| Key Indexes |
|
|
| Government |
| Quick access to information based on government's structure
|
|
 |
Summary of Issues discussed at Community Meetings
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Issues
- Manage forests for value rather than volume (i.e., allowable annual
cut). Current forestry practice encourages production of high volumes of low
quality wood (i.e., wood under 25 years). There is no market for this wood.
We need to focus on older wood. Smaller, area-based tenures will encourage
this.
- Take or pay provisions must be removed.
- The current stumpage model is broken – it must be more reflective of
current market conditions, more responsive to changing prices and costs, and
more easily understood.
- First Nations need to be supported more in their forestry efforts.
- We need to encourage greater diversity of products and higher value
products but continue to support the successful operation of Western Forest
Products and Catalyst. Logs should be processed locally so focussing on
value-added products.
- There are too many contractors chasing too few logging opportunities –
we need to return to the integrated company model.
- All forest lands (private and public) should be brought under one
ministry to make sure that sustainable practices are used throughout the
Province.
- Tenure reform is required. Need to secure fibre supply. Consider
expanding the number of area-based tenures, revisit role of BC Timber Sales,
increase volumes allotted to community forest program and support removal of
residual products.
Opportunities
- Focussing on sustainability – managing forests to meet the needs of
future generations.
- Supporting diversity in the industry, differently-sized operations, as
opposed to consolidation and developing niche/specialized markets.
- Focusing on secondary manufacturing and developing manufacturing
infrastructure in small communities by creating a strong business climate.
- Implementing the remaining recommendations of and address the gaps in
the 2007 Macauley Report, “Review of the Port Alberni Forest Industry”,
including:
- Establishing a dry land sort in the Valley
- Supporting additional forest technician training and tourism/outdoor
recreation management training at the Port Alberni campus of North Island
College
- Port Alberni (with proper access to fibre and venture capital) can
capitalize on new opportunities in biochemicals and bioenergy industries.
The Province can provide incentives to help make this happen.
|
 |
|
Issues
- The current pricing system is broken – we have areas with excess timber
supply, underemployed workers, but industry still isn’t viable.
- The Market Pricing System is not working – it does not accurately
reflect the real market price of fibre and does not respond quickly enough
to changes in the market.
- Bill 13 imposes significant costs on industry, engenders uneconomic and
unproductive behaviour and is untenable.
- Need to attract new investment -- require long-term security and improve
productivity.
- The current hosting conditions for industry in the Province aren’t
conducive to a sustainable industry – there is no certainty to the land
base, management/labour relations aren’t mature, the regulatory scheme is
too onerous.
- Intensive silviculture must be funded and practiced in B.C.
- One ministry in Government should deal with all aspects of logging, not
multiple ministries (Agriculture & Lands, Environment, Forests, etc.)
- The Province needs to consider appurtenancy again.
Opportunities
- Become preferred global supplier of climate-friendly forest products.
- Encourage development of non-timber products and wood salvage
operations.
- Streamline regulatory requirements.
- Government should promote industry’s good practices – too many people in
the Province still think that the forest companies are bad stewards of the
forests. They aren’t, and Government can help address this misconception.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- The forest land base must be protected. The working forest continues to
be reduced.
- The pricing stumpage system is too complex for a small or mid-sized
operator to understand and work with. It doesn’t allow for any innovation.
- The Interior wet-belt is very much like the Coast, and so should be
treated as such by the regulatory scheme, rather than being lumped in with
the rest of the Interior. For example, the wet-belt is an excellent growing
site, but grows poor timber that’s very difficult to extract - Hemlock
cannot currently be harvested profitably.
- There is much competition for the same, relatively small, landbase –
Mountain Caribou, tourism, public recreation (both mechanized and
non-mechanized), forestry operations – and the Province needs to manage
these interests fairly through a well-thought out plan, supported by
legislation.
- The current stumpage system is volatile, and unpredictable, making it
difficult for industry to operate and impossible for it to plan. Stumpage
determination on a stand-by-stand basis takes time that is better spent
elsewhere. A system of annual (or longer) land rent determination would be
more sustainable.
Opportunities
- The local forest isn’t currently providing the bulk of the fibre being
processed in Revelstoke. We have lots of productive landbase, but that’s
currently covered with pulp-grade hemlock. We need to find a way to get that
fibre to the pulp mills that are currently starved for fibre.
- We need to educate the Province more about the value of forestry. This
will help us attract the talent the industry needs in order to succeed.
- The Province has an incredible resource – the fibre here is the best in
the world. We just aren’t capitalizing on it at all.
- Over the last 15 years Revelstoke has successfully diversified its
economy, particularly as between forestry and tourism. We have excellent
local forest operators and need them to succeed.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- The forest industry is a multitude of individual industries – each with
its own opportunities, challenges, regulatory frameworks, cost structures,
ownership and business cycles. The components are dependent on each other.
- The forest industry is over-regulated and it’s too costly to operate
(e.g., the new carbon tax, charges for waste residue, etc.).
- The Province must stop the export of raw logs – domestic processing must
be made a requirement of any licence, and the harvesting of logs should be
tied to manufacturing.
- TFLs were created to guarantee a supply of fibre to facilities, and no
land should be removed from any TFL.
- In the southern B.C. pulp industry, fibre is 50% of the industry’s cost,
and pulp operations depend on fibre imports from the U.S. Banning log
exports would be devastating as U.S. chip suppliers make their supply from
B.C. log exports.
- We lack competition in B.C. because of the tenure system, which locks up
fibre with large licensees, squeezing out small operators. Timber should be
available to anyone who has use for it, and the market should dictate
stumpage - start bids at $0.25 and let the bidding process decide price.
Opportunities
- Any solution needs to start with the question “what do we want from our
forests”? For example, we want to maximize utilization from the resource.
- The Province needs to create space for smaller operators to operate.
Smaller, independent operations are nimbler, and respond better to changing
market conditions. They’re being pushed out by large operations, including
BC Timber Sales.
- The key to tenure reform is diversity (allowing both small and large
industries in different lines of business) that will help get maximum value
from the land base. The Province can encourage diversification by sponsoring
a “new entrant” program, e.g., there are entrepreneurs with products they
want to manufacture, but can’t access the fibre – larger companies aren’t
interested in supplying it and the conditions aren’t in place to facilitate
this relationship.
- The value-added sector is very strong in the region and represents real
opportunity. Investment must be made into marketing the sector, educating a
value-add workforce, and the Softwood Lumber Agreement must be changed to
remove the $75 tax on specialty products.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- The current tenure system, and pricing system (and, in particular, the
current Points of Assessment) must be reformed. Support must be given for
smaller tenures and area-based tenures.
- Lands subject to oil and gas development appear to be subject to
different regulations – there’s a lack of certainty regarding what timber
harvesting activities are occurring on those lands, and they don’t need to
reforest, but only seed to grass.
- Community Forest Associations should be able to purchase tenure from
existing licensees or at least be able to bid on tenure which is given back
to the Crown.
- Canadian National is not maintaining the rail links in the community,
not re-investing, and is not engaging local industry and government.
- The carbon tax will force Fort Nelson and the Northern Rockies into an
extremely disadvantageous position, given the geographic locale, and the
inevitable inordinate costs for harvesting and transportation of resources.
Opportunities
- There is much support for a results-based approach rather than a strict
regulatory, command-and-control model.
- Planning processes could be reformed to allow for new uses of the land
base – wind farms, non-sawlog harvesting, threatened species protection,
gas/oil development, etc.
- Tenure reform could include the creation of a deciduous licence with
different access, stocking and utilization standards.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- Industry facilities are old and in need of new investment and the costs
of operations have increased. Businesses, woodlot owners and value-added
companies need certainty to make capital investment - uncertainty chases
investors away.
- Government should encourage new investment but not at the cost of
existing operators.
- Value-added companies and small operators need secure access to fibre
- Review and reform of the following are needed:
- Tenure (reform to provide longer tenures to encourage long-term
investment and innovation)
- Pricing (e.g., need to consider pricing differently for timber with
small tops, and review application of stumpage to NRFLs)
- Timber harvesting level determinations
- Beetle-killed wood (e.g., Province should allow trees that are
obviously affected by the mountain pine beetle to qualify for $.025
stumpage instead of having to wait until they look 95% red)
- Foreign ownership of mills has negatively impacted forest-dependent
communities.
- The forest industry can’t be focused on one market (the US) anymore
Opportunities
- Licensees should be granted area-based forms of tenure with exclusive
timber rights, with the licensee then held responsible for wood supply
analysis and recommending levels of cut to the Minister.
- Regulations should be put in place that guarantee local manufacturing.
- The Province should support the following:
- Infrastructure (transportation & new roads) and planning investment
- More First Nation licences and more First Nations forest development
- Diversification of the northern economy
- Tax incentives for re-investment in the forest industry
- We should look at other communities that have faced crises and recovered
and see what can be learned from them, e.g., Port Alice.
- The Province needs a true market pricing system. BCTS should sell its
volume by quarter instead of annually and should have a good mix of wood in
its sales.
- Renewable power like bioenergy can have tremendous benefits for
communities like Mackenzie – in order to be successful there needs to be
capital investments and partnerships with First Nations
|
|
|
|
Issues
- The current tenure system must be reformed to bring certainty to the
land base and address overlapping tenures. Additionally, any efforts at
reform must involve communities.
- Bioenergy is a mixed opportunity:
- The BC Hydro call encourages people to look for fibre, but does not
require they look at fibre that isn’t being utilized as merchantable
timber
- Any resulting bio-energy tenures must be offered at low cost
- The Province must not allow competition from the bio-energy sector
to negatively impact existing businesses
- Small business needs a long-term, reliable supply of fibre
- The combination of foreign ownership of mills and the removal of
appurtenancy has negatively impacted forest-dependent communities
- The Province should look at expanding the CAFP program in order to
address shortages in skills and training
- The high cost of transportation and unavailability of ocean freight
negatively affects the region
Opportunities
- Small businesses are more flexible and can more easily transform
themselves as the fibre supplies change. They also offer opportunities to
expand more into the value-added sector
- The Province should encourage secondary manufacturing by providing
restricted harvesting opportunities, and not provide opportunities to major
forest companies that smaller companies cannot access
- The number of Community Forest Licence tenures should be increased and
the Province should move to a volume-based tenure which allow for
partnerships with local companies
- Large-scale replanting and reforestation on Mountain Pine Beetle stands
could be an important economic driver in the region.
- A road connection between Mackenzie and Prince Rupert would bring great
opportunity.
- There are opportunities for greater resource revenue sharing with First
Nations
|
|
|
|
Issues
- Mountain Pine Beetle-killed wood poses a very grave threat of wildfire.
The community needs funding to train staff to prepare for possible fires and
to complete fuel mitigation projects.
- There is a current disconnection between the reality in smaller
communities and the Ministry of Forests headquarters in Victoria – local
communities can provide better information regarding the facts “on the
ground”.
- First Nations and communities need a greater say in land-base decisions
in their area.
- BC Hydro’s call for bio-energy proposals must take into account the
realities of small communities. As well, BC Hydro must take a more flexible
approach when dealing with these communities.
Opportunities
- Burns Lake community has a surplus of fibre available as a result of the
Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic. The challenge is to find markets for it.
- Small scale operators are uniquely poised to assist in maintaining
forest health but have difficulty in recruiting qualified professionals.
- First Nations and local communities are uniquely placed to give
important information regarding forest health.
- The products being produced are changing – the forest regulatory scheme
must be flexible enough to allow companies and individuals to adapt and take
advantage of new opportunities.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- Finding reliable sources of fibre is a growing problem – the fibre is
out there, but we need to find ways of accessing it.
- Stumpage rates don’t reflect the actual value of wood – the rates are
too high.
- The forest industry suffers from a bad image – it’s seen as a sunset
industry. This kind of image means the industry can’t attract new
professionals.
- The existing tenure system must be reformed in order to:
- Encourage more community forests
- Allow better community involvement
- Allow area-based tenures supported by a result-based, professional
reliance regulatory model.
- Corporate concentration of the forest industry results in
decision-making that doesn’t incorporate local concerns and expertise.
Opportunities
- Bio-energy represents an opportunity for use of beetle-killed wood –
however, the Province must ensure this doesn’t adversely affect other,
related industries (e.g., manufacturing, value-added production, etc.) which
are in need of steady supplies of fibre.
- Training programs for First Nations youth (who are currently
underemployed) will help offset increasing problems in recruiting and
retaining skilled forest professionals. This could be coupled with a formal
forest technician apprenticeship program.
- The full potential of working forests have not yet been realized.
- With the right infrastructure and a well-thought out strategy in place,
the Prince Rupert port represents a way of getting hemlock (the majority of
volume in some areas in the northwest) to the Chinese market.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- Forest and Range Agreements for First Nations must be reformed – they
must be longer to allow investment.
- Roads have been neglected for too long and now all improvements are
urgent.
- The Province suffers from a stigma of being inconsistent suppliers to
markets.
- Fumigation and bio-sanitation requirements from other markets (e.g.,
India, China) are having a negative impact on industry. Industry doesn’t yet
have the infrastructure in place to meet these standards.
- 30% of industry costs in the region are fuel-related costs – the new
carbon tax will disproportionately affect the northwest region of the
Province.
Opportunities
- China is a potentially good market for hemlock, and this opportunity
will increase when the Russian export tax is implemented in 2009.
- Forests represent huge assets if viewed through different lenses – e.g.,
bio-energy uses, carbon sequestration uses, etc.
- The Provincial forest economy must change to use the entire fibre
basket, not just prime wood.
- Stability on the landbase can be increased through cooperation with
First Nations and having true partnerships between communities, industry and
First Nations.
- We need to better understand what world markets need and market our
timber profile accordingly.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- Fibre security – it is essential if we are to have the ability to
compete.
- Move to a results-based forest management standard
- Logging Contractors bear inequitable levels of risk in relation to
licensees
- Halt export of raw logs
- Re-institute appurtenancy
- Social impact of damaged watersheds and impacts on local government
- Replaceable timber tenures undermine a competitive marketplace.
- Tenure review – small business needs a comfortable place to operate.
- Saw logs/Chipping – need to adjust if saw logs are being used for chip
and sent to a chipping facility. Need for an offset when saw logs that would
other wise stay in the piles are used for chipping.
Opportunities
- Tenure Reform
- community forests, community-based tenures with management plans,
First Nation tenures, woodlots
- Tenure take-back and tie it to a local manufacturer. Foregone tenure
goes back to the local area.
- Encourage a smaller scale industry that produces value (e.g., specialty
products) instead of volume (e.g., two-by-fours).
- Small business on small areas well-suited to innovative forest
management
- Industry must be encouraged to develop a larger Value-Added component,
investing more of its money into research & development.
- Establish a quota of wood supply for small operators in the Province
- Bio-fuels, bio-energy and market change create opportunities for new
industry e.g., cellulose, waste wood, ethanol
- Range industry – opportunities to work with forestry industry to set up
more grazing areas, particularly in pine beetle areas.
|
|
|
|
Issues
- There is a shortage of skilled forest professionals - Industry and
Province must partner to support increased training & recruitment of forest
professionals
- Stumpage system needs reform
- First Nations tenures aren’t currently viable
- The Province must support a balance between traditional uses of forest and
new uses (e.g, bioenergy), providing stability to traditional uses while
encouraging new uses
Opportunities
- Community forests & woodlot licenses offer opportunities for smaller
enterprises that can respond to market demands and shifts more quickly,
understand the communities in which they operate better, and are better
positioned to get the maximum value out of a given parcel of land
- Problems with recruitment of skilled professionals can be addressed in part
by targeted efforts to educate youth about the advantages and opportunities
of a career in forestry
- Better education of the broader Provincial public about the importance of
forestry as a contributor to the Province’s health will result in more
public support for the industry
- Longer term tenures will incent greater investment in the forest industry
|
|
|
|
Issues
- Communities must be true partners in any landbase decision
- Lack of coordination between different government agencies (e.g., provincial
government, local government, federal government, cross-jurisdictional
committees) adds to the costs of operating in the forest sector
- Tenure system needs reform
- Stumpage system needs reform
Opportunities
- Biomass & biochemical industry
- There is much room for better coordination & cooperation between different
parts of the forest industry (logging, processing, bioenergy) to ensure the
best and most productive use of land
- Markets can be developed for different uses of Beetle-killed wood (e.g.,
wood pellets)
- Beetle-killed wood may be viable longer than expected
- With greater security of the timber harvesting landbase, the forest industry
will be encouraged to invest more and over a longer term.
|
|
|
|
Issues:
- Management and utilization of waste wood
- First Nations tenure viability
- Tenure system needs reform
- Stumpage system needs reform
- Water management needs a higher profile in forest management
- Transportation capacity
Opportunities:
- Ecosystem restoration opportunities for establishment of new forests in Mountain
Pine Beetle infested areas
- Log exports can support industry
- Security of the timber harvesting landbase to support the forest industry
- Partnerships with First Nations
- Coordination of planning with ranching industry and forest industry to benefit
both
- Community forest tenures
- Inland port capacity
|
|
|
|
Issues:
- Cost downloads from government
- Rising energy prices
- Stumpage system needs reform
- Tenure system needs reform
- Management and utilization of waste wood
Opportunities:
- Security of the timber harvesting landbase to support the forest industry
- Engage youth in the forestry profession
- New products such as bio-energy
- Ecosystem restoration opportunities for establishment of new forests
- Partnerships with First Nations
|
|
|
|
Issues:
- Tenure system needs reform
- Stumpage system needs reform
- Community stability is linked to forest industry stability
- First Nations’ tenure viability
- Management and utilization of waste wood
Opportunities:
- Promote forestry as a green industry
- Longer term tenures to incent greater investment
- Security of the timber harvesting landbase to support the forest industry
- Log exports can support industry
- Partnerships with First Nations
|
|
|
|
Issues:
- Tenure system needs reform
- Stumpage system needs reform
- First Nations’ tenure viability
- Woodlot licence administrative processes with government need streamlining
- Fee structures for tenures, rents, obligations, deposits and penalties needs
review
Opportunities:
- Community forests
- Educate youth to enter forestry as a profession
- Longer term tenures to incent greater investment
- New smaller markets exist for fibre that larger producers may not be interested
in supplying
|
|
|
|
