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Here’s a list of cancelled forestry events in North America due to coronavirus

As countries, provinces and states announce new, stricter measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, a growing number of forestry events in North America have been cancelled, postponed or will be held remotely.

Here’s a list of affected events:

• Paper2020: Hosted by the American Forest & Paper Association and the National Paper Trade Association, the event slated for March 15-17 in New York City and has been cancelled.
• Montreal Wood Convention: The 2020 Montreal Wood Convention, set to take place on March 24-26, has been deferred to 2021.
• International Mass Timber Conference: The March 24-26 event in Portland, Ore., has been cancelled and the organizing team is evaluating next steps.
• SLMA & SFPA Spring Meeting: The upcoming 2020 SLMA and SFPA Spring Meeting (Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association and Southern Forest Products Association) in New Orleans on March 25-27 in New Orleans has been cancelled.
• Nova Scotia Forest Professionals AGM: The March 26 -27 AGM of the Registered Professional Foresters Association of Nova Scotia in Truro, N.S., has been cancelled.
• BC Indigenous Forestry Career Fairs: The BC First Nations Forestry Council’s 2020 Indigenous Forestry Career Fairs, running from March 26-April 15 in Terrace, Merritt, Chilliwack and Campbell River, B.C., have been postponed.
• COFI 2020: Western Canada’s largest forest industry gathering, the BC Council of Forest Industries’ 2020 convention in Prince George, B.C., on April 1-3 has been cancelled.
• World of Wood Convention: For the first time, the 2020 World of Wood Convention will be held as the Virtual World of Wood Convention from April 1-3.
• Canadian Woodlands Forum Spring Meeting: The annual CWF Spring Meeting, scheduled for April 1-2 in Moncton, N.B., has been cancelled.
• Atlantic Heavy Equipment Show: The road building, forestry and logging, and land improvement equipment show, scheduled for April 2-3 in Moncton, N.B., has been postponed.
• Ontario Professional Foresters Association Conference and AGM: The 2020 conference and AGM, April 7-9 in Alliston, Ont., has been postponed with new dates to be announced.
• Great Lakes Forest Health Showcase: The 1st Annual Great Lakes Forest Health Showcase in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on April 8 has been postponed until further notice.
• NAWLA Vancouver Regional Meeting: The North American Wholesale Lumber Association’s April 9 Vancouver regional meeting has been postponed until September 2020.
• OptiSaw East: CFI‘s OptiSaw Mill Automation and Optimization Forum, scheduled to take place April 22 in Quebec City, has been postponed until fall 2020. New date to be announced soon.
• SIBO Industrial Woodworking Expo 2020: The Salon Industriel du Bois Ouvré (SIBO), slated for April 23-25 in Drummondville, Que., has been cancelled.
• PaperCon 2020: The Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry has postponed the April 27-30 PaperCon 2020 conference in Atlanta, Ga., with new dates yet to be announced.
• Olympic Logging Conference: The 75th Annual Olympic Logging Conference on April 29-May 3 in Victoria has been rescheduled to Sept. 16-18.
• B.C. Saw Filer’s Association AGM and trade show: The May 1-2 2020 convention, AGM and trade show in Kamloops, B.C., has been cancelled.
• East Coast Sawmill and Logging Equipment Exposition: Expo Richmond 2020, scheduled to take place May 1-2 in Richmond, Va., has been postponed. Organizers are evaluating if a rescheduled event is possible.
• Interior Safety Conference: The May 7 Interior Safety Conference put on by the BC Forest Safety Council in Kamloops, B.C., has been cancelled.
• ILA Conference and Trade Show: The Interior Logging Association has cancelled the 2020 conference and trade show on May 7-9 in Kamloops, B.C.
• Quebec Forest Industry Congress: The Quebec Forest Industry Congress which had been scheduled for May 13-14 in Quebec, QC., has been canceled.
• WRCLA Cedar Summit: The Western Red Cedar Lumber Association’s May 13-15 Cedar Summit in Victoria has been postponed.
• Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Exposition: The annual loggers expo in Essex Junction, Vermont, May 15-16 has been postponed. New show dates are Oct. 16-17, 2020.
• FRA 2020 Annual Meeting: The FRA 2020 Annual Meeting scheduled for May 18-20, in Austin, Texas has been cancelled.
• RISI Forest Investment Conference: Fastmarkets RISI & DANA Limited has made the decision to cancel the event this year, originally scheduled for May 19-20.
• Forest Products Society International Conference: The three-day conference that was set for May 18-20 in Portland, Ore., is now scheduled for June 22-25.
• BCCFA Conference and AGM: The 2020 conference and AGM of the British Columbia Community Forest Association on May 27-29 in Nakusp, B.C., has been postponed to 2021.
• PACWEST 2020: The IBMP has cancelled this year’s conference, which was set for May 27-30 in Jasper, Alberta. PACWEST will reconvene June 2-5, 2021 in Whistler, B.C.
• Maritime Lumber Bureau Conference: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the MLB Board of Directors have decided to cancel this years June 3-4 event scheduled to take place in Halifax, NS.
• The 32nd International Mechanical Pulping Conference: The University of British Columbia was set to host this event June 7-10, 2020, but it has been postponed to 2021, with new dates yet to be announced.
• Spruce-Pine-Fir Kiln Operator Course: FPInnovations and the Maritime College of Forest Technology have postponed the Spruce-Pine-Fir Kiln Operator Course scheduled to take place June 9-11 in Fredericton. Fall dates to be determined.
• Canadian Bioeconomy Conference and Exhibition: The Board of Directors of the Canadian Bioeconomy Conference and Exhibition has decided to postpone the conference for one year due to COVID-19. It was originally scheduled for June 10-11, but will now be held in Prince George, B.C., on June 22-24, 2021.
• International Fiberboard Industry Conference and Exhibition: With concerns surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19), Fiberboard Industry Consultancy Services has decided to postpone their June 11-12 conference in Chicago, IL., to 29-30 October, 2020.
• International Pulp Week 2020: The Pulp and Paper Products Council cancelled this year’s event, scheduled for June 14-16 in Vancouver.
• Global Softwood Log & Lumber Conference: The Forest Economic Advisors have decided to switch to a virtual conference with a live Q&A focusing on the Impacts of COVID-19 around the world on the originally scheduled date (June 17 or 18).
• FSC General Assembly: FSC’s International Board of Directors has decided to postpone the event until 2021. The event that was originally scheduled for October 11-16, 2020., will still be held in Bali, Indonesia.
• Interior lumber Manufacturers Conference: Due to fears over COVID-19, the Interior Lumber Manufacturers Conference that was originally scheduled for June 14-16, 2020., has been postponed.
• Global Buyers Mission: The Global Buyers Mission (GBM) have officially announced the postponement of the 2020 GBM previously scheduled on September 10-12 until September 9th to 11th, 2021.
• CEN-CAN Resource Expo: Due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19, the CEN-CAN Resource Expo has been postponed. Originally scheduled for Sept. 10-11 2020, the Expo will now take place from July 7-8 2021 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
• Demo International Conference & Expo: The Canadian Woodlands Forum in partnership with SBC Cedar, have decided to postpone the September 22-23 DEMO International 2020 until 2021.
• Timber Processing & Energy Expo: Hatton-Brown Expositions, LLC announces the cancellation of the Timber Processing & Energy Expo scheduled September 30 to October 2 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon. The next TP&EE, which is held every other year, will be held as scheduled on September 27-29, 2022.
• SFI Annual Conference: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 SFI Annual Conference originally scheduled for October 20-23, 2020., in Vancouver, BC., has been postponed until May 12-14, 2021. The event is still scheduled to take place in Vancouver, BC.
• NHLA Annual Convention & Exhibit Showcase: Due to COVID-19, the 2020 NHLA Annual Convention & Exhibit Showcase has been canceled.
• Truck Loggers Association’s Convention and Trade Show: The Annual Truck Loggers Association Convention + Trade Show takes place on January 13 – 15, 2021 in Vancouver, BC at the Westin Bayshore has been canceled due to COVID-19.

This is a working list and will be updated frequently. If you know of a postponed or cancelled conference not listed, please reach out to CFI editor Maria Church, mchurch@annexbusinessmedia.com.

Last updated: August 13, 2020.