Canfor’s recent mill closures have hammered communities in British Columbia. But the future of the province’s once strong forest economy may face an even greater threat from what the company is doing 5,000 kilometres away. Steadily, over the course of the past two decades, Canfor has invested hundreds of millions of dollars buying, expanding or building new sawmills in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, North and South Carolina and Mississippi… a move being replicated by other companies that have long operated in the province, including West Fraser, Interfor and Teal-Jones. …When it comes to plantations, B.C. turns out to be seriously disadvantaged. In the U.S. South… pine plantations are now “among the most intensely managed” on the planet. In just 12 to 15 years, the trees in these sterile landscapes are thinned like carrots, with the thinned trees being chipped to make wood pulp or pellets. …In the foot race to grow tree crops quickly, B.C. is barely in the race.
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON — U.S. dock workers and port operators reached a tentative deal that will immediately end a crippling three-day strike that has shut down shipping on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast, the two sides said Thursday. The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% over six years. …That would raise average wages to about $63 an hour from $39 an hour over the life of the contract. The union had been seeking a 77% raise while the employer group had previously raised its offer to nearly 50%. …The union and the port operators said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until Jan. 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues. …Among key issues that remain unresolved is automation that workers say will lead to job losses. The port strike hit just as southeastern states were struggling for supplies following a deadly hurricane.
PHILADELPHIA — 
FLAGSTAFF, AZ — The largest sawmill in the Southwest officially opened Tuesday just outside of Flagstaff. It will help Coconino County on its mission of forest restoration to prevent major wildfires. Since 2010, wildfires have burned over a quarter million acres in Coconino County. Coconino County Flood Control District community relations manager Sean Golightly said the county takes wildfires and their consequences very seriously. “Wildfire and post-wildfire flooding are the two biggest public safety threats in Coconino County,” Golightly said. …Forest Restoration director Jay Smith in Coconino County Public Works said that without a mill, it can end up costing the county more to do nothing with the wood. “The timber has so little value or if we’re trying to remove biomass, there’s a cost involved versus just the timber paying for itself to get out of the woods,” Smith said.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steady rain fell and winds began to gust in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday morning as a mighty Hurricane Milton churned toward a potentially catastrophic collision with the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay even after millions were ordered to evacuate. Stragglers face grim odds of surviving, officials said. The Tampa Bay region, home to more than 3.3 million people, hasn’t seen a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century. Milton fluctuated between categories 4 and 5 as it approached, but regardless of the distinction in wind speeds, the National Hurricane Center said, it would be a major and extremely dangerous storm when its center makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday. …Major bridges around Tampa Bay planned to close in the afternoon, she said, and public shelters were open for evacuees. 
Not even two weeks after Hurricane Helene swamped the Florida coastline, Milton strengthened into a major hurricane that is headed toward the state. The system is threatening the densely populated Tampa metro area — which has a population of more than 3.3 million people — and is menacing the same stretch of coastline that was battered by Helene. Traffic was thick on Interstate 75 heading north on Tuesday as evacuees fled in advance of Milton. Crews were also hurrying to clear debris left by Helene. …According to the National Hurricane Center’s 
FORT MILL, South Carolina — Paper Excellence Group companies Domtar Corporation and Resolute Forest Products announced $100,000 in financial support to assist four local communities following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Several communities where Paper Excellence Group operates facilities were in the path of the powerful storm, affecting employees and their loved ones. Company representatives worked in collaboration with community officials to identify four charitable organizations that provide direct aid to hurricane victims in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. Additionally, Resolute Tissue is donating 10 pallets of tissue products for eastern Tennessee residents. Company employees in Fort Mill and Bennettsville, South Carolina, are organizing food and supply drives to support communities in western North Carolina and other areas. …When rebuilding begins, the company plans to donate several truckloads of lumber in the Cross City, Florida, area.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline. The storm is expected to stay at about its current strength for the next couple of days, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Helene was also a Category 4 at landfall in northern Florida. Milton had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico. Its center could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area, and it could remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida. …Forecasters warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay and said flash and river flooding could result from 5 to 10 inches of rain in mainland Florida and the Keys.
MADISON — Effective Oct. 1, Hancock Lumber began the “indefinite curtailment of production at the company’s Madison Lumber Mill location and consolidation of that business into its Casco, Bethel, and Pittsfield mill operations,” according to a statement issued by the company on Wednesday. Erin Plummer, chief marketing officer for Hancock Lumber, said the Madison log yard will remain open to help support the procurement of eastern white pine. “This decision is in response to site-specific challenges and changing market conditions,” said Plummer, based out of the Hancock’s Casco, Maine office. She said “Hancock Lumber remains committed to the forest products industry as it has since 1848.” Hancock purchased Madison Lumber in October 2022. A source emailed the Sun on Wednesday, saying that “they have completely shut down the sawmill.”
Southern Pine dimension mills have attempted to keep supplies more in line with sluggish lumber demand in recent months, but perceptions remain mixed whether it has ultimately been effective in tempering downward price pressure. Several mills reportedly curtailed production through the summer months without making public announcements to indicate cutbacks. Most of the measures were modest, often limited in scope to simply reducing shifts, according to sources. …Production curtailments by Western S-P-F mills have also contributed to rebalancing supplies and demand, as buyers in northern-tier markets who purchase both species have encountered dwindling availability. However, some SYP traders are unsure whether the quiet production cutbacks have had any true effect on the overall market. New mills in some producing zones came online in early summer and ramped up output.
The European Union’s chief negotiator on a United Nations compact to reverse biodiversity loss denies postponement of anti-deforestation law undermines credibility just weeks ahead of crunch summit in Colombia. The European Commission’s proposal to delay implementation of the Deforestation Regulation will not undermine the EU’s position in upcoming UN biodiversity talks, its lead negotiator has claimed, saying the postponement was a recognition that further preparatory work with trading partners was needed. The 16th conference of parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity later this month will be the first since the landmark COP15 in Montreal two years ago that yielded an agreement to place 30% of land and sea under conservation status by 2030. Environmental groups were outraged when the EU yielded to pressure for a delay to the law, which requires proof that no forests were cleared in the production of a range of goods from coffee to beef and timber.
Given feedback from international partners about their state of preparations, the European Commission announced October 2 that it’s proposing to delay launching the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). 
USDA is hard at work offering support for farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene. More than a week after its devastation, the agency is still working to grasp just how much has been lost. According to USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie, “We’re still assessing the size of the impacts to agriculture and forestry. We know they’re significant. We know there will be short-term impacts and we also know that the impacts on farmer livelihoods will last for potentially years.” With emotions running high, the stress of it all can be overwhelming. “Some of our own offices which were in nearby counties have been hit by the storm. The USDA family and other counties stepping up to triage in field farmer inquiries. …Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow says that she is committed to getting farmers and ranchers the emergency assistance they need as soon as possible.
