The forestry of Newfoundland has changed a lot since John Cabot

The forestry of Newfoundland has changed a lot since John Cabot's arrival in 1497. For hundreds of years, European settlement along the coast did not impose much impact on the forest of the island. Settlers utilized the forest to support fishing activities: firewood, and the construction of houses, stages, and boats.

^{Lumber production has been
important in many Newfoundland communities since the mid-1880s’. In 1881, the
Newfoundland Government, in an attempt to develop resources, began construction
of a railway, which gave access to the forest of white pine in the interior. The
railway was completed to Port-au-Basques by the end of the century and a
considerable number of sawmills operated along its route at such places as
Glenwood, Gambo, and Millertown. The white pine lumber industry flourished for a
short time. The depletion of white pine and poor quality timber resource
contributed to decline.}

Despite the decline of Newfoundland's lumbar industry, the forestry was favorable for the production of pulpwood. In 1897 the Newfoundland Wood Pulp Company Ltd. constructed a mill at Black River, Placentia Bay. The mill operated until 1903.

^{In 1909, an English group
constructed a mill in Grand Falls. The company became known as the
Anglo-Newfoundland-Development Co. (A.N.D.). In 1925, the Newfoundland Power and
Paper Company built a mill in Corner Brook, which later became the Bowater's
Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Mill. The harvesting of pulpwood to supply the
provinces large paper mills continues to be a major component of Newfoundland’s
forest industry.}

^{Today, thousands of residents in
most small communities on the Great Northern Peninsula still rely on the forest
for part of their subsistence or income. People earn their wages from logging,
sawing, trucking, or silviculture. Households in the communities heat with wood
or wood/oil combinations.}

^{Change in logging technology has
increased the number of unemployed loggers. Power saws and mechanical harvesters
have replaced crosscut saws and axes, diesel powered porters now remove wood
from the cutting area instead of horse and sleigh, and trucks have replaced the
traditional river-drive and boat as the mode of transport to distant pulp and
paper mills and markets.}