Who is the BC Forest Industry?

Who is the Forest Industry

There are lots of people making upper-level decisions regarding the future of forestry in BC. Many seem to be calling for the forest industry to be shut down. We are often portrayed in media reports as a faceless evil entity, managed from afar that pillages local resources just to line our pockets then move on to exploit another stand of trees.

To those of you calling for a shutdown I want to tell you about the folks I have met and worked with in the local forest industry. I hope that you will temper your demands once you realize the affects you are having on us in rural BC. This is an anecdotal, unscientific summary.

My Background

I left school in Grade 11 and after knocking around a bit ended up getting a tree planting job. That was forty-seven years ago and I still put my boots on almost every day and head to the woods to make a living. When we started a family, I did anything I could to stay as close to home as possible. I have planted trees, done stand tending, felled trees, operated equipment, fought wildfires, taken technical training, done project layout planning and supervision, given fire/safety/environmental advice and conducted training. I spent a summer working for government but most of the time I have worked for, or as, a contractor. At my peak as a contractor, I had twenty employees.

I met my wife to be in a clearcut (still married). I raised my family in a log house, cut and burned wood to keep them warm and fed them with money earned in the forest industry. The forest industry contributes the majority of direct and indirect jobs in our area.

Here are some of the people I know in the local forest industry.

Tree planters

Just like seeing the cranes heading north it is a sure sign of spring when the crew cabs of tree planters hit town. According to the Western Forestry Contractors fact sheet about 10,000 tree planters work in BC annually. They come from inside BC, other provinces and other countries.

I estimate that at the peak season there are about 250-300 in the area. They are paid by the tree planted so work as hard, and in as adverse conditions, as anyone I have met. They come into town dirty and tired and spend money before the summer tourist season helping many local businesses survive the otherwise quiet shoulder season. Their contractors buy accommodation, food, fuel, repairs and parts in town to keep their business going.

The modern planters I know use their earnings a variety of ways but most pay for an education.  Last summer a local emergency physician, who paid for her medical school tree planting, put 10 stitches in my hand.

A neighbor down the road was a tree planting contractor who employed up to 150 planters per season for 30 seasons. A lot of local people got their start in life with money earned working for him. Many bought farms and have been instrumental in development of the organic agriculture industry.

The contractor stayed in the community and contributed a lot through various projects and fundraisers. He organized a theater group whose Christmas production has become a tradition of the area. He was on a committee that organized an annual music festival for high school students. He organized a minor hockey league and was on various community group executive committees.

Loggers

According to the WorkBC website in 2023 there were 14,000 loggers in BC. I estimate there are about 600 loggers in our area.

Many of these loggers are multigenerational locals including people from local first nations communities. These are the folks that support local kids’ sports and cultural events, are members of various community groups and contribute to local fundraisers. They pay taxes and spend their money locally.

There are about 20 main logging contractors in our area that employ up to 30 or 40 people each. Most are third or fourth generation loggers and many come from local First Nations. They are proud of their business and industry. Many of their employees are second and third generation workers as well.

It costs a lot to run a successful logging operation. Most of the money is spent in the area generating subsidiary income to local service providers.

When a community group is doing a fundraiser the local logging contractors are always one of the first stops. Many a hockey rink, swimming pool, park or community center have been built with money from these folks. When their neighbors or community are threatened by floods or fire the loggers contribute everything they have to the response. They give back to their community big time.

Technicians and Professionals

These are the folks that develop, review and implement plans. They are the professional foresters, agrologists, hydrologists, archeologists and engineers. The professionals in my area either work for local first nations, government or industry as wage earners or as self-employed consultants. They manage large forest tenures, community forests and woodlots. There are just under 10,000 professionals registered by the Forest Professional Association of BC. I am not sure how many registrants there are in the other professions.

I have a rough count of about 250 local forest professionals in our area who supply services to government, First Nations and Industry They contribute their organizational skills to various sports, cultural and other local community organizations. They raise their families in the area, pay taxes and spend money.

Mill Workers

There are two main mills in our area and several smaller specialty processing facilities. My count shows about 550 jobs. These are fair wage jobs that allow a person to raise a family comfortably and maybe get ahead. Most have good benefit and pension plans. These workers run sports and cultural organizations, belong to local volunteer emergency services, pay taxes and buy local.

I have lived in a town that lost a mill. It has never been the same.

First Nations

Last but definitely not least, I have worked with, and for, many members of local First Nations bands. They have been my neighbours for years. There are three main bands in our area but I am not sure of their population.

As mentioned above many have long careers in the forest industry in various capacities and I am seeing more young band members getting involved in forest management. One of the main goals of many local bands is self-reliance and they are pursuing forestry as a tool to achieve this. Many bands have woodlots, partnerships in Community Forests and/or run contracting companies. Band members work as employees in all local forest sectors.

Closing

In our relatively small corner of the province, I count over 2000 people who earn a reasonable living in whole or part directly from the forest. I know a lot of them and have been neighbours to many. Most are good people that just want to make a living.

As those of you in faraway urban centers make upper-level decisions on the future of forestry I want you to realize the possible devastating affects you could have on these people, their families and communities.

We aren’t a faceless evil entity, managed from afar that pillages local resources just to line our pockets then move on to exploit another stand of trees.

Doug