Washington-based Sierra Pacific Industries Inc. reached a settlement agreement with water conservationists after they claimed the sawmill unlawfully discharged polluted stormwater from industrial activity into the Chehalis River and Grays Harbor. The US District Court for the Western District of Washington was alerted Thursday that the case was settled, and the parties have until July 14 to file a proposed consent decree, according to a docket entry. Nonprofit Twin Harbors Waterkeeper sued Sierra Pacific in December 2024 for allegedly violating its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit under the Clean Water Act. Sierra Pacific allegedly failed to follow water quality requirements. [to access the full story a Bloomberg Law subscription is required]
Duties placed on Canadian lumber entering the U.S. could eventually help markets here, a local mill manager is saying, but they are still a few months out. There’s a misconception that recent tariffs announced against Canadian goods extended to lumber products, F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber vice president and general manager Paul McKenzie said Monday. The U.S.-Canada lumber market is governed under a separate and oft disputed softwood agreement that places duties on Canadian lumber. The duties are supposed to keep Canadians from dumping government subsidized lumbers onto U.S. markets. They currently amount to about 14% combined. By August or September, they’re expected to climb to 34%, McKenzie noted. That will be helpful to us,” McKenzie said. Stoltze has operated its independent mill in Columbia Falls, Montana over 100 years. McKenzie said Canadians are currently dumping their products into the U.S. ahead of the hike in duties. 
SEELEY LAKE, Montana — A law passed during the 2025 legislative session could provide $6 million in low-interest rate loans for an entity that wants to start up a wood products facility. The measure could impact Seeley Lake, where Pyramid Mountain Lumber once operated. “I think the likelihood of you know, somebody coming here, obviously, there’d be opportunity at other mills as well, but they really like the, the ability to source timber from this site,” said Pyramid Mountain Lumber owner Todd Johnson. Johnson says the new law would incentivize anyone looking to open a new facility by providing funding for one portion of the total for opening a new mill. “I think the, the main designs behind it were so that it would allow somebody to secure a site. Six million dollars would go a long ways towards securing, you know, a site here in Montana,” said Johnson. 
Weyerhaeuser Company and Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) today announced an extension of their Fighting Fires Together campaign, a partnership that provides specialized mental health support for wildland firefighters and their families across the Pacific Northwest. Fighting Fires Together, now in its fourth year, addresses the often-overlooked mental health impacts of wildland firefighting in isolated, hazardous and highly stressful conditions. Through a free online resource hub, first responders can find specially designed content, including videos about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety and suicide prevention, along with mental health tips, educational articles and contacts for occupationally aware support groups and counselors in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Weyerhaeuser’s support for wildland firefighting efforts in the Pacific Northwest began in the aftermath of the Yacolt Burn in 1902, when the company began advocating for Washington’s first forest fire legislation and the funding of community fire prevention education and patrols. 
SACRAMENTO, California — There is already a crisis of available and affordable housing in America. But now, political uncertainty and economic volatility could make home buying even less attainable. …The proposed Trump tariffs on building materials are creating financial volatility that could send housing prices up significantly. Since his announcement of widespread tariffs on April 2, the additional costs imposed on imported lumber, gypsum, aluminum, electronics and other related materials delayed the nation’s housing starts in April, according to NAHB. …“More tariffs equal more anxiety and uncertainty for American businesses and consumers,” said David French, at the National Retail Federation. “Tariffs are a tax paid by the U.S. importer that will be passed along to the end consumer. …One of the largest material costs for housing construction is lumber, and the largest amounts are imported into the US from Canada.
Economic uncertainty has produced a double whammy for the housing market: sluggish home sales and plodding construction. Last month was the slowest April for existing home sales in 16 years — a sharp rebuke to hopes that this spring the housing market would recover after two very sleepy years. In a May survey of builder confidence conducted by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders, home builder sentiment dropped to a level last seen in November 2023. The problem, as ever, is the cost of housing: Home prices are out of reach for many who would like to buy. And the tariff drama under President Trump has both made it more expensive to build new homes and made the future more unpredictable for would-be homebuyers. The result is a country where builders want to build, and buyers want to buy — but the future is too much in doubt.
In an age of sleek finishes and synthetic shortcuts, timber framing offers something few modern materials can: substance. There’s a quiet grandeur to exposed beams that hold not only the weight of a home but the stories it gathers over time. The appeal isn’t rooted in nostalgia—it comes from discernment. Choosing timber is a commitment to craftsmanship, to the feel of hand-hewn structure beneath polished design. Bespoke estates, mountain retreats, and coastal getaways are embracing timber as both a form and a functional element. No longer reserved for rustic cabins or historical reproductions, it’s becoming the architectural signature of homes designed with permanence in mind. That kind of durability begins with sourcing, ensuring the materials behind the beauty are as intentional as the design itself. Timber framing is one of the oldest construction methods still in use, with roots stretching back over a thousand years. 
PORTLAND, Oregon – The Port of Portland is leasing a former marine terminal to a mass timber company as part of an effort to spur housing development and job growth in the area. On Wednesday, the Port of Portland approved a lease for Zaugg Timber Solutions to open a factory at the Port’s Mass Timber and Housing Innovation Campus at Terminal 2. …“Our partnership with ZTS marks a major leap forward in developing the Mass Timber and Housing Innovation Campus at T2,” said Kimberly Branam. “Their new manufacturing facility will boost our region’s economy by promoting sustainable forestry practices, creating quality jobs, and increasing housing production.” While the new 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is expected to open in 2028, ZTS will produce mass timber modular housing units, industrial and commercial buildings and other building components starting in 2026 in an interim manufacturing facility at the terminal, officials noted.
HOPLAND, California — …Dripping gasoline onto dry grass and deliberately setting it ablaze in the California countryside felt wildly reckless, especially for someone whose job involves interviewing survivors of the state’s all too frequent, catastrophic wildfires. But “good fire,” as Nielson called it, is essential for reducing the fuel available for bad fire, the kind that makes the headlines. The principle is as ancient as it is simple. …With that in mind, the state set an ambitious goal in the early 2020s to deliberately burn at least 400,000 acres of wilderness each year. …But California officials worry their ambitious goals are likely to be thwarted by deep cuts to those federal agencies. Gov. Gavin Newsom added $72 million to the state’s forest management budget to bridge some of the gap expected to be left by federal agencies. But wildfire experts say that’s just a drop in the bucket.
The federal government could start selling off thousands of acres of Oregon public lands if provisions added to the Big Beautiful Bill win Congressional approval. A draft of the legislation was released Wednesday. Housing is also part of this latest push to sell Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land. US Senator Mike Lee is calling for the heads of the US Interior and Agriculture departments to dispose of between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of federal BLM and Forest Service land from 11 states – including Oregon. …Separately, the legislation calls for the Forest Service to boost logging by 75% over the next decade. It’s not clear if those logging goals are realistic. The Forest Service has missed its timber targets every year for more than a decade, though it’s possible that tariffs on Canadian lumber could boost demand for logging in the United States, according to industry analysts.
SEATTLE — The US Forest Service has been tasked by President Trump to create a plan that will increase timber production in federal forests, and Pacific Northwest industry leaders are waiting to see how that plan will be implemented in a region rich in logging history. Many leaders are worried that this new order will disrupt the decades of work put into policies locally. …Logging has historically been a staple industry in the northwest that has simultaneously been an ongoing conversation between the need to harvest for building and economy, and also protecting the environment within these forests. …Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said the constant balancing act between the economy and the environment continues. “As our state has grown, as many of our forest lands have been developed, it’s more important that we manage these forests now, not just as economic resources, but as valuable assets that contribute to our quality of life,” said Upthegrove. 
Seattle-based Mast Reforestation had a novel idea to help save the planet: sell voluntary carbon credits and use that money to replant forests destroyed by wildfire. …Mast positioned itself as a rising star in the carbon credit market, claiming to be the only “vertically-integrated reforestation carbon credit developer in the industry.”…Now, the company is facing allegations that it deceived potential partners to secure its reforestation projects. The way Mast structures its credits is central to the controversy. Mast sells carbon credits to businesses that want to voluntarily offset emissions. …But Mast’s model hinges on future climate benefits. Instead of waiting for trees to grow and capture carbon, Mast sells its credits based on projections of reductions. …In a wrongful termination lawsuit filed in Siskiyou County, Mast’s former senior director of business development Arnoud de Villegas, claims the company misled potential partners.
Forestry professionals are at the frontlines of California’s battle against the wildfire emergency in the West. Our forestlands play a vital role in sequestering carbon, maintaining biodiversity, and providing critical ecosystem services like clean air and water. However, they are increasingly threatened by wildfires, drought, insects and disease—all of which are exacerbated by a changing climate. To combat these threats, we need a robust and well-trained forestry workforce with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage our forests sustainably. The forestry workforce is critical in wildfire prevention and mitigation. With California experiencing record-breaking wildfire seasons in recent years, there has never been a more urgent need for skilled forestry professionals to confront this emergency. Beyond fire prevention, forestry professionals manage forest health and help create landscapes that are resilient to changing conditions.
Reagan Brown sliced a board from a cut log using a brand new bright orange sawmill as a crowd of students, teachers and lumber industry workers looked on. He was part of a day-long event Orofino Junior Senior High School put on to show off its new trade programs, including the sawmill. Aiden Olive, a senior, was helping Reagan. “ This is completely new, we got this about a month ago, we put it together ourselves,” he said. The school is in a river valley surrounded by hills covered in evergreen trees – the kind of forest that has been logged for more than a hundred years. It’s a $2.5 billion industry in Idaho, but it’s looking for workers. “ I wasn’t really certain about going into forestry at first, but after getting this mill and running it and seeing how it works, I really actually think that could be some possibility of going into forestry,” Olive said.
As the Forest Service contracts with slashed staff and funding, local communities are stepping up with funding for backcountry trail crews, visitor education campaigns and management of campsites and trailheads. “These folks need help. We know how important it is to have a physical human presence out there,” said Dave Ochs, the head of the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association, which is administering $62,500 in local funding to support three seasonal Forest Service employees around Crested Butte. “Let’s help our partners. They are in need and we care very much for our backyard.” This is a scene unfolding across Colorado’s public lands as communities labor to fill gaps left by the sudden retraction of the federal government under the Trump Administration.
The proposed development and expansion of Grand Targhee Resort may require the removal of about 456 whitebark pine trees. At the level of detail in the environmental impact statement released last month, it’s unclear whether some projects can be amended to save trees within the project area. It’s also unclear how many of the trees within the project area are mature, cone-bearing trees necessary for the species’ reproduction. Caribou-Targhee National Forest officials, who are reviewing Targhee’s expansion plans, said the 456-tree estimate is likely high. In past projects, Teton Basin District Ranger Jay Pence said, “Grand Targhee and the Forest Service [have] routinely been able to shift some of the disturbances to avoid whitebark pine stands.”.. Whitebark were listed as “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2023. But its Endangered Species Act protections do not prohibit them from being hewn.
The federal government is awarding Utah $3 million to purchase conservation easements in southern Utah near Zion National Park. The funding — awarded to the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — was announced Monday and will go toward ongoing forest preservation efforts outside of the national park. Called the Zion Connectivity Project, the state will direct the funding at two properties totalling 766 acres near the north section of the national park. A conservation easement — a legally binding agreement between a landowner and government that places restrictions on the land for environmental purposes — will prevent the land from being fragmented or developed. That will help preserve the ecologically rich stretch of forest. Old-growth ponderosa pines, some of them hundreds of years old, can be found in the area.
The Clallam County Superior Court denied environmentalists’ request for an administrative stay on two local Department of Natural Resources parcels, although it granted a motion to compel information from the state agency. If the stay had been granted, it would have barred logging-related activities for 90 days on the parcels named Parched and Tree Well. The motion to compel will require the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to file administrative records relevant to the case by June 18 — a five-month delay from the original required date of Jan. 2. The logging rights for these two forests were bought by Oregon-based Murphy Company in December. The sale to the Eugene, Ore.-based Murphy Company was approved by the Washington State Board of Natural Resources in December. The Murphy Company is a more-than-a-century-old, family-owned wood products company based in Oregon, with a veneer mill in Elma.
The Clallam County Superior Court denied environmentalists’ request for an administrative stay on two local Department of Natural Resources parcels, although it granted a motion to compel information from the state agency. If the stay had been granted, it would have barred logging-related activities for 90 days on the parcels named Parched and Tree Well. The motion to compel will require the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to file administrative records relevant to the case by June 18 – a five-month delay from the original required date of Jan. 2. The logging rights for these two forests were bought by Oregon-based Murphy Company in December. Although road building has begun, there is no planned logging on these properties until next year at the earliest, according to Murphy’s intervenor.
As Arizona utility companies make aggressive plans to mitigate wildfire risks, many met in Payson to update a state regulatory body. On May 15, the Arizona Corporation Commission hosted a special open meeting on wildfire mitigation at the Payson Public Library. ACC Vice-Chairman Nick Myers moderated the nearly three-hour town hall, which included stakeholder presentations from Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power & UniSource, Salt River Project, Navopache Electric Cooperative, Alliant Gas, Arizona Water Company, and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Following brief opening remarks and commissioner comments, utility companies from throughout the state provided insight and information regarding their ongoing wildfire mitigation efforts. The electric companies focused on both grid hardening and creating defensible space around their infrastructure, before providing updates about each of their Public Safety Power Shutoff programs.
Even if you live far from the boreal forests in Canada and Siberia, you’ve likely noticed an increase in smoke from their forest fires. During major blazes in 2023, the smoke oranged the New York sky and drifted as far south as New Orleans. These blazes have surged in the last decade due to the effects of climate change — warmer summers, less snow cover in the spring, and the loss of sea ice. Experts expect that trend to continue. Yet recent climate change projection models have not accounted for the increase. For instance, the widely used sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, or CMIP6, released in the late 2010s, kept these fires constant at a relatively low severity. A new University of Washington-led study projects that in the next 35 years these increasing boreal fires will actually slow warming by 12% globally and 38% in the Arctic.
The trucking industry has been facing unprecedented challenges in recent years, with a shortage of qualified drivers, rising fuel and insurance costs… and now economic uncertainty caused by tariffs. …Now, one large lawsuit against a trucking company highlights a dangerous practice that has been going on. …The Estate of Sarah Susman v. Starker Forests, Inc., R&T Logging of Oregon, Wolf Cr. Timber Services, Shane Mcvay – is a $65 million wrongful death claim. Sarah Susman… was driving to work in September 2021 when a logging truck operated by a 67-year-old driver rolled over and lost its load. …Family members of the victim believe that the incident can be attributed to a dangerous injury practice referred to as “double brokering.” …Court filings explained that double-brokering is a practice within the trucking industry where multiple contractors pass hauling jobs between them with very little oversight or enforcement of safety regulations.
KITTITAS COUNTY, Wash. — The US Forest Service has taken command of the 60-acre Red Bridge Fire burning about 7 miles east of Cle Elum. Level 3 evacuations were issued for those nearby. A Level 3 evacuation means residents should “go now” or leave immediately. A Level 2 evacuation means there is significant danger in the area; be ready to go or voluntarily evacuate. Level 1 means there is danger in the area. Residents should plan escape routes, but evacuations are voluntary, according to the Washington Smoke Blog. The Red Bridge Fire started on June 9, 2025, at approximately 3:57 p.m. As of 8 p.m., the fire is estimated at 60 acres and growing, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Oregon’s first major wildfire of the season, the Butte Creek Fire, has been mapped at 1,776 acres burning on the John Day River 9 miles north of Clarno in eastern Oregon as of May 27. Firefighters were suppressing the blaze with multiple crews, engines, dozers and aircraft. Some structures are threatened by the fire, officials said. Wheeler County Fire & Rescue and South Gilliam County Rural Fire Protection District are providing structure prevention. No evacuations or closures were in place. However, boaters on the popular stretch of the John Day River “are being asked to use caution as helicopters will continue dipping water out of the John Day River today,” according to Central Oregon Fire Information.