documented that silviculture practices can enhance and increase productivity in stands of timber for the medium and long term. But in the current circumstances, as we work through the consequences of the mountain pine beetle and other disturbances on the landscape, that function may be too narrow an application given the scale and complexity of the problem. It is more fitting to think of silviculture not as just planting and tending plantations for timber production, but as forest restoration. This new forest management doctrine would prescribe activities beyond the usual skills and the typical seasonal timing of work. As we move into the new restoration economy biomass production, innovative logging and emergency response work could be part of the job description of a silviculture workers. In some cases it may become hard to tell the loggers apart from the restoration workers. As an example long term more community-based employment could be taken up by restoration workers. They would work year round in their wildland urban interface in ongoing mitigation and management of the fuel build up; possibly producing bio mass fuel to heat public and commercial buildings in town in the new bio-economy.
Their activities would extend into managing the community’s watershed and its fireshed which town’s and villages will take care of under new forms of tenure. Skilled and trained in wildland firefighting and WUI fire suppression these crews will be a ready resource to augment provincial suppression crews. They would provide a province-wide resource should provincial resources come up short-handed in the major crisis years we can expect. The quandary over how best to deal with the current forest ecosystem health crisis with as minimal an impact on society, the economy and the environment is an illustration of our current deficit in knowledge. Perhaps at no other time in recent memory have we been more in need of a well-directed and well-funded research program to help us guide decision making for the next century. Specifically, we need a better understanding of the following: • Fire behavior and fire effects in forests impacted by the mountain pine beetle, • Treatment economics for the integrated harvest of traditional forest products as well as bioenergy products, • Fuel succession dynamics in mountain pine beetleaffected stands, • Effect of fertilization and other intensive silvicultural treatments on growth and yield — with a consideration for climate change influences, • Watershed impacts from the mountain pine beetle and mountain pine beetle-fire scenarios (to date researchers have only focused on coupled mountain pine beetle/harvest impacts). • Understanding the cumulative effects (ecological, social, economical) of the mountain pine beetle infestation, • Investigating stocking standards to better reflect differences in forest ecology and stand structure and function.
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Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
BC Forest Safety Council, Canfor and New Gold Inc. partner to make resource roads safer.
Bioenergy goes with traditional forest uses DELYNDA PILON
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
Bob Geddes representing New Gold Inc, Rick Walters BCFSC, Steve Nevidon CANFOR
VANDERHOOF, BC— BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) reps Rachel Derrick and Rick Walters met with Steve Nevidon (Canfor) and Bob Geddes (newgold) at 18.5 km on the Kluskus Forest Service Road on Thursday July 19th to erect a Resource Road User Safety kiosk. “We worked with industry to create the Resource Road User Safety Guides. Our target audience is members of the public – sight-seers, fishers, backpackers and hunters - who might not be familiar with travelling on BC resource roads. The goal of the Guide is to educate these users about traffic types, road conditions and hazards they should expect to encounter, and to describe the practical steps they can take to ensure their own safe travels, plus contribute to safety of other road users. In making these Guides available at the kiosks (as well as our website), this partnership enables us to share resources while working toward a common goal – improved road safety for industrial and non-industrial road users.” Rick Walters “Canfor is committed to providing a safe and healthful working environment for all employees as well as others required to provide services at Canfor work sites. Road safety is high priority at Canfor; I am always looking for new and creative ways to communicate with industrial and public road users. I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with the BCFSC and New Gold Inc. on this endeavor and hope that we continue the partnership on future innovative projects.” Steve Nevidon “New Gold has, as one of its corporate responsibility objectives, to ensure the health and
safety of our employees, contractors and visitors to the workplace. We have a Road Management Agreement with Canfor – Plateau related to the use of the Kluskus Forest Road and we are constantly looking for ways to increase the safety on routes to our sites. We are very happy to be partnering with industry and organizations who are interested in making our forest roads safer for all users.” Kathie LaForge The BC Forest Safety Council has commissioned four kiosks for strategic locations on resource road systems busy with industrial and public traffic. Currently there are two kiosks (one at Kluskus Forest Service Road, one on the Holy Cross Forest Service Road) and 2 more underway in the Heffley Creek and Adams Lake areas. The first kiosks are intended as a trial to generate interest and to gauge the potential for more locations. BCFSC hopes this partnership serves as a model to engage other companies and agencies to erect kiosks along other resource roads having high commercial and/or public use. Resource Road User Safety Guides are available online at Council’s website, and a growing number of select locations. If you would like to know more about installing kiosks or accessing and distributing brochures in your area, please contact BCFSC at 1-877-324-1212.
The forestry sector should be balanced on a sturdy three-legged stool, with the traditional lumber and the pulp and paper industry making up two of those legs and bioenergy the third. Robert Gray, fire ecologist with R.W. Gray Consulting Ltd. explained harvesting timber for lumber and collecting fibre for bioenergy purposes go hand-in-hand, with bioenergy adding value to the process and further diversifying the industry. “Even though it’s value-added, it’s not so value-added that it’s in direct competition. You really have to have the traditional industry and bioenergy. “They have to be linked. We can’t treat a stand only for energy products. “They are compatible. They do work side-by-side,” Gray said. “We’ve been working with a number of communities. With some minor tweaks in policy we could access more of the material.” Gray suggested there should be incentives to licensees to make the wood available off-quote, meaning it wouldn’t be part of the regular cut. “They could mill more wood and not be penalized for it. A lot of material we need to treat really doesn’t fit a lot of their mills. A lot contain material best suited for bioenergy, not two by fours.” A number of bioenergy industries can pay a higher premium than traditional forest industries for this type of wood. “If we combine that with the removal of some saw timber, then those stands become economical,” Gray said. “But if we just make electricity, it is not value added enough. We lose 70 per cent of the heat value. It’s best use is heat, or combined heat and power.” Cranbrook recently completed an inventory analyses of heating cost and source of heat for all public
buildings. They found if they went to wood waste over natural gas, they would save a half million in heating costs per year. “And a lot of communities are on propane, which is three times more expensive than natural gas. There are a lot of isolated First Nations communities on propane, and heating costs are ridiculous. Yet they are surrounded by wood, and crappy wood that is not good for harvesting.” Utilizing that wood would not only significantly lower costs, but they could also earn carbon credits for it. The steam created from using wood pellets can be used to create electricity. “All you do is just add a turbine to it. It’s no different than running water on a wheel through a creek to produce electricity. It’s not super economically efficient on a small scale, but you don’t have to ramp the numbers up very high before it becomes super efficient.” Combined heat and power systems were developed by the military. About three tanker trucks long, the units run off any organic material. It runs over a conveyor belt to dry then burns in the system. “Then you no longer need a landfill for the community’s organic material. “You can take your household garbage, anything that’s organic based. It’s just a matter of drying it out Every molecule that is organic-based has energy. Some are better than others, but compost waste is potential energy.” The units can be rigged to meet all the emission requirements, provincial and federal. “We have to make this thinking shift, that energy is a part of our forest’s potential. And you see a lot more benefit’s, like jobs for local communities with energy,” Gray said. “We have to manage our forests. They are not static, but dynamic systems. “We need to get whatever we can out of the so it’s an economic benefit.”
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First nations opportunities in forest
ALLAN WISHART allanw@pgfreepress.com
It has to start from the top down. Patrick Olivier, the president of GPJ Olivier Management Services, says there are great opportunities for First Nations to take more control of their future in the forest industry, but, “there is a lack of training, right from the board of directors to entrylevel jobs.” And, he says, it’s not a problem with the First Nations themselves. “There’s just not enough training out there.” There are many possibilities opening up for First Nations to become their own forest managers, Olivier says, especially with the disappearance of medium-sized forest companies. “It’s all the big companies and some small entrepreneurs. The middle-sized company is where many apprentices got their start. They got their training in the field there, and a lot of the stayed on because they liked the ‘family’ feel of the company. “The big companies would let the mediumsized companies train the apprentices, then they would swoop in and hire them away when they could.” Now, with many of the medium and smaller companies gone, which Olivier says is not just limited to the forest industry, it’s becoming more difficult for young workers to get going. “First Nations people, a lot of times drop out of school early, then they don’t where how to get those essential skills they still need to get into a trade school. There has to be something done there. The College of New Caledonia is doing more of that now, especially at their satellite cam- Patrick Olivier puses, but can they maybe put that training right onto the reserves? I don’t know.” He sees huge opportunities for small companies in specialized products, taking advantage of what is already being produced locally. “The most common piece of lumber produced by local mills is a No. 2 2x6. I have a lot of hope around a new technology called cross-laminated timber, which makes use of that size of lumber.” Basically, the technology involves interspersing layers of lumber running east-west (say) with layers running north-south.
“It’s kind of like plywood,” Olivier says, “but with 2x6s. You can use it to make wall, ceiling or floor panels, and you can use computer cutting equipment to make it into any form you like. “You can cut specific places for doors and windows, even electrical sockets, you can bevel the edges, and then you send it to the building site.” Because the cross-laminated timber is lighter than concrete or steel, it needs less of a foundation and can be used to make a taller building for the same weight. “They’re just competing a 10-storey building in Australia, and they’re building a 14-storey one in Norway, using this technology.” When the Wood Innovation Design Centre was first announced for Prince George as a 10-storey wooden building, Olivier was hopeful it would be used to demonstrate the new technology. “Now. they’re scaling it back, so I don’t know what they’re going to use.” One of the recommendations of the recent Timber Supply Report, chaired by Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, was for the province to look at area-based tenures, rather than volume-based. Olivier says a move to that system might make it easier for a First Nation to become its own boss in forestry. “I’m from South Africa, and we had to go through a lot of this same sort of thing after apartheid, teaching the blacks how to run their own businesses from the top down. I’m working a little with the University of Northern B.C. now on board training for First Nations, but it’s not a fast process. “There are a lot of things they have to learn to deal with, and one of the biggest is knowing how to screen other businesses when they approach them.” It’s not just the First Nations who have to change, he cautions. “In a lot of areas, there are what I call ‘gatekeepers’. They look at you and say, ‘Do you have what I need you to have to proceed? No? Then you can’t proceed.’ “We have to get away from that mentality and find ways to get the people the skills they need.” Olivier says with the changing face of the forest industry in northern B.C., the time to act for First Nations is now. “It sounds like a cliche, but we’re at a crossroads. We can be really creative. We can do better.”
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Lots more to forestry
Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
Project Management CNC Continuing Education is proud to partner with the National Project Management Inc. (NPM) to offer industry leading training in project management.
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The courses are delivered by practicing project management leaders from industry. All programs align with the Project Management Institute (PMI) standards and guidelines and offer Professional Development Unit (PDU) credits.
Project Management Tools and Techniques: Level 1 (15 hours) Offered four times: Oct 1 – 2/12 OR Dec 3 – 4/12 OR Feb 25 – 26/13 Mon & Tues 8:30 am – 4:30 pm OR May 2 – 3/13 Thu & Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Cost: $899 Registration recommended 1 week before start date PMP/CAPM Certification Preparation Workshop (35 hours) Offered twice: Oct 22 – 26/12 OR Mar 11 – 15/13 Mon–Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Cost: $1899 registration recommended 2 weeks before start date Project Management Tools and Techniques: Level 2 (15 hours) Offered twice: Oct 29 – 30/12 OR Apr 8 – 9/13 Mon & Tues 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Cost: $899 Registration recommended 1 week before start date MS Project for Managing Projects (15 hours) Mar 21 – 22/13 Thu & Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Cost: $899 Registration recommended 1 week before start date Project Risk Management (15 hours) May 9 – 10/13 Thu & Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Cost: $899 Registration recommended 1 week before start date Project Communications and Stakeholder Management (15 hours) May 23 – 24/13 Thu & Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Cost: $899 Registration recommended 1 week before start date
Continuing Education
250-561-5846 www.cnc.bc.ca/ce
Forestry has changed drastically over the past decade, as B.C.’s once booming industry has been challenged more than ever before. The mountain pine beetle epidemic has killed forests and affected timber supply. With the collapse of the U.S. housing market and global economic downturn, timber harvesting has declined since 2007. Wood production has felt the impact, as mills in the area have shut down. Yet those closures are minor compared to two catastrophic explosions in the region this year, at Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake and Lakeland Mills in Prince George, disasters which destroyed sawmills and claimed lives. The number of people employed in forestry sector jobs in B.C. has decreased. Yet that hasn’t stopped UNBC professor Kathy Lewis from encouraging students interested in forestry to take courses. Lewis, chair of UNBC’s Ecosystem Science and Management (ESM) Program, says a lot of people have a narrow view that forestry is only harvesting and planting trees. She adds that negative press surrounding the industry hasn’t helped attract students. Yet it’s more than that, and Lewis remains optimistic forestry can turn its fortunes around. “But I think we have to change our industry model a little bit,” she says. “We’re so heavily invested in producing very few commodity-type products, to mention lumber and pulp primarily.” Lewis says the industry continues depending on cheaply sold products that require a lot of input. She says they need to diversify their commodities. But she
credits the provincial government in its efforts expanding consumer markets, with a particular eye to China. The slowdown in the forestry sector and industry changes has impacted enrolment. Lewis oversees the ECM’s Natural Resources Management Program, a Bachelor of Science option which includes three majors: in Forest Ecology and Management, Outdoor Recreation and Conservation, and Wildlife and Fisheries. As the forest sector has struggled, students have looked into other options. Lewis has seen it within Natural Resources Management, as more students are enrolled in the program’s Wildlife and Fisheries major. “I would say that we have somewhere between 30 and 40 students across all four years in forestry,” Lewis says. “In wildlife and fisheries, that’s probably more like 50 or 60.” But the decline in forestry jobs may not be the only reason for that. In fact, Lewis says there’s probably fewer jobs in in wildlife and fisheries management than forestry. “It’s viewed as more environmentally friendly and I think that may be one of the reasons why we’re getting more students involved,” she says. “They just become more excited about it and maybe worry a bit less about the job outcomes than somebody who’s going into forestry might.” The ESM program also administers BSC biology degrees. Due to its broader nature, biology attracts students unsure where they want to work, but who prefer to keep options open. University students have also been drawn into working in other resource sectors. There remains a lot of work in oil and gas, while mining has also seen an
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than just harvesting and planting trees
Special Edition: The Northern Report
upswing. “But I think we’re not necessarily producing enough (forestry) students that will meet the needs of employers in the near future. There’s quite a bit of concern about that,” Lewis says. There remains hope for the industry to rebound. Hampton Affiliates announced this week that it intends to rebuild the Babine Forest Products mill, should certain conditions be met. A final decision will be made at Hampton Affiliates’ December board meeting. Lewis notes that forestry management jobs will continue being filled. “(There’s) forest planning, trying to figure out what to do to recover from the mountain pine beetle, and forest industries are still going,” Lewis says. “Canfor, as far as I know, is doing pretty well, so industry is still having to carry out it’s responsibilities and the government is still having to carry out its responsibilities. Even though there are downturns in the production end of things, we feel we have this need to maintain at least some level of forest management on the landscape.” The Forest Ecology and Management degree also opens doors to other opportunities. “You don’t have to become a forester, a professional forester, at the end. You have actually been given a pretty good education that would allow you to go into areas like mining, mineral exploration,” Lewis says. “We’ve even had students go into law, veterinary school afterwards, because they have enough of a background in sciences and social sciences that it provides that flexibility.”
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
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A lis ta ir M cINNIS/ Fre e Pre s s
UNBC Ecosystem Science and Management chair Kathy Lewis holds brochures of the three programs within the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management: Forest Ecology and Management, Outdoor Recreation and Conservation, and Wildlife and Fisheries.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
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A lla n W ISHA RT/ Fre e Pre s s
UNBC greenhouse curator Doug Thompson stands with samples of what’s contained in the greenhouse. Thompson was at a recent get-together for forestry students at the school, and showed samples of the trees and plants grown on campus, as well as tree ring samples from the lab which is located inside the greenhouse as well.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
Central 1 predicts market growth
Domestic-oriented industries will remain the main source of growth in 2013 and 2014, which has been the case for most of the past 10 years, according to Central 1 Credit Union economic forecast for 2012-16. Industries with significant export content will grow at a faster pace in 2015 and 2016 when stronger U.S. demand materializes. Industry GDP growth in 2012 is forecast at 1.8 per cent, down from 2.9 per cent in 2011. Growth improves modestly to 2.4 per cent in 2013 and reaches 3.2 per cent in 2016. On the export side, the fastest growing industries in the five years ending 2016 will be wood products manufacturing, primary metals manufacturing, and oil-gas extraction. Construction, retail-wholesale trade, and other services (largely personal) on the domestic side are forecast to outpace all-industries growth. The professional-business-support service industry group is about equally driven by export and domestic demand and grows faster than the economy as a whole. The slowest growing industries are government services, education, agriculture, utilities, and accommodation-food services. Industries in the middle of the growth pack are most manufacturing sectors, transportation-warehousing, health, and finance-insurance. Forestry and wood products manufacturing output will grow almost 20 per cent between 2011 and 2016 on a recovery in U.S. housing starts, which have been at historic lows since 2008. Another positive factor is further expansion into China’s market even though wood products exports to China, including logs, will be down this year from 2011 due to its housing construction decline. The accelerated harvest of pine beetle-infested trees is a contributing growth factor but this will begin to wane as supply constraints materialize. Annual growth in wood products manufacturing output will slow noticeably in 2015 and 2016. In contrast to solid wood products, pulp and paper manufacturing will fare poorly. GDP output will contract in 2012 making it two consecutive yearly declines. Less demand for pulp in all major markets has caused
lower prices and volumes. China’s strong growth in 2011 offset weakness in other markets but this year China is also importing less pulp from B.C. The outlook for the pulp sector is for soft market con-
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ditions to continue into 2013 before modest gain materialize. The multi-year decline in newsprint production will continue and drag down the pulp and paper sector so that GDP in 2016 is little changed from 2011.
Your Place or Ours! CNC Continuing Education Trades & Technology
Whether you have a large group or only a few people, we can deliver courses to suit the needs of your company and your employees via Contract and Customized Training. Most CNC Continuing Education courses can be delivered at your workplace or at our campus and can be customized to fit your organization’s specific needs. We can also develop new programs to meet your organizations specific goals and objectives. We will deliver training that will keep your business on course for success. Here are some of the Trades courses offered in our 2012/13 calendar
Diesel Regeneration Explained CFC/HCFC/HFC Control & Recovery Auto Diagnostics Hybrid Systems Vehicle Inspection Endorsement Small Engine Repair Fibre Optic Cabling Field Service Representative “B” Preparation Scissor Lift Operator Certification / Recertification Forklift Certification Review for Industrial Mechanic (Millwright) Inter-Provincial Certification Confined Space Entry/Rescue Rigging & Lifting Traffic Control
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Continuing Education
250-561-5846 www.cnc.bc.ca/ce
Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
23
Duz Cho emerges from dark time
KYLA CORPUZ Northern Report
MACKENZIE – Duz Cho Logging Ltd. is putting on an “exceptional performance” following a “dark time” that not every logging company pulled out of. The McLeod Lake Indian Band owns Duz Cho Logging. Band members live in McLeod Lake as well as Mackenzie, Prince George and Chetwynd. “You don’t know what you have until you lose it,” said Duz Cho Logging Ltd. general manger Al Humphreys. And the company could have lost it all when the logging industry was hit by the economic crisis in 2008—but they are one that survived. Humphreys credits their success to forward thinking, sacrifice and diversifying their operations in other sectors like the mining and pipeline industry. Multiple awards followed their comeback. Their most recent recognition comes from the Forest Products Association of Canada. After being nominated by Canfor, Duz Cho Logging received the Aboriginal Forest Products Business Leadership Award on Jul. 17. According to Canfor’s operation superintendent Larry Clark, Duz Cho exceeded the standard the award called for. “Part of the criteria is safety, environmental management, production and Native employment and … the things they do in the community, we kind of knew Duz Cho did well in all those regards,” said Clark.
“Overall, as a band-owned company they have had some exceptional performance over the years,” Clark added. “In Mackenzie they certainly stand out. We have dealt with two other bands … [in Mackenzie], and they didn’t recover from the downturn in 2007/2008 that Duz Cho has.” McLeod Lake Indian Band chief Derek Orr said the award is a telling of the business’ operations. “It just shows how professional we operate our business, [and] the great people that we have that do operate them.” He also recalled when Duz Cho wasn’t doing so well. “It was a pretty dark time,” said Orr. “It was just a number of challenging things that came down the way it did, like the pine beetle epidemic and the downturn in the world economy and the contracts just weren’t there and the revenues weren’t and we just had to pull back.” Humphreys said before late 2007and 2008, revenues were averaging $18 million to $20 million. “From an average year we dropped down to about 70 per cent, we only did about 30 per cent of normal work for about two years.” Their revenues were brought down to $6 million. While other band operations were on the brink, he noted Duz Cho was “never close” to bankruptcy. Two years prior to the economic downturn, Humphreys said him and the board of directors recognized there was going to be a slow down and prepared as best they could.
“We did diversify a little bit, but we saw signs of that downturn coming,” said Humphreys. The company refrained from purchasing new equipment for the two years leading up to the crisis. From a debt to equity point of view, they were in “pretty good shape,” according to Humphreys. “The biggest thing was that we didn’t lose all our employees through all of this,” said Humphreys who has been managing the operation for the last 20 or so years. “About 95 per cent of our employees that were with us before it happened were with us on the other end. We took pay cuts … our supervisors went and ran equipment, everyone did what was necessary for our company to survive.” In 2009, the company started seeing a turn around. They worked outside of the box and created new relationships working with a shipping company in Mackenzie. “We did some pulp sales with them, out of our normal realm of work, that gave us the necessary cash flow to make it through the worst cash flow.” They also invested in saving a pulp mill in town with two other partners. “It turned out to be a reasonably good investment … and we will continue to get more work out it.” Humphreys said they are “back and busy” and more diversified. The company has moved into the mining and gas industry with their sister company. “That’s a defensive mechanism so we don’t get caught into one industry. If
one of them sours off a little bit we feel like we made enough moves to diversify so we’ll be in better standing than we were last time,” said Humphreys, adding: “We were prepared for it, we just didn’t know it was going to be as bad it was.” Duz Cho is an active member in the Mackenzie and McLeod area. “We sponsor as many things as we can in the community, again this young chief [Orr] has told us … ‘The band is only as strong as the community in the area that we work in are strong,’ so we want to build good partnerships so that’s what we try to do,” said Humphreys. The logging company sponsors scholarships at the College of New Caledonia and Prince George’s Aboriginal students. They also donate to minor hockey and minor sports. “Duz Cho helps provide revenues and profits to help fund our program and it also allows us to make our own money to work towards independence,” said Chief Orr. He also added “We’re trying to work towards getting more of our members involved … in partnership with Walter Energy we have a training program that helps facilitate members and getting them in the machinery or wherever they choose to go.” In 2011, Duz Cho Logging won the 2011 District of Mackenzie’s Commercial Business of the Year Award. The McLeod Lake Indian Band traditional territory covers 108,000 square kilometers. The reserve is located 150 kilometres north of Prince George.
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Special Edition: The Northern Report
Prince George Free Press - SEPTEMBER 2012
www.pg motors.ca