Region Archives: United States

Special Feature

Summary Wrap-UP: International Pulp Week 2025

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
The Tree Frog Forestry News
June 11, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, United States, International

The Tree Frog News featured the panels and speakers from last week’s International Pulp Week. In today’s Tree Frog News are links to all of the conference sessions in chronological order. 

Day One – June 1, 2025

  • Registration and Wecome Cocktail

Day Two – June 2, 2025

Day Two – June 3, 2025

Read More

Business & Politics

Foreign Control of US Lumber Mills Sparks Economic and Policy Debate

By Don Buckner, MadeinUSA.com
EIN Presswire
June 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Over the past decade, Canadian forestry companies have significantly expanded their footprint in the American lumber industry. While foreign investment remains a key component of a dynamic US economy, industry analysts and policymakers are increasingly scrutinizing the long-term implications of international control over critical domestic manufacturing infrastructure. Canadian-owned firms—including West Fraser, Canfor and Interfor—now operate dozens of sawmills in the US, with many holding more assets south of the border than in their home country. Additional Canadian firms—such as Tolko, Maibec, J.D. Irving, and Kruger—also maintain active operations and land holdings throughout the country. As foreign ownership of US lumber mills grows, several key concerns are emerging: Supply Chain Autonomy… Economic Retention… Market Influence. …Industry stakeholders are urging a closer examination of the issue. Policy suggestions include incentivizing domestic ownership, increasing sourcing transparency, and evaluating regulatory frameworks around foreign investment in strategic industries.

Read More

Trump signs new executive order to strengthen US wildfire response

International Association of Fire Fighters
June 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reducing the impacts wildfires have on Americans and ensure fire fighters have the resources needed to respond effectively. …International Association of Fire Fighters President Edward Kelly underscored the need to improve coordination between local, state, and federal partners. The executive order, Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response, directs the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to consolidate their wildland fire programs and recommend additional measures to modernize the nation’s wildland firefighting efforts. The departments also have 90 days to “expand and strengthen” local and state partnerships to improve wildfire response. …In addition to improved response, the order identifies the need to develop and expand land management practices to reduce wildfires.

Related coverage: 

Read More

US Senate restores $100 million in first legacy grants in the GOP tax and spending bill

By Marc Heller
E&E News by Politico
June 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

A program that protects privately owned forests for timber and other uses has survived in a megabill being put together in the Senate, after falling victim to House budget cutters in May. The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee saved the Forest Legacy Program in its piece of the big tax-cut and spending bill, refusing to cut off $100 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding. “This is a victory not only for forests, but for the families, economies, and ecosystems that depend on them,” said Lesley Kane Szynal, chair of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition, an advocacy group, in a news release Thursday. The Forest Legacy Program pays for conservation easements and land purchases that prevent privately owned forests from being converted to other uses. In many cases, they’ve been used to keep timber operations in business while protecting forest watersheds and allowing for recreational access. [to access the full story an E&E News subscription is required]

Read More

Trump tariffs to remain in place pending appeal, court rules

By Sarah Fortinsky
The Hill
June 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

A federal appeals court on Tuesday agreed to let many of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on US trade partners remain in effect for now, extending a pause issued late last month after a separate court ruled the tariffs were illegal. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump administration’s request for a longer pause after issuing a temporary stay of the lower court ruling last month. The court put the case on a fast track to be resolved by the end of this summer, noting that “these cases present issues of exceptional importance warranting expedited en banc consideration of the merits in the first instance.” The decision comes after the US Court of International Trade ruled on May 28 that Congress did not delegate “unbounded” tariff authority to the president in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Trump appealed the ruling and, hours later, the appeals court granted the temporary stay.

Related coverage in:

Read More

US, China reach deal to ease export curbs, keep tariff truce alive

By Kate Holton, Alistair Smout and Andrea Shalal
Reuters
June 11, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

LONDON — US and Chinese officials said on Tuesday they had agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and remove China’s export restrictions on rare earths while offering little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade tensions. …Lutnick said the agreement would remove restrictions on Chinese exports of rare earth minerals and magnets and some of the recent US export restrictions “in a balanced way”, but did not provide details…. adding that both sides will now return to present the framework to their respective presidents for approvals. …The two sides left Geneva with fundamentally different views of the terms of that agreement and needed to be more specific on required actions, said Josh Lipsky. …They have until August 10 to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement, or tariff rates will snap back from about 30% to 145% on the U.S. side and from 10% to 125% on the Chinese side.

Related coverage in:

Read More

Wood importers group meets with Vietnamese delegation

By Rich Christianson
The Woodworking Network
June 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — Representatives of the International Wood Products Association (IWPA) met June 7 with a delegation from Vietnam’s Administration of Forestry to discuss sustainable trade in wood products. They explored opportunities to deepen cooperation and advance the shared goal of promoting legal and sustainable timber trade. The discussions included an exchange of policy updates, trade priorities, and areas for future cooperation. Ashley Amidon, CEO of the IWPA, delivered a presentation offering insight into recent developments in U.S. trade policy and underscoring the importance of responsible sourcing and transparent supply chains. Dr. Tran Quang Bao, director general of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, highlighted the Vietnamese government’s recent efforts to promote legal and sustainable trade, including the implementation of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU, a timber agreement with the US and preparations for the EU recent regulation on deforestation free (EUDR).

Read More

Sierra Pacific Industries Settles Suit Over Polluted Stormwater Management

By Alexis Waiss
Bloombert Law
June 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Washington-based Sierra Pacific Industries Inc. reached a settlement agreement with water conservationists after they claimed the sawmill unlawfully discharged polluted stormwater from industrial activity into the Chehalis River and Grays Harbor. The US District Court for the Western District of Washington was alerted Thursday that the case was settled, and the parties have until July 14 to file a proposed consent decree, according to a docket entry. Nonprofit Twin Harbors Waterkeeper sued Sierra Pacific in December 2024 for allegedly violating its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit under the Clean Water Act. Sierra Pacific allegedly failed to follow water quality requirements. [to access the full story a Bloomberg Law subscription is required]

Read More

Boise Cascade Names Rob Johnson Senior VP of Manufacturing for Wood Products

By Boise Cascade
Businesswire
June 13, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Rob Johnson

BOISE, Idaho — Boise Cascade announced that Rob Johnson is stepping into a new role as Senior VP of Manufacturing for their Wood Products division, effective June 16, 2025. This move will backfill the role previously filled by Chris Seymour, who left the organization earlier in June. In this role, Rob will oversee the operations for the company’s 18+ manufacturing facilities across the U.S. He will continue to report to Troy Little, Executive VP of Wood Products. …Rob joined Boise Cascade in 2014. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Engineered Wood Products. Rob holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Oregon. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Read More

Veldman brothers, BMI Group financing restart of Michigan paper mill

By Ian Ross
Northern Ontario Business
June 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

The impact of the pandemic and the boom in takeout food delivery has spurred the restart of a Port Huron, Mich., paper mill owned by the Veldman brothers’ BMI Group. Four years after being mothballed, the former Domtar mill in the Michigan border town is coming back to life thanks to a resurgence in the sustainable, lightweight specialty papers used in fast-food restaurant packaging, candy wrappers, medical table covers, tissue overwraps, and other sustainable uses. Under the new banner of the Legacy Paper Group, the company is aiming for an August production start. The mill’s cornerstone Paper Machine No. 8 will be restarted, putting out 30,000 tons annually of production, according to Mark Bessette, managing director of Legacy Paper Group. …The three Veldman brothers, owners of a former forest mill sites in Fort Frances, Red Rock, Iroquois Falls and lately Espanola, have made an undisclosed “seven-figure” investment in Port Huron, according to Bessette.

Read More

Finance & Economics

Lumber Reaches 10-Week Highs

Trading View
June 12, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures rose past $610 per thousand board feet, a ten-week high, as steady construction activity met tightening supply and mounting trade barriers. US homebuilding remains steady with single-family starts flat at 1.36 million units in April and permits edging lower, while Canadian multi-unit starts jumped 34%, keeping mill orders firm. Canadian harvests are constrained by pine-beetle infestations, prairie wildfires that have burned more than 200,000 hectares this spring and strict cut limits that left British Columbia nearly 42% below its allowable quota in 2023. In the US, sawmill utilization stalled in the mid-70% range despite recent capacity additions. Tariffs of roughly 14.5% on Canadian softwood, along with threats of higher levies, have discouraged cross-border shipments, while major exporters divert supply to Asian and European markets. Elevated fuel and transportation costs further raise delivered prices.

Read More

Can Lumber’s Bullish Trend Continue?

By Andrew Hecht
Barchart
June 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

The CME’s physical lumber futures have been in a bullish trend since the July 2024 low of $455.50 per 1,000 board feet. The weekly chart indicates that lumber futures have formed higher lows and higher highs, reaching a peak of $699 per 1,000 board feet in March 2025. While the price has dropped below the $600 level, the pattern of higher lows remains intact in June 2025. …Seasonality suggests that a lumber rally may need to wait until 2026… Lumber tends to be a seasonal commodity, with prices peaking during late winter and early spring as the weather improves and construction activity increases. In 2021, the old random-length lumber futures rose to a record high of $1,711.20 per 1,000 board feet in May, and in 2022, reached a lower high of $1,477.40 in March. …Keep an eye on interest rates as declines could ignite pent-up demand for new homes, which could light a bullish fuse under the lumber futures arena. 

Read More

US Consumer Sentiment Improves For The First Time In Six Months

By Joanne Hsu
The University of Michigan
June 13, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Consumer sentiment improved for the first time in six months, climbing 16% from last month but remaining about 20% below December 2024, when sentiment had exhibited a post-election bump. These trends were unanimous across the distributions of age, income, wealth, political party, and geographic region. Moreover, all five index components rose, with a particularly steep increase for short and long-run expected business conditions, consistent with a perceived easing of pressures from tariffs. Consumers appear to have settled somewhat from the shock of the extremely high tariffs announced in April and the policy volatility seen in the weeks that followed. However, consumers still perceive wide-ranging downside risks to the economy. Their views of business conditions, personal finances, buying conditions for big ticket items, labor markets, and stock markets all remain well below six months ago in December 2024. Despite this month’s notable improvement, consumers remain guarded and concerned about the trajectory of the economy.

Read More

US Inflation Up Slightly in May, Shelter Index Holds Steady

By Fan-Yu Kuo
NAHB Eye on Housing
June 11, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Despite inflationary pressure from tariffs, inflation in May rose slightly but came in softer than expected. The Consumer Price Index increased from 2.3% in April to 2.4% in May year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report. While this report reflected consumer prices after Liberation Day, it showed little sign of tariff impact as most reciprocal tariffs were paused for 90 days and many businesses had frontloaded imports ahead of tariffs. This preemptive action contributed a drag on the first quarter GDP growth. Additionally, the Bureau reduced its CPI collection sample starting in April due to staffing shortages, raising potential data quality concerns. …Meanwhile, housing inflation remains elevated, though it continues to ease gradually. …A large portion of the “core” CPI is the housing shelter index, which increased 3.9% over the year, the lowest reading since November 2021. 

Read More

More than 1,000 Housing Professionals Urge Congress to Act on Key Affordability Issues

The National Association of Home Builders
June 11, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

More than 1,000 builders, remodelers and associates engaged in all facets of the residential construction industry trekked to Capitol Hill to urge their lawmakers to support policies that will help builders unleash the housing market by allowing them to increase the production of quality, affordable housing. …The best way to ease the nation’s housing affordability crisis and boost housing production is to break down the barriers that are impeding new home and apartment construction,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes. In more than 250 meetings with their representatives and senators, housing advocates urged lawmakers to act on three key issues that can have an immediate impact on housing affordability: Energy Codes… Workforce Development… Tax Policy.

Read More

Stocks waver as Trump threatens unilateral tariffs

By Lisa Kailai Han
CNBC News
June 12, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Stocks wavered Thursday as President Trump threatened setting unilateral tariffs on trading partners in two weeks. The S&P 500 added 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%. …Wall Street awaits further developments on trade policy, especially between the U.S. and China, as talks between the two countries have been a focal point this week. Trump said Wednesday he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for finishing trade talks with countries before higher US levies take effect, but that the extensions may not be necessary. …“We still think the primary driver for market direction and to break out to all-time highs would be some resolution for tariffs and how they interlink with the budget and the Fed. And we see a lot of headlines about negotiations or pauses or frameworks, but we still haven’t seen a single signed trade deal,” said Tom Hainlin at U.S. Bank Asset Management Group.

Read More

How NAHB is Working to Overcome NIMBY Attitudes

The National Association of Home Builders
June 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

NIMBYism often attempts to preserve the status quo at the expense of opportunity, equity and sustainability. Overcoming this opposition means an investment in neighborhoods that can welcome new families, support local businesses and ensure that people of all backgrounds can have a place to call home. When faced with a public opposed to a project, it can be helpful to engage community leaders or members who have previously benefitted from a similar type of housing. …NAHB provides resources and assistance to members and state and local associations. For example, NAHB recently supported the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts (HBRAM). …Through support from NAHB’s Legal Action Fund, HBARM highlighted the broader implications of zoning reform and how housing shortages affect everyone. 

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

U.S. military on a mission to use different construction methods like 3D printing, CLT

By Grant Cameron
The Daily Commercial News
June 13, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The American military is looking at the possibility of using 3D printing, additive construction methods and cross-laminated timber (CLT) to build new military barracks and other buildings at various bases. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already built new barracks at Fort Bliss, Texas, using 3D printing. …CLT is also being used in another centre planned at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, also in Virginia. …Engineers at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center are leading the way with research and development on the possibility of implementing concrete building construction techniques in future military construction projects. They discussed a number of topics, including additive construction, 3D-printed buildings, high performance cement and concrete mixes, geosynthetics, mass timber, composite materials, industrialized construction, tension fabric structures and carbon fiber-reinforced polymers.

Read More

Port of Portland OKs lease for mass timber facility to boost jobs, housing

By Michaela Bourgeois
Yahoo! News
June 11, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

PORTLAND, Oregon – The Port of Portland is leasing a former marine terminal to a mass timber company as part of an effort to spur housing development and job growth in the area. On Wednesday, the Port of Portland approved a lease for Zaugg Timber Solutions to open a factory at the Port’s Mass Timber and Housing Innovation Campus at Terminal 2. …“Our partnership with ZTS marks a major leap forward in developing the Mass Timber and Housing Innovation Campus at T2,” said Kimberly Branam. “Their new manufacturing facility will boost our region’s economy by promoting sustainable forestry practices, creating quality jobs, and increasing housing production.” While the new 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is expected to open in 2028, ZTS will produce mass timber modular housing units, industrial and commercial buildings and other building components starting in 2026 in an interim manufacturing facility at the terminal, officials noted.

Read More

The Legacy Paper Group Announces Restart of Paper Machine #8 in Port Huron, Michigan

By The Legacy Paper Group
Cision Newswire
June 11, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

PORT HURON, Mich. – The Legacy Paper Group, a subsidiary of BMI Group US, today announced plans to restart Paper Machine #8 (PM8) at its Port Huron facility, bringing 30,000 tons of annual production capacity back online after a four-year shutdown. The restart addresses growing market demand for sustainable, lightweight specialty papers used in food packaging and other critical applications.The mill has operated continuously since 1888 under various owners including Port Huron Sulphite and Paper Co., Port Huron Paper, Pentair, EB Eddy Paper, and Domtar Specialty Papers. PM8 itself specializes in producing high-quality, ultra-lightweight papers for quick-serve restaurant packaging, candy wrappers, medical table covers, tissue overwraps, and other sustainable applications.

Read More

Forestry

My Green Mentor

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

Applications are now open for the free binational SFI/PLT Canada Green Mentor program. Are you a Canadian or American student or young professional aged 18–30? Grow your network, build your skills, and take meaningful steps toward a green career by applying as a mentee. Mentees will have the opportunity to: Meet Sector Professionals: Connect with experts to navigate the job market and gain insights into green careers; Increase Your Employability: Build essential skills—like time management and goal-setting—that align with green careers; and Access Resources to Support Your Journey: Join SFI, PLT Canada, and sector professionals in a series of webinars designed to equip you for success. If you’ve taken part in the Green Mentor program, consider giving back by becoming a mentor. Share your experience, offer guidance, and support other students and young professionals as they grow their green career pathways.

Read More

State of Idaho lending fire crews to B.C., western Canada

By Steve Berard
Energetic City
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West, US West

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Teams of firefighters from Idaho are joining the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) efforts to combat the growing number of wildfires across the province. The Idaho Department of Lands — a government agency that oversees forestry practices and provides fire protection on state land in Idaho — announced on June 2nd that it’s sending fire crews to Canada. The news comes during a particularly intense period of B.C.’s wildfire season… According to a social media post that includes the announcement, the state of Idaho and the province of B.C. are both members of a group of regional governments called the Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact. Members of the compact have agreed to pool together their firefighting resources in times of need.  Other members in Canada include Saskatchewan, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Meanwhile, other American members of the compact include Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii, the newest member.

Read More

Old fight rekindled between environmentalists and loggers over Trump executive order on timber

Fox 22 WFVX Bangor
June 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The buzz of saw teeth and scent of crushed pine needles filled the air as Roy Blackburn walked up a muddy path tucked away in the Willamette National Forest. …Timber once drove the economies of states like Oregon. But forest harvests nosedived beginning in the early 1990s due to stricter environmental regulations, a changing lumber market and other factors. President Trump hopes to reverse that trend by executive fiat, ordering the US Forest Service to ramp up logging on federal lands in what environmental groups like Earthjustice call a “cynical attempt to justify destructive logging.” …The amount of timber harvested on Forest Service land has decreased nearly 80% since reaching a high in 1987. …Canadian competition was on Trump’s mind in March when he signed an executive order to immediately expand timber production on federal lands. …Previous administrations allowed environmental groups to drive “the decision-making on our forests.” That’s changing.

Read More

Endangered Species Act Revision Could Weaken Habitat Protections for At-Risk Wildlife, Experts Say

By Andrew Moore
North Carolina State University News
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Federal agencies are seeking to reinterpret a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could weaken habitat protections for certain at-risk species, according to two wildlife biologists at North Carolina State University. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have proposed a rule that would exclude habitat modification and degradation from the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. “If we lose critical habitat protections for threatened and endangered species … they could face a heightened risk of extinction,” said Chris Moorman, a biology professor. Roland Kays, a research professor of fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology, added: “The Endangered Species Act, as it is written, is crucial to the protection and recovery of at-risk species across the country. And while there have been many attempts to change the law over the years, it’s held up and worked as intended.”

Read More

Senator Murray Presses US Forest Service Chief on Wildfire Preparedness Amid Mass Layoffs & Funding Freezes at Hearing on Forest Service Budget

US Senator Patty Murray
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Patty Murray

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Tom Schultz, at a Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the president’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Forest Service. During her questioning, Senator Murray highlighted the critical importance of Forest Service workers, and how the firing of these employees puts wildfire preparedness in jeopardy. Senator Murray also questioned how it is remotely realistic for the Forest Service to meet the demands of President Trump’s Executive Order aiming to increase timber output from federal lands by 25 percent while the Trump administration is right now cutting budgets, delaying funding, freezing hiring, and reducing staff across the agency. 

Read More

Forest chief says losing 5,000 employees won’t impact fire season response. Many federal firefighters disagree

By Eric Katz
Government Executive
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Tom Schultz

The head of the lead federal agency tasked with fighting wildfires said it is ready for this summer’s fire season despite shedding thousands of employees in recent months, projecting a confidence level not shared by much of his workforce. US Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz acknowledged his agency has shed 4,200 through an extended paid leave program and another 600 with early retirements, though he said efforts to bring some of those employees back to work and shift others around to fill “critical positions” will ensure its readiness. USFS has all the staff it requires for fire season, Schultz told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, even as he conceded some workforce issues still require resolutions. The Forest Service has 11,000 firefighters on board, Schultz said, just below the 11,900 the agency employed last fire season. It and its federal partners have 37 incident management teams, shy of the 42 teams it had in 2024.

Read More

Federal Budgets Reveal Plans to Consolidate Wildland Firefighting Forces

By Robert Chaney
Mountain Journal
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

©US Forest Service

Federal budget documents confirm the Trump administration’s intention to strip U.S. Forest Service wildfire duties and transferring them to a centralized wildland fire service housed in the Department of Interior. Interior’s Budget In Brief report was released June 2. It includes a six-page document describing the mission of a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service. And it requests $6.55 billion for operations and a reserve fund in Fiscal Year 2026. Congress would have to pass new laws in addition to approving President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget for the change to take place. That means it won’t affect wildland firefighting this summer, which has already tallied 29,694 incidents burning 1.2 million acres. The proposal also has some government watchdogs speculating it could lead to the wholesale absorption of the Forest Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, into Interior and its Bureau of Land Management.

Read More

US Forest Service chief asks wildfire employees who took voluntary resignation to ‘come back’

By Ryan Spencer
Summit Daily News
June 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Tom Schultz

Just months after the Trump Administration gave federal employees the option to voluntarily resign, the U.S. Forest Service is asking those who resigned to return to work for the wildfire season. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a video posted to the Department of Agriculture website on Thursday that employees who took the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation offer should be encouraged to “come back” for the wildfire season. …Nationwide, more than 4,000 Forest Service employees accepted the federal government’s resignation offer, according to POLITICO. The Trump Administration also fired an estimated 3,400 Forest Service employees in February. …The Forest Service did not return a request for comment Monday that included questions about how many employees who accepted the deferred resignation option were “red card” holders qualified to work on wildfires. …Even before the layoffs and voluntary resignations, Colorado mountain towns had concerns that Forest Service staffing was lacking.

Read More

Department of Justice finds Trump can abolish areas protected as national monuments

By Jake Spring
The Washington Post
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

©Wikipedia David Lamfrom

Trump administration officials have concluded that President Donald Trump has the authority to entirely abolish protected areas set aside as national monuments by past presidents, according to a legal opinion released Tuesday by the Department of Justice. The May 27 document, which reverses a legal opinion issued in 1938, could be laying the groundwork for Trump to abolish or dramatically shrink national monuments, which confer federal protections to millions of acres of federal land, much of it in the American West. Such a move would take the administration into untested legal territory. “It signals that the president is prepared to do something dramatic and sort of at a scale that we’ve never seen before with respect to national monuments, which encompass many of our most cherished public lands,” said Justin Pidot, a professor at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law and a former Biden administration official. [A Washington Post subscription is required to access the full story]

Read More

New state forest rule could mean another hit to timber revenue in Lewis County

By Jacob Moore
The Centralia Chronicle
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

After a June 6 vote by the Washington state Forest Practices Board, a new rule could lead to 200,000 acres of private forestland across the state going out of production and being left to grow. A report from the Washington Department of Commerce suggests the rule could cost Lewis County more than $350 million in lost lumber revenue. The proposed rule calls for a major expansion of buffer zones around non-fish-bearing streams. Called riparian buffer zones, they are places where trees must be left to shade streams and keep them cool. …The divisiveness of the new rule was apparent in the board room not just during the vote but for hours of public comment and discussion between board members beforehand. …Many who testified against the new rule were small forestland owners, who the Department of Ecology says will be the most impacted by the new rule.

Read More

Latest federal budget bill would sell Oregon public lands, boost logging

By Courtenay Sherwood
Oregon Public Broadcasting
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The federal government could start selling off thousands of acres of Oregon public lands if provisions added to the Big Beautiful Bill win Congressional approval. A draft of the legislation was released Wednesday. Housing is also part of this latest push to sell Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land. US Senator Mike Lee is calling for the heads of the US Interior and Agriculture departments to dispose of between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of federal BLM and Forest Service land from 11 states – including Oregon. …Separately, the legislation calls for the Forest Service to boost logging by 75% over the next decade. It’s not clear if those logging goals are realistic. The Forest Service has missed its timber targets every year for more than a decade, though it’s possible that tariffs on Canadian lumber could boost demand for logging in the United States, according to industry analysts.

Related coverage by Janet Wilson in the Palm Springs Desert Sun: National forest, BLM lands could be sold for housing under Senate proposal

Read More

Federal cuts threaten Oregon’s disaster response ahead of wildfire season

By April Ehrlich
Oregon Public Broadcasting
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

As Oregon faces what’s supposed to be an intense wildfire season, counties are grappling with federal cuts and uncertainty that could hinder their ability to help Oregonians during fires, floods and other disasters. The Trump administration hasn’t renewed a critical grant that helps fund local disaster response, leaving Oregon counties and tribal governments vulnerable ahead of a potentially active wildfire season. “Getting alerts out will be a little bit later or delayed, or not as clear and concise,” said Bryan Lee, emergency manager for Benton County and chair of Oregon’s Emergency Management Command Council. “The other impacts would be potentially no mass care shelter sites being stood up or managed very well.” Oregon’s counties have asked state lawmakers to help by putting $9 million toward local emergency systems in the next two-year budget. But the chance of that happening is somewhat slim during a leaner-than-expected budget cycle.

Read More

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

‘Win-win’: new maps reveal best opportunities for global reforestation

By Damian Carrington
The Guardian UK
June 11, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, United States, International

New maps have revealed the best “win-win” opportunities across the world to regrow forests and tackle the climate crisis, without harming people or wildlife. The places range from the eastern US and western Canada, to Brazil and Columbia, and across Europe. If reforested, this would remove 2.2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, about the same as all the nations in the European Union. Previous maps have suggested much larger areas but were criticised for including important ecosystems. …The result was a map showing 195 million hectares of reforestation opportunity, an area equivalent to the size of Mexico but up to 90% smaller than previous maps. …“Reforestation is not a substitute for cutting fossil fuel emissions, but even if we were to drive down emissions tomorrow, we still need to remove excess CO2,” said Dr Susan Cook-Patton, at The Nature Conservancy and author of the new study, published in the journal Nature Communications

Read More

Space-laser AI maps forest carbon in minutes—a game-changer for climate science

By University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
ScienceDaily
June 14, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

Satellite data used by archaeologists to find traces of ancient ruins hidden under dense forest canopies can also be used to improve the speed and accuracy to measure how much carbon is retained and released in forests. Understanding this carbon cycle is key to climate change research, according to Hamdi Zurqani, for the Arkansas Forest Resources Center and the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The center is headquartered at UAM and conducts research and extension activities through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. …In a study recently published in Ecological Informatics, Zurqani shows how information from open-access satellites can be integrated on Google Earth Engine with artificial intelligence algorithms to quickly and accurately map large-scale forest aboveground biomass, even in remote areas where accessibility is often an issue.

Read More

Forest Products Industry Promotes Modernizing Clean Air Act Permitting Program in House Committee on Energy and Commerce Hearing Testimony

American Wood Council
June 11, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

WASHINGTON —  On behalf of the American Wood Council (AWC) and the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), AF&PA Vice President of Public Policy Paul Noe gave oral testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment in their hearing titled, “Short-Circuiting Progress: How the Clean Air Act Impacts Building Necessary Infrastructure and Onshoring American Innovation.” In his testimony, Noe applauded legislation that would allow the paper and wood products industry to make capital investments to modernize their manufacturing facilities. …discussion was heard by the committee on two bills that would make critical revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) setting and implementation process that would reduce the type of permit gridlock created when the particulate matter NAAQS was significantly lowered by the previous administration. “We strongly support Congressmen Rick Allen and Buddy Carter in their efforts to address the impacts of air permitting issues on U.S. manufacturing,” said Noe. 

Read More

Rayonier touts alternative energy opportunity as way to boost revenue

By Mark Basch
The Jacksonville Daily Record
June 12, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

Mark McHugh

Rayonier was long known as a forest products company before forming a real estate development subsidiary 20 years ago to profit from its vast land holdings. …In a June 4 presentation to Nareit’s REITweek investor conference, Rayonier CEO Mark McHugh said an emerging trend driving demand for its land is “the energy transition, the need for renewable power and decarbonization solutions.” Rayonier controls about 2 million acres of timberland, some of which has other uses besides harvesting trees. “Increasingly, we’ve come to see ourselves as more of a land resources company,” McHugh said. …“That would include things like leasing land for solar or leasing land for wind farms,” he said. “It would also include leasing land and pore space for carbon capture and storage.” McHugh said leasing land for carbon capture increases the value about fivefold. The company has more than 150,000 acres under lease at the end of 2024.

Read More

Milestone reached on bioenergy plant in Newton County, Texas

By Scott Lawrence
KFDM News
June 10, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

TEXAS — A plan to open a bioenergy plant in Newton County has reached a new milestone with a landmark deal to supply wood for the site in Bon Wier. Mike Lout with KJAS, reports Nick Andrews, President and CEO of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based USA Bioenergy, announced on Tuesday that his company has signed a deal with the LP Corporation to supply the wood. According to LP, the agreement would provide up to 2.2 million tons of wood biomass for an initial term of 20 years that could not only help USA Bioenergy in Bon Wier, but also the logging and timber industry across Southeast Texas and west Louisiana. Andrews has said the main focus of the plant will be to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel commonly known as “SAF” or bio-jetfuel for the airline industry.

Read More

Health & Safety

Truckers get hit with $65 million wake up call

By By Christy Rakoczy
The Street in the Modesto Bee
June 13, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

The trucking industry has been facing unprecedented challenges in recent years, with a shortage of qualified drivers, rising fuel and insurance costs… and now economic uncertainty caused by tariffs. …Now, one large lawsuit against a trucking company highlights a dangerous practice that has been going on. …The Estate of Sarah Susman v. Starker Forests, Inc., R&T Logging of Oregon, Wolf Cr. Timber Services, Shane Mcvay – is a $65 million wrongful death claim. Sarah Susman… was driving to work in September 2021 when a logging truck operated by a 67-year-old driver rolled over and lost its load. …Family members of the victim believe that the incident can be attributed to a dangerous injury practice referred to as “double brokering.” …Court filings explained that double-brokering is a practice within the trucking industry where multiple contractors pass hauling jobs between them with very little oversight or enforcement of safety regulations.

Read More

Forest Fires

A wildfire near Bryce Canyon grows, with high winds, rough terrain hindering containment efforts

By Brooke Larsen
The Salt Lake Tribune
June 17, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: US West

@USDA

Hot, dry and windy conditions are putting much of Southern Utah at higher risk for wildfires. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the region through Monday evening, and the France Canyon Fire — the largest wildfire in the state — has grown to 2,159 acres and is just 0% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. “Fire behavior is expected to increase,” the U.S. Forest Service said in a press statement Monday afternoon. …The France Canyon Fire was first discovered 6.5 miles south of Hatch in Dixie National Forest on June 11. Officials suspect the blaze was started by lightning. Five hundred acres of active fire are burning in the Black Butte area on the Paunsaugunt Plateau west of Bryce Canyon National Park. Visitors to Bryce, as well as surrounding communities such as Tropic and Escalante may experience significant smoke impacts as wind gusts increase.

Read More

Wharton State Forest wildfire: Blaze now 80% contained after burning 5,750 acres

By Pamela Sroka-Holzmann
NJ.com True Jersey
June 15, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: US East

New Jersey — A wildfire that began Friday in the Wharton State Forest in Burlington County is now 80% contained, fire officials said Sunday. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service posted on its Facebook page a total of 5,750 acres were scorched since the blaze began Friday morning. It was first spotted near the Carranza Memorial in the state forest. By 11 p.m. Friday, flames had grown to 3,250 acres, state fire officials had said. The blaze, dubbed the Mines Spung Wildfire, is located within Wharton State Forest in Shamong Township. A wildfire is defined by state fire officials as an uncontrolled fire burning different types of vegetation covering the land, with a “major wildfire” being anything that exceeds 100 acres in size. Crews on Sunday were continuing to mop up hot spots and patrol the fire perimeter, state fire officials said.

Read More