Vol. 1, No. 3 The Ministry of Forests Employee Newspaper December, 1981

Ministry Raqueteers Chop IndustryAfter years of talking about it,' the

Forests Ministry finally met the forestindustry in a tennis tournament in Vic­toria... and industry was pulped.

Ministry chainsawed industry 23matches to 13 in the overall results,with ministry players also taking allthe team and individual prizes.

Industry has already started makingplans for a comeback next year, inwhat will become an annual tennisclassic. In the meantime they are blam­ing this year's performance on theheady qualities of Larry Parlow'sForest Service Orange Juice.

The tournament was the culmina­tion of two years of planning by JuliusJuhasz, director of Timber Manage­ment Branch, Cariboo -RegionalManager Denny MacDonald and JohnMarritt of Lignum Ltd. in WilliamsLake,

In the round robin event, each sidefielded folir doubles teams and foursingles players. The competition wasbroken down into the All-InclusiveDoubles Competition followed by a

,choice for' competitors of' SelectDoubles or Select Singles.

The team of Howard Tooby of Pro­tection and Larry Parlow of Planningwon both the Select and the AlI­Inclusive Doubles with John Nichol ofValua'tion Branch coming out a clearwinner in the Select Singles.

The Regional Manager's PerpetualTrophy, a handsome black totem,: wasdonated by Denny MacDonald ~long

with smaller individual totems.Trophies for the Select Doubles andSingles, donated -by Lignum, weredesigned and handcrafted by LeoDucharme, a talented Lignum welder.

:.tJ[l1tk,

WINNERS of the first annual ministry-industry tennis tournament, from left to right, are John Nichol, Peter Downs,Winston Wai, Howard Toobyand Larry Parlow. The winning team, all 'headquarters staff, also indudedJuliusJuhasz,Roman Spanier and Frank Siy. The industry players were: Tim Kerr of Vancouver, Ron Bellamy of Prince George, AndySzalkai of Quesnel, Howie Carter of Kelowna, John Marritt and Conrad Pinette of Williams Lake and Paul Sarvari, JoeScale and John Shaw of Victoria. Jack Danylchuk photo

Check Your Egg Nog_

Humblugs OniRampageThe'Ministry of Forests is taking

emergency measures to counter aseasonal infestation of humbugs nowwreaking havoc among British Colum­bia's Christmas trees.

Forest Service employees havebegun applying intensive tree decora­tion techniques to deal with the threat.

The humbug, also known as thescrooge beetle (D. pennipincher). hasan unusual life cycle. No' one knowswhere the eggs are laid although thegrubs first appear on bank statementsand plastic credit cards. The adults

swarm in early December, chewing upChristmas trees, ripping apart giftwrappings and spitting in the egg nog.They are easily identified by the tiny,ill-tempered "bah" sounds they makewhile carrying out their dirty work.

The only known defence againsthumbugs is the immediate applicationof colored lights, popcorn strings,tinsel, glass bC!-lls and other heavy-dutyChristmas equipment.

The Ministry of Colored Lights, Pop­corn Strings; Tinsel and Glass Balls haspromised the Forest Service its full co-

operation in dealing with these viciouspredators.

All funds for the emergency op~ra­tion will come from the normal budgetappropriation for festive forestry. Butproviding the money is just the firststep.

A ministry spokesman says: "Withthe orderly, planned decoration ofmillions of Christmas trees, we cantake suppression measures to inhibitthe spread of the humbug and lay the-foundation for a Merry Christmas) andpossibly even a Happy New Year."

Christmas BallSet For Dec. 11

All - past and present ministry'employees are invited to the Ministryof Forests Christmas Ball at the Em­press Hotel in Victoria, Friday, Dec.11. The program' includes cocktails, aturkey dinner, entertainment and dan­cing. Tickets at $15 per person areavailable from' CIa ire V~ssey,387-1914, or Debbie Lucoe, 387-1946.

2

I Recognize The Camel But Who's His Friend?

Replaces BTU, Foot pounds force,Horsepower hour, Watt hour, Calorieetc."

With such elevated food prices youundoubtedly have a joule of an idea.But BTUs and calories!!! Really! You'lljust have to get reorganized.

Yours truly,P.F. Griffiths

Fort NelsonGreat. Now I caD' go on a low­

joulery diet. - Ed.

"We know that the property roomhas almost 1000 numbered forms oninventory," says Chapman. "Webelieve there are at least that many dif­ferent forms used in the regions. Mostof them are being reproduced on officecopying equipment and that is in­credibly expensive."

When the management group com­pletes its assessment of ministry forms,Chapman hopes that all will be printedand distributed from a central location- the property room.

The EditorThis refers to your front page il­

lustration of an epicurean delight in'November's Forestaff. A toothsomemorsel, no doubt, but shame on youfor the caption: " . . . never have tocount calories again: Just BTUs."

Please refer to Page 8 of SI and Ac-,cepted Non SI Units for use in Forest Ser­vice Work, dated June 11, 1976. Thisclearly states: "Joule, aplied to !ill ex­pressions of work, heat and energy.

ly needs for between 20 and fifty yearsare not uncommon," says Neil Chap­man of Legal and Administrative Ser­vices Branch.

The ministry's forms managementgroup is carrying on the mandate of thedisbanded Ministry of Deregulationwithin the Forest Service, and reportsto Chapman. The group is analysingthe mountain of paper processed atheadquarters and in the regions in anattempt to bring about savings and effi­ciency wherever possible.

Property Room InventoryPaper Pusher's' ParadiseThe true bureaucrat, according to

legend, ha~ an insatiable appetite forpaper and is happiest when filling outor filing forms.

If the stereotype does in fact exist,he would find ultimate fulfillment in

.the Forests Ministry property room atVictoria headquarters, where AlIenLacharity, Kathi Hess' and MikeMcGregor preside over lifetime sup­plies of everything from envelopes andmemo pads to valuation forms.

"We have more than 900 forms oninventory," says Lacharity, propertyroom supervisor. The three-personstaff sends an average of two tonnes offorms a month to the six forest regionsand the shipping bill with just onecompany runs to more than $10,000 ayear.

"Things can get pretty hectiC," saysLacharity, "especially when there areno stock numbers on the requisitionforms and outgoing and incomingshipments are piling up at the door."

The propertY room is also theministry's first line of defence againstthose who experience pangs of in­security whenever stationery suppliesbegin to dwindle and gaps appear onstockroom shelves.

"One region recently requestedwhat amounted to a 300-yea'r supply ofa single form. Otders that would supp-

That's the Great Wall in the background so it must be China. And that must be Forests Minister Tom WaterIand test­driving the luxury model- twin humps, fur-covered bucket seat, the works! The camel's expression notwithstanding,the British Columbia delegation headed by WaterIand received a warm welcome during its rec~nt 16-day tour of China'sforest industry. As a direct result of the trip, the RC. Forest Service will be sending seed samples to China and a Chinesemission to British Columbia has been scheduled. In the long run, the minister says, China offers good business oppor­tunities for our forest industry.

It's that tiine of year again: the hillsare _ alive with the sound ofsnowmobiles.

Inquiries - from the- public aboutwinter access to forest areas starteddrifting up against the Ministry ofForests' door about five years ago andwinter recreation has 'been snowball­ing ever since.

"We've responded by keeping ac­cess roads and parking lots open, clear­ing out scenic trails and providing pic­nic tables, shelters and washroomfacilities," says Harry Marshall, direc­tor of Recreation Management Branch."The program is low-key but it's grow­ing. We're just starting to get a handleon its needs." •

Deciduous TFL.First In B.C.The Ministry of Forests is inviting

applications for the province's firstdeciduous Tree Farm Licence.

_Scott Paper Ltd.' has proposed a newTFL for intensive management of cot­tonwood in the lower Fraser,Homathko and Kingcome River areasof the Vancouver Forest Region.

However Forests Minister TomWaterland says: "While Scott Paper re­quested consideratIon, I am invitingproposals from all interested firms andindividuals for the practical andeconomical utilization of the deciduousspecies from these·three areas.

"Every proposal will be reviewedand, if a Tree Farm Licence is award­ed, it will be granted to the applicantsubmitting the best proposal."

Ministry estimates indicate the threeareas together will initially sustain anannual deciduous harvest of 47,000cubic metres. The licence will requirecompatible use of the areas and will in­clude a condition for open marketdisposition of any coniferous timberrecovered. .

Deadline for -applications is nextFeb. 1 and a public hearing is schedul­ed to open in Vancouver on March 30.

.There's No BusinessLike Snow Business

3

RED-HOT HOCKEY MAMAS, left to right, are Luanne Palmer, Ethel]ohnson,Agneta Lundberg and (inset) Helga Irving. All have sons playing pro hockey.

If you have questions about theservice, this is where you get theanswers.

There is now an added incentive toparticipate. Originally pegged at a max­imum $500/ awards for suggestionswith tangible results have just been in­creased to a $10/000 maximum or 10per cent of benefits that accrue in thefirst year of implementation.

Certificates of merit are awarded to. suggestions not eligible for cash grantsbut deserving of recognition.

According to program rules, sugges­tions must: state a problem, potentialproblem or. opportunity; present as:pecific solution; identify the savingsor benefits; be written on the prescrib-ed form. .

Examples offered include: eliminateor reduce waste, safety hazards anduseles~ operations; substitute new.methods for old; conserve energy.

Suggestion Awards Program formsare now available from personnel of­ficers in the six forest regions and at allbranches in Victoria.

Whatever happened to the Sugges­tion Awards Program?

Mter a start slowed by delays indistributing the necessary forms, theprogram should gain momentum in theForests Ministry, says Don Ritson,manager of legal serVices.

According to Ritson, ministryemployees have made only six of the263 suggestions received so far by MelZurkowski, suggestion awards co­ordinator with the Ministry of Finance.

Implemented last year, the programis aimed at improving efficiency andeffectiveness in the public servicewhile giving government employees anopportunity to participate 'directly inmanagement. -

As of Sept. 30/196 of 263 sugges­tions received had been rejected and55 were still under review. Accordingto Finance Minister Hugh Curtis, 10cash awards have been made and two

- certificates of merit presented.

NEW INCENTIVE

Prince Rupert RegionDENIS GARON - RO SilviculturePrince Rupert from TFO-2; LINDAWILSON - Forest Agrologist fromAux; HELENE GESKE - OA-2Smithers from OA-l; GILLIANKILSHAW - OA-2 Smithers from Aux;JOAN BARBER -OA-2 Smithers fromAux; BRANDA MOORE - OA-2Smithers from Aux; YATEVEENGSTROM - OA-2 Smithers, new;,MARION JACKSON OA-2 Smithers.new; JANICE TAEKEMA - OA-2Smithers, new; GEORGE BURNS ­RO Silviculture Bella Coola fromLSO-l Hazelton.

DOLAH - FA-4 Vanderhoof fromFA-2 Aux.

Victoria Headquarters,ROY NATSUHARA - Director TechServices from Manager' Finance andAdmin, Prince George; WOLFGANGBINDER - Bio-4 Research, new;DAVID SIMPSON - Bio-4 Researchfrom Aux; SHELLEY JANE - OA-2 In­formation 1rom Aux; A. HODSON ­OA-2 Eng from Human Resources;GAlL TREMBLAY - OA-2 Legal andAdrnin from Aux; W.B. ROBERTS ­TFO-l Silviculture from Aux; ANNEPOWELL 'CI-3 Personnel fromOA-2.

for the Stanley Cup finals with NewYork, scoring eight goals and'assistingon five. He plays a regular shift withthe Stars this year.

Randy Irving, whose mother Helgaleft tfie Cowichan Station for GreenTimbers Nursery in 1979, now playswith Fort Wayne in the InternationalLeague. He played on the NewWestminster Bruins Memorial Cup­winning team and with Canada'sjunior entry to the World Cup tourna­ment in Sweden.

Mark Johnson is taking a mechanicscourse while waiting for a return callfrom the Seattle Breakers. He has alsoplayed junior hockey at Lake

. Cowichan and with -the KelownaBuckeroos.

Prince George' RegionBRUCE NOBLE - TFO-l Bird Dog Of­ficer Prince George from FA-4 BlueRiver; WALTER HOURIE - Mech-2Prince George from Aux; DON COUR­SON :..- TFO-l Bird Dog Officer PrinceGeorge from FA-4 Horsefly; JOHNNEWHOUSE - Tech-2 Eng PrinceGeorge from Tecfi-l; GEORGE DAVIS- RO Silviculture Fort St. James fromFA-4; MICHAEL DlTARO - RORec/Inv' Vanderhoof from FA-4;GARRY RADCHENKO - RO Rec-InvDawson Cre'ek from FA-4 Vanderhoof;ROSS NOBLE - FA-4 SilvicultureDawson Creek from FA-3 Princeton;DALE CINNAMON - FA-4 P,rotectionMcBride from FA-2 Aux; SHARRONSCHIEFELBEIN - FA-4 SilvicultureMcBride from FA-3 Aux; DAVID VAN

Kootenay Lake from TFO-3 TimberAlexis Creek; PETER FREW - ROReclInv Revelstoke from FA-4 Protec­tion; LAURIE DOSENBERGER -

OA-l Nelson from Aux; PETERFOWLER - LSO-2 Silviculture fromAux; TOM JOHNSTQN - ROSilviculture Castlegar from RO Timber

Nelson; BRUCE FRASER - LSO-3Silviculture Nelson from FA-4 Prince

George; TAMMY SOOKOURKOFF ­CI-3 Castlegar from OA-2 Nelson.

Is it chance or fate or something inthe water that makes the CowichanLake Research Station a source ofquality hockey players? The NHLwants to know.

Four "hockey moms" employed bythe station -' Helga Irving, LuannePalmer, Ethel Johnson and AgnetaLundberg - can boast of sons whohave made it to the pro level.

Brian Lundberg, now completing a,degree in physical education at theUniversity of Michigan,-was drafted in1980 by Pittsburg Penguins of the NHLand hopes to make the team at trainingcamp next fall.

Brad Palmer sparked the VictoriaCougars and last March was called upby the Minnesota North Stars in time_

Cowichan Lake, StationBreeds Hockey Pros

Cariboo RegionJOHN MENNING - District ManagerHorsefly from Operations Super; BON­NIE GOFORTJI - OA-2 WilliamsLake from Aux; DIRK TRIGG - ROSilviculture Horsefly from LSO-l Aux;MICHAEL GAlL -.,. RO RecreationAlexis Creek from Lands, Parks andHousing; WARREN COOPER - TSAPlanning Coordinator from LSO-l Aux;DONNA STOREY - CI-4 Quesnel,new; DENNIS ASHER - RO Protec­tion Quesnel from FA-4.

Nelson Region.MICHAEL HUDOCK - TFO-4 Nelsonfrom TFO-l Castlegar; ARNOLDERICKSON - LSO-2 Planning Nelsonfrom LSO-l Timber Kootenay Lake;BOB FEDORCHUK - Asst Site PrepCoordmator Nelson from FA-2 TimberPrince Rupert; REINER AUGUSTIN ­RO Timber Castlegar from TFO-l; JIMANNUNZIELLO - RO Timber

BureaucratsGood GuysSays Apsey"The Ministry of Forests

bureaucracy, with all its warts, is yoursecurity blanket," Deputy MinisterMike Apsey told the Pacific ,LoggingCongress in Vancouver.

That being the case, why is thebureaucrat always under attack?

"The reason lies," Apsey said, "inthe digestive juices of the normalhuman being. Every time one of thesenormal creatures ,runs up against theponderous, frustrating, time­consuming processes inherent in anylarge and complex organization, theold stomach juices start to churn,smoke comes out of the ears and thebrain switches off."

The deputy minister continued:"Tell a logger he can't 'cut what hewants and where he wants and he'lldamn you for tying him up in red tape.But that's not red tape, that's just ap­plying the rules which were put therefor good and proper reasons and, invery many cases,. at the insistence ofindustry."

The Ministry of Forests is workinghard to cut red tape, said Apsey,­despite the increasing complexity ofour task, "and complexity is themother of red tape."

His ~dvice to the loggers: "Be pa­tient... and stop throwing rocl~s at theguy on the tightrope."

The deputy's final word on the sub­ject: "There are no bureaucrats in Hell;they've already suffered too muchabuse in this world."

One person who heard the speechscored it this way:

"Bureaucrats 10 Loggers 0."

4 . .

December, 1981

A Form Of Madness

The Ministry of Forests Eml?loyee, NewspaperVol. 1 No. 3

In triplicate, from left to right, Kathi Hess, AlIen Lacharity and Mike McGregor spend their for­mative years pushing formidable quantities of ministry forms around the property room at Vic­toria headquarters. This is a form of madness ·in which the victims are conformed, reformed,misinformed and finally taken off in a form-fitting strait-jacket. Merely a formality, of course, butconsidered good form. Story Page 2. Jack Danylchuk photo

SAFETY: serious business.

New safety certuicates are go­ing up in Ministry of Forests workplaces all around the province,reminding management and staffabout their responsibilitiestowards safe operations. So don'tmash your thumb with the ham­mer when you're pounding in thenail to hang the certificate.

TECH SERVICES' new boss.Roy Natsuhara has been ap­

pointed director of Technical Ser­vices Branch, replacing HowardTaylor who retires after 35 yearswith the Forest Service. Natsuhara,has been manager, Finance andAdministration, in Prince Georgeregional headquarters for the pasttwo years. Hans Waelti is namedacting director of ValuationBranch, filling the gap left by BobThomas who retires after 31 yearsin the service. And John Menningis confirmed as district manager inHorsefly after several months as,acting DM.

dians are injured in their officesevery year. The more serious in­juries, accounting for ~lmost 50per cent of the total, are caused bypulling top-heavy file drawers orattempting to shut heavy objectssuch as filing cabinets.

•

Forest Service Safety PhilosophY

m-..-~- .. ·",...

Injuries can be prevented.

Everyone must be ((aioed [0 work and behave in a safe manner.

Every supervisor is responsible for the prevention of injuries.

Every employee has a responsibility CO work safely.

For the first time, alder is beingshipped from Vancouver Island asa manufactured product. Alder isconsidered to be an excellentmaterial for making wooden clogs.The recently established SwedishCanadian Clog ManufacturingLtd. of Duncan has begun shipp­ing about three container loads amonth to European markets.

•Van Dusen Commercial

Development Ltd. of Ottawa istesting a one-fifth scale modelheavy lift helium balloon that isaimed at use in the logging in­dustry. If the tests are successfulthe company will build a full-scalevehicle with a top speed of 50knots, an economic range .of 500kilometres and capable of liftingup to 45 tonnes.

•A four-month Forestry

Crewperson Course, now underway at Okanagan college inSalmon Arm, is designed to teachbasic skills, introduce students toforest resource management andinterest them in a forestry career.Course instructor is ColeneCowan who worked seven yearswith the Forest Service in theCariboo and Kamloops regions.

•Beware the killer filing cabinet!

According to Labor Canadastatistics, about 100,000 Cana-

had blamed logging operators inpast years who failed to clean out

,debris' from a creek. An in­vestigator says the slide originatedwell above any logging activity.

•A federal committee, headed by -

Ottawa biologist Blair McGugan,has begun review work on thefungicide Captan, one of 100chemicals originally approved on

, the basis of faked safety tests in aD.S. laboratory.

••

Fores~s Minister TomWaterland has called on ForestService employees to get involvedas leaders and instructors in theJunior Forest Wardens organiza­tion. He told the Pacific LoggingCongress the ministry is preparedto make "a significant and conti­nuing financial commitment" tothe JFW. And he added: "There'snot much use giving them moneyu you then turn your back onthem."

Postscripts

YOUNG: u~tiring, inspiring.

The Canadian Institute ofForestry has honored British Col­umbia's chief forester, Bill Young,with the Canadian ForestryAchievement Award. The CIFsays: "Much of British Columbia'ssignificant gains in improvedforest practices, recognition of theinteractive nature of wise forest

. resource management and effec­tive involvement of the public inforestry issues can be attributed tohis untiring, enthusiastic and in­spiring efforts."

•The landslide that washed out a

wooden bridge on the SquamishHighway, killing nine people, wasdue to natural causes and not theresult of logging activity, officialshave confirmed. Earlier, reports