the public forest - new brunswick · sawmills in st arthur, petitcodiac, grand bay and canaan forks...

The Public Forest2008 State of the Forest Report

Being responsible

Minister’s Message 3

Introduction 4

Our Progress 5

Industry News 6

Crown Licensee Performance 7

Royalties 8

Harvest Volumes 8

Silviculture 9

First Nations Operations 9

Fire Protection 10

Insect and Disease Protection 10

Wood Theft from Public Land 11

Biodiversity and Habitat 11

Protected Natural Areas 12

Other Uses 12

The Future 13

Table of Contents

This is an e-Government initiative to deliver services and information in an efficient and convenient manner

It is my pleasure to present the 2008 report on the state of New Brunswick’s Crown forest

The Department of Natural Resources manages the public forest in the best long-term interests of all New Brunswickers

In New Brunswick we have 3 3 million hectares of Crown land, of which three million hectares is forest This is slightly more than half of all forest land in our province

We have a rich forest history and a tradition of using the forest for a wide range of activities

It is very important to our government that we manage it wisely, using the best practices available, while balancing the needs and wishes of New Brunswickers

We know the forest industry continues to face challenges Our government is serious about helping industry find solutions to those challenges because we believe forestry has a bright future

We envision a forest industry in New Brunswick that is competitive and a forest that is vibrant and healthy

A healthy forest gives us many social, environmental and economic benefits It is home to wildlife It provides us with recreational opportunities, supports biodiversity and supplies us with fresh air It also allows us to work and provides economic benefits to our province

Forestry has a vital role to play in New Brunswick’s self-sufficiency agenda and will continue to be a strong contributor to our economy It is important for us to continue to be leaders in making sure the public forest is managed in the best interests of all New Brunswickers

Minister’s Message

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354316

103

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200620052004200320020

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Source: Department of Natural Resources Source: Department of Natural Resources

Source: Department of Natural Resources


29%Private Woodlots

Public Land (Crown)51%

2%Federal Land

18%Industrial Freehold

49.7

59.4 57.0

53.2

43



1.55 1.76 1.58

3.20 3.26 3.29

1.56

3.21

1.5

2.9

4.75 5.02 4.87 4.774.4

Softwood Hardwood Total


HuntingThousands Fishing Total

21.1

19.9 20.1 20.1

19


153.5 148.9 141.5 142.4

68.8 70.3 66.5 66.784.7 78.6 75.0 75.7

138.0

61.976.1

New Brunswick’s landscape is one of Canada’s most heavily forested and our province has a rich forest history

Even though our economy has a strong connection to forestry, harvesting only takes place on a small portion of the public forest This provides employment opportunities and makes significant contributions to our economy Each year more than 98 per cent of the Crown forest is left to grow, providing additional benefits for people and wildlife

Balancing the needs and expectations of conservationists, anglers, hunters, forest companies and others who enjoy our forest lands continues to be one of our biggest challenges and is one we take very seriously

We listen to our stakeholders and the public, encouraging people to participate in the management of our public forest

Introduction

Distribution of Productive Forest land in New Brunswick by Ownership

Although the global economic crisis made 2008 a difficult year for the forest industry and the thousands of New Brunswickers who work in forestry, the year also saw many positive developments Following are some of the highlights of the year

In February, results were released for an independent public survey on forest management More than 1,500 households took part in the survey The opinions and other information gathered will help guide the development of forest management policy in New Brunswick The survey can be found at: http://www gnb ca/0079/survey-e asp

Also in February, the Department of Natural Resources was awarded a Conservation Leadership Award for biodiversity research by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which is one of the largest sustainable forestry certification programs in the world The department was recognized for research on bird populations that will be used to improve forestry practices in the Acadian and boreal forests

In April, it was announced that all Crown timber licensees were eligible to have their Forest Management Agreements extended as a result of the completion of the Five-year Licensee Performance Evaluation (2002-2007) The performance assessment evaluated how successful each Licensee was at implementing their management activities on Crown lands The evaluation looked at harvesting, silviculture, biodiversity, working near water and management of deer wintering areas

In May, funding of $300,000 was announced for a sugar bush silviculture program to assist the maple syrup industry, which employs more than 2,000 seasonal workers annually The funding was used to support silviculture activity on existing maple tree stands and to enhance the growth of young trees for future production

In August, government received two task force reports examining the forest sector in New Brunswick, including the report of the New Brunswick Task Force on Forest Diversity and Wood Supply, which was prepared for the Department of Natural Resources The second report was Future Opportunities for the Forest Products Industry in New Brunswick, which was prepared for the Department of Business New Brunswick Government said it would respond to the two reports early in 2009 The reports can be found at: http://www gnb ca/cnb/promos/forest/index-e asp

In October, 30 new Protected Natural Areas (PNAs) covering 5,400 hectares of Crown land were designated The new PNAs brought to 158,000 the number of hectares of Crown land under permanent protection from any industrial activity

In November, government released the Crown Land Forest Biomass Harvesting Policy The policy was developed to support and strengthen the forest industry and the New Brunswick economy through the sustainable harvest and use of Crown forest biomass for bioenergy and other uses Companies interested in obtaining a Crown biomass allocation will be able to respond to a Request for Proposals early in 2009

Our Progress

http://www.gnb.ca/0079/survey-e.asp

http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/promos/forest/index-e.asp

In New Brunswick and around the world, 2008 was a difficult year for the forest industry Already in a downturn, industry was further affected by plummeting housing starts in the United States followed by the global economic slowdown

The Government of New Brunswick continued to work with communities, forestry workers and companies to deal with this challenge

This included injecting more than $2 million into communities directly affected by sawmill closures

This money resulted from an initiative to facilitate the consolidation and restructuring of the sawmill sector in an effort to make New Brunswick sawmills more competitive and attract investment in new technology

Under the initiative, if a sawmill owner sold the mill equipment and assets to another sawmill operator within the province, the Crown allocation of wood attached to that mill would be transferred as well The seller would contribute $10 for each cubic metre of its Crown allocation to a fund to support economic development activities in the area affected by the closure

Sawmills in St Arthur, Petitcodiac, Grand Bay and Canaan Forks were permanently closed and $2,087,320 in resulting funding was dispersed to those areas to support economic development activities

Government, through the Department of Business New Brunswick, continued to provide support to industry so that it can become more efficient and competitive

This included:

a $9-million term loan to Irving Paper in Saint John •to upgrade its facility and improve operations to help it become more energy efficient

a $40-million term loan for Fraser Papers in •Edmundston for projects to improve energy efficiency, increase processing capacity, upgrade technology and enhance environmental performance

interest-bearing, fully-repayable loans of $15 •million and $4 5 million, respectively, to help make the Grand Lake Timber sawmill in Chipman and the J D Irving Ltd sawmill in Deersdale more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly

a $10-million term loan to AV Nackawic to assist in •converting equipment formerly used to produce paper pulp so it can now produce dissolving pulp used to make rayon

Industry News

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In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the Department of Natural Resources implemented a Forest Operations Compliance Audit system to assess licensee performance in adhering to operating standards for Crown land This system uses a small group of dedicated, highly trained DNR staff to provide consistent, professional assessments While the audit system provides for monetary penalties where non-conformance to standards occurs, the main focus is on public reporting of audit results and compliance action plans as the primary means to facilitate continual improvement in operating practices

The compliance action plans are written by licensees in response to a non-compliance identified in an audit and outline strategies to correct the problem and prevent future occurrences Successful implementation of any compliance action plan is assessed during subsequent audits

The 2007-2008 audit reports, as well as any associated compliance action plans, are available for viewing on the Department’s web site at: http://www gnb ca/0078/publications/Forest-e asp

Each Crown Timber Licence is subject to two •annual formal audits using a risk-based approach to determine the sampling effort required The audit process assesses the types of operations carried out on the Licence, the sensitivity of the areas where these operations occur, the history of compliance on the Licence and the strength of the Licensees’ management controls In addition to the two formal audits, mini-audits focused on specific issues not present during the formal audits can be done at anytime throughout the year

The Department assigns non-compliance to one of three categories An Opportunity for Improvement is assessed for less serious issues While not associated with a monetary penalty, licensees are expected to make improvements to minimize future occurrences of the same issue There were 50 Opportunities for Improvement assessed during 2008

Minor and Major non-conformance categories are more serious in nature and are associated with monetary penalties and compliance action plans There were 14 Minor non-conformances assessed in 2008 associated with a total of $49,521 72 in penalties No Major penalties were assessed in 2008

Forest Audit Summary 2007-2008 table (Table 1)

Crown Licensee Performance

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/Forest-e.asp

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-AuditSummary-e.pdf

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29%Private Woodlots


2%Federal Land


49.7

59.4 57.0

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43



1.55 1.76 1.58

3.20 3.26 3.29

1.56

3.21

1.5

2.9

4.75 5.02 4.87 4.774.4




21.1

19.9 20.1 20.1

19


153.5 148.9 141.5 142.4

68.8 70.3 66.5 66.784.7 78.6 75.0 75.7

138.0

61.976.1

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29%Private Woodlots


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49.7

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1.55 1.76 1.58

3.20 3.26 3.29

1.56

3.21

1.5

2.9

4.75 5.02 4.87 4.774.4




21.1

19.9 20.1 20.1

19


153.5 148.9 141.5 142.4

68.8 70.3 66.5 66.784.7 78.6 75.0 75.7

138.0

61.976.1

The forest industry paid more than $43 million in royalties for wood harvested from the public forest during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 This was $12 5 million lower than the previous year as a result of a royalty rate reduction to reflect lower market values for softwood and hardwood products

Royalties in $ Millions

Royalty table (Table 2)

Royalties Harvest VolumesThe forest industry harvested more than 4 4

million cubic metres of wood from the public forest That includes almost 2 9 million cubic metres of softwood and just over 1 5 million cubic metres of hardwood This was 1 06 million cubic metres less than the sustainable harvest levels Harvesting operations took place on 45,785 hectares of the public forest

Harvest in Millions of Cubic Metres

For more information on forest management, visit http://www gnb ca/0079/index-e asp

Harvest volume table (Table 3)

http://www.gnb.ca/0079/index-e.asp

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-RoyaltiesLicensees-e.pdf

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-HarvestLicensees-e.pdf

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29%Private Woodlots


2%Federal Land


49.7

59.4 57.0

53.2

43



1.55 1.76 1.58

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1.56

3.21

1.5

2.9

4.75 5.02 4.87 4.774.4




21.1

19.9 20.1 20.1

19


153.5 148.9 141.5 142.4

68.8 70.3 66.5 66.784.7 78.6 75.0 75.7

138.0

61.976.1

More than 19 million seedlings were grown at the Kingsclear Tree Nursery and 9 3 million seedlings were purchased from private nurseries

Kingsclear nursery table (Table 4)

These seedlings were planted and are renewing over 13,500 hectares of public forest Pre-commercial thinning was carried out on more than 17,600 hectares of public forest Federally approved herbicide was applied to almost 13,800 hectares of public forest

Silviculture operations were carried out on more than 12,600 hectares of private woodlots under a cost-sharing agreement between the Province and woodlot owners

Kingsclear Tree Nursery Seedling Production (Millions)

For more information on silviculture operations on Crown and private land, visit http://www gnb ca/0079/silviculture/index-e asp

Crown land silviculture 2007-08 and Private land silviculture 2007-08 tables) (Table 5)

Silviculture First Nations OperationsAll 15 First Nations communities in New Brunswick

continued to benefit from agreements for commercial harvesting on Crown land

First Nations harvested almost 179,000 cubic metres of wood on 95 harvest blocks More than $2 2 million in related royalties was returned to First Nation communities

Crown harvest – First Nations 2007-08 table (Table 6)

Crown royalties – First Nations 2007-08 table (Table 7)

Natural Resources coordinators helped identify and locate harvest sites as well as monitor harvest operations During the 2007-08 fiscal year, coordinators made 190 visits to First Nations harvest sites and observed 18 violations

For more information on First Nation harvesting, visit http://www gnb ca/0079/First_Nations/index-e asp

Violations and Penalties – First Nations 2007-08 and Violations in detail tables (Table 8)

http://www.gnb.ca/0079/silviculture/index-e.asp

http://www.gnb.ca/0079/first_nations/index-e.asp

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-Nursery-e.pdf

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-SilvicultureCrown-Private-e.pdf

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-RoyaltiesFirstNations-e.pdf

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-ViolationsFirstNations-e.pdf

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/FR-HarvestFirstNations-e.pdf

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29%Private Woodlots


2%Federal Land


49.7

59.4 57.0

53.2

43



1.55 1.76 1.58

3.20 3.26 3.29

1.56

3.21

1.5

2.9

4.75 5.02 4.87 4.774.4




21.1

19.9 20.1 20.1

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153.5 148.9 141.5 142.4

68.8 70.3 66.5 66.784.7 78.6 75.0 75.7

138.0

61.976.1

In 2008, there were 168 wildfires that burned 142 6 hectares of forest land The 10-year average is 343 wildfires and 584 hectares of forest land burned About eight per cent of our fires are caused by lightning while the rest are caused by human activities

Fires

For more information on fire protection, visit http://www gnb ca/0079/index-e asp

Fire ProtectionInsect and Disease Protection

Although a number of insects and diseases were detected in 2008, the forests of New Brunswick remained free of significant damage The infamous spruce budworm is still at low levels, so no defoliation is expected in 2009 Some increases were noted for gypsy moth but not enough to forecast significant areas of defoliation in 2009 The non-native brown spruce longhorn beetle that has invaded Nova Scotia has been found closer to New Brunswick’s southeastern border, raising concerns that it might soon make its way into this province Annual surveys are maintained as our first step in integrated pest management

For more information on insect and disease protection, visit http://www gnb ca/0078/ForestPests/index-e asp


http://www.gnb.ca/0078/ForestPests/index-e.asp

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1.55 1.76 1.58

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21.1

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153.5 148.9 141.5 142.4

68.8 70.3 66.5 66.784.7 78.6 75.0 75.7

138.0

61.976.1

There were 103 incidents of wood theft on public land Six cases ended with convictions and 26 resulted in warnings No solid information on the identity of thieves has become available on some of the remaining cases, while others are still under investigation

New Brunswickers should contact Natural Resources or Crime Stoppers to report illegal activities on public land

Wood theft Incidents

For information on reporting a crime, visit: http://newbrunswick crimestoppersweb com/contactus aspx

Wood Theft from Public Land

A new Species at Risk Act was introduced in the Legislative Assembly in December 2008 The target for adoption of the Act is 2009

Throughout the year, work continued on a strategy and framework for the conservation and sustainable use of the province’s biodiversity More than 50 stakeholder organizations reviewed a draft of the strategy and provided constructive input The biodiversity strategy is expected to be released by mid 2009

Objectives and best management practices are in place on Crown land to ensure there is enough habitat to keep healthy populations of all species Specifically:

Deer Wintering Areas are managed through •timber harvesting and silviculture to provide severe and moderate winter habitats for white-tailed deer,

Six other old-forest wildlife habitats and eight •old-forest community types are also managed to provide habitat for the 46 wild vertebrate species and the flora, fauna and other wild organisms that require old forest,

buffer zones are maintained adjacent to all lakes, •rivers, streams and wetlands to protect water quality and fish habitat

Timber harvesting is a secondary objective and only permitted to occur in these areas under special conditions

Biodiversity and Habitat

http://newbrunswick.crimestoppersweb.com/contactus.aspx

http://newbrunswick.crimestoppersweb.com/contactus.aspx

Crown land forests are used for many purposes These include 1,100 hectares for camp lot leases and 8,995 hectares for maple sugary leases

These public forests and waterways are enjoyed every year by tens of thousands of hunters, anglers, campers and outdoor enthusiasts

There are more than 4,500 kilometres of hiking, snowmobile and ATV trails on Crown land

Other UsesNew Brunswick has 10 large and 50 smaller

Protected Natural Areas covering more than 158 000 hectares of land During 2008, the 10 Local Advisory Committees provided advice concerning management of their respective PNA The Scientific Advisory Committee and the Provincial Advisory Committee provided scientific and broad-scale PNA advice

During the year, the Province, in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, proclaimed the first Private Land Protected Natural Area of approximately 850 hectares in the Musquash Harbour area, located just west of Saint John

For more information on PNAs, visit http://www gnb ca/0399/index-e asp

Protected Natural Areas


The FutureWe are dedicated to establishing a strong forestry

framework for the future In the coming year, government will continue to work with industry on ways to streamline procedures and reduce costs for both government and industry

And we will focus our attention on private woodlot owners who have been particularly hurt by the downturn in the industry Historically, these producers have been major contributors to the province’s wood supply and the economy of rural New Brunswick and the means must be found to restore this standing

the public forest - new brunswick · sawmills in st arthur, petitcodiac, grand bay and canaan forks...

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