Forestry

An award-winning Lakehead University researcher says the forestry sector needs to shift gears into value-added products and better promote itself as something more than a “sunset industry.” Dr. Mathew Leitch was recently given the James M.

White birch is being opened up for use in the Thunder Bay-Atikokan area, marking what could potentially be a financial windfall for some forestry companies in northwestern, Ontario.

For many small cities across Northern Ontario, the recent rash of forestry-related mill closures has proven to be a devastating blow, although Rejeanne Desmeules refuses to let her town pass as just another statistic.

Hard-hit forestry communities now have a practical how-to guide to diversify the industry by going beyond the traditional harvesting of trees into lumber. Three Sault Ste.

Value-added is on the lips of community leaders in many forestry-dependent towns. The town of Dubreuilville in northeastern Ontario is no different with a study underway to determine whether a wood-plastic composite manufacturing facility will work.

I had occasion to take a phone call recently from Kelly Louisieze, who is the managing editor with the Northern Ontario Business publication.

Each year, the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) presents silver rings to post-secondary forestry students as a way of welcoming them into the profession. The ring is regarded as a ‘national bond’ among forestry graduates.

Two forestry giants have come together in a $3.3 billion US deal that will find Domtar Inc. merging with the fine paper arm of Weyerhaeuser Co. to form the second-largest manufacturer and marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in the world.

A management plan to curb an outbreak of the jack pine budworm on trees covering almost 90,000 hectares in the Rainy River district is being welcomed by forest licensers.

A resolution on the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber issue is far from being reached due to some core issues that must be worked out, says Free Trade Lumber Council executive vice-president Carl Grenier.