Eric Larson and Jeff Floyd
CHICAGO — Sierra Forest Products and Upper Canada Forest Products announced the promotion of Eric Larson to Chief Operating Officer of Sierra Forest Products and Jeff Floyd to Chief Operating Officer of Upper Canada Forest Products, strengthening the Group’s country-specific leadership while continuing to operate as one integrated North American organization. The decision to appoint dedicated Chief Operating Officers for Canada and the U.S. sharpens the Group’s focus on the distinct dynamics of each market, while preserving the advantages of a unified platform for customers, suppliers and partners. This enhanced structure reflects a deliberate investment in long-term growth, leadership depth, and exceptional service.
NEOPIT, Wisconsin — A Neopit wood mill is closed Tuesday after it experienced an early morning fire. Menominee Tribal Enterprises says it lost its stacker building and associated equipment. Some lumber inventory was damaged in the fire as well. All employees are safe and no injuries were reported. Production operations are closed for the day as the organization assesses the damage and begins determining the next steps for recovery and continuity of operations. The Menominee Tribal Enterprises store and main office remain open and are operating during regular business hours.
RHINELANDER, Wisconsin — Logging has been a major part of the Northwoods for centuries. In recent years, though, several economic factors may have the industry in jeopardy. Logging has a major economic impact in the Northwoods. But a trend is beginning to start with Wisconsin-based paper mills ceasing certain operations, meaning many logging companies are slowing lumber output. James Wilson, Master logger and owner of Wilson Forestry in Athens, has had his business for over 12 years, but after Ahlstrom announced it will close two paper machines and a pulp mill in Mosinee, options are running thin for where they can sell the wood to. Not only will it cost 200 mill workers their jobs, it will be a major blow to local loggers. Wilson was a supplier of the recently closed Mosinee pulp mill, and has his concerns about the future of the industry.
MOSINEE, Wisconsin — About 200 employees at the Mosinee paper mill were told before their shifts this week that their jobs are at risk as Ahlstrom moves forward with a phased shutdown of key operations at the plant. Several employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Wausau Pilot late Wednesday that management told workers Paper Machine No. 2 will shut down June 30, with Paper Machine No. 3 and the pulp mill slated to close Sept. 30. …In the letter to suppliers, Ahlstrom said it plans to permanently close the pulp mill and idle the M2 and M3 paper machines as part of a restructuring of operations at the Mosinee facility. The company cited rising costs and limited automation at those operations as reasons for the decision. …Ahlstrom said Paper Machines No. 1 and No. 4 will continue operating at the Mosinee mill. The company also said it plans to invest in modern technologies at those remaining machines.
Duties on Canadian imports are driving up domestic sales at some Maine lumber companies. …Protection from historically lower Canadian lumber prices has given Pleasant River Lumber the confidence to add an additional manufacturing shift in Enfield, according to co-owner Jason Brochu. Photo by Katherine Emery. …Historically Canadian companies have both outbid them for timber harvested in Maine and undercut American lumber prices when they export the finished lumber product back across the border. …An industry analyst and two other mill leaders said that inflation and a sputtering housing market make it unclear whether the tariffs will have a positive or negative effect on business in the long run. The effects of the tariffs will also vary based on the different products sawmills make. …Sawmills rely on certainty, said Alden Robbins, of Robbins Lumber, and neither the markets nor foreign trade relationships have been stable recently.
Logging and forest trucking industry added an estimated $1.3 billion to the Northeast region in 2024, with Maine contributing $534 million of that amount, according to a study released this week. Maine’s figure included $283 million in total labor earnings and an estimated $23 million in state tax revenues. The Pine Tree State numbers represented 2,744 direct logging and trucking jobs, along with an additional 1,715 indirect jobs, for a total of about 4,460 jobs statewide. The Augusta-based Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast released the results of its first-ever regional study on Wednesday, conducted by Wallace Economic Advisers LLC. It showed that in 2024, logging and forest trucking supported around 6,930 jobs in the region, generated $393 million in labor income, pumped an estimated $61 million into state and local tax coffers, and remained critical to a range of industries and communities.
The mass timber supply chain has spent more than a decade proving the product works. …Now, research produced by Michigan State University argues that none of it matters much if the system surrounding the product isn’t built to match. Led by George Berghorn, Modular Mass Timber for Housing Construction, research published in the 
Since International Paper closed its mills in Liberty and Chatham counties last fall, business owners in Southeast Georgia who once made the state the largest timber exporter in the nation have been feeling acute pain. As of January, demand for timber had dropped more than 60%. …The cost of pulpwood, meanwhile, had plummeted. …Gov. Brian Kemp has carved $14 million for the timber industry in his draft budget, based on recommendations from a 
Massachusetts is considering changing state building codes to allow single staircases in multi-family residential buildings up to six stories. Advocates say the change would result in smaller buildings, space savings that could lead to 130,000 new housing units. Before changing the building codes, which currently require two exit stairways, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has signed an executive order establishing a technical advisory panel to study potential safety issues. “We’re all about making it easier to build more housing across our state to drive down costs for everyone,” Healey said in a statement. “While the double-stair requirement plays an important role in ensuring safety, it’s also holding us back from the type of housing construction we need to meet demand.” …New York City and Seattle, Washington have “permitted single-stair buildings up to six stories for decades,” the administration says…, as have the states of Tennessee, Montana, and Connecticut.
LANSING, Michigan – A state program to aid mass timber projects in Michigan has been extended for the Upper Peninsula after the region submitted no applications for funding in 2026. …A supplemental call for proposals makes available $50,000 through March 2. Those awards will be announced March 16. The awardees are:
MONTANA — Three national forests east of Missoula are proposing a plan to require continuous logging across almost a million acres of southwest Montana for at least the next decade. On Monday, the U.S. Forest Service released a draft plan for a Tri-Forest Sustained-Yield Unit, which would direct logging to occur on more than 925,000 acres across the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Helena-Lewis and Clark and Custer Gallatin national forests. The plan’s stated purpose is to “to support local economies and the timber industry.” Logging is predicted to ramp up to produce 35 million board-feet of lumber annually by the end of 10 years, according to the plan. … The plan says logging won’t occur in wilderness areas, recommended wilderness or wilderness study areas. …But some regional public land advocates are questioning the plan at a time when the Trump administration has pushed a number of other initiatives that favor the timber industry and reduce public comment.
In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a 
The US Forest Service is proposing a massive project in a national forest in Michigan that would log land roughly the size of Detroit, expand gravel mining and build roads. The Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project would span about 40 miles from north to south on the eastern edge of the Ottawa National Forest. The area includes habitat for the endangered northern long-eared bat, one of several reasons environmental groups have raised alarms. The proposal includes a wild rice seeding project, improvements to campgrounds and lake access and attempts to bolster habitat for the protected Kirtland’s warbler. The whole thing is projected to last around 30 years, with periodic reviews. …national forests serve multiple purposes [including] recreation, wildlife habitat and timber. Ottawa National Forest officials say the Silver Branch project is not primarily about logging, it’s about getting the right tree mix for forest maintenance and health. However, the project has drawn concerns from a wide range of groups.
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The N.C. Forest Service (NCFS) is reminding the public to use best practices and common sense with outdoor fires ahead of the state’s spring wildfire season. NCFS officials say escaped yard debris burns are the leading cause of wildfires across the state, often due to carelessness. 99% of wildfires are caused by human activity, officials said, often when people work in their yards in spring and burn yard debris. Other causes of human-caused wildfires include machine and vehicle use, such as dragging tow chains, arson and escaped campfires. “With the recent rainfall combined with multiple winter storms earlier this year, some folks may not realize that most of North Carolina is still experiencing very dry conditions,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Our state’s gradual descent into drought and prolonged dry conditions are going to lead to wildfires igniting more easily, burning more intensely and spreading quicker.”
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — The Arkansas Department of Agriculture announced some of its forestry personnel will go to Oklahoma and Tennessee to help with wildfire suppression and winter storm response. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders authorized state forestry personnel to support wildfire suppression in Oklahoma and urban tree recovery in Tennessee. …Six wildland firefighters will go to Oklahoma for around two weeks. These firefighters will focus on attacking and suppressing new wildfires to prevent further spread. The Department is also sending four bulldozers and two pick-up trucks to help. Three urban forestry personnel will go to Tennessee to join an Urban Forest Strike Team, a specialized group of certified arborists, foresters, and urban forestry experts. Arkansas forestry personnel will help the UFST with tree damage and risk assessments, hazard mitigation planning, and technical expertise and training.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia’s forestry leaders are working to address mounting pressures that could undermine the long-term viability of forest management throughout the state. The newly formed Virginia Wood Council convened its inaugural meeting in September, bringing together representatives from various industry groups and government agencies. Participants included the Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Forestry Association, Virginia Loggers Association, Virginia Forest Products Association, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, along with loggers, mill operators and manufacturers. “The plan is to understand all the emerging forest product industry issues, and figure out what’s causing them,” said Sabina Dhungana, utilization and marketing program manager for the Virginia Department of Forestry. …The industry operates through collaboration between forest property owners, forestry professionals, loggers, timber purchasers and other specialists who work to maintain a consistent supply of renewable timber resources used for lumber production, paper manufacturing, energy generation and other purposes.
Construction in New York City is one of the most dynamic and demanding industries in the country — but it’s also one of the most dangerous. …That’s why innovation in building materials and methods can have a real impact not only on efficiency and sustainability but also on safety. One such innovation, mass timber, is gaining traction. …Mass timber components are prefabricated in controlled factory settings. This approach greatly reduces the need for tasks like cutting, welding, or mixing concrete on-site — tasks that are commonly associated with jobsite injuries. …Additionally, since large panels arrive ready to install, crews spend less time working at height, which directly reduces the risk of falls — the leading cause of construction fatalities in the U.S., according to OSHA’s fall protection guidelines. …It also means a reduced need for powered hand tools and high-decibel equipment, lowering the risk of accidents related to hand injuries or communication breakdowns.
Warm, dry and windy weather in Oklahoma has fueled multiple wildfires and prompted authorities to urge nearly one-third of the residents of the small city of Woodward to flee. Matt Lehenbauer, director of emergency management for Woodward and its nearly 12,000 inhabitants, said the evacuation recommendation covers roughly 4,000 people. It is voluntary, he said, because Oklahoma prohibits mandatory evacuations. The wildfire in Woodward, about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, is approaching a “worst-case scenario,” Lehenbauer said, but it hasn’t moved into the most populated area of the city. A blaze in Beaver County at the base of the Oklahoma Panhandle, about 217 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, has consumed an estimated 15,000 acres alone, Oklahoma Forestry Services said. 