RE: FACTOID . The shut down mills....... The sawmills you speak of were closed , yes Most were closed after being purchased by other firms who modernized mills increasing their production with the AAC Quota from the firms they bought. Tolko for Example was originally a hand set mill called Lavington Planners Ltd. in 1966. Owned by Harold Thorlakson. The total production was from four to Five 5 axel truck loads of logs per day.
As he aged his sons assumed control. Allan, Smart, ambitious and fresh out of university. With the help of his brothers set their goals on being one of the largest forest companies in Canada. They bought up small local Quotas, Dumont's mill, which they never operated. Instead combined that allowable cut with Lavington and increased production.
Throughout the Okanagan and Thompson valley there were a number of operating mills with timber rights. Ponderosa Pine at Monte Lake, Buff lumber also there. In Kamloops was Bessette, Long's, Balfour Gutherie, Louis creek, Clearwater, Halston, among other mills. In Enderby, Lumby, Kelowna and OK Falls there was Weyerhaeuser, Fletcher Challenge, Martin bros, Bell, Riverside Forest Products, Cook's Creek Sawmills and others I could list. Those who have been around for a while may remember the names.
The anual allowable cut from those operations I mentioned, plus timber logged off private land and Govt. small business sales has been bought up by TOLKO It is now processed in 4 different operations.
So you see when a mill shuts down it doesn't mean there is less lumber being produced. It simply means surviving companies have gobbled up the weak to increase their production.
This same scenario not only happened in this location. It happened all over the province and across Canada and is still in progress by the larger companies.
Tolko is now I think is the second or third largest forest company in Canada and like Canfor very diversified. They accomplished what they set out to do.
The name TOLKO is derived from every second letter in their family name THORLAKSON