A representative from West Fraser Timber should be coming to a Clearwater town council meeting soon, according to councillor Barry Banford.
Banford was reporting on a Council of Forest Industries (COFI) conference held recently in Prince George.
West Fraser now holds significant annual allowable cut in the Clearwater area after it bought out the former Weyerhaeuser holdings in the North Thompson Valley, but it has never appeared before council to talk about its plans, Banford said.
The council member said he talked with the West Fraser CEO at the COFI conference and convinced him that his company should make a presentation to Clearwater town council.
West Fraser is now the largest lumber producer in North America, Banford said.
The looming shortage of skilled workers in the forest industries was one of the major topics at the COFI meeting.
About 40 per cent of West Fraser's workforce is now over 50 years old, the councillor said.
Despite the talk about bio-energy and biochemicals, lumber still gives the highest return of all forest products.
Management of wood dust is now a key concern for sawmill operators.