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Business & Politics

B.C. judge rejects class-action bid over RCMP tactics at Fairy Creek protests

By Jeff Lawrence
CHEK News
June 24, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has dismissed an attempt to certify a class-action lawsuit that alleged police misconduct during old-growth logging protests in the Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island. In a ruling released Friday, June 20, Justice F. Matthew Kirchner found the proposed class action lacked the common issues needed for certification under B.C.’s Class Proceedings Act. The lawsuit was launched by two protesters who sought to represent hundreds of people arrested or detained while RCMP enforced a 2021 injunction obtained by Teal Cedar Products Ltd. to keep access roads clear for logging. …“The evidence before me presented by the plaintiffs does little more than establish that there were searches, seizures, arrests and detentions at different dates and locations and under different circumstances,” wrote Kirchner in his decision. …The ruling means the case cannot proceed as a class action, though plaintiffs or others can still pursue individual claims.

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Indigenous interests won’t be trampled under B.C.’s economic fast-track plan: Eby

By Jessica Durling
Campbell River Mirror
June 20, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

Premier David Eby is aware that legislation fast-tracking energy and infrastructure projects has caused a “significant amount of anxiety” among B.C.’s Indigenous communities, but promises projects will not go through on Crown land without First Nations consent. The premier gave a keynote address on Thursday, June 19, during the Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference at Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island Conference Centre. “I don’t believe practically in British Columbia in the year 2025 that we can fast-track without full Indigenous co-operation and support on the project, because we made commitments under the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People that we passed,” Eby said. …Also during his address, the premier applauded Nak’azdli Development Corporation’s Deadwood Innovations, which turns traditionally low-value timber into premium high-quality lumber products, and credited project partners on B.C. Hydro’s “call for power” procurement process for clean and renewable energy.

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Workers strike at LKSM Forestry LP on Vancouver Island

By Adam Chan
Chek News
June 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

About 100 unionized workers on Vancouver Island have started a strike against their employer, La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership (LKSM Forestry). The union representing the workers, United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1-1937, says the workers went on strike on Friday, June 6, because of “significant concessions” being demanded by the company. One of the main concessions that the company is asking for is the ability to bring in non-union contractor workers to perform work currently handled by USW members, according to the union. The union says the strike comes after 93 per cent of unionized workers voted in favour of strike action in late March. …La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership is owned partly by four local First Nations, the Tlowitsis, We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and K’ómoks First Nations, which are all members of the Nanwakolas Council, and Western Forest Products.

Related release by the United Steelworkers: Strike commences at LKSM Forestry LP on Vancouver Island

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‘We reject your bill:’ First Nations heads urge Quebec to scrap forestry reform bill

By Morgan Lowrie
Canadian Press
June 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

QUÉBEC – Representatives of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador urged a provincial legislature committee on Tuesday to abandon a forestry reform bill that would reserve large swaths of the province’s forests for logging.  AFNQL Chief Francis Verreault-Paul and three other leaders called on the government to work with them to develop a new bill from scratch because they say Bill 97 does not respect First Nations’ ancestral rights. The proposed legislation would divide the province’s public forest land into three zones: conservation zones, multi-purpose zones and forest development zones where the forestry industry is prioritized. …The bill tabled this spring by Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina specifies that activities that “restrict the carrying out of forest development activities” would be prohibited in the development zones, as would the implementation of conservation measures.

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Oregon Legislature approves tax for wildfires as survivor bill fails

By Zach Urness
Statesman Journal
July 1, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: US West

It was a mixed bag for wildfire funding this session in the Oregon Legislature. Lawmakers came in with lofty ambitions — to create more stable funding to fight and prevent wildfires, to repeal an unpopular wildfire risk map and to get relief for 2020 wildfire survivors still waiting to be paid lawsuit awards. …The biggest wildfire funding bill that passed was House Bill 3940 — which includes a tax on oral nicotine products, taps the state’s rainy day fund and uses a very small increase to the timber tax. The bill should raise about $40 million per year to pay primarily for wildfire mitigation. …Ultimately, the legislature approved more than $200 million from the budget that can be used for wildfire suppression for the 2025-27 biennium. However, it didn’t come up with any new or longer-lasting funding source, Golden said. That means for now, money for suppression will come from Oregon’s general fund.

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Idaho Sens. Risch and Crapo come out against public land-sale provision

By Rose Evans
Idaho Statesman
June 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Idaho Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo made statements Friday opposing the sale of more than 3 million acres of public land as part of the federal budget reconciliation bill. The Republican senators had not previously spoken out on the controversial provision, proposed by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would fold the land-sale into the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” …If passed, Lee’s provision would require BLM and Forest Service officials to publish a list of tracts of land nominated or considered for sale every 60 days. It would cap the amount of land that could be sold at 0.75% of each agency’s land — up to 3.2 million acres, the Statesman previously reported. …Lee said the legislation — which requires land sold be used for housing or “associated community needs” — would make “housing more affordable for hardworking American families,” according to a news release announcing the draft language.

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Map reveals Nevada public land targeted for sale in Republican senator’s amendment

By Greg Haas & James Schaeffer
8NewsNow
June 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

LAS VEGAS — What’s for sale in Nevada? About 33.5 million acres of federal land if the Senate moves forward with a plan to amend the “one big, beautiful bill.” A map showing lands eligible for sale across the West includes Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land that could be on the auction block as Republicans look for ways to finance the extension of tax cuts that went into place during President Donald Trump’s first term. …Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee is picking up where a failed attempt by Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei failed in the U.S. House, which passed the reconciliation funding bill after chopping his public land sale amendment. …“The Toiyabe Chapter has always upheld that public lands cannot solve our housing crisis. To address the housing crisis, we need real corporate accountability, not corporate handouts,” Olivia Tanager (executive director for the Sierra Club) said.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Kelowna airport terminal expansion hits milestone with completion of mass timber roof

By Cindy White
Castanet
June 17, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

©Lispett Photo Group

The expansion of Kelowna International Airport has hit a major milestone. The mass timber roof structure of the new airport terminal building is now complete. “A key component to everything we do at YLW is ensuring we reflect the community in our airport. Mass timber embodies our commitment to sustainability and innovation, while also honouring the local industries and resources,” said airport CEO Sam Samaddar. …The project was partially funded through a $500,000 investment from the province’s Mass Timber Demonstration Program. The mass timber panels were manufactured at Kalesnikoff’s state-of-the-art facility in Castlegar, B.C. The roof incorporated 788-square-metres of wood from the Slocan Valley and its construction supported the employment of more than 350 people in B.C. …”B.C. mass timber projects like this showcase how our province is a world leader in the industry and supports our objectives around a clean, sustainable economy,” said Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation.

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UBC innovators unveil novel wood leather soccer ball at Expo 2025

By Poppy Philbrook
Capital Current
June 10, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

OSAKA, Japan – The buzz surrounding Vancouver’s role as one of 16 host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was at the centre of British Columbia Week in recent days at the Expo 2025 Canada Pavilion. …While preparations for the world-class sporting event accelerate, designers from the University of British Columbia’s Bioproducts Institute are concerned with the sustainability of soccer itself, unveiling a first-of-its-kind wood leather ball to an attentive crowd in the heart of the pavilion on June 4. …Created in the official size for junior soccer games, the wood leather ball not only closely aligns with Expo 2025’s overarching theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” but also highlights the value of one of BC’s largest and growing exports: wood products. …Although the ball is yet to be tested in play, Takagi considers the wood leather material far more durable than its bio-based counterparts.

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Vancouver Island mass timber home shows potential of green building tech

By Marc Kitteringham
Oak Bay News
June 3, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Tom Grimmer

Just over a month ago, the spot where Tom Grimmer is standing was little more than an empty lot. Construction crews had cleared the land, built the foundation and laid the groundwork for what was to come, but for the most part, it was empty; he explained this as he went up the stairs onto the second floor. …The house, since there is indeed most of a house there now, was dropped off in six containers in late April and has been subsequently assembled into what it is now. “The first panels landed a month ago,” he said. “It’ll be done pretty soon.” …This, according to Grimmer, is the only mass timber passive house on Vancouver Island. Grimmer isn’t new to passive homes. …While there are mass timber facilities in Canada and B.C., they are more geared towards institutional and commercial buildings.

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Mass timber company picks Portland for manufacturing facility

By Kyra Buckley
Oregon Public Broadcasting
June 21, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

A mass timber company from Switzerland has chosen Portland for one of its North American facilities. Zaugg Timber Solutions is entering into a long-term lease with the Port of Portland to develop a manufacturing site at Terminal 2. Port commissioners approved the transaction this month. The company is expected to be the anchor tenant for the port’s efforts to create what it describes as a mass timber housing and innovation campus at the terminal. “Having Zaugg as this incredibly trusted international leader within mass timber really adds a lot of credibility to the vision,” Kimberly Branam, chief trade and economic development officer at the port, told commissioners. “It will bring the vision to life.” That vision, Branam said, is to have manufacturing facilities alongside research and development sites. …Zaugg is a manufacturer of engineered wood products and uses its own materials to build structures.

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Forestry

Province considering auctioning cutblocks near Walker Creek

By Abigail Popple
Penticton Herald
June 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In the northernmost parts of the greater Robson Valley sits the Walker Creek watershed, a lush land with countless species of flora and fauna. …The area is also at the heart of a conflict between advocacy group Conservation North and BC Timber Sales (BCTS). In May, Conservation North found out BC Timber Sales is proposing cutblocks in the area, which would be auctioned off to forestry companies. The group held a letter-writing night in Prince George, where they encouraged attendees to contact the Ministry of Forests expressing opposition to the proposed auction cutblocks. …The area is one of the last untouched forests in the province, says Conservation North Director Michelle Connolly. “There are virtually no roads, mines or cutblocks. [Walker Creek] represents a place where mother nature makes the rules: it’s self-managing, self-maintaining, it’s a wild valley,” Connolly told a crowd of dozens during the letter-writing night.

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Coulson Aviation to do first night-vision aerial firefighting in B.C.

By Darron Kloster
Victoria Times Colonist
June 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Coulson Aviation is joining the firefight in B.C.’s forests, bringing its night-vision technology to battle wildfires. The Port Alberni-based company, whose pilots use night-vision goggles to battle fires in Australia and the United States, has signed a 70-day contract with the B.C. Wildfire Service to provide one of its Sikorsky S-61 Type 1 helitankers that are equipped for night-time operations. The deal marks the first time Coulson will conduct night-vision aerial firefighting missions on Canadian soil. …Coulson Aviation Canada has logged thousands of night-vision flight hours and dropped tens of millions of gallons at night on urban wildfires in California and through parts of Australia. The company earned the world’s first night-vision firefighting certification from Transport Canada in 2011, followed by the first approvals in Australia and the United States. …Coulson Aviation employs a two-aircraft team, including a Sikorsky S-61 firefighting helicopter and a Sikorsky S-76 supervision helicopter.

Read the Coulson Aviation Press Release

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Kamloops councillor says community forest would provide FireSmart, revenue generation opportunities

By Kristen Holliday
Castanet
June 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A Kamloops city councillor is pitching the idea of a community forest as a way to generate revenue for local amenities and projects while reducing wildfire risk for the region. During Wednesday’s livability and sustainability select committee meeting, Coun. Stephen Karpuk said he’d like to see the City of Kamloops strike a working group to get more information about pursuing a provincial community forest agreement. “There’s an opportunity for all parties to gain some economic value, some certainty on the land base, and some safety and security and some benefits economically that we can bring back to our communities,” Karpuk said. He said surrounding communities of Barriere, Clearwater, Valemount, Clinton and Logan Lake all have community forests — a tract of land set aside for the municipality to manage.

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McBride Community Forest Expanded Election Boundaries

Letter by Al Birnie, Former Chair, Take Back Our Forest, 2010
The Rocky Mountain Goat
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Attending the McBride Community Forest Corporation Open House on May 24, I was both surprised and delighted to hear Chair Mike Monroe announce that the Articles of Incorporation of the MCFC have been permanently amended to guarantee that, starting with the 2026 Board elections, the majority of members will be elected by voters throughout the area of the forest, rather than only McBride Village Council! …This is how the CF was proposed to be structured in the first place, and is exactly what Mike and I and many others unsuccessfully fought for back in 2010 through the community group Take Back Our Forest! …The new arrangement by no means automatically solves every issue the CF will have to deal with, as there naturally will be differing opinions on how it should operate.

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Wildfire recovery equipment repeatedly vandalized, says Okanagan Indian Band

By Chelsey Mutter
Castanet
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfire recovery work on the Okanagan Indian Band is being subjected to acts of vandalism. According to a post on the OKIB website, equipment used in the Bradley Creek Wildfire Salvage Project is being repeatedly vandalized. “These illegal actions are putting a stop to critical recovery work and placing our community and lands at further risk,” said the OKIB in a community notice. The salvage project is working with Tolko Industries to remove dead standing (fire-killed) timber to support ecological recovery and reduce wildfire risks in the Bradley Creek area which was impacted by the 2021 White Rock Lake Wildfire. …OKIB said the project is essential to reduce wildfire risk, and restore watershed through erosion control and soil stabilization. The project also supports the return of traditional plants and medicines, creates local employment opportunities and generates revenue through the OKIB forest license.

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More than 80,000 seedlings to be planted for Downton Lake wildfire recovery

By Luke Faulks
Pique News Magazine
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In 2023, a wildfire ripped through the Downton Lake area of the Upper Bridge River Valley (BRV), destroying more than 40 homes, threatening some 270 properties and consuming an area of about 9,600 hectares before being put out. Now, a partnership between the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD), Cariboo Carbon Solutions (CCS) and Tree Canada is looking to plant 80,000 seedlings on private lands in Electoral Area A in 2026 at no cost to participating landowners. …The replanting initiative is part of a broader recovery effort led by the Land-Based Recovery Table, which ensures local representation as ecological restoration in the BRV moves forward. The group includes community leaders, Indigenous partners, the SLRD, provincial ministries, industry partners like CCS and local organizations including the Gun Lake Ratepayers Association. …The seedlings, currently being cultivated at Arbutus Grove Nursery, are a mix of Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, hybrid spruce and western larch.

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Okanagan Indian Band, Tolko Industries still cleaning up after White Rock Lake wildfire

By Darren Handschuh
Castanet
June 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Okanagan Indian Band is continuing efforts to clean up after the 2021 White Rock Lake wildfire. The OKIB is currently working with Tolko Industries on salvage harvesting operations in the Bradley Creek area, which was heavily impacted by the fire. The White Rock Lake fire destroyed thousands of hectares of land and numerous structures as it raged through the region. According to the OKIB June online newsletter, the “salvage work focuses on removing dead standing (fire-killed) timber to support ecological recovery and reduce wildfire risks, while protecting Syilx values and environmental standards.” …This salvage harvesting is part of OKIB’s long-term recovery plan for fire-affected areas. Removing fire-killed trees and replanting the area will help stabilize soils and reduce erosion, support water quality and wildlife habitat recovery and contribute to a healthier, more resilient forest ecosystem.

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B.C. First Nations return to traditional practices to reduce wildfire risk

By Ben Miljure
CTV News
June 5, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

As wildfire seasons seem to grow longer and more intense year after year, many B.C. First Nations are looking to the past for solutions to make their communities more fire resilient. In the northwest corner of the province, the Cheslatta First Nation has come under threat multiple times in recent years. “Almost half of Cheslatta’s territory has been burnt since 2010,” said Cheslatta forestry manager Logan Wilson. …Many First Nations utilizing cultural burns are working in collaboration with researchers at UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, who received a USD$780,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to study Indigenous practices of wildfire management and forest restoration. …The BCWS said it participated in 48 prescribed burns in 2024, altering more than 3,400 hectares of land, an area more than eight times the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Twenty-three of those burns were conducted in collaboration with First Nations.

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Rescinding the Roadless Rule won’t protect from wildfire

By George Wuerthner
The Bend Bulletin
July 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

George Wuerthner

…In nullifying the Roadless Rule, Secretary Rollins specifically justified her decision by suggesting it would allow “for fire prevention and responsible timber production.” She claims it will enable “responsible forest management,” which is code for more logging. The underlying cause of the increase in wildfires across the country is a warming climate. …“Extreme fire weather” is characterized by low humidity, drought, high temperatures, and high winds. …There are numerous examples where logging and prescribed burning have increased the spread of fires. Opening up the canopy by logging dries out soils and surface fuels. It also permits greater wind penetration. …The second problem with this approach is that embers tossed by high winds can go through, over, and around any “fuel treatments.” A third problem is that the majority of urban home destruction is the result of grass or shrub fires, not forest blazes.

Related coverage:

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US Forest Service chief asks wildfire employees who took voluntary resignation to ‘come back’

By Ryan Spencer
Summit Daily News
June 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Tom Schultz

Just months after the Trump Administration gave federal employees the option to voluntarily resign, the U.S. Forest Service is asking those who resigned to return to work for the wildfire season. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a video posted to the Department of Agriculture website on Thursday that employees who took the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation offer should be encouraged to “come back” for the wildfire season. …Nationwide, more than 4,000 Forest Service employees accepted the federal government’s resignation offer, according to POLITICO. The Trump Administration also fired an estimated 3,400 Forest Service employees in February. …The Forest Service did not return a request for comment Monday that included questions about how many employees who accepted the deferred resignation option were “red card” holders qualified to work on wildfires. …Even before the layoffs and voluntary resignations, Colorado mountain towns had concerns that Forest Service staffing was lacking.

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Judge considers delay of Garnet Mountain logging

By Laura Lundquist
Missoula Current
July 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A federal judge has less than two weeks to decide whether to halt a U.S. Bureau of Land Management project east of Missoula for its potential harm to grizzly bears or Canada lynx. On Monday, Missoula federal district judge Dana L. Christensen heard arguments on whether five conservation organizations were likely to win their lawsuit against the Missoula BLM Office regarding a series of logging projects in the Garnet Mountains, known as the Clark Fork Face Project. …The BLM has already accepted a bid and appropriated $880,000 to pay for the Big River Thinning Project, which is supposed to start on July 15. So Christensen needs to decide before then whether or not to grant the injunction. The plaintiffs also seek to stop three other timber sales but they’ve yet to be sold.

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Federal budget bill would boost logging — but cut funds to Oregon timber counties

By April Ehrlich
Oregon Public Broadcasting
July 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Republican-backed budget bill that passed in the U.S. Senate Tuesday authorizes dramatic increases to logging on federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. But Oregon counties won’t see most of those revenues if the bill clears the U.S. House unchanged. “Rural counties, all counties that receive timber revenue from the Forest Service and the BLM will lose,” said Doug Robertson, executive director of the O&C Counties Association, a group that supports Oregon timber counties. …Counties can’t collect property taxes from federal lands that are within their boundaries, which leaves many counties with limited options to raise local taxes to pay for schools, law enforcement and public infrastructure. …Oregon counties have typically gone with Secure Rural Schools, since it provides more funding. That funding expired in 2023. …Counties wouldn’t see any of the revenues from those long-term sales.

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Oregon wildfires have already burned 20,000 acres and destroyed 56 homes. What’s next?

By Zach Urness
The Register-Guard
June 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

It’s been a busy and destructive start to Oregon’s wildfire season. Two state parks have already been evacuated by fast-moving wildfires, 56 homes have been destroyed, and 20,300 acres have burned in more than 400 fires — mostly east of the Cascades. Rafters on the popular John Day River have twice found themselves floating through the middle of an active blaze. …At one point, Interstate 84 was closed due to wildfire activity. …“What’s striking is the size of the fires we’ve seen this early in the season,” Oregon Department of Forestry wildfire spokeswoman Jessica Neujahr said. …High fire danger is expected to persist across the entire summer and into fall. …A combination of factors has led to the large wildfires seen so far this year. A wet winter led to the rapid growth of fuels like grasses in eastern Oregon, which then dried out rapidly under hot and dry spring conditions.

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New state forest rule could mean another hit to timber revenue in Lewis County

By Jacob Moore
The Centralia Chronicle
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

After a June 6 vote by the Washington state Forest Practices Board, a new rule could lead to 200,000 acres of private forestland across the state going out of production and being left to grow. A report from the Washington Department of Commerce suggests the rule could cost Lewis County more than $350 million in lost lumber revenue. The proposed rule calls for a major expansion of buffer zones around non-fish-bearing streams. Called riparian buffer zones, they are places where trees must be left to shade streams and keep them cool. …The divisiveness of the new rule was apparent in the board room not just during the vote but for hours of public comment and discussion between board members beforehand. …Many who testified against the new rule were small forestland owners, who the Department of Ecology says will be the most impacted by the new rule.

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Feds ask court to dismiss timber industry lawsuit that aims to increase Tongass old-growth logging

By Alix Soliman
KTOO
June 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The largest timber companies operating in Southeast Alaska want the Tongass National Forest to sell them more old-growth timber, and they’re suing the federal government to get it. … The Alaska Forest Association along with two of their members, Viking Lumber and Alcan Timber, filed the lawsuit in March, alleging that the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to fulfill a promise to supply the companies with enough timber to meet market demand. But the government filed a motion to dismiss the case, writing that it didn’t make such a promise. …Frank Garrison is an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation representing the timber industry. He said the industry has faced a 30-year decline, and that Viking and Alcan are struggling. …The Forest Service has not met its annual target for timber sales in Alaska since 2014, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report published last year.

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Conservation groups, Forest Service, argue merits and harms of Big Belts logging operation

By Micah Drew
Daily Montanan
June 3, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Conservation groups argued in federal court that a forest management project comprising 1,241 acres of timber harvest east of Helena may violate several federal statutes, but the government lawyers said rules were followed and the timber sale has economic and public interest benefits. …A portion of the temporary roads will be constructed in elk wintering grounds, according to the project plan, which the plaintiffs argue will decrease elk habitat effectiveness. …The plaintiffs also challenged the logging project on the basis of affecting grizzly bear habitat connectivity. …But Assistant U.S. Attorney Abby Nordhagen Cziok, said the plaintiffs were mischaracterizing their arguments as a “false choice between logging, and elk and grizzly bears.” …Judge Christensen said he would work to deliver an expedient ruling due to the impending restart of Sun Mountain’s operations, but again took issue with the plaintiff’s last-minute actions in the case.

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Court denies request to halt logging activity in Elwha Watershed

By Emma Maple
Peninsula Daily News
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

PORT ANGELES – 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. …These organizations have lawsuits filed on several other sales in Clallam and Jefferson Counties, as well. …In addition to the motions, activists have blocked access to the parcel titled “Parched” since May 7 by engaging in a tree sit.

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Trump administration plan could allow reconstruction in 85,000 acres of Tennessee National Forest land

By Justin Wallace
WBIR.com
June 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Around 85,000 acres of national forest land in Tennessee could be open to road construction, reconstruction and timber harvest under a new Trump Administration plan, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. …The USDA described the rule as being “outdated,” claiming it contradicts the will of Congress and goes against the mandate of the department’s Forest Service to “sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands.” …Rescinding the rule would remove the prohibitions on reconstruction, allowing for fire prevention and possible timber production, the federal department said. …The USDA also said the rescinding aligns with President Trump’s “Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” to get rid of “overcomplicated, burdensome barriers that hamper American business and innovation.”

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Logging will increase by 10% in Pennsylvania’s only national forest this year under Trump directive

By Abigail Hakas
SpotlightPA
June 4, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Pennsylvania …The move has sparked fierce debate between environmentalists and pro-logging groups who disagree on cutting trees to reduce wildfire risks or improve forest health — two reasons cited in new federal guidance. In the coming fiscal year, the state’s only national forest is set to sell 45 million board feet, an over 12% increase from this fiscal year, said Alisen Downs, public affairs specialist for the Allegheny National Forest. The federal government’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1. …While next year’s logging will be an increase from the over 39 million board feet sold for harvest in 2023-24 and the 40 million planned for this year, it’s not an historic high. In 2020-21, almost 50 million board feet were harvested. …But under a recent emergency designation affecting almost 60% of national forest land, some federally mandated regulations and processes aren’t required, including some put in place to protect endangered species or allow challenges to logging proposals.

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Logging company using ‘zombie’ permit from 1977 to log endangered possum habitat

By Angela Heathcote
ABC News, Australia
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A Victorian timber company is using what has been dubbed a “zombie” license from 1977 to log critically endangered mountain ash forest, including the habitat of the Leadbeater’s possum, which was once thought extinct. Conservationists said the activation of such an old licence was a loophole allowing the loggers to avoid the application of more recent laws designed to protect endangered plants and animals, and which require consultation with the public prior to logging. …The council approved the application, leaving environmentalists and some scientists furious. …Critically endangered Leadbeater’s possums have been observed on the perimeter of the property and in the state forest that neighbours the property. …Professor Lindenmayer said the logging of 16 hectares of mountain ash forest on this property could fragment Leadbeater’s possum populations.

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New president and vice president at chartered foresters

By Elizabeth Birt
Institute of Chartered Foresters
June 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Andrew Sowerby & Gary Kerr

Edinburgh — A new president and vice president have been appointed at the Institute of Chartered Foresters. Andrew Sowerby, a fellow of the institute, has taken on the role of president, succeeding Geraint Richards. Dr Gary Kerr has been appointed vice president. Mr Sowerby, who recently joined Bronwin & Abbey Ltd as a director, said: “It’s a real honour to be elected as president of the Institute of Chartered Foresters. “The institute for me is more than an organisation, it’s a home, and has been a constant across my career spanning the public, private and third sectors. “I’m very much stepping into this role embracing the diversity and experience that defines our profession.” The appointment follows the institute’s annual general meeting on June 4.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

A forest the size of North America would be needed to offset Big Oil’s reserves, study finds

By Hayley Smith
Los Angeles Times
June 19, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

The world would need to plant a forest the size of North America in order to offset planet-warming emissions from the 200 largest oil and gas companies, new research has found. A study published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment analyzed the economic and ecological benefits of planting trees as a means of balancing potential carbon dioxide emissions from the projected burning of oil reserves held by the fossil fuel industry. …The burning of fossil fuels represents about 90% of planet-warming emissions. …But, as the paper notes, “fossil-fuel companies currently face little incentive to reduce the extraction and use of fossil fuels, and regulatory measures to limit these activities have been slow to materialise.” …Indeed, the researchers acknowledged that the study has limitations as it relies on broad assumptions, including that all existing fossil fuel reserves will be sold and burned.

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Policymakers often ignore forest regeneration in fight against climate change, research finds

By Stefanie Eschenbacher
Reuters
June 24, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Naturally-regenerating forests are often ignored by policymakers working to curb climate change even though they hold an untapped potential to rapidly absorb planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere, scientists found in a research paper published Tuesday. These so-called secondary forests, which have regenerated themselves after being razed, often for agriculture, can help bring the world closer to the net-zero emissions target needed to slow global warming, the research published in the journal Nature Climate Change shows. That is because these young forests, which are made of trees between two and four decades old, can remove carbon from the atmosphere up to eight times faster per hectare than forests that were just planted, they found. … “It’s a constant cycle of deforestation,” said Nathaniel Robinson, one of the authors and a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry.

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Health & Safety

B.C. Wildfire Service firefighter injured by falling tree at chainsaw training site

By Ian Holliday
CTV News
June 24, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

A firefighter with the B.C. Wildfire Service was injured by a tree strike in Merritt, B.C., earlier this month, according to officials. WorkSafeBC included the incident in a roundup of recent workplace injuries and close calls published on its website Monday. The agency described the incident as causing “multiple injuries” to one worker. “A group of workers were conducting basic chainsaw training at a field site when a suspected dangerous tree (65 cm in diameter, 27 m tall), previously assessed as a safe tree for the work activity, unexpectedly fell,” WorkSafe’s summary of the incident reads. “The tree struck a young worker about 30 feet from the tree’s base.” …“Once assessed, the patient was discharged home.” …“As with any injury or accident, an investigation was conducted by the B.C. Wildfire Service and WorkSafeBC,” the service said.

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Forest Fires

Wildfire near Squamish being held, no longer burning out of control

The Canadian Press in CTV News
June 15, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Officials say a wildfire near Squamish, B.C., which forced the evacuation of the nearby Alice Lake Provincial Park and triggered a local state of emergency earlier this week, is now classified as being held after help from cool, cloudy weather. The BC Wildfire Service announced the fire was being held, meaning the fire is expected to remain within its current perimeter based on fuel and weather conditions and resource availability, on Saturday afternoon. The District of Squamish says the Dryden Creek wildfire has held steady at 0.6 square kilometres in size since Friday. The district says 65 B.C. wildland firefighters, five helicopters and one piece of heavy equipment are on scene to work alongside Squamish Fire Rescue staff to contain the fire. Although weather conditions seem favourable for firefighting efforts, the district says a state of local emergency remains in place.

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Squamish wildfire grows to 14.4 hectares

By Alanna Kelly
The Squamish Chief
June 10, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The District of Squamish has declared a state of emergency as the Dryden Creek wildfire continues to burn out of control, prompting expanded evacuation alerts and a full campfire ban. The Squamish wildfire has reached 14.4 hectares. It still remains out of control. The District says that the increase in size reflects growth away from the community along a west-facing cliff. Tonight, there are 28 firefighters on the scene who are “working towards containment on the west and south flanks of the fire to prevent further spread, with good success.” Air tankers and helicopters continue to attack the blaze. The helicopters are going back and forth to Alice Lake to bucket water to the fire.

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About 15,000 have fled Saskatchewan wildfires and more coming: Premier Moe

Canadian Press in Global News
June 3, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

PRINCE ALBERT – As Manitoba grapples with wildfires that have forced more than 17,000 people from their homes, the premier of Saskatchewan said Tuesday the situation is becoming just as dire in his province. Scott Moe said upwards of 15,000 people have had to leave their communities and more are likely in the coming days. “We didn’t have a very good day yesterday,” he told reporters in Prince Albert, Sask. …Moe said the biggest destruction has been in places like the northern village of Denare Beach, near the Manitoba boundary, where some family homes have been lost. There will likely be challenging days ahead due to a lack of rain in the forecast, the premier added. …Marlo Pritchard from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said about 400 structures have been lost. Many firefighters had to stand down in some areas Monday due to “extreme fire behaviour,” he said.

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Evacuation orders issued as winds fan flames of wildfire near B.C.-Alberta border

By Akshay Kulkarni
CBC News
June 3, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

New evacuation orders have been issued due to the Kiskatinaw River wildfire near the B.C.-Alberta border in northeastern B.C. on Tuesday, in addition to previous orders for 55 properties issued late last week. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire covered an area of just under 40 square kilometres, and is one of B.C.’s two “wildfires of note” — those that are particularly visible or pose a threat to public safety — the other being the Summit Lake wildfire in the far north. Highway 52 East remains closed in the area due to the blaze, which is burning close to the Pembina Steeprock gas processing facility. The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says that the wildfire is set to experience “significant growth in the coming days”, with winds up to 60 km/h pushing the fire north, south and east towards Kelly Lake and the B.C.-Alta. border by Friday.

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More than 1,400 evacuated by military as fires rip through northern Ontario

By Isaac Callan
Global News
June 10, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

More than 1,400 people have been evacuated from a remote community in northern Ontario using massive military transport planes as out-of-control wildfires spread across the province. On Sunday, Ontario asked the federal government to dispatch military personnel to help evacuate the community of Sandy Lake after a nearby fire expanded, doubling in size toward the edge of town in a few hours. Defence personnel said they had evacuated more than 1,400 people by 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The evacuations mark the latest twist in an already busy fire season in the province, one critics argue the Ontario government failed to prepare for. Data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre shows that the area of Ontario burned so far this year is already 38 times higher than it was last year.

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