Here is the Agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

See you all in Moncton

Click Here to Download 2008 AGM Agenda 

PRESS RELEASE – March 18, 2008

New Budget Eliminates Silviculture Program for Woodlot Owners

The government made two budget announcements regarding the provincial private woodlot silviculture program which in combination essentially eliminate this program. The first part of the announcement indicated that the budget would be cut in half from $8 million to $4 million. The second part of the announcement however, in practice will mean woodlot owners will not be able to access any of the reduced budget.

The second part of the announcement stipulates the cost sharing arrangement between the province and woodlot owners. Historically the cost of silviculture treatments was split 80-20 between the province and the woodlot owner. The new format will see this cost sharing change to a 50-50 split.

“How can government expect woodlot owners that cannot sell their forest products to start contributing more money to silviculture, “questioned New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners President Andrew Clark. “The appropriate move would have been to add money to the budget and improve the cost sharing to 90-10 using Federal trust fund money that was announced recently”, added Clark.

“We are mystified by this action when we believed that Premier Graham was committed to stable long-term silviculture funding”, said Clark. “The silviculture budget has not been this low since 1997 when only 6,800 hectares were treated. Last year with $8 million over 12,000 hectares were treated. This directly contributes to the sustainability and future of the forest industry in New Brunswick and creates much needed employment in rural communities,” stated Clark.

“What message about the future of the forest industry and the future of woodlot owners does this give? Is the government saying they have completely given up on the forest industry?” asked Clark.”I would like the Premier to consider this an urgent request for a meeting to discuss how woodlot owners fit in a self-sufficient New Brunswick. It is a question that needs answering.”

For more information contact: Andrew Clark 375-4708 or Troy Lifford 459-2990. Also contact Marketing Board managers at the following:

Carleton-Victoria: Tim Fox – 392-5584

Madawaska: Claude Pelletier – 739-9585

North Shore: Alain Landry – 548-8958

Northumberland: Kevin Forgrave – 622-7733

South East New Brunswick: Marcel Maillet – 532-1150

Southern New Brunswick: Pam Folkins – 433-9860

York Sunbury Charlotte: David Palmer – 444-6655

Troy Lifford BBA, BScF
Assistant Manager
New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners
259 Brunswick St., Suite 304
Fredericton, N.B.
E3B 1G8
Phone 506-459-2990 Fax 506-459-3515
Email: nbfwo@nbnet.nb.ca
Web: http://www.nbwoodlotowners.ca

I am posting the membership application form for any one who maybe interested in joining the association. The current fees are $35.00 for regular members and $70.00 for Certified members.

Only paid members are eligible to attend the Annual General Meeting.

click here for membership application

Hope for CanadaHope for CanadaInteresting Article – Enjoy!

Good Afternoon,

At this time I  would like to present to you the attached documents regarding the Right To Practice issue. The Executive stated a few years ago that we would keep you all up to date with the progress. These attached documents are where we are at with this procedure. You have not received anything before because we never had anything to present.

I apologize that these documents are not in French. They were suppose to be but we could not find a translator to get it done. If anyone would like to translate these and post the translated copy please do so. Keep in mind that we are just volunteers trying to represent all of you.

I hope to hear from all of you. You can post comments here for all to read or contact me personnally ckfinnamore@rogers.com.

I will be presenting these documents at the AGM.

excellence-in-our-forests-draft.pdf

23-questions-and-answers.pdf

NEW BRUNSWICK FOREST TECHNICIAN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The AGM will be held on Thursday April 3rd, 2008 at 1pm at the Delta Beauséjour in Moncton, New Brunswick.

September 16 – 17, 2008
Halifax, NS Canada
Westin Nova Scotian Hotel, Halifax, NS

Bio-energy: Developing Trends and New Opportunities or a Changing Forest Industry”

The Canadian Woodlands Forum (CWF) and the Canadian Bio-Energy Association (CANBIO) have teamed- up in 2008, and are pleased to announce one of Canada’s leading edge conferences on today’s hottest topic, “Bio-energy”. In cooperation with the Canadian Wood Fiber Center and FPInnovations, the conference will also feature special Science Technology session.

This two day event will take place on September 16-17, 2008 in conjunction with the Canadian Woodlands Forum flagship event DEMO International® 2008 scheduled for September 18-20, 2008.

The “Bio-energy: Developing Trends and New Opportunities for a Changing Forest Industry” conference will provide:
Ÿ
-Updates on the availability of biomass across the country, and the opportunity in Atlantic Canada;
Ÿ-The challenges in meeting supply and demand from both Crown Lands and private woodlots;
Ÿ-The ‘latest-thinking’ on the impacts of biomass harvesting on forest ecosystems;
Ÿ-The need to work towards a comprehensive policy framework and development of practical biomass harvesting guidelines;
Ÿ-The economics of biomass harvesting and capital investment in bio-energy processing;
Ÿ-An update on the latest bio-energy processing technologies;
Ÿ-The opportunities to meet current demands for both domestic and commercial use, and an update on emerging market trends.

The program will be of interest to woodlot owners, forest product companies, suppliers and manufacturers of equipment, logging and silviculture contractors, financial investment firms, government, research organizations and academia.

The program is slated to also include field excursions to existing facilities and woodlands operations, as well as the opportunity to see some of the latest technologies and equipment at the DEMO International® 2008 show, September 18-20, 2008.

For more information, please contact:
Bruce McCallum, CANBIO canbio@xplornet.com
Peter Robichaud, CWF probichaud@cwfcof.org

Download conference details by right clicking and saving this link:

CWF Bio-energy Conference

I would like to express congratulations to all the Graduates of MCFT Bathurst Campus and I extend an open invitation to all grads to be part of the NBFTA.

Congratulations to Marc Plourde, recipient of the NBFTA Award, shown receiving the award from Blair DeGrace, CFT.

Sent in by Kim Mann from British Columbia:

Ministry of Forests and Range, The Tree Seed Centre (TSC), Surrey is responsible for registering, processing, testing, storing and distributing all forest tree seed to meet an annual 270 million plus Crown land seedling production program. This unique provincial centre is owned and operated by the Ministry of Forests and Range.

As the Testing Supervisor, you’ll be responsible for the very dynamic and fast-paced TSC testing business area. In this role, you’ll organize, supervise and conduct seed, cone, seedlot and request assessments and testing throughout the centre’s business steps, activities and decision points including seed/cone processing, registration, interim and long-term storage, production and distribution. Key responsibilities include ensuring that multiple and concurrent sampling, testing, inspection, analyses and reporting activities are completed in accordance with International rules, ministry policy and TSC standards. You’ll also ensure effective data and information management, resolve unusual or complex problems and provide technical expertise to centre staff, clients, contractors and students.

Additionally, you will supervise a team of regular staff, and prioritize daily, weekly and longer-term work assignments, set standards, assign resources, resolve problems and recommend improvements and be responsible for the laboratory infrastructure including supplies and equipment monitoring and safety.

To qualify for this important role, you bring a technical diploma or have graduated university in forestry, agriculture, horticulture or other related field, and you have 4+ years experience in a resource-related (i.e. forestry, water or agriculture) quality control, testing, processing and/or research environment. Alternatively, you have the equivalent combination of education and experience, such as 6 years related testing, processing or research environment experience and relevant on-the-job training courses. You also bring demonstrated experience working in a production environment with simultaneous work activities and quality control responsibilities and a minimum of 2 years experience supervising technical staff in a unionized environment.

For more information about the position’s responsibilities, qualifications/experience required, and how to apply, please go to http://employment.gov.bc.ca/index.php?view_posting=039729

The Annual General Meeting 2008 will be held concurrently with the Canadian Woodlands Forum Spring Meetings being held in Moncton on April 2-3, 2008. The exact day and time are still being worked out.

Please see the CWF Preliminary Announcement for details about accomodations.

2008-spring-meeting-preliminary-announcement.pdf

The following Executive postions will need to be filled:

2nd Vice President, Secratary, Treasurer, Region Representatives for Regions 1, 2 & 3.

Chris Finnamore, CFT#109, President