Why a lack of access to timber is leading to B.C. mill closures, job losses

The looming closure of a lumber mill in central B.C. is highlighting the forestry industry's challenges in accessing an economically viable timber supply — with one academic urging an "emergency response" to deal with it.

West Fraser Timber Co. announced it would shut its mill in 100 Mile House by the end of the year, saying it couldn't reliably access enough economically viable timber either locally or further afield. Its closure will put more than 165 people out of work as a result.

B.C.'s forestry industry has taken major hits over the last few years, as escalating U.S. duties on softwood lumber imports have piled atop challenges like a major beetle infestation and wildfires, leading to thousands of jobs lost.

But longtime forestry worker Sven Binker of 100 Mile House says he's confused by West Fraser's justification for shutting down the mill.

The supply of fibre and wood in the area is "plentiful," says Binker, who was previously laid off when forestry company Norbord suspended its mill operations in 100 Mile House.

"I've lived here a long time in 100 Mile, and we have a lot of forests around here, you know?" he told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops.

"For me to kind of swallow that it's, you know, high cost of having to get logs from from further places [leading to mill closures] that, that seems a little bit strange to me."

University of B.C. forestry professor Gary Bull explained that to have an "economically viable fibre supply," it needs to make sense financially for a company to transport logs from a forest to its mill. And the viability is complicated by the fluctuating price of lumber.

"The challenge is that you have huge lifetimes between the planning, when you're going to harvest the tree and when it actually gets processed in the mill, and that can be up to two years or more," he said.

Bull estimated that insect outbreaks and wildfires have contributed to a 50 to 60 per cent reduction in available fibre near 100 Mile House over the last few years.

"I understand that West Fraser was trying to go outside to other areas, but with the tariffs then adding a huge increase in costs, it made it economically unviable to do that," he said.

"So it's a very challenging situation and I think it almost requires an emergency response."

Bull said he's urging an "all hands on deck" response from provincial and federal officials, saying there should be a lot more energy put into finding viable solutions for the mills still running in B.C.

He praised a recent initiative from the Brazilian government called the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which he says finances a change to how forest management is done.