A once dormant log yard has come back to life at the far western end of Keith Ave. in the light industrial sector of the city. For the past months it’s been the collection point for companies selling small-diameter logs to interior processors.
“Kalum Logistics has approval from the [Kitsumkalum] chief and council for this operation and is excited about the expansion of services at their logistics park,” said Sampson of the First Nation’s rail and truck material transport hub. “The logs are primarily small diameter spruce, pine and fir, as opposed to larger diameter hemlock and amabilis balsam that is typically milled at the local sawmill,” said Sampson of Skeena Sawmills.
He’s spent years hoping Skeena Sawmills would install a small-log sawing capability to handle the kind of logs cut by the community forest. “The history of this goes back to the 1970s when after logging, spruce was planted. But that monculture of spruce became perfect feeding for the weevil,” Haworth said.