Forestry & British Timber articles from January 2003

Forestry & British Timber archives from January 2003

NO SHOT IN THE ARM.(UPM-Kymmene's Shotton Paper Company newsprint mill closes)
January 2, 2003... Far-from-happy New Year tidings come with confirmation that within just three months, growers of small roundwood in Wales will be bereft of their mainstay market - Finnish forestry giant UPM-Kymmene's Shotton Paper Company newsprint mill. ...

People need woods - woods need people.(Allan Wilson addresses Scottish Forestry Forum )
January 2, 2003... Future public support for forestry in Scotland `will depend critically on people enjoying the benefits, now and in the future, from Scotland's forests'. This is according to forestry minister Allan Wilson, addressing the first Scottish Forestry...

Scottish Woodlands award.(Scottish Woodlands Ltd. passes main assessment for OHSAS 18001)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Jim Burkinshaw, Central Scotland business manager for SGS (UK), congratulates Neil Campbell, managing director, Scottish Woodlands Limited, on having passed the main assessment for OHSAS 18001. He was pleased to be able to recommend the company...

New planting - new scoring.(Forestry Commission, new threshold score set)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... A new threshold score has been set at 11 points for all new tree planting applications in England received by 30 October 2002, the Forestry Commission announced at the end of November last year. Grant applications should be submitted after...

Taking aim at pellet market.(Scottish Forest Industries Cluster and Scottish Enterprise to study feasibility of creating wood pellets program)
January 2, 2003... Using wood pellets as fuel is becoming big business in North America, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria. On the strength of this, Scotland is hoping to develop a home-grown opportunity and has set up a study to prove it. Backing the...

Wild about Wildstar.(Wildstar Wild Cherry clone trees growing well at Parkhill Farm)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... `Wildstar is a huge credit to the work of Karen Russell and Horticulture Research International. These trees will appeal to the timber grower, the amenity sector and those planting native trees for wildlife'. James Hepburne Scott, sales...

BALI award for fountains.(British Association of Landscape Industries gives award to Fountains plc )(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Copyright: CMP Information Ltd. Environmental support services company Fountains plc has won one of the horticultural industry's most coveted prizes - a British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) award. Its success was in the...

Rise in landfill tax welcomed.(Waste and Resources Action Programme approves of increase)
January 2, 2003... `This is a tax business does not have to pay. If a business reduces and recycles its rubbish, instead of tipping it into a hole in the ground, it won't pay landfill tax. It's as simple as that'. Speaker Jennie Price, as chief executive of...

Welsh reds fight on.(red squirrels are studied at Clocaenog Forest )(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Clocaenog Forest is the focalpoint for a new computerised red squirrel research project started by Forest Enterprise Wales (FEW) in late November. Building on previous studies, it aims to provide data for forest design plans specifically for...

Make me a bid.(National Forest's incentive tender scheme round 9 offers UKPd2 mil)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Over #2m is available in the 2003-4 planting season for woodland creators in round nine of the National Forest's (NF) incentive tender scheme. Main mechanism for converting land to tree cover, it is open to anyone who owns - or seeks to own...

Extraordinary PEFC membership.(European Network of Forest Entrepreneurs becomes Extraordinary Member of the Pan European Forest Certification Council )(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... The European Network of Forest Entrepreneurs (ENFE) has become an Extraordinary Member of the Pan European Forest Certification Council (PEFCC). ENFE comprises 13 contracting associations from Europe, including our own Forestry Contracting...

Rooting for future.(Tree Council awarded UKPd46000 in planting grants )(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Leading tree campaigning charity the Tree Council (TC) awarded #46000 in planting grants to some 20 community groups and 80+ schools in its latest National Tree Week. Held in late November 2002, it marked the start of the planting season and...

National power - wood fuel.
January 2, 2003... `The National Forest Company is considering the use of woodland within The National Forest as a source of wood fuel. It offers huge potential for the wise and sustainable management of new and existing woodlands in the forest. With nearly five...

Iain makes it a double.
January 2, 2003... Last year's winner, Iain Laidlaw of the Forestry Commission in Galashiels, retained the Beacon Bowl at the autumn meeting of the Foresters' Golf Society (FGS) at Whiteleaf golf club, Bucks - despite being cut two shots as a result of his...

Thumbs up for NUFU!(National Urban Forestry Unit wins two top awards from Biffaward in a national competition)
January 2, 2003... An `urban forest' initiative, which has achieved over 100ha of new urban woodland planting, has led to the National Urban Forestry Unit (NUFU) winning two top awards from Biffaward in a national competition. The project, incorporating three...

Heat's on at Bedgebury.(coppice to provide fuel for boiler)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... `This major project... demonstrates a practical, sustainable solution for renewable energy, provided by resources from Bedgebury's coppice'. Valerie Carter (rural sector director of the SE England Development Agency - SEEDA) was explaining why...

Taking forest walks to heart.(heart patients walk in the woods for their health)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... A West Midlands woodland-based `heart health group' could be the model for hundreds more centres around Britain. Around 30 cardiac patients join in walks through the Forestry Commission's Wyre Forest near Bewdley, Worcs under the professional...

Show time at Capel.
January 2, 2003... `An arboricultural trade show with a difference' is promised in the spring (April 4 and 5) by Capel Manor College. Recognising the importance of raising the profile of the industry to the general public, staff and students want to show them `an...

Hands across the sea.(New Forest and Forest of Fontainebleau "sign" MoU)
January 2, 2003... `Despite the distance between our two forests, we have more in common with each other than we do with other forests in our own countries'. Forestry Commission New Forest (NF) deputy surveyor Donald Thompson was speaking after the English forest...

Fences on the move.(Astley Fencing Ltd buys forklift)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Latest machine acquisition by Lutterworth, Leics-based Astley Fencing Ltd is the above M26-4 Manitou forklift (supplied by dealer Sharnford Tractors Ltd) for use in its sawmill, storage yard and factory with its weekly output of 1000 fence...

RFS awards.(Royal Forestry Society )(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... A number of Royal Forestry Society (RFS) long-service awards were presented recently in Herefordshire and Wiltshire. RFS past-president David Davenport presented Chris Jarvis with his at a recent society meeting at Foxley Estate,...

Detection averts big bang.(metal detectors find old shrapnel in trees at mill)
January 2, 2003... Shrapnel that exploded on the battlefields of Europe threatened to create fresh havoc recently when it hit these shores. The shards of jagged metal, up to eight inches long, were blasted into the trunks of young trees in battles during the...

We're still growing!(Forestry Commission unveils its `Forestry Statistics 2002')(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
January 2, 2003... Despite the perceived downturn in the forest and timber industries' fortunes in recent years - reinforced by a depressed market - no fewer than around 100,000 hectares of new woodland have been created in the UK since 1996. It is with this news...

Tree aid for farms?(DEFRA's investment of an extra UKPd500m over the next three years expected to benefit trees and woodlands in England)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Aimed at delivering more `environmentally-friendly farming', DEFRA's November-launched pilot `Entry Level Scheme' is also expected to benefit trees and woodlands in England. DEFRA is to invest an extra #500m over the next three years to deliver...

Lockerbie logging 2002 lives on.(plants commemorative Silver birch )(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... The 25th World Logging Championships may have come and gone but a tangible, enduring reminder remains thanks to the planting of a commemorative Silver birch on the Castlemilk Estate in Lockerbie where the event took place last September. ...

Letter: Woodland Trust.(Letter to the Editor)
January 2, 2003... From Digby Guy `Sir, Richard Coke's letter (FBT Dec p12) was a breath of fresh air. We foresters live in a world that seems to be dominated by an ever- spreading rash of woodland trusts and `charities'. These groups have nothing to do...

Letter: Ancient woodland restoration.(Letter to the Editor)
January 2, 2003... From Norman Starks `Sir, There are a number of misconceptions about the Woodland Trust's call for planted ancient woodland restoration that must be addressed (FBT Dec, p12). Ancient woodland contains more species of conservation...

Would a microwave be useful in your forest?(remote sensing)
January 2, 2003... The application of remote sensing for operational forestry is nearing commercial realisation. This article by E. D. Wallington* and I. H. Woodhouse (The Department of Geography, The University of Edinburgh) and J. C. Suarez-Minguez (Forest...

DED - is the end nigh?(dutch elm disease)
January 2, 2003... A strip of land between the South Downs and the Sussex coast is home to an estimated 80% of this country's population of mature, mostly English elms, thanks to the dedicated work of East Sussex local authorities and their success in tackling...

Argyll gets into hot water.(small scots town to be UK's first housing scheme to be communally heated with piped hot water from a single boiler fuelled with waste wood from local felling operations)
January 2, 2003... A new 50-home development nearing completion on the edge of the small west Highland town of Lochgilphead, 90 miles north of Glasgow, is set to make history. It will be the UK's first housing scheme - John Warmerdam reports - to be communally...

Rain - Commonwealth Games - Football.(these factors affected the UK's 2002 timber market)(Industry Overview)
January 2, 2003... These three factors are cited by Neil Campbell (managing director) and Simon Oldham (company harvesting manager), Scottish Woodlands Ltd in their review of the 2002 timber market as being the major features of the year which most impacted on...

BUTT REDUCER RAISES PETERSMUIR'S PROFILE.(BSW Timber plc's sawmill)
January 2, 2003... One of the `considerable commissioning glitches' encountered at BSW Timber plc's Petersmuir, sawmill after it began running some two years ago centred on the cutting of large Sitka spruce butt logs. These no longer have the flares removed in...

HOPES abandoned.(Industry Overview)
January 2, 2003... David Taylor casts his experienced eye over the woodland market and finds little festive cheer therein. The two old guys on the Muppet Show, when asked for their critical opinion of the programme, would start off in wild enthusiasm, then,...

High traction, low disturbance.(Multidrive* tractor/trailer )
January 2, 2003... `Overall, the fully-loaded Multidrive* tractor/trailer unit made very little impact on the road surface and we are hopeful that we have found a solution to this important local issue'. The `shock-wave' issue was the possibility that many...

New life for old winches.(Jas P Wilson offers solution)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2003... Igland double drum winches which were previously fixed-mounted to County tractors (many of which are no longer in use) have been given the opportunity of a new lease of life courtesy Jas P Wilson*. The company are now offering a heavy-duty...

ONWARDS & UPWARDS.(a review of 2002 for the Forestry Contracting Association)(Industry Overview)
January 2, 2003... 2002 couldn't have got off to a worse start for the Forestry Contracting Association, but, at the end of the day, was it a complete annus horribilus? Not by a long chalk says a particularly ebullient chief executive Barrie Hudson, now in his...

Growing concern - stronger voice.(a look at the Forestry and Timber Association. )(Interview)
January 2, 2003... `FTA... alone - and in partnership with others - (will) encourage and assist the development of forestry into a mature and successful industry. Public perceptions of "serried ranks of conifers" and "wall- to-wall" Sitka seem to be less...

The `IT' Factor.(Ponsse and Timberjack systems discussed)
January 2, 2003... Just as we rely heavily and, in many cases unwittingly, on the use of wood and wood products on a daily basis in our every day lives so we have come to depend on computers, whether we realise it or not. Few of us are aware, however, just how...