Region Archives: United States

Special Feature

‘What Are You Complaining About?’: Economists Assail Trump’s Canada Trade Math

By Randy Thanthong-Knight
Bloomberg in Yahoo! Finance
January 9, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, United States

President-elect Donald Trump has justified his threat of 25% tariffs on Canada by pointing to the US trade deficit. Top Canadian economists have a response to that: it’s all because your country wants cheap oil. The US is on track to end 2024 with the largest overall trade deficit in its history. Its imbalance with Canada is about $60 billion. …Trump has repeatedly claimed the deficit is a subsidy to the Canadian economy, and said Tuesday the US doesn’t need anything from Canada. Import and export data, however, paint a different picture. Among the US’s top partners, its trade with Canada is the most equally balanced — because Canada buys $85 million from the US for every $100 million it exports. When stripping out oil and gas, the US actually has a significant trade surplus with Canada — its biggest energy supplier and a key buyer of American products from food to machinery.

“The Americans have had the better side of the deal because for more than a decade, they’ve been running surpluses on the non-energy side,” Stéfane Marion at National Bank of Canada, said. “Your deficit is with Canada on energy, but Canada allows you to have access to energy at a discount that you refine or transform to sell at a higher price to the rest of the world.” The US has been a net total energy exporter since 2019 as increases in domestic production lowered the need for imports. Still, it imports crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and electricity from Canada. …“For the first time, the US is actually a net beneficiary when energy prices increase because they’re a net exporter,” Marion said. “Americans need to know the reason you have that is partly because of Canada.”

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Opinion / EdiTOADial

US Lumber Market Chaos Looming from Proposed Tariffs

By Russ Taylor, President
Russ Taylor Global
January 10, 2025
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada, United States

With President-elect Trump set to take over the Oval Office on January 20, the Canadian lumber industry looks to be taking action… advising customers that they will add 25% to lumber exports to the US when the tariff is announced. With Canadian mills already paying an average of 14.4% import duties on US shipments, they have no alternative but to increase prices by the 25% to cover the potential tariff. Nic Wilson, CEO of the Denver Mass Timber Group Summit reports that… “multiple big Canadian mills sent out the same public announcement.” As a wholesale lumber purchaser/trader, Mr. Wilson’s view is that “the market will panic buy to cover their February and March inventories. Legitimately people are gambling right now. …The crazy part is, we do not actually know if Trump will or will not add the tariff. It is all a wild ass speculation. …This is textbook… Selling the rumor and buying the facts.”

This market reaction comes after Trump’s earlier comments this week that: We don’t need their lumber. We have massive fields of lumber. We have to unrestrict them, because stupid people put, you know, restrictions on.” Of course, this is another Trump mis-truth – in more ways than one. …He does not seem to understand that you need capital (harvesting machines, logging trucks) and skilled labour to ramp up any log harvests. So, unrealistic in the short term. And then you need sawmilling capacity which could be ramped somewhat, but US mills are already running at around 85% of capacity. …So, waiting to see what Trump will do with 25% tariffs has already spooked the markets. Let us see what Trump’s strategy really is, as the tariffs will backfire very quickly if implemented, causing higher prices and inflation and the potential of shortages and job losses. Interesting times!

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Froggy Foibles

In Oregon, a giant 300-foot smiley face greets traffic every fall

By Tibi Puiu
ZME Science
January 15, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: United States, US West

Driving along Oregon 18 in the fall, near mile-marker 25, travelers might catch an unexpected sight: a smiley face in the trees. Nestled between the towns of Grand Ronde and Willamina, this cheerful emblem isn’t a natural phenomenon but a cleverly designed masterpiece of forestry. Stretching 300 feet in diameter, the face grins brightly from the hillside every autumn, its eyes and mouth a deep green surrounded by golden yellow. The secret? A combination of Douglas fir and larch trees planted precisely to create the illusion. The face was the brainchild of David Hampton, co-owner of Hampton Lumber, and Dennis Creel, the company’s then-timberland manager. In 2011, the pair collaborated to bring this whimsical idea to life. …“Passersby will be able to see the smiling face every fall for the next 30-50 years,” Hampton Lumber’s Kristin Rasmussen said. After that, the trees will be harvested and processed into lumber at Hampton’s nearby sawmills.

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Business & Politics

New industry and labour council forms to collaborate on tariff and CUSMA issues

Canada US Trade Council
January 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

OTTAWA — A voluntary initiative was launched on Friday among Canadian organizations that have chosen to collaborate as the country faces issues around Canada US trade. The Canada US Trade Council (CUSTC) includes participants from a variety of sectors (steel, aluminum, forest products, oil and gas, agri-food, dairy, chemistry, banking, etc.) and leading labour organizations. …The group is not a lobbying organization but will focus instead on sharing information and ensuring an ongoing conversation, including with key government officials. …Organizations interested in participating in this council are encouraged to contact Bruce Anderson, Partner at Spark Advocacy, or Adam Taylor, Partner at NorthStar Public Affairs which are jointly providing secretariat services to the CUSTC. …Forestry signed on early because we owe it to our sector’s employees and their families to do everything possible to promote and defend their interests.” said FPAC’s Derek Nighbor.

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Canada’s premiers are meeting with Trudeau as Trump’s tariffs could be days away

By John Paul Tasker
CBC News
January 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Doug Ford & Dominic LeBlanc

The premiers will gather in Ottawa Wednesday to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and discuss a looming threat that has the potential to throw the economy into a tailspin: president-elect Donald Trump’s promised tariffs on all Canadian goods. …Economists have said the expected 25% tariff would be devastating to the Canadian economy. …Ontario Premier Doug Ford said as many as 500,000 people in Ontario alone could be out of a job if a broad-based tariff scheme is implemented. The government may have to spend billions of dollars in stimulus to shore up a shaky economy, he said. …Canada’s response to the tariff threat will be at the centre of today’s first ministers’ meeting, which the premiers requested to get a better sense of what Ottawa has planned. …To appease Trump’s demands, Ottawa has drawn up a border security plan that Trudeau is expected to share with the premiers at today’s meeting.

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A tariff on Canada would be self-inflicted damage for America

By François Legault, premier of Quebec
The Hill
January 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

François Legault

Tariffs can backfire, especially when imposed against longstanding allies. If President-elect Donald Trump carries out his threat and imposes a 25% tariff on all Canadian exports, it would hurt the Canadian economy. But it would also hurt the American economy, many of its businesses and especially ordinary Americans by causing a new inflationary surge. Like the president-elect, I come from the business world. I understand his desire to build a balance of power and make the United States richer. We both share the desire to increase border security and to control immigration. The United States’ request that Canada do its share in military spending is also an objective that we share, especially since Quebec is an important player in the defense sector. However, Trump should give Canada time to meet his expectations on these two issues before imposing tariffs that would do great harm to our two countries.

Related coverage by:

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Trump’s Tariff Threats Could Impact British Columbia’s Economy

By Sia Foryoh
BCIT News
January 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Nicolas Schmitt, an economics professor at SFU, highlighted that the province’s economy has shifted from a goods-based to a service-driven model. He said this transition has made the economy more diversified and resilient. With key regions like Vancouver and the Okanagan Valley showing strong growth in service sectors, B.C. is well-positioned to withstand global economic uncertainties and to continue thriving. “This war might affect more interior B.C. than urban B.C. That is a potential problem for the interior. Where those lumber mines and all those goods are being exported. So that creates an urban rural divide.”  In a statement provided by Kurt Niquidet president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, he said federal parties must collaborate to tackle the ongoing softwood lumber duties and the potential imposition of further tariffs. …While B.C.’s diversified economy offers resilience, the potential impacts on industries like lumber, especially in rural areas, require attention. 

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Canada ready to buy more American products to appease Trump’s tariff threat, ambassador says

By Rob Gillies
The Associated Press
January 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Kiresten Hillman

PALM DESERT, California — Canada’s ambassador to Washington said Monday that Canada is prepared to buy more from the United States, including its next fleet of submarines, to appease President-elect Donald Trump’s concerns about the U.S.-Canada trade deficit. Ambassador Kirsten Hillman also warned Americans that prices will go up for Americans almost immediately if Trump follows through with his plan to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products. …Hillman has said the U.S. had a $75 billion trade deficit with Canada last year but noted a third of what Canada sells into the U.S. is energy exports. …“Canada will respond,” she said. “Therefore your number one customer will make American products more expensive and Canadians will probably look for alternatives to those products.” “We are 99% tariff free with the United States, 99% tariff free. And that tariff level is as a result of the USMCA,” Hillman said.

Related coverage in:

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As Trump threatens Canada, ‘there’s something dangerous brewing’

By Sean Boynton
Global News
January 12, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s increasingly bold threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty suggest “there’s something dangerous brewing” and a serious response is needed, a U.S. analyst says. David Frum, a staff writer at The Atlantic who has covered U.S. politics for decades, doesn’t believe Trump actually wants to make Canada a U.S. state, but says the fact the incoming president keeps repeating that idea means he’s eying some kind of aggressive action. …Frum said Canadians should brace for that “tariff aggression,” which Trump can pursue with several unilateral actions, including declaring a national emergency to justify them. He added Canada will also be impacted by Trump’s aggression toward Latin American allies, particularly Mexico. Canada may also soon see the arrival of thousands of people fearing deportation from the U.S. seeking refuge from Trump’s pledged crackdown on illegal residents and immigration, Frum said.

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Trump Claims US Needs Nothing From Canada as They Bail Out Los Angeles

By Edith Olmsted
The New Republic in Yahoo! News
January 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Donald Trump gloated that the Americans “don’t need anything” from Canada, even as the Canadian government sent firefighters and supplies in response to the devastating wildfires in California. “Canada is mobilizing to help fight the wildfires in southern California. Canadian water bombers are already in action. 250 firefighters are ready to deploy,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. …But Trump doesn’t think we need any help at all. Take lumber, for example, an industry of which Trump clearly has a highly technical understanding: “We don’t need Canada for lumber ’cause we have big forests, that we have, you know, not utilized. In some cases they’re protected, which I can take that protection off. And you can take down that tree and grow a better tree. And you know that’s pretty common.”

Related in Fox Business: Canada readies Trump tariffs response: ‘in a trade war, there are no winners’

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Forest industry fears B.C. policy review as it faces Trump tariff threats

By Vaughn Palmer
Vancouver Sun
January 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West, United States

Vaughn Palmer

VICTORIA — The New Democrats provoked little controversy with the commitments they made to the Greens in exchange for that party’s support in the legislature. …However, one item in the NDP-Green accord provoked a backlash because of the potential impact on the forest industry and the softwood lumber trade with the U.S. The New Democrats pledged to “work with the B.C. Green caucus to undertake a review of B.C. forests… to address concerns around sustainability, jobs, environmental protection and the future of the industry. Green MLAs… “will be fully involved and the resulting report will be made public within 45 days of completion.” “Another review of forest policy in B.C. should not be a priority right now,” said CEO Linda Coady. “Premier Eby has already publicly acknowledged that rising U.S. duties and tariffs on forest products would have a ‘devastating’ impact on thousands of jobs in resource communities across the province.

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Trump team studies gradual tariff hikes for leverage, inflation control

By Eamonn Sheridan
Bloomberg News in Forexlive
January 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Advisors on Trump’s incoming economic team are considering a gradual implementation of tariffs, increasing them incrementally each month. This approach is intended to strengthen their negotiating position while minimizing the risk of sudden inflation, according to sources familiar with the discussions. One concept involves a plan to raise tariffs by 2% to 5% per month, using executive powers granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The idea is still in its early stages and has not yet been formally presented to Trump, indicating that the strategy is in the initial phase of consideration. Trump has not yet approved of the plan. Supporters include Trump advisors Bessent, Haslett and Miran. [to access the full story a Bloomberg subscription is required]

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The Not-So-Secret Way Around U.S. Tariffs

By Into Pacheco
The Wall Street Journal
December 22, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Cabinets made in China were rerouted through Malaysia and ended up in U.S. kitchens—sparking a Customs probe. …Imported cabinets make up most of the $37.5 billion U.S. market. In 2018, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese-made cabinets as part of broader tariffs, rerouting the flow of those goods. In 2020, the Biden administration slapped them with up to 262% in antidumping duties, a penalty imposed on imports judged by the U.S. to be sold for below fair value. In response, Haiyan and other Chinese companies have moved operations or established new facilities in countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia or Thailand, where they can send raw materials to make goods. Some companies have used these countries as temporary holding places where they can mask the origin of goods, according to CBP investigations. …“It’s kind of a shell game,” said Betsy Natz of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]

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Finance & Economics

Trump tariffs ‘spooking’ lumber markets

By Nelson Bennett
Business in Vancouver
January 13, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

The mere threat of tariffs being tacked onto Canadian lumber imports in the U.S. is raising fears of panic buying that could roil lumber markets and prices. “A number of Canadian lumber companies are now advising customers that they will add 25% to lumber exports to the U.S. when the tariff is announced,” global wood analyst Russ Taylor wrote. Taylor cites Nic Wilson, CEO of the Denver Group Mass Timber Summit in the US. In an email to BIV, a spokesperson for West Fraser said: “West Fraser has not issued blanket emails to customers regarding potential Trump tariffs.”  …Whether the warning letters are real or rumour, it underscores the uncertainty roiling lumber markets as a result of Trump’s tariff threats. There could be some “panic buying” as American buyers try to build February and March inventories at current prices in anticipation of a 25% spike, Wilson writes.

Related coverage in the Globe and Mail: Canadian sawmills brace for Trump’s threatened tariffs on top of existing softwood lumber duties

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Canada and America have been fighting about timber for 40 years

The Economist
January 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

When the boss of the us Lumber Coalition took the podium at the Global Wood Summit in Vancouver, he did not have to tell his mostly Canadian audience to hold their applause. “I’m not going to make a lot of eye contact,” Zoltan van Heyningen said. …Canadian wood used to flow into the United States at quite a clip. Exports are now running at levels last seen in the 1970s, thanks to the fact that softwood lumber is the subject of the longest-running trade dispute between the two countries. …Trade war aside, Canada’s lumber industry is suffering, thanks to wobbling prices, wildfires and insect infestation that have led to mill closures and job cuts. …Canadians want a new softwood-lumber agreement. The US is in no hurry to give them one. …Kevin Mason, with ERA Forest Products Research said, “This is a battle going back to the early 1800s. It’s not going to change.” [to access the full story an Economist subscription is required]

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How climate change is reshaping home insurance in California — and the rest of the U.S.

By Natalie Escobar
KNKX Public Radio
January 14, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, US West

Insurance rates in California have been slowly ticking up for years, though climate change isn’t the only driving factor, according to Meredith Fowlie, who researches the links between wildfire risk and insurance prices. In her research it’s clear that the worsening wildfire seasons have been a major driving force behind California’s market instability… In totality, “California has been suffering from an insurance crisis like we’ve never seen,” California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara says… If the past few years have demonstrated anything, it’s that traditional insurance models have had trouble accounting for the “known unknown” risks that climate change poses, the Environmental Defense Fund’s Kousky says, making it difficult to provide coverage affordably. What has become clear, though, is that it’s a problem that U.S. homeowners are not going to be able to ignore. “It’s the one place where I feel lots of Americans are seeing the costs of climate hit their pocketbooks,” she says.

Related coverage from The Globe and Mail: Damage from natural disasters in Canada hit record $8.5-billion in 2024, as industry group warns some regions may become uninsurable [requires a subscription]

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

A Year in Review: 10 Top Stories from the Softwood Lumber Board

Softwood Lumber Board
January 15, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

As we close the 2024 chapter, we wanted to share a recap of the top stories from the SLB last year. As we continue to work towards our mission to make softwood lumber the building material of choice in the United States, we reflect on the impact the SLB and its funded programs made last year. 

    1. 2025 Mass Timber Competition: Building Sustainable Schools
    2. SLB’s Mass Timber Accelerator Programs Expand Demand for Wood Construction
    3. SLB Study Reveals Importance of WUI Code Work in Defending Market Share
    4. WoodWorks Supports Taller Light-Frame Wood Projects
    5. Building the Future: Architecture Students Embrace Wood at Build Fest 2024
    6. The SLB Identifies Opportunity for Steel-Timber Hybrid Construction
    7. AWC Releases Regional EPDs to Meet Market Demand for Sustainability Data
    8. Think Wood’s Single-Family Home LookBook Offers Inspiration
    9. From Forest to Classroom: SLB Faculty Workshops Drive Wood Education
    10. The SLB Sponsors Former Super Bowl Champion-Turned-Designer

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Recent Innovations in Sustainable Practices in the Pulp and Paper Industry

ResourceWise Forest Products Blog
January 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, International

In today’s rapidly evolving world, the pulp and paper industry is at the forefront of sustainability efforts, playing a crucial role in the transition towards a circular economy. …Below, we’ve highlighted the latest developments announced over the past month, showcasing significant strides made by companies and organizations in their commitment to sustainable practices and eco-friendly solutions:

  • Toy Manufacturer Lego Starts Using Paper-Based Bags
  • Minnestoa Discusses Ways to Implement Recyclable Packaging by 2032
  • Amazon Moves to Recyclable Delivery Packaging in Australia
  • Stora Enso Develops Sustainable Packaging for Wilfa’s ProBaker Product
  • Climate-Focused Frontier Coalition to Buy US$80 Million of Carbon Credits
  • Smurfit Westrock Provides Recyclable Packaging to Mindful Chef
  • Dobis Brings Out Lightweight Shopping Bags with Mondi’s Recycled Papers
  • 39% of People Are Inclined to Recycle Paper and Cardboard Products – PAMSA
  • Termotécnica Brings out DaColheita Bio Packaging to Export Fruits

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‘Some homes weren’t designed with fire in mind’: Is timber to blame for LA wildfires?

By Michael Koziol
The Sydney Morning Herald
January 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, International

Architect Greg Chasen posted a solitary home still standing in the ruins of the burnt-out Pacific Palisades. “Some of the design choices we made here helped,” he wrote. “But we were also very lucky.” Many Australians seeing images of the devastating blazes in Los Angeles might wonder whether these homes are being built in a way that makes them especially susceptible to fire. The answer is complex. …the US is heavily reliant on timber framing for residential construction …at least 90 per cent of new single-family homes are timber. …in Australia, about 80 per cent of detached homes use timber. Timber is popular in earthquake-plagued California because of its flexibility. Most LA houses are timber-framed with an exterior made of stucco – a fire-resistant, cement and sand-based render and one of the most common building materials in the US. …it’s ultimately the location of these properties … that make them susceptible to fire.

Additional coverage in The Australian Financial Review, by Kriston Capps: Why did these homes survive the LA fires?

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Maine Delegation Announces $22 Million Headed to State for Recycled Forest Product Manufacturing

WAGM TV Maine
January 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, today are announcing the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration’s decision to award $22 million in funding for Maine’s Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub, led by the Maine Technology Institute. The grant will support the advancement of two projects that aim to further position Maine as a global leader in forest-based biomaterial production and manufacturing that include: Connecting forest bioproducts technological innovations with the commercialization resources and partnerships; and Strengthening a pipeline of innovations to accelerate the most promising innovations.

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Forestry

New National Tree Canopy Assessment Tool Now Live

Accesswire Press Release
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

A national tree canopy assessment tool is now available for the first time, making it possible for cities to view the status of their local and regional tree canopy and how it’s changed over time… The national tree canopy assessment will help community leaders to assess tree loss and prioritize tree planting projects in areas of need, utilizing high-resolution aerial imagery. Users can view land cover statistics, development patterns, and individual tree canopies, all summarized down to the census block group. This interactive resource is available at TreesAtWork.org. More resources, data and information will be added to the website in 2025, including a downloadable National Baseline Canopy Assessment Report detailing the state of tree canopy in urban areas across the country and in-depth reporting on the impact of strategic investments in trees in cities nationwide.

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Missoula County, partners seek reboot of regional timber industry

By Martin Kidston
The Missoula Current
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

MONTANA — The recent collapse of western Montana’s timber industry did more than eliminate jobs, it also left Missoula County and various management agencies with one less tool to manage area forests. But county commissioners on Monday joined officials with the Bureau of Land Management and the Blackfoot Challenge to explore ways to revitalize the region’s timber industry. If the industry is going to reemerge, it will need to do so under a new model, they said. “There’s an acknowledgment that industry is a partner when you look at the millions of acres of federal land, as well as the private forested land and state land,” said Erin Carey, with the BLM. “When you look at the restoration needs across millions of acres in western Montana, we cannot accomplish those restoration outcomes without industry.” ….Forest restoration could be an industry in itself, along with the creation of new products like cross-laminated timber.

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Small airborne embers play a big role in the spread of wildfires

By Holly Ramer
Associated Press
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

While authorities still don’t know what sparked the deadly fires in the Los Angeles area, they do know one clear way the flames have spread: embers. …The flames have been fueled by strong winds, which not only aid combustion by increasing the oxygen supply but carry embers to unburned areas. Contrary to popular belief, experts say most homes destroyed by wildfires aren’t overcome by a racing wall of flames, but rather burn after being ignited by airborne embers. Here’s a look at what embers are and the role they play in wildfires. …the embers involved in wildfires are drastically different from campfires, said Anne Cope, chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. “Those embers can travel for miles, and it’s often the neighborhoods that are closer to the wildlands that get inundated with just loads and loads — just showered with embers,” she said.

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Researchers Awarded National Science Foundation Grant for Next-Generation Forest Mapping and Monitoring

By Kimberly Mann Bruch
University of California, San Diego
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Researchers at the University of California San Diego, University of Florida and Arizona State University have been awarded $3.28 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to build OpenForest4D – a web-based cyberinfrastructure platform for next-generation 4D forest mapping and monitoring. The project’s goal is to advance the mapping and monitoring of global forest ecosystems by fusing the most up-to-date, multi-source remote sensing data and novel artificial intelligence models to generate research-grade estimates of forest structure and above-ground biomass across a range of timescales. …Previously these sorts of calculations were limited to research professionals with advanced expertise. By providing these cyberinfrastructure services via an easily accessible and user-friendly science gateway, users of all expertise levels can now access advanced forestry analysis tools regardless of their technical skill level, democratizing scientific computing and enabling on-demand generation of forestry-related products. 

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Fire officials stress climate’s role over forest management in preventing California blazes

By Jeannie Nguyen
ABC News 10
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Adrienne Freeman

CALIFORNIA, USA — Firefighters in Los Angeles, are fighting misinformation as people claim these fires could have been prevented with forest management. However, experts say there’s much more to minimizing fire risks than just prescribed burns. In an effort to curb wildfires, California aims to treat a million acres of land in the state each year. …ABC10 asked if anything could have been done to prevent the spread of the Southern California fires. “There’s nothing. The conditions that we saw in Southern California last Tuesday were in above the 99.99th percentile of severity,” Adrienne Freeman, with USFS said. …”Even a large scale fire break probably wouldn’t have been effective in keeping the wildfire out of the communities. And once the communities are burning, the spread is from home to home, and it doesn’t really have anything to do with the forest management,” said Chris Field, with Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment.

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Why it matters that Oregon just lost its chief forester

By April Ehrlich
Oregon Public Broadcasting
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Calvin Mukumoto

The resignation of Oregon’s top forestry executive last week comes at a pivotal moment for environmental policies in the state. Lawmakers are a week away from convening a legislative session that’s expected to tackle Oregon’s critical wildfire funding issues. And forestry officials are scrambling to finalize two major overhauls to endangered species protections on public and private lands… The state forester has long been a highly political role, juggling policy input from Oregon’s robust timber industry, timber-dependent counties and environmental advocates. “There’s nothing about the job that is easy,” said Board of Forestry chair Jim Kelly… But for many, state forester Cal Mukumoto’s resignation didn’t come as a surprise, even for Mukumoto himself. “Without the confidence of the Legislature and the governor’s office, I think it didn’t leave me many options but to resign,” Mukumoto said.

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Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort

By Patrick Megonigal
The Conversation
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Firefighters battling the deadly wildfires that raced through the Los Angeles area in January 2025 have been hampered by a limited supply of freshwater. So, when the winds are calm enough, skilled pilots flying planes aptly named Super Scoopers are skimming off 1,500 gallons of seawater at a time and dumping it with high precision on the fires. Using seawater to fight fires can sound like a simple solution – but seawater also has downsides… A novel experiment called TEMPEST was designed to understand how and why historically salt-free coastal forests react to their first exposures to salty water… Our research group is still trying to understand all the factors that limit the forest’s tolerance to salty water, and how our results apply to other ecosystems such as those in the Los Angeles area. Tree leaves turning from green to brown well before fall was a surprise, but there were other surprises hidden in the soil below our feet.

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Washington State Department of Natural Resources Forest Legacy Program reaches 200,000 acre milestone in conserving threatened private forests

Washington State Department of Natural Resources
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently reached a milestone of protecting more than 200,000 acres of private forests threatened by development through the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program. Over the last year, DNR almost doubled the acres conserved since 1993 when DNR began participating. Washington secured $99,335,000 in funding from the U.S. Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act in 2024. “Washington has continued to be a leader in securing funding from the Forest Legacy program, protecting thousands of acres of privately owned forests that could have easily been turned into strip malls and housing developments,” said Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands for Washington State. “With increasing population growth putting pressure on our forestlands, this program is critical to helping private landowners keep their lands in forestry, ensuring local jobs and wood products, providing public access and recreation, and protecting environmental benefits from clean air and water to critical fish and wildlife habitat.”

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Why Oregon lawmakers are asking Elon Musk to stop plan to kill 450,000 barred owls

By Ginnie Sandoval
Salem Statesman Journal
January 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Four Oregon lawmakers are calling on Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to help stop a plan that would kill 450,000 barred owls in an effort to save endangered spotted owls over the next 30 years. …In a letter sent Tuesday, state Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, Rep. David Gomberg, D-Lincoln County, Rep. Virgle Osborne, R-Roseburg, and Sen.-elect Bruce Starr, R-Yamhill and Polk counties, asked the incoming Trump administration officials to stop the reportedly more than $1 billion project, calling it a “budget buster” and “impractical.” …Here is why the Oregon lawmakers are opposed to the plan, what the plan would do and why it is controversial. …“As wildlife professionals, we approached this issue carefully and did not come to this decision lightly,” USFWS Oregon State Supervisor Kessina Lee said in announcing the decision in August.

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The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest Plan to be Released Friday

By Eric Barker
The Lewiston Tribune
January 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

IDAHO – The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest said it will finalize and release the long-awaited revision of its governing plan Friday. For more than two decades, Forest Service employees have been working on updating the document known as a forest plan. It was written in 1987 and designed to last about 15 years. Over that time the agency has started, scrapped and restarted the effort several times, often based on shifting federal rules governing the process. A final draft of the plan was released in the fall of 2023. While the finalized plan won’t be available until Friday, it is not expected to be dramatically different from the draft. …Conservation groups panned the draft plan because it dramatically reduced streams and rivers that would be recommended for protection under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers act from more than 80 to just 11.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

USA BioEnergy secures land for $2.8-B Sustainable Aviation Fuel plant in East Texas

Hydrocarbon Processing
January 13, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

USA BioEnergy (USABE) announced it has closed on the acquisition of 1,600+ acres of land in East Texas for its new $2.8-B advanced biorefinery, designed to convert wood waste into sustainable, net-zero aviation fuel (SAF). The landmark SAF facility already secured a 20-year offtake agreement with Southwest Airlines and is at the forefront of advancing ultra-low-carbon fuel, which is much needed in the future of aviation… Once blended with conventional jet fuel, the SAF could produce the equivalent of 2.59 billion gallons of net-zero fuel and avoid 30 million metric tons of CO2 over the offtake agreement term.  According to USABE calculations this will enable approximately 112,000 short (less than three hours) or 7,000 long haul (more than 10 hours) net-zero airline flights per year.

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Health & Safety

Los Angeles wildfires: The unique dangers of urban wildfire smoke

By Katie Dangerfield
Global News
January 10, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States

As wildfires rage across Los Angeles, the smoke billowing into the air carries more than the expected risks of particulate matter and carbon emissions. Urban wildfires, unlike those in remote forests, burn through large areas of neighbourhoods filled with synthetic materials like plastics, rubber, fiberglass and treated asphalt, releasing a cocktail of hazardous chemicals into the air. “Wildfire smoke when it’s purely burning biomass is bad enough. But when there are large fires in the wild and urban interface, then you get all these kinds of smoke and toxins that are from structural fires,” said John Balmes, at the University of California, San Francisco. “It’s much more toxic. The combination of burning biomass and structural fire smoke… like the Palisades fire, that is blocks and blocks of homes, that is particularly toxic smoke,” he added. …Here’s what to know about the risks of wildfire smoke when fires hit cities.

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US Environmental Protection Agency Finalizes Formaldehyde Risk Evaluation

The Decorative Hardwoods Association
January 8, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States

On January 2, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the formaldehyde risk evaluation. EPA stated that formaldehyde presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health under its conditions of use. EPA did not identify risk to the general population from wood products regulated under TSCA Title VI. However, EPA’s conclusions about occupational exposure to formaldehyde remain problematic. The preliminary risk evaluation set 11 parts per billion as an unreasonable risk level. EPA’s new evaluation changed the levels to 110 and 170 ppb. [Here 

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What Makes Urban Wildfire Smoke So Toxic

By Allison Parshall
Scientific American
January 13, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

Firefighters in southern California are battling the Palisades and Eaton Fires. …Residents of many fire-prone areas have grown familiar with the orange, apocalyptic haze of wildfire smoke as these blazes have become more common because of climate change. Such smoke can contain an unpredictable cocktail of chemicals associated with heart and lung diseases and even cancer, which is the leading cause of death among firefighters. Here’s what makes wildfire smoke so dangerous. When trees, shrubbery and other organic matter burn, they release carbon dioxide, water, heat—and, depending on the available fuel, various volatile compounds, gaseous pollutants and particulate matter. Those tiny particles, which become suspended in the air, can include soot (black carbon), metals, dust, and more. If they’re smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, they can evade our body’s natural defenses when inhaled, penetrating deep into the lungs and triggering a wide variety of health problems.

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Is the Pink Fire Retardant That Planes Are Dropping on the California Fires Safe?

By Hiroko Tabuchi
Business and America
January 14, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

From above the raging flames, these planes can unleash immense tankfuls of bright pink fire retardant in just 20 seconds. They have long been considered vital in the battle against wildfires. But emerging research has shown that the millions of gallons of retardant sprayed on the landscape to tame wildfires each year come with a toxic burden, because they contain heavy metals and other chemicals that are harmful to human health and the environment. The toxicity presents a stark dilemma. These tankers and their cargo are a powerful tool for taming deadly blazes. Yet as wildfires intensify and become more frequent in an era of climate change, firefighters are using them more often, and in the process releasing more harmful chemicals into the environment.

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Forest Fires

California fires weather forecast: LA remains under extreme dry and windy weather

By Max Golembo
ABC News
January 15, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States

Another day of gusty winds is forecast Wednesday for Southern California, where a rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning continues until 3 p.m. for western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County. On Wednesday morning and afternoon, winds will be the strongest west and north of Los Angeles, mostly in the mountains and higher canyons, where gusts could reach 50 mph to 70 mph. In addition to gusty winds, relative humidity will be very low, down to 8%. Such weather conditions are expected to create a perfect setup for explosive fire growth if a new fire is started. But the wind should begin to relax later Wednesday and by Thursday humidity is forecast to increase and there is even a chance for a few sprinkles for southern California. More strong Santa Ana winds are forecast next week on Wednesday through Saturday.

Additional coverage in Associated Press by Jaimie Ding, Julie Watson and John Seewer: Fire-scarred Los Angeles is under another rare warning as winds pick up

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Los Angeles on high alert with extreme winds due to return

By Nathan Frandino and Lisa Baertlein
Reuters in Yahoo! News
January 13, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States

LOS ANGELES — Dangerously high winds were expected to resume on Monday in Los Angeles, potentially hampering efforts to extinguish two stubborn wildfires that have leveled whole neighborhoods and claimed the lives of at least two dozen people. Dry Santa Ana winds of up to 50 to 70 miles per hour were forecast to resume on Monday and persist through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said in issuing a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning. In anticipation, California Governor Gavin Newsom said over the weekend that the state was pre-positioning firefighting in vulnerable areas including those around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the two largest blazes that have ignited in Southern California. …Newsom said the firestorm could rank as the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history. …Private forecaster AccuWeather has estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion.

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‘Water away’: Coulson Aviation releases cockpit video dropping water on Palisades fire

By Laura Brougham
Chek News
January 14, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, United States, US West

CALIFORNIA — Coulson Aviation crews remain in Los Angeles, helping battle the devastating Palisades fire, and a new video offers a unique look behind the scenes of their firefighting operations. The Port Alberni-based company released a video showing three angles as their crew approaches the fire, ready to dump water on the blaze. One angle looks backwards behind the helicopter, one is shot from behind the pilots heads, while the third is mounted below the helicopter and starts pointing forward then turns to face back. …Coulson Aviation was among the first Canadian crews that responded to the Palisades wildfires in Los Angeles. On Jan. 7, the company shared that it was in Los Angeles helping respond to the fire. Crews from B.C. have been sent to help fight the fire, joining crews from across Canada including Quebec and Alberta.

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How big are the L.A. fires? Putting the devastation in visual context

By Graeme Bruce
CBC News
January 14, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Foreboding weather forecasts keep tensions high in Los Angeles as one of North America’s largest cities battles wildfires that have already claimed at least two dozen lives and thousands of homes. Here are some data points that put into context the peril the city is in. The most destructive fires in California history — and how they compare to Canada’s largest wildfire: Palisades and Eaton fires are already among the most destructive in California’s history, scorching more than 10,000 structures in just a matter of days. With persistent winds in the forecast, those numbers could climb even higher. For context, Canada’s most devastating wildfire — in Fort McMurray, Alta., in 2016—destroyed an estimated 2,400 structures.

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What to know about the devastation from the Los Angeles-area fires

AP News
January 14, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Fires burning homes and businesses in Los Angeles for a week have killed at least 24 people, displaced thousands of others and destroyed more than 12,000 buildings in what might be the most expensive conflagrations in the nation’s history. The blazes started Jan. 7, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds that have posed problems for the large forces of firefighters deployed across several areas of the sprawling city. Cal Fire reported that the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires have consumed about 63 square miles (163 square kilometers). Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the fires. They could be the nation’s costliest ever.

Related coverage:

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