Juniper meeting demonstrates a wide variety of opinions

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By Shawn Merrithew

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The forestry sector remains a viable operation for New Brunswick, but how to maintain the resource for the future remains open to debate.

As some industry leaders call for more access to Crown wood, others seek greater conservation on provincial forests. So political and industry leaders must find a balance.

On Wednesday evening, Oct. 1, provincial forestry task force member Dr. Thom Erdle visited Juniper to deliver the task force's findings and recommendations to area residents and stakeholders.

Erdle said the point of the meeting was to present opportunities on how to better manage New Brunswick's public forests, about three million hectares.

"There is no one right way to do so," Erdle explained.

In his report, Erdle stated, the task force had come up with eight various alternatives, from more wood allocation to more conservation. The outcomes are complicated, he added, and the trade-offs come at the expense of one another.

For example, an option of a higher wood yield would bring in more value, he explained, but the conservation efforts would diminish. On the other hand, more conservation means less harvesting.

But each option was valued differently by the various stakeholders.

JDI Deersdale regional manager Kevin Larlee said the forestry sector is not "a sunset industry," and there is room to grow. In past years, he said, not much has been done about forest management, despite lots of things said.

"Now, it is great we have a dashboard of a whole bunch of criteria, with a bunch of different scenarios, that we can actually see what some of the impacts are and make and educated decision on where we want to go," Larlee said.

While there are tradeoffs with the various options – some good, some bad – Larlee said his organization supports to options which would allow for higher wood supply.

"If we reduced our wood supply, essentially, we are losing jobs," he said. "If we lose jobs, then there is a whole bunch of economic and post-economic things that happen around that as well."

Larlee stated JDI has selected option E as it puts more on harvesting while reducing conservation.

"We think there should be more emphasizes on hardwood silviculture to increase the value of hardwood, increase to opportunity of the organization and the people who work for us; the communities which revolve around our workplace and so it will still be there for the future."

Fraser Papers general manager of wood procurement Terry Noble agreed with Larlee and said his company takes the same stance.

"We need more wood," said Noble. "The opportunities over the next 25 years are not huge, but, on the upside, the best we can do – in terms of getting more wood from where we are now to meet the status quo – is in option E, which is a four per cent increase. That is not a huge amount of fibre, but we don't want to lose four per cent or even one per cent. We really need to maintain where we are and, hopefully, increase over time."

Not all agree with Larlee and Noble.

New Brunswick Conservation Council's Tracy Gallant says more consideration needs to be given to options A and B, which would see conservation of the forest taking the forefront, while maintaining the current wood supply.

"Our forests are a critical state," said Gallant. "About 25 per cent of our forests are less than 20 years old."

More emphasis needs to be placed on forest conservation, she said, to secure and maintain wildlife habitats along with managing to support water and environmental areas.

General manager of the Carleton Victoria Wood Producers Association Tim Fox said his organization is looking for a happy medium. Some of his clients would support option A, he said, while others would support option E.

"What we are recommending to the government is take a balanced approach where the positive and negative impacts in whatever approach they are taking will negate themselves," Fox said.

Looking at the two extremes on wood supply, a high one could have a devastating impact on private woodlot owners.

"There would be less market for us for selling wood," Fox explained.

By the same token, option A could also have a negative impact, he stated. It would mean higher wood sales because companies would have no choice to target other sources of wood, but this could lead to over harvesting on private lands.

"So that is why we are looking at some sort of balance of forest management on Crown land," he said.

President of the Federation of Woodlot Owners Andrew Clark suggested option F as the best alternative, particularly for private woodlot owners.

This management plan satisfies both diversity and timber supply by reducing the forest area in conservation zones while making extensive use of low-intensity harvesting across a larger proportion of the forest.

He said this scenario provides a better balance between higher wood supply and higher conservation.

"Option F allows for the best future for our children," Clark said. "If we manage it well and look after it, it will allow for better use of the forest and keep our options open."

Erdle said stakeholders' feedback on the forestry management will be submitted to the government to help with the decision-making process. The province's decision is expected to announced before the end of the year, he added.