It is capable of reading and editing ESRI ArcView shapefiles, displaying aerial photography, and has transparency capability. In other words this software has a lot of the functionality of software that costs $1500 – $2000.

The last public build of this software was in 2005 by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. I now have the distribution rights to this software so please feel free to download it. There is a complete set of instructions that come with the software, so you can be up and running in minutes.

Go to ForestPal.com

Department of Natural Resources

Resource Manager
Pay Band 5

The Department of Natural Resources is seeking an individual to fill the position of Resource Manager in Region 4, Edmundston.

As a member of the regional team and reporting to the Regional Director, the successful candidate will be responsible for: supervision of District Resource Supervisors; coordinating the delivery of the forest management, fish and wildlife management, and Crown land management activities as performed by District resource staff; the delivery of the regional forest fire and public education programs; establishing, delivering and monitoring long-term and annual work plans for district resource operations; monitoring annual district resource operating budget; participating in activities and issues related to recruitment, labour relations, classification, performance reviews, grievances, discipline, staff development, training and safety; managing regional and district offices administration and infrastructures, as well as maintaining an efficient asset management system. Travel as well as working irregular hours to complete assignments is also required.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree in resource management or business administration with a minimum of five (5) years experience in resource management including supervisory experience; or a graduate of a recognized forest resource technical program with a minimum of eight (8) years progressively responsible experience in resource management, including supervisory experience. Technical knowledge and skills and a working knowledge of MS Outlook, MS Word, and MS Excel is also required.

Written and spoken competence in English and French is required. Please state your language capability on your application.

Applicants must clearly demonstrate the essential qualifications to be given further consideration. Please ensure that preferred language for assessment is identified on your resume.

ASSET QUALIFICATIONS: Preference may be given to candidates that: demonstrate related experience in forest fire management and/or natural resource management; participated in labour relations, negotiations, adjudications and/or mediations. Candidates should demonstrate on their application one or more of the asset qualifications in addition to the essential qualifications, as they may be required in order to be given further consideration.

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES: The successful candidates will possess the following behavioural competencies: Developing Others, Effective Interactive Communication, Organizational Commitment, Results Orientation, and Team Leadership.

Salary: $51,194 to $71,474 per annum

We encourage applicants to apply on-line at www.gnb.ca or by mail at the following address by May 26, 2010 indicating competition number NR-10-05.

Department of Natural Resource
Human Resource Services
2nd Floor, Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre
1350 Regent Street
Fredericton, NB E3C 2G6

Telephone: (506) 453-2131
E-Mail address: brenda.m.nicholson@gnb.ca

This competition may be used to fill future vacancies. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and we promote a scent-reduced environment.

We thank all those who apply however only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Apply online by clicking here

Thursday, May 13th, 2010, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

K.C. Irving Theatre, Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre, Fredericton

David Mazerolle, Botantist, Mount Allison University: Invasive Plant Species
Kathryn Collet, Dept of Natural Resources: Aquatic Invasives
Edward Hurley, CFS, Atlantic Forestry Centre: Invasive Insects
ALL WELCOME

3 CIF Continuing Education Credits, 9 ARPFNB CFE Credits

The 2010 Spring Meeting of the Canadian Woodland Forum will be held April 7th and 8th at the Ramada, Crystal Palace Hotel, Moncton. I have attached an agenda for the event.

Also please be aware of two other events taking place at this location:

NBFTA Executive Meeting April 7th (evening) at the Ramada, Crystal Palace, Moncton – time and room number to be determined.

NBFTA AGM will be held at 1 PM on April 8th – at the Ramada, Crystal Palace, Moncton – room number to be determined.

AGENDA: click here to view

The Emergency Meeting of the NBFTA set for February 6th, 2010 at MCFT has been canceled. Our next scheduled meeting will be at our AGM in Moncton, Thursday April 8th at 1 PM at Crystal Palace.

More details to follow.

Thanks

Todd MacPherson, President
NBFTA

By for now

Todd

===========================================

Hello Members

As a follow up to out last emergency meeting and subsequent acceptance of the ARPFNB to our terms, we are now in full support of the current Right-to-Practice Legislation. With that in mind, I am required to call one more emergency meeting for the general membership on Saturday, February 6th, 2010, at 10 AM in room 224 at MCFT.

The purpose of this meeting is to ratify the latest version of the legislation document. After that we will begin a 6-week public relations campaign, as required by law. The ARPFNB is holding their Annual General Meeting a week prior to ours and if for some reason their membership votes against the legislation then I will cancel our meeting. The Private Members Bill can not go forward unless both associations approve the latest draft of the legislation.

I can not stress enough the importance of this meeting. Forestry as you know it in New Brunswick will change forever with the enactment of this legislation. In order for your voice to be heard you must attend the meeting.

Attached to this document is the Act, rough draft of the By-laws, and a letter that was mailed out to various members of the forest community seeking their support of the legislation.

This meeting is open to NBFTA members in good standing only. To participate, your dues must be paid in full at the door.

(Note to Executive Members – I would like to meet with all of you after the emergency meeting to go over the applications for the NBFTA Scholarship. We received two applications so it should not take long.)

If any of you receive this email more than once, I apologize.

See you all on February 6th.

Sincerely;

Todd MacPherson
President
New Brunswick Forest Technicians Association
www.nbfta.org

I was informed of a conference next Thursday and it is an excellent opportunity to earn CFE credits. The workshop is titled “Implications of Intensive Silviculture and Mixedwood Dynamics on Forest Management” and is being held on January 28, 2010 from 9:30 AM – 4:15 PM at the KC Irving Theatre in Fredericton.

There is no cost for this workshop and lunch is included. There will be 6 credit hours awarded for members. Although this event is free you must register for it by sending an email to info@fundymodelforest.net or calling 1-506-432-7365 or 1-800-546-4838.

You can read the agenda by clicking here.

I have felt it necessary to call an emergency meeting of the NBFTA general membership in regards to ‘Right to Practice’ legislation that was initiated by the Association of Registered Professional Foresters of New Brunswick. The meeting will be held Saturday, November 14th, at 9:00 AM  in Room 224, at the Maritime College of Forest Technology (most of you know it as MFRS), in Fredericton.

As a bit of a background for you, the NBFTA was involved in the RTP process for a number of years but after many meetings and much discussion the process was abandoned. This was due to lack of support and the government not wanting to invest the time or resources for a public bill.

In late 2008 until the present, RTP was revived by the ARPFNB, because their membership demanded it an an AGM. The new approach is to go forward with a private members bill and pay all of the associated costs out of pocket.

In the spring of 2009, at our AGM in Moncton, Jen Hacking, the Executive Director of the ARPFNB, asked if she could speak to the general membership at our AGM. We accepted and allowed her to speak. The result of her meeting was that Chris Finnamore and Gareth Davies agreed to be representatives for the NBFTA in all future RTP meetings.

As a result of feedback from those meetings, the NBFTA Executive has twice voted that we no longer be part of the process as we felt it was not in the best interest of New Brunswick Forest Technicians and Technologists.

So why am I calling this meeting? We will reveal the full transcript of events at the emergency meeting but in a nutshell, we have had verbal complaint(s) from our Membership that the Executive may have overstepped their authority in making this decision on behalf of the members. Also we have received a formal letter from John Kershaw, President of the APRFNB, where he has addressed our concerns. Whether we agree or not with his letter is up for debate.

The Executive works tirelessly on behalf of the Membership and we are always looking out for all of our best interests, so I take complaints seriously. The main reason that the NBFTA Executive voted against this is that we disagreed with the entire process to move forward with RTP. This is such an important issue because if the proposed legislation
becomes law, here are some of the significant changes that will occur:

- The NBFTA will merge with th ARPFNB and a new association will be formed.
- All Technicians and Technologists will have to join if you want to
practice forestry in New Brunswick.
- Membership dues will go up significantly as the cost of running the
new Association will increase dramatically.
- Our financial resources will be seriously depleted paying for legal
bills and getting the legislation passed through a Private Members Bill.
Any remaining funds will transfer to the new Association.

There are other concerns in the draft legislation that we would like to explain at the meeting and will prepare a presentation, followed by a question and answer period. At the end of our presentation any other member will be allowed to make a RTP-related presentation, followed by a Q & A. My only request is that you inform me at least 1 week prior to the meeting with your estimated time allotment.

No other issues will be on the agenda. At the end of the presentations, the general membership will vote and the decision will be final. I can not stress the importance of this meeting. We need a quorum to allow for
a vote, otherwise the decision on the Executive is final.

Attached you will find the most recent draft of the legislation and an OCR conversion of a letter that was mailed to me by ARPFNB President, John Kershaw. Please read it over before you attend so you are better informed. There may be some typos in the text below as it was created by computer software after scanning the document.

*note – I did not publish correspondence at this time as it is intended for Members viewing only. If you did not already receive a copy in your email (sent October 22, 2009), then that means that your email address on record is out of date or you did not provide us with one. I can be reached by sending an email to todd.macpherson@nbfta.org.

Thank you for your time,

Todd MacPherson
President NBFTA

Tara Croft
Canadian Woodlands Forum/Forum canadien des opérations forestières
20 Coupar Terrace, Truro NS B2N 5L3
Tel.: (902) 897-6961
Fax: (902) 897-6976

Plan to attend our Fall Meeting being held October 7-8 in Fredericton. Watch for more information in the coming weeks.

Mark your books! The CWF Spring Meeting will be held April 7 & 8, 2010 at the Ramada Plaza Crystal Palace in Moncton.

Click here to download/view agenda