Mission鈥檚 forestry director says the city鈥檚 tree farm license is 鈥渨ell positioned鈥� with potential increased tariffs looming.

鈥淲e don't have a huge cut,鈥� forestry director Chris Gruenwald said. 鈥淚t's big for us but in the grand scheme of things, it's not huge. So I'm confident we can weather the storm.鈥� 

However, Gruenwald says there are a number of challenges on the horizon.

Late in November, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods unless border security improves. But tariffs on Canadian timber imports into the United States were an issue before the American election as well, Gruenwald says. In August,  tariffs on softwood lumber almost doubled.

鈥淚've seen some forecasts that it was expected to double again in 2025 regardless of the outcome of the election,鈥� Gruenwald said. 

Mission forestry doesn鈥檛 sell timber directly to buyers in the United States but Gruenwald says a 鈥渂ig chunk鈥� of the product goes south of the border. It鈥檚 sold to local buyers who then ship the timber.  

鈥淚t's another challenge for us. It seems there's lots of negativity but at the end of the day, we have a very secure, high-quality supply of timber within our tree farm license and that's not going to change. So I think we just have to ride some of this out and see where it goes,鈥� he said. 

As a country, Gruenwald says Canada produces far more timber than it demands internally.  

鈥淲e can always look at other countries but then ... obviously logistically, it's just so easy with the U.S."

In the future, Gruenwald says the forestry department may have to look at diversifying its revenue streams. 

鈥淭imber sales in itself 鈥� the way things are looking right now doesn't seem like that's a long-term strategy for success anymore,鈥� he said. 

Mission forestry is looking at carbon credit projects where revenue would be generated by not harvesting. Other companies would pay Mission forestry to offset their emissions by not harvesting. 

Gruenwald says the tree farm is also receiving a growing number of inquiries from interior mills about Mission鈥檚 timber supply. 

鈥淭hey're just having trouble getting access to quality supply,鈥� he said. 

Despite challenges on the horizon, the past year featured a "volatile" timber market as well. 

鈥淭hey've been up and down. But despite that, we're going to be profitable,鈥� Gruenwald said. 

Gruenwald believes forestry can weather the coming challenges by keeping an ear on the market and selling during upticks.

鈥淚'm not overly super stressed about it but ... it is what it is and a lot of things are out of our control. We just have to deal with it as best we can. I think we're well positioned to do so,鈥� he said. 

Mission Tree Farm Licence #26, also known as the Mission Municipal Forest, has been managed by the city since 1958.