Committed to sustainability

Dear editor:
I am writing in response to the Jan. 30 article in the Fort Frances Times entitled “Ainsworth needs district’s help quickly: Hampton.”
The article makes several inaccurate references to AbitibiBowater’s forest management and fibre procurement practices that I would like to clarify.
I specifically would like to clarify that the Fort Frances facility has received a substantial portion of its conifer wood chips from residual wood chips produced at regional sawmills.
The closure of those sawmills has required increased deliveries of round wood to our Fort Frances mill to compensate for the shortfall in fibre.
The Fort Frances mill operation uses a number of regional wood sources to facilitate its ongoing fibre requirements. The closure of sawmills certainly has affected our business, but it did not significantly affect the harvest levels of jack pine or hardwood from the Crossroute Forest.
In addition, our woodroom team has done an excellent job in responding to this increased demand for more chips produced on site.
In the Fort Frances district, the fibre supply of area mills is interconnected in many ways and a disruption in the operating rate at any of the area mills has the potential to affect the others.
Generally, mills work together to minimize the impacts of market disruptions. AbitibiBowater is mandated to manage the Crossroute Forest to ensure wood supply commitments to other mills are met and harvest levels are sustainable.
These are very difficult economic times for all sectors of the forest industry, including pulp, paper, lumber, and OSB. All area mills face similar challenges with the strong Canadian dollar, low selling prices for finished products, and high energy costs.
It is AbitibiBowater’s goal to ensure the harvest levels on the Crossroute Forest are maximized while managing within sustainable levels and, at the same time, helping to reduce costs for all area wood consumers.
We are committed to this region’s economic prosperity in a sustainable manner.
Signed,
John Harrison
General Manager
AbitibiBowater
Fort Frances