A new report estimates private woodlots could supply up to 2.5 million cubic metres of wood, more than double the current amount. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

Private woodlot owners in New Brunswick are encouraged by a new report that suggests private woodlots are the best way to increase the province’s wood supply.

But some have doubts about the report’s recommendation that an independent facilitator be appointed to help them settle their long-running dispute with industry over prices and how much wood should be purchased from private land as opposed to the amount harvested from Crown forests.

David Palmer, of the York Sunbury Charlotte Forest Products Marketing Board, which represents more than 6,000 woodlot owners in southwestern New Brunswick, worries a facilitator would be as ineffective as the existing dispute resolution system.

“We're not 100 per cent opposed to it, but we can't spend another year sitting around the table talking about it and still have the status quo,” he said.

Sets targets

The most valuable part of the report, released Tuesday by the minister of natural resources, is that private woodlot owners now have a target for how much more they could be selling to forestry companies, said Palmer.

The report, called New Approaches for Private Woodlots, estimates they could supply between 2.2 and 2.5 million cubic metres of wood in the long term, which is more than double what they’re currently selling, he said.

“So there's a million cubic metres-plus that is available with the right policies, with the right incentives, and sometimes you have to use the right stick.”

The estimate includes improvement in the long-term growing stock, wildlife habitat and other conservation measures, Palmer said.

Woodlot owners and environmentalists contend mills are getting too much wood from Crown land, while forestry companies argue they need a better supply of wood to remain viable.

Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup said he’ll make a decision on supply objectives for both private woodlots and Crown land next month.

“It's not going to be an easy decision,” he said. “But at the end of the day we need to have balance, and the vision and the balance will be there in March."

Meanwhile, citizens have until Feb. 24 to submit their views on the report by the government task force, Northrup said.

The report contends the province doesn’t have a competitive wood market, with government acting as the dominant seller of wood and one large company - JD Irving - as the main buyer.

It follows a previous study on Crown forests.