Committee recommends measures to increase timber supply
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VICTORIA –The Special Committee on Timber Supply today released its unanimous report making 22 recommendations to increase the supply and value of mid-term timber and to strengthen future forest management in the B.C. Central Interior. This region of the province has been hit hard by the current mountain pine beetle epidemic that has killed 53 per cent of the total pine volume on the timber harvesting land base.
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The Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations says the province is going to act quickly on some of the recommendations outlined by the The Special Committee on Timber Supply.
MLA Report: British Columbians demand reinvestment in our forest lands: As the deputy chair of the Special Committee on Timber Supply, I have spent the last three months involved in intensive consultation which has now resulted in 22 recommendations to address the issue of mid-term timber supply and forest health.
The impetus of the formation of this committee arose from the tragic fire of January 21 when the community of Burns Lake lost its mill. But that crisis also highlighted other serious challenges facing the forest industry in British Columbia: drastically declining timber supplies, continued destruction by forest pests, inadequate knowledge about the state of our forests and the government’s lack of commitment to job protection.
Over the course of the 6-week consultation period, the committee received 650 submissions. And through that input, British Columbian’s stated their passion for our forest lands and their commitment to the sustainable use of that land. British Columbians understand that we rely on our forests not only for timber but for numerous other values including ecological services such as recreation and climate change mitigation.
Report recommends more local input to protect forests and jobs: The B.C. Liberal government will move quickly on recommendations to increase timber supply and involve communities and First Nations in decision-making in the wake of pine beetle devastation, minister Steve Thomson said Wednesday.
Changes to forest policy were released by a special legislative committee that toured the province, including Kamloops. It sought ways to increase timber supply in the wake of 53 to 70 per cent of pine forecast to be killed by mountain pine beetle within 10 years.
"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," stated the report.
Cut more B.C. timber to fight pine beetle, says report: A B.C. government report recommends increasing logging in the province's central Interior, a region hit hard by the pine beetle epidemic and an explosion that demolished the Burns Lake sawmill.
The report from the Special Committee on Timber Supply indicates the pine beetle epidemic has killed 53 per cent of the total pine volume on the timber harvesting land base.
The report makes 22 recommendations, including advising the B.C. government to increase the timber supply and value of pine beetle wood, improve forest management, engage local communities and First Nations in future forests plans and find more ways to grow more wood.
"Our report aims to strengthen future timber supply and forestry-dependent communities throughout the Central Interior," said committee chair John Rustad.
Seek out new timber in marginal areas, report urges B.C. industries: A new report on the dwindling timber supply in British Columbia’s central Interior recommends tapping into “marginally economic forest types,” such as areas with fewer trees that have been significantly affected by fire or the pine beetle, or are harder to access.
The report, prepared by the Special Committee on Timber Supply and tabled Wednesday, comes after a month of research and public hearings in central B.C. and Vancouver. As the province anticipates a dramatic drop in timber supply in the wake of the mountain pine beetle outbreak, the report calls for a thorough inventory of such marginal areas – something NDP opposition forestry critic and committee deputy chair Norm Macdonald says the Liberal government did not adequately address in the past.
B.C. report calls to cut more timber to fight pine beetle and help Burns Lake: VANCOUVER — The B.C. timber industry is at stake and the provincial government and forestry companies are going to have to make changes to stave off a dramatic drop that will come sooner or later, says a new government report released Wednesday.
The report says the pine beetle will decimate up to 70 per cent of the central Interior's marketable timber by 2021 if the report's 22 recommendations aren't implemented.
"There are some very challenging decisions that companies are going to have to make in terms of what their expectations will be in the future of forest markets and fibre supply," said MLA John Rustad, who chaired the report.
Timber Supply Committee looks to marginal timber stands and silviculture: If no steps are taken to mitigate the affects of the mountain pine beetle infestation the equivalent of eight of approximately 24 mills in the the may be forced to close within the next 20 years.
The 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 Wednesday.
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.
Timber supply report supported, Liberal forest policies slammed: Even though NDP forest critic Norm MacDonald co-chaired the Special Committee on Timber Supply and a signatory to it, he used its release to slam Liberal forest policies.
“British Columbia's forests represent a trillion-dollar asset that the B.C. Liberals have been badly mismanaging for over a decade,” said Macdonald. “Under the Liberal government’s watch, more than 35,000 jobs in the forest sector have been lost and dozens of mills have closed forever.”
The timber supply report, released yesterday, makes 22 recommendations to government to try and mitigate an expected reduction of 10 million cubic metres of timber harvest in the interior over the next 20 years, as a result of the mountain pine beetle infestation.
1 out of 3 Sawmills In The Region North Of 100 Mile House Face Timber Supply Shortages: Prince George, B.C.- The chairman of the Special Committee on Timber supply in the Province, John Rustad says a reduction of up to 20% in the overall supply of mature timber in the next 10-15 years would represent the supply required to operate 8 reasonably sized mills.
Raw Logs and New Annual Allowable Cut Dealt with In Timber Supply Report: Prince George, B.C.- The Special Committee which has been examining issues of timber supply in B.C., has released its unanimous report which makes 22 recommendations to increase the supply and value of mid-term timber and to strengthen future forest management in the B.C. Central Interior. This region of the province has been hit hard by the current mountain pine beetle epidemic that has killed 53 per cent of the total pine volume on the timber harvesting land base.
The report looked at 6 different themes, and here are the recommendations:
BC Timber Supply To Drop By 20% Over Next 10-15 Years: Prince George, B.C. - According to the report of the Special committee on timber supply in the province of BC , released today, this province faces a 20% drop of supply in the next 10-15 years.
Since the mountain pine beetle (MPB) infestation became an epidemic in 1999, an estimated 18.1 million hectares of forest land in British Columbia have been affected.
The latest projections indicatethat the MPB will have killed between 53 and 70 percent 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).
Decision on Babine Sawmill Within 30 Days Says Hampton CEO: Prince George, B.C. – Hampton Affiliates, owners of the Babine Forest Products sawmill in Burns Lake, says it will make a decision within 30 days on whether or not it will rebuild the sawmill in that community.
Poor forest management failing industry: After three months of intensive consultation, the bipartisan Special Committee on Timber Supply has issued a report with several recommendations to address the issues around midterm timber supply and forest management.
The report supports what Adrian Dix and the New Democrats have been saying for years: Our forests need to be managed better, raw log exports must be reduced to generate more B.C. jobs from B.C. logs, first nations and local communities are integral to planning, and we need to maintain environmental and sustainable principles while adding value to our industry.
The bipartisan committee of MLAs formed following the tragic fire when the community of Burns Lake lost its mill. But that crisis also highlighted other serious challenges facing the forest industry in British Columbia: drastically declining timber supplies, continued destruction by forest pests like the pine beetle, an alarming lack of knowledge about the state of our forests, inadequate investment in reforestation, and the government's lack of commitment to protect jobs.
Anthony Britneff and Ben Parfitt:
MLAs aren't facing the truth: B.C. forests are tapped out
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