Tag: forestry

Three Directors Charged With Fraud Over ‘Ethical’ Forests in Costa Rica

Three company directors have been charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) following the collapse of a company which offered ethical investments in the rain forests of Costa Rica eight years ago. Ethical Forestry Limited, which was based in Bournemouth, collapsed in 2015 owing millions of pounds to 3,500 British investors, many of whom lost…


Ottawa’s Promise to Plant 2 Billion Trees Without Provinces’ Help Not ‘Realistic’: Environment Commissioner

Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said on June 13 that the Liberal government needs to implement more “realistic” initiatives, saying the 2019 promise of planting two billion trees can not be done without the provinces’ participation. “They need to concentrate much more on results,” DeMarco testified at the House of Commons natural resources committee. “This is a…


Canada Has Seen Wildfires Like This Before, Says Fire Historian

Steve Pynes is a rarity—he’s the only historian he knows of that is dedicated specifically to the study of fires. And that gives him a unique perspective on Canada’s current wildfires. “Canada has had fires at both ends burning at the same time—the 1908 fires were just a kind of rolling thunder from Vancouver all…


Banning Native Logging Risks Fuelling More Illegal Logging Activities: Industry

Native forest logging will soon become illegal in the Australian state of Victoria after a string of legal actions from environmental groups hamstrung logging activity.  The move, which comes amid a shortage in timber supply, has been warned by the sector to lead to more illegal logging, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs…


Drone Buzz Over Australian State Forests, No Worries for Gliders

Concerns over drones monitoring native endangered species of Australian gliders in Victoria appear to have been overblown after researchers found creatures could care less about the night-flying robotic invaders. Gliders, also known as flying possums, are marsupial mammals of Australasia that volplane between trees, much like flying squirrels in the northern hemisphere. The drones were…


Poilievre Launches Consultations With First Nations on Resource Revenues

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he is initiating consultations with First Nations and industry leaders on a new proposal that would allow First Nations to collect more fiscal revenues from resource projects on their lands. Speaking at a press conference in Vancouver on Jan. 24, Poilievre said he will be championing a “First Nations Resource…


Book Review: ‘Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America’

I have a friend who is an avid hiker. Admittedly, I am envious when I see his posts about his latest sojourn on this trail or that. He’s in his 70s and has been discovering the delights of forest adventures for decades. He’s part of a local hiking group, and with backpacks secured and walking…


Solar’s Lofty Ambitions Are Consuming Ever-Larger Expanses of Land Down Below

Wedged in the southern flank of Virginia, Charlotte County is home to some 11,500 people who live amidst rolling hills and family farms, pastures and sawmills, a historic Civil War battlefield, and four townlets tinier than many suburban subdivisions. But this pastoral tableau will be swept up in the green revolution when construction begins here on…


Lost in the BC Woods for 74 Days, Bear Henry Thankful to Forestry Workers’ Rescue

VICTORIA—Bear Henry says they survived more than 70 days stuck in a camper van on a remote Vancouver Island mountain forest road with only a few days’ worth of canned beans, raw rice, cat food and melted snow. Henry said Friday they are about 30 kilograms lighter than when they left Victoria Nov. 27 to…


Logging and the Art of Gardening

“I love trees,” said the forester. His name is Cliff Foster, and I believe him. But how does that square with the environmentalists’ view that foresters and loggers are chain-saw-wielding tree slashers who are only a few generations away from J. R. R. Tolkien’s orcs? My view of loggers wasn’t that extreme, especially since my…