BioMASS update EastErn provincEs updatE forEstry, wood allocation A new system in Quebec will allow the auction of up to 25% of timber from public forests for forestry stakeholders and new en-trepreneurs, opening more doors for biomass opportunities not associated with tenure holders. Quebec is the second province, after British Columbia, to formally offer public forest timber for auc-tion. A Wood Marketing Office (Bureau de mise en marché des bois) will be responsible for the sale of 20–25% of wood from public forests on the open market from April 2013. Auctions will begin this winter, with plans to sell about 200,000 cubic meters of wood in the southwest (Ottawa), south-central (Mauritius and Laurentides), and north-central (Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean) regions. Ontario intends to introduce legislation in 2011 to modernize its forest tenure and pricing sys-tem. Under the proposed system, Local Forest Management Cor-porations would manage Crown forests and oversee local timber sales. Enhanced Shareholder Sustainable Forest Licences would comprise groups of mills and/or harvesters that manage Crown forests under Sustainable Forest Licences. The system is expected to create new opportunities and facilitate greater local and Aborigi-nal participation in the sector. The province made its first series of Wood Supply Offers under the Provincial Wood Supply Com-petitive Process in late November 2010, with proponents given 30 days to accept. The process con-tinues, with further Wood Supply Offers and announcements to be made as details are worked out. Changes to the way Nova Scotia’s forests are managed were proposed in December 2010 as six strategic directions to guide future forestry policy. “We will be meeting with the Mi’kmaq, small woodlot owner representatives, large mills, and nongovernment environmental organizations for input,” says John MacDonell, Nova Scotia’s minister of natural resources. The strategy’s aims include reducing clear-cutting, prohibiting whole-tree harvest, setting a province-wide annual allowable cut, and incorporating biomass harvest requirements in the Code of Forest Practice. The natural resources strategy is in the final writing phase. New Brunswick will be tak-ing actions to strengthen and re-new its forest industry based on recommendations developed at a November 2010 summit involv-ing stakeholder groups, industry, First Nations, and government and non-governmental organiza-tions. These include establishing wood sales and timber objectives for private and public forests, undertaking an assessment of forestry innovation outside of New Brunswick, and identifying future areas of transition such as using wood pellets in govern-ment buildings and exploring new technologies. A complete report on the summit is available at the Department of Natural Resources’ website. Canadian BIOMASS 5
Canadian Biomass January/February 2011: Page 5
