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Species at risk with secretive breeding behaviours, low densities, and wide geographic range pose a significant challenge to conservation actions because population trends are difficult to detect. Such is the case with the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), a seabird listed as ‘Threatened’ by the Species at Risk Act in Canada largely due to the loss of its old growth forest nesting habitat. We report the first estimates of population trend of Marbled Murrelets in Canada derived from a monitoring program that uses marine radar to detect birds as they enter forest watersheds during 923 dawn surveys at 58 radar monitoring stations within the six Marbled Murrelet Conservation Regions on coastal British Columbia, Canada, 1996–2013. Temporal trends in radar counts were analyzed with a hierarchical Bayesian multivariate modeling approach that controlled for variation in tilt of the radar unit and day of year, included year-specific deviations from the overall trend (‘year effects’), and allowed for trends to be estimated at three spatial scales. A negative overall trend of -1.6%/yr (95% credibility interval: -3.2%, 0.01%) indicated moderate evidence for a coast-wide decline, although trends varied strongly among the six conservation regions. Negative annual trends were detected in East Vancouver Island (-9%/yr) and South Mainland Coast (-3%/yr) Conservation Regions. Over a quarter of the year effects were significantly different from zero, and the estimated standard deviation in common-shared year effects between sites within each region was about 50% per year. This large common-shared interannual variation in counts may have been caused by regional movements of birds related to changes in marine conditions that affect the availability of prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of Canada's forest products industry and its role in shaping the country's future. Topics addressed include activities of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), the timber trade's role in populating Ontario and Quebec, and its encouragement of the building of towns and villages as well as roads and railways. Also mentioned are the pulp and paper industry's contributions to employment, exports and the national economy.

The author comments on how buying green and protecting the environment has sparked discussion on the value of using forest products to produce fashion and other textiles. Topics covered include a 2014 study by Leger Marketing which revealed that the Canadian forest sector has the best environmental reputation in the world, and the effort of the forest products industry to improve its environmental credentials.

The article focuses on the rebranding of the forestry industry in Canada to attract students and others who might have left the sector to return to the forest products industry. It relates the launching of the Greenest Workforce, a resource tool that offers information on the industry and available career opportunities across Canada. It emphasizes the need to replace the impression of the forest sector as a staid sunset industry.