Concerns over B.C.’s shrinking timber supply continue to make the news. The Globe and Mail is reporting more details (see full story here).

“It is because of the dwindling supply of timber that West Fraser is shutting down its Houston sawmill. Just weeks ago, Canfor permanently closed its Quesnel mill for the same reason.

Between the pine beetle and over-harvesting, the chief forester is expected to dramatically reduce the annual allowable cut in the region.

The provincial government has swept in and helped communities in the pine beetle zone, notably Mackenzie and Burns Lake, by securing exclusive timber supply in recent years. But it can’t do that everywhere – there simply won’t be enough trees to sustain even the region’s current, already curtailed, level of industry.”