WSCA- Using SAFE Companies Audits to Evaluate Contractors: Words of Caution for Licensees and Contract Administrators

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Synopsis

Discussion on why licensees can rest assured a SAFE Companies certification is a reliable affirmation of their success in achieving the industry standard of safety, however, if the licensee requires contractors to submit their entire audit report it may create problems and/or have unintended consequences.

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

Society of American Foresters - Clearcutting is dead! Long live clearcutting!

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Synopsis

First report from SAF, this article laments on the affect the clearcutting on the image of forestry and how researchers have found that in post-clearcutting times there is a deficit of diverse, early-successional habitat and are putting a call out for regeneration harvesting to restore it.

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

 

AETSQ- Modified work on reforestation sites

Credit
Translated by Teri Shaw
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Synopsis

The Director General of Strategic Policy and Planning (DGSPP) took a new direction with the stock delivery methods used for large tree plants but the implications of which were far reaching and solutions to new challenges are currently being developed. Also, this article shines light on the debate surrounding biomass and the pressure that environmental groups are putting on the industry.

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

AETSQ- Modification du travail sur les sites de reboisement

Issue

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

 

Ontario- Will Ontario's new tenure system support community-based forest management?

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Synopsis

Ontario's Forest Tenure Modernization Act's creation of two new governance models for sustainable forest licenses: Local Forest Management Corporations (LFMC) and Enhanced Shareholder SFLs. What are the implications of these for community-based forest management?

Will Ontario’s New Tenure System Support Community-Based Forest Management?

BC First Nations Forestry Council - Respect for the land

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Synopsis

A look at the recent work and involvement of the FNFC with regard to MPB management, Forests for Tomorrow, Timber Tenure Management and creating employment and advancing First Nations participation in the forestry sector.

 

When the Mountain pine Beetle epidemic was identified by the land and resource managers of BC the ability for the forest sector to respond and mitigate impacts was a call to action that has played a significant role in the transformation of the forest sector in BC.  First Nations leaders engaged with the province and the federal government to ensure their communities were contributing to mitigation efforts and together the forest sector embarked on comprehensive MPB Programs including the Forests For Tomorrow project.

Rubber side down, productivity stays up!

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Synopsis

Slips, Trips and Falls cause injury, loss of productivity and have dire financial consequences for both the individual, and the company. A look at what contractors and planters can do to avoid these accidents.

Have you been ignoring those planters who work in running shoes?  Did you shrug off that knee injury claim that lasted 50 days because it’s the ‘name of the game’? Do you high five the planter who runs off the block to fit in one more bag up?

 Slips, trips and falls are the number one cause of workplace injuries in the silviculture industry. Between 2006-2010 they represented over $82 million in claims costs for forestry companies! 

Planter's Exodus

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Planter Shelby Leslie provides insight as to why it is so hard to retain an experienced tree planting work force.

Planting has been my primary source of income for the past eight years.  I started off a wonder-struck idealist at the tender young age of 17. I’ll admit, most of the wonder, and a good part of the idealism has been ground out in these past eight years.  Yet I come back year after year, for better or for worse.  Planting enabled me to travel the world, and fund my education.  It has provided me with the economic freedom to do as I please and for this I am truly grateful.

Will the global centre for teak production shift to Latin America?

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Synopsis

Taking a look at teak production today and forecasting demand in the future, Latin America has the potential to surpass Asia in teak production. Given a number of contributing factors the author argues that Latin America has what it takes to continue to grow and prosper from it's commercial teak production.

Could it be that Latin America will eventually surpass Asia as the world teak producer? Can tropical American countries rival or even surpass Burma, India and Indonesia as sources of this lucrative species, in the way the British Far East colonies took over from Brazil as the producer of rubber? This happened after Henry Wickham smuggled 70,000 rubber tree seeds from the Amazon to Kew Botanic Gardens in the UK, after which they were sent to Asia in the final decades of the 19th century.

 

Combined heat and biochar: A revolution for greenhouse bioenergy

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Synopsis

Looking at the benefits of biochar and its potential as a greenhouse bioenergy resource, with implications for seedling propagation for the silviculture industry.

In the October 2011 issue of Silviculture Magazine, John Kitchen makes a sensible argument for turning to woody energy crops as a source of clean energy. Many people from around the world share the excitement for biomass' potential to supplement our energy needs. For greenhouse growers and seedling producers, energy costs and productivity are top of mind.