Region Archives: United States

Special Feature

Trump’s Re-emergence and Political Risk in Canadian Forestry

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
Tree Frog Forestry News
February 25, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, United States

Kelly McCloskey

At Tree Frog News, our mission is to curate and share news relevant to the North American forest sector, giving our readers the insights they need to respond to current challenges. While we don’t write the news, we occasionally seek out content not normally covered by mainstream media. For example, in August 2024, we reached out to political risk management expert Robert McKellar at Harmattan Risk for comment on the increasing pace of change in the forest sector, shaped by political forces and government intervention. Robert’s op-ed offered a thoughtful analysis of how inherent political risks—especially those linked to Canada–US trade friction—could rapidly unsettle an industry long reliant on stability. At the time, Trump’s potential political comeback was still largely speculative.

Robert’s analysis highlighted that political risk is not limited to volatile or exotic regions but is inherent in every business environment—even in sectors traditionally seen as “safe.” He challenged the assumption that the US market is an enduring safe haven for Canadian exports, warning that rising protectionist rhetoric and sudden policy shifts could expose firms to disruptive events like unexpected tariff impositions. Moreover, he stressed that political risk management should be an integral part of a company’s strategic framework through ongoing intelligence gathering, senior leadership involvement, and proactive contingency planning. Ignoring these risks, he cautioned, could force companies into costly, reactive measures. Finally, Robert argued that political risk is not merely a challenge to be managed—it can also drive strategic change. Confronting these risks head-on offers firms an opportunity to diversify markets, reconfigure supply chains, and bolster long-term resilience.

Since that op-ed, the political landscape has shifted dramatically. Trump’s re-emergence is no longer a remote possibility but a concrete reality that has intensified uncertainty across the sector. With these developments in mind, we reconnected with Robert to update his analysis and explore how the risks he foresaw have become even more pronounced. The following Q&A with Robert McKellar, principal at Harmattan Risk, distills various communications for clarity. [full disclosure, Robert McKellar is Tree Frog co-editor Sandy McKellar’s brother]

Read More

Business & Politics

Big tariffs on Canada next week? Not necessarily, White House says

By Alexander Panetta
CBC News
February 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Reports that Canada and Mexico are set to be slapped with U.S. tariffs next week may be premature. That’s the latest word from the Trump administration. The White House has clarified that North America-wide tariffs are not a done deal, as many news headlines suggested following remarks Monday Trump. …It wasn’t totally clear which tariffs Trump was referring to. The president has threatened multiple trade actions, for multiple reasons. For Canada, the ones paused until March 4 represent the gravest threat. …CBC News asked the White House on Tuesday for clarification. The White House reply… A plan for retaliatory tariffs on various countries is moving ahead as scheduled. …So, what about that bigger tariff, currently paused until March 4? The White House told CBC News that it’s still to be determined, “pending negotiations” with Canada and Mexico.

Read More

Trump’s Trade War: What It Means for Canadian Forest Products

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
Tree Frog Forestry News
February 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Yesterday, we featured an op-ed by political risk management expert Robert McKellar on how Donald Trump’s re-election is changing the political risk landscape for the Canadian forest sector. While U.S. trade disputes are not new, the unpredictability of Trump’s approach to trade policy creates new challenges that Canadian exporters must assess and manage. McKellar presents a structured way to evaluate these risks using the devil’s advocacy approach, a method that considers both worst- and best-case scenarios to develop a balanced assessment. Trump has proposed three different types of tariffs—bi-national, product-specific, and reciprocal—which, if applied together, could significantly impact the sector. By examining multiple possibilities, McKellar provides companies with a way to better prepare for potential disruptions rather than reacting in crisis mode. And as today’s CBC story demonstrates, it isn’t always clear precisely which tariff proposal Trump is referring to; and tariffs are just one of several risks facing the sector.

Read More

Trump says tariffs on Canada and Mexico ‘will go forward’

By Kelly Malone
The Canadian Press in the National Post
February 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Trump’s executive order to implement 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy, was delayed until March 4. …Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Monday that Canada needs to send the message it will “fight back” after U.S. President Donald Trump said steep tariffs are indeed coming next week. In a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Monday, Trump was asked directly whether he was moving ahead with levies against America’s closest neighbours. …While the original executive order was tied to the flow of deadly fentanyl, the president said earlier this month the pause would allow time to reach a “final economic deal.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to Trump by phone Saturday ahead of Monday’s virtual G7 meeting… updating the president on efforts at the Canada-U.S. border to counter trafficking in fentanyl.

Read More

US launches its seventh administrative review of softwood lumber duties

The Province of BC
February 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The U.S. Department of Commerce initiated the Seventh Administrative Reviews (AR7) of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders for certain softwood lumber products from Canada. Each year (unless the case is settled), administrative reviews are conducted to recalculate the countervailing and antidumping duty rates for shipments during the period of review (for AR7, January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024) and to establish new cash deposit rates for future shipments.  A company is subject to the reviews if there has been a specific request for review of that company filed by interested parties with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Read More

How Canada’s allies in D.C. are pushing back against Trump’s tariffs

By Catherine Levesque
The National Post
February 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Chris Coons

OTTAWA — With only days before the first round of tariffs take effect, Canada’s allies in Washington, D.C. are pushing for U.S. President Donald Trump to permanently rescind the measures, arguing a trade war would cause economic harm on both sides of the border. US Congressman Tim Kennedy, a Democrat in the Buffalo-Niagara region, said he and dozens of other representatives are fighting to get Trump to reverse his decision to impose tariffs on their northern neighbour. …Democratic Senators Chris Coons and Tim Kaine introduced the Stopping Tariffs on Allies and Bolstering Legislative Exercise of  Trade Policy Act, which would reclaim congressional authority over trade policy. “Congress gave the president the authority to impose tariffs so that he could combat our enemies in the event of a national security crisis, not so that he could pursue grudges against our allies and neighbours,” said Coons.

Related Coverage in:

Read More

Canada can legally challenge tariffs, but will Trump fall in line with the ruling?

By Ian Bickis
The Canadian Press in Yahoo! Finance
February 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

If President Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian goods, experts say Canada has a strong case to challenge it under the Canada-US-Mexico free trade agreement. The question, though, is how quickly any decision may come through the process and whether the US would respect any decisions from the outcome. …The free trade agreement is a nation-to-nation agreement, so there’s no one else to appeal to. America’s past performance on adhering to trade decisions has been mixed. Areas of contention include… the long-running softwood lumber dispute. …Canada could also decide to challenge this round of tariffs at the WTO, as well as through CUSMA. Based on the rules of the treaty, Canada could launch a challenge which would prompt mandatory consultations within 30 days. If there’s no resolution through that step, the next would be to establish a dispute settlement panel. …Past cases have generally run around a year to a year and a half.

Read More

Trump Aims at Chinese Shipping, Risking Another Shock for Businesses

By Peter Goodman
The New York Times
February 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

The Trump administration has opened a broad new front in its global trade conflict, proposing to affix levies reaching $1.5 million on Chinese-made ships arriving at American ports. Such fees would apply even on vessels made elsewhere — an approach that risks increasing costs on raw materials to factory goods. …It is engineered to discourage reliance on Chinese vessels in supplying Americans with products, while aiming to spur the revival of a domestic shipbuilding industry after a half-century of veritable dormancy. …The proposal would isolate China while diminishing American reliance on its industry. …The plan was the result of an investigation, started during the Biden administration, into the dominance of the Chinese shipping industry, in response to a petition filed by labor unions. Almost one-fifth of container vessels arriving at American ports are made in China. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]

Read More

Colorado homeowners who spent years mitigating fire risk lose insurance

By Alan Gionet
CBS Colorado News
February 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

As wildfires and other threats plague homeowners in Colorado, there is a trend that is impacting homeowners and losing their insurance, especially after the wildfires in California. It’s a 15-year-old home on a hillside in Evergreen, with a metal roof, stucco exterior, and triple pane windows. “Steel roof, steel beams on the outside. So steel columns. Then after that, we went with concrete decking and not wood decking around the house,” said homeowner Steve Hoogendoorn who closely monitored the home’s design. At the time, it exceeded standards for fire protection. The house is surrounded by concrete, with the decks changed from composite to concrete a few years ago. But still, Steve and Jen Hoogendoorn have recently been informed their insurer thinks they’re too big of a risk. …The home’s construction is not all they have done to mitigate fire risk. Every year they drop a half dozen up to 10 cords worth of trees.

Read More

Large fire rages for hours at Jamesville pallet company

By Jon Moss
Syracuse.com
February 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Jamesville, N.Y. — A large fire raged for hours Monday evening on the campus of a Jamesville pallet company, creating a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. The fire at B&B Lumber at 4800 Solvay Road Extension was reported at about 7:30 p.m. It was still burning more than four hours later. …B&B Lumber, founded in 1973, manufactures wood shipping pallets. The company is located inside a quarry and is only accessible by narrow, winding roads. A huge fire also ripped through the B&B campus in March 2016.

Read More

Doman fire estimated at $2 million loss

By Eric Tyler
KVOM The Voice of Morrilton
February 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Plumerville, Arkansas — A fire that destroyed a dry kiln at Doman Lumber Company in Plumerville last week caused a property loss of over $2 million to the company, according to the chief of the Conway County Fire Department. The fire destroyed a ten-year-old kiln, but Chief Darren Bray says firefighters were able to prevent an even more significant loss by controlling the fire before it could spread to an adjacent kiln. “That’s the first thing when our guys got there, they did the smart thing; they did exposure protections,” Bray said. “In talking with the general manager for Doman, to replace that ten-year-old kiln is going to cost them somewhere north of $2 million. I haven’t gone back out there to get the total loss amount, but it’s for sure over $2 million at this time. That’s not counting lumber or anything else; that’s rebuilding the kiln. That’s not counting the blower, electrical, nothing else…”

Read More

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raid lumber mill

By Larry Adams
Woodworking Network
February 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

TUPPER LAKE, N.Y. — Immigrations and Customs Enforcement conducted a raid Feb. 18 at Tupper Lake Pine Mill in New York state and detained nine employees. In a statement …the parent company of the mill, The Matra Group, said that the employees were authorized to work in the U.S. …“Nine employees were detained, all of whom were, to our knowledge, authorized to work in the United States, as we verify all employees through the I-9 process,” Nicholas Drouin, Matra co-president and director of manufacturing said. All U.S. employers must follow that process to verify workers’ identities and employment eligibility. …The mill — formerly known as the Tupper Lake Hardwoods Inc. — is owned by the Quebec-based Matra Group, a lumber harvesting and distribution company. 

Read More

Builders brace for tough times with high interest rates and looming tariff hikes

By Austin Denean
ABC 13 News
February 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Construction of new homes plummeted in January as builders face a challenging financial environment to start and finish projects with high interest rates and uncertainty over tariffs that could increase costs for supplies. …Median prices on existing homes have soared over $400,000 over the last several years and monthly mortgage payments remain elevated with interest rates hovering around 7%. …Trump has not enacted some of the most expansive tariffs he suggested on the campaign trail but has still been aggressive with using them in his foreign trade policy. There is a 25% tariff on foreign steel and aluminum… There is also potential for 25% tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican products, which could hit homebuilders especially hard. …Tariffs on Canada and Mexico were of particular concern to homebuilders and NAHB sent a letter to the administration asking it to put exemptions on building materials.

Additional coverage in Politico, by Katy O’Donnell: ‘Enormous fear’: Housing industry braces for Trump tariffs, workforce cuts

Read More

Finance & Economics

Lumber Surges on Tariff Concerns and Supply Constraints

Trading Economics
February 25, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures surpassed $630 per thousand board feet in February, the highest since October 2022, amid tariff concerns and tightening supply. U.S. President Trump reaffirmed Monday that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports remain “on time and on schedule,” despite both nations’ efforts to bolster border security and curb fentanyl flows ahead of the March 4th deadline. The National Association of Home Builders warned that higher tariffs on lumber and gypsum could push prices up 40%, worsening affordability and slowing the housing market’s recovery. Meanwhile, U.S. building permits edged up 0.1%, signaling stability, while housing starts plunged 9.8%, pointing to near-term weakness. 

In related news: Barchart’s Andrew Hecht thinks Lumber Prices Can Break Higher

Read More

US New and Existing Home Price Gap Shrinking

By Onnah Dereski
The NAHB Eye on Housing
February 25, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

The traditional price gap between new and existing homes was nearly nonexistent at the end of 2024. The median price for a new single-family home sold in the fourth quarter of 2024 was $419,200, a mere $9,100 above the existing home sales price of $410,100, according to U.S. Census Bureau. Typically, new homes carry a price premium over existing homes. However, for the first time in the quarterly data since 1989, the median existing home price exceeded the new home price in the second quarter of 2024, and again in the third quarter of 2024. …Meanwhile, the median price for existing single-family homes increased 4.80% from one year ago. Existing home prices have continued to experience year-over-year increases for six consecutive quarters.

Read More

Gains for US Custom Home Building

By Robert Dietz, Chief Economist
NAHB Eye on Housing
February 24, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates gains for custom home builders after a period slight softening of market share. The custom building market is less sensitive to the interest rate cycle than other forms of home building. There were 47,000 total custom building starts during the fourth quarter of 2024. This marks a 7% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. In 2024 as a whole, custom housing starts totaled 181,000 homes, just below a 2% increase compared to the prior four quarter total (178,000 in 2023). Currently, the market share of custom home building is approximately 18% of total single-family starts. This is down from a prior cycle peak of 31.5% set during the second quarter of 2009 and the 21% local peak rate at the beginning of 2023, after which spec home building gained market share.

Read More

US Consumer Sentiment Extends Its Decline In February

By Joanne Hsu
The University of Michigan
February 21, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

US Consumer sentiment extended its early month decline, sliding nearly 10% from January. The decrease was unanimous across groups by age, income, and wealth. All five index components deteriorated this month, led by a 19% plunge in buying conditions for durables, in large part due to fears that tariff-induced price increases are imminent. Expectations for personal finances and the short-run economic outlook both declined almost 10% in February, while the long-run economic outlook fell back about 6% to its lowest reading since November 2023. While sentiment fell for both Democrats and Independents, it was unchanged for Republicans, reflecting continued disagreements on the consequences of new economic policies. …Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped up from 3.3% last month to 4.3% this month, the highest reading since November 2023 and marking two consecutive months of unusually large increases. 

Read More

US Housing Starts and Recessions

By Bill McBride
Calculated Risk Newsletter
February 23, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Carl Quintanilla posted a graph on Bluesky from BESPOKE suggesting the US is heading towards a recession. …Housing is the basis of one of my favorite models for business cycle forecasting.  And policy changes will clearly have a negative impact on homebuilders.  Early in February, I expressed my “increasing concern” about the negative economic impact of “executive / fiscal policy errors”, however, I concluded by noting that I was not currently on recession watch.  Here is an update to a graph that uses new home sales, single family housing starts and residential investment… to show that these three indicators generally reach peaks and troughs together. …I share BESPOKE’s concern about the potential negative impact of policy on housing starts, but I think it is way too early to start predicting a recession.

Read More

What looming tariffs could mean for homebuilding and the economy

By Emily Mack
Chicago Agent Magazine
February 24, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

President Donald Trump “thrives on unpredictability”, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS. In the last 30 days alone, multiple tariffs by Trump have been announced, imposed, called off and hotly debated. Now, the tariffs are beginning to take shape. And homebuilders are wary. …The real outcry, though, regards lumber. Roughly 30% of the lumber used in the United States last year was imported – more than 85% from Canada. …the housing industry is sharing concerns. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, the NAHB applauded his day-one executive order that urged government agencies to take action to lower housing costs and expand supply. But NAHB chairman Carl Harris said raising tariffs will have the opposite effect. …“Tariffs on lumber and other building materials increase the cost of construction and discourage new development, and consumers end up paying for the tariffs in the form of higher home prices,” Harris said in a press release.

Read More

Boise Cascade reports Q4, 2024 net income of $69 million

By Boise Cascade Company
Business Wire
February 20, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, US West

BOISE, Idaho — Boise Cascade reported fourth quarter net income of $68.9 million on sales of $1.6 billion. For the full year 2024, Boise Cascade reported net income of $376.4 million on sales of $6.7 billion. …Wood Products’ sales, including sales to Building Materials Distribution (BMD), decreased $30.0 million, or 7%, to $419.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, from $449.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in sales was driven by lower sales prices for LVL and I-joists and plywood, as well as lower I-joist sales volumes. These decreases were offset partially by higher LVL and plywood sales volumes. 

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Sterling Structural Announces New Mass Timber Workforce Training Tool

GlobeNewswire
February 24, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Sterling Structural, a leading manufacturer of cost-effective, pre-fabricated mass timber and hybrid structural systems in North America, today announced the availability of a new Mass Timber Mock-up training kit. The kit is designed to help vocational schools, training programs and unions educate and train the construction industry workforce on the emerging use of Mass Timber in a wide range of structures. The kit includes everything needed to construct a mock-up of a small-scale mass timber building. It’s designed to educate and train installers on the fundamentals of mass timber construction. This hands-on learning tool showcases key components of prefabricated CLT and glulam systems, demonstrating best practices for installation, connection detailing, and material handling.

Read More

Cambium Introduces Carbon Smart™ Wood for Mass Timber: The First Cross-Laminated Timber Product Made from Salvaged Wood

WebWire
February 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Cambium, the supply chain technology company revolutionizing the wood industry with sustainable materials and smarter supply and logistics, today announced the launch of Carbon Smart™ Wood for mass timber, the industry’s first cross-laminated timber (CLT) product made from salvaged wood… The launch marks a significant advancement for the mass timber market. The product will enable developers to meet environmental targets efficiently, provide architects with versatile, sustainable materials, and give builders access to high-quality products that accelerate construction timelines. The result is a solution that drives economic growth and local communities’ environmental stewardship.

Related content: 

Read More

Trump administration drops work on stronger building codes for disasters

By Lauren Sommer
NPR News
February 20, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

For the past 25 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has helped develop building codes, the construction standards that help houses survive hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes. Now, the Trump Administration has ordered that to stop. …FEMA is dropping out of the latest effort to improve building codes. …The recommendations FEMA submitted were filed with the International Code Council, an independent association that develops building codes used by states and local governments. The proposals FEMA is retracting its involvement from focus on helping homes survive strong winds, seismic shaking and rising floodwaters. …The ICC convenes experts and stakeholders in the building industry to review and improve building codes every three years, and is developing a new set of standards now. After they’re approved, many local and state governments across the country adopt the codes, which set the mandatory construction rules in their communities.

Read More

Oregon Building Codes Division launches innovative housing option for attached, stacked duplexes

By Barney Lerten
KTVZ 21
February 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Building Codes Division has adopted new residential code provisions that will allow the construction of attached stacked two-family dwellings (such as duplexes) under the residential specialty code, the division announced late last week. This innovative code change will allow stacked duplexes to take advantage of existing code provisions for townhouses. It allows for a slightly different configuration that permits the total number of dwelling units to be doubled, while maintaining reasonable safeguards and unit compartmentalization. …Developers and builders will be able to use the residential code to stack two dwelling units vertically, while being attached to other stacked dwelling units horizontally. This will result in denser housing, as well as provide more options for smaller lots and infill. 

Read More

California rules will require more fire resistant homes in Palisades, Altadena

By Jeff Collins
The Pasadena Star-News
February 23, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

LOS ANGELES — A blizzard engulfed Michael Kovac’s house as the Palisades fire approached. …As thousands of residents in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades prepare to rebuild homes demolished in last month’s firestorms, Kovac’s house could serve as an example. Constructing a fire-hardened home is not only within reach for most fire victims, experts say, it’s in the building code. Unless Gov. Newsom suspends fire-safety rules, all new homes in areas designated as very-high fire risks zones or abutting to wilderness must be built to one of the nation’s most stringent set of fire-resistant standards, known as the WUI code. Adopted in 2005 and gradually strengthened over the past 17 years, the wildland-urban interface building code requires new homes to include flame-repellent designs and materials. While studies show fire-hardening improves the odds of a home’s survival, some fire victims are wondering how much extra it will cost.

Read More

Sterling Structural Announces New Mass Timber Workforce Training Tool

By Sterling Structural
Globe Newswire
February 24, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

PHOENIX, Ill. — Sterling Structural, a leading manufacturer of cost-effective, prefabricated mass timber and hybrid structural systems in North America, today announced the availability of a new Mass Timber Mock-up training kit. The kit is designed to help vocational schools, training programs and unions educate and train the construction industry workforce on the emerging use of Mass Timber in a wide range of structures. The kit includes everything needed to construct a mock-up of a small-scale mass timber building. It’s designed to educate and train installers on the fundamentals of mass timber construction. This hands-on learning tool showcases key components of prefabricated CLT and glulam systems, demonstrating best practices for installation, connection detailing, and material handling.

Read More

Forestry

Will the Fix our Forests Act fix our forests? The right way?

By Reuben M. Schafir
The Durango Herald
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

After a century of wildfire suppression across the West, it’s no secret that the approach to forest management has needed to change. And change is, and has been, underway. But newly proposed changes, now in the form of legislation that would let fuel mitigation projects, including logging, in high-risk zones like the forest surrounding Durango skirt the public input process have some environmental groups up in arms. The Fix Our Forests Act passed the House on Jan. 23 in a vote with the support of 215 Republicans and 64 Democrats, over the opposition of 141 Democrats. If it passes the Senate and is signed into law, the law would direct cabinet secretaries who oversee land management agencies, namely the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, to designate high-priority firesheds and create a registry of those landscapes. In those areas, the bill outlines a slate of vegetation management tactics that would be exempt from the scrutinous review prescribed in the National Environmental Policy Act.

Read More

U.S. Forest Service Firings Wreak Havoc on Careers, Endanger Rural Areas

By Ilana Newman
The Daily Yonder
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

National forests are vital to rural economies. The outdoor recreation industry contributed 1.2 trillion dollars to the American economy in 2023, according to the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable. This includes hunting, boating, skiing, RVing, fishing, hiking, and so much more — most of which would not exist without our public lands like those managed by the U.S Forest Service. That number also includes the hotels, restaurants and retail stores that support visitors that are participating in outdoor recreation, usually located in small towns surrounded by public lands. On February 24th, a source revealed that seasonal firefighters may be in the next round of terminations. A wildland firefighter in Southwest Colorado who did not want to be named said that he was asked to make a list of seasonal firefighters to prioritize for future eliminations. He said that they were told that the Southwest Colorado district would have a 20-22% cut in seasonal firefighters. “Everyone’s afraid for their jobs,” he said.

Related content:

Read More

Appeals court: Forest Service must count all roads in grizzly habitat

By Laura Lundquist
Missoula Current
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

…On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Missoula federal district judge Donald Molloy’s rulings on a few counts that will require the Kootenai National Forest to keep the Black Ram logging project on hold for a while longer. The appeals court upheld rulings on two of four claims that the U.S. Forest Service challenged, so the agency must redo parts of its project analysis. First, the justices agreed that the Forest Service failed to comply with Kootenai Forest Plan because the agency didn’t show whether or how it included unauthorized roads in its road density calculations. …Second, the justices agreed that the Forest Service didn’t take “a hard look,” as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, at unauthorized road use and its effects. The justices pointed at the agency’s unsupported claims of sporadic use of roads and prompt barrier repair as proof.

Read More

Oregon forestry department to plant 2.3 million tree seedlings this year

By Jashayla Pettigrew
KOIN.com
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Oregon Department of Forestry plans to plant around 2.3 million seedlings throughout more than 6,100 acres of harvested timber statewide. The agency announced that planting will soon occur across the Tillamook, Clatsop and Santiam forests. It is set to begin in the Sun Pass and Gilchrist forests later in May, with planting taking between six weeks to eight weeks — depending on factors like weather and soil conditions… The department revealed that planting seedlings has become more difficult since the Private Forest Accord was added to the Forest Practices Act in 2023. The new accord enforced further new requirements for maintaining forest roads and further monitoring for rule compliance, among other changes impacting private and non-federal forests throughout Oregon.

Read More

Timber builds dreams at 87th Annual Oregon Logging Conference

By Reed Perry
The News Review
February 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The 87th Annual Oregon Logging Conference (OLC) took place from Thursday to Saturday, February 20-22, at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene. The theme for this year’s event, “Timber Builds Dreams,” reflected the growing impact of timber on Oregon’s economy and landscape as technology transforms the industry… On Friday, Feb. 21, more than 900 high school students from 33 schools participated in the 7th Annual Future Forestry Career Day. This invitation-only event offered students hands-on experiences in fields such as engineering, wildland firefighting, trucking, diesel mechanics, welding, and heavy equipment operation. Additionally, twelve high school teams competed in a forestry skills relay, showcasing their expertise in tasks such as choker setting and chainsaw use.

Read More

Reviews range widely to Forest Service’s draft ‘biography’ of Tongass as part of management plan update

By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Empire
February 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A familiar range of comments about logging, fishing, tourism and tribal issues are being expressed in response to a draft “biography” of the Tongass National Forest, with the 45-day comment period ending Monday as part of the agency’s years-long effort to update its management plan for the forest. A big unknown, however, is if that biography and other aspects of the management plan will be drastically reshaped by the Trump administration’s wholesale overhaul of the federal government, including large staffing cuts and an executive order mandating the repeal of federal regulations that inhibit maximum utilization of Alaska’s natural resources… An affirmation that a shift in priorities will occur under the Trump administration was offered by federal officials participating in a Feb. 11 panel discussion at the Southeast Conference’s Mid-Season Summit in Juneau.

Read More

Portland would plant 660,000 trees, reduce cost of tree care for residents under new plan

By Gosia Wozniacka
The Oregonian
February 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Portland wants to plant 660,000 trees over the next 40 years and launch a citywide and city-managed street tree maintenance program that will take the financial burden off residents. A draft of the new Urban Forest Plan says the decline of the city’s tree canopy in recent years, an imbalance of tree cover across the city and the increased frequency of extreme weather events are driving the need to protect, restore and expand the city’s trees and vegetation. …Portland currently has 4.2 million trees covering 27,600 acres, or about a third of Portland’s land area. … The plan, developed by the city with public input and released for comment this week, is an update of a 2004 plan and would be funded by more than $100 million from Portland’s Clean Energy Fund as well funding from other sources. …The city also plans on taking over street tree maintenance and planting.

Read More

Gov. Kotek introduces bill that would allow her, future governors, Senate to choose state forester

By Alex Baumhardt
Oregon Public Broadcasting
February 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Following a rough few months of leadership and financial turmoil at the Oregon Department of Forestry — including the abrupt resignation of its director — Gov. Tina Kotek wants to change the law so she and future governors get to pick the agency’s leader, rather than the governor-appointed state Board of Forestry. Kotek is proposing Senate Bill 1051, sponsored by Sen. Kayse Jama, D-Portland, to allow the governor to choose the director of the state Department of Forestry, also known as the state forester. …The governor-appointed seven members of state Board of Forestry, which oversees rulemaking for the state’s Department of Forestry, has historically vetted and chosen the state forester. …Under Senate Bill 1051, the state forester would not need to have a professional forestry background, but one of their deputies would have to be a “practical forester,” who is “familiar with western conditions and experienced in organization for the prevention of forest fire.”

Read More

Timber builds dreams at 87th Annual Oregon Logging Conference

By Reed Perry
The News-Review Today
February 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The 87th Annual Oregon Logging Conference (OLC) took place February 20-22, at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon. The theme, “Timber Builds Dreams,” reflected the growing impact of timber on Oregon’s economy and landscape as technology transforms the industry. Hundreds of vendors filled the venue, offering everything from equipment displays to hands-on demonstrations. The event was a mix of auctions, games with prizes, and special guests. One of the highlights was the keynote address by Chris Evans, of Portland-based TimberLab. TimberLab is known for its groundbreaking projects, including the Portland International Airport terminal roof, which used 3.4 million board feet of Oregon timber. Evans spoke about the future of large-scale construction using cross-laminated timber and custom glulam, highlighting the company’s leadership in innovation. …Overall, the 87th Annual Oregon Logging Conference proved to be a successful celebration of Oregon’s timber industry and its growing influence on both the economy.

Read More

Wildfire ecology: Examining the environmental destruction of the Los Angeles fires

By Alex Semancik
Ohio University News
February 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Brian McCarthy

…The southwestern U.S. is usually synonymous with drought, but Ohio University Professor of Forest Ecology Brian McCarthy, says wet conditions this spring actually made matters worse for the January Los Angeles wildfires. McCarthy …uses a combination of experimental and observational studies to understand the population dynamics and community ecology of forests. “Southern California experienced a rather wet spring this year. This gave rise to the germination of a large number of herbaceous plants resulting in a thick luscious vegetation,” said McCarthy. “As part of the natural cycle of this region of the country, these plants then died at the end of the growing season and left an enormous amount of highly flammable fuel on the ground in the autumn.” …With fires becoming more frequent and volatile, McCarthy believes a key to mitigating damage from future wildfires is to prepare buildings and land and change the way we develop.

Read More

How Trump’s mass layoffs raise the risk of wildfires in the US West, according to fired workers

By Martha Bellisle and Claire rush
Associated Press
February 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

SEATTLE — The termination letters that ended the careers of thousands of U.S. Forest Service employees mean fewer people and less resources will be available to help prevent and fight wildfires, raising the specter of even more destructive blazes across the American West, fired workers and officials said. The Forest Service firings …are part of a wave of federal worker layoffs, as President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting measures reverberate nationwide. Workers who maintained trails, removed combustible debris from forests, supported firefighters and secured funds for wildfire mitigation say staffing cuts threaten public safety, especially in the West, where drier and hotter conditions linked to climate change have increased the intensity of wildfires. …U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, a Washington state Democrat, said on the social platform X that the Forest Service layoffs are already hurting the state, “and it is only going to get worse. Fire season is coming.”

Read More

Natural Resources Professors Named 2024-25 University Faculty Scholars

By Andrew Moore
North Carolina State University News
February 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Justin Baker

Mirela Tulbure

Justin Baker and Mirela Tulbure, both professors of forestry and environmental resources in the College of Natural Resources, are among 20 early- and mid-career NC State faculty to be named 2024-25 University Faculty Scholars. Established by Chancellor Randy Woodson in 2012, the University Faculty Scholars program recognizes faculty for their outstanding academic achievements and contributions to NC State through their teaching, scholarship and service to the university and beyond. Baker, who holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University, joined the College of Natural Resources in 2019. …Tulbure, who holds a Ph.D. from South Dakota State University, also joined the College of Natural Resources in 2019. 

Read More

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Opinion: Climate Change Is About Economics, Not Politics

By Barclay Rogers, CEO of Graphyte
Carbon Herald
February 24, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

Barclay Rogers

Americans have made a habit out of making even the most universal issues politically polarized. The serious weather risks we’ve faced recently are no exception. But is our warming climate really a political issue that divides Americans? The reality is it should be a powerful opportunity to modernize our infrastructure, create permanent new jobs here at home, and build entire new industries of the future. This is an economics issue, not a political one… We need to keep the lights on and address the economic consequences of climate change. Knowing we’re not in a position to get rid of fossil energy any time soon, the focus should be on: (1) using the lowest-carbon intensity, lowest-cost energy sources available, and (2) limiting, or otherwise removing, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with them.

Read More

Chestnut Carbon Announces First Issuance of Credits from Forest Conservation Membership Program

By Chestnut Carbon
PRNewswire
February 26, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

NEW YORK — Chestnut Carbon, a leading developer of nature-based carbon removal solutions, announced today that they have completed the first issuance and sale of Improved Forest Management (IFM) credits sourced from their conservation membership program branded as Forest Carbon Works. The issuance of more than 64,000 credits, or tons of carbon removal, were sold to multiple corporate buyers, including JPMorganChase. These transactions totaled $2.2 million. Chestnut’s U.S.-based IFM membership program, Forest Carbon Works, provides an opportunity for private forest owners to access income-generating carbon markets while preserving the integrity and legacy of their land. The program includes landowners in 36 states with more than 150,000 acres enrolled as of February 2025. These carbon removal credits are certified through Verra on the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and undergo rigorous third-party audits.

Read More