News Release

FREDERICTON (CNB) – The chairs of two task forces set-up to establish timber objectives for Crown and private land were announced today by Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup.

Norman Betts will chair the Crown Land Task Force, which has a mandate to make recommendations to the provincial government by July 1 on timber objectives for New Brunswick's public forests. Betts is a member of the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton and is a former provincial minister of Finance.

Donald Floyd, interim dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, is the chair of the Private Land Task Force. This task force has a mandate to set timber objectives that provide a stable and predictable wood supply from private land and will make its recommendations to the provincial government by Dec. 31.

Each chair will help select the other members of their respective task force.

"Having timber objectives will focus the efforts of private woodlot owners, industry and government on putting in place the right policies and practices to improve the competitiveness of our forest sector,'' said Northrup. "Improving competitiveness will allow us to grow this sector.''

The establishment of the two task forces was part of a series of actions announced in December to strengthen and renew New Brunswick's forest industry. The actions were in response to recommendations made by stakeholders at the Forestry Summit held Nov. 19.

The Forestry Summit involved about 100 participants from stakeholder groups, industry, First Nations as well as government and non-governmental organizations. Discussions focused on three areas: Crown and private land timber supply; innovation in the forest industry; and establishing timber objectives.

The other actions announced in December included:

●    setting objectives for private land wood sales. The Department of Natural Resources will facilitate discussions between industry and the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners to develop clear objectives for private wood sales. This process will include the development of meaningful mechanisms to achieve target sales levels;

●    undertaking an innovation assessment. The Department of Natural Resources and Business New Brunswick will jointly undertake an assessment to review innovation in the forestry sector in other jurisdictions. The review will investigate process and technical opportunities that exist outside of New Brunswick;

●    identifying areas for industry transition. Both departments, Natural Resouces and Business New Brunswick, will review the state of New Brunswick's forestry sector and identify future areas of transition. This could involve opportunities such as using wood pellets in government buildings and exploring new technologies. Various departments will also continue to collaborate on the development of a Wood First policy to encourage greater use of New Brunswick wood in provincial buildings;

●    piloting alternative silviculture treatments. The Department of Natural Resources will be more flexible in supporting innovative approaches to silviculture by approving silviculture funding to pilot alternative treatments on Crown and private land; and

●    reviewing the province's forest management approach during the next six months with the intention of improving the economic return on the provincial government's investment in forestry. This will involve ways to reduce costs and generate additional revenue for taxpayers.

A complete report on the summit, including what was discussed, the recommendations made and the provincial government's response, is available online.

LINK:

●    Department of Natural Resources: www.gnb.ca/naturalresources