Long  time forest products operator, Jim Rustad says the development of a Bioenergy industry in central BC would be good for the economy.

 

Rustad said, “Put it this way, Bioenergy plants that require biomass to operate won’t add jobs in the forest industry, they will certainly help to cut the number that will be lost as a result of the Pine Beetle”.

Keep this in mind he added, "These projects take time, probably up to 3 years down the road before they could become a reality."  He says  "There is all sorts of fiber out there that could make good biomass and the harvesting of those products would offset the loss of timber."

Some ideas out there, he said that can be used to fuel these plants, hardwood, special grasses, and other sorts of plant growth that could spur this thing.

The General Manager,  of the Central Interior Logging Association,  Roy Nagel, agrees with Rustad’s assessment.  Nagel said "We could see as many as 3800 jobs disappear from the forest industry as a result of the beetle, if you can replace them with 1500 jobs in the Bioenergy industry,  that would go a long way to helping offset the effects in the economy. "  Nagel Added "This thing could be real good for us , especially if we could extend the season when you can work in the bush to level it out in a more year round basis."