FREDERICTON, New Brunswick (AP) – New Brunswick’s forestry industry says its future is threatened by the provincial government’s decision to spend more time studying the problem of a dwindling wood supply.

Industry representatives reacted angrily Wednesday to the Conservative government’s decision to appoint a task force to gather public input on forest management issues.

The task force, to be made up of government, industry and environmental representatives, is to report by December 2007.

“The situation is very dangerous,” said Yvon Poitras, spokesman for the New Brunswick Forest Products Association. “We’re in the emergency room right now and we hope to God we can get out of it.”

The industry wants to double its harvest of pulp wood in Crown forests within 50 years. But conservation groups warned that would mean transforming New Brunswick into a giant tree plantation.

Keith Ashfield, New Brunswick’s minister of natural resources, said he wants to find ways to give the industry more wood while satisfying concerns about preserving the biodiversity of the province’s forests.

“The likelihood of doubling the wood supply in New Brunswick is remote,” Ashfield said after announcing creation of the task force.

David Coon of the New Brunswick Conservation Council, an environmental lobby group, welcomed the additional time and study.

“The government has hit the snooze button, which is good because it means New Brunswickers still have a chance to fundamentally influence what is going to happen in our Acadian forest,” he said.

The Acadian forest extends to the Maritime provinces and parts of New England. It is where where the northern boreal forest blends with southern hardwood forests, creating a variety of ecosystems.

Forestry is New Brunswick’s largest industry.

Industry representatives warned the province cannot afford more delays. The province already imports about 13 per cent of the wood it uses in pulp and paper and paper product mills.

Several mills have been shut down in recent months, including the Nackawic pulp mill in western New Brunswick and a section of the UPM Kymmene mill in Miramichi, New Brunswick. The two closures together cost about 800 jobs.

Poitras said there could be more mill closures.

He said the forestry industry told the government four years ago the status quo was not sufficient to allow for future growth. He said there have been numerous reports and studies in the intervening years.

Mary Keith, spokeswoman for J.D. Irving Ltd., the province’s biggest forest company, said the industry needs to know that there will be significant growth in the province’s wood supply.

“If there’s any call to action today, it’s that we need that sooner rather than later,” she said. “Every moment that we delay a decision with respect to growing trees, we are compromising the potential of the future.”

Ashfield said the government will provide secure funding for silviculture and the annual allowable cut on Crown lands will be gradually increased by about 25 per cent in the next 35 to 40 years.

As well, Ashfield said the number of clear-cuts on Crown lands will be reduced.

He said that starting in 2006, quality stands of hardwood, red spruce, red and white pine and cedar will not be clear-cut.