The provincial government, through Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, is extending its agreement with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper to buy electricity. The initial agreement was made in March, 2024 for Hydro to buy electricity from Deer Lake Power, which energizes the paper-making machines at the Corner Brook mill for 27.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The deal has now been extended until March 31, 2026. Hydro will continue to purchase excess green energy from Deer Lake Power, while the mill continues work to identify new revenue sources through viable wood-based projects “to unlock Newfoundland and Labrador’s high forest potential while further stabilizing the mill’s sustainability and future,” wrote the province’s Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture in a news release on Wednesday. The department said the agreement will not impact rate payers. The announcement comes after the mill was forced to pause operations due to a number of wildfires.
Donald Trump has called on the European Union to hit China and India with tariffs of up to 100% to force Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia. …Last month, the US imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India, which included a 25% penalty for its transactions with Russia. Although the EU has said it would end its dependency on Russian energy, around 19% of its natural gas imports still come from there. If the EU does impose the tariffs on China and India it would mark a change to its approach of attempting to isolate Russia with sanctions rather than levies.
EUGENE, Oregon — President Trump’s demand that the US increase timber output by a quarter is running into a math problem: Lumber companies may not make as much money on wood in the coming months. A steep drop in lumber futures prices nationally is jolting the wood products business just as the Trump administration is prodding the industry — including the government’s own forest managers — to ramp up production so the US doesn’t have to rely on imports. Futures prices on lumber at the end of last week dipped to $527 per MFBM, the lowest point in a year. For Weyerhaeuser, which operates a mill in Cottage Grove, Oregon, the pricing signal isn’t sounding alarms just yet. The mill’s in the middle of a multiyear modernization said representatives who figure the market is doing one of its usual seesaws. [to access the full story an E&E News subscription is required]
SHERIDAN, Oregon — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has fined a Yamhill County wood treating company $1,055,825 for numerous violations of environmental regulations for water quality, hazardous waste and spill response and cleanup. 
BEMIDJI, Minnesota — The West Fraser wood engineering plant west of Bemidji was one of three companies to receive part of $4.2 million in business expansion grants from the state. The state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development stated in a news release that the three projects are expected to create or retain 587 jobs and leverage more than $270 million in private investment. West Fraser plans to renovate an existing building and improve the operating site in the small community of Solway. The operation there produces engineered wood products, such as OSB or particle board, that are used widely in construction and other industries. The project will receive more than $1 million in financing from the state’s Job Creation Fund, with the company expected to invest $137 million. The project is expected to retain 132 jobs.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its 
A “normal” annual softwood lumber price cycle sees prices dropping from Labour Day until early in the new year when buying starts again for the spring construction season. We are also expecting three interest rate cuts this year from the US Federal Reserve. With lower mortgage rates expected, will we see increasing demand for lumber? …The short term outlook for lumber prices continues to see weakness with price projections as low as US$450 per thousand board feet until the spring construction season. Looking into 2026 and 2027, prices are expected to recover to the mid-US$500 to low-US$600 per thousand board feet range. Ongoing duties, the upcoming court rulings on tariffs and the protracted housing shortage will all impact the price of lumber over the next two years. [to access the full story, a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
Michelle Conroy says she appreciates all the work the province’s firefighters have put into protecting Miramichi, as wildfires raged out of control. But the Progressive Conservative MLA for Miramichi East also wonders if their employer, the Department of Natural Resources, might have unintentionally made conditions in the forests worse by encouraging herbicide spraying so that New Brunswick’s powerful timber industry could have softwood plantations. …The idea that the ecosystem could had been thrown “out of balance,” was addressed by Deputy Minister Cade Libby. “Your comment is one we’ve heard quite a few times,” Libby said. “Yes, herbicides target broad-leafed plants. …But a working forest is a great way to mitigate forest fire risk.” The deputy minister said timber cutters use forestry roads that act as fire breaks and that they work on forests of various types and age classes that have less fuel load than virgin, old-growth forests do.
NOVA SCOTIA — Mikmaq have begun blocking logging trucks from leaving Hunters Mountain. Madonna Bernard began the blockade on Monday afternoon when she stood in front of two logging trucks. She was then joined by other Mi’kmaq seeking to stop harvesting from the Cape Breton Highlands. …“This is not a protest, this is a protection. We’re willing to stay as long as it takes.” A large RCMP presence has gathered and more Mi’kmaq supporters are arriving. …Port Hawkesbury Paper mill manager Bevan Lock said that the supercalendered paper relies on wood coming from the highlands for a significant part of its woods fibre. He said some 70 people work for forestry and logging contractors operating in the area. “The province and RCMP have taken steps to remove the blockade and allow travel on a public road,” said Lock.
After years of wildland firefighters developing cancer, lung disease and other health issues while not being allowed to wear masks as they work, the US Forest Service will now allow these crews to wear masks. The policy turnaround comes as the Forest Service posted new guidance on Monday “acknowledging for the first time that masks can protect firefighters against harmful particles in wildfire smoke,” per 
LINCOLN COUNTY, Oregon — Travelers exploring private timber lands along the Oregon Coast may encounter locked gates or restricted access, but this is not due to a desire to keep citizens off the property, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said. The closures are a response to increasing incidents of littering, vehicle abandonment, theft of forest products, and criminal mischief. Common acts of vandalism include property destruction by 4x4s and ATVs in unauthorized areas and damage to road access gates, officials said. These actions not only destroy the natural beauty of the forests but also incur costs for cleanup and repairs, which are paid by private timber companies and taxpayers.
The increase in wildfires over the past few decades is changing the Colorado landscape in more ways than one. Not only do fires temporarily decimate the impacted areas but according to research out of Colorado State University, they are actually changing how, and if, forests regenerate post fire. “There are definitely some places where they’re coming back really well; it just takes a long time for trees to grow back,” said Camille Stevens-Rumann, CSU associate professor of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship. “But there are definitely other places that are not recovering and are not turning back into the forests that we expect them to be. …Reseeding efforts in these locations have shown mixed results, forcing researchers and forestry officials to look at alternative species. …“I think we do have to adapt and think about the fact that those forests are going to look differently.”
Today’s Lookout 
The western United States is facing another destructive wildfire season. …As US forests burn, Congress and federal agencies are asking an important question: What role should federal land management play in reducing fire risk? …Several of the current federal proposals for managing fire risk focus on increasing timber harvesting on federal lands as a solution. They also propose speeding up approvals for those projects by limiting environmental reviews and public oversight. As experts in fire science and policy, we see some useful ideas in the proposed solutions, but also reasons for concern. While cutting trees can help reduce the severity of future fires, it has to include thinning in the right places to make a difference. Without oversight and public involvement, increasing logging could skip areas with low-value trees that need thinning and miss opportunities for more effective fire risk-reduction work. 
STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin — The Trump administration blitzkrieg on the environment is rumbling along, and 45 million acres of remote national forest lands are in their sights. These are areas protected by the Roadless Rule, adopted in 2001. …The administration is rushing the public comment period, with a deadline of Sept. 19. …There’s a good chance the administration has already made up its mind. But there’s something to say in this moment about being on the right side of history. …Why should Wisconsin care about the Roadless Rule, which is a huge deal in the West? Mike Dombeck, a Wisconsin native, was chief of the USDA Forest Service when the rule was adopted.” …It’s an important niche between wilderness and development. …It took a long time for us to recognize that suppressing fire actually contributes to uncontrollable wildfires. Fire has been a forest management tool for eons.
The UK’s largest and most advanced seed centre has opened in Cheshire. The store near Delamere Forest will process four tonnes of seeds every year, which Forestry England said was enough to grow millions of trees for decades to come. It added the centre was “a significant milestone in protecting the future resilience of our forests”. Forestry Minister Mary Creagh said the building was “nationally significant” because it was “part of our climate resilience”. Creagh added: “We are the largest wood importer in the world, and in a climate-constrained future we are going to have to grow more of our own.” The centre, funded through the Nature for Climate Fund and Forestry England, aims to provide seeds to grow climate-adapted trees. …Tristram Hilborn, chief operating officer of Forestry England, said: “What we need to consider for 100 a years’ time is the sort of trees that will thrive in that sort of climate.”
In the Northern Hemisphere, the more than twofold difference between the atmospheric inversion and remote sensing–derived estimate of the net land carbon sink is an unresolved puzzle that challenges our fundamental understanding of the global carbon cycle. We provide several lines of evidence that much of this discrepancy can be resolved by a weak net land carbon sink that is distributed mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, together with a relatively small reduction in the magnitude of fossil fuel emissions and a small increase in ocean uptake. …A strong land carbon sink, as identified in past research, has often been used to support the potential of nature-based climate solutions in meeting climate stabilization targets. However, if the weak land sink hypothesis is correct, then the role of CO2 fertilization in enhancing forest carbon stocks might be overestimated. At the same time, projections of carbon accumulation in reforestation and afforestation projects may be optimistic too. 
