Region Archives: US West

Business & Politics

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]

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Boise Cascade expands its millwork business with the purchase of a Florida door shop

Boise Cascade Company
December 10, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Boise Cascade has purchased the assets of the Parksite door shop in Lakeland, Florida. Parksite currently has 22 locations, and this transaction involves their Florida door shop only. The remaining Parksite locations and products are not part of this agreement and will continue to be owned and operated by Parksite. The transaction was completed today. The Parksite Florida door shop offers a large selection of premium entry and decorative glass doors featuring Therma-Tru PrismaGuard premium finish options. Boise Cascade will continue operations there and plans to expand the offerings to include Simpson and interior flush and molded doors. Boise Cascade currently operates 14 millwork locations in some of the nation’s fastest-growing markets, specializing in exterior and interior doors, frames, hardware, and pre-finishing options. 

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B.C.’s resource boom winds down as $100B in projects near completion

By Nelson Bennett
Business in Vancouver
December 10, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, US West

With the wind-down of construction activity on [four energy projects] B.C.’s most significant economic driver—the resource sector—is now poised for deceleration. …Don Wright, for Global Public Affairs… [said] one of the growth engines in B.C. over the last decade has been population and real estate. “That does bring money into the economy, but it’s not sustainable. …“If you want to build your economy, it is building high-quality sectors,” he said. “It is investing in resources.” But the resource sector in B.C. is not maximizing its potential. “I think it is broadly attributable to the fact that we have been constraining the resource sector, and we’re not having our exports grow along with the economy,” Wright said.  …Mina Lauden, VP for Canfor [said] “I was in Alberta recently, and they were talking about a two-to-three-month permitting window,” Lauden said. “We have about two to three years.”

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Roseburg Forest Products lays off 79 employees

By Drew Winkelmaier
The News-Review Today
December 5, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

RIDDLE, Oregon — Roseburg Forest Products laid off approximately 2.5% of its workforce across all North American locations early last month, while 120 positions are slated to be filled at Oregon facilities through 2026. “As we near the end of 2024, soft demand for wood products and broad-based pricing pressure continue to be a drag on our industry,” said Roseburg Forest Products spokesperson Sarah Smith in an email. “Looking into 2025, we do not expect near-term recovery in demand, and as a result, we are positioning to weather another challenging year.” Roseburg Forest Products manages 600,000 acres of timberland in Oregon, Virginia and North Carolina, according to the company website. Through the harvest of these timberlands, Roseburg Forest Products offers a variety of wood products including plywood, fiberboard and laminate products. …Smith said the move to eliminate these positions was a necessary one to cut “unnecessary costs.”

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Finance & Economics

Lane County approves extended tax break for Weyerhaeuser’s $120M sawmill upgrade

By Alan Torres
The Eugene Register-Guard
December 4, 2024
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, US West

The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a property tax exemption for Weyerhaeuser’s planned improvements to its Cottage Grove sawmill, a move officials say will help secure high-paying jobs in the region while ensuring the timber company remains competitive. Weyerhauser, a Seattle-based timber company, applied for the exemption to delay paying taxes on a planned $120 million upgrade to the sawmill, which it says currently employs 225 people. Under the agreement, Weyerhaeuser will save $7.2 million in property taxes over five years, but the company must make a 10% “community benefit payment,” which will be shared by the South Lane School District and the Cottage Grove Community Medical Center Foundation. Additionally, state law mandates Weyerhaeuser pay supplemental fees to the school district in the fourth and fifth years of the exemption.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

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.

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Trex and Weyerhaeuser make westward partnership push

The HBS Dealer
December 10, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Trex Company is joining forces with Weyerhaeuser to expand Trex’s presence across the Southwest region. This collaboration aims to enhance access to the brand’s decking and railing products for customers in California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. Weyerhaeuser will now stock the complete range of Trex decking and railing products at strategically located distribution hubs … [and] will exclusively offer Trex decking and railing solutions in these regions. According to Trex, this collaboration aligns with the company’s strategic focus on expanding its market share in the residential railing segment. …Trex aims to double its share of the $3.3 billion residential railing market over the next five years… Ross Theilen, vice president of distribution at Weyerhaeuser, stated, “Trex is a leader in the industry, and their products align with our commitment to providing innovative, sustainable building materials. We’re thrilled to bring Trex’s premium offerings to our customers in California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.”

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Timberlab Named Innovator of the Year by the Portland Business Journal

By LMC staff
LBM Journal
December 9, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Each year the Portland Business Journal honors the region’s top manufacturing companies who drive the economy with innovation, excellence and productivity at the Makers & Manufacturers Awards 2024. The companies nominated shape the future and build what is needed for the next generation. At the event, Timberlab was named Innovator of the Year… “The mass timber terminal at PDX would not have been possible without the thousands of hands that helped bring this monumental structure to life. Our team is grateful to be part of a team of regional leaders and innovators committed to seeing this project achieve what was previously considered unachievable. Mass timber is here to stay, and this project will serve as a testament to the many benefits of building with local and sustainable building materials.”

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Forestry

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.

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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.

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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.  

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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$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).

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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.

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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. 

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Oregon Legislature approves spending $218 million to cover unpaid wildfire bills

By Dianne Lugo
The Salem Statesman Journal
December 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Oregon lawmakers meeting in a special session Thursday approved spending $218 million to pay off hundreds of unpaid invoices from contractors who worked during the historic 2024 wildfire season. …The Senate voted 25-2 in favor and the House voted 42-2. The bill specifically directs $191.5 million from the general fund to the Oregon Department of Forestry and $26.5 million to the Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal. …Some Republicans blamed the extent of the wildfires on what they called “mismanagement” of the state forests. …Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale called on the head of the Department of Forestry, Cal Mukumoto, to resign, saying the special session was an indication of a failure “on every level” from the agency to communicate the issue in a timely manner. …Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s proposed budget recommends redirecting $150 million to the Department of Forestry and State Fire Marshal for the two-year budget that begins July 1.

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Helping smokejumpers to predict wind turbulence

By David Bruce
Wildfire Today
December 13, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Wind turbulence is a well-known factor in the complex wildland fire environment. Sometimes it is the wind shear over vegetation, buildings, or terrain, and other times it’s the buoyant forces from solar surface heating or thermal plume injections from the fire itself. For a smokejumper, parachuting from a low-flying aircraft in a remote and rugged landscape, turbulence near the ground at the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is of particular concern. Scientists at the Rocky Mountain Research Station have published a study on how to better predict terrain-induced turbulence to assist smokejumper operations. …This study concluded that WindNinja’s lesser-known ability to simulate wind turbulence could be of use for assessing smokejumper operations under moderate to high wind conditions. They also suggest that although this work focused on smoke jumping, real-time turbulence predictions from WindNinja could be useful for other near-surface firefighting aerial operations.

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Explaining Oregon’s problem paying for wildfire work

By April Ehrlich and Dirk VanderHart
Oregon Public Broadcasting
December 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Oregon lawmakers will convene Thursday for a brief emergency session related to this year’s record-setting wildfire season. At the heart of the session are hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid bills owed to the workers who helped put out blazes… This year, wildfire touched over 1.9 million acres, making it Oregon’s most destructive fire season in modern times in terms of acres burned… In the end, Oregon spent a whopping $350 million fighting fires across the state… The Oregon Department of Forestry can usually pay contractors within a couple of months. But this year’s costs far exceeded what the state had on hand as it awaited federal reimbursements. The federal government helps pay for wildfires through disaster funds and reimburses the state whenever Oregon lends firefighting support on federally managed fires. But it can take years for those federal dollars to make their way to Oregon.

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Spruce budworm outbreak in northern Maine has forestry experts worried

By Lori Valigra
Bangor Daily News
December 12, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Some 250,000 acres of Maine fir trees are at risk of defoliation from a moth that could cause millions of dollars of harm to the state’s economy if ignored, forestry experts said during a webinar Wednesday. The spruce budworm is an emerging threat that has already been spotted in Aroostook County near the Canadian border earlier this year, affecting some 3,500 acres of trees, according to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Forestry experts worry that the spruce budworm could spread quickly and damage up to 250,000 acres of Maine’s forests next year. As part of a webinar sponsored by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, they recommended early intervention with aerial pesticide spraying starting in May.

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Oregon lawmakers to vote on funds to pay off debts for historic 2024 wildfire season

By Dianne Lugo and Zach Urness
The Register-Guard
December 11, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Oregon lawmakers meeting in a special session Thursday will vote on spending $218 million in general funds to pay off bills for the estimated $350 million in firefighting costs during the historic 2024 wildfire season that burned more than 1.9 million acres. The money would allow the state to process the remaining payments to vendors and allow the Department of Forestry and the State Fire Marshal to continue program operations through the end of the two-year budget cycle on June 30. “We have a responsibility to pay our bills to the brave individuals who helped protect our homes and property during this terrible wildfire season,” Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, said in a statement. “A narrow special session focused on this common goal is the best path forward.”

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Forestry research expands at Washington State University Vancouver; new efforts could make a dent in illegal logging

By Brianna Murschel
The Daily News
December 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Marc Kramer

A new five-year partnership between Washington State University Vancouver and the U.S. Forest Service will give graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to study wood and soil alongside professors and government scientists. The partnership will establish labs to study the relationship between soils, the local climate and the trees supported by the soil using stable isotope and trace element analysis. “It’s to find new ways, better ways, to identify illegal wood that’s coming into the United States,” said Christine Portfors, vice chancellor for research and graduate education. “This is a really unique opportunity to have scientists who work with the U.S. Forest Service on campus.” …Marc Kramer leads the organic geochemistry and stable isotope laboratory at the university. …“We’re providing new methods to help verify the origin of wood,” Kramer said. “ …Kramer said he anticipates the lab will run the first set of samples in early 2025.

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Conservation groups file suit challenging Bitterroot Forest Plan

By Jackson Kimball
Billings Gazette
December 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

After issuing a 60-day intent to sue in September, nonprofit environmental law group Earthjustice filed a formal complaint against federal agencies involved in the Bitterroot National Forest Plan. The complaint, filed on Tuesday, criticizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and the Bitterroot National Forest for failure to follow guidelines enforced by the Endangered Species Act and seeks to rule the plan as unlawful. …The lawsuit centers around the Bitterroot Forest Plan amendments’ erasure of road density limitations and how potential new road construction could impact grizzly bear and bull trout population in the Bitterroot. …Jim Miller, president of the Friends of the Bitterroot, told the Ravalli Republic in September that road densities in the Bitterroot Forest are “probably the biggest contributor to stream sedimentation, harming trout fisheries.”

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Students and scientists collaborate to maintain Navajo Nation forests

By Mark Degraff
Mongabay
December 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Arizona – Surviving desert heat, alpine cold, and meager rainfall each year, two-needle pinyon pines (Pinus edulis) are the backbone of many forests in the southwestern United States. Their stout branches offer shade for bighorn sheep and sagebrush lizards, while their yearly crop of nuts has nourished humans for millennia. But 150 years of grazing, fire suppression, and other land-use changes have transformed these forests. In many areas, thickets of young trees are choking out woodlands once dominated by widely spaced pines more than a century old. … To help restore the traditional ecology of these dry woodlands, Arizona researchers worked with undergraduate students to remove the dense growths of saplings on land used by Navajo ranchers. …The researchers removed nearly two-thirds of the trees in the forest by thinning most pinyons with a trunk diameter under 25 centimeters…

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Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Flathead National Forest partner to reduce wildfire risk

NBC Montana
December 7, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

KALISPELL, Mont. — The Flathead National Forest and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation are working together to reduce wildfire risk through the Jackknife Project. The project is made possible by the Good Neighbor Authority, which allows the two agencies to plan and coordinate forest management projects. A Eureka company, Stoken Logging will harvest about 800 trees per acre and will leave about 100 to 250 trees per acre as part of a timber sale. The project spans over 1,000 acres on Good Creek Road and the harvest will allow residual trees to have more access to light water and nutrients. The reduction in trees will reduce the ability of wildfires to reach the top of trees, known as a crown fires.

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Tree mortality surveys are out: What they mean for Lake Tahoe

By Katelyn Weish
Tahoe Daily Tribune
December 5, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA, California – Each year aerial observers for the USDA Forest Service ride in small fixed-wing aircraft… looking for the yellow or red-brown of dried or discolored foliage. It’s their job to observe, survey and report conifer and hardwood mortality, defoliation, and other damage. They also note several other factors, including the damage type, affected forest area percentage and severity, impacted tree species, as well as the probable damage-causing agent. …Forest land managers use the annual mortality data to plan harvests in order to salvage recently killed trees or trees in beetle-threatened areas before the beetles can get to them. Others use it for research, fire behavior forecasting, invasive insect and disease monitoring and much more. …This year, observers recorded 439,000 acres of mortality, which is less than the five-year annual average of 730,000 acres. …The aerial survey reports are available publicly on the Forest Service’s website

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J.P. Morgan’s Campbell Global Acquires over 40,000 acres of Timberland in the US Pacific Northwest

By J.P. Morgan Asset Management
PR Newswire
December 5, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced that institutional investors advised by the firm’s wholly-owned timber investment manager, Campbell Global, have led the acquisition of 40,800 productive acres of high-quality, commercial timberland located on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The firm has named the property Tyee to acknowledge the Cascadia region’s indigenous Native American history. Campbell Global was acquired by J.P. Morgan Asset Management in 2021 and is recognized as a pioneer in timberland management, having managed more than five million acres worldwide for pension funds, foundations and other institutional investors since inception. Tyee will be continuously managed for both carbon capture and timber production to meet growing demand for sustainable building products and other uses. Some details of the property include 100% certified in accordance with Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards.

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State and federal partners take innovative approaches to fire prevention and community resilience in Alaska

Alaska Wildland Fire Information
December 5, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

There’s a whole lot of partnering going on in Alaska. The Alaska Region is known for its authentic relationships with local, state, tribal and other federal agencies and communities of all sizes. That same dedication to collaboration is evident in the realm of fire protection. This September, Forest Service employees and staff from the State of Alaska, Division of Forestry & Fire Protection toured Alaska to see how federal funding is making impactful, local changes in fire prevention and community resilience. These efforts demonstrate a successful collaboration between the agency and partners such as local fire departments, boroughs, and the state, showcasing how partnerships can protect communities from wildfire hazards. …The tour included visits to six woody debris disposal sites …The partnership displayed through these federal and state programs highlight the power of collaboration, innovation, and the lasting impact of federal funding in building fire-adapted communities across Alaska.

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Can Old-Growth Forest Survive a Timber Bias?

By Jim Furnish, retired Deputy Chief of the U.S. Forest Service
The Sierra Club Magazine
December 6, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

I retired in 2002 as deputy chief of the US Forest Service with 35 years of experience, and I was stunned, happily, when President Biden unveiled Executive Order 14072… though, an immediate question arose: “Will the White House tell the Forest Service how to implement it or ask them?” My experience told me that unless the administration’s environmental overseers kept the Forest Service on a very tight leash, the Forest Service would likely do as little as possible for as long as possible. My question arises because when it comes to protecting… old-growth forests, the US Forest Service has proved a begrudging landlord. …Where do we stand, knowing the Trump team will surely kill any policy aimed at protecting forests? …I suggest the Forest Service suspend action and allow their policy to remain, unfinished, for now. Do not give Trump or this Congress an opportunity to kill it.

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With Climate Change Intensifying, California Launches Initiative to Fill Forestry Jobs

By Selen Ozturk
Dateline USA via Asian Journal News
December 4, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

As California’s wildlife crisis deepens amid forester job shortages, the state has launched a new initiative to build up its forestry ranks. California has 33 million acres of forest land; for the 4 million of these that are highly managed, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has launched the California Forestry Sector Jobs Initiative to recruit workers, particularly from underrepresented communities, to fill about 1,000 forestry jobs. These jobs, ranging across vocational and educational levels, include logging, manufacturing, engineering, bioenergy production, forest management, mapping, park guiding, environmental analysis, biology, accounting, HR, electrical work and distribution driving… Calforests, representing the state’s private forestry business sector, received a CAL FIRE grant to carry out the jobs initiative.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

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.

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Protect Washington’s forests from being turned into pellets for energy

By Editorial Board
The Seattle Times
December 8, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

SEATTLE — A pair of proposals to build wood pellet-manufacturing plants in Hoquiam and Longview would bring a growing but controversial global industry to Washington. Countries including the U.K. and Japan have subsidized the burning of such pellets to produce electricity. …But of concern is the industry’s operations elsewhere have revealed the use of whole logs, and even old growth forests in British Columbia, to manufacture them. …Drax and other wood pellet producers in the southeastern U.S. also vowed to use residual materials. But the Southern Environmental Law Center estimates that at least 100,000 acres of trees in the American south have been harvested for wood pellets. …The Times editorial board supports active management of working forestlands to improve their health, prevent wildfire and supply critical material for everything from utility poles to affordable housing. …But state leaders should be wary of these past examples. [to access the full story a Seattle Times subscription is required]

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Biochar may be climate-friendly aid to agriculture

By Chuck Hassebrook, National Center for Appropriate Technology
Spokane Journal of Business
December 5, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

There aren’t many climate solutions that unite Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But there is one topic that does: biochar. It draws bipartisan support among policy makers and support across the farm community because it’s a practical way to improve soil health, increase agricultural yields, open new markets, conserve water, and create economic opportunities across rural America, as it addresses climate change. There aren’t many climate solutions that unite Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But there is one topic that does: biochar. It draws bipartisan support among policy makers and support across the farm community because it’s a practical way to improve soil health, increase agricultural yields, open new markets, conserve water, and create economic opportunities across rural America, as it addresses climate change. …Biochar is the most cost-effective way to remove carbon from the atmosphere, with the added benefits of enhancing agricultural productivity, decreasing irrigation requirements, and strengthening rural economies. 

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Forest Fires

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.

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Utah’s largest wildfire of the year wasn’t all devastation

By David Jackson
The Park Record
December 4, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Much of October was a smoky existence along the Wasatch Back while the largest wildfire of the year in Utah burned 33,000 acres of national forest laced with beetle-killed timber east of Frances almost to Hanna. Before unseasonably warm and dry weather gave way to snow, the Yellow Lake Fire burned for a month and a half, from Sept. 28 to Nov. 12. But inside the fire perimeter, nearly 7,300 acres did not burn at all, and no structures burned, either. “That was because of where it was, and the weather patterns during the fire,” said Ken Verboncoeur, the Heber-Kamas district ranger for the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. …So far, the Forest Service has not noticed any significant loss of wildlife in the fire zone. Because the area has numerous patches of meadows and open areas, and the fire was largely a patchy or mosaic pattern, the belief is that animals used these open areas as safe zones.

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