Original article published by Canadian Forest Industries
Part of the major funding announcement made by Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson on June 3 to support the forest products sector included $37 million in funding for the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC). With tens of millions in new project funding at their fingertips, the FESBC is excited to assist with funding innovative solutions for improving the management of B.C.’s forests with a focus on fibre.
“The funding is aimed towards innovation and improvement of utilization of fibre,” says Jason Fisher, executive director of the FESBC. “Historically we’ve had two streams that we’ve been focusing on as an organization: one on wildfire risk reduction, and one on fibre recovery and utilization, and so, this money is earmarked for those fibre recovery and utilization type programs.”
Anytime forest management projects are being performed, woody biomass is generated through management and harvesting. The projects that the FEBSC is funding are designed to support more productive and sustainable uses for that biomass. Some of that biomass has traditionally been disposed of through controlled burning to avoid it being left as a wildfire hazard.
“We’re reducing the greenhouse emissions that come from open burning of slash piles. We’re supporting contractors who have already made the investment in moving that material to roadside, in many cases, or piling it,” Fisher explains.
The FESBC is still actively doing intakes and evaluating submissions, so none of the projects that will receive part of the $37 million in funding have been announced to date.
“I really appreciate the projects that are about not so much what we’re taking off the landscape, but what we’re leaving behind on the landscape,” Fisher says. “Are we leaving behind a more fire-resilient ecosystem? Are we leaving behind an area that if a fire does start, it’s easier to operate on for the wildfire fighters who would come in and action that fire? Does it improve habitat for wildlife? Does it improve the way that water is retained on the site? There’s a lot of different factors that you can look at.”
The additional funding support from the FESBC has the potential to be incredibly beneficial for local contractors where the projects take place. Much of the wood being harvested through forest management is fire-killed, has too many defects, is too small, or is otherwise too damaged to be accepted by a sawmill.
“That doesn’t make them any less expensive to process and transport for use in pulp and paper or bioenergy,” Fisher says. “One of the hallmarks of the program has always been that we support just trying to get that material that could provide economic value but is too far away from the processing centre. Can we can we change the transportation costs just enough to get that material moved in, instead of having it burned?”
With the sawmill closures and curtailments that have taken place in recent years, local contractors have been under additional pressure to find work for their crews and finance operations. These contractors are a vital part of the solution for reducing wildfire risks in communities.
“We believe that the local forest managers, the local contractors, actually have the relationships in the communities and have the relationship with the forest to be able to propose work and carry out work that is going to benefit the communities that they live in,” Fisher says. “To me, that’s the special sauce in what we do – empowering those local contractors, consultants, land managers to do what they know is right for the landscape but maybe is not otherwise economically available to them without our support.”
The $37 million in funding marks the first time the FESBC has received support from the federal government.
“I am very grateful and humbled by this opportunity. We have a real chance to show what we’re capable of achieving, what our proponents are capable of achieving,” Fisher says. “I really hope that this is the start of something, as opposed to a one-time announcement. But that’s on us and our proponents to perform to make that a reality. Things are tough in the forest sector in a lot of places; there’s a lot of help that’s needed. We’re just a part of that solution, but we’re going to do the best we can.”