Amar Doman
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to offer over a billion dollars for Canada’s softwood lumber industry has a developer concerned funds will be perceived as subsidies causing uncertainty for exporters relying on business with the United States. “I think the Prime Minister is doing what he can and trying to put his arms around the industry the best he can. The problem with what he’s doing is that it could be read as another subsidy, and that’s what this whole thing is about,” Amar Doman, founder and CEO of Doman Building Materials, told BNN Bloomberg. “It’s about our stumpage system and about how we unfairly dump lumber into the states. We’ve got to be a little careful if we’re throwing more, call it money, to the sawmill industry. …we might get back into hot water and get viewed as more subsidies, and that’s not what we need.”
A $1.2-billion lifeline from Ottawa that’s being thrown to the forest industry is welcome news to northwestern Ontario mayors and the Canadian Wood Council. …The 37-member Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) called it a “significant and timely commitment to ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the forest sector” and comes at a crucial time when local jobs, economic growth and municipal stability is on the line. …“These measures recognize the vital role of forestry in Northwestern Ontario and across Canada,” said Marathon Mayor and NOMA president Rick Dubas in a statement, “helping our sector adapt to ongoing trade challenges, protect local jobs, and create opportunities for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.”
WASHINGTON — More Republican lawmakers are calling out Canada because of wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states. Wisconsin state Rep. Calvin Callahan has joined other Republican state lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota in filing a formal complaint against Canada to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Joint Commission. In a news release issued today, Callahan says that “if Canada can’t get these wildfires under control, they need to face real consequences.” He joins a chorus of Republican politicians at other levels of government who have been voicing concerns about Canada’s wildfires. Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman sent a letter to Canadian Sen. Michael MacDonald on Monday calling for stronger forest management policies and more accountability from Canadian officials. Michigan Rep. John James sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week saying his constituents are choking on toxic wildfire smoke.
Wyoming’s few remaining lumber mills have been struggling, but a shift in federal and state timber policy might herald a new era for the industry here. Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday signed an executive order calling for an “increase of active forest management in Wyoming.” It mirrors President Donald Trump’s March 1 executive order for “immediate expansion of American timber production.” That might be the break that Wyoming logging companies and timber mills have for years been anxiously awaiting, Jenny Haider, of the Evanston-based Smith & Jones Timber Company, told Cowboy State Daily on Monday. The fourth-generation family-owned business has been going for 80 years but barely survived the past few, she said. …Trump’s order, coupled with tariffs on Canadian timber being imported into the US could be a game-changer for logging operations and mills in Wyoming. …Now, Wyoming timber companies are “using the word ‘hope’ again,” she added.
President Trump’s expanded reciprocal tariffs will not apply to any products loaded onto a vessel for transport into the US before 12:01 a.m. New York time on Thursday, according to guidance issued by 
KINGSPORT, Tennessee — Vera Gilmer, a 30-year Kingsport resident, arrived at the Kingsport Economic Development Board meeting for the update on Domtar’s packaging mill. She shared her frustration with the board about the mill’s odor over the last month. …Gilmer stressed that the smell has worsened recently. …Domtar mill manager Troy Wilson gave an update on the digester’s construction and addressed what could possibly worsen Domtar’s odor in the meantime. …Wilson said worsening odor is likely attributable to Domtar’s current wastewater treatment system, a lagoon system which he described as “antiquated” and sensitive to the weather. He also shared that the rainstorm that passed over Kingsport Wednesday last week put a strain on the wastewater system. …Domtar has spent $20 million on the digester so far. At its peak, the digester project will employ 140 people, according to Wilson.
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce has been following the Trump administration’s actions on tariffs since the start of the year, said President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Woodcock. …Woodcock said Monday that some individual companies and industries are already seeing a “dramatic impact.” For example, he said lumber product prices have increased. … In Maine, “our forest products industry is the one that is most affected with these specific industry, sector-level tariffs,” Woodcock said. The state imports 2.3 million tons of wood products annually, most of which comes from Canada, according to a Maine Forest Service 
It’s been over a week since the U.S. Commerce Department confirmed that it’s nearly tripling its anti-dumping duties on Canadian lumber imports from 7.66% to 20.56% following its annual review. The response from north of the border has been apoplectic, to say the least. …In the US, several entities are worried about the hiked duties, too. The NAHB continues to sound the alarm that new duties will raise the cost of homebuilding. …”We are also urging the administration to move immediately to enter into negotiations with Canada on a new softwood lumber agreement.” …The US Lumber Coalition continues to be the loudest voice in the room in favor. …”Canada continues its relentless shipments of dumped and subsidized lumber with devastating consequences for mills, workers, and communities.” …The downstream effects of all these trade war machinations remain to be seen, though the cross-border lumber trade has already slowed down considerably.
Canada’s merchandise trade deficit widened in June to C$5.9 billion as imports grew faster than exports due to a one-time high-value oil equipment import. The deficit observed in June is the second highest on record after the deficit expanded to its largest in history in April to C$7.6 billion, when the impact of US tariffs first started to weigh. Canada’s exports to the US as a share of total exports shrank to 70% in June from 83% in the same period a year ago while its surplus with the US contracted by a half in the same period, data showed. Total imports were up 1.4% in June to C$67.6 billion from a drop of 1.6% in the prior month, Statistics Canada said. Canada’s total exports grew 0.9% in June to C$61.74 billion following an increase of 2% in May, led primarily by an increase in crude oil exports.
Lumber futures hit their highest price in three years Friday despite a home-building slump and a lackluster remodeling market. Though wood demand is tepid, traders are pricing in dramatically higher duties on lumber imports from Canada. Lumber futures for September delivery hit $695 per thousand board feet Friday, up 39% from a year ago and the highest price since summer 2022, when the price of two-by-fours was tumbling down from its pandemic surge. November futures are trading even higher, around $710. The US raised its antidumping duty Tuesday to nearly 21% from 7.7%… [and] The Commerce Department said it would impose a higher countervailing duty in the coming days. The combined rate is expected to be around 35%. …”We don’t make a tremendous amount of money on distributing lumber,” Builders FirstSource CEO Peter Jacksons told investors. “We’re not eating a 20-point increase in lumber. It’s not possible. So it will be passed through. The market will adapt.” [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
PENSACOLA, Florida — A Beloit, Wisconsin-based general contractor will have a share in redeveloping a beachfront park in Florida. Pensacola, Florida-based The Dawson Company announced Beloit-based Corporate Contractors will be a co-developer, co-owner and investment partner in the first phase of a $200 million redevelopment of Community Maritime Park in Pensacola. Diane Hendricks, named the richest self-made woman in the US by Forbes and cofounder of ABC Supply, owns Corporate Contractors through the Hendricks Holding Company. …The first phase of construction involves two mass timber towers for the Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel and Rhythm Lofts, plans showed. The project will also have an affordable aspect, plans added. …In Wisconsin, CCI’s portfolio includes the Beloit College Powerhouse and The Grain mass timber development in Delafield. CCI is currently the owner’s representative for the $500 million Ho-Chunk Nation Casino and Convention Center underway in Beloit.
The 9th American Forest Congress has 
In May, the White House Office of Budget and Management sent Congress President Trump’s proposed budget for discretionary spending for upcoming fiscal year 2026. Among the budget’s many cuts is a proposal to eliminate all funding for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, designed to make timber projects run more smoothly. The Collaborative is a decades-long experiment to get conservationists, the timber industry and U.S. Forest Service back to the proverbial table after the timber wars of years past. Collaboratives have been widely credited with incorporating conservationist’s environmental concerns in the design of timber harvests and, consequently, reducing environmental litigation known to slow down harvests. The CFLRP has been lauded by some for helping implement forest thinning and restoration projects meant to both reduce wildfire risk and increase timber production and jobs in rural communities.
The Trump administration has announced plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, changing the political and timber industry landscape in the Tongass National Forest for the third time in five years. The Roadless Rule prevents logging, road building and mining on national forest lands. It was last repealed in 2020 and restored in 2023, and has been subject to decades of debate. Timber operators say the rescission could help a dying industry – if it passes through Congress. The U.S. Forest Service owns approximately 78% of the land in Southeast Alaska, meaning timber operators are dependent on the federal agency for a majority of their supply. Kirk Dahlstrom, co-owner of Viking Lumber Co. in Klawock, said the agency is nine years behind on offering timber supply for the Southeast industry. He said his business will not survive if land management remains under Forest Service control. “We got starved to almost nothing.”
The Trump administration has proposed drastically limiting the public’s say in how federal lands are used at a time when the president is pushing to fast-track logging, mining and oil extraction. That’s raising concerns amongst conservationists and environmental advocates, who worry that the changes could have a profound impact on Oregonians’ relationship with the lands around them. More than half the land in Oregon is federally owned, as is about 29% of land in Washington. …Under President Donald Trump, 16 federal agencies are now considering rule changes that could curtail or drastically limit this public input, which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, known as NEPA. Those proposed changes were announced in early July. The public has until Monday to provide input on the changes for the U.S Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. …Data shows that public comments can make a difference.
The Nature Conservancy announced it planted 2.5 million trees in northern Minnesota this year in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and three county land departments. This is a record number for the organization, and the second consecutive year the program has planted more than 2 million tree seedlings The tree seedlings were planted on public lands—across 5,810 acres of national forest, state forest, state park and county-managed forest lands—and covered six counties, including Cook, Lake, Saint Louis, Itasca, Cass and Carlton County. The planting areas included 1.8 miles along scenic Highway 61 and 41 miles of stream, river and lakeshore that connect to Lake Superior. It also included 1,740 acres of moose habitat enhancement, completed in partnership with the Ruffed Grouse Society and Minnesota Moose Habitat Collaborative—whose tribal representation is critical in maintaining habitat for this species of cultural importance to Indigenous communities.
Western Washington state is one of the wettest places in the country. In the North Cascade mountains and on the Olympic Peninsula, lush cedars, ferns and mosses form classic Pacific Northwest rainforests. But even here, climate change is making wildfires more likely. And the state is figuring out how to respond. “It used to be that it really wasn’t until mid-August that fuels dried out in western Washington,” said Derek Churchill, a forest health scientist at the Washington Department of Natural Resources. “Now it’s July or earlier.” In fact, last month human activity started a wildfire in the Olympic national forest. As of Tuesday, it had grown to more than 5,100 acres and some campgrounds were under evacuation orders… But global warming is changing fire patterns in the state. Washington’s summers are growing longer, hotter and drier, resulting in an extended fire season with more desiccated fuel available. [A free account is required to read this article]
FREMONT, Neb. — The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has opened a formal investigation into the July 29 explosion and fire at the Horizon Biofuels facility in Fremont that killed three people, officials announced Thursday. The blast fatally injured 32-year-old Dylan Danielson and his two young daughters who were inside the plant at the time. “This horrific incident should never have happened,” CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said in a statement. “We want to prevent a terrible tragedy like this from occurring again.” …The independent federal agency, whose members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry groups, labor organizations and agencies such as OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Arizona’s fire season keeps smoldering and flaring, thanks to a schizo monsoon and a dry winter. The 125,000-acre Dragon Bravo Fire continues to grow, with the 1,200 firefighters managing just 13% containment after nearly a month of trying. The National Weather Service had predicted a normal to wet monsoon after a bone-dry winter, based largely on sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific. But as a global warming trend driven by heat-trapping pollutants pumps energy into the atmosphere, patterns of drought, heat and storm tracks have become harder and harder to predict. So the monsoon has splashed and sputtered, with a week of storms giving way to a week of hot, dry weather – extending the fire season well into the period when fire crews would normally shift to other areas. Fortunately, the extended forecast calls for a chance the monsoon will gust back to life next week.
