Smouldering Fire Detected in a Hogging Machine

A hogging machine produces hog fuel, which is a type of wood waste. In this particular instance, which occurred in 2016, a smouldering fire developed in one of these machines. When the workers put it out, a piece of burning wood escaped and left the two conveyor outfeeds. The machine was stopped to deal with burning wood but 10 minutes later, another fire broke out in a pile of hog fuel at the outfeed of another conveyor because not all of the material had been collected.

Despite their best efforts, the workers were unable to capture all of the burning mass. The mill yard was filled with flammable materials, so they were unable to put out this second fire. Another hog fuel conveyor caught fire, spreading to several structures and wood waste products. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the spreading fire in the hogging machine caused quite a bit of damage.

2016 Investigation and Recommendations

According to WorksafeBC investigators, the hog machine was inadequately maintained, resulting in a friction fire. They identified three main contributing factors.

The first was hog fuel accumulation under and on conveyors. This hog fuel, sawdust, and wood were very dry in the summer, making them a strong fuel source, so WorkSafeBC recommended regular cleanup moving forward.

The second contributing factor was inadequate training and fire procedures. WorkSafeBC listed a few things that could have been done:

• An employee could have been posted to act as a firewatch during firefighting as well as afterwards to prevent or at least detect the spread of the fire.
• Workers needed the basic skills to fight fires, monitor fire spread, and know when to call the fire department to extinguish the fires.

The third and final factor was that there was no way to detect smouldering fires. In this case, the fire had been detected by a passerby. Investigators stated that smoke detectors could have prevented the fire from spreading.

A Second Incident Occurs

In January 2021, the BC Forest Safety Council released a second Manufacturing Safety Alert. The date and location are not given, but according to that alert, smoke was found inside a hogger. Upon removing the access panels, it was discovered that the blockage in the hogger was causing the grinding, friction, heat, build-up, and smouldering combustion. As an employee used a bar to clear the hogger, a large portion of the room was engulfed in flames. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

One of the most insightful pictures in this Manufacturing Safety Alert shows five workers in the hogger room. They are assembled around the hogger, trying to get it cleared. The top picture shows a flame, which is probably the start of the deflagration. A second picture shows a fireball occupying around 15 per cent or 20 per cent of the room.

The machine is surrounded by fugitive dust, mostly around its base. They don’t go into much detail about what happened except to say there was a deflagration. While clearing the hogger with the bar, the employees may have kicked out the smouldering mass in the vicinity of combustible dust. When the combustible dust was dispersed in the air, there could have been a large flash fire.

Fortunately, there were no injuries. Although the fugitive dust wasn’t enough to cause a pressure rise in the room and destroy equipment, this open-air deflagration directly near the workers was a very dangerous near-miss. It serves as a reminder to be careful when dealing with smouldering masses close to combustible dust.

Recommendations for the Future

In the second alert, the BC Forest Safety Council recommends that when clearing equipment during a potential fire situation, one should always:

• Inspect the area for combustible dust before moving the equipment.
• Ensure the hogger areas are regularly checked for combustible dust to minimize accumulations.
• Review the emergency procedures to ensure they have clear instructions on how to deal with equipment fires.

These measures can control incidents when they do occur, minimize their damage, and save lives.

Sign up at bcforestsafe.org to stay up to date with BC Forest Safety and MAG Group Manufacturing Safety Alerts.

This article originally appeared here and is republished with permission. The article is based on a podcast episode recorded by Dr. Chris Cloney, managing director and lead researcher at DustEx Research Ltd., and was originally released August 9, 2022 on the Dust Safety Science Podcast.

Chris Cloney, PEng., is the managing director and lead researcher for DustEx Research Ltd, a company with a world-wide focus on increasing awareness of combustible dust hazards and reducing personal and financial loss from fire and explosion incidents. 

This article is part of Dust Safety Week 2023. To read more articles on dust safety, click here.

We’ve got tons of great content coming at you this week from our partners, including WorkSafeBC, BC Forest Safety Council, the Wood Pellet Association of Canada, Dust Safety Science, and our sponsor experts.

The Dust Safety Week landing page, hosted on Canadian Biomass, is the year-round hub to learn best practices and find the latest information on wood dust safety.

Find the landing page here and enjoy Dust Safety Week!

Based in Carp, Ont., Capital Timber Co. started up in 2013 when Andrew decided to open up a tree clearing service for the Ottawa Region. A few years later his brother, Greg, was enrolled at Algonquin College’s furniture and cabinet-making program, and started re-purposing the trees his brother was removing for residential and commercial clients.

“I started with a chainsaw mill and was cutting any leftover logs from Andy’s job sites and selling them as slabs,” Greg recalls. “We bought a bandsaw mill in 2017, then I was doing portable milling for people. I would go to their properties with the mill and saw the logs on their property.”

As Andrew removed trees from clients’ properties, he would let them know about Greg’s milling business, and the business slowly picked up.

“People are tuning into the fact they can re-use their trees,” Andrew says.

As customers showed interest in having their trees re-purposed, the two brothers started searching out clients that wanted to repurpose their trees rather than trying to sell slabs to other customers. A few years ago, the two brothers set up their headquarters in Carp and merged the tree removal and wood processing operations in one location.

“If we’re removing someone’s tree on their property, we usually let them know about our services, that we can also saw the trees into lumber if they want something out of it. It’s definitely becoming more popular,” Greg says.

While clearing larger properties, there are a lot of opportunities to salvage the trees and turn them into useable wood products, he says.

“When someone is clearing a property to put up a new building, we’ll come in and clear it for them. And then we’ll work with them to salvage the logs and process them into something that they can use for the new building on the property. In Calabogie, we took down a bunch of oak trees and turned them into flooring for a client,” Greg says.

Another interesting project the Clifford brothers have worked on is clearing a lot to make way for a forestry school for children. 

“It was a few acres, primarily pine trees. We took the trees, processed them all into their requested dimensions, and now they’re getting siding made for the school – over 3,000 square feet of siding,” Greg says. “They have some other wood as well that they’re going to be using for furniture for the building.”

To be able to process larger amounts of logs more efficiently, the brothers recently invested in an upgraded mill, a Wood-Mizer LT40 hydraulic portable sawmill.

They also built a small kiln on their property in 2019 using a Wood-Mizer KD250 dehumidification wood kiln, a shipping container, and a rail conveying system for unloading and loading the wood.

“It’s primarily for our stuff at the moment, like our own lumber that we’re selling, but we rent out the kiln space if people want us to dry something,” Greg says.

Building their own kiln for the first time required some trial and error. 

“Everywhere online had said that the climate is going to dictate how you operate your kiln, how your insulation is going to operate and dictate how you operate,” Greg says. “One thing that we did need to change is the plastic PVC piping, which couldn’t sustain the heat… there’s stuff like that you don’t know until you until you try it.”

Growing pains

(L-R) Andrew and Greg Clifford recently invested in a Wood-Mizer portable sawmill.

Building this business up has come with its own set of challenges for the brothers. 

“There are a lot of upfront costs. The sawmill was expensive, and the trucks and the fuel,” Greg says. 

“Employees are hard to find as well,” Andrew adds. “It’s hard to find people that do all aspects of tree removal work.”

Selling the wood products can also be a challenge for the small company.

“It’s not like it just flies off the shelves,” Greg says, adding that clients sometimes want to haggle over price because they are taking the trees away. 

“People think they’re going to get a good price on their tree because we can sell the wood, but there’s a lot involved between us taking it off your property and turning it into a useful piece of wood. And then you’ve got to process it. You’ve got to dry it. You’ve got it all these costs added to it. We like to have customers that want us to do it for them. That way we already have a buyer,” Greg says. “Otherwise, if we remove a tree from someone’s property and we bring it back to the shop, then we cut it, air dry or kiln dry it, and sell it. It’s a big-time investment.”

Expansion plans

Building a business has come with its own set of challenges for the Clifford brothers.

A large amount of their wood products currently being produced is being resold to a combination of woodworking businesses and hobbyists, but Greg and Andrew have plans to expand their company to take on larger projects and increase their product offerings to include more customized timbers specifically designed for contractors working on projects throughout the Ottawa Region.

“I think that a big part for us is hopefully shifting towards the clients having their trees processed, whether it’s a single tree or it’s a whole bunch of them they had to get removed because they’re putting up a new house or building,” Greg says. “We did a job recently not far from here and the guy cleared three acres of trees. Most of them couldn’t be salvaged for much, but those that we could save, he was adamant on saving. And then when the time comes, he’s going to bring the trees to our sawmill.”

Greg and Andrew really like that their business is contributing to a more sustainable way to remove trees.

“Ideally, we’d be able to utilize everything. We would use all the off-cuts from our sawmill,” Greg says. “We have some people that will come by and they’ll use it for firewood. One guy comes by that makes maple syrup, so he needs to burn a ton of wood. He’ll come and pick stuff up regularly. There’s some money, or at least some use, out of everything. Even the mulch that we chip, it’s not really being used for much, but the people that want it actually need it for a purpose. Whether it’s to fill in a wet part of their property or make trails.”

Well fortunately for our industry, a well-designed and well-maintained circle saw can cut through a log as if it were butter. Yes, my fellow sawfilers and colleagues, we may put more design, planning and effort into making a saw perform its job than the proverbial rocket science necessary to send a rocket into space. 

Allow me to touch on a few things that are in play with this phenomenon. 

RPMs: The circle saw must be operating at the proper RPM. This allows the saw body to stand up and not “wobble or snake” through the wood. Mills want a straight cut and that is what you get with the right tension, proper tooth geometry and correct RPM. Make sure your saw manufacturer is provided with the correct RPM when designing your circle saw. If machinery in the changes always update your saw provider. 

Guides: The guides are the saws best friend or worst enemy. The circle saw should never touch the guide but slip through a thin film of saw lubricant. Because the saw is running between the guides in a very tight space (.002-.003 per side), improperly designed or maintained guides can cause the saw to overheat and lose tension, lay-over, cut bad lumber and cause the mill unscheduled saw changes. Like the saws, a saw guide has critical tolerances that must be maintained. Each run time they should be checked for damage or unusual wear. Changes in saw plate thickness will affect guides. Make sure to consider how a plate thickness change will affect your guides and communicate this with both saw and guide manufacturers or your sales rep.

Machinery: The machine centre that the saws and guides are in must be mentioned if we are to be successful in producing grade lumber products. By documenting upkeep and maintenance done on the machine centre, it’s possible to make good decisions on why saws are not running to the best of their design and help determine when and what maintenance needs to be done on the machine itself. Alignment and wear and tear must be addressed when saws and guides aren’t the issue. 

Data: I recently spent some time with a group of mill professionals and was impressed at the data they had at the touch or swipe of a device. These new sawing systems give mill owners, operators and yes, filers DATA. So, I suggest we use it. Understanding and knowing what happened in the past allows your choices in the future to be successful. Choices that seemed difficult or didn’t pan out in the past can be addressed once data is reviewed and variables identified. The best way to ensure success during each saw run or rocket launch is to document and learn from the success and failures of the past. 

Tracking: If part of your job involves reviewing data, you’ve probably used terms like tracking, drilling down, or unique identifiers. This is the main reason we at SSS/BID Group etch each circle saw we manufacture with an identification number. This number allows both our team and the mill to keep up with the saw’s history, including number of times the saw has been benched, retipped and sharpened. Knowing the history and how the saw(s) ran in the past gives us the knowledge and ability to know what to expect in the future. These identifiers can help track when variables such as hook or kerf are changed. SSS and the BID Group can help your mill with the equipment, tools, and software to accomplish successful sawing. If you are working with another professional saw company, I’m certain they can do the same. 

Paul Smith is a saw filing consultant and founder of Smith Sawmill Service, now part of BID Group. You can reach him at Paul.Smith@bidgroup.ca.

It was in early 1950s when Bernhard Fink, originally a gold miner in Barkerville, B.C., moved to the Hazelton area and started cutting timbers for the underground tunnel supports for local area mines. Along with his daughter Frances and son-in-law Myron Smaha, Bernhard went on to establish a small sawmill and log harvesting business in Smithers, B.C.

“My parents were both teachers, and at night and week-ends, my dad helped his father-in-law in the operations,” says Shari Smaha, Myron and Frances’ daughter. “Both my grandparents passed away at an early age and in the mid-1960s my parents took over the company.”

Not only did Fink’s Sawmill Ltd. celebrate its 60th anniversary last November, but Myron and Frances are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this August.

A true family affair

The company recently celebrated 60 years since incorporation on Nov. 26, 1962. Today, the sawmill is gone but the name Fink’s Sawmill Ltd. lives on as a stump-to-dump logging company. Almost the whole family is now involved, and the 84-year-old Myron is still active in the company, while his 83-year-old wife, Frances, helps in the office and gathers her family around her dinner table every Sunday night.

“My dad is out building roads! He’s always engaged, and his mind is always thinking about the business,” says Shari, who joined the company in 1993 after completing a diploma in financial management. She is currently the office manager. She is currently the office manager. Her brother-in-law, Ryan Klaver, who joined in 2002, holds the bush foreman position. Shari’s son Rylan takes on the heavy-duty mechanic role, along with experience as an operator in bunching, skidding and roadbuilding phases.

“We’re a four-generation family business working together with the goal of carrying on Fink’s Sawmill Ltd.’s existence in this challenging environment,” Shari says.

Six decades of business and busy-ness

Fink’s Sawmill does some 15-20 km of roadbuilding per year. Myron has arranged an impressive mix of roadbuilding equipment comprising a Link-Belt 350X3 excavator with a 72” clean-up bucket, a Cat D6R and a Cat 324D excavator, a Komatsu PC200LC-6, a John Deere D5H track skidder with grapple and a John Deere D5H track skidder with swing boom. The company also has a Komatsu D85 dozer with U-Blade.

Fink’s harvests a diversity of species – pine, spruce and balsam – totalling around 140,000 cubic metres annually. The company does full tree to roadside logging averaging around 0.50 cubic metre per tree of long and short sawlogs, pulp shorts and dry shorts. 

The pulp chips are sent to Pinnacle Renewable Energy’s nearby Smithers pellet plant, while the dry shorts are sent to neighbouring Seaton Forest Products, which produces dry balsam logs into cants and shipping them to a reman facility in Langley.

Fink’s supplies around 113,000 cubic metres annually to Pacific Inland Resources, a division of West Fraser Timber. The average haul distance from Smithers to Pacific Inland Resources has a five-hour cycle, Shari says, and the average skidding and forwarding distance is dependent by block. 

The distance from Smithers and the Pacific Inland Resources mill necessitates a camp situation for the loggers, according to Shari. 

“Our crew stays in individual campshack with camp allowance,” she explains. The crew works a 54-hour work week: 12-hour shifts from Monday to Thursday, and eight hours on Friday. The company employs 14 bush staff and truck drivers. In addition, it hires subcontractors for the trucking and loading phase.

Fink’s has two feller bunchers: a Tigercat 870C and Tigercat X870D. The company’s skidding workhorses are two John Deere 848Hs, one with wide tires; a Tigercat 625C six-wheel skidder, a new Tigercat 635H six-wheel skidder, a John Deere D5H track skidder with grapple, and a John Deere D5H track skidder with swing boom.

“In early 2023, we purchased a 2022 Tigercat 635H 6×6 skidder through Ritchie Bros. to replace existing old skidders and for use in deep snow.  We just picked it up in April, so time should tell how it works out in our operation,” Shari tells CFI.

The decking line-up includes a Tigercat 880 and a Link-Belt 290 log loaders. The log processing line-up at roadside consists of a new Tigercat 850 with a Tigercat head, two Link-Belt 210s with Southstar QS500 heads, and a Cat 320D, also with a Southstar QS500 head.

“We were in the market for a machine that could handle larger piece size, and Parker Pacific brought the Tigercat 850 out as a demo, and the machine ended up staying,” says Shari.  

“Bigger head, bigger machine, less downtime. According to Blair Morgan, our long-term operator who has been a part of Fink’s crew for 28 years, says it has lots of power, handles big wood with no problem, good visibility and the best machine he has ever ran.  There’s also easy access for repairs as compartments opens up to make it easier to work on,” she explains.

Loading is subcontracted out to meet the loads per day requirements. Fink’s Sawmill operates three new Kenworth tridem tractor logging trucks with two Freflyt tridem trailers and one Arctic tridem trailer, as well as a Kenworth and a K-Line lowbed. Fink’s has a fleet of Ford crew cabs and a Ford F550 with Brutus service box for other support duties.

Challenges a plenty

It is no secret that the forest industry, particularly in B.C., is full of challenges lately.Shari says the current low lumber market prices that resulted in mill curtailments are reducing the need for harvesting and thus creating uncertainty.

In addition, the B.C. policies concerning the stumpage system, adjustment in the allocation within the allowable annual cut, and old-growth deferral are having an effect on forestry companies like Fink’s Sawmill.

“We see the major licensees invest outside of BC in areas of Alberta and southern US which is very concerning.  Logging and hauling rates are not keeping up with increased costs and inflation creating further added pressure and uncertainty on contractors such as ourselves,” Shari says. 

“So many factors which are out of our control affect our ability to work, such as our mill’s ability to move their lumber to market is affected due to interruption in logistics, such as services provided by CN Rail,” she explains.  

Another challenge is labour shortage, which is crucial to the company’s operations, according to Shari.

“Skilled operators are the No. 1 asset in our company.”

Family values

The family is proud of their excellent relationship with their staff, suppliers and area contractors, which Shari says is the secret to Fink’s Sawmill’s longevity and success. 

“Open communication, good working and long-term relationship with our mill, our suppliers,  and our logging and trucking contractors are critical,” she adds.  

“The message that I would love to share with CFI readers is the success, determination, work ethic that my parents have. They are providing employment to many families, they are hardworking, honest, fair people. Their 60 years in business in this industry is quite a gem of accomplishment,” Shari shares.

Indeed, Myron and Frances’ 60 years of running the family business, and 60 years of togetherness is a massive feat and cause for a celebration. 

Since 2016, FESBC has worked toward fulfilling a number of significant purposes: to help utilize low-quality forest fibre, accelerate ecological recovery in the aftermath of pine beetle and other damaging events, while at the same time improving wildlife habitat, reducing greenhouse gases, reducing wildfire risk to communities, and achieving other objectives. FESBC has been undertaking a lot of these projects in partnership with First Nations communities, who have long been stewards of the land and have a deep connection to the forests they call home. 

It’s heartening to see that about 30 per cent of the funding approved by FESBC has gone toward projects led by or involving First Nations. At first, FESBC was taken by surprise by the overwhelming interest shown by Nations, but in hindsight, it’s clear that it was a natural fit. The First Nations’ connection to the land and deep-rooted sense of responsibility has made them the perfect partners for these initiatives. The strong caretaker mindset of First Nations communities, combined with their intimate knowledge of the forests, continues to prove to be a real asset in these efforts to restore and protect the land for generations to come.

Tour of the Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation wildfire risk reduction and forest rehabilitation project.

Jeff Mosher, RPF, planning manager, Taan Forest said, “Funding from FESBC allowed us to move forward with treatments to the land, which incorporated Haida culture and will benefit many species like the black bear. The project will also restore forests within the river valley with benefits to salmon and other fish, and many spin-off benefits to goshawk, eagles, saw-whet owls, bats and many other resident and migratory birds.”

The partnerships between the FESBC and First Nations has exceeded all expectations and is transforming the forestry landscape in British Columbia. While the initial basis for the partnership was contractual, FESBC’s approach and business model have allowed for a deeper and potentially transformative relationship to emerge:

• FESBC employs a proponent-driven application model where local people decide what projects they wish to undertake. The Nations themselves propose the projects, so there is never any sense that something is being imposed on them.
• FESBC projects don’t have other baggage to hinder the relationship. FESBC never leverages project funding to extract any form of quid pro quo from the Nations (concessions or consent related to rights, title, accommodation, etc). Without baggage, the relationship can become deeper than just contractual and transactional.
• FESBC funds 100 per cent of project costs that are fair and reasonable on a case-specific basis, including administration. It would be prejudicial to require a financial contribution to the project from a First Nation that doesn’t have a tax base.
• FESBC is willing to take calculated risks outside of the box. For example, FESBC supported a Nation who wanted to use cutting edge, unproven technology to plant tree seeds using GPS-guided drones.
• FESBC is willing to use Indigenous knowledge and let traditional fire-keepers provide leadership on re-establishing ecological balance in fire-prone areas to protect communities from catastrophic wildfires. 
• FESBC allows Nations to lead the projects, which means they plan when, where, and how the projects are carried out. This kind of empowerment can be transformational. 

One of the most innovative and exciting partnerships with First Nations that FESBC has formed is the DroneSeed project with Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (CCR) in the aftermath of a very large complex of wildfires in 2017. In the operational reforestation trial conducted in 2022, drones and hand deployment were used to direct seed an area equivalent to 128 football fields (52 hectares) with thousands of Lodgepole pine and Douglas fir. The seeds were carefully placed in vessels or pods containing a mixture of materials and nutrients to maximize their chances of germination and survival. The success of this project could mean that large areas impacted by fires can be restored much faster than traditional methods, which rely solely on manual planting. This project involved the use of cutting-edge drone technology to replant areas affected by wildfires and other disturbances.

(L-R): Paul Grinder (councillor, Tl’etinqox Government), Dave Conly (former operations manager, FESBC), Grant Canary (CEO, DroneSeed), Percy Guichon (director, CCR) on site for the DroneSeed planting.

This innovative project was bound to invite skeptics, but FESBC was willing to take a calculated risk and support the project, recognizing the potential benefits of using this innovative technology. The partnership with CCR allowed for Tsideldel First Nation and the Tl’etinqox Government, who are joint owners of CCR, to become leaders in forest management in their traditional territories.

Danny Strobbe, former forestry superintendent, Tsi Del Del Enterprises said, “FESBC funding was an efficient way to not only deploy funds in rural communities where the impacts of the mountain pine beetle and wildfires are felt the most, but also created opportunities to leverage private money to do more and build new relationships with other companies and communities.”

Today, FESBC has gained much from such relationships with First Nations, including a greater appreciation for the inter-connectedness of all things in our natural world and in communities. Forestry is not only an engine for local economies and a significant mechanism to achieve environmental goals. It can also be a means to create profound social good. The jobs created in remote and rural areas sometimes do more than just provide a paycheck. Increased self-esteem can result in numerous social benefits from healthier families and healthier communities.

Steve F. Kozuki is the executive director of the Forest Enhancement Society of BC.

Hofer traces his sector roots to 1993 when he got a management trainee job at a sawmill in Nanaimo, B.C. There he learned all aspects of lumber manufacturing, and it launched a life-long passion for the industry. 

Today, he’s steering Western into a new era of forestry where in companies carefully consider the full climate solution of their products, long-term land stewardship, and inclusive partnerships.

CFI: You’ve held a number of positions with forest industry companies over the years. What drew you to forestry initially, and what kept you in it? 

The very beginning for me was in 1993. I was a management trainee with Pacific Forest Products. They had private timberland and sawmill manufacturing complexes on Vancouver Island, primarily focused on the export market. As a trainee, it was everything from quality control, planer and sawmill supervisor, log buyer – it was an outstanding formative experience. I was fortunate to have some really good mentors. That was the launching pad for my career. 

Pacific was later sold off to Doman Industries (the sawmills) and TimberWest (timberlands). Today those timberlands are Mosaic Forest Management and, the only sawmill left, is Western’s Saltair division. 

Each career choice after that was pretty strategic. I stayed in the industry because I found it let me explore all of the career aspirations that I could ever imagine – whether it was on the international marketing side, the product development side, the operational side, or the technology and leading-edge initiatives that normally you wouldn’t see in a traditional industry. 

I’m coming up to 30 years and it’s a really unique opportunity to think about how the industry has evolved. Thirty years ago, I don’t think anybody understood carbon sequestration and the role of a healthy working forest when it comes to climate change and wood’s ability to sequester carbon into the most beautiful building products in the world. Here we are today with a much more enhanced value proposition to all the different stakeholders. 

CFI: What appealed to you about taking the reins of Western Forest Products? 

I was at BID Group before Western. We were doing really fun, exciting work on the other side of the business, providing leading edge equipment, technology and construction services to the industry. When I got the call from Western asking if I would be interested, I immediately thought back to the fact that this is where my career started. 

I don’t say it lightly, but it was something I felt I needed to do to ensure that the company would be able to position itself for continued long-term success in the communities that I know really well – families and customers I have known for 30 years. It was a calling to come back and help position this business for the next generation of leaders. We are one of the largest employers on the coast. It’s meaningful for these communities, families, schools and health care facilities that we’re successful, profitable and engaged with the community. 

The work that Western is doing working with our Indigenous partners I would call at the leading edge. We’re really defining a new era of sustainability and stewardship in the forest sector. We’re finding a way to create economic opportunities for everyone. One of the themes I’m hearing from the First Nations Chiefs that I interface with is, how can Western help break the cycle of poverty in these communities. We don’t have all the answers today, but we’re going to be able to do that by creating new opportunities. It comes from a different business model than what we’ve had in the past. 

CFI: What are your goals for the company as you continue to settle into the role?

For me, the first few months were about onboarding and understanding the people, roles, and culture and cadence of the company. I spent the first three months getting out to visit all of our operations. The last four months were about laying out our strategic priorities as we think about how we transform our business. 

At our core is a culture around safety. It’s really about understanding our risks and how you mitigate that. Our manufacturing facilities are older so they’re not as automated as other mills. We still have people touching lumber. So we’re mitigating those risks and ensuring that at every level they know that safety is critical. 

We’re also doing some unique work around diversity and inclusion. We operate in unique communities and it’s about providing opportunities – whether it’s for women, minorities, First Nations, we’re letting them know that the door is open. We have exciting opportunities for a career with personal and professional development. 

The next piece is about environmental stewardship. This is a really unique piece of Western’s story – we’re taking a different approach to developing Integrated Resource Management Plans. This is looking at our timberlands in consultation with the respective First Nations on whose traditional territories we are operating. We’re working side-by-side with the Nations to develop a forest landscape plan that looks out 250 plus years. 

Another piece is looking at how we position our manufacturing business to become world-class in terms of its operating structure. We’re moving forward with a manufacturing optimization plan to address that, to extract higher-value building products. That ties to our growth in engineered wood and participating in the mass timber space. We’re going to continue to invest in that. 

Lasty, it’s arecognition around alternative revenue streams. We’re just getting started identifying how we can extract more revenue from our residuals. That might be waste leftover on timberlands, or residuals from operations. We’re also looking at how we can participate in the overall carbon credit trading market.

CFI: What do you see as the biggest challenges for B.C.’s coastal forest sector today, and in the future? 

Certainly the softwood lumber dispute is a long-standing issue and we in industry believe there is an opportunity here, perhaps in the short-term, to see a settlement. In my view, this one has gone on too long. There’s over $9 billion now on deposit. We need to resolve it. There is always going to be a need for lumber imports into the U.S. to satisfy their overall demand and today a lot of that is coming from Europe without any trade mechanism in place for European wood. It’s time for us to figure out a path forward. 

There is a significant shortage of labour and skills available to our industry so there is this whole question around how we attract more people and promote these great opportunities. We’re fostering greater inclusion and looking at how we can support kids coming up through high school and thinking about their careers. You don’t need a four-year university degree for a rewarding career.

And one that will be no surprise is the uncertainty around fibre supply. When we think about recapitalization of our assets in B.C., the No. 1 question I ask, our board asks, our shareholders ask: do you have confidence around fibre supply. Our proactive engagement with First Nations is addressing that, working in a unique environment where you lay out a collective vision of what the land base will look like 150 years, and how that can become an annual operating plan. That creates certainty of supply and, if you do it in the right way, I honestly believe for the first time in the last 20 years on the B.C. Coast, you will have certainty of supply. But it’s going to take that type of commitment to build plans from the ground up. It takes time. 

CFI: We talk about social license a lot in the forest industry. What’s your take on it personally and as a company?

From a personal side, I believe that social license is about doing the right things at every level. The basics are how you treat people, how you talk to people, your professionalism, integrity, and honesty. You earn it everyday by doing the right things. 

Thinking about the company and the communities that we operate in, it’s about respecting their rights. We try to build that into every engagement, every opportunity for collaboration as we think about these long-term plans. These resource management plans we’re doing don’t start in Victoria or Vancouver – they start in the small community of Woss, or Port McNeil, or Port Hardy. I think you get awarded social license when you have that level of community commitment. We have to have a listening mindset. We don’t get to dictate the terms, it’s highly co-operative based on mutual respect. 

I believe in transparency and reporting. We have strong accountability in our governance practices. We have a well-resourced whistle-blower policy. If someone sees something they don’t feel is in accordance with our core values or is illegal or not right from an environmental standpoint, if they don’t feel they’re being listened to by their peers, supervisor or anyone, including the CEO, call in the whistler-blower line. It goes directly to the chair of our board’s audit committee. We think that’s an important piece about our social license inside our company. 

CFI: Where do you draw inspiration from as a leader in the forest sector? 

What I really love about our industry and our company here at Western are the people. We have exceptional people, really passionate subject matter experts, committed to their communities. They want to do what’s right. They believe in our opportunity to be a part of the communities, that new working relationship with First Nations, and to be a part of the climate solution. 

When I wake up in the morning I think about how I can, as the CEO of Western, continue to lead and motivate and encourage our people to do the right things, to do them safely, and based on the solutions we know we need to be focused on. My role is to coach and lead. I’m here to share a vision and articulate what that vision is and what those steps are. And then to have a little fun as well. 

We all work really hard, and in some difficult environments. When I think about those people who get up at 4 a.m. to be on the side of a mountain with a chainsaw, that’s not easy work. They need to know that their CEO is aware, is grateful, and is supporting them in the work that they’re doing everyday. 

For me, when I think about where I see the potential of Western, I want to be a part of that. I want to play a small role in helping transform this business. 

As global temperatures rise, trees in colder areas are benefiting from an extended growing season. A longer growing season results in thicker growth rings and, as a result, higher overall wood production.

This article is part of La Conversation Canada’s series The boreal forest: A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers

La Conversation Canada invites you to take a virtual walk in the heart of the boreal forest. In this series, our experts focus on management and sustainable development issues, natural disturbances, the ecology of terrestrial wildlife and aquatic ecosystems, northern agriculture and the cultural and economic importance of the boreal forest for Indigenous peoples. We hope you have a pleasant — and informative — walk through the forest!

However, studies suggest that longer growing seasons contribute to weakening the wood, making trees structurally weaker. The poor quality of wood means that trunks break more easily.

We are forest ecologists who specialize in the anatomy and growth of wood. Let’s examine the most recent scientific studies available to try to map the future of our forests and analyze how the changing growing season is determining the characteristics of the wood produced.

Wood: What is it?

Wood is the product of the progressive accumulation of cells — xylem cells — in trees. The purpose of this accumulation is to renew the sap transport system and to provide mechanical support for the stem (trunk), branches and leaves.

A tree ring is the product of a growing season which, in temperate and boreal environments, runs from spring to autumn. Each year a new growth ring is formed. The thickness of a ring is dependent on a combination of factors inherent to the tree (its species and genetic factors) and environmental factors (such as soil type, sun exposure, climate and competition between neighbouring trees).

In some species, especially in conifers, it can be quite easy to distinguish the rings from each other. This is due to the fact that during the growing season the tree produces two types of wood, characterized by cells with different forms and functions.

In spring, the tree produces many large, light-coloured cells with a thin cell wall. This part of the annual ring is called “earlywood.” In late summer, growth slows down. The cells become smaller, but their walls become thicker. This “latewood” is the darker portion of the annual ring.

The characteristics of the cells of wood are particularly important and are of great interest in ecological and economic terms. First of all, wood cell walls stock most of the carbon assimilated from the atmosphere by trees. Thus, a thicker cell wall means the tree is absorbing a greater amount of carbon. Secondly, the ratio of the number of earlywood cells to latewood cells determines the density of the wood, and, therefore, its potential use and material value.

Trees are growing faster

Over the past century, in the temperate regions of North America and Europe, trees have shown a faster growth rate, up to 77 per cent higher than in the previous century. This increase is related to the production of thicker growth rings.

At first sight, faster growth could be interpreted as higher biomass production, which would lead to a higher carbon storage capacity and, therefore, a greater contribution of our forests to the fight against climate change. In other words, a higher growth rate could mean that more wood would be available for our different needs.

But as William Shakespeare wrote: “Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises.”

Trees die younger

A study by the Technical University of Munich in Germany analyzed the growth rate of trees and the characteristics of their wood over the last century. They found that as the growth rate increased, the density of the wood dropped by eight to 12 per cent.

Furthermore, as wood density decreased, their carbon content also decreased by about 50 per cent. This suggested that the trees extracted less carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

In addition to a reduced capacity to absorb and store atmospheric carbon, reduced wood density can weaken the structural strength of the stems. Wood fulfils the important function of supporting trees. Reducing its density is therefore accompanied by a lower resistance to mechanical stresses that might come from wind or the effect of gravity on steep slopes.

To complicate matters further, another recent study has shown an association between growth and lifespan in trees: fast-growing trees have a shorter life expectancy.

Too much is not enough

In our latest study, we quantified the relationships between the length of growing season, productivity and wood cell characteristics in balsam fir.

The study confirmed that trees with a longer growing season produce more wood cells and a thicker growth ring. However, higher growth also corresponds to a change in the ratio between the amount of earlywood and latewood. For every day that the growing season length increased, the trees produced one more cell of earlywood.

The increase in the ratio between earlywood and latewood is reflected in the decrease in wood density. This shows that an increase in volume growth does not necessarily correspond to a higher biomass production.

What does the future hold for our forests?

The global average temperature has exceeded the pre-industrial average by about 1.15°C (1850-1900), and is expected to rise further in the coming years. Warmer temperatures could lengthen the growing season of trees and consequently increase their growth rate.

While, on the one hand, this may lead to an expansion of forests globally, the rate of carbon uptake from forests is likely to decrease.

Although our forests will make a substantial contribution to the fight against climate change, the results of these studies are further evidence that environmental problems cannot be solved without taking direct action on the causes that trigger global change.

In the context of climate change, reducing the anthropogenic emissions that cause global warming is not something we can afford to negotiate or postpone.

Roberto Silvestro, PhD Candidate, Biology, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) and Sergio Rossi, Professor, Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

“It’s the toughest time to be in the industry. I’ve been told, ‘you’re crazy for getting involved in logging – can’t you see what’s happening?’” Mazereeuw smiles as he recalls the company’s start over a cup of coffee. Mazereeuw sat down with Canadian Forest Industries in neighbouring Prince George, B.C., in April and spoke about the highs and lows of starting a logging company in today’s business climate.

From just an idea to reality

Mazereeuw is used to hard work, being raised on a ranch. His family has been involved in the logging and cattle industries since his grandfather moved to Canada from the Netherlands after World War II. His father, Matt Mazereeuw, 51, ventured into silviculture, introducing his son to logging at a young age.

“I started at 15, first with hand-slashing on power lines for Stephen Bros. Contracting, until I was old enough to get a driver’s license.”

That driver’s license allowed him to do an apprenticeship, which proved to be a game-changer, as he learned skills that then allowed him to spread his wings and work for other contractors. 

“It was a big learning curve. They run their own fleet of custom-built mowing machines, so I learned how to maintain those machines and be trained as a heavy-duty mechanic.”

He moved on to do repairs and maintenance work on a fleet of 30 pieces of logging equipment for Walter Neufeld Contracting (WNC). He then worked for Brandt Tractor, exposing him to more equipment used in other industries, while also learning about running a dealership business and acquiring people skills in the process.

A decade after, at the ripe age of 25 and supported by his wife Hannah Mazereeuw, he invested and bought logging and roadbuilding equipment from WNC to start Mazereeuw Timber in Nov. 2022.

Fleet and family

Mazereeuw’s fleet is impressive, consisting of a Tigercat 880 loader; a Tigercat 630E skidder; a Tigercat X870D buncher; a Hitachi 210 excavator with a WBM power clam, plus digging and cleanup buckets and rake;  a Hitachi 210 processor with a Waratah 622B head; a John Deere 1270G harvester; a John Deere 1910E forwarder; a Ponsse Scorpion harvester; a Ponsse Elephant King forwarder; a Caterpillar D7R XR2 crawler dozer; a 2019 Western Star 4900SB with a Peerless lowbed; and a 2018 Freightliner M2 rigged with Brutus service body.

“For operators, I have a guy for each machine. We do all our own low bedding and road building. My dad is the man behind all of that. Hauling distances are very dependent on the block – trucks make anywhere from one to three trips to the mill a day.”

Buying the equipment involved a massive investment, but where the huge savings come is in the upkeep of these expensive machines.

“Maintenance is a very big part of the cost of running a business, but I am very familiar with this fleet of equipment and the biggest advantage for me is that I can fix all of it myself.”

His wife Hannah is also very much involved in running the show, even in her current pregnancy phase. The 22-year-old is due to give birth to the couple’s first child in June, but is keeping herself busy supporting the logging business by handling paper works, safety matters, even manual labour sometimes and moral support at all times.

“My wife helps with running parts, piloting machines on the move, even helps me fix machines, and is a huge moral support.”

His army also includes his mother Barb, 45, who helps with banking and bookkeeping, among other duties. 

“She also details all the machines and pickups for me a couple times a year, and makes sure all our safety equipment is current and present in all the machinery and pickups.”

Lastly, he gets plenty of support, safeguarding and a lot of licks from Mae, his German shepherd, who he describes as the real boss.

Business at a glance

Mazereeuw’s target as far as volume is to move roughly 130,000 cubic metres a year in any form of wood, from 0.15-0.75 cubic metre per piece. The tree size that they harvest is usually from 6- to 30-in. in diameter, but more commonly on the lower end of the scale.

“This is more of a specialized take on logging. We are very focused on the finish product as far as what gets sent in, but more so what we leave the bush looking like. This needs to be a sustainable industry. How we leave these sites matters to us as much as anything. We’ll always be working in the cut-to-length sector, with max piece length at 33 ft.”

He adds, “That’s about the max that we will put on the forwarders. But lots of lengths are cut in the 12- to 20-ft. range as well. I log mostly pine and spruce. Some stands have pretty large amounts of balsam but that is about the big 3. We have done some blocks that go almost entirely to pulp.”

When in full production, an average day is “never really shorter than the 12-hour mark when driving is included.”

All the timber goes to Canfor’s Plateau sawmill in Vanderhoof. Sometimes the wood is sold through Canfor and winds up at other local mills.

Pulp goes to Arrow Group of Companies’ biomass power generation facility in Fort St James. Some goes to BC Custom Timber Products in Vanderhoof to be chipped. 

“The pulp outlet is a huge asset. It allows us to get maximum utilization out of every piece we handle and erases the need for burn piles, especially when we are using these harvesters and forwarders. All the limb debris is left where the tree is harvested to break down and get right back into the ecosystem.”

Business not as usual

Although he is excited for the future, he acknowledges that times are hard. 

“Now is a pretty rough time, especially with a startup – it’s a big load on the shoulders, that’s for sure,” he sighs. “I’m trying not to focus on all the negatives in the industry and the economy, however payments never cease to show up and the bank account always needs to be topped up.”

Mazereeuw says he has to keep options open for work – whatever it may be – to keep his company above water. 

“I’m relying heavily on my roots as a heavy-duty mechanic to pick up some income and stay busy while the world figures itself out. I think there’s a future in logging, not with clear cutting and leaving wide open acres in the bush, but with the selective approach we are taking with the harvesters and forwarders and focusing largely on retention,” he says.

“There is not a lot of guys logging in this style in the area, so it’s tough to get the idea of what can be done in the bush out there.”

As far as old growth trees, Mazereeuw says anyone who works in the bush can see that forests need to be managed. 

“Not clearcutting, but selectively picked through and groomed to something that will prevent the wildfires we’ve had. Also, to get rid of old rotten growth and blow down trees, which will only promote the growth of juvenile timbers, which is the future of our forests. It will also promote stewardship of the animals in these areas.”

While his main priorities will soon include his newborn, he is looking forward to continue building his business, with the goal of passing it on to his children in the future.

So, here’s your chance to shine the spotlight on the superstars you know. Maybe it’s that awe-inspiring entrepreneur, the sawmill genius, the machine wizard, the extraordinary logger, or the visionary forester who’s changing the game. We want to hear about them!

To nominate someone, just head over to www.woodbusiness.ca/top-10-under-40 to fill out the nomination form. Don’t hold back – tell us all about their incredible achievements and why they’re so  impressive. If you’ve got any testimonials, portfolios, or cool stuff to back them up, even better!

But hey, time is of the essence. The deadline is August 5th, 2023. So, make sure you get those nominations in before the clock runs out.

We’ll be on the lookout for the cream of the crop – the folks who’ve pushed boundaries and made a real difference. The chosen nominees will become part of an exclusive group, inspiring others and leaving their mark on the world.

Who can be nominated?

Nominations are open for anyone in the logging, sawmilling or associated industries who is under the age of 40 as of December 31, 2022. Equipment and technology suppliers are also welcome.

Strong work ethic, leadership by example and efforts to grow the quality of our industry will be acknowledged.

We’re excited to see your nominations pour in and celebrate the best of the best in 2023. These incredible young individuals are raising the bar and making things happen, so let’s give them the recognition they truly deserve!

Winners will receive a certificate and be featured in the September/October 2023 issue of CFI.

Need some inspiration? Check out last year’s Top 10 Under 40 winners.

Submit your nominations!

Work-related hand injuries are one of the leading reasons workers end up in the emergency room, but they can be prevented with effective safety measures and by following the hierarchy of controls – a safety management system that prioritizes the most effective ways to control hazards, starting with eliminating or substituting the hazard, then engineering controls, administrative controls, and finally, personal protective equipment (PPE). Let’s discuss how each of these controls can be applied to prevent hand injuries in sawmills.

Elimination/substitution

The most effective way to prevent hand injuries is to eliminate the hazard altogether. In sawmills, this may not always be possible, but some tasks can be substituted with less hazardous ones, reducing the risk of injury. For example, using an automated saw instead of a manual saw can significantly reduce the risk of hand injuries.

Engineering controls

Engineering controls involve designing equipment and processes to minimize the risk of injury. In sawmills, this may include installing guards on saws and other equipment to prevent contact with hands or designing machinery to minimize pinch points. Another example of an engineering control is installing safety interlocks on machinery.

Administrative controls

Administrative controls are policies and procedures that help to reduce the risk of injury. In sawmills, this can include proper training on machine operation and safety protocols, and job rotation to reduce repetitive motion injuries.

Personal protective equipment

Although PPE including gloves are the last line of defense against hand injuries, they can reduce injuries in your sawmill. Glove technology has come a long way in the last five to 10 years and completing a full glove assessment and implementing gloves with high puncture and cut resistance can greatly reduce the severity and frequency of injuries. 

New breakthroughs

Nudge theory, a behavioural economics concept, has recently been incorporated into hand safety programs to improve hand safety. Nudge theory uses positive reinforcement to influence behaviour, such as providing feedback to workers on their safety performance. This method has been successful in encouraging workers to wear gloves and follow safety protocols.

Best practices in sawmills

To prevent various types of hand injuries, employers can implement a range of hand safety best practices. Here are some key recommendations:

• Conduct a hazard assessment to identify areas of the workplace where workers are at risk of hand injuries.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive hand safety program that incorporates the hierarchy of controls mentioned above.
• Implement engineering controls, such as guards on saw blades and safety interlocks on machinery.
• Conduct regular hazard assessments to identify areas of the workplace where workers are at risk of hand injuries. 
• Look for and control physical hazards such as pinch points, sharp edges and unguarded chains and sprockets. For example: handrails near an operator can be a cause of many “struck by” hand injuries when using a pike pole.
• Management and safety committee members will want to perform workstation ergonomics assessments looking at tasks specific to material handling, hand placement and other situations that can lead to repetitive strain injuries. 
• Develop and implement administrative controls, such as hand safety training programs, hand tool training, equipment inspections, and PPE/glove protocols. 
• Working directly with a glove manufacturer, perform a full glove assessment across your company. 
• Provide the correct gloves to workers and ensure they use them correctly and consistently.
• Ensure supervisors are inspecting their workers gloves at least weekly.
• Develop a culture of safety by encouraging workers to report hazards and incidents and involve them in the development of hand safety policies and procedures.
• Promote hand safety by introducing nudge-based interventions such as:
• Use colour-coded PPE that is specific to hand safety, such as gloves and sleeves. It can make it easier for workers to identify and use the appropriate equipment.
• Use visual reminders such as posters or signs that remind or warn workers about hand safety hazards in specific areas where hand injuries are prevalent and cannot be eliminated. 
• Use positive reinforcement by recognizing workers who practice good hand safety habits. This nudge-based intervention can create a positive safety culture and help workers feel motivated to work safely. 

Hand injuries in sawmills can be prevented by implementing effective safety measures and following the hierarchy of controls. Workers must be trained on safety protocols and provided with the necessary equipment and resources to reduce the risk of injury. New breakthroughs such as nudge theory and the promotion of safety culture can further improve hand safety in sawmills. Remember, preventing hand injuries is everyone’s responsibility, and together we can make sawmills safer places to work.

Patrick McDonald is a safety specialist at Canfor, with over 15 years of experience working as a safety professional in Canada. He specializes in developing safety solutions in the industrial manufacturing industry. 

The Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative (SIFCo) embarked on the journey of wildfire risk reduction long before this work came on the general public’s radar, emphasizing the urgency of addressing this pressing issue proactively.

Today, with the invaluable financial support of the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), the forestry cooperative has made significant strides toward reducing wildfire risk, climate change adaptation and setting a remarkable example for others.

SIFCo was formed from the local community’s long-standing aspiration for local control of area forests. In response to the availability of community forest licenses, SIFCo seized the opportunity and has been guided by the principles of embracing diverse perspectives and value systems of residents in relation to forestry. After obtaining approval for its forest stewardship plan in January 2009, SIFCo solidified its commitment by signing a 25-year community forest agreement with the province of British Columbia in December 2011.

“As we increasingly face the impacts of a changing climate, we must take a proactive approach to managing wildfire risk,” said Bruce Ralston, minister of forests. “Supporting the organizations who are leading this work like the Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative is crucial in making the fight against wildfires a year-round, dedicated activity. SIFCo has committed years to mitigating wildfire risk. With this support, they can continue to ensure our forests are resilient and our communities, homes and businesses are protected.”

Early on, SIFCo realized the importance of landscape-level planning, which in SIFCo’s words is ‘the art and science of developing land management plans’ for tenured areas or areas the provincial government grants the rights to for harvesting timber, which included developing a first-of-its-kind Strategic Wildfire Protection Plan (SWPP) among tenure holders in B.C. In 2017, SIFCo looked to FESBC for funding support to implement their landscape-level SWPP and since then, a total of $2.25 million has been granted from FESBC to SIFCo for wildfire mitigation work.

According to Stephan Martineau, manager of SIFCo, “We have made significant progress toward completing our ground- breaking plan which aims to mitigate wildfire risks and better protect the region’s cherished natural resources. FESBC’s support has been instrumental in our progress toward landscape-level wildfire mitigation, ecosystem enhancement, and climate change adaptation. Their commitment to our vision has eliminated obstacles and paved the way for a resilient future.”

The work undertaken by SIFCo through FESBC funding has essentially created and/or been part of creating over 1,000 hectares of fuel-managed areas, leaving behind a more resilient forest landscape and helping better safeguard both the community and the environment.

Part of the planning involved designating 12 specific areas called fuel management zones in strategic locations along potential paths where fires could spread. These areas were identified using a tool called FlamMap, a desktop application also used by the U.S. Forest Service. FlamMap allowed SIFCo to input data and virtually simulate fires, providing a realistic understanding of fire dynamics based on specified conditions such as aspect, slope, moisture content, temperature, and wind speed. By harnessing this technology, SIFCo was able to strategically focus its treatment zones in areas where wildfires were more likely to travel and where treatments could reduce wildfire behaviours, ensuring effective wildfire mitigation and protection for the community and its surroundings.

These fuel management zones act as anchor spaces that separate potential fuel sources from infrastructure and can cover hundreds of hectares, the zones are invaluable in the event of a wildfire. Within these zones, SIFCo uses four different approaches to manage the vegetation, including restoring the natural balance of the ecosystem through prescribed burns. According to Martineau, landscape-level planning integrates fire risks into resource management decisions, acknowledging the role of wildfires in the ecosystem. Drawing from landscape ecology, which examines the flow of life, materials, and energy in landscapes, strategic options like fuel reduction, strategic fuel breaks, and resilient forest types are considered.

“Understanding how human actions shape landscapes and recognizing the significance of wildfires in managing forests is also vital for creating communities resilient to fire,” stressed Martineau. “With climate change predictions pointing to a rise in wildfires, it’s crucial that we change the way fire spreads through the forest by reducing fuel loads now. This is the key to preserving the beautiful forests we cherish for generations to come. As a forestry cooperative, we believe it’s our duty to care for the land in a way that benefits us now and ensures a better future for all.”

A key part of the work undertaken by SIFCo is focused on climate change adaptation which SIFCo has wholeheartedly embraced, resulting in a comprehensive transformation of its forestry operations. Its unwavering commitment to this cause has made climate change adaptation the guiding principle in every aspect of its forestry endeavours.

“We have been proactive in applying a holistic response to rapidly changing climate conditions in our bioregion. We try to foresee where we will need to be 10 to 20 years from now, and then we implement — both as an organization and in our relationship with the land base we steward — actions in the present that will prepare the ground for a resilient future,” explained Martineau.

SIFCo’s foresight has meant they are already implementing advanced forestry management practices including strategic Wildland Urban Interface re-treatment. “Now that we have created these 12 strategic Fuel Mitigation Zones, we need to maintain them,” says Martineau. This approach involves SIFCo setting aside a budget to implement maintenance re- treatments seven to 10 years after the initial treatment, effectively managing small coniferous regeneration, and ensuring cost-effective fuel management while preserving previous investments. The good news is that re-treatment so far has cost an average of 15 per cent of what the initial investment was.

“The lesson here is that the initial investment is critical, but once you have made it, the cost of maintaining the work is dramatically reduced. Very few companies have been at this for 15 years, so our data is very encouraging in terms of both industry and government investments in fuel mitigation,” concluded Martineau.

“It is impressive that SIFCo is already at this stage where they are proactively funding and implementing their own re- treatment program,” said Brian Watson, RPF, operations manager with FESBC. “Their efforts not only demonstrate a cost- effective strategy for community protection but also serve as an impressive demonstration of how a region can approach landscape-scale climate change adaptation and wildfire preparedness. The evolution of SIFCo’s exemplary work sets a valuable precedent for others implementing wildfire risk reduction programs throughout the province.”

A holistic approach to wildfire resiliency combines people with skills and knowledge from various fire and forest specialties – boots on the ground, fire behaviour and ecology, fuels and suppression, fire modelling technology specialists and predictive services, community level educators, silviculture reforestation specialists – and positive relationships with government planners, local communities and First Nations, B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) and other government services and associations. 

Forsite is working to mitigate landscape level wildfire risk for our clients by using this holistic approach and designing and providing solutions at the landscape level. In the past, community protection has been approached at too small of scale – 100 metres of FireSmart treatments as a fuel break, for example. Implementing mitigation solutions at a large scale often requires machinery, removal of large amounts of biomass, and collaboration between forest licensees, First Nations and communities. Undertaking such operations in the WUI requires an approach that balances fire behaviour reduction objectives with minimizing (or possibly enhancing) impacts on cultural, ecological, and social values on the landscape. Several such landscape level fuel breaks have been developed within the Thompson-Okanagan area of B.C. in the last six years; with four of these being tested by extreme wildfire in 2020 and 2021. 

Forsite has been active within the Logan Lake Community Forest (60 km southwest of Kamloops, B.C.) for eight years. Small-scale FireSmart treatments within the community began decades ago. A relatively recent development, however, has been thinning forests with machinery, and in conjunction with fibre removal. Timber removal operations within the WUI has not been a standard practice and required consulting with First Nations and extensive public input, to balance community protection with the protection of values. 

Landscape fuel break (within red line) surrounding Westshore Estates showing how it worked to stop the White Rock Lake fire from reaching the community (2021).

Treatments along the southern interface of the community were put to the test during the extreme fire season of 2021 when the Tremont Creek Fire raced towards the community. Due to the reduced fuel loading along the southern perimeter of the community, BCWS and industry were able to anchor suppression tactics and utilize planned ignition to burn off fuel ahead of the approaching fire. This tactic, combined with the use of sprinkler protection within the community, resulted in successful protection of the community with no structural losses. 

Similarly, Frontline Operations Group (recently merged with Forsite) had a similar experience with Westshore Estates (located 40 km southwest of Vernon) and the White Rock Lake fire in 2021. Through work with the Okanagan Indian Band, a landscape level fuel break of approximately 100 ha around the community was developed. The break was anchored into an existing road and was over a kilometer in width at the southern end. 

Knowing the fuel break was in place, the structural protection team assigned this flank of the fire set up an extensive water delivery system with mass water delivery, storage tanks, and sprinkler systems. On the night of August 13th, the fire, aided by strong winds, burst out of the Whiteman Creek drainage and headed south towards the community. The fire spotted into the fuel break at the southern end, igniting unburned piles within the fuel break and burning 700m in before suppression tactics brought it under control.  The well anchored fuel break, and reduced fire intensity resulting from lower fuel loads, allowed structural fire fighters to utilize the provided safe defensible space and action the wildfire. Through gaining a social license to operate immediately behind peoples’ homes in the WUI, in stands that hold great social value, an environment was created that could only support low intensity wildfire, and it allowed fire professionals to safely implement suppression tactics against extreme fire behaviour.

The breaks would only have been further enhanced if prescribed burning was utilized post-treatment to abate fuel resulting from the treatment activities.  Use of burning would have abated the woody fuels as well as consumed accumulated dead grass loading to further reduce fire behaviour and the fire rate of spread attributed to this fuel layer.  Further support of Indigenous led cultural burning will help return ecosystems to pre-settlement condition where forests and grasslands were more absorbent and resilient to natural fire.

BCWS has some keen young people in key positions to steer wildland fire and wildfire management into the future, including the use of prescribed burning. Similarly, licensees are more open to the integration of wildland fire, and burning, into their planning and operations. As movements are made towards integrating fire back into ecosystem management, key steps are needed to facilitate training, knowledge, and proper usage of prescribed burning, a skill mostly lost among forest professionals today. Understanding how to manage issues around liability associated with the use of fire is another key step forward. 

Meaningful movement towards addressing wildfire risk at an appropriate scale has occurred in the last six years, which coincidentally overlapped with three of the worst fire seasons in B.C. This momentum needs to continue. It will be uncomfortable and uncharted at times, but we must use the losses of these past years and the positive lessons from our successes to leap towards appropriate management decisions. Now is not the time to pump the brakes. Rather we need steady and meaningful acceleration into the future! 

John Davies, RPF, is a local FireSmart representative and the manager of the new Forsite fire business unit. He has spent over 35 years working in every corner of B.C. timber cruising, tree planting and fighting forest fires, with the last 20 years focused solely on wildfire management consulting.

There are many other inspiring stories worth celebrating in these 52 pages: Indigenous partnerships in the forestry sector; communities working together towards wildfire resiliency; well-attended industry events that addressed the pressing issues of the sector; an industry leader steering his company into a new era of forestry; tools to improve one’s return on investment in a difficult business climate; and of course improving safety and making the industry more female-friendly, which are always a cause for celebration and are always sources of inspiration.

Speaking of milestones, I am celebrating one myself: on May 30, it will be a year since I assumed the role of editor for Canadian Forest Industries. It’s been a year since I’ve been entrusted with the journalistic legacy of CFI, Canada’s leading forest industries magazine since 1881, and I take that responsibility seriously.

In a year, I’ve been fortunate to have visited several sawmills and woodlands from coast to coast; hosted and attended many industry events, both virtually and in person; and spoke to a lot of you, which allowed me to put together six fabulous editions, if I may say so. I am committed to continue to produce quality issues, and with your help, I can keep reporting about our industry.

I would like to use the occasion of my first CFI birthday to re-introduce myself to anyone who missed it the first time around. I now have some 25 years of industry and journalistic experience. I came to CFI from FPInnovations, where I was an editor and media relations specialist. I have held editorial positions in various media – including prior stints at international forest industry publications such as Pulp & Paper Canada, and Fastmarkets RISI’s Pulp & Paper International (Brussels, Belgium), and Pulp & Paper Asia News (Singapore). In between, I wrote and edited for international outlets such as Financial Times, Forbes, Newsweek, and Montreal Gazette, among others.

I want to reiterate that your engagement with what we put out every day is very important to me because I may be the editor, but this is your CFI.  Please continue to email, tweet and DM us on social media, or simply like, heart or tag us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Tell me what you would like to read more of – who and what you would like to see being featured and profiled. Most of our stories are based on your suggestions – your input is crucial in publishing high quality stories and in-depth articles that you have come to expect in every issue. If you have a story idea, write to us – or even better, write for us! 

The return of in-person events in the past year really helped me in presenting unique and helpful content simply by my conversations with a lot of you. I look forward to meeting more of you – let’s keep inspiring each other and see you soon at future events. 

For now, enjoy the comprehensive features we have for you in this edition of CFI.

Read the May/June issue now!

Investing in equipment that can be rebuilt, leveraging new technologies and partnering with trusted, informed dealers can all help support your current and future business needs. With the right maintenance and fleet strategy you can leverage your equipment to help retain and attract operators, improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase safety, all while meeting current and future sustainability goals. 

Replace inventory with information

Improving productivity and reducing expenses are top goals for any logger. But knowing how to get there can be the biggest challenge. Technology advancements in forestry equipment, like telematics, can capture real-time data – helping you complete projects with greater insight, collaboration and efficiency. And as technology continues to improve, connectivity for remote forestry locations is easier than ever before. Software updates can be sent directly to the machine on the jobsite without having to wait for a technician to arrive.  

When leveraged properly, data has enormous potential – it can unlock meaningful insight to help reduce costs, minimize downtime and identify problem areas or operator-induced fault codes on your equipment. The right dealer can support you on this journey by setting up instant alerts, monthly reports and identifying areas of opportunity or improvement. 

As technology has advanced, so has the quality of equipment. Longer oil change intervals and filter quality is extending machine life, helping to lower operating costs. And as fuel costs soar, more manufacturers and dealers are investing in hybrid and electric machines that can support alternative fuels such as diesel blends to help lower operating costs. Hydraulics are also getting smarter. These new enhancements are making good operators great, while also keeping them safe, comfortable and happy. 

The right equipment can help you stay productive, but it can also help attract and retain operators by improving working conditions and safety. And in a time where every industry is experiencing labour challenges, keeping employees safe and happy is an important part of your recruitment and retention strategy. 

Improving productivity and reducing expenses are top goals for any logger.

Getting the most out of your equipment

Ever increasing environmental regulations and stricter emissions standards mean companies need to work smarter to achieve sustainability targets. Gone are the days of trading in machines for a shiny new piece of equipment earlier than needed. Forestry companies of all sizes can make a big impact by opting to rebuild equipment, instead of buying new. A rebuild involves replacing parts, changing out components, calibration and adjustments, with the end result being a like-new machine.

Rebuilds reduce overall waste and minimize raw material used to produce new parts and equipment. This is crucial as companies are accounting for the carbon output that’s the result of purchasing a new machine. Plus, equipment can be rebuilt multiple times and owners have the choice of keeping legacy tier emission standards or rebuilding to a higher tier emission standard. This means equipment stays in production for multiple lives and it saves non-renewable resources from the landfill, while reducing equipment costs and contributing towards sustainability goals.

New machine availability and machine value prior to the rebuild also play a factor in your decision. Understanding your equipment’s history, its condition and what maintenance it may or may not need, can provide both cost savings and environmental benefits. A dealer can work with you to understand machine analytics, value, overall condition and whether a rebuild is worth the cost. 

Timing is also an important consideration if you’re considering a rebuild. Supply chain disruptions combined with labour shortages are increasing lead times for new equipment across the globe. This is especially challenging in an industry like forestry where customers are accustomed to walking into a dealer and buying new equipment on the spot for whatever job they have coming up. So, planning ahead and creating an equipment strategy is as important as ever. 

Maintaining or growing a logging business has always been hard – and today, it’s even harder.

Relationship with dealer is important

The forestry industry is no stranger to hardships and has always had to adapt to the ever-changing economy. Just when one crisis seems over, another one hits. If it’s not a beetle outbreak or forest fire then it’s a looming recession, mill closures or supply chain issues. Maintaining or growing a logging business has always been hard – and today, it’s even harder.  

But, imagine a world where you’re better equipped to meet current and future challenges. Your business is productive, efficient and profitable. Having a dealer that works with you means everyone – financing, parts, technology, service and sales – is working together to find the right solutions for your business. Today’s dealers have evolved beyond simply supplying equipment to customers. End-to-end solutions are helping to provide advanced data insights, driving value and return on investment.

Now is the time to think about your relationship with your dealer. Is it meeting your business needs in an open and transparent way? Does it help prepare you for future growth while mitigating risks? Although there doesn’t appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel just yet, evolving and adapting to a new way of doing business can help ensure a bright future for Canada’s forestry industry. That means investing in quality equipment that can be rebuilt, while leveraging new technologies to help drive efficiency and increase productivity, while keeping costs down.

Mike Friederici is the industry manager, forestry and earthmoving at Finning Canada.

Here’s a snapshot of our takeaways from the featured articles, videos and columns.

1) Past, present and future: Our main coverage this week was from the BC Saw Filers Association annual convention that took place in Kamloops on the weekend. From the sector’s rich history, to current issues afflicting the trade and recruiting future sawfilers, a lot to was covered at the two-day event.

2) Products and technologies: We shared advancements from the convention and trade show, and we are working on videos to showcase in the coming days – hence keep an eye on our landing page here for these video spotlights!

3) Increasing sawmill circular blade life: William Shaffer highlights the benefits of edge prep geometry when applied to the cutting edges of the teeth of wood-cutting circular sawblades. He also introduces us to the edge prep process Engineered Micro-Geometry.

4) Don’t expect, inspect!: This is a phrase that every sawfiler would find useful. Dave Purinton writes about maintaining good control of the variables one can control to help prevent even a few unscheduled saw changes.

5) Saw Filing 101: CFI saw filing columnist Paul Smith writes about one of the biggest breakthroughs in our time for sawmill and lumber production and manufacturing: knives and their applications for chipping. As a bonus, Paul writes a second column where he discusses a world of chaos involving supply chain and other disruptions and advises mills to better have plenty of supplies on-hand and on-order.

CFI’s File Week landing page is a year-round hub for both sawfilers and other stakeholders to learn best practices and find the latest information on advancements in saw filing technology. Find the landing page here, or anytime on our website’s MENU tab, under Explore.

See you next year for File Week 2024!

Thanks again to our generous sponsors: BID Group and Petro-Canada Lubricants.

]]> https://www.woodbusiness.ca/increasing-sawmill-circular-saw-blade-life/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=increasing-sawmill-circular-saw-blade-life Thu, 01 Jun 2023 15:41:18 +0000 https://www.woodbusiness.ca/?p=98679 Poor performance of saw blades due to premature chipping has been a significant issue in wood processing industries for many years. The weak, chip-prone, up-sharp cutting edge is the root cause of the failure and excessive wear of saw blades because the cutting edges lack sufficient strength.

The goal of applying proper edge prep to the circular saw blade cutting edges is to reduce maintenance and production costs related to tool wear, resharpening, and replacement. In the test of the edge prepped blades, the lapse of time where saws require tip replacement and resharpening could be easily extended by an additional twelve hours. With edge prep applied, under normal industrial conditions, the carbide tipped circular saw blade could efficiently operate twenty-four hours, or two times its normal life, without the need for resharpening instead of eleven hours as it is currently the case in a typical sawmill.

The results also show that saws with edge prep show much better performance in terms of sawing variation of lumber produced. Substantial gains in productivity, process reliability, and sustainability could be achieved by implementing Engineered Micro-Geometry (EMG) in the first transformation of wood and extending it to other fields of wood transformation.

Engineered Micro-Geometry

For many years, maximizing the life of circular saw blades has been a major challenge for the lumber and sawmill industry. The edge prep process EMG developed by Conicity Technologies is used to show the difference in wear rate experienced in sawing variation, with and without edge prep for two specific saw testing time intervals, 4.25 hours and 15 hours. The tests were conducted under industrial production conditions with two sets of circular saws; one set with up-sharp tips (without edge preparation) and a second set with cutting edges honed with EMG (with edge preparation). Chipping and cracking were the dominant wear patterns observed on the tips of the saw blades without edge prep. The wear rate of up-sharp saws was two to three times higher than that of saws with edge prep. Between-board and within-board sawing variations decreased by more than 35 per cent when saws with EMG edge prep were used.

The edge preparation modifies the original up-sharp geometry of the cross-section of the cutting edge as illustrated in Figure 1. The waterfall profile was used on the test circular saw blades because this edge prep has shown to be highly effective in absorbing the shock of interrupted cutting applications.

The photos in Fig. 2a, 2b, 2c, show that most of the saw tips without edge prep had small chips at the edges at the 4.25-hour sawing time.

After 15 hours of sawing, the saw tips shown in Fig. 3a, 3b, 3c, without edge prep had large chips at the edges.

The next set of photos (Figures 4a-c). show the circular saw blades with edge prep applied to a non-used tip (4a), and minimal chipping (4b, 4c.) after the blade was sawing for 4.25 hours.

After 15 hours of sawing with edge prepped blades, the saw tips shown in Fig. 5a, 5b, 5c, had minor chipping when compared to the sharp, un-edge prepped tips.

A comparison of Figures 6a and 6b after 4.25 hours of sawing shows that the edge prepped cutting edge on the right has considerably less cutting corner damage than the tip on the left without edge prep.

After 15 hours of sawing, Figures 7a. shows the clearance face surface of the cutting edges of without edge prep of the primary cutting edges were no longer straight.

Sawing variation

Saws with edge prep yielded lower sawing variations than saw blades without edge prep. After 4.25 hours of sawing with the edge prep applied, between-board variations were reduced by 36 per cent and within-board sawing variations reduced by 38 per cent respectively.

The edge preparation delays the rounding and breakdown of the primary cutting edges. The reduced wear at the primary cutting edge keeps the blade sharp enough to continue to cut, as opposed to being dull and compressing the wood fibers. The reduction in compression reduces the effects of wood springback, the greatest source of degradation of the board surface finish. Springback is also the root cause of frictional heat developed when sawing wood. The spring back in wood progressively increases as the primary cutting edge of the tip wears, increasing rubbing friction, increasing saw blade temperature while negatively affecting sawing variation and board surface finish. The increased heat also affects the stability of the steel body of the saw blade.

Reduced costs, increased productivity

It has been seen that after the primary cutting edges of the tips are edge prepped, edge chipping, corner wear (edge rounding), and breakage are markedly reduced. The pressure build up is minimized at the cutting tip and the decrease in pressure delays the onset of spring back in the wood.

This reduces frictional heat and provides an increase in cutting efficiency and precision. Benefits include reduced blade changes, longer up time for the sawmill, reduced number of blades for refurbishing, reduction of saw tip replacement due to less damage, more regrinds per blade.

The edge prep process for a 24” diameter saw blade takes less than 60 seconds and does not require altering the refurbishing process at the grind shop at the sawmill. The results presented clearly demonstrate that EMG can allow reducing the green target sizes, thereby helping to lower costs, increase productivity as well as sawmill revenues accordingly.

William R. Shaffer is the owner and president of Conicity Technologies.

This article is part of CFI’s 2023 File Week. Find the File Week landing page here.

Once the old bent knives and round back knives were replaced with disposable knives, the market was open to faster speed feeds, increased lumber production and yield. As most remember, the old bent knives and round back knives would push and pull cants causing thick and thin lumber, and other issues and problems. 

Equipment manufacturers quickly jumped in and made these disposable knives a very important mainstay in lumber producing mills. New mills being built changed from modular to straight line mills because of the high recovery and faster feed speeds this new product and process allowed. 

Today, the vast majority of lumber production is made from these new mills. The new conical heads and chip heads allowed the chipper knives and the saws to work side-by-side manufacturing lumber efficiently. This breakthrough with the knives allowed for attack angles and knife angles to be changed as needed. Also, the precision that the heads and knives are manufactured to today create smooth running heads that will operate very well, producing good sawn lumber and quality chips at fast speeds. Because these new disposable knives are smaller and thinner than the old bent knives and roundback knives, they are manufactured much more precisely, and with better heat treat process that allows for better knife quality. Correct hardness for knives increases knife life.

Although it may sound easy to pair the knives and the saws to run together, there is a process. To pair the chipping knives with saws together for best results, it does take some orchestrating and knowledge of RPM, feed speed, log diameter and maximum depth of cut to determine exactly what is required for best performance. The quality of chips produced is critical for both production and profits.

There are many different types of chipping heads with a growing number of manufacturers getting in the business of also manufacturing the knife itself. I have had the privilege to see different heads and knives manufacturers get started and create success for themselves and the wood industry. Most of these manufacturers are successful and can help any mill with chipping issues, including producing the correct chip size needed for optimal profits.

Smith Sawmill Service saw this breakthrough for our sawmill industry in the late 1990s and helped to introduce Key Knife in the South; changing bent knives and chip-n-saw knives over to the disposable Key Knife system. This worked out well for us and the customers for a few years until Key Knife went direct. We then came up with our own system. The knife was as small as disposable knives, but could be sharpened and babbitted. This ensured the knife location would be the same after every change. Now, we are a part of the BID Group and working side-by-side with Comact providing saws to pair up with Comact’s new knife system. It’s our belief that each company suppling these conical, cylindrical and profiling heads with their knife systems will all have their own advantages. 

If any mill is having problems with chipping, knife life, yield and lumber quality, I suggest you reach out to some of these knife manufacturers for help. I personally see pros and cons for the different knives offered today in the wood industry. Depending on the application and your needs, it will be possible for you to select the knife and heads that will best perform in your mill.

Most equipment manufacturers will let you pick the knife of your choice to be in their equipment. Make sure you get all the information you need to help determine the knife you choose to use. Of course, if you decide to mix the equipment manufacturer with a different knife and head manufacturer, I suggest you have them in the same room to determine what will be expected from both. Most knife and equipment manufacturers will work very well together for your best interest. 

Paul Smith is a saw filing consultant and founder of Smith Sawmill Service, now part of BID Group. You can reach him at Paul.Smith@bidgroup.ca.

This article is part of CFI’s 2023 File Week. Find the File Week landing page here.

Members of the BC Saw Filers Association (BCSFA) meet annually  to share knowledge and resources for the benefit of all involved in the saw filing trade.

BCSFA president Sean Wright welcomed around 100 sawfilers, mill managers and maintenance supervisors, as well as 36 exhibitors on Friday with a little bit of history.

In his welcoming remarks, Wright showed a video of the only fully-functioning miniature sawmill in Canada built in the early 1960s by Phil Quelch, who was a saw filer and educator. Wright said the 16-feet model sawmill comes complete with conveyor belts, saws, lights and a wood chipper, and is on display at the Westbank Museum in the Okanagan. He encouraged attendees to donate to keep the model mill operating since it is a valuable teaching tool for saw filing apprentices.

“We’re losing our trade – it would be nice to keep this model mill going. We’re looking for donations for parts to keep it going and use it for educational purposes,” Wright said.

Filing room quality expectations

John Hebert, former head sawfiler for Gorman Bros. took the podium next and talked about best practices to maintain quality in the filing room. This include watching out for and cleaning burrs on clamping surfaces; replacing guides every 10-15 years depending on usage, wear and damage, and replacing all guides at least every two weeks.

“The combination of discarding saws in poor condition, new guides and regular guide changes resulted in roughly five per cent reduction of planer skip,” Hebert said.

In terms of saw guide lube settings, Hebert said saw guides must be pressurized and balanced. Using good quality oil is key, as oil must emulsify with water and should “feel light” on saw and guides and not dripping like honey.

When it comes to arbor sleeve maintenance, he said sleeves should be moved .200 at least every four months in gangs.

“Make sure to clean thoroughly, remove rust, apply liberal grease on reinstallation at every movement,” he advised. Using good quality waterproof grease is also important, as oil will dry out resulting in rust, possibly requiring puller to remove sleeves.

Always make sure gauges are straight and not dog-eared before using, he added. If bent, it should be gently hammered, and regrind when straight.

Lastly, Hebert shared some of the attributes that should be in every saw filer apprentice: being on time, good work ethic, being coachable, having energy and passion, among others.

“This has nothing to do with saw filing, but everything to do with saw filing.”

Machine center alignment

“We always think alignment is some other people’s problem,” said the next speaker Marty Vatkin of Sawline Consulting and former head filer and BCSFA president. Alignment is crucial in the entire machine’s operation, he said.

Vatkin explained the three types of alignment being used in the trade.

Wire alignment is performed with wire stretched through the machine and anchored at either end. Components are measured in relation to the wire and adjusted as required.

Straight edge alignment is performed with a precision ground straight edge. Measurements are taken using rulers, levels and dial indicators.

Laser alignment is performed much the same as wire alignment. The laser system utilizes a light source, a detector and a computer box. Several different jigs are used to allow measurements to be taken.

As for which one is the best to use, Vatkin said, “Any system you don’t understand is a bad system. The system you should use is the one you’ve got and preferably everyone in the shop knows how to use it and the responsibility does not fall on just one person.”

Vatkin explained the “law of compensating for errors” that some mills operate under.

“My dad once said ‘you didn’t have time to do it right, but you had time to do it again and again, and again.”

Unfortunately, most mills think the only time to do an alignment is when things are broken, but Vatkin reiterated that the better way is doing it before things break. Infeed is important too, as if it is not set properly, then it does not matter what else one does – one will just keep compensating.

“It’s like closing the gates after the horse is gone.”

He added that the mill’s quality control team is “the biggest enemy you will ever have, and the biggest asset” because they understand the problems that saw filers encounter.
In conclusion, Vatkin said, “The one thing that we should be doing often, we do less of: maintaining the machine is crucial.”

New saw lube system

Roland Davyduke of Real Performance Machinery (RPM) introduced his Virginia-based company and its ProLube saw guide lube system that was  developed for the company’s proprietary ProSaw system.

Davyduke, an electrical engineer, also briefly talked about RPM’s other equipment and technology in engineering design, manufacturing, automation, controls development and support.

(Check out CFI’s exclusive video of Davyduke explaining the technology coming soon on our File Week landing page here.)

Anodizing aluminum guides

Josh Bergen of Precision Machinery talked about the process of anodizing aluminum –an electrochemical process that converts the metal surface into a decorative, durable, corrosion-resistant, anodic oxide finish.

Bergen highlighted guide dressers, the high-tolerance machines that directly affect saw performance and lumber quality. He discussed the causes for guide dressers to cut out of tolerance, including worn cutters, foreign material, damaged or worn/out of spec guides, and machine crashes caused by operator error – and ways to prevent it, which includes evaluation, training, torque sensing, accountability and reporting.

Chip quality

“We really need good chips at the pulp mill,” said Tom Hoffman, fibre manager at Kruger, Inc., who introduced the sawblade experts to Kruger’s Kamloops Pulp operations via his presentation.

Built in 1965 as a 250 tonne/day pulp facility , the mill is now producing more than 1,150 tonnes/day of pulp, employing 340 workers onsite and 1,000 indirect workers.

Hoffman clearly stated what his mill is looking for in terms of ideal chips for kraft pulping: thickness of 25 mm x 25 mm x 4 mm; 100 per cent sound stem wood; no bark or knots, plastics, metal, sand or rubber; and has 50 per cent moisture content.

Quality control

SiCam Systems’ Nick Barrett ended Day 1 of the conference and presented on SiCam’s quality control technology for the sawmills and planer mills, to help them utilize better yields all throughout their production process, cut closer to target using their different variety of scanning technology and proprietary software.

2023 BC Saw Filer’s Association trade show in Kamloops, B.C. Photo: Annex Business Media.

The trade show opened in the afternoon, where 36 vendors exhibited and showcased their new equipment, tools and services.

Door prizes donated by the vendors were given at the trade show floor for both attendees and exhibitors.

(L-R): Sean Wright and Scott Courtney giving away donated door prizes. Photo: Annex Business Media.

The sawblade ninjas then enjoyed the evening with a buffet dinner and entertainment featuring comedian Leland Klassen, followed by a dance with music from a live band.

“It’s the perfect blend of education, business and socialization,” described BCSFA vice-president Scott Courtney.

Day 2

Bryce Hamre. Photo: Annex Business Media.

Day 2 started with BCSFA’s Bryce Hamre showing the association’s website redesign, which now includes a forum where the filers can exchange information, post jobs on the job board, and buy and sell tools.

Eric Gabara. Photo: Annex Business Media.

Eric Gabara of HMT Machine Tools subbed for Grasche USA co-owner and president Richard Comer in presenting about saw steel. HMT Machine Tools is a dealer for Grasche’s equipment and Gabara did a great job explaining Grasche’s products and their importance in the filing room, especially because “these days, everybody is short-hand,” he mused.

Jennifer Booth. Photo: Annex Business Media.

Jennifer Booth from SkilledTradesBC, formerly called Industry Training Authority, updated the attendees about the Saw Filer Trade Program. As of April 1, SkilledTradesBC has registered 199 apprentices: 127 active and 72 inactive who could continue their training at any time.

“The association’s input is very important, and the program will be reviewed in the near future based on BCSFA’s feedback,” Booth said.

Reg Hewitt. Photo: Annex Business Media.

Reggie Hewitt, instructor at Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) Williams Lake saw filing training centre closed out the conference with some updates about the sawfiler program and a call for donations.

“TRU is committed to supporting the trade. Classes are capped at 16 apprentices,” he said. “Band saws have been donated to the program, and donations sure help us out,” he added.

He reiterated, however, that the school is similar to a testing centre, where apprentices are bein prepared for the exam and certification.

“You have to be trained enough before you go to the TRU program … you can’t be trained from scratch in four weeks.”

The BCSFA president agreed saying, “Make sure your apprentices are ready before they go to the program.” Wright explained, “Mills tend to rush sending apprentices to the program because we are worried of losing the school again, but we have to make sure the apprentices are ready.”

Future editions

BCSFA’s Matt Graves. Photo: Annex Business Media.

Despite the lower turnout from the previous year, BCSFA secretary and treasurer Matt Graves is positive saying, “We had a great turnout, considering the way the market is going. It’s great to see the support of the sector.”

This article is part of CFI’s 2023 File Week. Find the File Week landing page here.

Simply loading a saw blade onto a CNC or conventional sharpening machine and pushing the start button is no guarantee you will produce a sharp, ready-to-run blade. The proper amount of material removal from the top, face, and gullet of each saw tooth is one critical element for an uninterrupted run on the mill. Too little material removal and you will return a dull saw blade to service or one prone to gullet cracks. Remove an excess of material and run the risk of damaging the blade by burning the saw tips or gullet, needlessly high abrasive costs, and premature retipping or swaging. 

So how does one quickly check that a saw blade queued up for its next production cycle is properly sharpened for the intended run time? One technique is to regularly take a critical visual inspection of blades classified as ready-to-run. Use a penlight for this quick visual inspection. Check the saws out as if you or your team did not put them up. Inspect it as if you had not already reconditioned it. The cutting edge of a sharp saw blade will not reflect light. If you observe a reflection on the cutting edge of the blade, that is an indication the edge still has a radius or flat on it. To get a feel for this technique, inspect your blades after their run and prior to reconditioning them. This can help the learning with just how much material must be removed from the saw tip to get it sharp enough to properly function on the mill. This is also an opportunity to monitor for material handling abuse. Are those corners intact and sharp?

Another area in the filing room that can lead to unnecessary saw changes or short blade life is the slow and inevitable degradation of wear parts of your tools. Even those fancy CNC and automated blade reconditioning machines have wear parts that require monitoring! At the Simonds International Technical Center, we have learned from many students that maintaining proper maintenance records is too rare. Most of us rely on a decal on our vehicle windshield to remind us when the next oil change is due. Why would we do anything less for the equipment and hand tools in our filing rooms? Maintenance records must be maintained and easily accessible for review when things “don’t go right.”

This activity applies to basic hand tools as well. Saw hammers, straight edges, tension gauges, stretcher roll components, and even leveling blocks are all wear parts. One challenge with maintaining hand tools is that the wear can be very gradual. A filer may even subconsciously adapt to the tool wear – and cause him or herself extra work in the process. Each of these hand tools should be inspected on a recurring basis. And like changing the oil in your vehicles, the inspection dates should be recorded in a log. If one cannot remember the last time the hand tools were inspected, that is likely a good sign the task is overdue. Logbooks are also useful for sharing the inspection frequency with others in the department. One technique for a visual inspection of the tension gauge or straight edge is to observe the light pattern either on a saw blade or levelling block. Then rotate the tool 180 degrees and observe the exact same spot. The look should be identical. If the shape of the light varies, it is time to take the next step and evaluate the tool with your inspection gauge. “Don’t expect, inspect.”

Inspection gauges are not used in daily saw maintenance and not subject to wear. These straight edges and tension gauge tools can be like a friendly port in a storm of frustration in the filing room. Ask yourself: when was the last time you calibrated your dial indicators too? If your saws are not behaving like you “expect,” it may be time to “inspect” the tools and machines you are using to perform the blade reconditioning task and ensure that they are not causing you more work than benefit. Sawfilers who maintain good control of the variables under their control can help prevent even a few unscheduled saw changes.

Dave Purinton is the vice-president for marketing and the director of Saw Filer Training Center at Burton Mill Solutions.

This article is part of CFI’s 2023 File Week. Find the File Week landing page here.

When it comes to operating a sawmill, I’ve always said it’s called a SAWmill for a reason. That reason is because, to operate at all, one has to have saws and since the trend has moved to narrower kerf and thinner plate, your mill better have plenty on-hand and on-order!

So whose responsibility is it to make sure the mill has plenty of saws and why has it become an issue? When I started Smith Sawmill Service over 30 years ago, in Southern U.S., saw plates lasted months, even years at some mills. These saw plates were thicker, kerf was wider, mills didn’t run 24/7, and most mills weren’t curve sawing or running the high production of today’s mills.

Manufacturing changed to meet the needs of mills when curve sawing and thin kerf technology came on the scene and saws were usually delivered to the mills in six to eight weeks. As mills added shifts and ramped up production, we in the industry observed delivery dates fluctuate. Ten to 12 weeks was a long lead time in most situations, until approximately two years ago. 

The world of chaos caused by COVID-19 and nationwide shutdowns has led to disruptions that we are experiencing today and will probably have to deal with for years.

We are a smart industry, and we’ve maneuvered through log scarcity, natural disasters, endangered species and of course politics, but the international supply chain and logistics interruptions we’ve had to endure have changed how we plan, purchase, operate and, yes, even overstock the items we deem critical. Today’s lead times aren’t given in weeks but rather months. Machinery dates are out this year and in 2024, and saws can be as well. So planning has become everyone’s responsibility, especially the head filer. Planning for normal wear and tear, unscheduled changes, and saw failure has always been built into how many sets of saws a mill had. Now that same filer has to plan for logistical chaos as well – steel shortages, shipping shortfalls, labour shortages, and supply chain disruptions. Filers are forced to make their existing saws stay in production, many times beyond their best performance.

Today’s head filer has to work closely with management and their vendors to make sure saw inventory is sufficient, not only at the mill, but in the storeroom, as well as at the manufacturers and suppliers. The head filer and the mills’ purchasing department should be making sure that they have scheduled saw deliveries for all operations: head saws, trimmers, edgers, gangs. If it cuts wood at your facility, make sure you have it ordered. Don’t wait until you need it because your supplier may be waiting on their delivery as well. A good supplier is working with you to make sure they have raw plates, tips, saws in process and some saws ready to go. But remember, like everyone else, their supply chain has been affected too! 

What is a good number? How do you determine how many saws to order? Work together, look at data, and in case your mill is looking at any line changes that will affect your saw design, get that info to your supplier early in the process – but that’s a whole different article. Today’s planning is tomorrow’s smooth sawing!

Paul Smith is a saw filing consultant and founder of Smith Sawmill Service, now part of BID Group. You can reach him at Paul.Smith@bidgroup.ca.

This article is part of CFI’s 2023 File Week. Find the File Week landing page here.

Welcome to File Week 2023, where we highlight what’s new in the wonderful world of saw filing.

Keeping up with the latest on the filing room – from industry challenges to the newest in automation technology – is important for not just sawfilers, but everyone in the mill.

We’re posting cutting edge content both from our archives as well as brand-new stories and product news from the BC Saw Filers Association convention that took place on May 26 and 27 in Kamloops, B.C.

We are highlighting:

• stories from the filing room
• technical articles on saw filing automation
• equipment spotlights on the latest saw filing gear
• columns from Paul Smith
• coverage from the BC Saw Filers convention, and more!

CFI’s File Week landing page is a year-round hub for both sawfilers and other stakeholders to learn best practices and find the latest information on advancements in saw filing technology.

Thank you to our 2023 sponsors for making this week possible: BID Group and Petro-Canada Lubricants.

Find the landing page here and enjoy File Week 2023!

]]> CFI Staff https://www.woodbusiness.ca/a-road-map-for-mapping/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-road-map-for-mapping Mon, 22 May 2023 15:36:02 +0000 https://www.woodbusiness.ca/?p=98125 Mapping technology has advanced considerably since 2008, which was also the last time the B.C. Ministry of Forestry updated their accuracy requirements. But it’s only a matter of time before rules and regulations get at least within spitting distance of modern technology, which will bring greater accuracy requirements and impact virtually all silvicultural tasks – cut blocks, timber cruising, harvest mapping, and so forth.

Survey videos released as recently as 2021 can be found where key operators are still relying on long-outdated technology. Some forestry professionals are stuck even further back in time, relying on familiar but antiquated chain compasses and paper maps. Even if or when a provider is ready to make the leap to 21st century technology, they frequently don’t leap far enough –choosing outdated GPS devices and mobile devices (tablets) that are still years behind the technology curve. 

Old consumer-grade GPS devices still limit you to a 15-30 metre accuracy, which was good enough in 2008, but still well behind leading-edge technology – technology that near-future regulatory changes will almost certainly require.

The dangers of cutting over an inaccurately established cut line are obvious: a potential quagmire of complex legal headaches, delays, and the considerable expenses needed to deal with all of them. The other side of the coin is potentially short-changing yourself. If you have a 10-metre buffer to your cut line and less accurate methods add another 5-10 metres inside of that, you could inadvertently leave a lot of harvestable land (and money) on the table.

Common equipment
The 2008 stalwarts – iPads running mapping software paired with consumer GPS devices — are still popular go-to devices, as are older GNSS (global navigation satellite system) models that only connect to single satellite constellations. Or, they may only connect to a GPS system instead of GNSS systems. In a dense canopy, particularly in mountainous regions of B.C., they could encounter significant difficulty making reliable connections.

Even if you’re using older GNSS systems, newer GNSS options and technological advances can still greatly improve your overall accuracy with stronger, faster connections that deliver better results. 

Bottom line: If you can only establish connections to three or fewer satellites from a total of 10 available in open sky, you will not be able to get a position at all. However, if you have up to 30 satellites available, your chances of connecting to four or more increase significantly and you are more likely to get a position – and the more you can see, the more your accuracy will improve.

Mapping technology has advanced considerably since 2008.

So why aren’t people upgrading?
Holdouts aren’t upgrading for three main reasons: 

They don’t have to. There are no regulations/requirements to force them to, so why spend thousands of dollars when you can rely on older, cheaper tech?

They don’t know. Some professionals and organizations aren’t aware of what technology is available, or they may be overwhelmed by options.  

They don’t want to. Sometimes, old practices get perpetuated from the top-down, where the “top” may be industry veterans sticking to old methods and technology.

So why change now?
While you may not be forced to change, there are plenty of good reasons to get ahead now instead of waiting for regulatory changes to force your hand. 

First, new technology can dramatically improve efficiency. You’ll be able to work faster, more reliably, and more efficiently. 

You’ll be able to deliver more accurate results with greater confidence, which in turn leads to …

Delivering better, faster, and more accurate outcomes for customers. 

Sam Eckart has been a forestry account manager with Cansel since 2020. After completing his degree in geography at the University of Lethbridge, he worked with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry as part of the HAC wildfire team in Fort McMurray.

“Speakers will talk about innovative tools, methods and ideas pertinent to saw filing,” BCSFA vice-president Scott Courtney tells CFI.

“In the afternoons the trade show will open, and vendors will be welcome to showcase their new equipment, tools and services. Friday evening will have a dinner, as well as entertainment in the form of a comedian followed by a live band,” Courtney explains. 

“It’s the perfect blend of education, business and socialization!”

Agenda highlights
The convention kicks off Friday, May 26, with the trade show beginning at noon and running until 6 p.m. The show will open again Saturday from 1-6 p.m. 

The conference portion of the event will be on both mornings. Courtney is expecting to have speakers talk about the evolution of the sawmill, as well as discussions on supply chain and labour shortage issues, and new technology advancements in the trade.

Friday night will see the usual buffet dinner and entertainment, this year featuring comedian Leland Klassen, followed by a dance with music from a live band.

File Week 2023
CFI is excited to be attending the 2023 Kamloops show and will be sharing live updates and product news from the show floor as part of our annual File Week coverage. Follow along on our website and on social #FileWeek for all the cutting edge action.

Register for the event at www.bcsfa.ca.

But when that message goes on to say the camera is perfectly fine and still in working condition, that  is a surprise.

 We know that at sawmills, equipment must endure a lot: dust, vibration, wood splinters, extreme temperature variations, and more. However, a camera getting hit by a log is something worth looking into. 

The aftermath of a brutal encounter
As scientists, we’re always interested in pushing products to their limits. Cameras undergo hundreds of tests before being released to the public. Still, we know the limitations of these tests – they rarely compare with real-life situations.

But in real life, one customer’s camera took a direct hit by a log. When an outstanding incident like this happens, our scientific minds are all fired up, calculating force, pressure, speed, and more.

Luckily, the customer sent us a photo of the camera and vibration mount after the incident, and this helped us put together a case study for our research and development team. The first thing we noticed was that the bracket around the camera took most of the hit.

The bracket needed to be replaced, but that comes with a tiny cost compared to that of the camera itself and, more importantly, to the cost of interrupted feeds in a sawmill. That camera is still up and running, no replacement needed. 

Camera survival

Even ruggedized cameras don’t survive being hit by a log too often. For that to happen, a few conditions must be met. Photos: Annex Business Media.

If you operate a sawmill, you’ve probably gone through a few dozen cameras already, especially if you opted for off-the-shelf equipment instead of industrial cameras. Debris-filled and high-vibration environments don’t mesh well with sensitive electronic equipment.

Cameras are some of the most delicate pieces of equipment. Their lenses are fragile and their stability, along with the quality of their feed, can easily be affected by high vibration levels, dust, humidity, and temperature variations – pretty much everything you’d find in a sawmill.

Off-the-shelf cameras fail the endurance test in sawmills in months, and sometimes weeks. Ruggedized cameras, on the other hand, are specifically created to withstand all the harsh conditions a sawmill throws at them.

Nonetheless, even ruggedized cameras don’t survive being hit by a log too often. For that to happen, a few conditions must be met.

First and foremost, the camera enclosure needs to be made of a strong alloy. Titanium works best in environments where such incidents are common. Aside from protecting the camera from mechanical shocks, the enclosure also needs to be perfectly sealed to prevent moisture from creeping in.

One of the often overlooked factors that improve the lifespan of sawmill cameras is the mount. Stabilization is extremely important in a sawmill. The high level of vibration won’t just affect the quality of the feed but also the camera’s durability and resistance to shocks.

Take the client’s example: the mount needed to be replaced, yes, but only because it took most of the hit. It was designed to do this, to soften the blow and protect the camera. 

Introducing new cameras in sawmills

It’s crucial that you install industrial, ruggedized cameras that are specifically created for sawmill use. Very few other cameras can operate in these challenging conditions.

Some pieces of technology can significantly improve operations, safety, efficiency, and mitigate costs, like sawmill cameras.

Naturally, sawmill operators’ first concern is the safety of their staff. Video monitoring can help with that by spotting accidents and incidents before they happen. A continuous live feed from your sawmill can be monitored from a safe distance by an operator who can look out for issues before they shut down the line. 

Operators can also look for repeat problem areas and opportunities for improvement. Is there a better way to process the lumber? Are your processes prone to accidents? How can you prevent equipment malfunction and the costly downtime associated with it?

All of these questions are far easier to answer by an operator who has the advantage of a bird’s-eye-view. But in order to get to this vantage point, you need the right video monitoring system in place.

It’s crucial that you install industrial, ruggedized cameras that are specifically created for sawmill use. Very few other cameras can operate in these challenging conditions.

But ruggedized cameras, just like any other piece of equipment, are only as good as the way you use them. Choosing the right places to install cameras is just as important as picking the right cameras. Sawmill operators should work with suppliers with a background in the logging industry who understand the challenges, constraints and opportunities of a sawmill to get the most out of any system that you install.

There are endless camera options out there and thousands of possible combinations in a video monitoring system. The advice of someone who knows the equipment well, but also the needs of a sawmill operator specifically, can make the difference between installing an ROI-generating safety-enhancing video monitoring system or a money-guzzler that needs constant replacement.

Heidi Schmidt has worked in the video technology space for almost 20 years, building expertise in CCTV, industrial video applications, new product development, video network solutions, and more. At Opticom Technologies, she helps implement robust video monitoring solutions for unique and harsh industrial environments.

A statement I have lived by pretty much my entire life.  

Has it served me in many ways? Absolutely.  

Do I feel in 2023 it is the right approach for our world to move forward? I do not.  

When I entered the lumber industry, coming from professional hockey, it was right around the #MeToo movement, which was a massive moment in time for me, and how I viewed myself and other women.  

I decided that just because something doesn’t offend me, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t, for the bigger picture.

I am an optimist at heart, I believe in people, and I believe most people have good intentions.  This does not mean I am naïve. These are choices I have made for how I wish to look at the world. I recognize these choices are possible for me due to my own privilege. 

We are at a time in the world right now where everyone is afraid to say anything, for fear of being cancelled. 

Few days go by when I don’t hear someone say, “Well, I guess I can’t say anything anymore.”  I understand the sentiment and frustration, and I feel we need to work to create a space for people to say what they think without fear or retribution.  

Trying to have some of these conversations in the moment can, and will be heavily charged emotionally, as the reality is, we are all a sum of our own experiences. It is extremely difficult to not respond defensively with, “I didn’t mean it that way!” or “I wasn’t talking about you personally!” Again, due to our own experiences, how something lands is personal, we are all human.

A goal of mine is to work with people and help them in taking steps towards a place of being OK with making mistakes, saying the wrong thing, and learning how to move forward from that.  This will only be possible if both sides of the conversation work towards this goal. 

It needs to be OK for people to change their opinions, minds, and approaches, regardless of what they have said or done in the past. 

An example of this that hit home for me was a fellow female friend who has worked in our industry for decades. 

A situation happened where there were misogynistic and inappropriate comments made about another woman at an event. She shared with me her struggle around knowing if it was OK for her to call it out now. She knew calling it out was the right thing to do, but questioned who is she to do that, as she has allowed this language to happen for years without saying anything, and at times joining in or laughing along.  

With all of my heart, I understood her position. However, as I shared with her, if it’s not ok for her to change what she feels is acceptable and call it out, well, then, we are screwed.  

I learned a great lesson when I was struggling with something at work and said, “I shouldn’t feel this way.” A former manager and friend stopped me and said, “Haleigh, there is no ‘should or shouldn’t feel’. If you feel something, you feel it. We need to work to understand why you feel that way, and what we can do to change that.”

So this is my challenge to everyone regardless of your position, title, age, or gender: when someone comes to you and that they are struggling with something, try to not get defensive. Instead, be curious to understand why that person is feeling the way they are. 

It is time for us to get real comfortable with being uncomfortable. Then, we can take sincere steps forward.

Haleigh Callison is an Indigenous woman from B.C. working as a lumber trader and cedar specialist for Olympic Industries.  She has recently completed her dual Executive MBA through Cornell & Queens and is passionate about helping to build others up, be seen and amplify voices that are not always heard.

The Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF), governed by a non-profit society of representatives from the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) and the Líl̓wat and Squamish First Nations, realized the potential impact of a wildfire to the tourists and the critical importance of wildfire risk mitigation. One spark from an ignition source had the potential to start a fire that could spread and put the ski hill recreation area, walking and biking trails, and other important infrastructure like homes and transportation corridors at risk.

To mitigate this risk and to do so in a sustainable way, foresters from the Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures LP, an arm of the Líl̓wat First Nation, with funding from FESBC, set out to create a wildfire risk reduction plan which included consultation with the community and other stakeholders. One of the concerns identified by the community was around smoke from the burning of the debris from the treatments. The wildfire risk reduction treatments were completed by the Lil’wat Nation forestry crews resulting in a reduction of the forest fuels, minimizing smoke emissions and maintaining the forest recreation values. Moreover, the treated stands now have lower levels of fuel. Today, the successes of their efforts serve as a demonstration of the benefits that a tourist town can reap from implementing wildfire risk reduction measures.

One of the major challenges for the Community Forest was to manage public access during the work. Photo courtesy David Conly/FESBC.

“The Forest Enhancement Society of BC is a proven partner in delivering projects on the ground that benefit communities, workers, and the health of our forests,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. “We are building on this foundation with an additional investment of $50 million for the Society to expand funding for projects that increase access to fibre, reduce emissions from slash pile burning and reduce the risk to people from wildfire.”

Dean Nelson, the Chief of the Líl̓wat First Nation, spoke about the forests where the work was conducted. He explained that the initiative was in response to the province-wide call for municipal preparedness and was prompted by the threat of wildfires and the impacts of climate change on communities and forests throughout B.C.

“For the residents of Whistler, this work was crucial to help prevent and raise awareness of the potential dangers of forest fires,” Nelson said. “For the people living in Whistler, this work is very important for the prevention and cautionary awareness of potential forest fire danger. The number of trees remaining after the treatment varied from site to site, from a density of 250 stems per hectare, up to 400 stems per hectare. Fibre utilization from the treatments was undertaken, sawlogs were marketed for timber, the lower-valued residue was used for firewood and compost, and burning was minimized.”

The wildfire risk reduction work carried out by Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures LP was focused on larger landscape-level fuel breaks that aimed to prevent fires from spreading from the south of Whistler, according to Klay Tindall, the general manager of forest operations for the Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures LP.

“The plan was to remove approximately 45 per cent of the original stand of second-growth Douglas fir, totalling around 18,000 cubic metres. Where possible the residual fibre was utilized with lowered carbon emissions in mind. For instance, some fibre was chipped and mixed off-site with solid human waste to produce compost material. By avoiding burning the residual material, a reduction in the release of PM2.5 smoke particulate was achieved. ” said Tindall.

This would not have been possible without the funding and support from FESBC as these are rather smaller areas, and the cost of working on these is rather high. The treated area is now being used for new mountain bike trails by the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association and is giving them a great spot to build some more beginner and intermediate trails.

The project also had a significant impact on the Lilwat community members employed by Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures LP, according to Reno Joe, the contract manager. The work provided a unique opportunity for the Nation to empower its youth and enhance their training.

Reno stated, “Everything was locally sourced, and we aimed to bring in experienced professionals from neighbouring Nations. The project helped us build our First Nations’ capacity and gain valuable work experience. We are proud to say that we have engaged more young people in the community, and had six Lil’wat and four additional youths who participated in the project. Of these, one Lil’wat youth is already studying Fire Management at the Vancouver Island University, and one other Lil’wat youth is getting his bachelor’s degree in Forest Ecology and Management from UNBC.”

The project also faced several challenges. Chief Nelson acknowledged that the first obstacle was gaining recognition as competent forestry professionals. Despite this difficulty, the First Nations company was able to demonstrate its expertise and completed the project.

Jordon Gabriel, the cultural and community forestry manager, who works for Lil’wat Forestry Ventures, spoke about additional challenges such as residents’ concerns about declining property values, complaints about smoke from prescribed burns, and difficulties with the public entering active work sites. “Managing public access during the work and gaining support from local residents were challenges at the time, but now, even they can see the positive outcomes of this work,” Gabriel said.

Heather Beresford, CCF’s executive director noted that one of the project’s main challenges was helping local residents understand the importance of this forest thinning work in the long term.

“Some Whistler residents think that the thinning work makes the forests look ‘ugly’ and may even increase the risk of wildfire since they believe the forests dry out earlier in the spring. In response, the RMOW and CCF are implementing a monitoring program to measure certain characteristics pre- and post-treatment to see what is actually happening in the forests. This will give us valuable insight and ensure that our actions are having a positive impact,” said Beresford.

Brian Watson, RPF, operations manager with FESBC said, “The work that Lil’wat Forestry Ventures LP completed on behalf of the Cheakamus Community Forest is important in that it occurred in a part of the province that has a high profile and where wildfire risk reduction work is just starting to be implemented. It’s important that people see this work so that they can be part of the conversation around wildfires and the risks they pose to our communities. What people will not see is that the project phased out most of the burning of low-value fibre that is usually associated with this work. When you consider the proximity of this work to homes and businesses, the benefits to human health are meaningful, not to mention the positive impact on the atmosphere.”

Progress have been made over the past months in bringing this technology to forest operations. In the newest development, work has moved from research to implementation where Tolko Industries, an FPInnovations industry partner, has taken control of the deployment of the portable cell towers as required for autonomous deployment. 

Let us revisit the need, challenges, achievements, collaborations, trial locations, applications, and scaling up strategies of this project.

Need for advanced connectivity in the forest
More than 50,000 people work in remote forests in Canada and most of these operating areas lack cell coverage. The connectivity for making calls and transferring data is limited with the use of GEO-based satellite and VHF (very high frequency) radios. Digital transformation opportunities cannot be fully realized until advanced connectivity is brought to forest operations. 

Challenges in bringing connectivity

A quick deployable 30-ft. portable tower.

Forestry is unique due to its dynamic operations (moving around everyday and not coming back to the same place for 70 years), remote locations, challenging terrain, and heavy vegetation, all of which heavily influence the cell signal coverage from the tower. Locations of operations are temporary and can be easily moved beyond the coverage from a single tower, which makes portability and ease of set up key for implementation. In addition, when access to power from utilities is unavailable, the power needs to come from a portable generator, which would ideally be powered from a clean energy source. 

Overcoming challenges and achievements to date
The recent introduction of high-speed internet using LEO constellations with a satellite terminal for backhaul has helped bring internet into forests in a cost-effective way. The 100-ft. tower helped transmit signals above the treeline. The use of a tower-mounted amplifier helped reduce the imbalances between the downlink and uplink coverage, and the vehicle-mounted cell boosters helped extend the coverage in the forest environment. The tower location at a high point and combinations of the above tools helped bring wide-area coverage with a radius of up to 10 km in the forested areas.

Co-operators and partners’ support
Our industry partner, Tolko, was the early adopter and pioneer of this technology. The role of Tolko, its contractors, Innovation Science Economic Development, and our technology partners in the development of this solution was crucial as we hit a few roadblocks along the project; however, with strong collaborations and teamwork we were able to overcome these roadblocks and now we have a solution that is ready for the industry to implement in its operations.

Trial locations

A 100-ft. tower deployed in Tolko’s Sugar Lake operation.

The research trials started in Tolko’s Cariboo division near Williams Lake, B.C., and has now been deployed near Sugar Lake, B.C., in Tolko’s Southern Interior division, as part of a longer-term operational trial. This area has been a challenge for communications as the VHF repeater did not provide complete coverage and resulted in areas without any cell coverage, until now. One 100-ft. and one 30-ft. portable tower were deployed in the operations. Some planning is required to find the high point for the tower location that is accessible by road and provides the required coverage for the operating area. Simple tools in Google Earth, such as viewshed and elevation profile, have proven useful for finding the appropriate locations for the tower deployment.

Applications enabled by advanced connectivity
There are limited applications that can be used for forestry operations, but now with a reliable and more cost-efficient connectivity solution, programmers will be able to develop more. Connectivity in operations will open up opportunities for improving operational safety and efficiency. 

Many ideas for new apps arose during the operational trials. The most critical one would be a phone and messaging app for communication among all forest workers within the remote cellular coverage and the rest of the connected world. Other critical needs would focus on equipment diagnostics, determination of real-time locations, and transmission of machine data, which will be important for digital transformation. The list for app developments keeps growing as more users are getting used to having connectivity where it hasn’t been a reality before. 

Scaling up connectivity solutions

Advanced connectivity will act as a game changer.

Telecommunications providers could offer the integrated solutions on lease to the industry; however, sending the support team for deployment in the field will make it cost prohibitive. Therefore, partnering with industry for deploying this solution will be the key. This project proved that the industry is capable of operating, moving, and maintaining the cell tower. This tower will soon be an essential tool that would be moved as the equipment moves to new locations. To scale up the connectivity solutions, the forest industry could partner with wildfire agencies and First Nations communities in remote areas to have shared portable network towers in forests.

Advanced connectivity will act as a game changer and will help to bring digital transformation and enhanced safety to forest operations. FPInnovations encourages the industry and telecom providers to work together to build the connectivity infrastructure that will bring revolution in the industry.

Mithun Shetty is a senior researcher with FPInnovations’ Transportation and Infrastructure group. He is a professional engineer registered in B.C. and has a master’s degree of applied science in forestry from UBC. He has around 20 years of experience in the transport sector with expertise in Intelligent Transportation Systems and has lead several innovation projects including in-forest connectivity project.

We’ve got tons of great content coming at you this week, both new articles from our partners and feature stories, columns, and research on bioheat solutions available to industries nationwide.

Bioheat Week 2023 includes two special, free-to-attend webinars:

• TODAY: Advancing Wood Pellet Heating Systems in Canada
• Wednesday, May 10: Biomass heating: A low cost and carbon option

Hosted by Canadian Biomass, Bioheat Week is in partnership with these media brands:

• Canadian Forest Industries
• Greenhouse Canada
• Canadian Poultry
• Canadian Contractor
• Energy Manager Canada
• Grow Opportunity
• HPAC Magazine
• Pulp & Paper Canada

Our Bioheat Week landing page will become a year-round hub for industry and curious minds to learn best practices and find the latest information on bioheat.

Thank you to our sponsors for making this week possible: Wood Pellet Association of Canada, Fink Machine, Heizomat Canada, and KMW Energy.

Find the landing page here and welcome to Bioheat Week 2023!

This article is part of the Bioheat Week 2023. Read more articles about bioheat in Canada.

At the same time, there is an increasing dependence on forests for wood fibre as demand rises worldwide, requiring a healthy balance between industry, conservation and Indigenous rights. While challenging, this balance is very much achievable – and one example can be found in the boreal forests near Chapleau, Ont., east of Lake Superior.

There we find Wahkohtowin Development, an Indigenous-led social enterprise rooted in sustainable forestry that serves its three First Nations owners: Brunswick House, Chapleau Cree, and Missanabie Cree. It pursues its mission with the respect and collaboration of GreenFirst Forest Products, a local forest products company committed to sustainable forestry. 

This strong relationship is built on trust, in part owing to the fact that GreenFirst has held Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for nearly 20 years – thus committing to upholding Indigenous rights. The FSC standard has proven to be a tool by which GreenFirst has deepened its relationship with Wahkohtowin, allowing them to better understand First Nations perspectives and goals, and reconcile their practices with Indigenous interests in mind. 

This partnership has shown demonstrable impact, with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous industry perspectives integrated into a shared goal of sustainable forest management. GreenFirst and Wahkohtowin have worked together to safeguard the conservation of land for important cultural purposes, including birch syrup production and moose habitat protection. 

As part of the Wahkohtowin Guardian program, Indigenous youth have also been engaged to survey and assess the land in a joint effort to improve forest renewal – participants whose feedback and ideas in turn grant GreenFirst unique perspectives on the land it harvests.

Supporting free, prior and informed consent
It is commonplace today for forestry companies to have policies in place about how they must work with nearby Indigenous communities. Still, it is requirements, such as those found in the FSC standard’s Principle 3, that help create lasting engagement and meaningful relationships.

This engagement is enshrined with FSC’s commitment to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), a right that pertains to Indigenous Peoples, now recognised in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). 

FSC requires all certified forest owners or managers to uphold its principles in order to earn and maintain certification. Through this, each Indigenous community grants, withholds or withdraws its consent on projects and activities that impact their rights – in accordance with UNDRIP and the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169.

By implementing UNDRIP and FPIC into the new national forest stewardship standard both globally and domestically, FSC not only opens the door for economic opportunities and participation from communities, but also drives ecosystem resiliency by holding industry players accountable for taking action. Indeed, when consumers see the FSC logo, they know they are supporting a company that doesn’t just follow the status quo, but pursues a sustainable global model for how forestry should be.

(L-R): David Flood and Chris McDonell. GreenFirst and Wahkohtowin have worked together to safeguard the conservation of land for important cultural purposes. Photo courtesy of FSC. Canada.

A symbiotic approach
For GreenFirst, it took time and commitment to work in step with Wahkohtowin to achieve a symbiotic approach to sustainable forestry. And the results speak for themselves: economic benefits, cultural revitalization, community growth, and with effective conservation and monitoring, the chance to leave a legacy of healthy forests for future generations. 

Kevin Tangie (Big Knife), the lands and resources economic development portfolio holder for Brunswick First Nation, shares his perspective on Wahkohtowin-industry partnerships and what he has seen play out over the past several years. 

“The main thing for our people is to have protections in place, and the ability to regain some control and oversight on our lands and the activity that is happening out in the field,” Tangie says. 

“Wahkohtowin is helping us obtain more sovereignty in terms of our influence on these lands, including forestry, developers, resources, extractions, and a number of environmental factors. Along with our First Nations partners, we are better able to align our forestry management techniques and become active partners in resource development projects.” 

Many Indigenous Peoples hold close the Seventh Generation Principle – that today’s decisions must lead to a sustainable world seven generations from now. Those decisions are best made jointly by all stewards of the forests, which can be described in policy, but which need decisive action and trusted partnerships – like that seen with Wahkohtowin and GreenFirst – to achieve lasting positive impact.

David Flood (Strong Wolf) is a member of the Ojibwe Nation, and the general manager of Wahkohtowin Development. 

Chris McDonell is chief forester for Ontario at GreenFirst Forest Products.

This year, the entire hardwood sawmill in Sainte-Monique, Que., will undergo a facelift with a $20-million investment.

Currently, the mill processes only 150,000 cubic meters of wood, while it has a guaranteed supply of 250,000 cubic meters, which includes 30 per cent of trembling aspen. Bois Francs Bio Serra has asked the government to maintain its supply guarantee, but consisting entirely of birch, because the investments will make it possible to extract more value from the white “yellow birch”, explains Mario Lemay, director of the Sainte-Monique plant in Lac Saint-Jean.

Major renovations to come
Currently the bottleneck – all the equipment at the back end the plant – will be replaced. “We can’t go one step at a time because the plant is not designed for that,” Lemay says.

A new JAMEC trimming line will be installed, along with a Comact TrimExpert optimizer, specialized for hardwood. Supplied by SmartMill, a Smart Trim 3-in-1 loader, fence and trimmer will also be installed. 

“This machine allows us to cut in two and trim precisely to optimize each piece of wood,” says Lemay. For example, one section of a board could be cut for flooring while the other would go for pallet production.

This equipment will make it possible to pre-sort the pieces before entering the flooring factory. Currently, nearly 50 per cent of the pieces are rejected at the infeed. 

“We dry 50 per cent of the wood for nothing because we cut logs the old way and don’t detect the defects,” adds the director, who hopes to reduce these losses by 60 per cent. This gain will drastically lower drying costs and time, currently at 12 days. Bois Francs Bio Serra is also working with FPInnovations to improve their drying protocol.

In addition, a Novilco double bin sorter with 30 baskets will be installed to optimize space and the number of products. Finally, an FP Machine stacker and a Signode strapper will be added.

At the mill infeed, a second slasher will be added to cut high-grade 16- to 17-foot logs in half, representing 30 to 40 per cent of the supply. At the same time, another slasher operator will optimize the 4- to 8-foot logs to optimize fibre recovery with a second saw. 

“Birch is often crooked, so the shorter lengths you cut, the more fibre you recover,” points out Lemay, adding that there are no specific target log lengths for flooring.

A second saw line, a Sawquip purchased from an J.D. Irving mill in Nova Scotia, will also be installed to saw small-diameter (3 to 8 inches) logs. The other Forano line will continue to saw medium- and large-diameter logs, up to 27 inches. With hardwood logs, different cutting tools are used to saw at specific angles and speeds compared to softwood.

A SiCam Systems continuous profiler will be added on the Sawquip line to continuously scan the canter output and provide positioning feedback.

Harvesting more birch in the forest
These mill upgrades will transform harvest operations because the new equipment will be able to process smaller, crooked wood that was once considered pulpwood, explains Lemay. 

“It’s going to give us the opportunity to recover volumes that were going to end up 100 per cent as chips, to create more value,” he says.

Currently, 45 per cent of the birch in the forest measures 16 cm or less, and so the plant must adapt to this reality.

Investing in Sawmilling 4.0
“In one step, we’ll move forward 30 years,” claims Lemay. With the modernization project, the company will rely on continuous data monitoring throughout the plant with technology and services from PMP Solutions. Monitoring gauges will be installed throughout the sawmill as decision-support tools.

A logistics planning system including inventory management is being implemented. 

“It will allow us to plan the entire supply chain from here to Montreal,” Lemay says.

The PMP WeDry system, designed to manage moisture content during drying, will also be installed.

Producing less by-products
Currently, only 24 per cent of the wood that enters the Sainte-Monique plant is sawn, while 76 per cent ends up as by-products. These figures may seem startling for people in the softwood industry, but the fact that birch is often crooked generates a high proportion of by-products. With the major mill investment next year, the plant expects to increase the sawn proportion rate to 40 per cent. 

“This will ensure the sustainability of the plant,” notes Lemay. When the upgrade is completed, production will increase from 12 to 25 million square feet of product.

It should be noted that nearly 60 per cent of the wood entering the factory is transformed into pallet wood. To recover its own residues, the company intends to restart the production of compressed wood firelogs. In addition to the sawmill, there is also a flooring production facility in Sainte-Monique. Last year, $4.2 million was invested in this plant, including the addition of an Inspector B scanner from EBI Electric and a Powermat 2400 moulder from Weinig.

All these investments will make it possible to produce additional Mono Serra flooring, which is in high demand and distributed through an extensive network. “Our problem right now is not sales, it’s production,” Lemay adds.

Labour shortage also limits productivity at the current time. This is why Bois Francs Bio Serra relies on international recruitment to address this issue. Seven Tunisian employees are already part of the work team and seven more will be added in the coming months. The company even bought the local guest house to provide these employees with a home. 

These mill modernization projects will not create new jobs, but there is still a shortage of labor to meet all needs, especially with upcoming retirements.

Lenny is a registered professional forester with more than 30 years of natural resources and business experience. He is member of the Nlaka’pamux First Nation and is among the first dozen Indigenous graduates from UBC’s forestry school. 

CFI sat down with Lenny to get to know him, his mission for the organization, and what Indigenous inclusion in forestry means to him.

CFI: What drew you to forestry?
I grew up on the Shackan Indian Reserve, on a ranch. I really grew up on the back of a horse – tending cattle. We grew up working hard, and we made work fun. Work was family and it was rewarding. 

Without realizing it, I was learning by doing and seeing. When we’d bring salt blocks to the range, I was learning about the land, noticing the rose hips were out so the salmon will be running soon. I was immersed in that world and at the same time, I was not realizing the impacts of residential school and the impact of INAC [then called Indian and Northern Affairs Canada] at the time – government rules and regulations that were creating the world I grew up in.

My father took on the role of Chief of our community in 1971. With that he became the eighth Chief of Shackan since 1860. So we grew up exposed to the politics and it became a strong part of who I am today.

I grew up playing hockey and was pretty good. I got to the point of talking to scouts to go to university under a scholarship. Unfortunately I blew my knee and didn’t go to a U.S. university but fortunately, for me as a forester, ended up in Selkirk College for wildland recreation. It was the first time I was isolated from where I grew up. There were no First Nations at all in Castlegar, but I loved it there and excelled and learned how to learn. 

Before I went to Selkirk I was a wildland firefighter, but during my years there I worked as a park ranger in the Valhallas, and I loved it. Park ranger life was great, but I started thinking about my future and going home. I started getting into wildlife and research and was working with biologists on a CP Rail project. They told me if I wanted to do what they do, I had to go to university. 

I took some time to see the world and travel after Selkirk. I started realizing how small this blue planet really is and how connected things were. I realized how beautiful my territory is, and the importance and responsibility of looking after it. When I came home, I went straight in to the UBC Faculty of Forest Conservation program, it was brand new at the time. 

CFI: What was your experience in university?
When I got to UBC – I think that was 1993 – I saw that there were only three First Nations people who had gone through the forestry who were registered professional foresters. I had a handful of others there with me while I was going through it. 

I joined the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). I remember at an AISES meeting I said something I’ll never forget, “We’re the tip of the spear. Everything will come behind us.” 

We were doing something important, and we were looking at the opportunities ahead of us. There was no real Indigenous consultation process at that time – no shared decision making. It was a very different environment. But we were becoming educated and our awareness was growing. 

My first forestry summer job was with Canfor and I went up to Fort St. John to work on a biodiversity study. I had a certain amount of plots to take measurements and data. I finished everything they had assigned early so they put me into the layout and development crew. That’s when I realized that the biggest impact to our land was the forest industry. I knew at that moment it was very important to do that right.

That’s when I changed my career path. I stayed with the conservation program, but started taking the extra courses to become a registered professional forester – to make some changes. 

I liked what I learned up in Fort St. John, but I didn’t like that I was working on someone else’s traditional territory and didn’t have a strong relationship with them, and I was homesick. The next summer, I got a job with Weyerhaeuser and I got to work at home. 

During my time in Merritt, our tribal council was working to create an effective referral process and access to forest tenures. The Chiefs asked me to layout an [illegal] block for them off reserve land so they could build a portable mill and make lumber for a houring project, and I agreed. There I was, laying out this block, thinking I just invested how many years into becoming a RPF and I may never become one because I am now taking civil disobedience to a whole new level. We never ended up harvesting that block and worked out an agreement with the province to access a non-replaceable forest license on behalf of the Nicola Bands. West Bank First Nation had also laid out and logged a block, gone to court and won. Now we were having discussions with the provincial government and creating a foothold in forestry. 

Lenny Joe (left) and Chief Robert Dennis of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation at the 2023 Truck Loggers Association convention in Vancouver, B.C. Photo: Annex Business Media.

CFI: Where did your career take you after you became and RPF?
I told Weyerhaeuser during an interview that I would work for them for a few years, and then I wanted to start my own consultant business because what I wanted to do wasn’t invented yet and that was what I called First Nations forestry. When I started Grizzly-Man Resource Management, one of the first things that we had access to was woodlots. I had contracts to develop and harvest about 16 different woodlots, and at the same time continued to work closely with Weyerhaeuser and continued to build our relationship. 

During this time, the Indigenous world was waking up to this industry and really becoming more and more involved. We started recognizing that we needed measurables for our values. Our food security and our very existence meant that we had to learn how to quantify and create these measurables. 

Over the last 30 years, we’ve been developing mutual trust. That’s what I value a lot. I work with the trust equation. Like everything, it’s measurable, it’s not just a feeling. Trust is credibility plus reliability plus intimacy, divided by self-orientation. How credible are they? How reliable are they? How intimate are they? And that self-orientation is about how much they’re doing it for themselves versus for us. 

CFI: Where do you see Indigenous participation levels at now?
My grandfather always used to say, “Look after your house, know who your guests are and treat them well. But don’t let them move the furniture.” That’s our responsibility, really. Over the years, we looked after our house, we treated our guests well, but a lot of our furniture has moved. 

Then UNDRIP [UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] came and it’s really a declaration for when laws aren’t there yet. And B.C. took that very seriously – they passed legislation [Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act – DRIPA]. So now, all past, present and future laws in B.C. must have the intent of UNDRIP.

But now we have to understand and take on that responsibility. We really need those relationships and that trust now. And for everyone to come to the tables to do the work that needs to be done. 

For years we’ve had to fight for the rights, but now First Nations are in an environment of responsibility. Now we’re looking after our house, and we need to still treat our guests well. They live in adjacent communities. Our house has evolved into a modern world. 

I’m conditioned to be a very good forester. My grandfather used to say, if we’re going to survive, we’re going to have to think like a white man. What I think he meant is that we need to know what they’re thinking. I’ll say it lightly, but I think I’m pretty good thinking like a white man! I went to the schools. I was immersed in it. But thank goodness I’ve held onto enough of where I come from. Now I say to non-First Nations, for you to survive, you have the learn to think like an Indigenous person. It will take a lot of work. But when we do come together, I think it will be very unique and I think globally it will be reflective of who we are as British Columbians. 

“Forestry is very important to us. It’s in our backyard. It creates employment. And we want healthy workplaces to create healthy people, families and they create healthy communities.” Photo: Annex Business Media.

CFI: As the new CEO of the B.C. First Nations Forestry Council as of last August, what are your goals in the role?
Forestry is very important to us. It’s in our backyard. It creates employment. And we want healthy workplaces to create healthy people, families and they create healthy communities. I think that’s everybody’s goal. 

It will be really interesting with the role that I play with the B.C. First Nations Forestry Council, to help create that environment so that we can move forward in a healthy way to create healthy communities, look after our house, the land, water, foods and medicines, and that really is reflective of us as British Columbians. 

We don’t speak for the 200 plus bands, but we are working to create that environment and space for effective government-to-government dialogue. 

Another very important goal is to increase our First Nations youth to take on the responsibility to be stewards of the land. To build capacity. We want 2,000 to 2,500 Indigenous youth to come into the forest industry in the next 10 years. 

CFI: What do you see as the biggest challenge and biggest opportunities for First Nations players in the B.C. forest sector?
Where I see us going is that we will, for the first time, start incorporating our knowledge, our values, our ways, into legislation and laws. We are now moving the goal posts. For the first time in history, non-First Nations laws will truly reflect everybody. 

Our roots stayed intact and they were deep enough to come back. But now we as Indigenous peoples need to reflect on what we’ve been conditioned to believe and what is the true natural laws of where we come from. That will take time, capacity and work. 

There is a capacity issue. Forestry is just one facet of everything that’s happening with reconciliation and DRIPA. There’s only so much capacity in First Nations communities. If we are going to incorporate who we are and what we are into forestry, we need to fill rooms and that’s going to take non-First Nations to be a part of that. It’s going to take us all.

We have to get into those rooms with mutual trust and respect. Carbon and climate change and the effects of that are threatening and pressuring all of us. But I’m optimistic in that sense, and I have to be. Our very world depends on that. 

There’s a long way to go, but I don’t think it will take as long as we think. It will just take the right people.