The Biden administration officially jettisons effort to protect old-growth forests – Here’s why. The move is supported by Republican Senators and industry, and now environmental groups are holding out for the update to the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. All groups agree that shelving the proposal was the best option.

In Forestry news: While British Columbia faces 7 big environmental decisions this year, today it is all about water – a lawsuit look to protect licensing rights in the Shuswap; a First Nation on Vancouver Island sues for repeated flooding; and a private timber company sells it’s working forest to the Capital Regional District to help protect water supply.

In Business news: worry and disbelief surround tariff rhetoric; a second US port strike is avoided; and Oregon approves a key permit for the biofuels industry. In Canada, $2.5 million is secured for a biofuel refinery in Ontario; and a perfect t-shirt from lumber is developing.

In wildfire news: how climate change is fuelling the Southern California fires in January,  Canadian firefighting equipment is in Los Angeles; and the health risks of wildfire smoke continue to grow.

Finally, a look back at Jimmy Carter and the sad saga of a 9-ton Northern California peanut.

Suzanne Hopkinson, Tree Frog Editor