Pipelines, energy and natural resources

[Kirkhill]

Also missed the Blueberry decision in NE BC affecting Treaty 8 lands.

And then the ass kicking of fires in the north. Areas I used to work in have lost so much timber...and frankly it's the lower cost timber used to offset the remaining expensive long haul deliveries...that its no surprise many mills have shut down.

If your average haul cycle for a truck load of wood is 7 hours (3.5 hours each way + half hour to load + half hour to unload) that's roughly $28/m3 hauled. More than your logging costs. Plus stumpage. Plus increased road maintenaince costs (not included). Plus reforestation...

Vs. US mills in the SE states where it's a 30 min drive to many mills, direct payment to landowner, no reforestation liability. And your end market is hours away from the mill instead of days of driving.

Reality is that market economics make only producing 2x4's and only clear cutting further and further from mills a long term loosing proposition. Concepts like commercial thinning on prime lands closer to mills don't really exist here in Canada (as clear cuts are easier to plan and lower cost) but I believe are part of the solution better utilize the lands closer to the mills and generate more volume at lower haul costs (note this is much more expensive logging short term). Long term this provides a higher quality sawlog (as the thinning removed poor form/smaller trees), reduces some of fuel loading in natural stands (due to removing the natural mortality stems that build up inside a forest), and provides a better overall recovery of the forest. It's due to concepts like this Scandinavia is growing 2-3x the same volume per hectare than we do in Canada.

To be fair to the BC government though some of those policies have also been beneficial and cleaned up what used to be huge red tape confusion. Some of the wood pellet industry now is fed through slash piles that used to be unavailable due to red tape/liability confusion and it's now about 4% of the BC harvested volume recovered...to put that in perspective it's also about the same volume as 2 medium sized sawmills consume or a very large super mill.

But other policies and the confusion they raised...ouch. And I'm not really sure what the solutions are as there are so many different rules for the province vs. interior vs. coastal. And then all the regional rules that a person needs to know ranging from species at risk to salmon drainages. And then local zoning/weight issues on infrastructure. A messy problem that needs many changes not just one silver bullet.

You seem to be revisiting the tragedy of the commons.

In the use the owner of the land is incentivized to keep the land producing trees and trees of good quality.

Isn't that also the model in Eastern Canada?

The woodlot owner doesn't want to see his investment go up in flames, nor does he want to experience 50 years with no income while waiging for the trees to grow back.

Sweden's smaller forests sustain Ikea and Tetrapak.

 

[lenaitch]

Also missed the Blueberry decision in NE BC affecting Treaty 8 lands.

And then the ass kicking of fires in the north. Areas I used to work in have lost so much timber...and frankly it's the lower cost timber used to offset the remaining expensive long haul deliveries...that its no surprise many mills have shut down.

If your average haul cycle for a truck load of wood is 7 hours (3.5 hours each way + half hour to load + half hour to unload) that's roughly $28/m3 hauled. More than your logging costs. Plus stumpage. Plus increased road maintenaince costs (not included). Plus reforestation...

Vs. US mills in the SE states where it's a 30 min drive to many mills, direct payment to landowner, no reforestation liability. And your end market is hours away from the mill instead of days of driving.

Reality is that market economics make only producing 2x4's and only clear cutting further and further from mills a long term loosing proposition. Concepts like commercial thinning on prime lands closer to mills don't really exist here in Canada (as clear cuts are easier to plan and lower cost) but I believe are part of the solution better utilize the lands closer to the mills and generate more volume at lower haul costs (note this is much more expensive logging short term). Long term this provides a higher quality sawlog (as the thinning removed poor form/smaller trees), reduces some of fuel loading in natural stands (due to removing the natural mortality stems that build up inside a forest), and provides a better overall recovery of the forest. It's due to concepts like this Scandinavia is growing 2-3x the same volume per hectare than we do in Canada.

To be fair to the BC government though some of those policies have also been beneficial and cleaned up what used to be huge red tape confusion. Some of the wood pellet industry now is fed through slash piles that used to be unavailable due to red tape/liability confusion and it's now about 4% of the BC harvested volume recovered...to put that in perspective it's also about the same volume as 2 medium sized sawmills consume or a very large super mill.

But other policies and the confusion they raised...ouch. And I'm not really sure what the solutions are as there are so many different rules for the province vs. interior vs. coastal. And then all the regional rules that a person needs to know ranging from species at risk to salmon drainages. And then local zoning/weight issues on infrastructure. A messy problem that needs many changes not just one silver bullet.

Not to mention Southern Yellow Pine matures to marketable size much faster than many of our native species; particularly as you move further north.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Not to mention Southern Yellow Pine matures to marketable size much faster than many of our native species; particularly as you move further north.

They still need our strong long strand fibre, a unique feature of the northern boreal forests, for a wide variety of applications from pulp and paper to house building...

 

[Kirkhill]

A tale of earlier nation building projects of Diefenbaker... allowed to atrophy.

Rail line from Grimsby to Hay River to be discontinued because of damage and lack of use. Navigation on the Mackenzie not improved ( it sounds like a couple of rapids need the ripple rock treatment). Roads not built.

What will you do when the river becomes shallow and the roads are gone?

This is part of a new series I plan to start doing regularly.

open.substack.com

 

[daftandbarmy]

Sigh... the race to the bottom continues:

Forests Minister Parmar says workers in B.C. deserve “same treatment” as in Ontario​

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says it is “unacceptable” that Ottawa always steps up when it comes to supporting key sectors in Ontario and Quebec, but “continues to drop the ball” when it comes to supporting B.C. forestry.

Parmar’s comments come after federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu announced Friday that Ottawa will contribute $12 million toward a $29-million package to help keep a paper mill in northern Ontario open.

Forests Minister Parmar says workers in B.C. deserve "same treatment" as in Ontario

Minister Ravi Parmar says it is "unacceptable" that Ottawa always steps up when it comes to supporting key sectors in Ontario and Quebec, but "continues to drop the ball" when it comes to supporting B.C. forestry.

vancouver.citynews.ca

 

[foresterab]

You seem to be revisiting the tragedy of the commons.

In the use the owner of the land is incentivized to keep the land producing trees and trees of good quality.

Isn't that also the model in Eastern Canada?

The woodlot owner doesn't want to see his investment go up in flames, nor does he want to experience 50 years with no income while waiging for the trees to grow back.

Sweden's smaller forests sustain Ikea and Tetrapak.

Comparing east to west is hard in some regards for me due to the different tree species involved.

Black spruce/red spruce are managed as crop trees more so in the east. In the west it's most white spruce.
I don't know anyone that wants to deal with balsam fir outside Christmas tree farms.
Jack pine vs. Lodgepole pine is a tie
Aspen vs. maple forests....big difference on possible revenue and management. Hardwood lumber markets for maple lumber and the Maple Syrup industries completely change the discussion.
Douglas fir vs. White pine. A pretty even mix if you are lucky enough to have either.

There is also a large amount of wood in the Maritimes that flows south to US mills vs. NB or NS sawmills. That option doesn't really exist in the west.

Unfortunately today's forest industry is largely driven by size...much like "family farms"...and unless you have high value products or a specialty non-mainstream product being produced it's about size and through put of a mill. And mills that were large 20 years ago are considered medium or small depending on the area of the country which means they need more land/fiber coming in and unfortunately are less resilient overall to shocks such as forest fires. A small wood lot losing 20% of it's area hurts a family. But a large mill losing 20% of it's tenure might be 10,000 woodlots in equivalent impact plus a change in economics affecting the rest of the purchases. Sweden still has the 10,000 woodlots but they don't have the forest fires we get in Canada plus they tend to be closer to ports/major rail corridors to allow for easier shipping of both raw products but more importantly refined products. Because Canada has had a surplus of resources we've never really had to learn to be as efficient as other areas such as Japan or Sweden when it comes to trees.

Canada's forestry history is full of tales of logging an area and then moving to the next best option afterwards. Whether it's the square trade white pine, the pulpwood tales of the east, the coastal logging in BC or in more recent years the interior forests capital has moved around in response to markets and fiber quality options for highest return, lowest investment operations. Heck lodgepole pine - the dominant tree of the western mountains - was only certified as lumber and pulp species post WW2. Prior to that it was only really used for poles or railway ties. Spruce and Douglas Fir were logged instead.