The following statement was issued today by Kevin Aylward, Forest Resources and Agrifoods. It was also read in the House of Assembly: The sawmill industry is an area that has shown massive growth and realization of efficiencies in last few years. Their production levels have increased from 40 million board feet per year to a point where they are expected to top 90 million board feet this year. This represents the highest single production year for the sawmill industry. The industry is expected to further grow in the future. This past Saturday, I had the pleasure to address the Newfoundland and Labrador Lumber Producers Association. In my address, I discussed the importance of a sustainable forest. The NLLPA are fully aware of the importance to maintain and enhance forest growth. As we have outlined in our 20 year plan, insular Newfoundland is facing a wood supply deficit situation estimated for the next 15 to 20 years. We are working very hard to overcome this situation. Methods such as:
While all of these initiatives are important we must however recognize the massive amount of silviculture work that has taken place. Only in the last 15 years has a real push been placed on silviculture in our province. Over $150 million has been invested by government and industry in an effort to replace what we consume. We have been successful in our efforts. Last year alone, over $16 million was spent in planting, pre-commercial thinning and land reclamation. As a result, 1997 saw over 16,480 hectares of forest land treated and over 7.5 million seedlings planted. Over 23,000 person weeks of employment in silviculture related activities were created last year. 1998 also promises to be a good year for silviculture. Silviculture is an effective tool for reforestation. We must however realize that it cannot solve all the problems in the forest. Despite our best efforts for reforestation, insect infestation continues to plague our province's forests. This year all indicators show that we will see over 24,000 hectares of forest either moderately or severely defoliated by the balsam fir sawfly alone. Over half of this area will be in stands that have been treated with silviculture. This represents almost all the silviculture work that was carried out last year. We must address this situation. We cannot spend large amounts of public money and expect the industry to also contribute, if there is no net gain in the wood supply. There is presently no biological alternative that will combat the balsam fir sawfly. We are however working with the Canadian Forest Service to develop one. Government has three options for this year.
We are still evaluating all environmental, social and economic considerations but time is running out for this year. Government will decide in the very near future how it intends to address the problem.
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