Full articles below plus sneak peeks! Atlantic Forestry November 2010

It’s back!
New Brunswick Woodlot Field Day revitalized
by George Fullerton
September 18th dawned a brilliant early autumn day, a fitting day for the revitalization of a worthy institution. The New Brunswick Provincial Woodlot Field Day was resurrected in fine fashion after having dropped off the calendar of things forestry for several years. Upwards of 300 people turned out for the field day held on Arnold Alward’s family woodlot located. . .



A mill to live
The near-death experience of a New Brunswick pulp mill
by George Fullerton
The announcement the AV Nackawic pulp mill had filed for bankruptcy in 2004 sent a shock wave across New Brunswick. For more than 30 years the Nackawic pulp mill in Nackawic, N.B., had been a major employer in the province, providing more than 400 direct jobs, many more as spin offs, and a steady demand for pulp-grade hardwood logs. But what could have easily. . .



Sneak Peeks

Not a good year so far
by David Palmer
2010 hasn’t been a great year so far for the biomass business. Come to think of it, it hasn’t been a terrific year for lumber either. The paper business also hasn’t exactly been anything to write home about, if anybody ever does write home anymore. That’s part of the problem, isn’t it – nobody’s writing home, at least not on paper. They’re emailing, texting, tweeting, and now even reading. . .



More than the average tick
The Blacklegged tick and Lyme disease
The fall tick season is coming to a close. With tick populations – especially the Lyme disease carrying Blacklegged tick – expanding in Atlantic provinces – here at Atlantic Forestry Review we decided it was time to go over the signs of Lyme disease. Though it turns up throughout the Maritimes each year, primarily carried in by migratory. . .


In research we trust
Hardwood symposium in New Brunswick focuses on innovation
by George Fullerton
While mill closures and the general downturn in the Canadian forest industry has tended to hit the softwood sector hardest, the overall malaise has undoubtedly had a major impact on the hardwood forest industries as well. A two-day hardwood workshop held in Fredericton September 21-22, however, shone a bright light on hardwood lumber manufacturing, use, and. . .



Key to quality
Guide simplifies decision-making
by David Lindsay
Until recently the presence of high-quality hardwoods in Nova Scotia forests was generally viewed as the result of good luck rather than good management, and these specimens were duly high-graded, if they were not indiscriminately chipped or junked up for firewood. (If it’s clear and straight it splits easy, right?) But that’s changing. With the expansion of the hardwood. . .



Making selection
management work in Nova Scotia
by David Sutherland
Despite provincial, national, and even global political migration towards partial-cutting methods in forest management, many challenges remain in the practical application of selection harvesting systems on small, private land in Nova Scotia. In the absence of hard-and-fast rules for non-clearcut harvesting, wide-ranging and not wholly effective methods have been implemented under the banner. . .



Old-timey logging
by Tom Miller
“Are you buying any Red pine?” I asked Carol Sibley of New Arbor Products in Truro, Nova Scotia. “I don’t think so, but let me get Jim,” she answered. Picking up the phone, Jim Verboom said they weren’t buying Red pine, but he would take some from me anyway, as he knew it was Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. “Bet you didn’t expect to hear that,” he added. Well he was right. . .



Making the shift
Can more selection harvesting work in Nova Scotia?
Within days of publication of this magazine, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Natural Resources John MacDonell is expected to announce new provincial policy regarding clearcut harvesting. In recent weeks he has been signaling an intention to back away from a steering panel recommendation to require permits for the practice. This leaves those arguing for and against significant. . .



A brisk briquette business
Switching from pellets has never been so easy
by George Fullerton
In this era of increasing growth in wood pellet production, Colonial Manufacturing is taking a different track. After 20 years making wood heating pellets out of wood residue from their molding and lumber milling business, they have invested in a new briquette manufacturing process. Colonial Manufacturing was founded by Arnold and Ruth Acton in 1981, and added. . .


No money down
P.E.I. paying percentage of oil cost for biomass heat
by David Lindsay
Bioenergy proponents frequently bemoan the fact that a temporary dip in global oil prices can put prospective projects on the back burner for years. Despite trends indicating that dependence on fossil fuel will become increasingly expensive, it is the short-term payback that determines whether forest biomass deals will be inked. Now two companies supplying biomass heat. . .



Choosing a Vermeer grinder
On average, Americans waste 25 percent of the food they prepare. They throw away 44 percent of their yard trimmings and 90 percent of their wood waste. But Chesterfield Farms, LLC, is working to put a green edge on those statistics with its organic recycling. Located between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, this six-acre compost facility was opened by Alan Boehm in July 2004. The site of. . .


Too much red tape?
Businesspeople in all sectors experience the frustration of dealing with red tape – applying for permits, filling out forms, paying fees, and attempting to comply with a myriad of regulations. But the forest industry may be subject to more bureaucratic oversight because it involves various departments and all levels of government. That’s why the Forest Products Association of Nova. . .



Full steam ahead
NewPage project approved, with conditions to protect electricity customers
Following carefully choreographed public relations efforts by slightly nervous proponents and increasingly outraged opponents, the speculation and anticipation ended on October 14 when the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) approved an application by Nova Scotia Power Incorporated for a 60-MW forest biomass energy project in partnership with NewPage Port Hawkesbury. This. . .



60 years in the woods
At Langille woodlot, tradition and change
by David Lindsay
The Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association (NSWOOA) has positioned itself as a voice for alternatives to mainstream industrial forestry. In the past year the organization has devoted considerable energy toward raising concerns about the sustainability of NewPage Port Hawkesbury’s biomass energy project, and toward the establishment of the Otter Ponds Demonstration Forest. . .