World's Largest Forest Protection Deal Signed in CanadaStakeholders end long-running feud to protect more than 70 million acres of boreal forest.
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Ensyn Technologies Inc. and Tolko Industries Ltd: to build world's largest commercial fast pyrolysis plantOTTAWA and VERNON, BC, June 7 /CNW/ - ENSYN TECHNOLOGIES INC. AND TOLKO INDUSTRIES LTD. announced today that they have formed a partnership to build the world's largest commercial fast pyrolysis plant in High Level, Alberta.
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Chinese marketplace key to forest recoveryThe forest industry in B.C. is finding its way out of the woods, thanks in large part to the Chinese marketplace, according to Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell.
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New UBC forestry dean to focus on first nations, ChinaJohn Innes, to be officially named as the new dean of the University of B.C.'s Faculty of Forestry today, said his priorities include developing links with China and other international partners, and working closely with first nations representatives.
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German firm wants Abitibi mill: Newfoundland ministerA German company is hoping to take control of the former AbitibiBowater paper mill in central Newfoundland, Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale revealed in the house of assembly Thursday afternoon.
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For mill towns, China beckonsPine trunks rumble down conveyors and sawdust clouds the air. The noise inside the sawmill nearly deafens, but in this remote town of 3,500 people, some 700 kilometres north of Vancouver, there are few sounds as welcome as the buzz and clatter of a mill back at work.
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British Columbia's forestry job numbersIt seems that forestry employment numbers bottomed out last year in British Columbia and may now be making a rebound.
Here are some forestry job stats from British Columbia:
2005 – 79,700
2006 – 81,617
2007 – 84,275
2008 – 64,917
2009 – 51,958
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Chinese wood deficit good news for NZ wood exportersChina’s potential fibre-supply gap (the difference between total demand and total domestic supply) is projected to reach approximately 150 million m3 (roundwood equivalent) by 2015 - or a volume that is more than the entire Canadian timber harvest in 2009 - a strong indication that China’s wood imports must continue to rise in the short- to medium-term period to match with projected consumption reports International WOOD Markets Group,.
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The combination of a gutted Forest Service, vast areas of not sufficiently restocked forestlands, a quirky loophole in the Kyoto Protocol and a provincial government ideologically driven to sell off public assets has created the perfect opportunity for forest industrialists to burn down the last barriers to privatization of BC’s Crown forests.
On August 20, 1910, a strong wind blew down off the Cascades and whipped hundreds of forest blazes into an inferno that extinguished towns and three million hectares of forests from Washington to Montana.
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B.C. stumbling on forests and climate changeLess than six months before the global climate summit in Copenhagen, this summer is giving us another taste of climate change. The extended heat wave reminded us that we're on the edge of a dangerous threshold unless we reduce carbon emissions quickly.
The tree-planting carbon offset proposed by B.C.'s Ministry of Forests in July doesn't inspire confidence that the province understands how forests can truly help us meet this challenge.
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Regulators hit pause on biomassA regulatory hearing on Nova Scotia Power Inc.’s application to build a $208-million biomass energy project in Port Hawkesbury has been put on hold pending a review of other renewable energy projects.
The decision was reached Thursday after testimony from John Antonuk of Liberty Consulting Group in Pennsylvania at the provincial Utility and Review Board.
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A decade of cuts has left a priceless resource facing a homemade crisis...
There is an old saying that if the forest service is not planting trees, then it is not doing its job.
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Government of Canada Launches Investments in Forest Industry Transformation ProgramThe Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program was launched today by the Government of Canada.
The $100-million program will help to expand opportunities for Canada’s forestry sector through the development of innovative projects and technologies.
The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources, launched the program today in Ottawa and made a call for proposals that could receive IFIT funding.
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Why is the B.C. budget so small for firefighting?Last year, the province of British Columbia budgeted $60 million for fighting forest fires, but ended up spending $400 million.
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Lumber supply, employment in B.C. will feel mountain pine beetle’s biteOne of the major clouds hanging over British Columbia’s economy and forest products industry is uncertainty about the mountain pine beetle epidemic.
To date, the pine beetle has killed an estimated 50% of the province’s mature lodgepole pine.
In a recent economic analysis that focused on the pine beetle epidemic, Central 1 economist Bryan Yu noted that over the past 90 years there have been four or five major mountain pine beetle infestations.
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B.C.'s forest fire season worst in 12 yearsThe 2010 wildfire season won't be over for weeks, but it has already charred more than 300,000 hectares of B.C. forest, an area larger than Metro Vancouver.
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Pine beetles' march across B.C. is a catastrophe in slow motionUnemployment among forestry workers and amount of denuded timber harvest land will rise dramatically over next 20 years, a report says.
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B.C. forest industry’s losses may be at an end: conference boardVANCOUVER — The signs are glimmers of hope that British Columbia’s forestry-driven industries may be at the end of years of punishing losses and high unemployment, according to reports released Tuesday by the Conference Board of Canada.
Much of Canada’s wood-products sector has returned to profitability this year, the Conference Board said in its Canadian Industrial Profile-Summer 2010, published in collaboration with the Business Development Bank of Canada.
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On Thursday the province announced it has directed Ontario Power Authority to negotiate an agreement with Ontario Power Generation, the plant’s owners, to buy the power produced at the Atikokan plant.
MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay-Atikokan) said with the plant making up 40 per cent of Atikokan’s municipal tax base, the province’s decision to keep it open means the town’s survival.
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Fighting Global Warming by Saving British Columbia's Old Growth ForestsSeven western states and four Canadian provinces have joined forces in a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
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Federal renewable fuel regulations will require 2 billion litres of renewable fuelFederal regulations requiring an average renewable fuel content of 5% in gasoline have been finalized and will come into effect starting December 15, 2010. The 5% renewable fuel content requirement in gasoline will require about two billion litres a year of renewable fuel across Canada, a volume estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about one megatonne a year.
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Nova Scotia Power wants to keep its biomass analysis privateTomorrow, a hearing will reconvene in Nova Scotia over Nova Scotia Power's request to spend $208 million to build a wood burning power generating plant with NewPage Port Hawkesbury.
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Saving our precious old-growth forests
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The real value of B.C.'s old-growth forests
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Biomass direct energy plant proposed for Dryden, OntarioTwo Dryden business owners, Bryan Tardiff and Louie Ricci, are partnering with German owned Lambion Energy Solutions to propose Far North Biomass - a biomass driven, direct energy plant in Dryden, Ontario.
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Pinnacle Pellet breaks ground on new plantPinnacle Pellet has officially broken ground on a new pellet plant to be built near Burns Lake, British Columbia.
The plant will produce wood pellets from mountain pine beetle killed wood.
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ERA Executes Term Sheet with the Forest Carbon Group AG for the Sale of 1,800,000 Tonnes of VERs over 3 YearsSept 24, 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia: ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd. (TSX-V: ESR) through its 100% owned subsidiary ERA Ecosystem Restoration Associates Inc, (ERA) is pleased to announce that it has executed a term sheet for the sale of 1,800,000 tonnes of Verified Emission Reductions (VER) to the German based Forest Carbon Group AG.
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Forging a Landmark Agreement To Save Canada’s Boreal ForestLast spring, conservation groups and timber companies signed an historic agreement to protect a large swath of Canada’s boreal forest. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, the Pew Environment Group's Steven E.
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The Great Bear and the big snap
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Government of Canada Announces Details of Major Investment to International Climate Change WATERLOO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 10/01/10 -- Today, the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, released the details of Canada's $400 million commitment for international climate change while speaking to the Centre for International Governance Innovation's annual conferenc
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Swedes look into black pellet production in B.C.Vattenfall, a company owned by the government of Sweden, is exploring the idea of turning wood from British Columbia's northwest, into pellets to burn in European power plants.
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U.S. is not happy with BC's underpriced lumber exportsThe United States has requested consultation with Canada under the Softwood Lumber Agreement. At issue is the apparent unfair under-pricing of timber harvested from public lands in the Interior region of British Columbia.
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Nova Scotia approves NewPage plan to burn trees for powerThe Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has just announced that its approval of the NewPage Port Hawkesbury and Nova Scotia Power's proposal to burn trees to create power.
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Wood biomass will heat 5 public buildings in PEIPrince Edward Island has approved two proposals that will see five public buildings in the province heated by wood biomass.
Atlantic Bioheat will supply biomass-based heat to M. E. Callaghan and Hernewood junior high schools.
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Lumber futures rose to four-month highLumber futures rose the maximum permitted by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday, reaching a four month high, as the U.S. disputes the pricing of wood imported from Canada, the biggest foreign supplier reports Bloomberg.
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Learn about the Canadian Wood Fibre CentreHave you heard of the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre?
The mission of the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre is to create innovative knowledge to expand the economic opportunities for the forest sector to benefit from Canadian wood fibre.
Background
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Alberta’s fight against the mountain pine beetleAlberta had a good year in its fight against the mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins), thanks to both the weather and to the province’s containment efforts.
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BC Forest Service felled by bureaucracy
With two provincial ministries performing the work of one, inefficiency is inevitable and sustainable-use policies will be ignored.
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Newfoundland, Labrador: Sustainable Forest Management Strategy
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Forest-research branch cut off at the rootsUnnoted last week amid the political confusion, British Columbians lost a venerable institution.
After a proud, 80-year history, the research branch of the Ministry of Forests and Range was disbanded.
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B.C. draft carbon offset rules draw criticism from environmentalist
Proposed rules for forest carbon offset projects are receiving criticism as a new draft protocol is opened up for public review.
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B.C. invites public review of forestry offset rulesVANCOUVER - The B.C. government is releasing proposed requirements for forest-based carbon offset projects that could help unlock new revenue for forest managers and help industry reduce emissions, Pat Bell, Minister of Forests, Mines and Lands announced recently.
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Creation of the Northern Bioenergy PartnershipThe Northern Bioenergy Partnership has been created by the B.C. Bioenergy Network, Omineca Beetle Action Coalition, and local bioenergy companies.
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Cuts to forest service are too deepThere are many things that distinguish "supernatural" British Columbia from other jurisdictions. But one of the most enduring of them is its abundance of publicly owned lands.
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British Columbia releases third State of the Forests ReportThe most intensive and thorough report ever produced on the state of British Columbia‘s forests suggests sound laws and policies, including public reporting by an independent Forest Practices Board, are supporting sustainable forest management in British Columbia, Forests, Mi
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Explosion at Pacific BioEnergy’s pellet plant in Prince George, B.C.On Friday night an explosion blasted the Pacific BioEnergy wood pellet plant in Prince George, British Columbia.
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Certification fails to protect B.C. forests
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Frustration with Ontario’s wood supply competitionWhen the province of Ontario announced a plan in November 2009 to free up 11 million cubic metres of unused wood fibre in the province through a wood supply competition, over 100 value-added wood projects submitted an application.
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Government of Canada Invests in Alberta’s Forest IndustryGRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA,CANADA, Dec 23, 2010 — The Government of Canada has announced an investment in Weyerhaeuser Company Limited to help it become more productive, competitive and sustainable. The Honourable Rob Merrifield, Minister of State for Transport, and Chris Warkentin, Member of Parliament for Peace River, announced today that Weyerhaeuser’s Grande Prairie mill will receive over $32 million from the federal Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program.
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Wood prices in Canadian East much higher than in the WestOver the past 20 years, pulp mills in Eastern Canada have consistently had higher wood fiber costs than the mills in the Western provinces with the exception of a short period in 1995, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.
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New Brunswick’s plan to strengthen & renew their forest industryThe provincial government of New Brunswick will be taking a series of actions to strengthen and renew the province’s forest industry.
An action plan has been drafted based on recommendations from a stakeholder summit held in November.
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Canadian Forest Industry Prepares For New Opportunities; Celebrates International Year of Forests
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Nashwaak Valley Wood Energy to start second shift at pellet plantNashwaak Valley Wood Energy Inc. will be adding a second shift to its wood pellet plant near Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The company is co-owned by 125 local shareholders – most of whom are local woodlot owners. The plant has been open for a year.
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India’s door is now open to B.C.’s lumberMike de Jong, a B.C. Liberal leader candidate, spoke at Carrier Lumber in Prince George today about lumber exports to India.
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Alberta sees signs that it is winning the war against the mountain pine beetlesAlberta is seeing signs that it is winning the war against the mountain pine beetles, thanks to:
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Government Investment in Forest Products Industry Continues to Pay Dividends
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Cause of explosion at Pacific BioEnergy Pellet Plant determinedThe cause of the explosion and resulting fire at the Pacific BioEnergy Pellet Plant in Prince George, British Columbia on December 17, 2010 was been determined.
The blast was ignited by sparks in the plant’s fibre drying system.
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Roadside wood theft is a problem in the Hearst, Ontario areaForest contractors are facing an increasing problem of roadside woodpile theft in the Hearst, Ontario area.
It seems that people are stealing wood from log piles near roadways, likely for firewood.
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Argus Launches North American Wood Chip Price AssessmentsHOUSTON, USA, Jan 5, 2011 - International energy pricing agency Argus today launched North American wood chip assessments.
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Harper Government Protects Jobs in Canada's Forest SectorOTTAWA, Canada, Jan 6, 2011 — The Harper Government today announced a new investment to protect jobs in Canada’s forest industry through the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program. This announcement will see workers in the Edmundston, New Brunswick area benefit from a significant investment in the Twin Rivers Paper Company Inc.’s mill.
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US and Canadian log and lumber exports to China up over 150 percent in 2010Seattle, USA, Jan 6, 2011 - China has come to the rescue for many sawmills and timberland owners in the US and Canada the past year. The value of softwood logs and lumber shipped from North America to China is estimated to reach over 1.6 billion US dollar in 2010, which is up dramatically from just a few years ago. In 2008, total exports were valued at 350 million dollars, while they were only 125 million dollars five years ago.
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U.S. considering a levy on each Christmas tree sold, including those imported from CanadaThe U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering placing a levy on each Christmas trees sold in the United States, whether they were grown in the U.S. or whether they were imported.
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Canadian Forests: See the forest for the treesCanadian Forests Facts & Figures:
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North American log and lumber exports to China up over 150% in 2010China has come to the rescue for many sawmills and timberland owners in the US and Canada the past year.
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British Columbia announces a federal/provincial $1.2 million program to boost First Nations forestry$1.2 million in federal-provincial funding for the First Nations Forest Sector Technical Support Program will help First Nations with economic development in the forest and wood products industries, announced Minister of State (Sport) Gary Lunn a
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U.S. Arbitration Filing Questions Impact of Beetle Attack, BCLTC Claims
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Poor B.C. logging practices 'add to gas emissions'Massive emissions of greenhouse gases are coming from B.C.'s coastal forests because of poor logging practices and inadequate management, according to a new report by environmentalists.
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Canada loses another round in the softwood lumber dispute
The London Court of International Arbitration tribunal has ruled that Canada breached its obligations under the anti-circumvention provisions of the Softwood Lumber Agreement and determined compensatory export measures to remedy the breach.
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Munsee Delaware Nation secures funding for accredited forestry program
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Government of Canada Invests in Nova Scotia's Renewable Energy Projects
NEW GLASGOW, NOVA SCOTIA,Canada, Jan 21, 2011 —The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Central Nova, today announced three new investments worth $43 million that support renewable and clean energy projects across Nova Scotia. This is part of the Government’s action to improve economic and environmental performance, and support high-quality jobs.
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Forestry companies and environmental groups propose solutions to Ontario government
The province of Ontario is proposing to protect woodland caribou habitat and protect economic growth in Northern Ontario.
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Notices on their way to Ontario’s wood supply applicants
Ontario has chosen the winners of its wood supply competition and notices have gone out to the applicants.
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Government of Canada Invests in Forest Industry Transformation at Alberta Newsprint Mill
WHITECOURT, ALBERTA, CANADA, Jan 27, 2011 - The Government of Canada today announced an investment in new Canadian technology that will contribute to a more sustainable pulp and paper industry in Canada.
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Koch Industries: The 100-Million Ton Carbon Gorilla
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Government of Canada Investing in Sustainable Forest Management Research in Quebec's Eastern Townships
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Port Alice Neucel speciality cellulose mill sold to Chinese textile firm
The Neucel Specialty Cellulose mill in Port Alice, British Columbia has been sold to Fulida Group Holdings Ltd. of China.
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Join the Canadian Institute of Forestry
The Canadian Institute of Forestry has launched a membership drive to reach out to potential new members.
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Inadequate reforestation goes from bad to worseBritish Columbia is blessed by nature with a vast, ecologically rich forest estate that also has been a source of sustained economic wealth for more than a century. But today there are troubling signs that the most important of natural assets is facing challenges never before seen.
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Annual cut in B.C’s Mid Coast timber area reduced by 23%
Effective immediately, the new allowable annual cut for the Mid Coast timber supply area in British Columbia will be decreased by 23% to 767,000 cubic metres.
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B.C. Forest Safety Ombudsman to review silviculture camps
A case involving what the provincial government called “unacceptable” treatment of 58 silvicultural workers will be examined by BC Forest Safety Ombudsman Roger Harris as part of a review of silviculture camp systems.
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Sustainable Forest Management Plan for the Nicola Thompson Fraser Area of British Columbia
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Alberta’s forest products shipments went up 25% from 2009 to 2010
Total shipments of lumber, panelboard, pulp and paper manufactured by Alberta Forest Products Association-member companies for 2010 were up substantially over the previous year. Shipments increased from approximately $1.9 billion to $2.3 billion.
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B.C. may have trouble keeping up with the demand for their wood, due to low resources
British Columbia‘s forest sector has been cut back so severely in recent years that now that demand for their wood is surging, the companies are having a difficult time physically meeting the demand.
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Pacheedaht First Nation to receive forest revenue returns
Pacheedaht First Nation is the 14th First Nation to sign a new type of agreement that sees a percentage of forestry revenue returned directly to the community, announced Forests, Mines and Lands Minister Pat Bell today.
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Sustainable forest management growing in South America
CORNER BROOK — The essential elements of sustainable forest management in Newfoundland and Labrador are being learned and implemented in some South American countries.
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Harper Government Invests in Canada's Forest Sector - Catalyst's Powell River Mill
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Biomass rising, NDP dropping: Is there a connection?
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Log shortage halts work for many in British Columbia
Arnold Bercov, president of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada Local 8, is very concerned that shipping raw logs out of British Columbia is coming at a cost to many local mills.
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Wood First initatives – spreading from B.C. across the country
The Wood First initiative started in British Columbia. Their provincial government passed the Wood First Act in 2009 that requires wood to be considered as the primary building material in all new publicly-funded buildings, such as schools, libraries or sports complexes.
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The University of Toronto may lose its Faculty of Forestry
The Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto has a bleak future due to low enrollment.
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Sustainable forestry the focus of keynote address
EXETER – Terry Schwan does not expect forest cover in the Ausable Bayfield watershed to increase from 13 per cent to the 30 per cent recommended by Environment Canada.
“There's too much good farm land,” he said in a speech near Exeter March 17. "They're not going to take that away, but there's a lot of other things that can happen."
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Explosion at Pinnacle Pellet in Armstrong, B.C.
An explosion occurred at Pinnacle Pellet in Armstrong, British Columbia on Saturday night.
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Struggling Northern forest communities need voice on tenure
April 8 /CNW/ - "By shutting out the North, the Ontario government has just put another nail in the coffin of our province's once-thriving forest sector," says the leader of Ontario's largest forestry union.
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Chinese Investment in Canadian Forestry is Soaring
Recent trends indicate that there have been significant growths in Canadian forestry from Chinese investors.
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Forest Products Association of Canada launches Bio-pathways Partnership Network
The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new Bio-pathways Partnership Network aimed at exploring new business ventures that will help exploit the economic opportunities of the emerging bio-age.
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A Call to Action on the Forest Front
Does the provincial government have a coherent plan to address the exponentially deepening forest health crisis in our province?
Evidently not, as outlined by two scientists in a sobering critique of provincial government forest policy (or the lack thereof) published in today’s Vancouver Sun.
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New policies needed to save our forests April 8th, 2011: The administration and care of British Columbia's publicly owned forestlands - some 60 million hectares, an area larger than France - is unstable and in deep trouble.
The shifting of forest governance among three ministries in less than a year, following a decade of deregulation, has eroded forest stewardship and sustainable forest management in B.C.
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Nova Scotia decides to lower the cap on electricity from biomass
Nova Scotia has decided to lower the cap on the annual amount of new forest biomass that can be used to generate electricity by 30% – to 350,000 dry tonnes per year.
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Foresters alarmed by neglect and deterioration of timberBravo to Professors Simard and Lewis for speaking out on declining stewardship of B.C.'s public forests, a trend many foresters have observed with growing alarm over the past decade.
Re: New policies needed to save our forests, Opinion, April 8
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We're losing key knowledge about our forestsIf you're a clerk in the produce department at the local supermarket you have a big task on your hands.
Not only must you track how quickly the bins of apples, lemons, lettuce, radishes and dozens of other fruits and vegetables are depleted, but you must constantly root out the rotten from the fresh and be ever vigilant that behind the swinging storeroom door there's sufficient replacement stock.
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