check this, cut em and sell em. end o story.

As Bush said: Shock and Awe...!!!

I am not a forester, but none of this seems like new information.

Am I missing the boat on this one. Why did we need a study on this anyway?

"Why did we need the study anyway?"

It is a question I ask as well. The people to ask this of are the forester who work for the licensees who use the timber for their manufacturing processes. As you say, to the best of my knowledge they pretty well knew that information from past situations and information available about those situations in addtion to work they have been doing themselves, in some cases for over half a decade.

I do not know, for instance, what information is available from companies who have had to log beetle attacked pine before. If that information is not there, then it should be gathered and made available to those who continue to log so that they know how the different aged dead trees have affected their usability.

Even now, companies have been cutting the dead pine stands and using them for some time already and there should be information coming out what, if any, loss in value there is and the reaosn for such loss in value. This would be actual statistical information.

I would also hope that if there is a considerable loss in value, that this would not be viewed as proprietary information but would be shared with the MoF and other companies.

The following year-old link might be of interest to those who do not know what I am talking about.

http://www.forestnet.com/archives/July_Aug_05/sawmill_expansion.htm

Plateau has accumulated considerable experience with beetle-killed and damaged pine. It’s BEEN THE MILL'S FOCUS SINCE 1999, and the intent is to harvest 80 per cent of wood that’s been attacked, he outlines. The mill will also use year one attack (from the previous summer’s beetle flight) with the insects still in the trees.The challenge is to assess subtle changes in the pine fibre from years one through 10 and beyond.

Plateau’s foresters have conducted extensive field studies and examined the dynamics of beetle flight. When does sap rot begin, when does checking start, where in the tree and what types of cracks are they? These were some of the questions requiring answers. The indications are that in Plateau’s wood, 60 per cent of the cracking is spiral and 40 per cent straight. All those factors have implications on how to process the wood and minimize conversion costs in the rebuilt mill.

“We had to look at where the impact of this timber would be and what that means to the company, the mill, its employees, contractors and the community,” adds Anthony.

The nature of the fibre equates to processing accurately smaller pieces of dry wood at high speeds. The trick is to determine where the cracks are and turn the log and control it so the crack is in a position where it does not affect all the boards in the log, summarizes Anthony.

“There’s lots to learn through this process, it’s a whole new way of thinking,” he adds.

-------------

So, back to the key question. How does the UNBC information add to the information already available? Does that information provide usable add-on information to licensees who have been working on this for some time?

An interesting article written in January in another country and much further south about the same topic.

And some people think we are the only ones with these problems which mother nature bestows us with. No siree ... Zirnhelt was there too.

;-)

http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/10361/C502/L38

Reading the comments below the article, including the last one, gives one a different outlook on these things than I find here.

They could really use Don M. as a poster to liven things up. *LOL*

Study, study, study, study, study-it will only end when all the pine trees have been eradicated.
Somebody is always being compensated for doing a "study."
You are so right on , owl!
If only Don M has an answer for this one-he can end the discussion once and for all.
The only problem is, when we succumb to seeking an answer from Don, we are exposing ourselves as having reached a state of desperation, which I, fool that I am,refuse to resort to.
I would rather just set it aside-and let the chips ?? fall where they may.
Mother nature really does insist on having her own way, doesn't she?

The reason for the studies is that several large companies are looking at making large investments in processing operations in the region. They need concrete proof that the raw materials needed will be available and usable for some period of time to come, in order to attract investors and gain financing. A certain amount of this whole deal is speculation, same as mining, and they are trying to take as many "ifs" out of the equation as possible, to have a solid business plan.