The US Department of Commerce is initiating administrative reviews of antidumping and countervailing duty orders with March anniversary dates, with the actions applicable May 4, 2026, and final results planned no later than March 31, 2027. …The companies listed for review are 10104704 Manitoba Ltd, Woodstock Forest Products; CWP—Montreal Inc.; and Norsask Forest Products Limited Partnership. For certain uncoated paper from Brazil, the antidumping review covers March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2026. The companies listed are Suzano S.A. and Sylvamo do Brasil Ltda/Sylvamo Exports Ltda. For certain uncoated paper from Portugal, the antidumping review covers March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2026. The company listed is The Navigator Company, S.A.
LOUISIANA — Davis Timber Company, Inc. announced it will invest $1.9 million to expand its Beauregard Parish operations with new production capabilities that will enhance efficiency and strengthen Louisiana’s timber industry. The company is expected to create 12 direct new jobs while retaining 11 current positions. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional nine indirect new jobs, for a total of 21 potential new job opportunities in the Southwest Region. …Davis Timber Company’s expansion will take place at its production facility within the Beauregard Regional Airport Industrial Complex in DeRidder, where the company produces poles and pilings used in utility and infrastructure applications. The project will add new processing capabilities to the existing operation, improving efficiency and enhancing product readiness for market.
VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber reported the first quarter results of 2026. First quarter sales were $1.334 billion, compared to $1.165 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter earnings were $(188) million, compared to earnings of $(751) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $(66) million compared to $(79) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Included in first quarter Adjusted EBITDA in the Lumber segment is ($114) million of duty adjustments related to prior periods compared to nil in the fourth quarter of 2025. …North America Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, and Europe Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $10 million. …Sean McLaren, West Fraser’s President and CEO said “Excluding the impact of prior year duty adjustments, we were pleased to see all of our core segments – lumber, NA EWP, and Europe EWP – report positive Adjusted EBITDA.” 
RUSS TAYLOR provided the latest quarterly report from the 
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly edged higher in April amid a rally in share prices following a ceasefire in the war with Iran and improved perceptions of the labor market, helping to ease households’ financial worries for now. Despite the rise in confidence to a four-month high, the survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday showed higher gasoline prices stemming from the conflict with Iran remained a source of concern for consumers. Fewer planned vacations over the next six months and the share of those intending to drive to their holiday destinations was the lowest since April 2020. …The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed 0.6 point to 92.8 this month. Economists had forecast the index easing to 89.0. It was in stark contrast with the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, which last week showed its Consumer Sentiment Index slumping to a record low in April.
Sumitomo Forestry’s $4.5 billion Tri Pointe buyout was approved with more than 99% support, taking the combined Japanese-owned share of US single-family home construction from just 0.2 per cent in 2015 to close to 6 per cent in 2026. Sumitomo Forestry’s buyout of Tri Pointe Homes, one of California’s largest builders, was approved at a special meeting in Irvine, California, earlier this month, with the deal set to be completed by mid-year. The Tri Pointe transaction, first announced in February, is the largest US homebuilder acquisition by a Japanese forest-based conglomerate in history, and follows the same playbook Sumitomo has already run across Australia, where Japanese conglomerates wholly or partly own just under 30 per cent of the country’s top 20 housebuilders. …Tri Pointe gives the Tokyo-listed parent access to California and Nevada, the two major US growth states where Sumitomo… had no meaningful presence. 
Mass timber is frequently praised for its aesthetic appeal and sustainability benefits. However, what often goes unrecognized are the construction phase advantages it brings to a project—advantages that directly impact schedule certainty, jobsite safety and overall delivery predictability. Beyond appearance and environmental performance, mass timber fundamentally changes how buildings are built. For owners and developers focused on speed to market and reduced risk, these operational benefits deserve just as much attention as design and carbon metrics. Mass timber construction shifts critical decision-making earlier in the project lifecycle. Structural elements such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and glulam beams are fabricated off-site and arrive ready to install. There is no waiting on cure times, no extended periods of formwork or shoring, and fewer weather-related delays during structural erection.
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities announced a new Request for Proposals (RFP) to accelerate the deployment of innovative technology solutions that improve forest health, strengthen forest management capacity and support the long-term strength of working forests, wood markets and forest-reliant communities. Across the country, forests are facing growing pressure from wildfire, pests and disease, fragmentation, limited active management and shifting market conditions. At the same time, new technology is creating practical opportunities to help landowners, forest managers and partners better monitor forests, make informed decisions and carry out work more effectively at the landscape scale. …The Endowment will provide up to $500,000 through this RFP to support one or more projects. …Proposals are due on June 4, 2026, at 5 p.m. EDT.
…Wildfires burned more than 1.9 million acres in Oregon in 2024. By the time they finally died down at the end of October, the state had spent more than $350 million fighting them, greatly exceeding the $10 million it had allocated. “By July 21, I had already completely blown through my cash on hand,” said Kyle Williams, Oregon Department of Forestry’s deputy director for fire operations. Contractors weren’t promptly paid for services they’d already provided, from digging fuel breaks to supplying meals, and the state had to hold an emergency legislative session to allocate the money. That summer highlighted the flaws in how the state funds both firefighting and the preventive work that reduces the chances of large, destructive blazes in the first place. This year, as drought and a devastating snowpack stack up across the West, officials are bracing for what could be a challenging fire season. The Idaho Department of Lands has roughly $38 million set aside. 
The Gallatin Wildlife Association, Alliance for The Wild Rockies, Native Ecosystems Council, and Council on Wildlife and Fish claim in a new federal lawsuit the United States Forest Service could be logging and using prescribed burns in Montana’s best-known recreational areas without presenting required research that would demonstrate the project isn’t negatively impacting threatened or endangered species. Their attorneys say logging and burning on more than 5,600 acres between Hyalite and South Cottonwood canyons, south of Bozeman in the Gallatin Mountains would mean cutting through old-growth forests, building new roads and negatively impact threatened species ranging from Canada lynx to Northern goshawks to whitebark pine trees. It claims U.S. Forest Service officials have overlooked or ignored a handful of federal laws to fast-track the project which the groups say will be highly visible to recreational enthusiasts. U.S. Forest Service staff have a policy of not commenting on any pending litigation. 
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is laying the preliminary groundwork on a proposal to purchase a conservation easement in Lincoln, Mineral and Sanders counties that would protect 20,854 noncontiguous acres of timberland owned by Stimson Lumber Company. The proposed conservation easement, which last year was awarded a $10.2 million grant through the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program, is part of a broader 230,000-acre effort to conserve Stimson’s entire inland timber base in Washington, Idaho and Montana. If approved, the easements would ensure the land remains in timber production, guaranteeing public access while restricting development rights. “This multi-state effort will ensure that these lands continue to be managed for sustainable forestry and support the viability of regional mills through the 1.5 million board feet of merchantable Sustainable Forestry Initiative-certified timber it produces per year and generates $2.1 million,” according to the project description.
With wildfires already burning and drought persisting across much of the US, fire experts are bracing for what could be an extreme fire season. The U.S. Forest Service is going into it having done far less work than in recent years to manage the dry, flammable vegetation that can fuel catastrophic fires. In 2025, the Forest Service reduced vegetation on almost 1.5 million fewer acres than in 2024, according to an analysis of the agency’s data by NPR and firefighting experts. …The Forest Service said in a statement that the drop in prevention work is mostly due to staff being occupied with firefighting and because environmental conditions were not right for doing prescribed burns in the Southeast. The agency lost 16% of its workforce as of last summer, with 5,860 personnel leaving in the first six months of 2025 as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of government. 
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is planting nearly 2 million tree seedlings on DNR-managed forest land across the state this spring. Each year, DNR foresters coordinate tree plantings in state forests, wildlife management areas, state parks, and other DNR-managed lands. This spring, 14 species will be planted on more than 3,000 acres throughout the state, including several varieties of pine, spruce and oak, as well as yellow birch, sugar maple, black walnut and tamarack. These reforestation efforts are led by the DNR’s Silviculture Program. Silviculture is the art and science of growing and tending forests to serve a variety of goals, including clean air and water, recreation opportunities, healthy wildlife habitat, biodiversity and timber productivity. Foresters consider current characteristics, climate resilience and future goals for each site to create a plan for planting and ongoing care.
LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO – Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s leading renewables investors, is ramping up efforts to slash CO₂ pollution at scale – inking a major US deal that will help remove up to 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. Octopus’s fund management team is set to invest $500 million in afforestation and reforestation projects in the US developed by public benefit and climate technology company Living Carbon. On top of that, Octopus has put nearly $13 million into Living Carbon’s fast-growing, cutting-edge carbon removal development business. …Across the US, roughly 130 million acres of land lie degraded and could be reforested. …The locations include old mining sites and worn-out farmland, transforming these spaces into CO₂-absorbing sinks that slash emissions and combat climate change. These projects will also have a host of additional benefits: restoring wildlife habitats, improving water quality, strengthening soils, and supporting local economies in rural communities.
