Region Archives: US West

Business & Politics

Builders FirstSource announces definitive agreement to acquire Alpine Lumber

Door and Window Market Magazine
January 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

One company starting the new year with good news is Builders FirstSource Inc. The company actually snuck in an announcement just before Christmas that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alpine Lumber Company. Founded in Englewood, Colorado, by the Kurtz family in 1963, Alpine… now has 21 locations serving homebuilders and contractors in the Front Range of Colorado, western Colorado and northern New Mexico, with a product range including prefabricated trusses and wall panels and millwork. …Peter Jackson, president and CEO of Builders FirstSource, “This acquisition enhances our footprint in our West Division.” Hamid Taha, CEO of Alpine, will remain with the business for a transition period to help ensure a successful combination of the Alpine and Builders FirstSource businesses in Colorado and northern New Mexico.

Read More

Mill Closures and Workforce Shortages in the West: Episode 2 – The Role of Land Management Policy

By Andrew Kihn
The American Bar Association
January 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

In the second episode of the Mill Closures and Workforce Shortages in the West series, Andrew Kihn from the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries returns, joined by Travis Joseph, President and CEO of the American Forest Resource Council. Together, they delve into the role of land management policies in addressing workforce challenges from the perspective of the timber trade association. Building on the foundation laid in the first episode, this discussion highlights how policy solutions can mitigate the workforce shortages tied to the ongoing closures of lumber mills in the American West. Travis Joseph provides insights into how these closures impact both the timber industry and the broader regional economy, offering actionable approaches to support sustainable forest management and workforce retention. [Podcast Series]

Episode 2 – The Role of Land Management Policy (24 minutes)

Episode 1 – The Economic Landscape (15 minutes)

Read More

California Forestry Association Appoints Liz Berger as VP of Climate and Energy

California Forestry Association
December 28, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

SACRAMENTO, California — The California Forestry Association announced the hiring of Liz Berger as its new Vice President of Climate and Energy. Liz brings over two decades of extensive experience in forestry, resource management, and environmental leadership, making her an invaluable addition to the Calforests team. Liz’s career began with field positions in California and Oregon, where she worked as a wildlife biologist and hydrologist for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Over the years, she transitioned into leadership roles at the regional and national levels. Her contributions have included serving as the Assistant Water Program Leader in the USFS Washington D.C. Office.

Read More

Brazil’s Suzano Explores Offer for Clearwater Paper

By Christian Lucchesi, Gillian Tan & Rachel Gamarski
BNN Bloomberg
December 19, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

SPOKANE, Washington — Brazil’s Suzano is exploring an offer for Clearwater Paper, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company is working with an adviser as it seeks to reach an agreement, said the people. A deal hasn’t been finalized and it’s possible one won’t be reached. Representatives for Suzano and Clearwater declined to comment. Spokane, Washington-based Clearwater, which manufactures pulp and paperboard products, had a market capitalization of $409 million as of Thursday’s close and its shares have fallen 31.6% this year. Clearwater’s shares jumped as much as 19% after the close of regular trading Thursday. Suzano, which is the largest supplier of hardwood market pulp in North America, has been pushing further into the US, most recently buying two paperboard mills in Arkansas and North Carolina in a deal valued at $110 million. [END]

Read More

US government charges operator of JH Baxter wood treatment plant in Eugene

By Brian Bull
Oregon Public Broadcasting
December 17, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

The federal government has issued criminal charges against the J.H. Baxter company and its president over its operation of its Eugene wood treatment plant. For nearly 80 years, J.H. Baxter operated the facility on Roosevelt Boulevard before being shuttered in January 2022. Over the years, locals frequently complained of powerful odors — especially at night — and the plant was probed and fined for environmental violations by state and federal regulators. In a document filed in U.S. District Court in late November, the federal government leveled four charges against J.H. Baxter: illegal treatment of hazardous waste, violation of the Clean Air Act, and two counts of false statements to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) by company president Georgia Baxter-Krause. “I think she deserves jail time,” said Lisa Arkin, the executive director of Beyond Toxics. She said Baxter-Krause was a “bad actor” during the entire time she led the company.

Read More

Weyerhaeuser Sued Over $1.5 Billion Pension Plan Risk Transfer

By Nevin Adams
US National Association of Plan Advisors
December 16, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Another employer has been sued for its pension risk transfer (PRT) choice — alleging not only that a breach of fiduciary duty put pensions at risk, but that there were conflicts of interest in the choice of the provider for that service. …Weyerhaeuser and other entities affiliated with its pension benefit plan are being sued in a class action in federal court for transferring $1.5 billion in plan assets to an annuity company. Transferring the money to Athene Annuity and Life allegedly breached the fiduciary duty the defendants owed to the 28,500 plan members, whose retirement accounts are no longer protected by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the complaint filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington says.

Read More

Sierra Nevada Conservancy awards grant to Nevada County sawmill

Sierra Nevada Conservancy
December 13, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

At its September quarterly meeting, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) Governing Board awarded $1,544,950 to the Sierra Business Council for a wood-fired boiler for the Alpenglow Timber Sawmill near Truckee, CA. The Alpenglow Timber Sawmill was approved for construction by Nevada County in October with plans to complete construction and start operations by fall 2025. Restoring the forested landscapes of California’s Sierra-Cascade is at the heart of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s mission supporting the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the region, and in many parts of the region returning forests to resilience means removing small trees and brush. …The funds approved by SNC’s Board will contribute to the sawmill’s wood-fired boiler system that will provide heat used for winter kiln-drying and on-site commercial and residential needs. …The new sawmill will create economic value from restoration byproducts, while providing an environmentally superior alternative to trucking material long distances or pile-burning it on site.

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Google Pioneers Mass Timber in new California Tech Campus

By Marcus Law
Technology Magazine
January 6, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Google’s Sunnyvale facility promises 96% carbon reduction compared to traditional construction methods, marking shift in Silicon Valley architecture. Google has entered its third decade of environmental initiatives as the technology company pursues its target to eliminate carbon emissions from its global operations by 2030. …”We’re in our third decade of climate action and our programme and our plans are always evolving,” Adam Elman, Head of Sustainability EMEA at Google said. “We’re aiming for net zero by 2030 that’s supported by our goal to move to what we call 24/7 carbon-free energy.” …The latest demonstration of Google’s environmental strategy has emerged in Sunnyvale, California, where the company has unveiled its first mass timber office building. The facility represents a departure from Silicon Valley’s conventional glass and steel structures, and demonstrates the company’s evolving approach to sustainable construction. …Google sourced all structural timber from Forest Stewardship Council certified forests.

Read More

Designed to improve quality of life for ALS patients, modular, eco-friendly homes also show what the future of homebuilding could look like

By EJ Iannelli
The Inlander
January 6, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

…Theresa Whitlock-Wild, whose husband Matt Wild was diagnosed with ALS about 10 years ago realized that one of their top needs was a safe, affordable environment that improved the quality of life for those afflicted with this degenerative disease. With the aim of advocating for and supporting people with ALS, they established the Matt’s Place Foundation. …”We learned something from [building Matt’s Place as a traditional stick-built house],” she says. “So we started the process of building Matt’s Place 2.0 in 2019 in Spokane, using CLT. The idea was to make it scalable and shippable anywhere around the country.” …Nevertheless, Matt’s Place 2.0 is only a milestone on a much longer road. Matt’s Place Foundation and its partners are already working on iteration 3.0, which will apply the same advanced materials and modular concepts to a multi-family building. The prototype unit will be a direct neighbor to the 2.0 house in Spokane.

Read More

One Night in the Self-Proclaimed “First U.S. Carbon-Positive Hotel”

By Emma Dries
Dwell
January 3, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

My first reaction upon being invited to Denver’s Populus, which claims to be the country’s first “carbon-positive” hotel, was, admittedly, one of skepticism. After all, the transport, construction, and hospitality industries are among the most damaging to the environment, and the 265-room hotel, designed by award-winning firm Studio Gang and developed by Urban Villages, covers all those bases. …Another immediately confusing design choice was the building material: concrete, one of most carbon-intensive materials on the planet. …The concrete used for Populus is the proprietary ECOPact low-carbon mix by Holcim, which claims to have 30 percent lower carbon emissions compared to standard concrete. But why use concrete at all—particularly when mass timber, for example, is more sustainable, and often more durable? …But the existing building code did not allow timber for a 13-floor structure and the city was ultimately not comfortable issuing a variance.

Read More

Polyhaus’s Tiny Mass-Timber Home Offers a Possible Solution to a Very Big Housing Problem

By Russell Fortmeyer
Architectural Record
January 3, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

San Diego — Unlike many of the prefabricated accessory dwelling units (ADUs) flooding the California market, the Polyhaus does not fit on a flatbed truck fully assembled. The polyhedron-shaped house was conceived by Daniel López-Pérez as a solution for expediently producing quality housing at scale in the smallest footprint possible, rather than as a rectangular box for ease of shipping. With his wife and Polyhaus LLC cofounder, Celine Vargas, López-Pérez built the first two-story, 540-square-foot proof-of-concept in 2024 in San Diego. López-Pérez, who is professor and architecture-program director at the University of San Diego, developed the Polyhaus system by starting with a simple cube and then repeatedly truncating the edges until he optimized the form for the largest volume and smallest footprint. The 440-square-foot ground floor includes a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and nook for a desk and washer/dryer, with the bedroom on the 100-square-foot mezzanine.

Read More

Lever Architecture grafts hybrid mass-timber structure onto LA parking garage

By Ellen Eberhardt
Dezeen Magazine
January 2, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Los Angeles, California — US architecture studio Lever Architecture has renovated a former 1980s warehouse in Los Angeles, placing a new cross-laminated timber and steel office building atop its parking garage foundation. At 145,000 square feet 843 N Spring Street is located near Dodger Stadium in Chinatown and contains offices as well as retail space. “Technically a renovation, the project takes a windowless, 1980s-era retail warehouse with a parking garage underneath and grafts a new structure on top of it, creating one of the first and largest hybrid cross-laminated timber (CLT) buildings in Los Angeles,” said Lever Architecture. The building consists of two, four-storey wings placed on top of the garage. The wings flank an interior courtyard, atrium and walking path through its centre, with landscape design by Field Operations. …The building’s facade is clad almost entirely in glass, while its structure consists of 3- and 5-ply CLT panels and concrete slabs.

Read More

Are mass timber buildings going higher?

By Brent Sohngen, Ohio State University
The Associated Press in DJC Oregon
December 27, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

A material that’s been around since people built shelters – wood – is increasingly being proposed for low- and mid-rise buildings. …One way that researchers assess the environmental footprint of a product or service is called a life-cycle analysis, which calculates the cradle-to-grave impact. One life-cycle analysis found that using mass timber in a 12-story building in Oregon had an 18% lower global warming impact compared with constructing the building with steel-reinforced concrete. The carbon emissions benefits are even greater when comparing timber with steel. …Tree cutting is one of the most widespread disturbances in forests, yet, after accounting for all harvesting, fires, land use change and other disturbances, forests in the United States still remove a net 754 million tons of CO2 per year from the atmosphere, an amount equivalent to 13.5 percent of U.S. emissions. …To examine whether wood is sustainably sourced it is instructive to consider the economics of forest management.

Read More

From chainsaw sculptures to corporate conference tables, a Half Moon Bay lumber yard gives new life to reclaimed wood

By Ashwini Gangal
Palo Alto Online
December 19, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

CALIFORNIA — A 14-foot-tall U.S. marshal stands in a cloud of sawdust in a massive yard off Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay. In his past life, this officer was a solid, 20-foot-long block of redwood. “It’s an artistic rendering of an existing statue,” said Firewood Farms owner James Olsen about this unique creation. Custom carvings such as this one are among the core products on offer at Olsen’s lumber yard. …They expanded the product line from firewood and chainsaw sculptures to urban salvage recovery, which is their main area of focus. “We stop logs from going into the landfill,” he said. “Every product that we make is 100% recycled; it’s got a low carbon footprint, less than 0.1% of national industry average.” Finished products include flooring, trims, siding, furniture, and customized items. Species of wood they work with include redwood, cedar, oak, pine, fir, sequoia, walnut, cyprus, elm and acacia.

Read More

Forestry

Forest Officials Reopen Public Engagement Process on Long-awaited Flathead River Management Plan

By Tristan Scott
The Flathead Beacon
January 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Resource managers tasked with managing the Flathead River’s three forks under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act announced they’re rebooting a public-engagement process despite falling short of a goal to have completed the draft plan and environmental assessment months ago. The Flathead National Forest published its “proposed action” document for public review on the agency’s project website... The document lays out several recommendations to mitigate direct human impacts to natural resources, including prohibiting motor-vehicle camping or parking on gravel bars; requiring solid human waste containment within 200 feet of the river’s edge; and requiring a metal fire pan or fire blanket for campfires above and below the high-water mark within the Wild and Scenic River corridor on the North and Middle forks… The last management plan was adopted in 1980.

Read More

President Biden expected to designate Sáttítla National Monument near Mt. Shasta

By James Ward
The Redding Record Searchlight
January 3, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

CALIFORNIA — President Joe Biden will designate 206,000 acres of volcanic mountains east of Mt. Shasta as the new Sáttítla National Monument. The expected newly designated Sáttítla National Monument is considered a one-of-a-kind geological formation in North America. Sáttítla’s underground aquifer feeds a stream system that supports wildlife and supplies fresh water to millions in California. “Even among California’s remarkable diversity of landscapes and ecosystems, Sáttítla stands out for its exceptionally high fish and wildlife values,” said Joel Weltzien, a day after three California lawmakers called for the national monument designation. …Biden has been pushing to cement his environmental legacy before he leaves office, including protecting public lands and designating hefty federal funds. …President Donald Trump sharply reduced the footprint of Bears Ears National Monument, among others, and sought unsuccessfully to modify or eliminate the Antiquities Act sharply. Biden, in turn, restored Bears Ears and other monuments that shrunk under Trump. 

Read More

Biden to designate environmental national monuments in California

By Jennifer Jacobs and Ed O’Keefe
CBS News
January 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

President Biden plans to add another national monument, this one near Joshua Tree National Park, and is making plans to travel to California in the coming days to dedicate the Chuckwalla National Monument, according to people familiar with the matter. Some Native American tribes, environmentalists and members of Congress have been pushing Mr. Biden to set aside land for the proposed Chuckwalla monument, which lies between the Colorado River and Coachella Valley in Southern California. The designation will add a large new chunk of land to the area next to the Joshua Tree National Park — making it the biggest contiguous protected area in the country. …The designation will bolster the Biden administration’s efforts to protect at least 30% of lands and waters by 2030, and will block the Chuckwalla from mining, drilling and logging, sources said. …Biden has created six monuments and expanded two others officials have said.

Read More

Tree farmers with deep West Seattle roots win national award

By Anne Higuera
West Seattle Blog
December 29, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Robert Wise, 1960

If you go to a tree nursery, they will often tell you that the best time to plant a tree is today. For one West Seattle family, the best time started 70 years ago, when their grandfather began purchasing regenerating timberland with an eye to the future. Just this month, Robert Wise’s vision and his family’s work stewarding that land led to his grandchildren and their spouses being named National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year by the American Forest Foundation… While the Wises were raising their two sons and daughter in the city, Robert wasn’t initially able to realize the dream of owning his own timberland. But in 1954, he had the opportunity.

Read More

51 Years of the Endangered Species Act: Legacy, Controversies and Oregon’s Timber Wars

By Drew Winkelmaier
The News-Review
December 27, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Just days after Christmas in 1973 President Richard Nixon signed into law the Endangered Species Act, establishing one of the strongest conservation laws in history. …The Northern Spotted Owl has proven to be the most controversial of animal species listed. Its “threatened” designation in the late 1980s sparked legal battles between logging companies and environmental groups later named the Timber Wars. …The Northwest Forest Plan was amended in a monumental compromise between environmental groups and the timber industry in 2022 when Governor Kate Brown singed into law the Private Forest Accord. …The Forest Service has proposed additional amendments to the Northwest Forest Plan that may open up millions of acres of western lands to logging. The final environmental impact statement of that plan will be released in 2025 under the Trump administration, which has promised extensive deregulation. The Northern Spotted Owl remains listed as endangered.

Read More

Oregon’s bigger, more severe fires worry those tasked with fighting them

By Julia Tilton
Oregon Live
December 27, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

When Oregon’s 2024 fire season ended in late October, over 1.9 million acres had burned across the state. For Tyler McCarty, district manager at the Coos Forest Protective Association, fires today are a “night and day difference” from what they were 20 years ago. …“When I first started, a two or three thousand acre fire was a big fire,” McCarty said. “One of the fires that my instant management team was on this year was 180,000 acres.” As the Oregon fire season trends longer and fires burn larger, McCarty and others who work with Oregon’s remaining few forest protective associations are grappling with questions about how they will retain personnel and secure enough funding to fight the fires of the future. “Right now we’re operating in a system with a funding model that doesn’t support the fires that we’re seeing today.”

Read More

Conservation effort in North Kitsap continues with $6.3 million purchase of forest

By Marissa Conter
The Kitsap Sun
January 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

PORT GAMBLE, Washington — Over 450 acres of forest land has been acquired by Great Peninsula Conservancy, completing a major piece of the historic Kitsap Forest & Bay preservation effort near the North Kitsap community of Port Gamble. The Bremerton-based nonprofit announced the purchase of North Kitsap Divide Community Forest on Monday. Procuring this land parcel now ensures the forest is protected and managed by GPC as a conservation and recreational resource for Kitsap residents. …This marks the final accumulation in the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project, creating a more than 5,000-acre wildlife corridor stretching from the Hood Canal to Puget Sound’s Central Basin. Also including a portion of the future route of the Puget Sound to Olympics Trail, which will bridge the Olympic Mountains to Sound Greenway.

Read More

Explainer: why Central Oregon juniper trees are being axed

By Michael Kohn
The Bend Bulletin
December 28, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Old-growth juniper trees are a symbol of the American West. …East of Bend, in the Oregon Badlands, at least one juniper is believed to be 1,600 years old. In areas where they are native, junipers do play an important role for wildlife, offering cover to mule deer. Some bird species nest in them and eat their berries. But younger juniper trees that dominate the Central Oregon High Desert are somewhat more controversial. Their explosive growth and march eastward over the past century threatens to crowd out native flora and fauna. …“Juniper trees are highly water-intensive, consuming significant amounts of groundwater and depleting water sources for streams, springs, and native vegetation,” said Isabella Isaksen, a spokesperson for the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River Grasslands. …“Cutting juniper improves water availability, allowing native plants to thrive and enhancing watershed health,” said Isaksen.

Read More

State Announces Elliot State Research Forest Manager

KQEN News Radio
December 20, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Darren Goodding

State officials have announced that Darren Goodding will serve as the first manager of the Elliot State Research Forest. … Most recently, he oversaw planning, science application, and communications for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Goodding earned a master’s degree in sustainable forest management from Oregon State University, with additional study in natural resources and recreation resource management at OSU, advanced silviculture at Colorado State University and forest carbon management at Michigan State University. He will begin his new role on January 13th. …Goodding currently serves on the boards of the Oregon Tree Farm System and the Washington State Society of American Foresters, the steering committee of the Northern Blues Forest Collaborative, and is the federal liaison to the Northeast Oregon Forests Resource Advisory Committee.

Read More

Removing dead trees after a severe wildfire is often right thing to do

By Nick Smith, executive director – Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities
The Oregon Capital Chronicle
December 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

…Dead and dying trees — referred to as snags — pose severe risks to public safety, firefighter effectiveness and long-term forest health. Yet, contrary to claims, post-fire removal of dead and dying trees on state and federal lands is minimal, hindered by relentless litigation that threatens lives, compromises recovery efforts and delays the natural regrowth of our treasured forests. …Snags are far from benign. They fall unpredictably, endangering those working in or passing through these areas. When ignited, these dead trees burn intensely, creating spot fires and releasing embers that exacerbate the spread of wildfires. As they decay, snags create dense brush fields — a dangerous cocktail of highly flammable fuels. …By supporting post-fire salvage operations, we can ensure our forests recover more quickly, safely and sustainably. This is not just about restoring the land — it is about protecting lives, preserving our natural heritage and preventing the next catastrophic fire.

Read More

Proposed changes would allow more logging on federal land in Northwest

By Lynda Mapes
The Seattle Times
December 23, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Logging would be allowed in millions of acres of national forest in Washington, Oregon and California, including older trees currently off-limits to cutting, under proposed amendments to the Northwest Forest Plan. The conservation plan was enacted in 1994 and includes 24 million acres across federal land. It was intended to preserve mature and old-growth forests and protect species, including the marbled murrelet, threatened and endangered salmon and the northern spotted owl. Now the Biden administration has embarked on an update of the plan to address changes, including a loss of nearly 7% of protected old-growth forest within the plan area because of wildfire. The loss has eliminated gains of old growth achieved during the first 25 years of the plan. The Forest Service intends to issue a final environmental impact statement on the proposed amendments in 2025, under the incoming Trump administration. What that will mean for the outcome is unclear.

Read More

Senators announce funding to boost private forest management

By Kyle Bailey
The News-Review
December 22, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is funding projects that will assist Tribes, nonprofits and private landowners in Oregon with their efforts to manage forests sustainably and permanently conserve private forests in partnership with the state. “Oregon’s forestlands – public – and private – need investments to remain healthy, and to withstand wildfires that impact us all,” Merkley said. “I’ve long championed efforts that ensure Tribes and all those who manage our forests have the tools they need for sustainable management. These new investments will help advance our shared mission of creating and conserving healthy, resilient forests for future generations”. …The investments from the U.S. Forest Service are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and are part of nearly $210 million nationwide for Forest Landowner Support Projects.

Read More

Dunleavy wants quick action by Trump to revoke Biden’s Alaska environmental policies

By Yereth Rosen
Alaska Beacon
December 18, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Mike Dunleavy

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking President-elect Donald Trump to immediately reverse the Biden administration’s Alaska environmental and tribal lands policies, claiming those policies hurt the state’s economy. “Your election will hail in a new era of optimism and opportunity, and Alaska stands ready to and is eager to work with you to repair this damage wrought by the previous administration, and to set both Alaska and America on a course to prosperity,” Dunleavy said in a cover letter… Dunleavy’s policy document said that Trump, as soon as he returns to the White House, should issue an Alaska-focused executive order that removes restrictions on oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve. …Dunleavy wants the new Trump administration to abandon the current Interior policy in favor of putting some lands into trust for the benefit of Native tribes.  

Read More

Land Board approves 33000-acre conservation easement in northwest Montana

By Amanda Eggert
The Daily Inter Lake
December 18, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A proposal to put nearly 33,000 acres of working forestland in northwest Montana into a conservation easement has cleared its last major hurdle. In a 3-1 vote on Monday, the Montana Land Board adopted language amending an agreement between timber company Green Diamond and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks that closes the book on a conservation project that took four years and nearly $40 million to finalize. The Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement is located between Kalispell and Libby and encompasses parts of the Salish and Cabinet mountains. The roughly 33,000 acres of land will be protected from development to support wildlife habitat and “key landscape connectivity,” according to Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP). …The easement is perpetual, meaning the terms of the agreement will remain in effect indefinitely, even if Green Diamond later sells the land.

Read More

Washington State University scientist gifts world healthier Christmas trees

By Joe Roberts
Washington State University Insider
December 18, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Gary Chastagner

For more than 40 years, Washington State University Extension scientist Gary Chastagner has found solutions to Christmas tree diseases and other related problems, helping ensure the beloved holiday tradition remains possible. Known worldwide as “Dr. Christmas Tree,” Chastagner has also played an important role in keeping Christmas tree farms in the Pacific Northwest and beyond economically viable. “When I receive letters of support from family Christmas tree farmers expressing how our research has had a positive impact on their ability to produce high-quality trees, I share them with everyone in our lab,” said Chastagner, who is based at the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center. Chastagner didn’t intend to become one of the world’s foremost experts on tree and ornamental flower bulb pathologies. But a biology teacher’s enthusiasm proved infectious in his formative years, and Chastagner’s curiosity about plants and their pathologies took root.

Read More

Shrubs Can Help or Hinder a Forest’s Recovery After Wildfire

By Emily C. Dooley
UC Davis
December 16, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Research from the University of Californiais shedding light on when and where to plant tree seedlings to help restore forests after high-severity wildfires, and it has a lot to do with shrubs.  In hotter, drier areas where natural regeneration is weaker, well-timed tree planting can boost recovery by up to 200%, but the outcome also depends on competition with shrubs, a paper in the journal Forest Ecology and Management concludes… In areas where a lot of shrubs are present, it’s best to plant seedlings within a year of a wildfire to avoid competition from these woody plants. In areas with fewer shrubs, planting three years after a fire is more effective because some of these woody plants would have grown back, but not so many to consume available nutrients and water.

Read More

Freres Lumber loses lawsuit against Forest Service over 2020 wildfire

My Mateusz Perkowski
The Capital Press in the Bend Bulletin
December 16, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A federal judge has thrown out an Oregon timber company’s lawsuit faulting the U.S. Forest Service for allegedly allowing the spread of a devastating 2020 wildfire. The negligence complaint filed by Freres Timber of Lyons must be dismissed because it challenges discretionary firefighting decisions for which the government can’t be held liable, according to U.S. District Judge Michael McShane. Though the Forest Service was operating under an official directive to fully suppress the Beachie Creek Fire, the exact methods were still up to the agency, the judge said. …Under federal law, U.S. government officials can be held liable for negligence and similar claims if they fail to carry out required actions, but not for certain discretionary decisions based on policy considerations. In this case, Freres Lumber alleged the Forest Service was required to maximize its response to the Beachie Creek Fire based on a formal “full suppression” directive and official agency fire management policy.

Read More

$1 million awarded to Eugene Water and Electric Board for wildfire resiliency projects

By Billy Spotz and Takur Conlu
KCBY News 11
December 16, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A million dollars is heading to Eugene and the McKenzie River Valley to help with wildfire resiliency. Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden secured major investments to strengthen forest health and wildfire resiliency back in Spring of 2024. Among these areas strengthened by the investments are the protection of public lands and the environment, securing important programs for tribes, and supporting critical projects across Oregon communities. Funds from these investments have been awarded to the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) in the amount of $1 million towards wildfire resiliency projects. These projects will be in partnership with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), McKenzie Fire and Rescue (MFR) and Eugene Springfield Fire (ESF).

Read More

Oregon timber industry presentation on housing affordability and fire resiliency

By Alan Torres
The Register-Guard
December 15, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

EUGENE, Oregon — While city councils are on holiday break, Lane County Commissioners are scheduled to meet this week to hear feedback and vote on a supplemental budget, hear a presentation from timber industry representatives on its efforts to improve housing affordability and fire resiliency, continue a hearing on three proposed homes in forested land near Oakridge and vote on a contract to provide mental health services in the Lane County Juvenile Justice Center. …County commission meetings stream at this link.

Read More

Stimson Lumber and Idaho Dept of Lands announce 10,800-acre easement agreement

By Eric Welch
The Bonner County Daily Bee
December 13, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

In partnership with Stimson Lumber Company and the Idaho Department of Lands, nonprofit Trust for Public Land announced an easement agreement Wednesday that will protect 10,846 acres of working forests in Bonner and Boundary counties. Under the agreement, IDL holds the development rights to land owned and logged by Stimson Lumber Company, ensuring the easement areas will not be subdivided and will continue to contribute to the local timber industry. “By protecting over 10,000 acres of working forestland in northern Idaho, Trust for Public Land has ensured that these vital landscapes will be preserved for future generations,” said Trust for Public Land Northern Rockies Director Dick Dolan. …IDL Director Dustin Miller and Stimson Lumber Company President Andrew Miller expressed their commitment to preserving working forests in the area and protecting the longevity of Idaho’s timber industry. 

Read More

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Washington can safeguard forests and advance renewable energy

By Shelley Short, State Senator
The Seattle Times
December 29, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

The Seattle Times editorial board’s concerns about the proposed wood pellet manufacturing plants in Hoquiam and Longview are understandable. Still, the editorial relies on assumptions that risk stalling renewable energy solutions. We must undoubtedly safeguard Washington’s forests, but that includes considering the role that responsibly managed forests and wood products, like wood pellets, can play in transitioning away from fossil fuels. When implemented responsibly, the wood pellet industry can provide an effective solution for using dead and diseased trees and logging residue to produce renewable heat and power for residential, commercial and industrial needs… The board is concerned about the use of old-growth forests to produce wood pellets. However, existing Washington law already excludes old growth as a biomass resource.

Read More

The Climate Trust Named Recipient of Two U.S. Forest Service Grants Totaling $7 million

By The Climate Trust
PR Newswire
December 13, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

PORTLAND, Oregon — This past Wednesday, The Climate Trust was awarded two grants from the U.S. Forest Service totaling nearly $7 million through the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. These funds will support The Climate Trust’s pioneering work in the carbon market, extending opportunities to climate vulnerable and underserved landowners while incentivizing climate-smart forest practices. A $2 million award will fund The Climate Trust’s Tribal Reservation Allotment Carbon Enrollment (TRACE) program, that will pilot the development of a replicable forest carbon project that aggregates small parcels owned by or held in trust for individual Tribal members. “To date, no carbon projects include allotment lands because it has been too challenging to aggregate them. The Dawes Act of 1887 broke up large areas of Tribal lands into small allotments that face significant obstacles to carbon market inclusion because of their small size, fractionated ownerships, and bureaucratic hurdles to decision making,” said TCT’s Forest Carbon Manager, Madeline Montague.

Read More

Forest Fires

Tree that hit power line caused one of North Dakota’s most devastating fires

By April Baumgarten
Inforum
January 6, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

In reports released Monday, Jan. 6, the State Fire Marshal’s Office detailed how an Oct. 6 fire that destroyed 30,549 acres, killed two people and traveled between Ray and Tioga started. It was one of two fires that burned nearly 90,000 acres and nearly engulfed the two small cities in northwest North Dakota… The tree hit the power line and broke it in half. The downed lines then ignited dry grass. Photos included in the Fire Marshal’s report showed the broken power lines and impact points on the tree, which reportedly was taller than the power lines… Officials are still determining what started a second fire that started the same day near U.S. Highway 85 about 30 miles north of Williston.

Read More

Smoky start to the week thanks to Horton Fire

By Alexis Bechman
The Payson Roundup
January 6, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

The Rim Country was cloaked in a thick blanket of smoke Monday morning as the Horton Fire doubled in size Sunday. As of Monday morning, the fire was at 3,598 acres and 17% contained with 457 personnel working on the fire. …Jason Coil, operations section chief with Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1, said in a Monday briefing that crews Sunday completed burn outs in several key areas that have set them up for success Monday as they continue to build fire lines around the fire burning 17 miles northeast of Payson on the Mogollon Rim. “We recognize we are putting smoke in the air right now,” he said. “We recognize we have impacted the air quality.” He asked residents to consider that is due to record dry fuels burning quickly, noting large logs are burning to ash within 24 hours.

Read More

Horton Fire burns 600 acres of forest northeast of Payson. Here’s what we know

By Rey Covarrubias Jr.
AZ Central News
December 21, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

ARIZONA — The Horton Fire northeast of Payson burned more than 600 acres of forest by Saturday and was 0% contained, according to the authorities with the Tonto National Forest. Nearly 150 firefighters and personnel battled the wildfire that threatened nearby communities of Tonto Creek Estates, Tonto Christian Camp, Tonto Fish Hatcher and Zane Grey Cabins, which were on a pre-evacuation “set” status and must be prepared to leave at the notice of authorities. The fire started Dec.14 and caused an emergency closure of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests and Tonto National Forest earlier this week. The forest closures would remain in place through Jan. 31, 2025, according to authorities.

Read More

Firefighters work to contain Franklin Fire as weather cools

By Julia Gomez
USA Today
December 15, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

MALIBU, California — The Malibu wildfire continues to threaten over 1,000 structures as firefighters work to gain control of it, officials said. The wildfire, known as the Franklin Fire, has destroyed 19 structures and damaged 27. It threatens 1,025 structures Sunday as 4,037 acres are set ablaze in Malibu, California, located around 29 miles west of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire.) The fire had threatened over 4,300 structures Saturday. Firefighters have progressed in containing the fire, as cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels have assisted them in their efforts. As of Sunday morning, firefighters have contained 42% of the wildfire, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation orders have been lifted in some areas, and people were able to return to their homes.

Read More