Mark Carney
Prime Minister Carney says Canada and the US could resolve the ongoing tariff dispute within “days” if the US side had the “bandwidth and the inclination to go through with it.” The US has maintained hefty import levies on a number of Canadian goods including steel, aluminum, copper, some automotive parts, lumber and other wood products. Carney said that the Canadian side is ready to work on a deal that would see some of those tariffs lifted, but he’s not interested in quickly achieving a “small deal.” …Carney suggested countries that quickly worked out some form of tariff relief with the U.S. aren’t happy with the deals they got. A number of countries such as the UK, Japan and the EU block reached agreements with the US within the last year, but those deals kept some form of tariff on imports to the US.
- In related coverage by Adam Huras in the Telegraph-Journal: Everything you need to know about Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade talks
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.
Lumber futures fell to $566 per thousand board feet, the lowest in seven weeks, as broader uncertainty and ongoing trade tensions weigh on sentiment. The US has recently outlined preliminary antidumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber, with the antidumping rate reduced from 20.
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.
“Surely old-growth logging won’t be happening in five years.” That was my belief in 2020, when I was a 17-year-old activist who — almost by accident — helped initiate the Fairy Creek blockades and the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. …In that moment, it seemed inevitable that the old paradigm of forestry in BC would not last. Today, that old paradigm seems more entrenched than ever, with old-growth deferrals getting canceled across the province and an NDP government more focused on short-term economic development than long-term sustainability. …At this moment, the prospect of true forestry reform in BC seems bleak. But Washington protected its state-owned old-growth forests 20 years ago and maintains a thriving forest products industry today. How did they do it? And what can Washington’s success teach us about BC’s forestry predicament?
Autonomous skidders that drag felled trees around logging sites. A database detailing each tree in the forest. A screen that shows loggers which trees to cut and which to leave standing to maximize financial returns decades down the line. Weyerhaeuser, the country’s top logger and one of its oldest companies, is betting artificial intelligence can deliver these and other big changes to American forestry, which has come a long way from oxen and axes. Many applications envisioned by Weyerhaeuser executives are unique to a company that manages timberlands in the US and Canada that together cover an area roughly the size of Indiana. …Among the initiatives is the creation of a digital twin of Weyerhaeuser’s timberlands using satellite imagery, drone photography and lidar. …Weyerhaeuser is also studying semiautonomous logging equipment. At a meeting with investors, executives showed video of a driverless skidder, dragging freshly downed timber around a Southern logging site. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
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.
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.
Climate change is expected to alter the extent and severity of forest pest damage, with substantial economic and ecological consequences, but predicting future pest impacts is challenging. Here we use 20 years of data to assess how bioclimatic and biotic factors have influenced forest damage by 30 high-impact pest species and to identify ecological signals in those relationships. We found consistency in pest damage responses to maximum temperature in the warmest month, including recent average conditions and shifts from a historical baseline. Mean damage from focal pest species tends to be higher in regions with moderate maximum temperatures and in regions with faster rates of warming. In certain cases, the direction and magnitude of relationships between climate and forest damage vary by pest guild, native status and region of occurrence. Our findings provide empirical support for expectations of climate-induced stress to host trees and temperature-boosted pest performance, leading to increased pest damage in future forests.
NAHUNTA, Ga. — Heavy rain slowed the progress of two sprawling southern Georgia wildfires over the weekend, allowing crews to make some progress in containing the blazes that have destroyed more than 100 homes. Although the rain helped the firefighting efforts, it wasn’t “nearly enough to put the fires out” and crews responded to 10 new blazes throughout the drought-stricken state Sunday, the Georgia Forestry Commission said Monday. …Georgia’s biggest blaze, the Pineland Road Fire, has scorched more than 50 square miles and at least 35 homes… about 35 miles north of Florida, which is also dealing with wildfires. The area has been full of highly combustible dead trees and other vegetation since Hurricane Helene carved a destructive path northward in September of 2024. About 60 miles to the northeast, the Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20. It has destroyed at least 87 homes and torched more than 35 square miles. It is only 6% contained.
Wildfires tearing through the south have forced hundreds of Georgia residents to flee in minutes, leaving them distraught about the homes and animals they left behind. The fires that spread this week during an extreme drought in Georgia and Florida have blanketed cities hundreds of miles away in smoke, leading to more air quality warnings on Thursday across the south-east. Driven by strong winds and low humidity, the two biggest fires in southern Georgia have spread rapidly over the past two days and destroyed more than 50 homes in rural areas. But the growing threat led to more evacuations and school closings on Wednesday. “I don’t know if I have a house standing or not,” said Denise Stephens, who was forced to evacuate because of the fast-moving Brantley county fire near Georgia’s coast. “I know what it’s taken from other people, but I don’t know what I have left standing.”