Report

Silviculture contractors know the importance of a good silvicultural prescription. In most provinces across Canada, the responsibility for that prescription falls to the professional forester.  In Ontario we are a licensed body with over 830 members. That number has declined by more than 17% over the last five years. The universities in Ontario that offer Forestry degrees have seen declining enrolment in the program for a number of years. In fact, in 1993 the University of Toronto closed its undergraduate program (Bachelor of Science in Forestry) due to low enrollment.

B.C.’s forest and range ecosystems are far more complex and subtle than the arguments we have over how to manage them. The current dispute centred on the recently leaked government timber supply document is a case in point. Politicians’ consideration of logging in what critics describes as forest preserves has quickly led to two opposing and simplistic positions. To propose logging sensitive areas to mitigate timber supply is driven by short-term thinking.

After lots of meetings across the Island and many months of discussions, Island forest owners are about to move forward with a new woodlot owners’ association. Almost 88% of the Island’s forest land is owned and managed by private land owners.  Privately owned forests provide income and employment to hundreds of Islanders and wood from private lands is used to make building materials, paper products, and firewood to heat our homes.

The Association of Registered Professional Foresters of New Brunswick (ARPFNB) presented to our Legislative Assembly a revised version of "An Act to Incorporate the Association of Registered Professional Foresters of New Brunswick", as Bill 22.  The main objective of this new Act is to move from Right to Title as Registered Professional Foresters (RPF) to Right to Practice (RTP), for our members.  This initiative provides protection to the public by ensuring the competency, independence, professional conduct and integrity of registered professional foresters who m

On the eve of the major changes that await Quebecois silviculture entrepreneurs with the coming of the new 2013 forestry regime, the last season of the current regime does not look easy.

À l’aube du changement majeur qui attend les entrepreneurs sylvicoles du Québec avec la venue du nouveau régime forestier, en 2013, la dernière saison sous l’actuel régime ne s’annonce pas de tout repos.

I have recently spoken to several contractors that have been asked to provide their SAFE Companies audit reports to clients, to assist the client in evaluating the contractors’ safety program. When selecting and hiring a contractor, a company can rest assured that a valid SAFE Companies certification demonstrates the potential contractors’ success in achieving a standard[1] set by the industry.

When publisher Kate Menzies invited me to write an article about what interests Society of American Foresters members these days, I jumped at the chance. Having worked in the woods for most of three decades, I have much in common with readers of Silviculture Magazine. Besides, I’m half Canadian — my mother was born on a farm near Grimshaw, Alberta — so I feel right at home with this Canadian-born publication.

Since summer 2010, reforestation companies have implemented modifications to their work methods.  The Director General of Strategic Policy and Planning (DGSPP) has taken a new direction with the stock delivery methods used for large tree plants: companies will now be receiving their large plants in their original boxes instead of in the cases that they have become accustomed to receiving.

Depuis l’été 2010, les entreprises de reboisement voient graduellement leur méthode de travail modifiée. En effet, la Direction générale des pépinières et des stations piscicoles (DGPSP) a amorcé un virage important dans le mode de livraison des plants de forte dimension : les entreprises reçoivent dorénavant leurs plants directement dans les récipients (caissettes), plutôt que dans les bacs auxquels elles étaient habituées.