Too much wood, not enough information
    When Jason Killam, J.D. Irving’s silviculture manager, proclaimed in an official tone at the fall meeting of the Canadian Woodlands Forum that “round wood pulp wood is dead,” he was merely confirming what woodlot owners have pretty well known for a decade. It was always assumed there would be a home for the saw logs though. However, as the second round of sawmill market closures rolls across New Brunswick,

In it for the long haul
    Once again, in this September issue of AFR, we have devoted some extra space and attention to forestry trucking – although, of course, trucking plays a role in virtually any story about wood products. While reducing transport distances is a laudable goal, there’s no getting around the fact that we have to move stuff around. We may as well try to do it more efficiently, which is the objective of R&D work on truck aerodynamics currently being done by FPInnovations, as described in Marie-Claude Thibault’s story on page 28.

A bird in the hand
    New Brunswick Green Party leader David Coon’s bill, “An Act to Return to the Crown Certain Rights Relating to Wood Supply and Forest Management,” went down in flames at its second reading in early June. The Tory opposition and the governing Liberals closed ranks to defeat this private member’s bill introduced by the lone Green MLA. In debate on the bill, Minister of Natural Resources Denis Landry said the 2014 Forestry Plan.

Amazing facts
    In the last week of April, with snowbanks still lingering along the roadsides, I heard someone from the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation (and don’t forget Infrastructure Renewal) talking on the radio, explaining how they use an instrument called a “falling weight deflectometer” (FWD) to test the structural stability of pavement. It’s a trailer-mounted device containing a heavy steel disk that is dropped onto the road, to simulate the impact of truck traffic, with sensors to measure the resulting deformation of the surface.

Plink, plink . . .
    According to NASA and NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration), 2014 was the warmest year on record. Geez, Louise, it sure didn’t feel like it here in Atlantic Canada, as the snow kept piling up long into late March and refused to melt even in April. When one’s personal memory conflicts with official records, it’s time to dig a little deeper. As it turns out, our minds weren’t playing tricks on us.

Perils of the profession
    The past year has been a wild ride for forestry in New Brunswick – not just for the industry, but for the profession. The dramatic policy shift taking place in this province has occasioned some soul searching, and has spurred debate about the role of the forester in society – an important question in any jurisdiction that has more than a few trees. Shortly after the New Brunswick government released its new Strategy for Crown Lands Forest Management, back in March.