Ontario is investing $2.5M in Thunder Bay-area mill upgrades and forest biomass projects, and another $1.1M in Indigenous forestry. In related news: more on Ontario’s $5.1M support to restart the Espanola mill; New Brunswick’s AV Group will temporarily idle its Nackawic pulp mill; and the US issues its final report on hardwood plywood imports. Meanwhile: Canadian building permits fell; wood producer prices declined; lumber futures hit a 9-month low; the US housing outlook weakens; and EU wood pellet imports rise. 

In other news: the US Endowment awards $5.5M to expand wood-fiber markets; Red Rock Biofuels backs out of proposed plant in Oregon; Mississippi signs a shared stewardship agreement; Colorado examines feasibility of assisted migration; US reduces protections for endangered species; BC expedites timber supply reviews in the Northeast; BC’s Working Forest model worries some First Nations; Unifor takes its forestry campaign to the Union of BC Municipalities; the College of New Caledonia builds forestry skills; and the tallest mass timber student housing development tops out in Columbus, Ohio.

Finally, Hard Mountain Dew ventures into the forest, puts a $1-million bounty on Bigfoot.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor