Region Archives: United States

Business & Politics

Wood Pulp Imported to U.S. Added to Duty-Free List Under New Executive Order

PaperAge
September 12, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

The American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) announced that on September 5, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) making changes to EO 14257 from April. The new EO outlines what products and materials can enter the U.S. duty-free (zero percent tariffs). Three wood pulp tariff codes were added to the list. Pursuant to this new EO, imported wood pulp will come into the U.S. duty-free — an important development in the long-term trade and tariff policy discussion. This new list is meant to capture products and materials that are not produced in the U.S. — or not produced at scale. AF&PA has continuously made this argument for specific kinds of wood pulp, such as bleached eucalyptus kraft or BEK. … Importantly, this new EO also delegates authority to add items to the duty-free list to USTR and Commerce.

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Trump lobbies EU for 100% tariffs on China and India

By Peter Hoskins
BBC News
September 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

Donald Trump has called on the European Union to hit China and India with tariffs of up to 100% to force Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia. …Last month, the US imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India, which included a 25% penalty for its transactions with Russia. Although the EU has said it would end its dependency on Russian energy, around 19% of its natural gas imports still come from there. If the EU does impose the tariffs on China and India it would mark a change to its approach of attempting to isolate Russia with sanctions rather than levies.

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TAPPI welcomes new Board Chair Kim Nelson

TAPPI (Technical Association of the US Pulp & Paper Industry
September 8, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

This past January, TAPPI CEO Larry Montague announced his plan to retire at the end of 2025. …He will work closely with the Board of Directors Executive Committee on a succession plan to ensure a seamless transition to new leadership. …TAPPI is excited to welcome its new board chair, Kim Nelson. Nelson serves as CTO for GranBio USA. An entrepreneurial scientist and business manager, she holds nine patents and 120 patents-pending in the biorefinery and nanocellulose fields. The board’s new vice chair is Mike Farrell, VP of Paperboard Manufacturing Division at Graphic Packaging. This past March, the TAPPI Board of Directors elected two new directors: T. Scott Frasca, Director of Sales-CASE and Nonwovens at MiniFibers, Inc., located in Johnson City, TN; and Daniel J. Goymerac, VP, Industrial Business Development at Miron Construction Co., located in Neenah, WI.

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How polluted is Cosmopolis’ defunct pulp mill? We don’t know, Washington state says

By Conrad Swanson
The Seattle Times in the Chronicle
September 11, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Washington’s Department of Ecology is escalating its cleanup strategy for a once-prosperous pulp mill outside of Aberdeen, while its latest owner continues to push back against regulators. The first order of business is finding out just how bad pollution spread from the Cosmo Specialty Fiber mill, about 100 miles southwest of Seattle, is. State environmental regulators know the place is leaking acid and other toxics, sometimes in residential neighborhoods or into the Chehalis River, but they say the true scope of the contamination remains unknown. …The defunct mill’s current owner, Richard Bassett, has proved a difficult partner for state and federal officials, increasingly defiant as he struggles to reopen the site while arguing about the conditions there. Whether he can reopen the mill or not, Ha Tran, Ecology’s project coordinator for the site, said Bassett and past owners will be expected to clean up the site in Cosmopolis. 

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Sinking lumber market chills Trump’s timber ambitions

By Marc Heller
E&E News by Politico
September 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

EUGENE, Oregon — President Trump’s demand that the US increase timber output by a quarter is running into a math problem: Lumber companies may not make as much money on wood in the coming months. A steep drop in lumber futures prices nationally is jolting the wood products business just as the Trump administration is prodding the industry — including the government’s own forest managers — to ramp up production so the US doesn’t have to rely on imports. Futures prices on lumber at the end of last week dipped to $527 per MFBM, the lowest point in a year. For Weyerhaeuser, which operates a mill in Cottage Grove, Oregon, the pricing signal isn’t sounding alarms just yet. The mill’s in the middle of a multiyear modernization said representatives who figure the market is doing one of its usual seesaws. [to access the full story an E&E News subscription is required]

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Oregon fines Stella-Jones more than $1 million for environmental violations

By Tracy Loew
The Statesman Journal
September 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

SHERIDAN, Oregon — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has fined a Yamhill County wood treating company $1,055,825 for numerous violations of environmental regulations for water quality, hazardous waste and spill response and cleanup. DEQ issued the penalty to Stella-Jones, located in Sheridan, because wood preserving chemicals pose a risk to public health and the environment when not properly managed, the department said in a news release Sept. 8. Those chemicals include pentachlorophenol (penta or PCP), a human carcinogen. Most of the fine, or $877,225, is for costs and expenses the company avoided by not complying with environmental regulations. In 2023, DEQ issued an order requiring corrective action, which the company complied with. It has since issued three pre-enforcement notices outlining additional violations. …In addition to the DEQ penalty, Stella-Jones and the Oregon Department of Justice agreed to a settlement in late August 2025 in a parallel state criminal case based on water quality violations.

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Georgia-Pacific Announces $800 Million Capital Investment in Alabama River Cellulose Mill

By Georgia-Pacific
PR Newswire
September 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

PERDUE HILL, Alabama — Georgia-Pacific announced a new capital project for the company’s Alabama River Cellulose mill in Perdue Hill, Alabama. The $800 million investment will modernize and expand the facility’s production capabilities. The project, scheduled to begin in Q4, 2025 and conclude in 2027, will enhance and expand essential manufacturing equipment. This is expected to augment the mill’s operational efficiency and increase its production capacity by about 300 tons per day. Close to one million tons of fluff and market pulps will be produced yearly at the mill. A state-of-the-art digester, new pulp dryer and a more efficient power boiler will be installed. Modifications and upgrades will also be made to the brown stock washing and recausticizing systems, recovery boiler, evaporators and lime kiln. Once the project is completed, the Alabama River Cellulose mill will be the largest and one of the most technologically advanced softwood pulp mills in the US.

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State leaders meet to discuss future of industry in Georgia following mill closures

By Ashanti Isaac
WALB News 10
September 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

DOUGLAS, Georgia — State leaders gathered this morning to discuss the impacts of recent mill closures across rural Georgia. Some recent mill closures include: International Paper locations in Savannah and Riceboro… and Georgia-Pacific in Blakely. A committee of State Representatives, the House Rural Development Committee, gathered to discuss the recent closures. …Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper expressed his concerns about the thousands of rural Georgians who have been impacted by these closures. …The effect of the mill closures across the state is a snowball effect. …The committee says, right now, it is looking at ways to maintain the population in South Georgia by exploring new grants, utilizing Artificial Intelligence, agriculture, the timber industry, biomass production, and job creation. “We will take the recommendations from the committee and take them back to leadership in Atlanta and find some solutions to try and help these counties.” Representative Greene says.

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Weaber Inc. filed for bankruptcy month before large sawmill fire, records show

By Grace Miller
WHP CBS21
September 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: US East

LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — A large fire at Weaber Lumber comes just over a month after the company filed for bankruptcy. Weaber, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 1, according to online records. The company also filed a WARN notice in July at its distribution center on 25 Keystone Drive. In that notice, the company said 145 people would be laid off from July 26 through Sept. 9 of this year. The fire broke out Monday night around 10 p.m. at the company’s headquarters at 1231 Mt. Wilson Road, and it took firefighters until Tuesday morning to bring the blaze under control over eight hours later.

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Domtar adjusts communication on digester project, demo continues

By Jorgelina Manna-Rea
Johnson City Press
September 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

KINGSPORT, TN — Domtar is making two changes to how it communicates information around its anaerobic digester project: making the project timeline the landing page of its website and sending quarterly updates to public officials. … The anaerobic digester is a new wastewater treatment system that Domtar is constructing to mitigate odor emitting from its Kingsport mill. Digester construction officially began in August. The company decided to make communication changes after it met with the Kingsport Board of Mayor & Aldermen, the seven-person board who governs the city, on Aug. 18. Domtar will start sending quarterly updates to “key leaders in the community” in the next month, in addition to the updates given at monthly KEDB meetings. …“We’re moving that project schedule and delivery to the front of the website to make sure that people understand and know it,” Vice President of Strategic Capital Projects Charlie Floyd said.

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West Fraser Bemidji OSB mill in receives Minnesota job creation grant

KAXE.org
September 4, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

BEMIDJI, Minnesota — The West Fraser wood engineering plant west of Bemidji was one of three companies to receive part of $4.2 million in business expansion grants from the state. The state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development stated in a news release that the three projects are expected to create or retain 587 jobs and leverage more than $270 million in private investment. West Fraser plans to renovate an existing building and improve the operating site in the small community of Solway. The operation there produces engineered wood products, such as OSB or particle board, that are used widely in construction and other industries. The project will receive more than $1 million in financing from the state’s Job Creation Fund, with the company expected to invest $137 million. The project is expected to retain 132 jobs.

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Finance & Economics

Lumber tariffs spark split between builders and producers

Door and Window Market Magazine
September 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Earlier this year, when the US announced tariffs against Canada and Mexico the homebuilding industry collectively retrenched. The leading fear was that supply costs would skyrocket, making homes cost-prohibitive, tanking the industry as a whole. The NAHB lobbied to exclude lumber from immediate tariffs, while the US Lumber Coalition took an opposing view. …The Producer Price Index for softwood lumber over the last five months has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride, reflecting uncertainty. …With the ups and downs, the concern for US Lumber Coalition officials was less about tariffs and more about the amount of lumber coming in from our northern neighbors. The Coalition has since applauded what officials see as “critically important progress,” crediting an “America-First focus on trade law enforcement.” 

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Lumber prices haven’t bottomed yet. Here’s when they will

By Brian Donovan
The Globe and Mail
September 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

A “normal” annual softwood lumber price cycle sees prices dropping from Labour Day until early in the new year when buying starts again for the spring construction season. We are also expecting three interest rate cuts this year from the US Federal Reserve. With lower mortgage rates expected, will we see increasing demand for lumber? …The short term outlook for lumber prices continues to see weakness with price projections as low as US$450 per thousand board feet until the spring construction season. Looking into 2026 and 2027, prices are expected to recover to the mid-US$500 to low-US$600 per thousand board feet range. Ongoing duties, the upcoming court rulings on tariffs and the protracted housing shortage will all impact the price of lumber over the next two years. [to access the full story, a Globe & Mail subscription is required]

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‘Absolutely crazy’ lumber price drop makes now the perfect time to build

By Matt Sexton
Mortgage Professional America
September 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Russ Taylor

With new duties being levied against Canadian lumber, most industry experts thought the price of lumber would continue to rise. Strangely, the opposite has happened, and it might be the right time to consider new construction loans. A report in The Wall Street Journal reported a 25% drop in wood futures markets since hitting a three-year high in August. And if not for some mills cutting back production, the drop may have been larger. “It’s been, quite honestly, very, very strange,” Russ Taylor, a wood market expert and analyst said. “Prices have absolutely tumbled. With western SPF from British Columbia, if you look at August before the new 20% duty kicked in, going from 14.4 to 35.2%, prices were creeping up a little bit. …Because everyone is overstocked, and because demand for lumber has been so low due to high interest rates, Taylor thinks it may take a while for the market to balance back out.

Related coverage in Newsweek, by Giulia Carbonaro: US Housing Market Warning Signal From Lumber Prices

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US consumer sentiment continues to point to vulnerabilities in the economy

By Joanne Hsu, Director
The University of Michigan
September 14, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

US consumer sentiment moved down less than three index points in early September. This month’s easing in economic views was particularly strong among lower and middle income consumers. Buying conditions for durables improved, while all other index components fell. Consumers continue to note multiple vulnerabilities in the economy, with rising risks to business conditions, labor markets, and inflation. Likewise, consumers perceive risks to their pocketbooks as well; current and expected personal finances both eased about 8% this month. Trade policy remains highly salient to consumers, with about 60% of consumers providing unprompted comments about tariffs during interviews, little changed from last month. Still, sentiment remains above April and May 2025 readings, immediately after the initial announcement of reciprocal tariffs. Year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 4.8%, unchanged from August. Long-run inflation expectations moved up for the second straight month to 3.9% in September. This current reading is considerably lower than the 4.4% seen in April.

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EU Wood Pellets Consumption Expected To Expand In 2025

By Erin Krueger
Biomass Magazine
September 11, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, International

Wood pellet consumption in the European Union is expected to begin to rebound this year, reaching 23.45 million metric tons with increases for both residential and industrial use, according to a report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network. According to report, EU consumption of wood pellets declined in 2023 and 2024 due to a mild winter, high stocks, lower power prices and power plant outages. Increased consumption in 2025 is also expected to push imports higher. The EU is expected to produce 20.5 million metric tons of wood pellets in 2025, up from 19.9 million in 2024 and 19.97 million in 2023. Imports are expected to reach 4.68 million metric tons this year, up from 4.48 million metric tons last year and 4.9 million metric tons in 2023. Exports are expected to reach 1.7 million metric tons in 2025, up from 1.66 million metric tons in 2024 and 1.17 million metric tons in 2023. 

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US inflation rises ahead of key interest rate decision

By Danielle Kaye
BBC News
September 11, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

US inflation rose in August at the fastest pace since the beginning of the year ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting where it will decide whether to cut or hold interest rates. Consumer prices increased 2.9% in the year to August, up from 2.7% the previous month. The US central bank has kept interest rates unchanged since last year as policymakers continued to monitor the effect of President Trump’s import tariffs on consumer prices. …The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates next week. The new data is unlikely to derail those forecasts but the uptick in inflation is poised to keep policymakers cautious as they weigh rate cuts in the months ahead. …As well as inflation, the Fed has become increasingly focused on job market weakness. …And on Thursday, the Labor Department reported a jump in weekly unemployment filings to 263,000 – the highest level in nearly four years.

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Price growth for residential building materials rose for the fourth straight month

By Jesse Wade
NAHB Eye on Housing
September 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Price growth for residential building materials rose for the fourth straight month in August, reaching its highest level since January 2023. Across domestic inputs goods and services into residential construction, service prices decreased in August while goods prices slightly advanced. Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—fell 0.1% in August, matching the decrease of 0.1% in July. …The inputs to the new residential construction price index grew 2.3% from August of last year. The index can be broken into two components—the goods component increased 2.6% over the year, while services increased 1.9%. For context, the total final demand index, which measures all goods and services across the economy, increased 2.6% over the year, with final demand with respect to goods up 2.1% and final demand for services up 2.9%. Compared to July, the August results indicate services price growth slowed while goods price growth rose according to producer prices.

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U.S. Fed rate cut now signals 3% inflation is the new 2%

By Jamie McGeever
Reuters
September 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

ORLANDO, Florida – The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates next week even though inflation is still around 3%, a full percentage point above the official goal. This raises an uncomfortable question: is the central bank’s 2% inflation target still viable? Data on Thursday is expected to show that annual core CPI inflation held steady in August at 3.1%. Annual core PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred measure, was 2.9% in July. …The prospect of the Fed easing policy for the second time in a year with core inflation at 3% is a big deal – and may be yet another sign that the economic orthodoxy of recent decades is being tested or trashed. Inflation hawks fear it’s the latter. …But it’s difficult to argue that financial markets are overly worried about the potential loosening of the Fed’s 2% target. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

UMaine researchers are turning wood into medicine, and it could help cut drug costs

By Drew Peters
News Center Maine
September 12, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: US East

ORONO, Maine — At the University of Maine, researchers are using wood to help make medicine more affordable. Researchers at UMaine are developing a method to extract glucose sugars from wood products like chips and sawdust and convert them into a chemical compound called (S)-3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone, or HBL, a building block found in a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.  HBL has also been identified as a highly valuable precursor to a variety of chemicals and plastics by the U.S. Department of Energy. “We found a way to take advantage of what nature gives us in the sugars in wood,” said Professor Tom Schwartz, who leads the project. HBL is commonly used in medications to treat high cholesterol, as well as things like antibiotics and HIV inhibitors, and producing it the traditional way is expensive. Schwartz says their new method could cut manufacturing costs significantly.

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Forestry

Forest Service chief explains the need for active land management

By Kevin Lind
The Deseret News
September 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

For Tom Schultz, the 21st chief of the U.S. Forest Service, repealing the Roadless Rule is not a matter of ideology but rather a matter of “common sense land management.” Leaving land alone and letting nature run its course is not management, Schultz explained, but a “false narrative.” “The idea that if I care about something, I walk away from it,” Schultz said. “I guess I don’t buy that.” The Roadless Rule… prevented the building of roads through nearly 60 million acres of Forest Service land, conserving a small percentage of the overall American landscape from further development. Today, after carve outs by several states, the total acreage is closer to 45 million. …Schultz spoke with Deseret News to explain why it’s important to repeal the provision, why the administration is working so “expeditiously” to do so and what the public might expect from the prospect. 

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Forestry Institute for Teachers program returns this fall

The Plumas Sun
September 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Plumas County, California — The Forestry Institute for Teachers announces FIT-Focus, an immersive, three-day professional learning experience designed for both formal and informal educators from the preschool level to 12th grade and above. The program will be held from Oct. 17 – Oct. 19, in Meadow Valley. Program focuses on the tools, techniques and metrics that inform forest management, blending engaging, field-based instruction with real-world insights from subject-matter experts. “Whether you’re looking to deepen your content knowledge, explore new environmental education strategies or connect with like-minded educators, FIT-Focus provides the perfect setting — outdoors, in the forest,” says FIT. Participants receive access to environmental education curricula — Project Learning Tree Green Jobs, Our Forests, nature journaling — and focused pedagogy connecting field learning to Next Generation science standards, Common Core state standards and career technical education standards.

Related content, in the Daily Bulldog, Educators take to the woods during the 2025 Forests of Maine Teachers’ Tours hosted by Maine TREE Foundation

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Forest Stewardship Council U.S. Names Chestnut Carbon as the 2025 FSC President’s Award Winner

By Forest Stewardship Council – US
EIN Presswire
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

St. Louis, Missouri  — Forest Stewardship Council U.S. President Sarah Billig announced the second annual President’s Award at the organization’s 2025 Stewardship in Action Conference on Sept. 10 in St. Louis, Missouri. Chestnut Carbon, a leading developer of nature-based carbon removal projects, was selected as the winner. The President’s Award gives top-level recognition to this outstanding organization at the forefront of sustainable afforestation and improved forest management. The FSC U.S. President’s Award is the highest honor of the broader Leadership Awards program, which recognizes excellence in the use of FSC-certified products, materials, and commitment to responsible forest management across industries, as well as in advocacy, conservation and individual leadership in the FSC community. …Chestnut builds long-term projects that offset carbon emissions by cultivating biodiverse forest ecosystems, improving air and water quality, and supporting local communities. 

Additional coverage in News Channel Nebraska: Forest Stewardship Council US Announces 2025 Leadership Awards

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Interior Proposes to Rescind Public Lands Rule, Restoring Balanced, Multiple-Use Management

The US Department of the Interior
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior is proposing to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule, aligning with Secretary Doug Burgum’s commitment to restoring balance in federal land management by prioritizing multiple-use access, empowering local decision-making and supporting responsible energy development, ranching, grazing, timber production and recreation across America’s public lands. The 2024 Public Lands Rule, formally known as the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, made conservation (i.e., no use) an official use of public lands, putting it on the same level as BLM’s other uses of public lands. The previous administration had treated conservation as “no use”… However, stakeholders, including the energy industry, recreational users and agricultural producers, across the country expressed deep concern that the rule created regulatory uncertainty, reduced access to lands, and undermined the long-standing multiple-use mandate of the BLM as established by Congress. Now, the BLM proposes to rescind this rule in full. 

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Forest Service chief defends logging, staff levels in hearing dustup

By Heather Richards
E&E News by Politico
September 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Tom Schultz

Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz told lawmakers Tuesday the nation’s forests are in a state of crisis, driven by a precipitous decline in logging that’s increased the risk of bigger and more dangerous wildfires. During a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing, Schultz blamed environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act and litigation from environmental groups for dramatically lower timber sales over decades. “This is a full-blown wildfire and forest health crisis,” he told lawmakers. “Without action these conditions are expected to get worse.” Schultz, known for his pro-logging views, has pledged to boost timber sales to meet President Donald Trump’s executive order for a 25 percent increase in logging over several years, something Republicans argue can drive down fire risk and bolster lumber and milling jobs in rural communities. [to access the full story a E&E News subscription is required]

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U.S. Wildfire Fighters to Mask Up After Decades-Long Ban on Smoke Protections

By Hannah Dreier
The New York Times in DeseretNews via Yahoo
September 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

After years of wildland firefighters developing cancer, lung disease and other health issues while not being allowed to wear masks as they work, the US Forest Service will now allow these crews to wear masks. The policy turnaround comes as the Forest Service posted new guidance on Monday “acknowledging for the first time that masks can protect firefighters against harmful particles in wildfire smoke,” per The New York Times. Workers were barred from wearing masks for years, with the agency arguing that they were too cumbersome for the job. Officials from the Forest Service reported that the agency did not want to deal with potential expensive consequences of admitting the long-term dangers of smoke exposure. The agency has now stockpiled around 80,000 N95 masks… and is “encouraging firefighters to mask up.” …The new guidance follows a series of NY Times articles documenting a growing occupational health crisis among wildfire crews.

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US Forest Service seeks public comment over rescinding roadless rule: What to know

By Mariah Johnston
The Salem Statesman Journal
September 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Trump administration is looking to finalize a repeal of a longstanding Roadless Rule with a public comment period that lasts until Sept. 19. …Environmental groups say removing the rule will threaten clean drinking water and allow for logging and roads on some of Oregon’s most iconic lands. Timber companies say that removing the rule will help mitigate wildfires, as well as support forest management moving to the hands of local officials. …The rule applies to 44.7 million acres in 10 Western states. …These are areas that have been off limits to logging and development for more than 20 years. The American Forest Resource Council says “rhetoric suggesting that rescinding the rule will result in unrestrained logging just isn’t based in reality.” Oregon Wild plans to focus on the importance of protecting areas with clean drinking water. …So far, the public comment board has recorded more than 98,000 comments. Maps of roadless areas in Oregon can be found here

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Over 2,000 sign petition to oust forest supervisor amid wildfire management concerns

By Mayra Franco
Fox 26 News
September 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

Shaver Lake, Calif. — A new petition circulating online is calling for new leadership in the Sierra National Forest and the removal of current Supervisor Dean Gould. In less than two days, the petition has gathered more than 2,000 signatures. Frede Serrano, the organizer of the petition says the outcome shows a clear sign of public frustration with the current leadership, saying Gould is failing to protect the land. FOX26 spoke with residents on both sides of the aisle to hear their perspectives. …David John Hornor, long-time Shaver Lake resident says, he is against the petition and is in support of Gould. Hornor believes that Gould’s hands are tied by complex regulations and limited funding, making forest management a difficult balancing act.

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Trump wants to open forests to more trucks, logging. Which California lands are at risk?

By Ariane Lange
The Sacramento Bee
September 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture has moved to rescind the “roadless rule” that protects portions of national forests from development — including 4.4 million acres in California — and members of the public can still submit comments about the change to the federal government. Every national forest in California would be affected. Commenters can weigh in through the online form on regulations.gov through Sept. 19; the docket is FS-2025-0001-0001. Since 2001, the roadless rule has protected designated areas from development and logging, limiting or barring the construction or reconstruction of roads. About 21% of California’s national forestlands are protected. Throughout the U.S., the 2001 rule covers 59 million acres. The administration has said the move to end the rule would open up these forests to more logging and has said that more roads would help with wildfire prevention. As NPR reported, the U.S. Forest Service has previously found that roads appeared to do nothing to mitigate wildfires.

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Private timber lands restrict access due to vandalism and littering concerns

By Bobby Corser
KATU News
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

LINCOLN COUNTY, Oregon — Travelers exploring private timber lands along the Oregon Coast may encounter locked gates or restricted access, but this is not due to a desire to keep citizens off the property, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said. The closures are a response to increasing incidents of littering, vehicle abandonment, theft of forest products, and criminal mischief. Common acts of vandalism include property destruction by 4x4s and ATVs in unauthorized areas and damage to road access gates, officials said. These actions not only destroy the natural beauty of the forests but also incur costs for cleanup and repairs, which are paid by private timber companies and taxpayers.

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Invasive emerald ash borer has reached Portland, dooming ash trees

By April Ehrlich
Oregon Public Broadcasting
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

An invasive, tree-killing pest has made its way to Portland, spelling trouble for the many ash trees that cool residential neighborhoods on hot summer days. On Wednesday, Oregon forestry officials announced the discovery of an emerald ash borer infestation in the Hazelwood neighborhood in Northeast Portland. The affected trees will need to be removed. The emerald ash borer made its way to the US from Asia in 2002, first decimating ash trees across the Midwest. Many tree experts say it’s not a matter of if, but when Oregon’s ash trees endure a similar fate. Forestry officials say Oregon will lose 99% of its ash trees to this pest in time. …Oregon has its own native ash tree, the Oregon ash, which is prevalent around low-lying lakes, streams and rivers. Biologists worry that losing Oregon ash trees will make waterways more vulnerable in the face of climate change.

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Burnt out: How are past wildfires changing the future of forests?

By Stacy Nick
Colorado State University
September 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The increase in wildfires over the past few decades is changing the Colorado landscape in more ways than one. Not only do fires temporarily decimate the impacted areas but according to research out of Colorado State University, they are actually changing how, and if, forests regenerate post fire. “There are definitely some places where they’re coming back really well; it just takes a long time for trees to grow back,” said Camille Stevens-Rumann, CSU associate professor of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship. “But there are definitely other places that are not recovering and are not turning back into the forests that we expect them to be. …Reseeding efforts in these locations have shown mixed results, forcing researchers and forestry officials to look at alternative species. …“I think we do have to adapt and think about the fact that those forests are going to look differently.”

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Rescinding the Roadless Rule is a necessary step for forest health and public safety in Montana

Nick Smith, Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities
The Missoulian in West Virginia News
September 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Nick Smith

Montana’s national forests… face growing threats from wildfires, drought, and insect infestations. These are threats that are worsened, not reduced, by the outdated Roadless Rule. …While limited management activities are technically permitted under the rule, its sweeping prohibitions on road construction make it exceedingly difficult to implement large-scale forest restoration or wildfire mitigation projects. As a result, even science-based treatments like thinning or prescribed burning frequently face delays or cancellation. At the same time, nearly 300 to 370 million board feet of timber are currently tied up in litigation on Montana’s national forests. …These materials could otherwise help fund forest restoration, supply local mills, and reduce hazardous fuels, all while supporting jobs in rural communities. …After nearly 25 years, the evidence is clear: the Roadless Rule is not a conservation success story. It’s a barrier to active, science-based stewardship at a time when our forests are under unprecedented ecological stress.

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Boosting timber harvesting in national forests while cutting public oversight won’t solve America’s wildfire problem

By Courtenay Schultz, Forrest Fleischman & Tony Cheng
The Conversation US
September 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The western United States is facing another destructive wildfire season. …As US forests burn, Congress and federal agencies are asking an important question: What role should federal land management play in reducing fire risk? …Several of the current federal proposals for managing fire risk focus on increasing timber harvesting on federal lands as a solution. They also propose speeding up approvals for those projects by limiting environmental reviews and public oversight. As experts in fire science and policy, we see some useful ideas in the proposed solutions, but also reasons for concern. While cutting trees can help reduce the severity of future fires, it has to include thinning in the right places to make a difference. Without oversight and public involvement, increasing logging could skip areas with low-value trees that need thinning and miss opportunities for more effective fire risk-reduction work. 

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Roadless Rule protects forests; Trump wants to eliminate it

By Bill Berry
The Capital Times
September 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin — The Trump administration blitzkrieg on the environment is rumbling along, and 45 million acres of remote national forest lands are in their sights. These are areas protected by the Roadless Rule, adopted in 2001. …The administration is rushing the public comment period, with a deadline of Sept. 19. …There’s a good chance the administration has already made up its mind. But there’s something to say in this moment about being on the right side of history. …Why should Wisconsin care about the Roadless Rule, which is a huge deal in the West? Mike Dombeck, a Wisconsin native, was chief of the USDA Forest Service when the rule was adopted.” …It’s an important niche between wilderness and development. …It took a long time for us to recognize that suppressing fire actually contributes to uncontrollable wildfires. Fire has been a forest management tool for eons.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

USA BioEnergy to transform old mill site into $2.8B biorefinery in Bon Wier by 2025

By Zoe Holman
6 KFDM
September 13, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

©USABioEnergy Facebook

Bon Wier, Texas — USA BioEnergy, in partnership with Texas Renewable Fuels, is set to convert the former Louisiana-Pacific plywood mill site on Farm to Market Road 363 into a $2.8 billion advanced biorefinery. The facility will transform forest byproducts, such as sustainably sourced wood waste and thinnings, into low-carbon fuels like renewable naphtha and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Governor Greg Abbott announced the project in 2022 with an initial $1.7 billion investment, which is expected to create over 140 permanent jobs. USA BioEnergy has secured more than 1,600 acres in Bon Wier for the refinery, aiming to turn an idle property into a clean energy hub by 2025. The refinery has entered a 20-year offtake agreement with Southwest Airlines for up to 680 million gallons of SAF.

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Health & Safety

See Tracks? Think Train® Week

Operation Lifesaver, Inc.
September 15, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, United States

See Tracks? Think Train® Week (formerly Rail Safety Week) is a concentrated week of rail safety education focusing attention on the importance of making safe choices when driving or walking near railroad tracks and trains. First held in the U.S. in 2017, this collaborative effort among Operation Lifesaver Inc., State Operation Lifesaver Programs and rail safety partners across the U.S., Canada and Mexico is now called See Tracks? Think Train® Week throughout the U.S. to better reflect the purpose of this week-long observance: Preventing railroad crossing and trespass incidents across North America and concentrating public attention on the need for rail safety education. OLI offers free See Tracks? Think Train® Week materials – including posters, billboards, a month-long social media calendar filled with assets and more for rail safety partners and supporters to increase awareness about the importance of rail safety education across the country.

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U.S. Forest Service reverses course, issues masks to wildland firefighters but keeps ban in place

By Fedor Zarkhin
Fire Rescue 1
September 11, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States

The US Forest Service will begin providing wildfire crews with masks to protect against smoke, reversing a decades-long policy banning protective gear after The NY Times spotlighted severe health impacts from smoke exposure. For decades, federal wildland firefighters were not given masks, even as researchers and labor groups warned of the long-term risks, the Times found. The Forest Service said masks could cause firefighters to overheat. …The agency now recommends masks for light use, though still bans it for arduous work. …FireRescue1 readers respond: “The policy is preposterous. No one makes such excuses for structural firefighting, where the heat load is much, much greater.” …“Heat stress is a short-term condition that can be immediately remedied by mandatory rest and work cycle adjustment. Lung issues usually last forever. A better respirator that is slimmer, lighter and maintainable needs to be created and the forest service needs to use them.

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Forest Fires

Grove of giant sequoia trees burns in California’s Sierra National Forest

Associated Press
September 9, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

FRESNO, Calif. — A lightning-sparked wildfire in California’s Sierra National Forest burned Tuesday through a grove of giant sequoias and set some of the ancient towering trees on fire. Wildland firefighters with tree-climbing experience were being sent in to put out the fire burning in the canopies of the beloved trees, said Jay Tracy, a spokesperson for the Garnet Fire ablaze in Fresno County. To protect the majestic trees, some estimated to be 3,000 years old, fire crews laid sprinkler lines to increase ground moisture, wrapped the trunks with fire-resistant foil blankets, raked flammable material away from trees and patrolled the area looking for hotspots, he said. … The giant trees rely on low-intensity fire to help open their cones to disperse seeds, and flames clear undergrowth so seedlings can take root and get sunlight. The Garnet Fire, however, is more intense, Tracy said.

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Forest History & Archives

This Remote Forest in Idaho Looks Like a Giant “Chessboard”

By Harry Baker
NASA in Live Science
September 9, 2025
Category: Forest History & Archives
Region: United States

IDAHO — A bizarre checkerboard pattern etched into the forests of northern Idaho has captured global attention after an astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapped a striking image of the area from space. The photo reveals an enormous grid of dark and light squares surrounding the Priest River, forming a vast natural “chessboard” that spans several miles. The geometric arrangement is the result of a land management strategy dating back nearly two centuries, intended to balance timber harvesting with forest regeneration. …The image was taken on January 4, 2017, by an unnamed astronaut with the NASA/ISS program. …The origins of the chessboard pattern date back to a forest management initiative developed in the 1800s. Timber was selectively harvested from alternating squares, leaving the others untouched to maintain ecological balance and promote regeneration.

 

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