Forest Products Industry

New Zealand’s WIDE Trust Best Practice Study Tour is an initiative designed to support experienced forestry and wood industry professionals in exploring leading-edge practices, innovation, and emerging ideas from around the world. Source: Timberbiz Each year, the Trust offers a travel grant of up to NZD$30,000 to support an eligible candidate, or candidates, to undertake an international study tour focused on advancing knowledge within New Zealand’s forestry and wood sectors. The tour must be a minimum of two weeks in duration and is designed to provide valuable international exposure to new technologies, operational approaches, and industry developments. The Best Practice Study Tour reflects the WIDE Trust’s commitment to strengthening leadership and encouraging innovation across the forestry and wood industries. The opportunity is aimed at senior professionals who are actively pursuing careers within the sector and are in positions where they can influence change within their organisations. Applicants are ideally members of senior management teams, with the ability to implement learnings from the study tour and help drive new thinking, improved practices, and long-term industry development. By supporting industry leaders to gain first-hand international insights, the Trust helps encourage the adoption of new ideas and global best practices within New Zealand businesses. Successful applicants are required to develop a fully scoped itinerary outlining the companies, organisations, and industry leaders they plan to visit, along with the reasons those visits have been selected. Study tours may explore a wide range of topics across forestry and wood processing industries, including: Advanced timber manufacturing and processing Sustainable forestry management practices Emerging wood technologies and innovation Automation and operational efficiency Workforce development and industry leadership Environmental performance and resource management   The program is designed to ensure participants return with practical knowledge and insights that can be shared and implemented within the New Zealand industry. In addition to financial support from the WIDE Trust, successful applicants and their employers are expected to contribute towards some study tour costs, reinforcing industry commitment and support for professional development. Following the completion of the study tour, recipients present their key learnings directly to the WIDE Trust Trustees, helping share knowledge and encourage wider industry benefit beyond the individual participant. This focus on knowledge sharing ensures the impact of the programme extends beyond a single experience, contributing to broader conversations around innovation, leadership, and continuous improvement within the forestry and wood sectors. Applications for the WIDE Trust Best Practice Study Tour close on 31 July each year for tours undertaken in the following calendar year. More information at https://www.widetrust.org.nz/

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A decade ago, the concept of mixing wind turbines with tree plantations was unheard of in Australia, but a new addition to the federal EPBC queue now brings the current total of such project proposals to at least eight. Source: Renew Economy Spanish energy giant Iberdrola is seeking approval for 33 turbines in the Mullions Range softwood pine plantation in New South Wales (NSW), which deliver 248 megawatts (MW) of capacity, and which is one of two forestry projects it’s pitching in the state. The project is located about 20 km north of Orange and is one of five solicited by the state’s Forestry Corporation in 2023. Forestry Corp issued an “investigation permit” in 2024, and if the project proves feasible Iberdrola expects it to take around six years to deliver. The EPBC referral shows Iberdrola is planning to install turbines with a tip height of up to 250 metres above ground level and a hub height of 150m above ground level. The developer is looking at an area slightly more than 2,000 hectares, with an actual disturbance area of about 400 hectares at this stage. Plantations are seen as an ideal location for wind turbines. They’re already a monoculture and have existing roads made for heavy trucks. And they’re also harvested as well, meaning that any trees cut down to make way for turbines would one day have been cut down anyway. Or, as Iberdrola’s EPBC referral puts it, the “forestry land use has resulted in a highly modified landscape and a generally degraded ecological condition across the majority of the site.” Native vegetation is limited to areas set aside for existing transmission corridors through the plantation, and while there may be some hollow-bearing habitat trees, “fauna habitat quality is generally low, reflecting the dominance of [pine] plantation forest.” While several endangered and threatened flora and fauna were noted in the wider area, just koalas and white throated needletails were spotted inside the 2000-hectare footprint. The NSW Forestry Corp is going all in on wind projects for its softwood plantations, the only ones that state law allow renewable energy to operate in. There are four other projects with permits in the state’s commercial plantations, the 158 MW Four Mile Creek project, also owned by Iberdrola, Someva Renewables’ and Mainstream Renewable Power’s 500 MW Sunny Corner, Neoen’s 1.2-gigawatt (GW) Bondo, and TagEnergy’s 2-gigawatt proposal The Pines. Other states have also considered plantation renewables.  The first was the Delburn project in Gippsland, Victoria, which was first proposed in 2019 and was recently sold to the Victoria SEC. The 600 MW Kentbruck project, on the other side of the state, received a state planning nod in January, much to the disappointment of conservationists concerned about nearby wetlands. Queensland had one forestry wind project, the 1.2 GW Forest Wind, but planning minister Jarrod Bleijie convinced colleagues to cancel the law allowing renewables in state-owned forests, effectively killing the project – pending an appeal.

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OneFortyOne’s 2025–26 fire season has officially concluded, following generally milder conditions across the Green Triangle compared with previous seasons. Source: Timberbiz OneFortyOne Green Triangle Forests general manager Deon Kriek acknowledged the efforts of crews and partner brigades. “Working closely with the Country Fire Service (CFS), Country Fire Authority (CFA), and industry brigades continues to be essential in protecting our forests and supporting our communities,” Mr Kriek said. The 2025-26 season ran from 1 December 2025 to 13 April 2026, lasting 134 days. Mr Kriek said conditions across the region were generally wetter than average for most of the season, which helped reduce overall fire activity. “Our crews were on standby for 88 days, which is slightly below the long-term average,” he said. “Across the season, we responded to 28 fires both within our estate and across the region.” Fifteen fires occurred on OneFortyOne-managed land, with crews also assisting at fires on private property, other forestry estates, national parks, and roadsides. Fire causes included lightning strikes, suspected arson, vehicle-related incidents, and escaped agricultural burns. “Only 0.3 hectares of our local forests were impacted, and most importantly, our crews went home safe and well every day,” Mr Kriek said. OneFortyOne supported efforts interstate, with teams of firefighters completing three deployments to Victoria, including assisting with the Otways fires. The season also saw three new Quick Response Vehicles (QRVs) added to the fleet, along with ongoing construction of the Mount Burr Fire Tower, due to be completed before the next season begins. An end of season celebration was held in May to thank crews and recognise their contribution. “The end of season get together is a good opportunity to catch up and thank our crews for the effort they’ve put in,” Mr Kriek said. “While we had a relatively quiet season, we’re proud of our teams, the work they’ve done and the connections they’ve made with other brigades.” Fire management activities, including training, prescribed burns and firebreak maintenance, will continue throughout the year to keep crews and forests prepared.

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A major NSW forestry consultation has highlighted the Tumut and Tumbarumba regions’ importance to Australia’s softwood processing industry, while revealing divisions over forest management and bushfire resilience.  Source: Tumbarumba Times The NSW government last week published its Independent Forestry Panel Stakeholder Consultation Report, a step towards the development of a Forest Industry Action Plan (FIAP). The panel received written submissions from over 1500 individuals and 160 organisations representing a cross-section of the timber industry, environmental groups, re-searchers, residents and businesses from regional NSW and others, guided by six prompts based around areas to be addressed in the FIAP. While the report focuses primarily on native forest harvesting, it also addresses the softwood industry in the Snowy Valleys and across the state. It groups Tumbarumba within its Coastal (Southern) forestry region, which it described as Australia’s most concentrated softwood processing area. The report identified several shared objectives across submissions, including bushfire resilience, however stakeholders differed on how forests should be managed to achieve that. “Some [say] that timber harvesting, salvage logging, and silviculture techniques like thinning reduce bushfire risks and others [say] that harvesting, salvage logging and thinning all increase bushfire frequency and intensity,” the report reads. “Despite that divergence, the submissions clearly demonstrate a deep shared concern about bushfire risk now and in the future, and that there is urgent need for improved fire policy and management based on empirical evidence and up-to-date scientific consensus.” The report notes different cohorts have different conceptions of what appropriate active management of forests for fire resilience is. “Some favour hazard reduction burning and robust fuel load reduction methods … Others caution that this approach only works in some forest types and that a much more nuanced, adaptive and multifaceted approach is needed.” The report noted some stakeholders highlighted “the strong capacity of Forestry Corpo-ration’s staff and other timber industry workers to cost-effectively prepare and respond to bushfire threats as being highly valuable.” “Previous reviews have noted that the Forestry Corporation is a statutory firefighting authority and plays a role in fire management in native forests,” the report said. “Forestry Corporation’s workforce includes trained firefighters who carry out fire mitigation and hazard reduction (including fire trail maintenance, specialist tall tree felling skills), training and maintenance programs, a large fleet of heavy machinery and equipment and supply agreements to enable quick uplift in people, plant and equipment and firefighting response in coordination with other agencies.” The Independent Forestry Panel is chaired by Peter Duncan with other panel members Professor Mary O’Kane and Mick Veitch. A ministerial statement from the offices of the Minister for Agriculture, the Minister for Energy and Climate Change, and the Minister for Environment and Heritage thanked all those who made submissions and attended focus groups and stakeholder interviews. “Making this report available to the public is a key step towards modernising forestry in a way that protects biodiversity,” the statement reads. “Following the finalisation of the stake holder report, the panel has been tasked to produce a considerations report. “This report will accommodate the stake holder report findings and identify opportunities to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the NSW forestry industry and support jobs, in the context of recent and ongoing changes.”

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Australian Bluegum Plantations is highlighting the role of adaptive silviculture and long-term landscape thinking in the recovery of its Callendale plantation estate following the devastating January 2022 bushfire in South Australia’s south-east. Source: Timberbiz The fire, in the heart of the Wattle Range region of South Australia, impacted more than 3800 hectares of ABP plantation, presenting significant challenges including extensive tree loss, erosion challenges, and sensitive post-fire environmental conditions. Recovery required more than a standard recovery and replanting response. ABP’s silviculture forester Neil Turner led the development and delivery of the complex salvage program, recovering 277,000 m3 of timber over an 18-month operation. The program required careful sequencing and on-ground decision making to navigate winter seasonal constraints to recover as much fibre as possible without compromising site conditions. “This fire event burnt almost 100 per cent of the stands, wiping out everything in its path,” Mr Turner said. “These 16-year-old trees were more than 30 metres tall, and the flames were well above the canopy, it was enormous. With strong winds, the fire raced across the landscape. During mop-up it was clear the salvage task would be challenging and would require significant planning and coordination.” Beyond salvage, ABP’s re-establishment program prioritised land recovery, environmental protection and long-term productivity. Rather than rushing to replace trees, the focus was on restoring healthy plantation systems. “After a fire of this scale, the land tells you what it needs,” Mr Turner said. “In some areas, that meant slowing down, managing erosion risk, and allowing time for conditions to stabilise before re-establishment. In others, it meant trialling different establishment techniques to better suit the post-fire environment.” The Callendale response deliberately moved away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Planting was delayed in selected areas, site preparation methods were adapted, and lessons learned were embedded into future operations. This evidence-based approach balanced immediate recovery pressures with the long-term health of soils, waterways, and surrounding landscapes. The recovery program also strengthened future fire preparedness, including the establishment of additional fire-water resources within the local drainage network to improve resilience against future events. ABP Chief Executive Officer Darren Shelden said the work at Callendale reflects a broader shift in how the company approaches plantation recovery after major disturbance. “Neil’s leadership at Callendale demonstrates that good silviculture is as much about stewardship as it is about production,” Mr Shelden said. “The decisions made following the fire prioritised land capability, environmental outcomes, and long-term value. This is exactly the kind of thinking our industry needs as it adapts to a more challenging climate.” The Callendale recovery has since become a reference point within ABP, informing post-fire rehabilitation approaches across the estate and reinforcing the importance of flexibility, innovation, and on-ground expertise. “As foresters, we’re working with long timeframes. Success isn’t just measured by survival rates at planting, but by how well the landscape performs years down the track. Callendale has been about setting that foundation properly,” Mr Turner said. ABP continues to monitor and refine its silvicultural practices at Callendale, with lessons from the recovery program contributing to ongoing improvements in environmental management and plantation resilience across the business. This includes construction of a purpose-built fire resource dam to support future firefighting defence.

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