During a brief stop in Squamish Wednesday (Feb. 4), Forestry Minister Pat Bell confirms that the B.C. forest industry saw one of its worst years ever in 2008. However he predicts a complete industry revival by 2015.
"If we want to do things the way we have done them for the last five decades, we are going to get the results we have been seeing," Bell said while sitting at Squamish Forest District office on Loggers Lane. "We needed to change yesterday."
For the first time ever, Bell said, forestry revenues dropped into the $600-million range. Just a few years ago, the province was pushing up into $1.2 billion.
He said the logging industry is experiencing unprecedented challenges and rampant lay offs, but insists there is hope for the flagging industry through four key steps. Not unlike a 12-step program to break bad habits, Bell said his four steps will create a new and improved forestry industry.
"First I think we need to fully utilize the resource. The public of B.C. and myself find it offensive to see large slash piles left behind in the bush," Bell said. "I see those piles as having value."
Bell said steps are being made to use wood waste for products such as wood pellets, bio diesel or synthetic gases. Interesting products can evolve from our residual material, Bell said.
"We need to get beyond traditional logging practices. In the 1950s there was no pulp and paper industry. Saw mills would cut slabs and leave behind huge slab piles. Every few weeks they would burn those piles to the ground until someone had a better idea," Bell said. "That's how the pulp and paper industry was born."
The second phase of Bell's plan is to grow trees more aggressively. He said areas such as Squamish would benefit from protected growing sites. Bell would like to see portions of the province set aside for efficient tree production, similar to the concept of the Agricultural Land Reserve.
"The third phase is to focus on China as a major buyer of our wood products," he said.
Bell is calling for the major companies in the province to consider selling to China, creating a better export balance with the States. He said B.C. needs to take the 10 billion board feet currently shipped to the United States and ship four billion into China.
The third phase of Bell's revitalization plan is to use more lumber in large institutional construction. He said the industry tends to be more stable because government generally drives it.
If the four phases of his plan are put into practice, Bell is confident that even Squamish could see a boom in a long forgotten forest industry.
"You will see a different industry on the ground in 2015 that will be driving 10,000 jobs and millions of dollars into the economy."
