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.
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.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.
ATLANTA — A proposed amendment to the Georgia Constitution would end sales taxes on timber, a major industry battered by mill closings and storms. House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration said a bipartisan group of legislators want to help protect “a cornerstone of the state’s rural economy.” “The timber tax cut is necessary because Georgia timber farmers are facing severe economic hardship following the closure of multiple sawmills in Georgia and significant losses in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” said Efstration, R-Mulberry, the sponsor of House Resolution 1000. “Georgia is a national leader in forestry, and I want to help this state’s rural economy and the livelihood of many Georgians.” Georgia’s forestry industry was the largest in the nation in 2021 based on harvest volume and product export values of nearly $4 billion, according to a report by the Georgia Forestry Association. But timber producers have suffered in recent years. 
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.
Southern Pine lumber exports (treated and untreated) are almost equal to 2024 year to date through October 2025 at 488 MMBF, according to October 2025 data from the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Services’ Global Agricultural Trade System. October 2025’s 60 MMBF of exports were up 47% over October 2024 and up 33% compared to September 2025. When looking at the report by dollar value, Southern Pine exports are up 4% YTD ($190 million) compared to 2024. Meanwhile, the October value of $25 million is the highest mark since June 2022, when the value hit $29 million. Mexico leads the way YTD 2025 at $56 million, followed by the Dominican Republic at $39 million, and India at $18 million. Treated lumber exports, meanwhile, are down 4% through the first 10 months of the year compared to 2024. The Leeward-Windward Islands market leads the way through October at $18 million, followed by Jamaica at $16 million, and Belize at $10 million. Softwood lumber imports are running 8% behind 2024 levels.
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:
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A state panel this week extended its offer to help finance construction of a new 129-room boutique hotel in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. While that doesn’t guarantee the hotel will move forward, the developer leading the project said construction can’t start without the state’s financing. The board… offered until Jan. 31, 2027 are $35 million worth of state bonds for the roughly $55 million project that would build a Marriott Tribute Portfolio boutique hotel. …The air quality facilities noted in the resolution include the seven-story building’s proposed use of mass-timber in its construction. …The presence of wood-timber construction above a first-floor reinforced concrete deck is noted in this axonometric view of the proposed Ohio City Hotel (DLR). The use of mass timber instead of reinforced concrete can save up to 40% in ongoing heating and cooling emissions for a building’s user as well as reduced emissions, according to Dan Whalen, at Places Development. 
ST. LOUIS — What is the life cycle of a building? Each year, in the United States, new home construction accounts for 50 million tons of carbon emissions. The majority stem from harvesting, manufacturing and transporting building materials — from lumber and masonry to glass and tile to roofing and mechanical systems. But what happens at the end of the cycle? When a building is no longer inhabitable or needed, what happens to all the energy invested in those materials? “It’s demolished,” Hongxi Yin said. “It goes to the landfill.” Yin, an expert on sustainable construction, is the InCEES professor in advanced building systems and architectural design in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Over the last decade, he has led a series of research studios exploring ways to improve building efficiency, supply chains and construction processes. 
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.
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Carbon dioxide is the most commonly produced greenhouse gas, the substances that trap heat in the atmosphere keeping the planet warm enough for life. Carbon is stored in high amounts in timber, of which Mississippi has an abundance. The state ranks in the top 10 nationally in timber production, with close to 20 million acres of timberland. The U.S. Geological Survey says that carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere reduces the potential for global climate change. Since timber stores carbon efficiently, a tremendous amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is stored in Mississippi’s forests. This makes timber a valuable resource in efforts to limit the amount of carbon available as a greenhouse gas. Carbon credits and the carbon offset market have made an impact on Mississippi’s economy to a degree for about 20 years.
PITTSBURG, New Hampshire — The state has reached a deal on the management of the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Working Forest, a 146,000 acre property constituting 3% of New Hampshire’s forests, according to Gov. Kelly Ayotte. The forest is privately owned but is under a conservation easement, which means the state has oversight regarding how the land is managed and can ensure it remains a working timberland. Since the land was purchased in 2022 by an out-of-state carbon offset company, Aurora Sustainable Lands, local loggers have raised concerns about reduced timber harvesting on the property. As a carbon-offset company, Aurora curbed logging in order to sell the carbon they stored. …In the plan agreed upon last month, Aurora will increase the average annual timber harvest. …“The Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Working Forest is critical to recreation, tourism and the timber industry in our North Country,” Ayotte said.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources aerially surveyed more than 13.5 million acres last year, checking for forest damage across the state’s forestland. Its findings are included in the recently released 2025 Forest Health Annual Report. Brian Schwingle, forest health program coordinator, said the annual survey and report is important because it tracks trends and reveals what is impacting trees, allowing the managers to make decisions for healthier, more resilient forests. “The two biggest tree health stories in 2025 in Minnesota were the derecho, the big blowdown in Bemidji, and the three big wildfires in northeast Minnesota in May,” he said, noting prior spruce budworm damage helped fuel the fires. In July, a derecho damaged 11,600 acres in and around Bemidji. Derecho, a Spanish word for straight, is a widespread, straight-line windstorm associated with a band of fast-moving thunderstorms. They can leave serious damage in their wake.
President Donald Trump’s administration has set in motion efforts to repeal the Roadless Rule, a 2001 administrative mandate that put 45 million acres of the least developed forest land under protection from logging and construction of roads. As the nation observes the rule’s 25th anniversary, Virginia’s federal lawmakers and advocates are calling for its preservation and say hundreds of thousands of acres of forests could be at stake if it is axed. The federal government has framed the proposed repeal as necessary for forest management against wildfires. …Environmental advocates have said since last summer that repealing the rule will lead to land degradation, sediment pollution, and create risks to clean water sources. It would also open up large swaths of the 400,000 acres of the protected forestland in Virginia to logging and potential new roads.
…Timber prices have been low for a long time; they never really recovered from the 2008 housing crash. Nearly a dozen paper mills closed across the South in recent years, and Hurricane Helene tore down trees in much of Georgia and the Carolinas. It’s left many in Georgia, one of the leading states for forestry, with a dilemma: what do you do when your income relies on a forest but nobody wants to buy your trees? A group of researchers and industry leaders thinks paying landowners for carbon storage could help. “We may see a decline in the number of acres that are kept in forests and the quality of the land that is forested,” said David Eady with Georgia Tech’s business school. Losing those trees would shrink the industry and be devastating for the environment. …So Eady and others asked: why not use that carbon storage to keep foresters in business?
New Hampshire and its counties may soon be barred from enrolling publicly owned lands in carbon sequestration programs. “We don’t see sequestration as a traditional use,” said Rep. Mike Ouellet, a Colebrook Republican, at a hearing before the House Committee on Municipal and County Government on Tuesday. The committee later voted, 13-1, to recommend passage of House Bill 1205, which would prohibit “carbon sequestration projects” on state- and county-owned lands. …No county- or state-owned land is currently listed on the registry of New Hampshire carbon sequestration projects. But the long duration of forest carbon contracts and the possibility they would impose restrictions on land use were two reasons bill proponents cited for preventing them on public lands in the future. …Others said timber harvest could be an important source of revenue for counties and the state, and worried the contracts would have a negative impact on the timber industry.
A community-led survey coordinated by the Southern Environmental Law Center across parts of the southern United States has documented concerns about pollution linked to wood pellet manufacturing facilities. The survey focused on areas where residents live near large biomass plants, including a facility in Northampton County, North Carolina. Wood pellet plants process pellets that are exported overseas…where they are burned to generate electricity. While often described as a renewable energy source, the manufacturing process produces dust and emissions that residents say affect air quality and daily life. …[Survey] participants visited households near pellet plants to gather information about health concerns, environmental conditions and quality-of-life impacts associated with nearby industrial activity. According to the survey findings, residents reported respiratory problems, persistent dust, noise and increased industrial traffic. These concerns were most frequently recorded in rural communities and in areas with lower-than-average household incomes.
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) has announced a new collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology. This partnership aims to address the far-reaching social, economic and environmental impacts of pulp and paper mill closures across the United States, particularly in the rural South, where these mills have long served as economic anchors. The Endowment and Georgia Tech’s Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) are developing an integrated decision-making dashboard to help policymakers, community leaders and industry stakeholders quantify the effects of mill closures and identify data-driven pathways to offset them through the sustainable use of forestry residues to produce bioenergy, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Over the past decade, nearly 50 paper mills have shut down nationwide, including major facilities in Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas and Ohio.
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. 
