The following article was written by Neil Shelly, P.Eng, Alberta Forest Products Association Executive Director for inclusion in the Summer 2005 issue of Dialogues, A Canada West Foundation Publication. It is reprinted with permission.

When people think about the forest industry, many envision a Paul Bunyan scenario with rugged men in suspenders swinging axes in the woods. The reality couldn't be further from this romanticized, historical vision. A modern mill is a futuristic combination of computers, robotics, precision instruments and machinery, and today's forest harvester - linked by GPS guidance - works a joy stick, not an axe, to fell trees.

The Alberta Forest Products Association has published a new statistical overview of the province's forest industry and its contributions to Alberta's economy. The last overview was published in 2000.

The Alberta forest products sector annual revenues are in excess of $12.4 billion, employing more than 48,000 Albertans each year throughout the province - rural and urban, north and south.

To further assist member companies and their contractors in reducing workplace incidents, the Alberta Forest Products Association has introduced a new Forest Industry Recommended Practice (FIRP) for implementation of a Pre-Job Process. The intent of the Pre-Job Process (PJP) is to assist workers in identifying and controlling hazards not covered by the site's formal hazard assessment process.

Sushi met moose and bannock at Woodland Cree First Nation's Treaty Day 2005, on August 10. Held every year in honor of the signing of Treaty 8 in 1899, this year's festivities drew more than 600 people in a day of celebration that was marked with the disbursement of annuities and ammunition.

PHOTO CAPTION - Woodland Cree Chief Joe Whitehead Jr. and DMI President Mark Kobayashi at Treaty Day 2005.

Tolko Industries Ltd. announced that the press chosen for its new Engineered Wood Products facility in Slave Lake, Alberta, is a worldwide leader in its class of technology. At 70.3 metres, this is longer than any continuous press in the world. It will be capable of producing the equivalent of over 825 million square feet per year (3/8" basis) of 7/16" oriented strand board (OSB).

The Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance (CLTA) won the most important victory in the ongoing softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the U.S. with an August 10 NAFTA Extraordinary Challenge Committee ruling. A unanimous panel of three esteemed U.S. and Canadian judges, including the former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade, dismissed the U.S. Extraordinary Challenge in its entirety.

NEWS AND NOTES

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development - Forest Health Bugs and Disease Newsletter

Deadline Approaching For Public Input into Proposed Changes to Requirements Governing Forest Management Planning in Alberta

WCB Adds Two New WorkSafe Awards for 2006

EVENTS

AFPA AGM and Conference, Fairmount Jasper Park Lodge September 28 through October 1, 2005

First Nations Forestry Conference, Vancouver October 5-6, 2005

Trees to Dollars Workshop, Grande Prairie November 15-16, 2005

ForestEDWest II Conference, Banff Centre January 26-29, 2006 Friday Keynote Speaker Announced - Dr. Wayne Lunch, professional wildlife photographer: The Spruce Kingdom, a slide-illustrated talk on the Boreal Forest

Post-Harvest Stand Development Conference, Edmonton January 31-February 1, 2006

Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference, Portland March 27-30, 2006

Forest Leadership Forum 2006, Presented by Metafore, Inc., Portland May 3-6, 2006

A Conference for the Boreal - In the Boreal, Cochrane Ont October 2006