Wood leftover from Okanagan forestry operations that would once have been burned is now being put to productive use, according to the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia, Canada. Source: Penticton Herald
Sixty-six innovative projects undertaken around the province in the past year at a cost of almost Can$50 million have generated an environmental benefit equal to one million fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, the society said.
And debris wood that would have filled more than 68,000 logging trucks has been used instead for the making of wood pellets and other products.
“With the help of 66 projects funded in 2023, BC is taking necessary steps in battling climate change and becoming more resilient in the face of worsening wildfire seasons,” Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston said.
Along with finding new ways to use waste woods, the projects involved thinning forests and other fuel reduction efforts near towns and cities to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating wildfire season, the worst on record in BC.
“Healthy forests are essential to thriving and diverse ecosystems that support healthy people and secure communities, along with a sustainable BC economy,” Minister of Climate Change George Hayman said.
The government provided the funding to the Forest Enhancement Society early last year. Forestry companies, Indigenous groups, and municipalities were invited to submit applications for grants that focused on wildfire risk reduction and better use of waste wood.
A total of 17 projects were supported with Can$9.3 million of funding in the Thompson-Okanagan region. Fuel mitigation work was done on 84 hectares of land, with carbon dioxide emission reductions estimated at 193,000 tonnes.
Recovery efforts have included gathering debris wood for conversion to high-efficiency wood pellets for heating, said to be a renewable energy source, and directing more material to pulp mills than would otherwise have been the case.
In the South Okanagan, the Osoyoos Indian Band received funding for the enhanced use of “low value fibre”, material that’s left over from forestry operations. Debris that would have otherwise filled more than 3,200 logging trucks before being burned off was instead put to productive use.
“There doesn’t need to be a trade-off between the environment and the economy – it can be, and should be, a win for both,” said Steve Kozuki, the FESBC’s executive director.
