Category Archives: 2013-2020 Articles and Resources

Conservation of Old Growth-opinion

Excluding any intervention in all remaining BC old growth forests OR logging all the remaining old growth are two impractical options that will not contribute to community resiliency or the well-being of British Columbians.  A responsible model is required to meet the objectives of old growth conservation in BC. Components of such a model are presented by Bill Bourgeois in Old growth conservation 

How much biomass needed for ecosystems

Currently, BC forest managers are penalized if residual biomass after forest harvesting exceeds a given threshold. As noted in the proposed CFS study https://tinyurl.com/s6wy3y7 emergence of a bio-products industry has the potential to totally reverse this situation and force managers to leave enough to maintain ecosystem services. This would be a major change in BC forest management and public responses.  The retention of biomass is not new.  Foresters have learned from the European experiences that, if all the biomass is removed, soil productivity can decrease significantly. Also, BC studies in the 1990s identified the need for a given level of biomass. However, the results were not applied in policy. Even though this issue is not new, the CFS should be congratulated for initiating the study within the 2020 environment. Maintaining ecosystem productivity is critical to long-term forest stewardship and subsequently a significant contribution community resiliency.

Bill 22-Forest Statutes Amendment Act-2019

Lawyer Jeff Waatainen outlines on page 25 of Bill 22 – Waatainen comments  the continued uncertainty created by Bill 22 and the associated Regulation. Not only is the “public interest” test still unclear as outlined previously in Bill 22 – comments but so is the application of the old and new definitions of  the other tests “unduly restrict competition” and “detrimental to competition.” Surely Government can clarify these tests and reduce the uncertainty they have generated within the industry, communities and investors.  This is not a trivial issue and needs immediate attention.

Challenges in moving to new wood manufacturing sector

Moving to a new BC wood manufacturing sector will not be quick or easy!  As outlined in Building a diversified mfg sector-challenges_1, there are challenges to overcome in this transition.  It will be a journey, not an event requiring:

  • Politicians thinking strategically beyond a one-term election period or political ideology,
  • Politicians adopting a business environment that addresses the needs of investors, profitability of companies and acknowledging current and future markets,
  • Companies committing support for a secondary wood manufacturing sector, and
  • Communities being realistic and supporting local investments in secondary wood manufacturing. 

Addressing Forest Sector Uncertainty and Stress

The “perfect storm” in the forest sector is creating uncertainty and stress within the industry, communities and investors.  Government needs to take action to reduce this and provide leadership in moving toward community resiliency.  Bill Bourgeois provides an opinion on how this can be done through improving the forest sector regulatory infrastructure in Addressing uncertainty and stress