International Paper is acquiring North Pacific Paper in Longview, Washington. In related news: West Fraser resumes operations at Blue Ridge Alberta mill; workers at Weyerhaeuser, Kenora join the United Steelworkers; Hodder Tugboat buys Seaspan’s forestry transportation assets; and Port Hawkesbury Paper isn’t shielded from Nova Scotia Power’s debt. Meanwhile: NRCan receives Forestry Transformation Task Force report; and mass timber story-features from BC, Nova Scotia, the US, and Australia.
In Forestry/Wildfire news: BC’s forestry crisis goes deeper than Trump’s tariffs; BC ministers provide flood, drought and wildfire warning despite wet spring; ENGOs says BC old-growth is still at risk; North Cowichan Council debates log exports; the US Forest Service reorg doesn’t need Congress’ approval; Connecticut studies prescribed burning’s impact on soil; Wisconsin’s Governor highlights upcoming Forest Appreciation Week; and International Pulp Week highlights Vancouver conference keynote speakers.
Finally, Forestry Australia’s playful forestry promotion video – is worth a look.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
OTTAWA — The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association (CKCA) supports the Government of Canada’s launch of a 
The Trump administration is demanding what amounts to an “entry fee” from Canada to engage in trade talks toward a revised Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA), four sources said. “The Americans are setting conditions before negotiations begin,” said one high-ranking individual. The US demand was also confirmed by former Quebec premier Jean Charest, who was appointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new advisory committee on Canada-US economic relations. …On the US side, there are suggestions that Canada should try to get Trump’s attention by making an immediate concession, especially since the president is juggling several major issues right now. However, Canadian sources said they have twice offered concessions to the US administration without receiving anything in return. …Former Canadian diplomat Louise Blais, in her capacity as a strategic advisor to the Canadian Council on International Affairs, said the Americans “perceive Canada as unwilling to come to the table.”
The Trump administration has begun processing refunds for billions of dollars in tariffs that the US Supreme Court struck down in February. In what is to be the biggest repayment programme in history, companies can apply online for money they were charged under the “Liberation Day” tariffs – plus interest – to be returned. …But individual consumers, who were hit by the tariffs indirectly through higher prices, are not expected to be compensated. …”All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit” from the high court’s ruling, Judge Richard Eaton wrote. As of early April, more than 56,000 importers had completed the necessary steps to apply for refunds online when the portal opened, with their claims worth $127bn. The portal, known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (Cape), went live on Monday. 
Canada-United States Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government wants to resolve trade frictions with the Trump administration as part of a comprehensive agreement, rather than through “one-off” deals. LeBlanc said the irritants U.S. officials raise privately are the same ones they’ve outlined publicly. A recent report by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office flagged Canada’s supply-managed dairy system, regulations affecting major US technology firms and other long-standing trade concerns. “If we’re going to resolve some of these issues that Ambassador Greer referred to, Canada is ready and willing to do that work,” LeBlanc said. But he said any progress must come as part of a “larger agreement” that would ease pressure on tariff-affected sectors of Canada’s economy and provide greater certainty around the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement review process. The minister’s comments shine a light on the strategic considerations of the US, Canada and Mexico in the trade discussions.
Canadian softwood producers have now paid more than US$8-billion in US duties since 2017, as BC’s Forests Minister seeks to keep lumber on Ottawa’s radar to resolve the trade dispute. The issue of Canadian softwood shipments into the US is not directly addressed by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. …About US$2-billion in interest has gradually piled up over the past nine years, bringing the value of duties paid plus interest to more than US$10-billion. …Last week, the US said it plans to decrease duties for Canadian softwood. …The revised anti-dumping and countervailing duties equal 24.83%, and when combined with the tariffs, the levies would total 34.83%. …Canfor would see its total levies decline to 31.02%, down from the current 47.59%. West Fraser’s duties would decrease to 20.70%, compared with the current 26.47%. The duty rate for Resolute FP, a subsidiary of Domtar, would drop to 24.95% from the current 35.16%. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
NANAIMO, BC — The debate over a contentious rezoning proposal came to a head Thursday night at Nanaimo council, with what may have been a record crowd for the public hearing. …At stake, Nanaimo Forest Products, which owns Harmac Pacific, wants to rezone roughly 72 hectares of land to heavy industrial. Harmac Pacific’s CEO said “Nanaimo is desperately short of industrial land and council initiated this process when approving the official community plan in 2022. …Paul Sadler, CEO and the General Manger of Harmac Pacific said the company wants to maintain ownership and choose businesses that are complementary to its own such as sawmills or companies that “can take advantage of its green energy supply” …The company, in discussions with Nanaimo City Council, has agreed to an average 100 meter buffer from the park. …But the majority of speakers were opposed. …The Snuneymuxw First Nation also has serious reservations. …The hearing continues April 22.
Researchers at the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Research Station and Louisiana State University have published a paper that investigates how the European Union Deforestation Regulations could alter global wood pellet trade patterns. The paper is titled “Wood pellet market restructuring under the European Union deforestation regulation: A dynamic spatial equilibrium analysis.” …“Our results suggest the EUDR reallocates global trade rather than reducing global production,” the researchers wrote. While the regulation succeeds in reducing the European Union’s reliance on imports and increases its share of consumption of deforestation-free products, it does not materially lower the total amount of wood pellets produced and burned worldwide. …The main economic result is a shift in trade flows, where pellets that are blocked from the European market are redirected to Asian buyers. …The large production losses projected for the US Southeast, compared to the much smaller losses for Canada.
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s trade surplus with the rest of the world shrank by 60 per cent in February as exports to the United States dropped by more than a quarter, with U.S. import tariffs of 15 per cent largely in place on EU goods. EU exports as a whole were 9.3 per cent lower in February than a year earlier, while imports were down 3.5 per cent, EU statistics office Eurostat said on Friday. The largest export decline was towards the U.S., with a drop of 26.4 per cent, while imports from the United States were 3.2 per cent lower. EU exports to China were also down. A year ago, EU exporters had begun front-loading shipments to the U.S. in anticipation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, inflating the export figures for early 2025 and potentially explaining February’s sharp decline. Exports to the United States in February 2025 rose by 22.4 per cent year-on-year.
Seven paper mills have closed in France since the beginning of 2024, raising concerns about a broader decline in the country’s paper and pulp industry. The warning comes from COPACEL, which highlighted the trend during its annual press conference. The industry group also pointed to a fragile outlook for several production sites entering 2026. Out of a total of 81 paper mills in France, seven have permanently ceased operations. According to COPACEL, the closures have significant consequences for employment, regional development and industrial sovereignty. France is already a net importer of pulp, paper and cardboard, increasing its reliance on foreign supply. At the same time, two packaging paper companies are undergoing court-led restructuring, while a group operating two large pulp mills is in conciliation proceedings. Several other companies are considered financially vulnerable. Meanwhile, French manufacturers face persistently high production costs linked to energy prices, taxation and administrative complexity.
Canada’s annual inflation rate rose to 2.4% in March, Statistics Canada said on Monday, as the cost of oil sent fuel prices way up. High prices for energy, especially gas, due to the war in Iran drove inflation higher. Energy prices were 3.9% higher compared to a year ago, and the data agency said March’s 21.2% monthly increase in the price of gasoline was the largest on record. The impact on inflation would have been higher, Statistics Canada noted, if it weren’t being compared to prices from March 2025 that still included the consumer carbon tax, which was dropped in April of last year. Higher fuel costs also impacted the cost of transportation — up 3.7% year over year in March — and helped drive overall inflation higher. …Without the price of gas, the pace of inflation would have risen to 2.2%. Douglas Porter, at the Bank of Montreal, says core inflation was actually milder than expected.
VANCOUVER, BC – West Fraser Timber provided notice of Q1, 2026 conference call and softwood lumber duties and operational update. …The Company expects to record a $73 million non-cash charge in Q1-26 to export duty expense, representing the difference between previously recorded expense for 2024 based on CVD cash deposit rates of 2.19% and 6.85% during the year and the preliminary CVD rate released of 15.93%. …Additionally, the USDOC is processing the liquidation of ADD for the first administrative review period (AR1) covering exports between August 2017 and December 2017. Based on the liquidation rate, the Company expects to receive a refund of $15 million in 2026. Operational Update: Full operations have resumed at the Company’s Blue Ridge Alberta lumber mill following a fire in January of 2026, and production has commenced at the new lumber facility in Henderson, Texas. Manufacturing operations at the Company’s High Level, Alberta OSB mill will be concluded by the end of April.
For the second consecutive month, a leading index reported an increase in North American containerboard pricing. Month-over-month containerboard prices rose $30 per ton in April, following March’s $40 per ton increase, according to monthly data released Friday in Fastmarkets RISI’s Pulp & Paper Week publication. When also taking into consideration the $20 per ton decrease the index reported in February, containerboard pricing has a year-to-date net increase of $50 per ton. …On the boxboard front, most prices remained relatively flat in April. Solid bleached sulfate remains in oversupply, although demand was flat to slightly improved. 
US population growth slowed notably in the latest Vintage 2025 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, with the nation expanding by just 0.5% in 20251, roughly half the pace of the prior year. The deceleration was primarily driven by a sharp decline in net international migration (NIM), which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million, while natural change remained relatively stable. Population gains remain concentrated in the South and parts of the West, while many areas in the Midwest and Northeast experienced slower growth or population declines. …At the county level, population growth slowed across much of the country. Among the nation’s 3,143 counties and the District of Columbia, the majority experienced decelerating population gains in 2025. …Population flows continue to shift away from the largest and most expensive counties toward smaller and less densely populated areas.
JAKARTA — The Industry Ministry is pushing for packaging diversification and the development of alternative materials to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers, particularly in the food and beverage sector, as global dynamics continue to drive up plastic prices …“We see the geopolitical situation in the Middle East as a catalyst to improve efficiency and accelerate innovation in more sustainable packaging alternatives,” said Putu Juli Ardika. In response, industry players have begun diversifying packaging materials, turning to paper, glass, metal and recycled plastics such as recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), according to the ministry. Putu noted that the shift reflects both cost considerations and a broader push toward sustainability. Furthermore, the ministry sees strong potential in paper-based packaging, supported by Indonesia’s well-established pulp and paper industry. Paper packaging is increasingly being adopted across the retail, food and beverage, e-commerce and logistics sectors.
More efficient use of lumber byproducts leads to more sustainable forest management. That’s why Michigan Technological University researchers are developing a biomaterial lighter than steel and just as strong, made from leftover wood waste, that could revolutionize the lumber industry. …Xinfeng Xie, associate professor of forest biomaterials, and his team have partnered with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Waste Upcycling for Defense (WUD) program to turn scrap wood into a strong, sustainable building material. …Led by Xie, students began by using a group of wood-decay fungi, also known as xylophagous fungi, to break down lignin, the tough, rigid structural polymer in plant cell walls. This biological approach leaves behind cellulose nanofibers that are stronger than steel, and its only byproducts are carbon dioxide and water. …The project also provides a physical product that has a positive impact on the future of their industry.
A North Cowichan Council meeting on April 15 drew industry representatives, union members, and members of the public into an unusually substantive debate on coastal fibre supply and log exports — one that will be remembered as much for the nature of the conversation as for its outcome. Across all the voices heard that evening, a single fundamental goal emerged: a stronger, more productive coastal forest sector that supports workers, families, and communities in the Cowichan Valley. This was not the familiar divide between those who see the forest as a working resource and those who would leave it untouched. It was a debate entirely within the pro-forestry community — about economics, policy, and the best path to keeping mills running and people employed. The motion itself, brought forward by Councillor Justice, called on the governments of BC and Canada to review and strengthen policies governing raw log exports from forest lands on Vancouver Island.
Premier Tim Houston says he would institute a ban on entering the woods again, if the circumstances called for it, in spite of a judge saying last year’s province-wide decree was unreasonable. Houston was reacting to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruling that says the province failed to consider individual mobility rights — enshrined under Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — when it told people to stay out of the woods on Aug. 5, 2025. The ban was imposed during an extended period of drought when wildfire risks were high to extreme. It remained in place across the province for several weeks. The court decision, released last week, suggested that Charter rights should be considered in a more meaningful way before the next emergency. Houston said he respects the decision but he stood by last year’s ban. He disputed the judge’s conclusion that the province did not consider Charter rights. 
In a province that is largely carpeted with forests, it is no surprise that timber production has long been a mainstay of Nova Scotia’s economy. Yet recent years have not been kind to the sector. Several major pulp mills have ceased production. …Worsening trade relations with the US have created further headwinds. Yet out of the apparent demise of traditional lumber, some see opportunity for. “Cheap, low-grade pulp was the key to the past,” says Royden Trainor, at the Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub, a public-private partnership working to promote the low-carbon bioeconomy in Nova Scotia. The way forward, he says, is to focus on opportunities where value can be added to forest raw materials. This involves looking towards the fibres that can be used to produce chemical products and advanced materials. Trainor highlights how residues from pulp mills or food processing plants can be used to produce biofuels, biochar and biochemicals.
Bayer CEO Bill Anderson says the German crop science and drug company is hoping to move past the long-running controversy over its Roundup weedkiller in 2026. Bayer — which acquired Roundup when it bought Monsanto in 2018 — recently announced a $7.25 billion settlement deal and is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling that could decide the product’s fate in the U.S. Anderson said that the settlement and the legal fight — which experts believe the company will win — are “major milestones” in Bayer’s turnaround. …Anderson said “This is a very important product for agriculture. It’s been demonstrated to be safe over and over again and cleared by regulators in every nation, and we’re ready to put this chapter behind us.” The Supreme Court is poised to rule on whether states have the authority to govern Roundup, or whether federal environmental regulators should control its fate.
The recently announced major restructure of the US Forest Service may disrupt a number of forestry positions in Idaho. But the details as to how those positions will be affected and what work will continue or be eliminated under the plan remain unclear. Anna Webb, an entomologist and federal employee union representative based in Boise, received a notice about two weeks ago that her position in the agency would be affected. …Leaders of the federal employee union that represents Forest Service employees for the Boise, Payette, Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth national forests are concerned about the disruption to local employees as well as the potential long-term consequences to forest health. …Although Idaho’s forests are overseen by two out-of-state regional offices, many regional and some national positions are based in Idaho — all of these may be affected by the proposed restructure.
ARIZONA — Rim Country and the White Mountains are not alone in bracing for the 2026 fire season, which is approaching. A national April-to-July forecast shows nearly the entire Western United States faces an above-normal risk of wildfires over the next four months. Fire officials said two weeks of cloudy weather with scattered rain showers have given Northern Arizona some breathing room, but the lack of snowpack and above-normal temperatures will still result in an early start to the fire season. The National Interagency Coordination Center predicted above-normal fire threat in every Western state at some point between now and summer. Much of the Southwest faced high-risk conditions during an unusually warm March, and those hazardous conditions are expected to expand into other Western states this month. Forecasters point to record-low snowpack across much of the West. 
MONTANA — After the US Forest Service unveiled a proposal last month to give Montana’s lumber industry a “predictable” timber supply from three national forests, questions about the agency’s plan to incorporate an 82-year-old law into a modern forest-management framework abounded. Broadly speaking, the Tri-Forest Federal Sustained Yield Unit would direct the Helena-Lewis and Clark, Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Custer Gallatin national forests to supply local businesses with at least 35 million board feet of timber per year. The Forest Service is pitching the proposal as a tool to sustain local economies and encourage investment in the lumber industry for the 22-county region included in the unit. It’s necessary, the agency says, because the closure of the Pyramid Mountain Lumber sawmill and the Roseburg Wood Products facility have demonstrated the industry’s vulnerability. But at a recent hearing the Forest Service hosted in Helena, the proposal drew a mixed reception.
Louisiana’s timber industry is at a critical turning point. For generations, forestry has been one of the economic backbones of our state, especially in north Louisiana. Families like mine have built their livelihoods around logging, trucking and land management. But today, that foundation is weakening — not because our forests are failing, but because our markets are. Over the past several decades, Louisiana has lost a significant portion of its wood-using infrastructure. Mill closures across north Louisiana have reduced demand for fiber, leaving a growing supply of timber without a market. While our forests continue to thrive and produce, the outlets that once supported them have steadily disappeared. …Expanding markets like pellet-to-power could help restore demand for low-grade timber, which is essential to keeping logging operations viable. These industries have the potential to sustain hundreds of jobs, increase fiber demand and bring new economic activity to rural parishes.
CONNECTICUT –Plant science researchers and the UConn Fire Department are using prescribed burns to mitigate brush fires and study the role of microbes in soil recovery to generate new insights to help Connecticut manage rising wildfire risk. …In the fall of 2024, Connecticut saw a record 605 wildfires, which burned more than 500 acres and prompted a statewide emergency declaration, a temporary burn ban, and multi‑agency firefighting support. …
The Drax power plant in North Yorkshire received record subsidies of almost £1bn for burning trees to generate electricity in 2025, a climate thinktank has calculated. The company was paid £999m last year for generating about 4.5% of Great Britain’s electricity from its biomass plant, costing each household £13 a year, according to analysts at Ember. The power plant was able to claim £2.7m a day from energy bills in part by increasing its power generation by about 2% from the year before – but mostly due to the rising payouts from a legacy renewables support scheme. …The Guardian revealed last November that forestry experts believed the company was burning 250-year-old trees sourced from some of Canada’s oldest forests as recently as last summer. …The government has already halved the subsidies available to Drax. …Drax will have to switch to using woody biomass from 100% sustainable sources, up from the current level of 70%. 
Drax has extended its wood pellet shipping contract with Ultrabulk through March 2031, with a mechanism to reduce carbon emissions year on year from sea freight journeys, according to Drax. The agreement follows the first UK arrival of the M.V. Ultra Yorkshire, a Handymax carrier operated by Ultrabulk, which completed its first transatlantic voyage carrying over 29 thousand tonnes of biomass pellets from the Port of Greater Baton Rouge to the Port of Liverpool. The cargo is set for rail transport to Drax Power Station in Selby. …The company estimated the voyage produced around 90% less CO2 than standard maritime fuels such as VLSFO or ULSGO.
UK — Burning wood for power generation can be worse for the climate than burning gas, even when the resulting carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored, 
This 
GEORGIA — Smoke has filled the air across parts of the Peach State this week as wildfires continue to burn out of control in southern Georgia, forcing evacuations and destroying homes. According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, crews responded to 34 new wildfires Wednesday that burned about 75 acres statewide. But officials say the biggest concern remains two large, active fires that have already scorched tens of thousands of acres. The Pineland Road Fire in Clinch County has grown to nearly 29,606 acres and is about 10% contained. In Brantley County, the Highway 82 Fire has burned more than 4,400 acres and is roughly 15% contained. Officials say dry conditions, high winds, and a lack of rain are making the fires harder to control. …The growing wildfire threat prompted Brian Kemp to declare a state of emergency, allowing more state and federal resources to assist, including expected support from FEMA.