Region Archives: United States

Today’s Takeaway

US Department of Commerce to Increase Duties on Canadian Softwood Lumber 20.56%

The Tree Frog Forestry News
July 25, 2025
Category: Today's Takeaway
Region: Canada, United States

Breaking News: The US Department of Commerce today announced the final anti-dumping duty rate of 20.56% in the sixth annual antidumping review of unfairly traded Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United States. 


The Forest Stewardship Council lifted its suspension of Asia Pulp & Paper in the interest of speedy redress—to Greenpeace’s dismay. In other Business news: Kruger plans a $700M modernization of its Corner Brook mill; Northern Pulp’s cleanup plan is still pending; Port Angeles demands a full cleanup of Rayonier mill site; UPM to curtail paper production due to overcapacity; Weyerhaeuser posts lower Q2, 2025 earnings; the US plans to continue investigating hardwood plywood imports; and the USDA draws criticism for relocating DC staff. Meanwhile: Ontario invests in forest biomass; and the Wood Flooring Association has a new CEO.

In Forestry/Wildfire news: BC’s Forest Practices Board released its annual report; West Fraser and Lake Babine Nation celebrate a new tenure; Ben Parfitt on the fibre challenge faced by BC’s value-added mills; a blockade highlights Quebec’s Indigenous consultation gap; Thompson River University joins National wildfire resilience network; Washington state secures long-delayed wildfire funds; a study say US forest diversity continues to decline, the Fix Our Forests Act draws fire; and Congress moves to stop killing of barred owls.

Finally, West Fraser was justified in safety violation firing, and WorkSafeBC’s proposed regulatory amendments.

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Breaking News

US Department of Commerce to Increase Duties on Canadian Softwood Lumber 20.56%

BC Council of Forest Industries, BC Lumber Trade Council & US Lumber Coalition
July 25, 2025
Category: Breaking News, Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The US Department of Commerce today announced the final anti-dumping duty rate of 20.56% in the sixth annual antidumping review of unfairly traded Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United States. The review covers lumber imported in calendar year 2023. If the Department’s forthcoming determination in the countervailing duty review is consistent with the preliminary results, the combined rate will be well over 30%.

Council of Forest Industries (COFI):

COFI strongly condemns today’s decision by the US Department of Commerce to once again increase anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber. These unjustified and punitive trade actions continue to harm workers, families, and communities across British Columbia and Canada—and have gone unresolved for far too long.  We call on the Government of Canada to make resolution of the softwood lumber dispute a top national priority. But this latest escalation also underscores a hard truth: we cannot wait for the US to act.  To keep forestry workers employed and communities strong, BC must urgently strengthen the conditions to succeed here at home. That starts with treating forestry as a major project to reach a target harvest of 45 million cubic metres and taking immediate action to restore wood flow, protect jobs, and stabilize the sector—while laying the groundwork for long-term competitiveness. 

US Lumber Coalition:

The US Lumber Coalition applauds Trump Administration’s strong enforcement of the US trade Laws against egregious levels of unfair trade by Canada in softwood lumber. “20.56% – that is the enormous extent to which Canadian producers dumped their lumber in the US market. …Andrew Miller, Chairman of the Coalition said., “The Commerce Department has once again proven the severity of market disruption caused by Canada’s unfair trading. Time has come for Canada to reconcile the size of its industry with market realities. The United States will no longer absorb Canada’s massive excess capacity in lumber at the expense of US mills and communities.” …US lumber industry and workers letter to President Trump. Enforcing U.S. trade laws helps increase the U.S. supply of lumber to build American homes, all without impacting the cost of a new home, as demonstrated by data from the NAHB and Fastmarkets Random Lengths. 

BC Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC):

 The BCLTC is deeply disappointed by today’s final determination by the US Department of Commerce to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 20.56%.  This decision represents yet another example of ongoing US protectionism at a time when cross-border cooperation should be a shared priority. “These duties are both unjustified and harmful,” said Kurt Niquidet, President of the BC Lumber Trade Council. “They unfairly penalize forestry workers and families across British Columbia, while further increasing costs for American homebuilders and consumers. Niquidet emphasized the need for a lasting resolution: “Rather than prolonging this decades-old dispute through costly litigation, we urge both governments to pursue a fair and durable agreement that delivers long-term certainty in the softwood lumber trade.” 

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Opinion / EdiTOADial

Setting the Record Straight On Softwood Lumber Trade between Canada and the United States

By Russ Taylor and David Elstone
Russ Taylor Global and Spar Tree Group
July 27, 2025
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada, United States

As trade talks intensify between the US and Canada, those in the forest industry await what will happen with that long-term irritant of a trade file – softwood lumber. The US Lumber Coalition’s (USLC) July 2, 2025 press release, “US Self-Reliance in Softwood Lumber Hamstrung by Canadian Unfair Trade” made several inaccurate claims about the Canadian industry and softwood lumber trade. With sensitive and critical US-Canada trade negotiations ongoing, as well as the potential outcomes of the US Section 232 investigation on lumber imports, it is important to make sure there is correct information and understanding available to support both countries with meaningful dialogue. As industry consultants based in British Columbia, we are compelled to correct a number of the USLC’s claims made which provide misleading perspectives of the Canadian forest industry and its softwood lumber exports to the US market. Our goal is to apply facts against these claims together with additional commentary that we believe will provide a more accurate assessment of the US and Canada softwood lumber situation. [go to Spar Tree Group Inc. or Russ Taylor Global for full list of ‘claims and responses’, or click Read More below]

…The longer-term objective of making the US more self-reliant on domestic lumber is only a notional strategy at this point. Canada is already the high-cost supplier to the US market – in part from US import duties – and imposing higher duties (and tariffs) on imported Canadian lumber will only increase lumber prices to US consumers for years to come. It is unfortunate that the USLC makes so many unsubstantiated claims, which are designed to simply evoke emotional reactions. A clear and supported analysis of the facts with defined assumptions is a much better way to improve the dialogue and create accurate communication. The US and Canada need to work together to grow their collective share of wood products in the North American market and not to push for short-term, non-market duties and tariffs that will have potentially long-term consequences. Efforts to promote wood over steel and concrete are a much better longer-term strategy.

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Business & Politics

A Canadian Conservative Icon Advises Carney to Pull Back From US

By Brian Platt
Bloomberg Politics
July 28, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper calls himself the most pro-American prime minister in Canadian history. But the advice he gave recently to Mark Carney’s government was to take a different path — and reduce the country’s close integration with the US. …The relationship between the two longstanding allies simply can’t be the same after months of threats from Trump, Harper told an audience in the western city of Saskatoon. …He said he believes free trade will live on even as the US runs away from it under Trump. “The idea of using tariff barriers to raise revenue and comprehensively relocate industries, this is a failed economic policy where it has been tried,” he said. …Harper says Canada needs to quickly diversify its export markets for energy, critical minerals, and other strategic goods in response to President Donald Trump’s hostile trade actions. [to access the full story a Bloomberg subscription is required]

Related coverage in:

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BC’s independent wood manufacturers decry retroactive US softwood duties

By Chuck Chiang
The Canadian Press in CTV News
July 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

BC’s independent wood product makers say hundreds of small- and medium-sized manufacturers may be forced to shut down in light of the latest decision from the US to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood… [which] includes a requirement for Canadian companies to retroactively remit duties for products shipped to the US since Jan.1, 2023. Association chair Andy Rielly says that requirement could not only force small BC producers to shut down, but may also threaten operators’ personal assets as they may have to risk using their homes as collateral to secure bonds to pay. …Association executive director Brian Menzies describes independent wood product producers as “collateral damage” in the trade war.” …“We acquire logs and lumber at ‘arm’s length’ from various suppliers on the open market, just like claims made by members of the US Lumber Coalition, and yet our Canadian companies along with U.S. consumers must pay these unfair and costly duties.”

See the Independent Wood Processors Association of BC press release: New softwood lumber duty forces Canadian producers to pay for already shipped products

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US Department of Commerce Announces Final Results of Softwood Lumber Antidumping Duty Administrative review

US Department of Commerce
July 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

WASHINGTON, DC The US Department of Commerce announced its final decision in the sixth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on softwood lumber from Canada. …This review covers imports of softwood lumber from Canada that entered into the United States during the period of January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. The Department of Commerce determined that softwood lumber from Canada was being dumped into the United States at rates ranging from 9.65% to 35.53%. These final rates are, on average, larger than the final antidumping rates determined in the previous administrative review but in line with Commerce’s preliminary results from March 2025. Notably, the final rate for non-selected companies, which applies to most Canadian companies, increased to 20.56%, up from 7.66% determined in the previous administrative review. …Commerce is scheduled to announce the final decision in the administrative review of the countervailing duty order, covering calendar year 2023, on August 8, 2025.

Responses captured on July 25, per Tree Frog’s BREAKING NEWS:

  • Council of Forest Industries (COFI): COFI strongly condemns today’s decision by the US Department of Commerce to once again increase anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber.
  • US Lumber Coalition: The US Lumber Coalition applauds Trump Administration’s strong enforcement of the US trade Laws against egregious levels of unfair trade by Canada in softwood lumber.
  • BC Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC): The BCLTC is deeply disappointed by today’s final determination by the US Department of Commerce to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 20.56%.

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US Department of Commerce to Increase Duties on Canadian Softwood Lumber 20.56%

BC Council of Forest Industries, BC Lumber Trade Council & US Lumber Coalition
July 25, 2025
Category: Breaking News, Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The US Department of Commerce today announced the final anti-dumping duty rate of 20.56% in the sixth annual antidumping review of unfairly traded Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United States. The review covers lumber imported in calendar year 2023. If the Department’s forthcoming determination in the countervailing duty review is consistent with the preliminary results, the combined rate will be well over 30%.

Council of Forest Industries (COFI):

COFI strongly condemns today’s decision by the US Department of Commerce to once again increase anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber. These unjustified and punitive trade actions continue to harm workers, families, and communities across British Columbia and Canada—and have gone unresolved for far too long.  We call on the Government of Canada to make resolution of the softwood lumber dispute a top national priority. But this latest escalation also underscores a hard truth: we cannot wait for the US to act.  To keep forestry workers employed and communities strong, BC must urgently strengthen the conditions to succeed here at home. That starts with treating forestry as a major project to reach a target harvest of 45 million cubic metres and taking immediate action to restore wood flow, protect jobs, and stabilize the sector—while laying the groundwork for long-term competitiveness. 

US Lumber Coalition:

The US Lumber Coalition applauds Trump Administration’s strong enforcement of the US trade Laws against egregious levels of unfair trade by Canada in softwood lumber. “20.56% – that is the enormous extent to which Canadian producers dumped their lumber in the US market. …Andrew Miller, Chairman of the Coalition said., “The Commerce Department has once again proven the severity of market disruption caused by Canada’s unfair trading. Time has come for Canada to reconcile the size of its industry with market realities. The United States will no longer absorb Canada’s massive excess capacity in lumber at the expense of US mills and communities.” …US lumber industry and workers letter to President Trump. Enforcing U.S. trade laws helps increase the U.S. supply of lumber to build American homes, all without impacting the cost of a new home, as demonstrated by data from the NAHB and Fastmarkets Random Lengths. 

BC Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC):

 The BCLTC is deeply disappointed by today’s final determination by the US Department of Commerce to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 20.56%.  This decision represents yet another example of ongoing US protectionism at a time when cross-border cooperation should be a shared priority. “These duties are both unjustified and harmful,” said Kurt Niquidet, President of the BC Lumber Trade Council. “They unfairly penalize forestry workers and families across British Columbia, while further increasing costs for American homebuilders and consumers. Niquidet emphasized the need for a lasting resolution: “Rather than prolonging this decades-old dispute through costly litigation, we urge both governments to pursue a fair and durable agreement that delivers long-term certainty in the softwood lumber trade.” 

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Canada Employs Unfounded Scare Tactics in Attempt to Attack President Trump’s Successful Trade Policies

The US Lumber Coalition
July 23, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

WASHINGTON — CNN published an article citing the Canadian Chamber of Commerce… claiming that tariffs on Canadian building materials, with an emphasis on lumber, will drive up the cost of housing for US consumers. This is incorrect. …”In order to continue seeing the massive growth of US softwood lumber production capacity that we have seen over the last nine years as a result of US trade law enforcement, it is essential that President Trump takes all necessary steps to downsizing Canada’s unsustainable 8 billion board feet of excess lumber capacity that is stifling continued US growth,” said Andrew Miller. …”Canadian softwood lumber companies, not U.S. consumers, directly pay the import duties through their U.S. subsidiaries. …”Canada is desperately trying to avoid paying their bill to the US taxpayers. …They are suggesting relieving Canada from having to pay future duties while continuing to dump their excess lumber into the US market,” added Zoltan van Heyningen.

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Canfor’s 77%-owned subsidiary, Vida AB, expands with Swedish Acquisition

Canfor Corporation
July 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States, International

VANCOUVER, BC – Canfor announced today that its 77%-owned subsidiary, Vida AB, has entered into an agreement to purchase AB Karl Hedin Sågverk from Mattsbo Såg AB and certain minority shareholders for a purchase price of $164 million, including working capital of ~$39 million. AB Karl Hedin Sågverk operates three sawmills located in Central Sweden and will add approximately 230 million board feet to Vida’s annual production capacity. Following completion of this acquisition, Vida will have annual production capacity of approximately 2.1 billion board feet. Annual synergies of approximately $15 million are expected to be achieved within three years as a result of this transaction principally related to alignment of marketing programs as well as log procurement and operational practices. …These operations have access to exceptionally high-quality timber and are well positioned to complement Vida’s high-value product offering,” said CEO Susan Yurkovich. …The transaction is expected to close over the next several months.

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Investing in communities: Domtar puts vision into action

By Jennifer Johnson
Tissue Online
July 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Through the Domtar Connects program, employees lead impactful local initiatives—ranging from education and environmental projects to support for Indigenous communities—reflecting a long-term, values-driven commitment to social responsibility. …With nearly 14,000 employees across more than 60 locations, Domtar’s footprint is large, but its approach is local. The Domtar Connects community investment program responds directly to the unique needs of each operating community, ensuring that support is tailored, meaningful and led by employee input. Recent highlights include: 

  • Scholarships for trade students near our Windsor and Ashdown mills that help encourage the next generation of skilled labor. 
  • Urban tree planting projects in Montreal that give employees an opportunity to work alongside local youth and educators
  • Emergency response equipment donations in rural towns that help improve safety resources for first responders
  • Support for Indigenous cultural programs that contribute to the preservation of language, history and community connections

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Carney to brief premiers on US trade discussions as Trump deadline bears down

By Catherine Lévesque
The National Post
July 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Mark Carney

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney will be offering his update on trade talks with the White House when he sits down with the premiers Tuesday, while discussing their concerns as an Aug. 1 deadline for more tariffs rapidly approaches. Carney is joining the provincial and territorial premiers during their summer gathering in Muskoka, Ontario. …On Monday, Quebec Premier François Legault said he will tell Carney he wants protection in negotiations for supply management for the dairy, egg and poultry sectors. BC Premier David Eby has said he hoped Carney would kick off trade discussions by trying resolve the softwood lumber issue, which has been a trade irritant between Canada and the U.S. for decades. Carney recently said he thought it unlikely that there wouldn’t be at least some tariffs in any deal struck before Aug. 1, though most of Canada’s trade with the U.S. is protected by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

Related coverage in:

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Years of warnings ignored as US slaps B.C. forestry with punishing new duties

By Rob Shaw
Business in Vancouver
July 28, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West, United States

BC’s forestry sector would have been brought to its knees Friday by new American duties on Canadian softwood lumber, if it wasn’t already flat on its back from being hammered by years of provincial government policies. …But even before the new duties, B.C.’s forestry sector was in a crisis. Annual harvest volumes are down by tens of millions of cubic metres, lumber production and exports have shrunk dramatically, export revenues have fallen, thousands of jobs have been lost, and dozens of mills have been curtailed or shuttered. The industry has blamed various BC NDP policies, including new old-growth logging deferrals…  and extraordinarily long permitting delays. …If New Democrats are serious about saving the industry from ruin, now would seem to be the time to shelve the never-ending reviews and actually do something. The government could spin a pivot to pro-forestry policies not as a retreat, but as a made-in-BC response to American trade aggression.

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BC Forest Minister’s statement on US antidumping duties

By Minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar
The Government of BC
July 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West, United States

Ravi Parmar

“US President Trump has made it his mission to destroy Canada’s economy, and the forestry sector is feeling the full weight of this. The sector has faced years of uncertainty, driven by ongoing trade disputes, global market pressures, and the compounding effects of climate change. Now, we face further challenges, with rising unfair and unjust duties imposed by the US. These duties are nothing more than a tax on middle-class Americans trying to build or rebuild a home. They are hurting people on both sides of the border, with the forestry sector being unfairly targeted. Let me be clear: we will not stand by while Donald Trump tries to rip paycheques out of the hands of hard-working people in B.C. …I have appointed former deputy minister to the premier, Don Wright, as a strategic advisor, to ensure BC’s interests are well represented, and to help us align with federal and cross-provincial efforts.”

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Ontario Condemns US Decision to Raise Softwood Lumber Tariffs

By James Murray
Net News Ledger
July 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East, United States

THUNDER BAY – Ontario’s government is pushing back against the US’ latest move to increase tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber, calling the decision a blow to workers, families, and the housing market on both sides of the border. US President Trump continues his tariff battles against Canada. …Although Trump does not realize it, it is American consumers who end up paying the higher prices his tariffs cause. In a joint statement, Ontario’s Associate Minister of Forestry Kevin Holland, Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris, and Minister of Economic Development Vic Fedeli criticized the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to hike duties on Canadian exports, stating: “These duties disrupt industries, drive up costs and put our shared competitiveness at risk… Continued duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports are an unjust burden which limit productivity, raise construction costs and make homes less affordable for American families.”

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US, EU agree to framework for trade deal that puts 15% tariff on European goods

By Andrew Gray and Andrea Shalal
Thomson Reuters in CBC News
July 27, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

The United States has struck a framework trade deal with Europe, imposing a 15% US import tariff on most EU goods and averting a spiralling row between two allies who account for almost a third of global trade. The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to push a hard-fought deal over the line. …The deal also includes $600 billion US of EU investments in the United States and significant EU purchases of US energy and military equipment. However, the baseline tariff of 15% could be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal, although it is better than the threatened 30% rate. The deal mirrors parts of the framework agreement the United States clinched with Japan last week.

Related coverage in: 

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Trump’s USDA to scatter half its Washington staff to field offices. Critics see a ploy to cut jobs

By John O’Connor and Sarah Raza
The Associated Press
July 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — The US Department of Agriculture will move thousands of employees out of the nation’s capital in a reorganization the agency says will put them closer to customers while saving money, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday. Around 2,600 workers — more than half the Washington, D.C. workforce — will be moved to five hubs stretching from North Carolina to Utah, Rollins said. The union representing federal workers immediately criticized the plan as a ploy to cut federal jobs, pointing out that some 95% of the department’s employees already work outside Washington. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s effort to make the federal government slimmer and more efficient, which received a Supreme Court boost this month. Sen. Amy Klobuchar demanded that department officials appear before the Senate to explain their thinking.” …In the Washington region, the department will vacate three buildings and examine the best use of three others.

USDA Press Release: Secretary Rollins Announces USDA Reorganization, Restoring the Department’s Core Mission of Supporting American Agriculture

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US Trade Commission Votes To Continue Investigations on Hardwood and Decorative Plywood

Decorative Hardwoods Association
July 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) determined that there is a reasonable indication that a US industry is materially injured by reason of imports of hardwood and decorative plywood from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam that are allegedly sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the governments of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. …As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the US will continue its investigations of imports of hardwood and decorative plywood, with its preliminary antidumping duty determinations due on or about October 29, 2025, and its preliminary countervailing duty determinations due on or about August 15, 2025. The Commission’s public report, Hardwood and Decorative Plywood from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations. The report will be available by August 11, 2025.

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Wood flooring association appoints Stephanie Owen president, CEO

By Karen Koenig
The Woodworking Network
July 23, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Stephanie Owen

ST. CHARLES, Mo.  – The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has appointed Stephanie Owen as its new president and CEO. This follows an extensive search process led by a volunteer selection committee and unanimous approval by the Executive Committee of NWFA’s Board of Directors. “We are confident that under Stephanie’s leadership, the NWFA will continue to thrive further strengthening our association, advancing the wood flooring industry, and supporting our members and staff in meaningful and impactful ways,” said Steve Brattin, chair of the NWFA Executive Committee. “We are excited for what the future holds for this great association, our incredible industry, our members, and the entire NWFA team.” The news was announced July 23.

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Dormant Grays Harbor pulp mill fined $2.3 million for toxic chemical spills

By Ann Duan
The Olympian
July 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

The Washington State Department of Ecology announced that it is fining a Cosmopolis pulp mill owner a total of $2.3 million for ecological damage caused by toxic chemical leaks from the defunct facility. The owner has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. The Cosmo Specialty Fibers pulp mill, once a Weyerhaeuser specialty cellulose mill, shuttered its operations in 2022, but the facility’s non-operational storage tanks have leaked toxic chemicals ever since. …The site’s owner [Richard Bassett] has been issued several notices to address dangerous spills for almost a decade, but the Department’s request has consistently been met with inaction. …In April, Bassett said he intends to reconcile with the state after he reopens operations at the mill. …Bassett’s track record shows an interest in Northwest towns with decrepit pulp mills. His past ventures include an unsuccessful attempt 20 years ago to reopen the Port Alice mill in British Columbia.

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‘We Have All the Trees We Need.’ Trump Wants to Revive the Lumber Industry

By Ryan Dezember
Wall Street Journal
July 27, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

SKAMANIA COUNTY, Washington — Sawmills have been closing across the Pacific Northwest over the past 30 years. There is just one left in Skamania County, down from six during its logging heyday. Limited log supply from the region’s national forests has cut off their raw material, while cheap lumber from Canada has taken market share for their finished product. Owners of the remaining mills have high hopes that President Trump will deliver relief by increasing logging in national forests and raising trade protections against Canadian exports. Although the latter can be achieved with a stroke of the president’s pen, meaningfully boosting the federal timber harvest could take years and be impeded by litigation and red tape. …US sawyers have argued successfully in trade cases that their Canadian competitors are supplied with subsidized government logs, and that they offer two-by-fours over the border for less than they sell them at home. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]

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Port Angeles City Council wants full cleanup of the Rayonier Mill site

By Emily Hanson
Peninsula Daily News
July 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

City Council

PORT ANGELES, Washington — The Port Angeles City Council is in favor of a complete, timely cleanup of the Rayonier Mill site. The council voted 5-0 to direct staff to write to the state Department of Ecology following a special meeting Tuesday night. Deputy Mayor Navarra Carr said… “Ecology has failed and taken advantage of Port Angeles, adding that the city needs to hold its elected officials and department heads responsible and make sure Rayonier fulfills its obligations to the people of Port Angeles”. …On July 8, Ecology proposed a cleanup which would take the contaminated soil and pile it up on 10 acres under a cap of clean gravel, geotextile fabric and then clean soil to support vegetation. …That option wasn’t good enough. …The city is supporting removing all of the contaminated soil from the site and truck it to a landfill designed to handle toxic soil.

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Forestry veteran Daniel DeArmond joins University of Arkansas at Monticello as assistant professor of wood production

The Magnolia Reporter
July 28, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Daniel DeArmond

The University of Arkansas at Monticello is welcoming Daniel DeArmond, a faculty member with roots as deep as the redwoods he once logged. DeArmond joins the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources as the new assistant professor of wood procurement/marketing. With more than 20 years’ experience in both industrial forestry and international forest research, DeArmond brings a global perspective and hands-on expertise to the classroom. A native of Humboldt County, California, DeArmond holds a bachelor of science in forestry from Humboldt State University, and both a master’s and doctorate in tropical forest science from the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Brazil. …Having experience with both temperate and tropical forest systems, DeArmond offers UAM students a rare global perspective on wood production and forest operations.

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A Cut Above

By Tony Taglovore
The Forum News
July 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

In April 2021, Shreveport attorney Rich Lamb saw an opportunity. Lamb’s family has owned timberlands for several generations. …Fast forward to today. A more than $100 million Southern yellow pine sawmill sits outside of Plain Dealing. …Lamb learned that Canadian companies were relocating to the southern United States to build sawmills due to the unfavorable business climate in Canada. Lamb raised money and recruited Canadian company Teal Jones as an operating partner… Teal Jones acquired 57% of the sawmill, with Lamb and local investors owning the remaining 43%. But in 2024, Teal needed to sell. “Because of the pricing environment, interest rate environment and political climate in Canada, Teal Jones got into financial distress and went into reorganization,” Lamb explained. “They needed to sell their 57% interest to get liquidity.” Fortunately for Lamb and his group, a new buyer was found. Earlier this month, Sumitomo Forestry America Inc. purchased Teal Jones’ stake in the mill.

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Texas timber industry eyes new opportunities amid steady markets

By Karn Dhingra
Texas A&M AgriLife Today
July 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Texas’ timber industry continues to generate a significant economic impact for the state, with employment and output levels holding steady compared to 2023, said Eric Taylor, Ph.D., a silviculturist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M Forest Service. Market conditions remain largely unchanged from two years ago, with strong demand for sawtimber, coming primarily from pine trees in East Texas. On the flipside, there is an oversupply of smaller-diameter trees, keeping pulpwood prices soft, Taylor said. Roughly one-fifth of the state…provides about 12 million productive acres of timber out of roughly 22 million acres in the region. Most of the land is privately owned… While the Texas timber sector generally operates as a net-importer state, trade with Mexico and Canada accounts for 88% of Texas’ exports and 42% of its imports in 2024, Taylor said. …One bright spot is the growing interest in mass timber…

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Maine’s Hammond Lumber buying competitor, adding a dozen locations

By Adam Bartow
WWMT-TV
July 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Hammond Lumber Company, founded in Belgrade and the second largest family-owned business in Maine, is expanding. The company announced Tuesday morning it is buying Ware-Butler Building Supply, allowing Hammond to expand its retail footprint from 22 to 34 locations across Maine and New Hampshire. The deal is expected to close on July 31. Terms of the sale were not announced Tuesday. The transaction includes 15 Ware-Butler retail locations in Maine: Corinth, Dixfield, Dover-Foxcroft, Gorham, Greenville, Kingfield, Livermore Falls, Madison (Route 201), Madison (Main Street), Mexico, Orrington, Palmyra, Stillwater (Old Town), Waterville, and West Enfield. Hammond will consolidate the Dixfield, Greenville, and Orrington locations into existing nearby Hammond branches. All Ware-Butler employees will be offered continued employment, including relocation to nearby branches when possible.

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Finance & Economics

Conflict over Canadian lumber duties Claims and counter claims: Barking up the wrong tree?

HBS Dealer
July 28, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

The US Lumber Coalition (USLC) has aggressively promoted strong enforcement of US trade laws and railed against “unfair Canadian trade practices.” …The USLC’s arguments have been challenged by a pair of Canadian independent consultants — Russ Taylor Global and Spar Tree Group:

  • The USLC release: “Canada’s built-for-export excess softwood lumber production capacity is huge and unsustainable, at around 8 billion board feet,” said Miller. “And Canada’s focus on maintaining its U.S. market share at any cost is hugely detrimental the profitability and growth of the U.S. softwood lumber industry.”
  • The Canadian consultants: “Canada’s focus on maintaining its US market share?” To the contrary, Canada’s market share has been trending downwards for approximately thirty years, and Canada’s 2024 share of US softwood lumber consumption was 23.6% according to WWPA data. This trend is due, in part, to the closure of 53 sawmills in BC alone since 2005. In terms of sawmill profitability, the US South has been the highest margin region in North America.

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West Fraser Timber reports Q2, 2025 loss of $24 million

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.
July 23, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber reported the second quarter results of 2025. …Second quarter sales were $1.532 billion, compared to $1.459 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Second quarter earnings were $(24) million compared to earnings of $42 million in the first quarter of 2025. Second quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $84 million compared to $195 million in the first quarter of 2025. Highlights include: Lumber segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $15 million; North America Engineered Wood Products (“NA EWP”) segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $68 million; Pulp & Paper segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $(1) million; and Europe Engineered Wood Products (“Europe EWP”) segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $2 million. “Demand for many of our wood-based building products slowed in the second quarter as spring building activity fell short of our expectations. This was more acute in our NA EWP segment, which experienced further easing of demand as the quarter progressed, consistent with government data pointing to softer U.S. new home construction,” said CEO Sean McLaren.

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Trade panel remands Commerce’s antidumping methods in softwood lumber dispute

CUSMA Panel Review
July 23, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

A CUSMA Chapter 10 binational panel remanded [for further explanation] two statistical methodologies in the US Department of Commerce’s Administrative Review 1 antidumping duty determination on Canadian softwood lumber, requiring Commerce to reassess its use of the Cohen’s d test and to apply weighted pooled variances in its meaningful-difference analysis according to the panel’s Decision and Order. …The panel affirmed all other aspect of the results challenged in this appeal…The review stems from a December 22, 2020 request by Resolute Forest Products and the Ontario Forest Industries Association. …The panel remanded Commerce’s application of Cohen’s d because the Federal Circuit’s decision in Marmen Inc. v. United States Wind Tower Trade Coalition requires that the test’s key assumptions, normal data distribution, equal variances and adequate sample size, be demonstrated before use. …The panel also remanded Commerce’s pooling of variances, directing the Department to use weighted pooled variances that reflect differing sample sizes. …Commerce must respond by October 20, 2025.

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Lethargic sales in most framing lumber markets despite anticipation of increased duties on imports from Canada

By Joe Pruski
RISI Fastmarkets
July 23, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber markets remained flat this week as vacation time, industry gatherings, sweltering heat and general economic uncertainty contributed to sluggish sales. Minimal immediate needs limited replenishment purchases to modest volumes while a lack of clarity regarding near-term prospects stifled speculative trading across North American framing lumber markets. 2×4 led gains in many species, but the increases were modest. Seasonal factors, including unusually heavy rainfall and normal summer heat, contributed to the ongoing sluggish pace across the South. Mills worked hard to capture modest premiums. The coming hike in duties on Canadian shipments to the US did little to alter the ongoing lack of urgency among buyers. …Sales of Western S-P-F were governed by tepid demand and uncertainty regarding the timing and scope of higher duties and potential tariffs. …Sales in the Coast region were lukewarm with most lumber markets trends holding. 

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Lumber Furtures Trade Above $680

Trading Economics
July 23, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures traded above $680 per thousand board feet, approaching the two-and-a-half-year peak of $685 recorded on March?24th, driven by a squeeze on supply meeting unfaltering construction demand. On the demand front, US housing starts held surprisingly steady at an annualized 1.6?million units in June even as existing-home sales slipped 2.7% to a nine-month low, ensuring that framing requirements remained robust. At the same time, US softwood lumber tariffs on Canadian imports continue to add roughly 9% to landed costs, while Pacific Northwest mills have withdrawn nearly 20% of regional capacity for mid-season maintenance, sharply curtailing shipments to distributors. Internationally, imports from Europe and New?Zealand are throttled by 25% duties on Russian lumber and persistent ocean-freight bottlenecks, collectively depleting distributor inventories to their lowest levels in more than two years and reinforcing today’s sharp advance in futures prices. [END]

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Canada tariffs could add $14,000 to the cost of building a home by 2027, report warns

By Samantha Delouya
CNN Business
July 22, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

President Trump’s tariffs could have an unintended side effect: making homeownership even less affordable for many Americans. A new report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimates that the average cost of building a US home could rise by an additional $14,000 by the end of 2027 if tariffs on Canadian imports remain in place, even as many experts estimate that America needs millions more affordable homes. In 2023 alone, Canada accounted for 69% of US lumber imports, 25% of imported iron and steel and 18% of copper imports, all key construction materials, the report said. The White House pushed back on the assertion that tariffs would increase costs for Americans. …The report underscores that Trump’s tariff policy, intended to support American industry, may instead worsen housing affordability. Taking into account tariffs first imposed during Trump’s first term, the total added cost from tariffs could reach $20,000 per home by 2027, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce found.

Related coverage in the Washington Examiner: Trump tariffs on Canada could increase domestic cost of homebuilding by $14,000

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US Homeownership Rate Declines to Lowest Level Since 2019

By Na Zhao
NAHB Eye on Housing
July 28, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

The latest homeownership rate declined to 65% in the second quarter of 2025, marking its lowest level since late 2019, according to the Census’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS). With mortgage interest rates remaining elevated and housing supply still tight, housing affordability is at a multidecade low. Compared to the peak of 69.2% in 2004, the homeownership rate is currently 4.2 percentage points lower and remains below the 25-year average rate of 66.3%. …Householders aged 45-54 experienced the largest drop. …The national rental vacancy rate inched down to 7% for the second quarter of 2025, after steadily increasing since 2021. Meanwhile, the homeowner vacancy rate stayed at 1.1%, remaining near the survey’s 67-year low of 0.7%.

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America’s largest homebuilder D.R. Horton isn’t seeing an acceleration in softening

By Lance Lambert
ResiClub Analytics
July 23, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

On Tuesday, D.R. Horton—America’s most valuable and largest homebuilder, with a $46 billion market capitalization and ranked No. 123 on the Fortune 500—reported its third-quarter earnings for the three months ending June 30. While D.R. Horton’s earnings didn’t wow investors, the fact that there wasn’t an accelerated softening beyond what homebuilders—including D.R. Horton—had already reported earlier this year was enough for some Wall Street investors to buy back into homebuilder stocks. …COO Michael Murray says, “It [higher duties on Canadian lumber] will have some potential impact, but we’ve not quantified that. I know it is a significant step up in the tariff rates, I think, going to effect next month. But, you know, we’re buying some percentage of that wood and there’s some substitutionary product that would be available as well. Based on where that pricing ultimately settles.”

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What the US’ 50% Tariff on Brazil Could Mean for Pulp and Paper Markets

ResourceWise Forest Products Blog
July 17, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, International

On July 9, 2025, US President Trump announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil, with the new policy slated to take effect August 1, 2025. …The Brazilian government stated it would take reciprocal measures. …The announcement has drawn attention from a wide range of industries, particularly those with significant US–Brazil trade exposure. These include forest products… Brazil is a global leader in pulp production with the US playing both a direct trade partner role and a downstream consumer of Brazilian fiber-based materials. …Brazil produces 29% of the global market pulp capacity. This means many countries rely on imports from Brazil to support domestic demand across paperboard, packaging, hygiene, and tissue segments. …For US companies, Brazilian hardwood pulp is a crucial feedstock for high-performance and cost-effective paper production. Any shift in trade policy—such as a potential 50% tariff—could dramatically alter sourcing economics, disrupt supply agreements, and push buyers to reassess supplier portfolios.

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Finish firm UPM reports Q2, 2025 earnings of €71 million

Reuters in Trading View
July 24, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, International

Finnish forestry group UPM-Kymmene reported a 31% drop in its second-quarter operating profit, as uncertainty related to President Donald Trump’s trade policies weakened demand and the U.S. dollar. The group has five US sites for producing paper and labelling materials and it also exports products into the country, though the tariff effects were felt globally. “UPM Fibres was indirectly impacted by the escalating trade tensions. In China, orders halted during the height of the trade tensions between the US and China,” CEO Massimo Reynaudo said in the statement. …It also forecast a comparable operating profit of 425-650 million euros for the second half of 2025, up from the 413 million it had recorded in the first six months of the year.

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Top 10 Builder Market Share Across Each of the 50 Largest US Markets

By Sarah Caldwell
NAHB Eye on Housing
July 22, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

An earlier post described how the top 10 builders1 in the country captured a record 44.7% of new single-family closings in 2024. BUILDER Magazine has now released additional data on the top ten builders within each of the 50 largest new home markets in the U.S., ranked by single-family permits. It is important to note that this post does not focus on the top ten largest home builders nationally; instead, it analyzes the top ten list within each of the largest 50 new housing markets. The 2024 data show that the top 10 builder concentration in the 50 largest markets ranged from 38.9% in Kansas City, MO-KS to 97.8% in Cincinnati, OH. In 11 metro areas, the top ten builders’ market share exceeded 90%. Across all 50 metro areas, the average market share of the top 10 builders was 79.3%, up from 78.2% in 2023.  

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PotlatchDeltic Reports Q2, 2025 net income of $7.4 million

PotlatchDeltic Corporation
July 28, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, US West

SPOKANE, Washington — PotlatchDeltic reported net income of $7.4 million on revenues of $275.0 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2025. Net income was $13.7 million on revenues of $320.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. …”Our overall financial results were solid in the second quarter, even amid ongoing economic and trade policy uncertainty,” said Eric Cremers, President and CEO. “This quarter our Timberlands and Real Estate businesses performed well, while our Wood Products segment continued to be impacted by soft demand across lumber markets. 

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Weyerhaeuser reports Q2, 2025 net earnings of $87 million

Weyerhaeuser
July 24, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, US West

SEATTLE — Weyerhaeuser reported second quarter net earnings of $87 million on net sales of $1.9 billion. This compares with net earnings of $173 million on net sales of $1.9 billion for the same period last year and net earnings of $83 million for first quarter 2025. …Adjusted EBITDA for second quarter 2025 was $336 million, compared with $410 million for the same period last year and $328 million for first quarter 2025. “Our teams delivered solid operating performance in the second quarter,” said CEO Devin W. Stockfish. …Weyerhaeuser anticipates third quarter earnings before special items will be approximately $60 million lower than the second quarter and Adjusted EBITDA will be approximately $80 million lower than the second quarter due to the timing and mix of real estate sales. 

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Georgia Forestry Association Leverages Data in Latest Land Use Report

GlobeNewswire Press Release
July 22, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, US East

The Georgia Forestry Association’s latest report, Shifting Ground, draws on land transaction insights to examine how forest ownership and land use are evolving across the state. Featured in the Summer 2025 issue of Georgia Forestry magazine, the report carries the “Powered by Acres” designation, a mark that signals credible, data-backed research built on the Acres platform. The analysis examines key trends influencing Georgia’s forestland market, including generational turnover, external investment, and the emergence of diversified income streams, including hunting leases, carbon credits, and solar development. Acres’ data shows forestland sales in Georgia have remained strong at $3.5 to $4 billion annually since 2020, with average price per acre holding firm despite broader economic fluctuations. “Access to transparent, reliable data is essential to understanding how Georgia’s forest landscape is changing,” said Tim Lowrimore, President and CEO of the Georgia Forestry Association.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Mass timber could combat germs in hospital settings

By Matthew Thibault
Construction Dive
July 23, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Mass timber may have antimicrobial benefits that could make it useful for hospital construction, according to a recent study from the University of Oregon. The research team found that when wood was exposed to a brief wetting, it tested lower for levels of bacterial abundance than an empty plastic enclosure used as a control. “People generally think of wood as unhygienic in a medical setting,” said Mark Fretz, assistant professor, co-director of the University of Oregon’s Institute for Health in the Built Environment and principal investigator for the study. “But wood actually transfers microbes at a lower rate than other less porous materials such as stainless steel.”

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Here’s the pulp and paper story environmentalists ignore

By Bob Hassoldt, field forester
The Lewiston Tribune
July 27, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

…Now the beauty of paper is that it is not only recyclable, its also compostable, and wood fiber papers come from a renewable resource. However, a former paper industry executive stated that you can’t recycle paper forever. …But the use of virgin wood fiber is a major sticking point for the environmental activists. …While the environmental activists will show you a picture of a large stately tree in an old growth forest and tell you that it is going to be chopped up for tissue paper, the facts are a bit different. …What you’ll see are decks full of logs that have hollow or spongy centers, radial checks, logs that are small or crooked or were standing dead trees before they were cut down. …None of them could have been utilized to make lumber, veneer or poles.

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Mass timber expands building options in Maine

By Tina Fischer
Mainebiz
July 28, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

When the Portland Museum of Art starts construction on its $100 million expansion, it is expected to showcase an innovative building product that’s gaining popularity here but is not yet produced in Maine: mass timber. The 60,000-square-foot building is designed to be “a mass timber superstructure,” says the builder, Matt Tonello of Consigli Construction. It will be “all mass timber above the foundation.” The museum’s director, Mark Bessire, has become an advocate for the product, saying its use in the new wing will create a welcoming environment. …The use of the mass timber is starting to find more favor among architects, engineers and builders in Maine who value its structural stability, light environmental footprint and the wood’s natural beauty. Also contributing to its increasing adoption is the product’s fabrication, which facilitates a more simplified and cost-effective building process, when compared with the use of steel and concrete.

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Milwaukee is building contemporary timber towers. What about Chicago?

By Edward Keegan
The Chicago Tribune
July 27, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

CHICAGO — …Milwaukee, our neighbor to the north has become a hotbed for the development of timber towers — tall buildings that use relatively new mass timber technologies that can replace the steel and concrete traditionally used to support such structures. Since 2022, Milwaukee has been home to the tallest timber tower in the world — the 25-story Ascent MKE at 284 feet in height. That’s no Sears Tower, but when you consider that most wood-framed buildings are one to four stories tall, it’s quite an achievement. …For all the stunning achievements that Chicago architects and engineers have accomplished over the last century and a half, there’s still a deeply conservative streak that runs through the city’s building culture. Fire, through several key historical events, is at fault. …So, perhaps it’s not surprising that we now lag many places in the development of new construction with mass timber.

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Mass Timber Curriculum Development for Engineering Students

Michigan State University
July 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

Mass timber is an emerging construction technology growing in popularity in the United States. One obstacle to the gradual adoption of mass timber construction is the limited availability of qualified engineers and designers. Although successful efforts have been made to address research topics related to mass timber design and … adoption as a construction material, little research has been conducted to identify desired student outcomes for undergraduate civil or structural engineering students working with mass timber after graduation. This paper describes the development of an industry-guided educational resource for curriculum development to improve the alignment between undergraduate student outcomes and employer requirements related to mass timber design. …The findings reflect a prioritization of competencies related to the design of mass timber elements and structures, an understanding of material characteristics, the navigation of available design resources, contributions to project deliverables, and the support of sustainability goals. 

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Forestry

Congress Moves To Stop Killing Of 500,000 Barred Owls To Save Spotted Owls

By Mark Heinz
Cowboy State Daily
July 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Forming an unusual alliance, environmental and animal welfare groups have pulled together a bipartisan effort in Congress, united by universal disdain for a Biden-era plan to massacre nearly 500,000 barred owls. Killing off barred owls in an effort to save endangered spotted owls is “wasteful, inhumane and unworkable,” Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy said. Those groups hailed the introduction Wednesday of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify the Biden-era barred owl management strategy. …In September 2024, the Biden administration approved a $1.3 billion plan for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) agents to shoot about 470,000 barred owls over the next 30 years in Washington, Oregon and California.  The justification was to give spotted owls a better chance of recovery under the assumption that barred owls bully their smaller cousins out of vital, old-growth forest habitat. …Federal wildlife agents have killed roughly 4,500 barred owls since 2009. 

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The Fix Our Forests Act prioritizes industry over nature

By Rob Lewis
The Hill
July 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

America’s public forests are under assault. We have already seen the massive timber harvests called for by President Trump’s executive order, the elimination of the Roadless Rule, and the gutting of wildlife protection efforts. Those are the broad stokes, but there are also finer maneuvers underway, such as abandoning the traditional practice whereby forest personnel paint-mark the trees selected for cutting, handing those decisions over instead to the timber companies themselves. Or the various subsections that keep popping up in the “Big Beautiful Bill” — for example, giving timber companies an option to pay for hastened environmental review and defunding endangered species recovery efforts. It also arbitrarily requires the Forest Service to increase harvests by 250 million acres annually for nine years. This is the context within which we must now view the Fix Our Forests Act, a logging-in-the-name-of-fire-prevention bill, stuffed with provisions that significantly override scientific and citizen review.

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Gluesenkamp Perez introduces bipartisan bill to strengthen forestry career pathways

The Chehalis-Centralia Chronicle
July 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and Rep. David Rouzer, R-North Carolina, recently introduced the bipartisan Jobs in the Woods Act, which aims to connect young people with careers and training in forestry. The bill would create a grant program for nonprofit organizations, state governments and colleges to utilize for workforce training in forestry-related fields. With most of the forest manufacturing industry located in rural areas, the bill would give individuals the opportunity to learn skills that can serve them and their communities. …This year, Gluesenkamp Perez urged the Trump administration to refrain from cuts to federal workers that could negatively impact timber production, wildfire readiness and recreation in Southwest Washington, according to the release. Following the president’s executive order to increase domestic lumber production on federal lands, Gluesenkamp Perez expressed support for an approach that prioritizes small, independent logging, trucking and mill operators.

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New Documentary Reveals Canada’s Boreal Forests Getting Clearcut for Toilet Paper

By Charmin Kills Forests
Cision PRNewswire
July 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

NEW YORK — A new documentary released by Charmin Kills Forests, entitled “CHARMIN WIPES OUT A FOREST,” exposes how Procter & Gamble toilet paper and paper towels are made by clear-cutting Canada’s boreal forests. The film’s producer, forest activist Brian Rodgers. The 26 minute film is touring 23 cities, where it is being screened from a mobile video truck. …Filmed on location in Canada … the documentary features scientists, experts, and descendants of Procter & Gamble‘s founders who petitioned the company to stop using virgin fiber from Canada’s boreal forest. In addition to Youtube, the film is posted, along with photographs, links to social media posts, published studies, and other documentation and resources, on Charminkillsforests.org. The Charmin Kills Forests campaign is organized by a small, self-funded team of environmental advocates. It focuses on Charmin as one especially offensive consumer product among others using 100% virgin pulp from one of Earth’s few remaining wild forests.

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Trump admin plans ‘sprint’ on lifting logging bans

By Marc Heller
E&E News
July 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The Trump administration aims to end the prohibition on logging on tens of millions of acres of roadless areas in national forests by the end of next year, according to a draft schedule at the Forest Service. The draft timeline… sets a schedule for drafting the new policy, conducting public comment sessions and consulting with tribes before making a final decision in November or December of 2026. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has already said she’s decided to rescind the roadless-area protections, which have blocked road construction, timber harvesting. The rule applies on 58.5 million of the forest system’s 193 million acres, with Alaska’s Tongass National Forest having the most in any one place. In a June 23 statement, Rollins said, “Once again, President Trump is removing absurd obstacles to common sense management of our natural resources by rescinding the overly restrictive roadless rule.” [to access the full story an E&E News subscription is required]

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Potential Repeal of Roadless Rule Could Permanently Damage Midwest National Forests

By Sarah Mattalian
Inside Climate News
July 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Brooke Rollins

Following the US Department of Agriculture’s rescission of a longstanding rule that protects thousands of acres of national forests against logging, experts say that the repeal would not only damage natural beauty, but also ignores the interests of Midwest residents and industries. …“This rollback of the rule harms all of the other uses of the national forests besides timber. It’s going to result in less wildlife habitat, less recreational opportunities for the American people, more sediment loading to surface waters. It’s just harmful all the way around, unless you’re in the logging industry or forest products industry,” said Andy Olsen, senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law and Policy Center. The rule still has to go through administrative procedures such as a public comment period and congressional hearings before it is officially repealed.

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US faces alarming shortage of firefighters during peak wildfire season, data reveals

By Gabrielle Canon
The Guardian
July 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

More than a quarter of firefighting positions at the United States Forest Service (USFS) remain vacant, according to internal data reviewed by the Guardian, creating staffing shortages as extreme conditions fuel dozens of blazes across the US. The data paints a dangerously different picture than the one offered by Tom Schultz, the chief of the USFS, who has repeatedly assured lawmakers and the public that the agency is fully prepared for the onslaught in fire activity expected through this year. It’s already been busy. So far this year there have been more than 41,000 wildfires – an amount nearly 31% higher than the ten-year average. “In terms of firefighting capacity we are there,” Schultz said during a Senate committee hearing on 10 July, claiming the USFS had hit 99% of hiring goals. He repeated the claim multiple times.

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Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $9.6 Million Heading to Oregon to Protect Forests and advanced wood Product Innovation

Senator Jeff Merkley
July 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is investing $9,622,000 in 17 projects in Oregon to boost the creation of innovative wood products, develop more markets for uses of mass timber and renewable wood energy, and increase the capacity of wood processing and manufacturing facilities. This federal funding is critical to ensuring the state’s leadership in the wood products industry, while helping to restore healthy forests and reduce wildfire risk. The wood products industry is essential to Oregon and the entire Pacific Northwest’s economy. Sustainably sourced materials for many types of wood products can improve the resiliency of our forests. For example, removal of small diameter trees and brush can help reduce wildfire severity and spread. The investments for Oregon are part of a broader suite of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s USFS Wood Innovations Program grants for public, private, and non-profit sectors, totaling $80 million for projects across the country this year.   

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Drop in state funding for Washington’s work to prevent severe wildfires is stoking concerns

By Emily Fitzgerald
The Oregon Capital Chronicle
July 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

If state funding for forest health and wildfire prevention isn’t ramped back up in the next legislative session, it could hinder efforts to prevent severe fires in the coming years, Washington’s top public lands official and others warned this week. The state Legislature approved House Bill 1168 in 2021, which committed $500 million over eight years to the state Department of Natural Resources for wildfire preparedness and response. State spending had largely kept up with that target until this year, with the department receiving $115 million in the last two-year budget and $130 million in the one before that. Then this year, as lawmakers confronted a budget shortfall, they slashed the wildfire preparedness funding to just $60 million for the next two years. The Department of Natural Resources says it’s prepared for this fire season and has money left over from past years. But the funding rollback has sparked concerns.

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Drop in state funding for Washington’s work to prevent severe wildfires is stoking concerns

By Emily Fitzgerald
Oregon Public Broadcasting
July 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The state’s top public lands official is urging lawmakers to restore the spending to previous levels after they cut it by about half this year. If state funding for forest health and wildfire prevention isn’t ramped back up in the next legislative session, it could hinder efforts to prevent severe fires in the coming years, Washington’s top public lands official and others warned this week. The state Legislature approved House Bill 1168 in 2021, which committed $500 million over eight years to the state Department of Natural Resources for wildfire preparedness and response. State spending had largely kept up with that target until this year, with the department receiving $115 million in the last two-year budget and $130 million in the one before that. Then this year, as lawmakers confronted a budget shortfall, they slashed the wildfire preparedness funding to just $60 million for the next two years. 

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Forest service firefighters use drones with ping pong balls to fight California wildfire

By Jessica Skropanic
Redding Record Searchlight
July 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

REDDING, California — In firefighting, drones get used to see hot spots in the dark, map the size of fires and look for damage. But the recent Green Fire also proves the flying robots also are effective in starting backfires on terrain firefighters cannot safely get to in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. “If the mission is dull, dumb or dangerous, send the drone,” said John Schuler, a firefighter and US Forest Service spokesperson on the Green Fire. Drones can go where no firefighter can: Into remote areas that are difficult to impossible for crews to reach, and where manned aircraft have trouble flying due to smoke or other safety concerns. Firefighters like those on the Green Fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest are using drones to check fire size and directions wildfires are moving. They do the latter by dropping ping pong balls full of chemicals, said Schuler.

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Yellowstone aspen may be recovering thanks to 1990s reintroduction of wolves

By Sharon Udasin
The Hill
July 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The restoration of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park has helped revive an aspen tree population unique to the region, a new study has found. Quaking aspen, one of the few deciduous tree species in the northern Rocky Mountain ecosystem, is once again thriving, after suffering severe decline during the 20th century, according to a new study. “This is a remarkable case of ecological restoration,” lead author, Luke Painter, at Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, said. The decline in aspen growth occurred in tandem with a surge in Rocky Mountain elk, which had lost a key predator following the elimination of wolves from the region by 1930. …At the same time… aspen recovery hasn’t been uniform across northern Yellowstone — and the growth is subject to numerous potential threats including climate change and encroachment of coniferous trees, are possible such factors. And other herbivores have increased in the region.

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Goats assigned to Reno wildfire prevention work in urban wildland interface

By Jeniffer Solis
Nevada Current
July 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

@Wiki

Hundreds of goats will mow down dead vegetation across hilly terrain in Reno over the next month in an effort to reduce wildfires in an area prone to burning. Buildup of dead vegetation near homes, has created a wildfire hazard the Reno Fire Department hopes to mitigate by introducing 250 goats that will eat away dry brush for the next 45 days. “They’re working all day long,” said Reno Fire Chief Dave Cochran. The move comes as wildfire season approaches its peak this month. Wildfire season in Nevada has lengthened due to climate change. Last year, nearly 860 wildfires burned about 104,000 acres of land across Nevada, according to the Nevada Division of Forestry. …The goats, from High Desert Graziers in nearby Smith Valley, are bred to consume a wide variety of non-native grasses and weeds that fuel wildfires including bitterbrush, manzanita, and cheatgrass.

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A century of data reveals declining forest diversity

By Rami Jameel
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
July 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have analyzed 96 years of forest census data to better understand ecological changes and inform management practices. Their study reveals concerning homogenization trends. This means the forest has become less diverse over time, losing trees that played a critical role in its ecosystem. The researchers analyzed census data from Trelease Woods, which the university acquired in 1917. Homogenization was linked to the spread of the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle, and Ophiostoma fungi, which causes Dutch elm disease. Many deciduous forests are losing diversity, co-author Jennifer Fraterrigo said. …She worked on the study with her former graduate student, Jennifer Álvarez, who is currently an environmental assessment researcher at the Illinois State Geological Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois. Integrative biology professor James Dalling and former NRES forest ecologist John Edgington were also co-authors on the study.

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Washington wildfire fighting efforts ‘finally’ get $20 million after delays

By Daniel Schrager
The Bellingham Herald
July 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The state of Washington will get about $20 million for wildfire fighting efforts after a months-long delay, a Washington congresswoman confirmed Thursday. The Trump administration distributed $280 million in federal funding to forestry agencies across the country, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington. The money will help fund the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ efforts to train and equip wildland firefighters across the state. “The state of Washington is in the middle of an active and dangerous wildfire season,” Cantwell said in a news release. “After questioning the Chief of the Forest Service and the Secretary of Agriculture, I am pleased that Washington — and all states — are finally receiving the funding they need to prepare for and respond to wildfires this summer and in the future.”

Additional coverage from the Bellingham Herald: Could Trump budget cuts hurt WA wildfire fighting efforts? We asked an expert. “According to Robyn Whitney, strategic advisor to the State Forester, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, will operate at full capacity this summer, regardless of possible federal budget cuts.

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Colorado ski resort fights mountain beetle infestation with this unique substance

By Jonathan Ingraham
Denver Gazette
July 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) in central Colorado has been dealing with a mountain pine beetle infestation for the last two years, but the Gunnison County resort is fighting back using small packets of pheromones stapled to trees.  Beetles were first detected mountainside at CBMR in 2023… During the 2024 season, ground crews revisited large areas of lodgepole pine within and around CBMR’s boundaries, confirming limited but recent beetle activity among the trees. …But now CBMR Mountain Operations, alongside rangers with the U.S. Forest Service, are fighting the beetles back with the help of verbenone pheromone packets. Verbenone is an anti-aggregation pheromone produced by mountain pine beetles to indicate a tree has reached maximum capacity, letting other beetles know there are no resources available to consume within the tree.

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Salt River Project plans to thin another 50,000 acres in five years

By Peter Aleshire
The Payson Roundup
July 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

The Salt River Project has extended its partnership with the state to thin watersheds, which will also improve fire protection for communities in Rim Country and the White Mountains. In the past five years, The Valley utility has worked with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management to thin 35,000 acres of overgrown forest, including a portion of the watershed of the C.C. Cragin Reservoir. SRP has also signed long-term contracts to buy electricity from NovoBiopower, the state’s only biomass burning power plant. The Snowflake power plant remains crucial to forest restoration efforts by providing one of the few markets for the tons of low-value biomass removed on each acre treated. SRP issued a release this week stating it hopes to fund the treatment of another 52,000 acres in the next five years. SRP also helped thin overgrown forests outside Payson, adding to a buffer zone protecting the community from wildfires.

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Time for action. Proper forest management is a matter of survival

By Nathan Magsig, County of Fresno
The Fresno Bee
July 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Nathan Magsig

If you’re from California, you’ve likely seen it — our once-thriving forests are turning into graveyards of dead trees, and the threat of wildfire looms larger every year. Since 2010, over 27 million trees have died in Fresno County alone. The combined effects of drought, beetle infestations, and bureaucratic gridlock have left our forests vulnerable and our communities exposed. The tragic 2020 Creek Fire, which devastated entire neighborhoods and ecosystems, is just one of many examples of what happens when we fail to act. Let me be clear: this is not just a forestry problem. It’s a public safety emergency, an economic threat, and an environmental crisis — all rolled into one. …Our policies have not kept up with the crisis. Regulatory and budgetary roadblocks have stifled forest management efforts. Even when we have willing landowners and local governments, they’re hamstrung by red tape and a lack of resources.

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Montana logging project can continue — for now — despite environmental concerns

By Hillel Aron
Courthouse News Service
July 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A major logging project in Montana can continue after a federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by four environmental groups. Last year, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the Round Star logging project, which covers 28,300 acres of land about 13 miles west of the city of Whitefish. …The agencies also approved the construction of nearly 20 miles of permanent roads in the national forest. …The four conservation groups — Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Native Ecosystems Council, Council on Wildlife and Fish and Yellowstone to Uintas Connection — sued to stop the logging in January, and filed their motion for a preliminary injunction months later. By that time, the logging was already underway. …Though the timing of the motion wasn’t a dealbreaker for the motion, DeSoto also found that the plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits of the case.

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Colorado state forester, fire chiefs raise alarm about further federal cuts that would impact fire preparedness

By Ryan Spencer
The Summit Daily
July 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Brad White

Colorado Fire Chief Brad White, of Grand Fire Protection District No. 1, says he’s worried “there’s not a lot of extra help to be had this summer.” Mass layoffs and voluntary resignation programs under the Trump administration have reshaped federal agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, that typically work in close coordination with local and state officials to not only battle wildfires but prepare for and protect against them. Colorado is made up of vast swathes of federal land. The U.S. Forest Service alone owns about one-fifth of the state’s land, with most of that in the mountains, where the federal government is the largest landowner in many counties. But federal land management agencies have shed thousands of employees in just six months. …Colorado officials are concerned that these cuts could disrupt years of wildfire preparedness and make the state more vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.

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Repairing a watershed: Local control is a path toward healthier forest

By Riley Yuan
The Chinook Observer
July 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

After months of deliberation, a years-old vision to restore local control of some of Pacific and Wahkiakum counties’ most productive timberlands is a step closer to becoming a reality. Last Tuesday, representatives from the Columbia Land Trust presented to both sets of commissioners a near-complete draft of the charter for the Upper Grays River Community Forest. The document lays out the legal framework and governance structure for a working forest in the upper Grays River watershed, which will straddle the boundary between the two counties. “The purpose… is to provide a legal entity… to undertake, assist with and otherwise facilitate the acquisition, ownership, maintenance, harvest, and management of a community forest or forests within Pacific County and Wahkiakum County to provide economic, environmental and community benefits to the public,” the charter’s fourth article reads.

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Will Increased Timber Harvesting on Federal Lands Reduce Growing Wildfire Hazards?

By Matthew Wibbenmeyer and David N. Wear
Resources for the Future – Report
July 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

On March 1, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to develop plans to increase timber production on federal lands. The order was motivated by two stated priorities: expanding the timber supply and addressing rising wildfire risks. The US Forest Service has responded with a goal of increasing timber offered for sale by 25 percent over the next four to five years. This report puts the Trump administration’s actions into context by reviewing the history of harvest from federal lands and evaluating current forest inventories and treatment needs. It asks: What would be the effect on wildfire risk if federal land management agencies increased harvests by 25 percent? Opportunities for harvests that successfully mitigate risk may be limited by the absence of active timber markets, the availability of a qualified workforce, and the economics of fuel removals.

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A plan to shoot 450,000 owls — to save a different owl — could be in jeopardy

By Lila Seidman
The LA Times
July 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

An unusual alliance of Republican lawmakers and animal rights advocates, together with others, is creating storm clouds for a plan to protect one threatened owl by killing a more common one. Last August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a plan to shoot roughly 450,000 barred owls in California, Oregon and Washington over three decades. The barred owls have been out-competing imperiled northern spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, as well as California spotted owls, pushing them out of their territory. Supporters of the approach — including conservation groups and prominent scientists — believe the cull is necessary to avert disastrous consequences for the spotted owls. Last month, The Times has found, federal officials canceled three owl-related grants to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife totaling roughly $1.1 million, including one study that would remove barred owls from over 192,000 acres in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

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Climate Change Is Making Fire Weather Worse for World’s Forests

By Rebecca Dzombak
The New York Times
July 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

In 2023 and 2024, the hottest years on record, more than 78 million acres of forests burned around the globe. The fires sent veils of smoke and several billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, subjecting millions of people to poor air quality. Extreme forest-fire years are becoming more common because of climate change, new research suggests. Boreal forests lost more than two times the canopy area in 2023-24 compared with the period between 2002 and 2022, the study found. Tropical forests saw three times as much loss, and North American forests lost nearly four times as much canopy, mostly because of Canada’s wildfires. Significant losses were in remote forests, far from human activities. That isolation suggests fires are increasing primarily because of climate change, said Calum Cunningham, a fire geographer at the University of Tasmania who was not involved with the study. “Chronic changes in climate are making these forests more conducive to burning,” Dr. Cunningham said. [a paid subscription is required to read this article]

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Threads of the Tongass: Building a sustainable future

By Jasz Garrett
The Juneau Empire
July 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The days of clear-cutting the Tongass National Forest are over, with little chance of reviving the past. The Alaska Forest Association, tribal members, and environmentalists say a new future must be charted. Since the Clinton administration implemented the Roadless Rule in 2001, construction of new roads in wild areas of most national forests has been blocked. With no more roads being built and few companies willing to barge out the wood, it is difficult to imagine the return of mass logging. Timber operators expected to harvest 46 million board feet per year, a mix of young and old-growth, based on the 2016 Tongass Land and Resource Management plan. Viking Lumber Company in Klawock and Alcan Timber in Ketchikan acknowledge the time needed to transition to young-growth harvesting. “Threads of the Tongass” is a series of stories that explore how lives in Southeast Alaska are interwoven with the Tongass National Forest during a time of political, cultural and environmental change.

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New Opportunities for Forest Resources Association and Universities to Collaborate on Expanding Wood Supply Chain Workforce Development

By Clay Altizer
The Forest Resources Association
July 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US East

Our universities have played an active role in supporting the forest products industry over the years. Numerous applied research projects have helped address supply chain issues. Drs. Charlie Blinn (University of Minnesota) and Joe Conrad (University of Georgia) recently collaborated to evaluate logging capacity in the Lake States and the Southern US. …Dr. Conrad’s “Benchmark Data on Log Truck Insurance Premiums, Claims, and Transportation Safety Practices in the US South” is an example of FRA-funded research aimed at improving transportation safety and supply chain efficiency. …Last week, the US Forest Service announced its 2025 Wood Innovations Grant recipients.  Approximately $80 million will be awarded to “spur wood products manufacturing, expand active forest management, and accelerate energy innovation across America’s timber-producing communities”. FRA will receive funding for its proposal “Enhancing the Wood Supply Chain Workforce” to “expand its southern U.S. logging and wood supply chain training program nationwide”—to support workforce development in timber-producing communities.

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Golden, Collins introduce bipartisan legislation to create disaster relief fund for loggers

United States Congressman Jared Golden
July 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced the bicameral, bipartisan Loggers Economic Assistance and Relief Act, which would establish a new program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support loggers who have lost income due to natural disasters. …Current law excludes loggers from the kinds of disaster relief and assistance available to other industries, including fishermen and farmers, when natural disasters strike. Under the Loggers Economic Assistance and Relief Act, a disaster declaration from the president or governor would unlock federal assistance eligibility for logging businesses with at least a 10 percent loss in revenue or volume compared to the prior year. Covered damage would include high winds, fire, flooding, insect infestation and drought. “There must be a safety net to ensure one particularly bad season cannot uproot logging families and communities” Golden said. 

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Governor Evers urges Trump to reverse course on cuts to staff, programs affecting Wisconsin’s forestry industry

WisPolitics
July 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Tony Evers

MADISON — Governor Tony Evers sent a letter to US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and the Trump Administration urging immediate action to reverse the administration’s misguided cuts to key investments and staff at the USDA that will negatively impact Wisconsin’s forestry industry. The letter is the second in recent months that Gov. Evers has sent to the Trump Administration. …Gov. Evers strongly opposed reported reductions in US Forest Service programs that support states in order to cover the costs of purging USDA of its expert workforce. The letter comes after Wisconsin officials were recently warned by USFS officials to expect less funding from the Urban and Community Forestry grant program. …The move represents a twofold blow for states like Wisconsin that depend heavily on forests for economic success.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Trump bill takes a ‘big, beautiful’ bite out of US climate progress

By Rachel Frazin
KTSM News
July 21, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

The megabill President Trump signed into law this month is expected to make a major dent in the U.S.’s climate progress, adding significantly more planet-warming emissions to the atmosphere. Models of the legislation that have emerged since its passage earlier this month show U.S. emissions will rise as a result of its implementation. One from climate think tank C2ES found U.S. emissions will be 8 percent more than they would have been otherwise as a result of the package. “An 8% increase in our emissions is … still a massive amount of emissions,” said Brad Townsend, the group’s vice president for policy and outreach. Taking into account all of the efforts to reduce U.S. emissions over the last 20 years, Townsend said, the bill represents “rolling back a third of that progress with a stroke of a pen.” “From an emissions perspective, this bill is a disaster,” he said.

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A new life for sawmills: Haris Gilani leads wood products innovation project

By Grace N Dean
University of California, Riverside
July 21, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

When seeking to make forests more fire resilient, removing fuels from the landscape is a tough task to make cost-effective. Thinning and limbing trees during fuels reduction treatments will sometimes produce marketable timber, but more often will produce small-diameter wood pieces that have traditionally been considered unmarketable. These pieces are typically chipped, masticated, or pile burned, and have long been considered ‘wood waste’.  California researchers, industry leaders, and private forest landowners have been looking at ways to transform forest wood waste, particularly in wildfire-prone areas, into sustainable products. Utilizing forest biomass for building materials, soil amendments, and clean energy is a key strategy to economically incentivize improving forest conditions and can address both public and private industry needs. The state has also been making moves to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and aims to eliminate emissions entirely by 2045. 

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Health & Safety

Arbitrator dismisses grievance, determines that West Fraser worker termination was approapriate

By Jeffrey Smith
The Canadian HR Reporter
July 24, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, United States

100 MILE HOUSE, BC — West Fraser Mills (WFM) had just cause to fire a worker who violated a safety policy on May 13, 2024, and tried to minimize the risk involved, according to an arbitrator. …WFM had a lock-out procedure program and policy that were mandatory for employees performing work on energized equipment, including conveyor belts. …On May 28, WFM terminated the worker’s employment for cause. The union grieved, conceding that discipline was warranted but arguing that termination was excessive for an employee with 19 years of service and no safety-related discipline. …The arbitrator noted that the central issue as whether termination was an excessive response, pointing out that violation of safety rules constitutes a serious workplace offence and lock-out procedures are among the most important safety features in workplaces such as lumber mills. …The arbitrator also found that the worker’s conduct following the incident raised concerns over whether he would work safely if reinstated.

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Forest Fires

A look at megafires as an Oregon wildfire approaches the 100,000-acre mark

By Isabella O’Malley and Sarah Brumfield
Oregon Public Broadcasting
July 22, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: US West

©Wasco County

A wildfire burning in a sparsely populated region of central Oregon has become the largest fire burning in the U.S. this year and is on the verge of surpassing 100,000 acres to become what’s officially known as a megafire. Nearly 900 personnel have been battling the Cram Fire northeast of Madras, and they have it about 73% contained with more than 95,000 acres burned. Here’s a look at what megafires are and their increasing frequency in the warming world. …There were at least 14 wildfires that burned more than 100,000 acres in the U.S. in 2024, according to a report by the National Interagency Coordination Center. A 2022 Interior Department report found that the number of megafires, which it defined as more than 100,000 acres, had increased in the preceding decade. The amount of forest area burned each year in the western U.S. has approximately tripled since the 1980s, according to Brian Harvey, professor of forest fire science at the University of Washington.

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