ForestWorks

In his work with Foresite Consultants forester Cam Brown has become adept at the science of mapping timber supply, along with tenure management, economic analysis, and silviculture planning. He recently put some Sierra Club claims under the microscope, and found them lacking. Join us to hear the details.

This week, ForestWorks hosts Russ Taylor, a wood business and market consultant who's been in the business 45 years. We talk markets, investment, renewable forest products in a circular economy, and the impacts of BC's forest policy on the industry going forward.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative President and CEO Kathy Abusow joins us on ForestWorks this week. In her role since 2007, she has led the organization's independent certification of sustainable forestry practices and expansion into conservation projects, education, and community building.

This week, former BC NDP Premier Mike Harcourt and UBC forestry professor and researcher John Innes join us on ForestWorks. Listen in for a conversation about provincial forest policy, the science is sustainable forest management, and how BC's approach stacks up in the global context.

This week on ForestWorks we speak with two local politicians elected to serve the interests of very different communities – Port McNeill and the City of Vancouver. Both, however, are forest towns with deep ties to the industry. And both our guests have concerns about where BC is headed. Join us for the conversation.

On this week's show was speak with Tamara Meggitt, member of a forestry family in Courtenay who has emerged as a grassroots organizer for pro-forestry rallies, events, and dialogue in BC. She had to cancel a rally planned for the legislature recently, so we thought it would be good to hear her message on another channel.

On this week's episode of ForestWorks we speak with Dallas Smith, the founder, president and CEO of the Nanwakolas Council. The Council is an organization of five Vancouver Island First Nations with the mission of protecting and managing cultural values while building opportunity and partnership with government and industry. It recently announced an agreement with Western Forest Products.

Nanaimo Mayor and long-time NDP MLA Leonard Krog joins us once again on ForestWorks. In this episode we examine the current provincial government's new forest policy, and the impact it will have on forest towns like Nanaimo.

This week, ForestWorks spoke to Mike Hicks, the elected Capital Regional District director for Juan de Fuca, a huge but sparsely populated electoral area covering 1,500 square kilometers of rural southern Vancouver Island – Port Renfrew, East Sooke, Malahat, and the contested Fairy Creek region. Mr. Hicks has represented this area since 2008 and is steeped in its culture and issues of forestry, fisheries, tourism, park creation, and infrastructure. In our conversation, we delve into his work with local First Nations, and his pushback at the move by other CRD directors taking a stand against old-growth forestry and logging in the area when they didn't really understand the larger issues at play. It's a lively one!

This week on ForestWorks we speak with Jim Girvan, Registered Professional Forester, former executive director of the Truck Loggers Association of BC, and past director of the Pacific Logging Congress. He's served on numerous provincial committees and councils shaping forestry regulation in the province. We get into the downstream impacts of curtailing forestry in BC, and how many of the sophisticated recommendations in BC's Old Growth Strategic Review aren't reflected in the province's recent decisions.

John Rustad relates his personal story in forestry first as a working professional and later as BC's minister responsible for the portfolio.

Gary Bull is a forestry scientist and researcher at UBC - one of the world's top forest specialists with a long history of working at the global scale through the UN, WWF, World Bank, and more. Join us for this episode as we speak to Gary about the true story of old-growth in BC and how the industry is adapting to climate change and other challenges.

ForestWorks sat down with Robert Dennis, elected Chief Councillor for the Huu-ay-aht First Nation from the west coast of Vancouver Island. He has served his nation for decades and recently helped lead a significant investment in a forestry business in Huu-ay-aht .

On this week's show ForestWorks' speaks with Conrad Browne, Teal Jones' director of Indigenous Partnership and Strategic Relations. Conrad brings us an important perspective on the year of protests on southern Vancouver Island – the company, the logging, the First Nations, and the misinformation. Teal Jones is a value-added manufacturer that employs more than 1,000 British Columbians, most of those in milling and manufacturing. It does not ship any raw logs. Most of its logging on Vancouver Island is in second-growth, and the company has invested millions to build a mill specialized in maximizing value from smaller second-growth trees. It has a history of respectful engagement with First Nations in whose territories it works. So, why is the company facing blockades? Listen to find out.

The United Steelworkers Union has played a key role in BC forestry, representing thousands of workers across the industry. This week, we are joined by local union leaders Jeff Bromley and Brian Butler.

In this edition of ForestWorks host, Stewart Muir sits down with veteran Registered Professional Forester Murray Wilson to speak about the role historical forest management is playing in worsening forest fire seasons and the changes that could help. In recent years BC's forest fires have pushed more carbon into the atmosphere than all other sources in the province combined, so it's an important challenge.

Charlie Rensby is a Village of Burns Lake Councillor and has worked with Stand UP BC Forestry to organize rallies in support of responsible forestry in the province. Join us this week as we talk about advocating for the interior forestry sector. 

ForestWorks spoke with Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog about forestry's role in his community, and the controversy surrounding this industry on Vancouver Island. Mayor Krog has been steeped in these issues for decades, both as a provincial MLA and now mayor of what really is a forestry community. Even if that's perhaps not widely recognized by all – we'll get into that. Mayor Krog was first elected as an NDP MLA representing his community in 1991. 30 years ago. He served in several roles in the Legislature, including NDP caucus chair when the NDP formed government in 2017. He stepped back from provincial politics when Nanaimo city hall hit something of a crisis and needed him. He ran for mayor, and was elected to that role in 2018. That step over to municipal politics showed real commitment to his community, and standing where he's most needed. Since then he's provided a steady hand on the wheel for that community, which is BC's 4th largest urban centre after greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Kelowna.

This week ForestWorks is joined by David Elstone - forester; past executive director of the Truck Loggers; and editor of View from the Stump, a monthly newsletter providing a grassroots perspective on forestry in BC. 

In this week's episode of ForestWorks host Stewart Muir speaks with Carl Sweet, director of the BC Forestry Alliance and a forestry equipment salesperson in Campbell River. They discuss the swelling voice of grassroots forestry workers, including those in the supporting indirect jobs like his.Guest: Carl SweetHost: Stewart MuirPremier John Horgan clip source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiUjPIkGVeI&t=2088s

This week we speak with Vanderhoof councillor and UBCM immediate past president Brian Frenkel. Councillor Frenkel has worked in forest and environmental consulting for 35 years, and serves on the province's Mass Timber Advisory Council.

ForestWorks delves below the rhetoric to get to the real facts of this important industry through conversation with people who really know their stuff. In this episode host Stewart Muir speaks to Nicola Dickson, a consulting Registered Professional Forester currently practicing in the Nanaimo area, with experience in both the coastal and interior forestry regions. She works in forest planning, roads and road design, appraisals, site plans, and Forest Stewardship Plans. She is one of about 5,500 registered forest professionals working in numerous roles with government, industry, First Nations, and as consultants. 

This episode delves into the “roles” of Leadership in the Forestry Industry, highlighting the concerns for the average worker. Brian Butler, President of USW Local 1 - 1937 offers his insights on the current state of the Industry, and what actions he is taking to ensure the strength and stability in ongoing employment for the Union Membership.

Port McNeill, located on Northern Vancouver Island is, in a word, idyllic. Not unlike many other small towns in British Columbia, it was founded and continues to grow today as a burgeoning community due largely to the forestry industry - a rich legacy that literally built the socioeconomic backbone of our province. In this episode, Forest Works has a candid discussion with Gaby Wickstrom, Mayor of Port McNeill,  that unveils some of the unique challenges, triumphs and fragility facing “Industry Towns” in BC.